Embers Ad Infinitum

Gesterbourg was a building with a long history even back in the Old World. The tall towers and sturdy outer walls allowed it to withstand repeated tests since ancient times.

Its outer walls and towers were now riddled with holes and filled with cannons. It exuded a feeling of deterrence just looking at it from afar.

These modifications originated from the Chaotic Era. The people who had gathered in this ancient castle had discovered a military warehouse nearby, moved out a large number of cannons, and restructured the building to resist the crazy Heartless and the wandering bandits.

As time passed, as an important stronghold at the northern border of the White Knights, not only had it been reinforced and replaced with the latest and most suitable cannons, but fortifications were also raised around it, forming a complete defense system.

After the jeep drove past the simple bridge over a trench, Shang Jianyao—who was sitting in the driver's seat—raised his right hand, tented it over his eyes, and sighed with emotion. "The air quality here isn't too good."

The sky was gray, but it was completely different from the darkness that Ceningmis experienced. The culprit was the large amount of dust—the surrounding buildings had coal dust settling over them.

"It's very normal." Jiang Baimian subconsciously covered her nose. "The mountain behind Gesterbourg is one of the White Knights' top coal mines."

Coal mines were extremely abundant in the White Knights' sphere of influence, likewise for iron ores, copper ores, and various mineral resources.

These were their main exports. Like genetic enhancement serums, they had used them to exchange for a large amount of food, salt, mechanical and electronic equipment, various firearms, and high-performance batteries.

Just as Jiang Baimian said that, a whistle sounded from a distance.

A train carrying coal had entered the station.

Railway repairs were the best in the White Knights' sphere of influence due to their needs. This resulted in train cannons becoming a common weapon. This also resulted in many Ruin Hunters choosing to take a train to larger settlements before renting cars to travel to the nearby city ruins to search for supplies or complete the corresponding missions in the wilderness.

Shang Jianyao immediately reeled in excitement. As he drove, he muttered to himself, "I've never taken a train."

"After you take it, you'll realize that it's nothing much," replied Bai Chen in the backseat.

When she was a Ruin Hunter in First City, she was lucky to have taken the train twice. However, she was accompanied by supplies.

In First City's sphere of influence, passenger trains didn't exist. The repaired railroads were all used to transport large amounts of supplies.

Shang Jianyao didn't continue the topic because his attention was attracted by the blast furnaces further away.

Behind Gesterbourg were several steelworks factories. Their chimneys spewed out grayish-white gas mixed with blackness, making the sky appear increasingly hazy.

As Shang Jianyao drove with one hand, he raised his right palm and sincerely chanted a Buddhist proclamation. "Namo Annutara-Samyak-Subhuti."

As a member of Buddhism, Zen Master Redemption naturally had to respect the surrounding towers. These could be Buddhist stupas or blast furnaces.

After passing through the periphery's fortifications, the number of houses on both sides of the road gradually increased. They circled around Gesterbourg layer by layer.

Some were modified from Old World buildings, and some were newly built. They had eclectic styles.

The humans who first came to Gesterbourg to seek refuge mainly lived in the castle and its attached buildings. Those who came here to mine, refine steel, hunt for fur from Icefield creatures, and provide all kinds of services could only live in the area outside the castle.

Before long, the Old Task Force slowed down.

In front of them was a fortified checkpoint. Many soldiers in silver-black armor carried submachine guns and assault rifles as they checked the vehicles that were entering the settlement, Gesterbourg, under the protection of armored vehicles.

They were all men. Their hair was brown or blonde, and they were relatively tall—on average, they were 1.8 meters tall. Their bodies looked rather muscular, and their faces were chiseled. Their outlines were well-defined, and they had a cold and stiff bearing.

"They're all Chosen Ones…" Jiang Baimian sighed with emotion.

Chosen Ones were humans who had undergone genetic enhancement since they were young.

As a faction on par with Pangu Biology and one that also relied on exporting genetic enhancement serum, all the White Knights' soldiers were basically Chosen Ones.

Of course, Pangu Biology was the same. Genava was the only one in the Old Task Force's jeep who had never undergone genetic enhancement.

Bai Chen looked at the silver-black armor on the soldiers and nodded slightly. "Only Chosen Ones with enhanced strength can still move freely while wearing bulletproof alloy armor unique to the White Knights."

The White Knights—which were famous for their mineral resources—also had some unique equipment.

Shang Jianyao smiled and said, "Sigh, I'm only 1.75 meters tall after genetic enhancement. My looks are average…"

"Stop!" Long Yuehong quickly stopped him from chanting.

"Shall we make friends?" Genava asked.

