Embers Ad Infinitum

"Shen Du wanted to betray the cult and has already suffered divine punishment."

In Li Zhen's house, the dim light falls unevenly on everyone, creating a different interplay of light and dark.

For nearly ten seconds, no one spoke here, and even the sound of breathing seemed to be non-existent.

The whole room felt like someone had pressed the pause button.

Finally, the "guide" Ren Jie broke the silence, raised his arms, and made a rocking baby gesture:

"Praise for your tolerance!"

As soon as she finished speaking, there were rapid and heavy snorts in the room, which seemed to have been held in for a long time.

"Praise you for your tolerance!" All the members of the cult followed suit and saluted.

They are more religious than ever.

Shang Jianyao was mixed in, meticulously performing the motion of shaking the baby, without any fluctuation in his voice.

"Guide" Ren Jie turned around and said:

"The sinner Wang Yafei also suffered divine punishment."

After saying that, she looked around slowly, making everyone lower their heads.

Ren Jie stopped mentioning Shen Du and Wang Yafei and started preaching.

This time, she was talking about the nobility and sanctity of command.

Towards the end, she once again glanced at each member one by one:

“My Lord is forgiving and majestic.

“He is always watching the world.

"And the 'Holy Master' has been paying attention to us, and no one can hide it from his eyes."

Just now, she mentioned the internal structure of the "Sacrifice of Life" sect for the first time:

Those who just join are "newcomers" who have made certain contributions. After developing many believers, they can be promoted to "leaders", and above "leaders" are "holy masters".

As for whether there is a higher level of "Holy Master" and what title it is, Ren Jie did not say.

"Praise for your tolerance!" The "newborns" once again made the motion of shaking the baby.

Because this was an impromptu gathering and there was no Holy Communion, they stood up quickly and left in batches.

Shang Jianyao was just about to go out when he was stopped by Ren Jie.

The "guide" smiled and said to him:

"Don't be too afraid, Si Ming Zhi Sui is tolerant.

"As long as you don't blaspheme the gods and don't betray the cult, He will only give blessings, not divine punishment."

Ren Jie's attitude towards Shang Jianyao was much more cordial than before.

"Praise for your tolerance." Shang Jianyao responded piously.

After leaving Li Zhen's house, he held a flashlight and approached the wall, walking neither fast nor slowly.

Wherever he looked, he saw Jian Xin and Zhuo Zhengyuan, the couple who caused Wang Yafei's death.

Their flashlights were weak and seemed to need new batteries.

In the dim and swaying light, the couple walked eagerly, as if they were afraid that some monster would pounce out of the darkness.

Shang Jianyao's pace quickened slightly, and then returned to normal, watching as the dim light representing Jian Xin and Zhuo Zhengyuan disappeared around the corner.

…………

7:50 a.m., room 14 on the 647th floor.

Shang Jianyao arrived at the room assigned to the "Old Tune Group" before waiting for Long Yuehong to join him.

As expected, Jiang Baimian had arrived and was sitting in a daze holding a pen.

Sensing Shang Jianyao entering the door, Jiang Baimian waved:

"Something gained."

Shang Jianyao jumped over as soon as the ground cleared.

"...You don't need to be so exaggerated in your movements." Jiang Baimian's expression was a little dull.

"My brain twitched." Shang Jianyao explained seriously.

"Okay, I know you have a doctor's certificate." Jiang Baimian sighed helplessly.

She turned and said seriously:

"The preliminary clue is that the awakened person is probably a resident of the 478th floor, or works there."

Before Shang Jianyao could speak, she roughly explained the source of the clues and the basis for her judgment, and finally said:

"You can try asking the client named Jian Xin to see if she noticed that on the day Wang Yafei died, which resident on this floor did not go to work, or the 'Activity Center', the primary school, the 'Order Supervision Room' Among the employees in these places, who had been near the material supply market before and after Wang Yafei's death?"

"What if there are none? Not at all." Shang Jianyao asked.

Jiang Baimian smiled:

"That means that the awakened person is probably a member of the 'material supply market' on the 478th floor. When the time comes, find a friend who lives on that floor, find a meal time, go there and look around, and observe whether the employees are there. A place that is different from ordinary people.

"You can also understand this through Jian Xin."

Speaking of this, she warned:

"But don't go there recently. It's best to wait for a few days. In a place like the 'Activity Center', when there are many people around, find a secluded corner to ask. Also, be polite and don't be so direct. It will scare you. The opponent's.

"I know you are not afraid of bringing danger to yourself, but you have to consider whether this will bring danger to the other party. You don't want something like Shendu to happen again, right?"

Shang Jianyao said calmly:

"I'm scared too."

"It's just that you have to do some things no matter how scared you are."

Jiang Baimian said "hmm":

"Okay, let's go read the information. Forget about this matter for a few days and don't think about it again."

Shang Jianyao turned around and then turned back:

"I have one more question."

"What?" Jiang Baimian was suddenly a little scared, worrying about what big deal it was.

Shang Jianyao thought for a while and said:

"How can a person overcome the fear lurking in his heart?"

Jiang Baimian's eyes suddenly widened, and he subconsciously shrank back.

She looked at Shang Jianyao suspiciously:

"Why do you suddenly ask this question?"

Shang Jianyao said confidently:

"Have you forgotten?

"Du Heng said that to enter the 'Sea of ​​Origin', you need to face your inner fears and defeat them one by one."

