Embers Ad Infinitum

Upon hearing Ding Ce’s reply, Bai Chen felt like she had been struck by a stick. Her body leaned back slightly, and her head buzzed. After a few seconds, she came to her senses and anxiously asked, “What disease is it?”

Ding Ce answered with a disconsolate look. “The doctor said that it’s an old problem with his lungs. There’s also a trachea problem. Winter has always been a problem.”

At this moment, Bai Chen felt the cold night wind blow at her face, stinging her with needle-like pain. She quickly turned her head to look at Jiang Baimian and shouted emotionally, “Team Leader…”

Sensing Bai Chen’s plea, Jiang Baimian nodded slightly and said to Ding Ce, “Can you bring us to Mayor Tian? We have some medicine that might be useful.”

Under normal circumstances, Ding Ce definitely wouldn’t agree directly. But at this juncture, nothing could be worse than not doing a thing. There might still be some hope if they tried something.

“Alright.” He nodded hard.

Jiang Baimian didn’t waste her breath. She walked to the back of the jeep and picked up a milky-white box with a red cross labeled on it.

This was the Old Task Force’s first-aid kit.

It was an official mission this time, not a field training session. Therefore, they did not only bring along the usual drugs, cleansing tablets, and mosquito repellent like last time.

Clunk!

Jiang Baimian closed the trunk and turned to Ding Ce. “Let’s go.”

Upon seeing the professionalism of this beautiful woman, Ding Ce became a little more confident and quickly led the way.

The five of them first passed through the mud huts, brick houses, and the haphazardly pitched tents. Under watchful, numb, envious, curious, and ambiguous gazes, they arrived near the flag-raising platform.

Upon seeing that the surroundings had finally quietened down, Bai Chen rushed to Ding Ce’s side and asked in concern, “When did Mayor Tian fall ill?”

Under the darkening sky, Ding Ce quickly walked forward and replied after some recalling. “It’s been more than ten days. In the past, the mayor would fall ill once or twice in the winter, but nothing serious happened. Who knew that it would worsen so badly this time?

“The doctor prescribed him medicine and gave him an injection, but it was useless. He has been in a coma for the past few days, and he rarely wakes up. T-the doctor said that he might not survive the night…”

As he spoke, the 1.7-meter-tall young man—who was considered tall among wilderness nomads—began to sob.

He raised his left arm and roughly wiped his eyes with his elbow area before saying, “Actually, a few days ago, the doctor said that the mayor might not make it, but he still managed to survive until now. T-the doctor said that his will to live is very, very strong…”

Ding Ce sniffed and couldn’t continue.

Bai Chen pursed her lips tightly, and her eyes were slightly moist.

As they spoke, they arrived at the deepest part of Moat Town and turned into the building on the left.

In the dim corridor, Jiang Baimian deliberately found a topic to lighten the mood. “You have a doctor here?”

This was a ‘luxury good’ in a wilderness nomad settlement.

Upon hearing Jiang Baimian’s question, Ding Ce replied in detail, “We’ve always had one. The mayor said that there were several doctors in the beginning. Later, when the children began studying, they would choose the ones with the best grades and learn medicine from them. This is our tradition.”

At this point, Ding Ce was a little sad. “But we didn’t have any medicine. The mayor said that it was fine in the early years as we could search the city ruins. Although those medicines were long past their expiry dates and had limited efficacy, it was better than nothing. Now, we can only obtain them from transactions. Only large factions can produce these.

“Yes… The doctors also found some books from the city ruins. According to them, they gathered different parts of plants and animals from the wilderness. They then combined them to make herbal concoctions. Some of them are quite effective!”

By this moment, the five of them had already arrived at the room at the end of the second floor.

Two town guards were guarding the door.

Ding Ce didn’t even introduce them and directly said, “They have medicine!”

“Bai Chen…” One of the town guards recognized Bai Chen and quickly opened the door. “Go in. Go on in.”

He then added, “When the mayor was in a coma these few days, he would occasionally call out for Bai.”

Bai Chen’s eyes reddened as she rushed in first.

Jiang Baimian signaled Shang Jianyao with her eyes to control himself and not have a brain spasm. Then, she followed Bai Chen into the room.

The first thing she saw was a dim yellow light bulb hanging from the ceiling. It illuminated the area quite brightly.

In the innermost part of the room was a rather old, dark-red wooden bed. Tian Erhe lay on it, covered by a thick blanket and a military-green coat. His eyes were tightly shut.

His face was thin, looking as if he was only skin and bones. His grizzled hair was sparse and messy.

At this moment, Tian Erhe’s breathing sounded like it was blocked by thick phlegm. It seemed strenuous for him to breathe. This made him look like he would stop breathing the very next moment.

Beside Tian Erhe was an iron-black stove that emitted warmth.

