Embers Ad Infinitum

After taking a look at the photo in Jiang Baimian's hand, Long Yuehong suddenly realized:

Now that a gunman suspected to be Lei Yunsong has appeared, it is very likely that a fellow gunman suspected to be Lin Feifei will appear!

——Intelligence provided by Chen Xufeng showed that after the disappearance of the "old team", only these two members were suspected to have been seen.

Why didn't I connect these two things together? Long Yuehong couldn't help but raise her hand and slap her forehead. She felt that she was still easily tense when encountering problems, and her thinking became less active.

Shang Jianyao was not surprised at all when Jiang Baimian took out Lin Feifei's photo, and said in a tone that he had indeed come this far:

"Where to start asking first?"

Jiang Baimian frowned:

"Are you trying to say that you asked me to ask people about the photos of Lei Yunsong and Lin Feifei before?

"Can the situation now be the same as yesterday? Moreover, this is not a wide-net inquiry. It is within a controllable range, so there is no need to worry too much about alerting the enemy.

"This time, that time."

If he asks someone today if he has seen Lei Yunsong, there won't be any hidden dangers. Relic hunters all over the city are looking for him.

But Lin Feifei has to be cautious because she has not been "exposed" yet.

Without giving Shang Jianyao a chance to "defend", Jiang Baimian glanced at the shops in Hongluo Alley and said first:

"Give me a watch."

She immediately walked to a location close to Huangjiao Alley, and then shouted loudly:

"Prepare."

When the second hand approached the hour, Shang Jianyao raised his right hand with great interest and waved it suddenly:

"start!"

Jiang Baimian lowered his body, swung his arms, and ran like a fast cheetah.

Long Yuehong looked at this scene in shock. Before she had time to think about what the team leader wanted to do, Jiang Baimian had already run outside Hongluo Lane and stopped next to Shang Jianyao.

Such movement naturally attracted the attention of the surrounding ruin hunters and people passing by, but they all looked blank, as if they were looking at fools.

"How many seconds?" Jiang Baimian took a breath and asked aloud.

Shang Jianyao took his eyes away from his watch:

"Like four seconds."

This is neither a digital watch nor a stopwatch, so it cannot be very accurate.

"The gunman was still holding a sniper rifle at the time, and there were many obstacles on the rooftop. Four seconds shouldn't be enough, let's count on five to six seconds..." Jiang Baimian said as he came to the place where Liu Dazhuang was shot and fell, and then went to the red Luo Xiang took a few steps back from the entrance and said to himself, "Give the gunman time to take aim."

After standing still, Jiang Baimian raised his hands and turned his wrists, looked at the electronic watch, and walked into Hongluo Alley according to the pace and frequency of Liu Dazhuang in his memory.

"One...two...three...four...five...six." Shang Jianyao counted there very cooperatively.

As soon as six seconds came, Jiang Baimian stopped immediately.

By this time, Long Yuehong vaguely understood what the team leader was doing:

She is reconstructing part of the shooting incident to determine the approximate location where Liu Dazhuang was discovered by his fellow shooters!

Jiang Baimian didn't do anything strange anymore and called Shang Jianyao over.

The onlookers' ruin hunters gradually looked away, with only a few still looking at this side.

They believed that Jiang Baimian was trying to reconstruct the scene when the incident occurred, which had already been done by senior hunters, but found no useful clues and lacked sufficient value.

When he no longer received attention, Jiang Baimian smiled and said to Shang Jianyao:

"It's impossible for the gunman's companions to use the walkie-talkie to notify Liu Dazhuang as soon as they discovered him. Otherwise, the other party would notice and change the route in advance."

As she spoke, she walked forward some distance.

"When you get to this position, if you turn your back and lower the volume, Liu Dazhuang shouldn't be able to notice it." Jiang Baimian stopped again, pointed to the street and said, "Go to these houses with the photos and ask."

She was looking at Long Yuehong not far away.

"Me?" Long Yuehong pointed at herself silently.

Jiang Baimian nodded and said to Shang Jianyao:

"You need to exercise more."

Long Yuehong took a deep breath, walked towards the team leader first, quietly took Lin Feifei's photo, and then entered an "electrical appliance repair shop" on the street.

"Hello, boss..." Long Yuehong greeted awkwardly.

The owner of the repair shop is a man in his mid-twenties and a little dirty.

He responded without looking up:

"I've never seen it, I really haven't seen it! There are not a hundred people who pass by my door every morning, but dozens of them. How can I remember them?

"I've never heard of Liu Dazhuang!"

Well, some ruin hunters have already asked... Long Yuehong understood what was going on.

In order not to fail his "single mission" before it even started, he mustered up the courage, handed over the photo and said:

"I don't want to ask Liu Dazhuang."

In a somewhat nervous state, he remembered something and blurted out:

"Boss, I am a man, and you are a man too..."

The boss looked up in surprise and happened to see Lin Feifei's photo.

He immediately showed a look of understanding:

"Are you also fascinated by her?

"Where did you get the photo? Do you have a camera? This is a great thing!"

Long Yuehong was stunned for a few seconds before saying:

"Have you met her?"

He actually met Lin Feifei!

The team leader is really knowledgeable!

Outside the shop, not far away, Shang Jianyao, who was standing facing the road, suddenly said to himself in confusion:

"When did he learn the 'reasoning clown'?"

"This is called imitation, which is a mistake." Jiang Baimian exhaled earnestly.

Finding useful clues from the beginning made her think that today would go smoothly.

