Embers Ad Infinitum
chapter-363

“General Phocas’s manor…” Long Yuehong asked in confusion, “Why do you say that? Did you encounter anything strange back then?”

Jiang Baimian shook her head. “I only listed all the matters regarding the Zhao family manor in my mind. During the entire process, we didn’t have much direct contact with many people. The Zhao family’s spies, the Harvest Bathhouse’s boss—Lance—the Zhao family manor’s steward Zhao Shouren, the Anti-intellectualism Church’s Shen Kui, General Phocas, and some of his servants and guards.

“When facing them, Shang Jianyao and I maintained sufficient vigilance. We weren’t negligent in any way, and there was virtually no way for us to be monitored and followed to the point of pinpointing our residence without us noticing anything.”

“That’s right. Then, why do you think there’s a problem with General Phocas’s residence?” Long Yuehong asked.

Jiang Baimian explained her analysis one step further. “That’s the place where an oversight is most possible. Isn’t it normal to be secretly monitored in the general’s residence? This is a form of security that poses no problems.

“Therefore, Shang Jianyao and I weren’t that vigilant in this regard and were very cooperative with their work. Perhaps it was during this process that seeds were unconsciously planted in us. On the way back, we relaxed our standards and no longer followed them seriously, resulting in our exposure. Yes, perhaps it was only a hint—something we recovered from after a nap. We then completely ignored this problem.

“Back then, we didn’t bring Old Ge with us. No smart bot was available to resist such matters. Yes, I remember that time. After we left General Phocas’s manor, we first went to a hotel to inquire about the Heartless disease outbreak. We then returned to the rented apartment on Iron Medallion Street. Us splitting up started from there.”

“Isn’t this too exaggerated? Seeds were planted in you unconsciously…” Long Yuehong was shocked. Isn’t the Anti-intellectualism Church too terrifying?

Bai Chen nodded, also of the belief that this didn’t seem like something humanly capable.

Jiang Baimian exhaled and turned to look at Shang Jianyao beside her. “Use the Destiny Pearl to review those memories and see if there’s anything wrong with our words and actions.”

The Destiny Pearl was one of the Old Task Force’s greatest contingencies in resisting the Anti-intellectualism Church.

The other was Genava.

Jiang Baimian was especially grateful toward DiMarco every time she encountered such matters.

Shang Jianyao had been listening quietly as if he had entered a serious state of thought. He quickly took out the night pearl that emitted a blueish-green glow and held it in his palm.

Compared to the past, the Destiny Pearl’s glow was clearly a little dimmer.

It then lit up.

…

In the Sea of Origins, Shang Jianyao sat cross-legged in midair and split into nine.

A gigantic wave surged upward as the countless glimmers contained in it swelled and magnified, freezing into all kinds of images.

The Shang Jianyaos were each in charge of a portion. They screened the memories of their visit to General Phocas to their return to Iron Medallion Street as they narrowed things down.

They watched the memories frame by frame as if they were considering how to edit these scenes into a movie. Before long, they completed the inspection, combined into one, and returned to the real world.

As he put away the Destiny Pearl, Shang Jianyao said, “Mianmian and I… Big White and I did relax our anti-tracking efforts after leaving Phocas’s residence. We weren’t that careful.”

Long Yuehong’s pupils dilated when he heard that. They really had seeds planted at General Phocas’s residence! Something really happened without their knowing!

At this moment, Shang Jianyao added, “But it cannot be confirmed if we relaxed because of the changes in the situation or if we were affected by external factors.”

Jiang Baimian retracted her glare at him and asked, “Did you notice when we were affected?”

Shang Jianyao shook his head. “We only came into contact with a few people in the general’s residence. The conversations were very normal, and there was no momentary pause when our eyes met.”

That’s the most terrifying thing! Long Yuehong looked at Bai Chen and realized that her expression was equally solemn.

Jiang Baimian thoughtfully said, “Therefore, the problem lies with those people? Simply planting a seed might not be as complicated as Hypnosis. It might just be a gesture, an exchange of looks, or an ordinary sentence that can unknowingly influence us… Yes, the Anti-intellectualism Church might indeed send people to infiltrate General Phocas’s manor to control the development of matters if they want to incite internal conflict in First City.”

