Embers Ad Infinitum

Weekend night, No. 12, Area C, 349th Floor.

Jiang Baimian and his family sat around the dining table, enjoying the leisure time after dinner.

Her nephew and niece admired and were curious about this aunt who was always traveling away from home. From time to time they would ask a strange question in an attempt to get an answer.

Seeing that their usually smart and responsive daughter was occasionally hesitating when asked by the two children, Jiang Wenfeng and Xue Sumei smiled unconsciously, as if they had seen Jiang Baimian's appearance after getting married.

Jiang Dening and his wife were happy to not have to deal with the little ancestors for the time being, and pretended not to receive the look from their sister asking for help.

Jiang Baimian took a break from his busy schedule, looked at his father, and asked casually:

"Dad, do you think the company will move to the ground one day?"

Jiang Wenfeng was stunned for a moment, then sighed slightly:

"Although there are no corresponding signs yet, although over the years, the 'inner ecological zone' has become more and more complete, forming a real cycle. The living costs of employees have become thinner and thinner, and it is no longer an unbearable burden. But I always feel that sooner or later, the main body of the company will return to the surface, leaving only some highly confidential projects in the building.

"You, children, should always live under the blue sky and enjoy the natural breeze."

As a member of the management team and a scientist engaged in agricultural research and cotton seed improvement, Jiang Wenfeng himself has been to the surface of the earth many times. After all, some wild populations can bring enough benefits, so he feels particularly sorry for his wife, son, Grandsons and granddaughters have not had this opportunity so far, and they do not want their descendants to be trapped in the underground building of "Pangu Creature" for the rest of their lives, never to see the light of day.

If Jiang Baimian's current job was not too dangerous, Jiang Wenfeng would have supported her not to switch to back office and would still run to the ground from time to time.

"Aunt, aunt, what does the natural wind smell like?" After listening to their grandfather's words, the two children asked Jiang Baimian with their eyes wide open.

For some reason, Jiang Baimian's mind flashed back to the scene when the "old tune team" came to the dust for the first time, and he remembered what Shang Jianyao said:

"Smells like fresh shit."

…………

Jiang Baimian, who had been playing with her children for a long time, felt more tired than dealing with Shang Jianyao and harder than going out on a mission. Therefore, as soon as she sent her brother's family of four away, she immediately washed up and went to bed, getting ready for bed.

However, as a self-disciplined person, she followed her habit and entered the "Sea of ​​Origin" and swam far away in the illusory ocean of dim light, looking for the next island of fear.

While swimming, Jiang Baimian suddenly saw a small black spot appearing at the junction of the sea and the sky.

"Finally..." She couldn't help but sigh with emotion.

Then, she increased her paddling speed and swam towards the island.

As time passed by, Jiang Baimian arrived at his destination.

The island had mountains, water, and was covered in blue, which made her feel inexplicably familiar.

Relying on the fact that even if he encounters an unstoppable danger on the fearful island in the "Origin Sea", he will only exhaust his energy and force a withdrawal without leaving any sequelae. Jiang Baimian held up his hand and climbed onto the island lightly.

She walked around the edge of the mountain peak on the island for a while and saw a road into the mountain that was accessible to vehicles.

Jiang Baimian, who had enough experience in this matter, immediately manifested the jeep of the "Old Diao Group" and drove along the road into the mountain.

There is actually no essential difference between this kind of behavior and the way she used to rely on her feet. It will consume a certain amount of energy. It's just that one is more, one is less, and the one with more can save time.

Jiang Baimian's choice is that his time is more precious than his spirit, which will soon recover.

After the vehicle drove forward for more than ten minutes, Jiang Baimian felt that the scenery on both sides became more and more familiar.

This made her wonder if she was lost or had a ghost attack on her, always driving the same section of the road.

After careful reflection, Jiang Baimian finally came to his senses:

The reason why she felt that this road was familiar was because it was the only way to return to the company from the Black Marsh Wilderness.

Sure enough, in just a few minutes, Jiang Baimian saw the silver-white metal door at the entrance of the "Pangu Creatures" underground building.

She couldn't help but muttered:

"This psychological shadow is actually the company..."

Her second fearful island scene is the deserted "Pangu Creatures" underground building.

It happened again this time!

But considering that he spent most of his life in the "underground building" and that most of his experiences were related to "Pangaea creatures", Jiang Baimian felt that it was unexpected and reasonable.

She no longer hesitated, stepped on the accelerator, and drove the Jeep towards the silver-white gate.

At this moment, Jiang Baimian suddenly saw a string of fire.

She turned the steering wheel sharply, causing the Jeep to drift sideways.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Shell after shell covered the area where the vehicle would have passed.

After the bombardment failed to achieve any effect, lasers and electromagnetic projectiles were aimed at the jeep running sideways and fired.

Jiang Baimian stepped on the accelerator to the maximum, but there was already a mountain wall not far away.

She instinctively stepped on the brakes and dodged a wave of attacks, then pressed out her seat belt, pushed open the car door, and rolled towards a surrounding obstacle.

She had just rolled halfway when her body became inexplicably numb and it was difficult to exert strength.

The next second, a red laser came over and pierced her body.

