Embers Ad Infinitum
chapter-847

In the face of a counter-example, Long Yuehong couldn’t come up with a retort. He could only shut his mouth and stop discussing the problem.

It couldn’t be that the places where Master Zhuang’s body of descent lived were targeted when the Old World was destroyed, right?

At this moment, Bai Chen—who was driving—asked, “Are we finding the intelligence peddler, Mor, now? It’s almost noon. Do you want to have lunch first before going in the afternoon?”

“No, let’s go now!” Shang Jianyao replied first.

He explained rather agitatedly, “What if Mor is silenced when we are having our meal? There are too many instances of such things in the Old World’s entertainment. We can’t afford to make similar mistakes.”

As he spoke, he became earnest.

Uh… Long Yuehong was stunned for a moment. However, he had to admit that Shang Jianyao had a point.

Such a situation really had to be prevented from happening.

Jiang Baimian tersely acknowledged it. “It’s only 11. It won’t take long to ask for information; let’s find Mor first.”

If they wanted to capture the tail of the Eighth Research Institute—a secret organization—they had to be careful and not give them a chance to react!

The Old Task Force had previously received the information regarding Mor and the others from Gitis, so there was no need to ask further. After making several turns, they arrived at a block with a complicated environment.

The buildings here seemed to be unplanned as they were haphazardly arranged. Some were placed very close to each other, and some were very far away, separating into alleys that led nowhere.

The outer walls of the apartment where Mor lived were grayish-black. It gave off a heavy and unsophisticated feeling, forming a sharp contrast to Aester’s house that exuded opulence and beauty.

Gesterbourg was near Icefield. Most of the buildings here made indoor heating their first consideration, which resulted in such an architectural style.

Of course, the houses with similar styles were mainly built after the Old World was destroyed. The ones that belonged to the Old World weren’t like this because the climate hadn’t changed back then, and Icefield had yet to expand. Although the weather in Gesterbourg wasn’t as warm as in the south, it wasn’t bitter cold.

Bai Chen parked the jeep and looked up the apartment. “Mor lives on the top floor of this building.”

Jiang Baimian observed for a while before suddenly smirking. “The two intelligence peddlers in Gesterbourg are a little strange. There’s no need to mention Gitis. Mor’s choice also indicates certain contradictions.”

“What choice?” Long Yuehong asked in confusion.

Jiang Baimian looked around. “The streets and alleys here are like spiderwebs. They are rather complicated, but the people living here are basically the factory workers and their families. The composition is very uniform.

“In other words, Ruin Hunters like us are like lions among a flock of sheep the moment we enter this block. We are very eye-catching, and we can’t hide our incompatibility with this place. Mor only needs a few spies to monitor if there are outsiders and what they look like. He can then make a judgment ahead of time and determine if he should immediately leave his residence to hide in a spare safe house or make sufficient preparations to wait for business to arrive.

“This is the basic behavior of an intelligence peddler.”

Long Yuehong came to a realization. “The contradiction is that he chose to live on the top floor where it’s most inconvenient to move and evacuate?”

“Yes.” Jiang Baimian nodded slightly.

At the same time, Shang Jianyao laughed. “Wouldn’t it be more convenient if his safe house is in the same building? Besides, the top floor is also conducive for him to personally observe the situation in this block. Or he has a military exoskeleton and can easily and quickly go from the sixth floor to the ground floor with the help of the protrusions in the walls.”

He became more and more ridiculous.

“According to Gitis, Mor is old and no longer has the heart to do this. Such a person won’t place his safe house near his home because he’s afraid that the enemy will take the opportunity to search the surrounding houses,” Jiang Baimian said simply. “There’s a possibility that being right in the open makes it easy for the enemy to mistake him for not being home, but would Mor dare to take the risk? He might’ve dared to do so when he was young, but now…”

At this point, Jiang Baimian changed the topic. “But if he’s really related to the Eighth Research Institute, we do have to be wary of military exoskeletons or other accidents. Old Ge, come up with us this time. Little Red, Little White, stay by the car.”

She took the opportunity to make arrangements.

Shang Jianyao, Jiang Baimian, and Genava then followed the address provided by Gitis and went to the top floor along the cold and dark corridor.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

Shang Jianyao eagerly knocked on Mor’s door.

