Embers Ad Infinitum

Chapter 819 Illusion?

Shang Jianyao had just run a few steps toward the lit café in the fog when he stopped.

“What’s wrong?” Genava braked at will.

Shang Jianyao looked at the two figures reflected in the café window and said under his breath, “I can’t sense their human consciousness. I can already see them, but I still can’t sense their human consciousness. Therefore, when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains must be the truth, regardless of the ludicrosity.

“They are ghosts…”

Genava replied objectively, “In such an environment, it’s not too dangerous if they are only ghosts.”

“Are you looking down on ghosts?” Shang Jianyao was in disagreement. “Although Little Red always talks tough, he’s actually very afraid!”

“I mean that ghosts are relatively harmless compared to other situations. At the very least, they are definitely weaker than a Kalendaria’s body of descent.” Genava fully expressed his opinion. Shang Jianyao skipped the topic and stared at the only light in the darkness. “We can only determine if they’re ghosts after asking. I’ll follow the original plan of going over to greet and make friends.”

Genava wanted to say that they didn’t have such a plan, but Shang Jianyao had already strode forward and walked deeper into the faint fog.

The yellowish light from the café by the roadside was like a lighthouse that gave pedestrians directions in a dark environment.

Genava entered combat readiness mode. He stood at a distance staggered from Shang Jianyao and headed for the café.

It was abnormally quiet, and there was no sound of the wind.

Shang Jianyao—who was wearing a military exoskeleton-soon arrived at his destination.

The café’s decoration was in the classic style of the Old World. On the heavy brown wooden door was thick, frosted glass.

After restraining the rash one, Shang Jianyao was in no rush to push open the door and enter. He walked to the window and waved at the man and woman. “Hello!”

He enthusiastically greeted in the Red River language.

Be it the lady with long blond hair and a white dress or the man in a formal suit with brownish-yellow eyes, they ignored his gesture and continued chatting as they drank the coffee that emitted twirling steam. They didn’t seem to see Shang Jianyao wave his hand or hear his greeting.

“The soundproofing is that good?” Shang Jianyao turned his body and placed his ear against the glass window, attempting to hear what the two people inside were talking about. However, he didn’t hear anything.

His eyes widened again as he looked inside, but he realized that only the windows in the entire café were illuminated. The lighting became darker further in until there was no light.

In the area illuminated by light, there were four to five tables but only these two customers.

“It’s a little odd,” Genava commented.

Shang Jianyao nodded solemnly. “It seems like we can only discover the problem after entering.”

“Did you sense a New World node?” Genava sought confirmation.

“No.” Shang Jianyao shook his head as he walked to the heavy brown wooden door and stretched out his right hand.

With the help of the military exoskeleton, he easily pushed open the door. He then shouted inside with a strong desire to perform, “I’m here to check the hydropower meter! Give me a cup of coffee as well.”

Nobody replied.

Shang Jianyao walked into the café and immediately cast his gaze at the unlit area.

There was almost no light there, and it was filled with all kinds of junk as if a group of monsters was reared in the darkness.

“It doesn’t look like a café…” Shang Jianyaowho had the help of the night-vision equipment-didn’t hide his opinion.

“Indeed.” Genava agreed.

He felt that the unlit area looked more like an abandoned shop. Valuable items and usable cabinets had been moved away, leaving only a pile of messy items.

“The problem is the light?” One of Shang Jianyao’s arms was paralyzed, and the other held the Berserker assault rifle, preventing him from stroking his chin.

He and Genava cast their gazes at the window at the same time.

The man and woman continued chatting, but no sound came from them. Furthermore, they didn’t react to Shang Jianyao and Genava’s entry.

“The two of you!” Shang Jianyao shouted with a rather friendly attitude.

Nobody bothered with him.

He walked to the table by the window.

As the distance closed and the angle changed, he saw what the lady with her back previously facing him and Genava looked like.

She had beautiful facial features, and her cheeks were thin. Her eyes were as blue as the sea, and there were a few wrinkles at the corners of her eyes. She looked to be in her forties.

At this moment, she was sitting there in a very relaxed state. From time to time, she would take a sip of coffee as if she was fully enjoying her leisure time.

It was obvious that she often acted this way with an intellectual and elegant bearing.

The male elder’s left hand—which was opposite her-kept trembling uncontrollably. This clearly affected his left arm, left body, and left leg. Even though he could keep it under control, he appeared to be trembling.

Shang Jianyao greeted them in Ashlandic again, but he still didn’t receive a response.