There were simply too many contraband items in the trunk of the Old Task Force's jeep. If an accident really happened, the entire Gesterbourg might be destroyed. Therefore, in order to pass the inspection, it was naturally necessary for Shang Jianyao to 'make friends.'

Jiang Baimian looked at the inspection checkpoint and deliberated before saying, "Not for the time being. From the looks of it, those soldiers don't seem keen on finding contraband. It's closer to using this method to get a city entrance tax. Even if it's not, with Hey's current abilities, he can completely make up for any erroneous judgment if needed."

The soldiers often only took a glance when opening the trunk.

Jiang Baimian's judgment was right. When the Old Task Force was examined, the soldiers in charge only sized them up and estimated the number of supplies before saying to them, "Two Knight silver coins."

In the White Knights, the common currency was the metal coins they forged themselves. They were ordinary Squire coins, higher-valued Knight silver coins, and extremely valuable Grand Knight gold coins.

This fully utilized their mineral resources.

The Old Task Force had previously considered the matter of Gesterbourg's investigation of the Eighth Research Institute. Therefore, they used food to exchange for some of the White Knights' currency from Smith's Rootless team. At this moment, Jiang Baimian calmly took out two Knight silver coins and handed them to the soldier.

As for their looks, they had long been altered using hair dye, colored contact lenses, and other disguises to make themselves resemble the mainstream Red River ethnicity natives of the White Knights.

This time, the Old Task Force didn't deliberately uglify themselves. This was because many people in the White Knights had undergone genetic enhancement. On average, they weren't ugly, so they naturally wouldn't stand out amidst the crowd.

Due to this, Shang Jianyao even hoped that he could have fiery-red hair when he was about to disguise himself, but he was ultimately denied.

The Old Task Force successfully passed the checkpoint and officially entered the core area of Gesterbourg.

Long Yuehong looked at the various buildings slowly receding outside as he asked, "What should we do next?"

Shang Jianyao replied without hesitation, "Investigation!"

The Old Task Force had come to Gesterbourg to investigate two matters. The first was to find traces of the Eighth Research Institute. They should have a long-term and stable partner here to help them gather the supplies they needed—the employer who commissioned Smith's Rootless team to transport a batch of goods to ice ruins.

Although this employer's relevant memories had been wiped away by the Eighth Research Institute's Awakened, Jiang Baimian believed that it was still possible to discover something from an investigation in Gesterbourg.

In the beginning, Jiang Baimian thought of investigating acquaintances of Smith's Rootless team. After all, it was definitely not possible for a stranger to make them take on a mission that was a little strange and dangerous, requiring them to go to Icefield in spring. However, Jiang Baimian later gave up on the idea because an 'acquaintance' could be created. Be it Memory Tampering or Inference Clowning, such an effect could be easily achieved.

Finally, she decided to start with the source of the corresponding supplies. Those goods wouldn't be affected by Awakened abilities.

The second matter was to see if the Old Task Force of Shang Jianyao's father had been to Gesterbourg, the closest human settlement to Ceningmis, to see if they had obtained any information or revealed anything.

Jiang Baimian retorted Shang Jianyao in exasperation and amusement, "Our first priority now is to find a place to charge. The investigation has lower priority!"

Shang Jianyao immediately agreed. "That's right. Old Ge hasn't taught me dancing for the past two days just to conserve electricity."

He did as he said and quickly found a hotel called Fire & Iron on the street near the exit.

The moment he entered, Shang Jianyao—who had flaxen hair—asked the man at the front desk, "Does your hotel have a charging point? Are there frequent power outages here?"

The man was stunned for two seconds before asking, "From the south?"

He was young—only in his twenties. He was about the same height as Jiang Baimian, and he had blond hair, blue eyes, and good facial features. However, he didn't leave much of an impression.

"How did you know?" Shang Jianyao widened his eyes with a curious expression.

The man laughed. "I can tell from your accent."

Shang Jianyao's Red River language had First City characteristics. This was similar to the White Knights' southernmost accent.

"Oh, oh." Shang Jianyao came to a realization.

The man glanced at the four of them and Genava—who was pretending to be an ordinary robot—and confidently said, "Don't worry. We don't have much of anything here in Gesterbourg except for coal, iron, and power plants! If you choose the most luxurious suite, the electricity bill will be included in the room fee. There's no need for additional payment."

Shang Jianyao was shocked. "Really?"

"Yes, we can sign a contract." The man nodded solemnly.

Upon thinking of the large number of high-performance batteries in the team that needed charging, a thought flashed across Long Yuehong's mind: There's such a good thing?