“It’s also possible that the person secretly monitoring the area is an Awakened at the Mind Corridor level. For example, Shepherd Bouillon. We were exposed to his abilities for extended periods, and we believed that the surveillance was normal. Therefore, the seed was slowly planted in us remotely.” Shang Jianyao raised another possibility.

Long Yuehong was terrified and blurted out, “Should we inform General Phocas?”

Jiang Baimian suddenly laughed. “What if General Phocas is the problem? He was the one who spoke to us the most at his residence that day.”

Long Yuehong was stunned.

“That’s why it’s said that there are deep undercurrents in this area. We can’t figure it out, so it’s better not to get involved. We just have to cut off the real Father’s hand that’s reaching out to us.” Jiang Baimian cast her gaze at Genava. “Old Ge, don’t just listen. Cook the noodles.”

“We don’t have soy sauce.” Genava voiced his dilemma.

In First City, most people were of Red River ethnicity, so they didn’t have the habit of using soy sauce. If they wanted to head to the streets where the Ashlandics resided, the Old Task Force had no need to make handmade noodles.

Fortunately, the Red Wolf Zone was considered a place with relatively high standards of living in the Ashlands. Jiang Baimian and the others obtained other condiments and made do with the noodles.

…

The next morning, Jiang Baimian sent a telegram to Zhao Zhengqi at the agreed time and roughly explained the matter’s development.

She believed that the other party definitely knew the exact details, such as knowing that the Anti-intellectualism Church’s people had been ‘wiped out’ and that Zhao Yixue was locked in General Phocas’s residence. But as a Ruin Hunter team with ideals and morals, they still had to report what needed to be reported. Furthermore, they had to color their report about the real Father’s assault on them.

Before long, the Zhao family sent back a telegram.

“He wants us to contact Lance and find Zhao Shouyi—the Zhao family’s steward here—to complete the transfer of ownership of Left Bank Manor.” Jiang Baimian finished translating the code and laughed. “He wants us to stop the investigation and leave everything to General Phocas. Heh heh, isn’t Old Zhao too timid? The Anti-intellectualism Church is already bullying them, but they aren’t willing to fall out with them completely. They stop at the tip of the iceberg. Uh, he didn’t mention the celebratory feast. It’s probably because General Phocas didn’t mention anything. It seems like there’s still a long time before the celebration.”

“At least he gave us a manor as payment.” Although Bai Chen’s expression didn’t change, her tone was rather satisfied. As a Ruin Hunter born as a wilderness nomad, she was happy every time she obtained a considerable harvest.

In contrast to her was the slightly disappointed Shang Jianyao.

Jiang Baimian nodded and sighed. “If there’s only one manor, we can only choose one between the military exoskeleton and mechanical arm.”

Even if Lehman gave a 30% discount, they could only choose one. Such controlled items were often priceless. If not for the Old Task Force establishing a connection with Lehman—the Linhai Alliance’s arms dealer—and shocking him and helping him figure out the truth he desired, it would’ve been impossible for them to buy these items.

“A mechanical arm is cooler!” Shang Jianyao immediately voiced his opinion.

“But it’s easier to use a military exoskeleton. It can be put to use immediately,” Long Yuehong objected.

“You already have one,” Shang Jianyao pointed out.

“But Team Leader doesn’t have one yet. Even if you don’t need one, Team Leader needs one too,” Long Yuehong argued.

Shang Jianyao fell silent as if he was in a dilemma.

Upon seeing this, Jiang Baimian smiled. “We’ll talk about it when the time comes. Maybe our problem isn’t which one to choose but which one we can afford.”

After ending the argument, Jiang Baimian raised her hands and slowly stretched her body. “There are three things to do today. The first is to obtain the manor and make sure it’s in the bag. The second is to meet with the company’s intelligence agent and give him the items that require testing. The third is to go to the hotel and find the boss.”

“Why are we looking for Boss Ugo?” Long Yuehong asked in confusion.

Bai Chen frowned slightly, similarly not understanding her team leader’s thoughts. She probed, “To see if the Heartless outbreak has ended and whether we should move back?”

Jiang Baimian looked around and smiled. “That’s one aspect. The other is to ask him who was following us that day when we went to the hotel to ask about the Heartless disease. He’s not a simple hotel owner; he might’ve noticed.”

‘That day’ referred to the day Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao visited General Phocas.