Embers Ad Infinitum
chapter-839

“You’ve seen him?” Shang Jianyao became excited.

Jiang Baimian, Long Yuehong, and Bai Chen were also delighted.

Gitis glanced at them and said, “We rarely see Ashlandics here. Occasionally, a small team of three to four people will come, and they will be in several cars with more than ten people. Therefore, although I was relatively young back then, it left a deep impression on me.”

“Yes, yes, yes. Their team is quite large!” Shang Jianyao quickly replied.

Jiang Baimian frowned and deliberated over her words. “In the eyes of us Red River people, don’t Ashlandics all look the same? Why do you remember the person in the photo?”

Gitis opened her mouth and replied after a few seconds, “This might be my talent. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be an intelligence peddler. Even if it’s someone I chanced upon on the street, I can still recall their looks.”

The honest Shang Jianyao immediately pointed out, “You almost didn’t recognize us just now. We even chatted this morning!”

Gitis’s tone turned cold. “Didn’t I recognize you when I tried recalling?”

This person does give off a strange feeling… Jiang Baimian muttered inwardly.

Before Shang Jianyao could speak, she asked Gitis, “Do you know why the person in the photo and his team came to Gesterbourg?”

Gitis fell silent for a moment. “I’m not sure, but I can help you ask around. I know who to find.”

“Alright!” Shang Jianyao agreed without asking.

“This might take a lot of time to do the visits. I don’t want my efforts to be in vain.” Gitis’s expression dazed for a moment before she slowly emphasized.

“A deposit?” Bai Chen was familiar with this.

Gitis nodded. “Five Knight silver coins. If I don’t get the corresponding information, I’ll return four to you and throw in some additional information.”

“Very fair.” Jiang Baimian smiled and said, “But we still want to know two more things.”

Gitis didn’t say a word and only signaled with her eyes for her to continue. Her grayish-blue eyes weren’t that listless when communicating.

“You know Smith’s Rootless team, right?” Jiang Baimian asked.

“Yes. They just came to me last week, hoping that I could help them gather information on something.” Gitis’s voice suddenly sounded a little deep.

This formed a certain disparity from her words.

Jiang Baimian tersely acknowledged it. “We want to know who provided the goods that Smith’s Rootless team previously transported. Uh, about ten days ago.”

“Alright.” Gitis accepted the commission.

Jiang Baimian continued, “We also hope to know all kinds of information regarding the mission on the Subhuti figurine. Yes, this includes rumors—as long as the Hunter’s Guild isn’t aware of them.”

“There have been too many Ruin Hunters asking about this recently, allowing me to earn quite a lot from the intelligence.” Gitis revealed a rare smile.

She looked better smiling.

“Three things—that will be all,” Jiang Baimian concluded.

Gitis nodded slightly. “The deposit is still five Knight silver coins. I’ll be working at the hotel in the morning and afternoon tomorrow. When the time comes, come to me. I’ll give you some preliminary feedback to let you know that your money isn’t wasted.”

“Why not go through the Hunter’s Guild?” Bai Chen interrupted and asked.

There was a Hunter’s Guild to review missions and provide guarantees to determine if the corresponding information was valuable and could effectively promote the trust between both parties.

Gitis appeared to fall into a trance again as she said solemnly, “I don’t want the intelligence I provide to be grasped by the Hunter’s Guild.”

Her appearance and bearing instantly became serious, completely different from usual.

“No problem.” Jiang Baimian glanced at the anxious Shang Jianyao and smiled as she took out five Knight silver coins and handed them to Gitis. “You’re a local, so we aren’t worried that you will renege on your debt.”

Her smile was filled with the meaning: you can run, but you can’t hide.

As for whether Gitis understood the underlying meaning, she didn’t know.

After accepting the five Knight silver coins, her eyes lost their luster again. Gitis nodded and said, “If there’s nothing else, I’ll be leaving.”

“Alright.” Jiang Baimian didn’t give Shang Jianyao a chance to appear forthright and generous.

After paying the deposit, the Old Task Force had to be frugal to last until the mission the day after tomorrow.

After Gitis found a seat in a corner and sat down, she familiarly ordered a set meal.