Jiang Baimian's face suddenly became extremely distorted, and she immediately chose to exit the "Sea of ​​Origins".

In the bedroom, on the bed, she opened her eyes, raised her hand and touched her forehead, dripping with cold sweat.

"The company's guards did not make any confirmation and directly attacked me?" Jiang Baimian muttered silently to himself, "This shows that subconsciously, I put the company in a hostile position... The essence of this psychological shadow is me Doubts and worries about the company? This should not be a big deal at first and will not become a psychological shadow, but the situation reported by Hi has deepened this fear..."

As her thoughts flashed, Jiang Baimian gradually sorted out her clues, but she couldn't think of how to get through this fearful island for the time being.

The hometown in her heart unknowingly became her psychological shadow.

…………

On Monday morning, as soon as Jiang Baimian, who was late, walked into the office, he heard Bai Chen say:

"Team leader, Vice Minister Xiyu is looking for you."

Jiang Baimian nodded thoughtfully:

"It seems that I want to ask about the application."

At this time, Shang Jianyao stood up and volunteered:

"Do you need me to lead the way?"

"No need." Although Jiang Baimian could feel the concern, he was not happy at all.

She thought for a while and then said:

"Don't do anything like this."

What she meant was don't follow her quietly, and don't do any "thinking guidance". It seemed that going to see Vice Minister Xiyu was a very dangerous thing.

Shang Jianyao sighed in disappointment.

After three attempts at the deputy minister's office, Jiang Baimian finally found his destination.

Seeing that she was the only one coming, Xiyu breathed a sigh of relief, pointed to the armchair opposite the table and said:

"sit down."

"Minister, what's the matter?" Jiang Baimian asked bluntly as soon as he sat down.

Xi Yu smiled gently and said:

"I was originally worried about what kind of helpers I would find for you for the next mission, but you told me that Long Yuehong and Bai Chen can stand on the last duty."

"Actually, it's enough for me and Shang Yao to meet each other." Jiang Baimian deliberately changed the topic and did not discuss the matter of Long Yuehong and Bai Chen.

Xiyu shook his head:

“If there are too few people, many things will be inconvenient.

"Well, with Shang Jianyao's ability, we can find some help temporarily."

Now that the matter had been resolved, she didn't say more and asked instead:

“Is it too early to leave next month?

"In that case, it won't be summer when we arrive at the ice sheet, and the climate will be worse."

Jiang Baimian had already written a manuscript and talked about it eloquently:

"I think it's better to find the ruins of the city where Shang Jianyao's father last appeared, sooner rather than later. However, it will definitely take a lot of time to find clues. The same goes for locking down the specific location of the Eighth Research Institute. There must be something It takes enough patience to catch the fox by its tail.

"So, I'm worried that one summer won't be enough, and the ice sheet in April and May will be relatively mild compared to the ice sheet in September and October."

Xiyu thought for a while, nodded slightly and said:

"Then prepare more cold-proof equipment and high-calorie food."

"Yes, Minister!" Jiang Baimian did not hide his smile.

After that, Xiyu asked a few more detailed questions, all of which were answered satisfactorily.

The itinerary of the "old tune group" is thus determined.

…………

One day in March, Shang Jianyao and others drove out of the underground building of "Pangu Biology" in a Jeep.

As the fresh air blew in from the window, Jiang Baimian felt that his mind had broadened a lot.

She saw that there was a bit of silence in the car. Bai Chen, Long Yuehong, and Shang Jianyao were stuck in their own thoughts. No one spoke for a long time, so she deliberately looked at the driver's seat and asked casually:

"Hey, has there been any change in Xiaochong's gap?"

"No." Shang Jianyao looked disappointed.

Jiang Baimian asked again:

"Has the owner of room '506' had any dreams recently?"

Shang Jianyao shook his head again:

“She seems to have lost the ability to dream.

"I wonder if she found someone to hypnotize herself so that she would stop dreaming."

Jiang Baimian asked thoughtfully:

"What time periods have you tried?"

"Nine-thirty in the evening, midnight, three in the middle of the night, and six in the morning." Shang Jianyao had no idea that he was working hard.

Jiang Baimian was silent for a while and said:

"If you don't dream at night, you either find a way to control yourself from dreaming, or you don't sleep at all."

"Not sleeping?" Shang Jianyao's eyes lit up when he heard this.

Jiang Baimian said "hmm":

"Then you try the nap time."

"Okay!" Shang Jianyao followed the good advice with excitement on his face.

Jiang Baimian ended the topic, glanced at the rearview mirror, half-turned around, and smiled at Long Yuehong and Bai Chen in the back row:

"I know what you are worried about, but this will only affect your concentration and will not make the situation any better or worse."

"Xiaohong can just say it." Shang Jianyao intervened forcefully.

Jiang Baimian glared at him and continued:

"In this case, it's better to put the problem behind you and finish the task at hand seriously to see if you get the desired results."

Shang Jianyao then shouted:

"Yes, yes, listen to the song! Listen to the song!"

Long Yuehong and Bai Chen looked at each other, nodded and said respectively:

"good."

"We'll adjust."

At this time, the Jeep was like an arrow, heading towards the wilderness and heading ahead.