A violent cough sounded as someone approached the peephole from behind the door.

“Who are you, and what are you doing here?” asked a slightly hoarse voice with phlegm in his throat through the thick wooden door.

“We’re here to get some news,” Shang Jianyao replied in the manner Gitis stipulated.

After a few seconds, the door creaked open. Someone coughed and said, “Come in.”

Shang Jianyao immediately rushed in, and Jiang Baimian and Genava—who had been hiding to the side—followed closely behind.

Mor’s hair was already white, but it was obvious that his hair was the usual Gesterbourg blond in his youth.

His back was slightly hunched, and he coughed from time to time. His expression wasn’t too good, and there were many patches on his skin. He looked ashen.

At this moment, the room was filled with a stench—a result of prolonged lack of cleaning.

Mor held a United 202 in his hand. He walked to the window, turned around, and said to Jiang Baimian and the others, “How may I help you?”

His gaze lingered on Genava the longest.

After Mor retracted his gaze, Genava raised his right hand and curled his thumb and index finger while extending his three other fingers at Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao.

This gesture meant that there were no especially dangerous items in the room—including Mor—according to the scanning and inspection.

“We want to find out something.” Shang Jianyao took a few steps forward, took out a Knight silver coin that Jiang Baimian had given him, and flicked it at Mor.

After Mor caught the silver coin, he smiled and said, “This is the deposit.”

“You’re very generous.” Mor’s vigilance clearly decreased a little, and he no longer controlled his cough.

Shang Jianyao immediately replied, “Yeah. Now that you’ve accepted our money, it’s equivalent to agreeing to the establishment of a transaction. As a trustworthy person, you definitely won’t lie to us or not answer our questions.”

He directly used Thought Implantation.

At this point in the investigation, there was a high chance that they would come into contact with the Eighth Research Institute. The Old Task Force didn’t dare to be careless.

Mor’s eyes glazed over for a moment. “What do you want to know?”

Shang Jianyao smiled and asked, “Who commissioned you to get Aester to buy a batch of rare metals for the Farstriders caravan?”

Mor’s expression changed, and his face suddenly warped. He seemed to have fallen into an indescribable struggle as if an angel and devil were having a tug-of-war in his mind.

The next second, Mor raised his pistol, pointed it at his head, and tried to pull the trigger.

But due to the change in his expression, Shang Jianyao and Jiang Baimian had already raised their vigilance and tensed up. They immediately reacted when they realized that something was amiss.

Whoosh!

Jiang Baimian used her left hand to throw a grenade that still had its ring. It accurately smashed into Mor’s hand, deviating his muzzle.

With a clang, the United 202 landed on the ground.

Bang!

A bullet unexpectedly flew over from afar, shattered the window glass, and struck Mor.

Mor’s upper body instantly collapsed, scattering blood everywhere.

Two gunshots sounded again, and Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao dodged in time.

When they rolled to a blind spot, the gunshots subsided.

“It’s an anti-materiel sniper rifle.” Genava made a judgment based on the severity of the damage to the room and Mor’s corpse.

Jiang Baimian didn’t immediately stand up and said in a deep voice, “Rough location.”

“According to my calculations, the enemy was 398 meters away and at the top of the 17th-floor building but has already left.” Genava—who had wanted to snipe back—failed.

This exceeded the range of Shang Jianyao’s abilities.

The 17-story building… That’s the Gesterbourg United Mining Association building… Jiang Baimian left her hiding spot and ran to the window as she ordered, “Chase after him!”

Although the other party had long evacuated by the time they arrived, there might still be some clues left. Furthermore, it wasn’t convenient to carry anti-materiel sniper rifles; they were relatively eye-catching. If the Old Task Force could rush over, they might encounter some witnesses.

Jiang Baimian wasn’t wearing a military exoskeleton, but she relied on her amazing balance and coordination. With the help of the protruding windowsill, she jumped down one floor after another and quickly descended to the ground floor. Shang Jianyao and Genava mimicked her and weren’t slow at all, akin to agile apes.

During this process, Jiang Baimian understood something.

Mor should’ve had his thoughts implanted. Once he was controlled and tried to reveal the Eighth Research Institute’s information, he would commit suicide in various ways. Furthermore, there was another person hiding in the dark, constantly monitoring him. They would silence him if anything went wrong.