He wasn’t discouraged and persevered in using the few dialects he knew. He then took a few steps closer to the coffee table.

He turned his head and said to Genava, who was guarding the door to prevent any accidents, “I can’t smell the coffee’s fragrance.”

“Illusion?” Genava analyzed such a possibility and asked in confirmation, “Did you activate the military exoskeleton’s anti-poison filter?”

“Definitely! What if I get poisoned without it being activated after entering such a place?” Shang Jianyao replied confidently.

“Is there a possibility that the anti-poison filter system actually screened the coffee aroma?” Genava reminded.

Shang Jianyao came to a realization. “That’s right!

As one hand was paralyzed, he couldn’t perform a right-hand punch to his left palm. “Pay attention to my condition. Be prepared to inject me with a biological antidote at any moment,” Shang Jianyao shouted as he terminated the anti-poison filter system’s operation without waiting for Genava’s response. He then excitedly said, “There’s a slight coffee aroma, but it’s very faint. This isn’t normal; I’m almost beside them!

“What’s wrong with these two? We’ve been whispering for so long, but they haven’t reacted.”

As he spoke, Shang Jianyao gave up on holding the Berserker assault rifle and allowed it to hang from his body. He then stretched out his right palm and stretched it toward the elder—who seemed to have lost control over half of his body.

No, it was the coffee cup in front of the elder.

Upon seeing this, Genava gave up on persuading him. After all, Shang Jianyao didn’t rashly touch the two strange figures.

“I’ve always respected the old and loved the young. Grandpa, I don’t think it’s too convenient for you to move your hands and feet. I’ll help you carry the cup and feed you.” As Shang Jianyao stretched out his hand, he rattled on.

The two of them still ignored him.

The next second, his finger passed through the coffee cup-he didn’t touch anything.

After moving his fingers a few times, Shang Jianyao said in disappointment, “Illusion.”

“It’s indeed an illusion.” Genava moved his metal neck up and down.

Shang Jianyao stretched his hand toward the elder in the formal suit and tie. As expected, he saw his palm pass through the other party’s body.

The elder was still speaking to the lady opposite him without showing any abnormalities. Of course, there was no sound. “It’s just an illusion.” Shang Jianyao sighed with emotion again. At the same time, he tried nudging the blond lady according to the non-standard operating procedure he had defined.

His hand passed through the other party’s arm again.

“What will Big White do if she knows of such a situation?” Shang Jianyao retracted his skeletal metal palm.

Genava’s first reaction was to contact Jiang Baimian, but the electromagnetic interference here was even worse, preventing him from succeeding

At this moment, Shang Jianyao stroked his chin and said, “The first is to search for the source of the illusion. The second is to record the two phantoms’ mouths and analyze what they are saying later.”

“I’m already recording it. I’ll begin analyzing while recording now,” Genava immediately replied.

Shang Jianyao took two steps to the side and used the Life Angel necklace’s power to carefully sense the situation in the café.

“There’s nothing wrong…” he muttered. “Let’s take a look around. It might be outside my perception range.”

As he spoke, he walked to the café’s entrance —where Genava was.

Suddenly, the two figures—who were chatting over coffee—turned their heads at the same time and looked at him!

The wavy, blond-haired lady in the white dress frowned slightly. Her eyes were half-closed as if she were listening to something

“Someone’s shouting for her? The source of the illusion? Someone’s shouting for her?” Shang Jianyao guessed excitedly.

Genava said in a slightly synthetic voice, “If that’s the case, we can stay a few more minutes and see what changes will happen.”

He believed that there were many possibilities to the source of the illusion and couldn’t make a crude conclusion.

Even though he believed that it was most likely the case, there were several possibilities: First, the electromagnetic environmental disorder naturally resulted in a recording function that constantly reenacted what had happened in Ceningmis back then.

Second, this was what was currently happening. In another place in Ceningmis, the electromagnetic environment’s anomaly was projected here.

Third, a certain movie from the past played on an endless loop in such a strange environment.

The next second, the blond lady opened her eyes, looked at Shang Jianyao, and said something.

Genava quickly analyzed her lips, but at the same time, Shang Jianyao shouted, “S-she’s talking to me! I can hear her voice!”

He was extremely excited.

Without waiting for Shang Jianyao to finish speaking, Genava had finished lip-reading through analysis. “The Arbiter of Fate’s Blessed?”

Shang Jianyao then shouted, “S-she’s asking if I’m the Blessed of the Arbiter of Fate!”