"Oh, about this, I thought..." Jiang Baimian shut up in time and suddenly realized, "Have you entered the 'Sea of ​​Origin'?"

Shang Jianyao nodded.

"When did it happen? Has his ability changed?" Jiang Baimian blurted out and asked.

Shang Jianyao is very frank:

"No."

"That's right, you haven't conquered at least one fear in your heart..." Jiang Baimian nodded thoughtfully.

She hesitated for a moment and decided to be more direct:

“What fears are you facing right now?

“Only by understanding the specific situation can I find a suitable solution.”

Shang Jianyao didn't say anything. He took out a folded piece of paper from his pocket and handed it over.

Jiang Baimian reached out to take the paper and quickly unfolded it.

What caught her eyes were many disorderly blue lines.

These lines from the ballpoint pen seem to connect into a shadow, surrounding a circle in the middle and "eroding" it.

And at the edge of the paper, above the messy lines, there are two other circles.

Other than that, there are swathes of blank space.

Jiang Baimian looked at it carefully for a while, and combined with Shang Jianyao's information, he had some vague ideas.

She considered it and said:

"I will try to think about it in the past two days and hope to give you some suggestions as soon as possible."

After saying that, she seemed to remember something and asked curiously:

"Is this the painting you drew in the car when you were ordered to paint by Qiao Chu?"

"Do you still remember?" Shang Jianyao did not hide his surprise.

The smile on Jiang Baimian's face gradually became obvious:

"I said that I have always been very petty and vindictive."

Just as Shang Jianyao was about to respond, Bai Chen and Long Yuehong entered the room one after another.

Jiang Baimian immediately stood up and said with a smile:

"In two days at most, we will know what items we can get back and how much compensation we can get."

…………

On this day, Shang Jianyao and others spent the day reading information and doing various trainings, which was dull but fulfilling.

After dinner, when he returned home, Shang Jianyao thought about it and walked to the "Activity Center" again.

He glanced over and saw Long Yuehong chatting with a beautiful girl with short hair in the corner.

Shang Jianyao couldn't help but shook his head.

"You also think Long Yuehong is stupid. When he met a girl for the first time, he made an appointment to chat at the 'Activity Center'?" At this time, a crisp female voice rang in Shang Jianyao's ear.

Shang Jianyao looked sideways and found that it was Meng Xia.

This girl is of the same age group as Shang Jianyao, Long Yuehong, and Yang Zhenyuan, and they live on the same floor. They must be classmates and are quite familiar with each other.

Meng Xia is tall, has a clean and delicate face, and is wearing a long camel coat. He looks much more mature than before.

There is a man next to her, who looks to be in his twenties and over one meter tall, about the same as Meng Xia.

He looks pretty decent, but his skin is a bit tanned, his face is full of traces of wind and frost, and his eyes are quite sharp.

Meng Xia and this man were holding hands, seemingly not wanting to be separated for a moment.

"Yes." Shang Jianyao responded to Meng Xia's evaluation of Long Yuehong.

Meng Xia suddenly laughed and said:

“My husband just said this is normal.

"Really, it's so noisy here. It would be nice to go for a walk on a secluded street."

Shang Jianyao nodded:

“He’s useless like this.

"He should sing a song as soon as we meet."

"..." Meng Xia didn't know how to respond.

Fortunately, Shang Jianyao did not continue the topic. He looked at the man next to Meng Xia and said:

"Your husband?"

He remembered that the husband Meng Xia was assigned to was a wanderer from the wilderness and was currently a D4 employee.

Therefore, Meng Xia has moved to the 622nd floor where the other party is, and it is usually difficult to meet her here.

"Well, Zhang Lei." Meng Xia introduced, "This is my classmate, Shang Jianyao. I just went to the one on the surface."

Zhang Lei took a step forward, stretched out his right hand and said:

"Hello."

He blocked Meng Xia behind him out of habit.

"Hello." Shang Jianyao shook hands with the other party.

"Why are you back?" He asked Meng Xia again.

"Didn't something happen to Uncle Shen? Come back and see your parents." Meng Xia sighed.

Shang Jianyao thought for a while and suddenly said:

"Lend it to your husband."

"Ah?" Meng Xia looked confused.

Shang Jianyao politely explained:

"I have something to ask you."

Meng Xia laughed:

"Go ahead, don't borrow it for too long."

Shang Jianyao and Zhang Lei came to a deserted corner of the "Activity Center" and sat down respectively. Shang Jianyao asked directly:

"Do you know anything about Zhi Sui and the Awakened?"

Zhang Lei raised his eyebrows:

"Xia Xia said that you have been to the surface, and you seem to know a lot of things.

"Well, I've been wandering in the wilderness for many years, and I know a few things."

Shang Jianyao thought for a while and said:

"Then have you ever met an awakened person who can affect other people's hearts?"

Zhang Lei's expression gradually became serious:

"Yes, but not me, but a friend of mine.

“When he was in Weed City, he made a bet with a member of the Long Night Order, and the outcome was determined by arm wrestling.

"As a result, when he was about to win, his heart suddenly beat wildly and he almost couldn't slow down."

Shang Jianyao thought for a while and said:

"Who does the Long Night Order believe in?"

Zhang Lei glanced around and said in a deep voice:

"Si Ming."

PS: Please give me a monthly ticket for the third update~ It will take a while in the next few days and resume the second update, but it will be gone in the early morning. There should be one more update before the double is over.