The brown-haired waiter from before came to the Old Task Force’s table with the bread.

“Is she really a local?” Jiang Baimian asked in confirmation.

As the brown-haired waiter put down the small basket containing the bread, he nodded and said, “Yes, she and I used to live on the same street. She used to be a very energetic, ambitious, and loving lady who wanted to become a knight. But as you know, women are greatly discriminated against in this matter. Her parents were only ordinary workers. A few years ago, one fell sick, and the other got injured. Unable to work, they could only rest at home.

“This is also one of the reasons why Gitis became an intelligence peddler. Furthermore, she also works as a hotel receptionist. From then on, she never mentioned her dream of becoming a knight. She changed completely and often zones out. She became careless and likes to daydream.”

Long Yuehong wanted to say something, but he could only sigh. “Sigh…”

At this moment, the honest Shang Jianyao looked at the brown-haired waiter and asked, “Do you like her?”

The brown-haired waiter immediately panicked. “No, no.”

As he spoke, he moved away the additional chair.

After lunch, the Old Task Force got Genava to come out and meet at the hotel’s entrance. They then headed to the Hunter’s Guild near the castle.

After Jiang Baimian and the others registered as Hunters with their current Red River looks and newly fabricated aliases, Genava—who had finished observing the environment—asked Shang Jianyao for help and occupied a machine in the lobby meant for Ruin Hunters to check and accept commissions.

With Shang Jianyao’s body as cover, he tried to hack into the local Hunter’s Guild’s system.

Although the Gesterbourg Hunter’s Guild’s system structure, programming, and machine purchases didn’t directly come from Mechanical Paradise like in Weed City, they more or less shared the same blueprint. Therefore, Genava’s hacking made him feel like he was back home.

Before long, he added a few simple and ordinary missions to Jiang Baimian and the others, allowing them to obtain the corresponding credit points and become Official Hunters. Genava then wrote the additional missions into the database and took the opportunity to filter and check through the missions that had been issued in the past two years.

It only took the time for Shang Jianyao to yawn and browse through the machine’s interface before Genava retracted his palm and straightened his finger.

After leaving the Hunter’s Guild and arriving at an empty spot nearby, the red glow in Genava’s eyes flickered a few times. “There’s indeed the search mission we deduced—its content is to find the whereabouts of a monk. From the description, this is identical to the ascetic monk in the Subhuti figurine mission.

“This mission reached Gesterbourg’s Hunter’s Guild half a year ago, but it had been issued for nearly three years. The timing matches.”

Clap! Clap! Clap!

Shang Jianyao applauded himself. “It’s as I guessed!”

Although he had guessed two situations, it was essentially the idea that the ascetic monk was being pursued. His goal in coming here might be to bring the Subhuti figurine somewhere in Icefield at the end of his life or to make contact with some faction in Gesterbourg to seek protection.

“We can’t be completely sure yet. We have to eliminate the possibility of him being murdered,” Jiang Baimian reminded calmly. “If the ascetic didn’t expect himself to die so quickly, it’s normal for him not to have the time to send a telegram to headquarters and inform them of the situation.”

She continued, “This is the next step of the investigation.”

In the evening, the Old Task Force and Spant—who had finished a day’s work—came to the Hunter’s Guild and registered to take on the corresponding commission.

“You guys are only Official Hunters?” Spant was a little surprised. “I thought you would be highly experienced.”

They looked experienced and had decent strength.

“The point isn’t experience but strength.” Jiang Baimian smiled and pointed at Genava.

This matter came to an end. The Old Task Force would meet up with Spant the day after tomorrow to complete the supply escort mission.

…

The next morning, Jiang Baimian glanced at Shang Jianyao and didn’t say a word.

This fellow tossed and turned the entire night and didn’t sleep well. He woke up early in the morning.

Jiang Baimian—who knew the reason—didn’t bring it up. She only led the team down to the first floor after Gitis completed the handover and began work.

“Any results?” Shang Jianyao asked eagerly.

Her image and mental state were the same as yesterday.

She spent some time recalling and nodded. “Some progress. I roughly got to know what the Ashlandic team asked around 12 years ago.”