In the store, the boss admired the photo and scratched his head:

"In the morning, not long after, when I opened the door, she was beside the tree, shaking a little in the cold wind, which made me feel distressed to see her.

"Hey, if I hadn't brought my whole family with me, I would definitely have asked her to come in and wait."

Seeing that she had gained something, Long Yuehong became excited and asked in a hurry to confirm:

"Is it really her?"

"I've just seen her, how can I admit my mistake? I remember her mole." The boss pointed at Lin Feifei's left eyebrow in the photo.

Long Yuehong felt relieved and asked:

"What happened next? Where did she go?"

"Didn't someone get shot over there? She might have been frightened, so she went back." The boss pointed to his right, "She might live in this courtyard."

Long Yuehong thanked her profusely and exited the store with a sense of accomplishment.

While there was no one around, he walked up to Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao, and while returning the photos, he quickly repeated the clues he asked.

After saying that, Long Yuehong showed a heartfelt expression of admiration and asked curiously:

"Team leader, how are you sure you can find clues about Lin Feifei here?"

"I'm not sure." Jiang Baimian replied with a smile.

She glanced at the ruin hunters outside the alley and explained quickly:

"If I don't ask, it means I guessed wrong, so I will investigate in another direction based on the traces on the scene.

"There is a saying in the old world: Make bold assumptions, be careful to verify. When looking for clues, don't be afraid of making mistakes. Every mistake you make proves that you have eliminated a possibility and are getting closer to the truth.

"However, you can't do this on the battlefield. If you make a mistake, there may be no next time."

Long Yuehong said in a "I learned it again" tone:

"I see."

He stopped lingering, left Shang Jianyao and Jiang Baimian, and returned to Bai Chen.

Jiang Baimian then looked at the courtyard where Lin Feifei entered, smiled and said to Shang Jianyao:

"It's your turn."

The target is the old gatekeeper guarding the entrance to the yard.

He is in his fifties, wearing a military green cotton hat, a blue top, black trousers and brown cotton shoes. He looks very bloated and does not match the clothes at all.

"Can I use my ability?" Shang Jianyao didn't rush over.

"Okay." Jiang Baimian nodded, "When we get here, everyone may be related to Lin Feifei's 'disappearance', so we can't be careless."

Shang Jianyao exhaled first, watched it disperse into white mist, and then walked towards the yard surrounded by the building with excitement.

Soon, he arrived at the entrance, smiled and said to the old guard sitting in the guard box:

"uncle……"

The old man glared and interrupted Shang Jianyao's words:

“If you want to ask something, please give me money first.

"You ruin hunters are each better than the other!"

The "reasoning clown" argument that Shang Jianyao had been brewing for a while was immediately blocked.

He was not angry and asked enthusiastically:

"You can ask me anything?"

The old man was startled for a moment, always feeling that the guy in front of him was a bit weird.

He replied thoughtfully:

"It depends on how much you can give."

"Uncle, look." Shang Jianyao put on a bargaining posture, "You are a man, and I am also a man. You want to take the opportunity to make some money, and I also want to take the opportunity to make some money, so..."

The old man was confused for a moment and sighed:

“Hey, don’t embarrass the poor if you are poor.

"Tell me, what do you want to ask?"

"Have you seen this person?" Shang Jianyao handed over Lin Feifei's photo.

"I've seen it before. She's in the courtyard." The old man pointed to the building near Huangjiao Lane and said, "Did you see it? That building."

"What floor and number?" Shang Jianyao asked further.

"I heard from Old Zheng in that building that she lived on the second floor, in the innermost room, on the side of the door. I don't know if that's correct or not," the old man replied.

"Thank you." Shang Jianyao took out an energy bar and handed it to the old man.

In this way, even if the old man looks back later, he will not suspect that he was possessed by evil spirits, but will only think that he was bribed by food.

Sure enough, when the old man saw the energy bar, he immediately beamed:

"no, I'm fine."

He said no and took it.

With this deal, the old man did not stop Shang Jianyao and Jiang Baimian from entering the hospital.

After arriving at the corresponding building and going up to the second floor, Jiang Baimian did not rush to find the target room and waited patiently for a while.

After a while, a prompt came from her walkie-talkie, and Bai Chen's voice immediately sounded:

"Already in place."

Jiang Baimian no longer delayed and walked along the aisle to the side near the door.

After taking a few steps, she frowned:

"There's no one in either room."

——There are two rooms in the deepest part, one facing the courtyard and the other facing Huangjiao Alley.

According to Jiang Baimian's judgment, Lei Yunsong and Lin Feifei should live in the outer room for easy transfer. Bai Chen and Long Yuehong went to Huangjiao Alley to prevent anyone from jumping out of the window.

"No one." Shang Jianyao repeated Jiang Baimian's words.

Jiang Baimian immediately quickened his pace, arrived in front of the target room, took off a small tool hanging on his armed belt, and easily opened the slightly ancient lock.

The layout inside is similar to the place they rented, with bunk beds, tables, chairs and benches.

The room was kept very clean, and at first glance, there was nothing left that belonged to the tenants.

"Abandoned this place?" Jiang Baimian did not slack off and searched carefully.

Shang Jianyao lay directly on the ground and looked under the bed.

"There's a piece of paper," he said suddenly.

"What paper?" Jiang Baimian stopped.

Shang Jianyao reached out and took out the paper, stood up and unfolded it.

The next second, he and Jiang Baimian saw the front of the paper at the same time.

There it says:

“Thinking is a trap, knowledge is poison…

"Don't touch books anymore...

"We can't bring down the old world and take responsibility again..."