Perhaps it was because of Tian Erhe’s worsening condition, the people with authority in town had already gathered here in the room.

They were mainly men in their thirties. A few capable young men and a few elders in their fifties and sixties filled the room.

Among them, there were only three women—two elderly and one middle-aged.

“Boss, they said they have medicine,” Ding Ce eagerly said to a 35-year-old man.

This man was the captain of Moat Town’s town guard, and he was also the next person in line for town mayor—personally chosen by Tian Erhe after he fell ill. He had ordinary looks and wore a glum expression. He wore a gray cotton coat, and his skin was very rough.

“Li Zhengfei.” The man took two steps forward and stretched out his hand toward Jiang Baimian.

Jiang Baimian gently shook his hand and briefly introduced herself and the Old Task Force members.

“What medicine do you have?” Li Zhengfei questioned bluntly without any small talk.

Jiang Baimian frankly said, “We don’t have any special medicine to treat lung and tracheal diseases, but we brought some biological agents with us that can allow Mayor Tian to survive this hurdle and regain consciousness. As long as he can last two more days, there’s hope for treatment.”

Li Zhengfei could vaguely guess what Jiang Baimian’s last sentence meant. He quickly turned his head to look at an old woman with short, neat, and white hair.

She was the best doctor in town.

The old woman nodded, indicating that she could give it a try. She was already out of options.

“Please give it a try.” Li Zhengfei immediately made a decision. In this regard, he was far bolder than his appearance.

Jiang Baimian tersely acknowledged his words and walked to Tian Erhe’s bed with the first-aid kit. She sat down, opened the box, and took out a syringe, a needle, and a brown, thumb-sized glass bottle. She then skillfully completed the assembly and drew the liquid inside the small bottle into the syringe.

After expelling the gases, Jiang Baimian got Bai Chen to come over and help Tian Erhe roll up his sleeves.

Jiang Baimian quickly found the corresponding vein and cleanly inserted the needle.

After pushing the tube of liquid in bit by bit, Jiang Baimian disinfected the needle and packed the first-aid kit. She instructed Bai Chen to help Tian Erhe up and sit up on the bed.

During this process, Bai Chen did not forget to stuff Tian Erhe’s pillow behind his waist.

Strangely enough, Tian Erhe’s heart-wrenching breathing gradually calmed down.

He quickly coughed. With Bai Chen’s help, he turned his body and spat into the spittoon beside him.

After a while, Tian Erhe finally opened his eyes.

His gaze gradually focused as he saw who was in front of him.

“Bai, lass…” Tian Erhe weakly shouted.

Bai Chen quickly replied, “It’s me.”

Tian Erhe slowly smiled and seemed to relax. “You’re finally back.”

Bai Chen burst into tears, unable to hold it in any longer. She wanted to say something, but her voice was choking from grief.

Tian Erhe regained his senses, and he swept his gaze over Jiang Baimian, Shang Jianyao, Long Yuehong, and Li Zhengfei. He then nodded at the guests before patting the edge of the bed. “Zhengfei, come over and sit here.”

Li Zhengfei circled around Jiang Baimian like an obedient child and walked to Tian Erhe’s side.

The wrinkles on Tian Erhe’s face smoothened out bit by bit. “I still remember that you were the naughtiest and most mischievous child in your group. Who knew that I would now entrust M-Moat Town to you?”

“Mayor…” Li Zhengfei—who was almost middle-aged—sniffled.

Tian Erhe scolded jokingly, “Why are you crying? I’m already in my seventies. I’ve lived long enough. My wife and children are waiting for me down below.”

He took a deep breath and continued, “The matter I previously told you about seems to have an answer.”

As he spoke, Tian Erhe looked at Jiang Baimian and asked in anticipation, “How was it?”

Jiang Baimian deliberated over her words and first introduced herself. “We are from Pangu Biology.”

“Pangu Biology?” Li Zhengfei repeated, losing his composure a little.

The expressions of the men and women around them changed to a certain extent. Some were shocked, some were alarmed, some were fearful, some were terrified, and some were apprehensive.

Jiang Baimian looked around and smiled. “In the Ashlands, our company does have a bad reputation, but please believe that all of our experimental volunteers do so willingly. We prefer to tempt them with benefits, not force them. You can think about it. Recall the number of large factions you know which are more trustworthy than our company?”

After a moment of silence, someone behind them muttered, “Some people say that Pangu Biology is the true culprit behind the Old World’s destruction…”

Jiang Baimian’s expression slightly stiffened as she quickly replied, “Then, shouldn’t you be more obedient towards us? Isn’t a faction that can destroy the Old World worth joining?”

After another bout of silence, Tian Erhe coughed and said, “What do you propose?”

Jiang Baimian smiled. “We plan on signing a friendly partnership with you.”