Embers Ad Infinitum

Aester lived in a four-story building near the castle.

This was likely newly built or renovated in the past 20 years. Unlike the sturdy and solemn-looking houses around it, it was brightly colored, and its style was unrestrained, luxurious, and classy.

"It's still a little lacking and not perfect enough," Shang Jianyao commented.

Genava—who was sitting beside him—asked very honestly, "What's lacking?"

Shang Jianyao rolled down the window, stretched out his arm, and pointed at the building. "Isn't it in the Old World's entertainment? Such a building needs a beautiful garden; it's best if it's planted with roses."

The building had neither a garden nor a lawn. It only had a cement square in front of it for parking and to widen the distance between it and houses on the street where pedestrians could throw bombs.

"The weather here isn't suitable for gardens or lawns either," Genava explained seriously.

Shang Jianyao raised his hand. "Get a greenhouse or a winter-resistant lawn. You have to prove yourself with money!"

Genava was momentarily at a loss for words.

At this moment, Sandro parked the car and came to the Old Task Force's jeep. He asked Shang Jianyao and the others, "Are you guys going in with me now?"

/ please keep reading on MYB0XN0VEL(d0t)C0M.

"There's no need to make a request in advance?" Jiang Baimian asked in surprise.

Even if Sandro was Shang Jianyao's good brother now and was Aester's security supervisor, it didn't make sense for him to violate professional ethics and bring people in without his employer's permission.

The fact that he could help introduce and persuade Aester was already deserving of his status as a 'good bro.'

Upon seeing how reasonable the Old Task Force was, Sandro smiled and nodded. "I'll bring you to a reception room on the first floor before asking the boss."

This wasn't considered excessive in his jurisdiction.

He then added, "But the robot has to stay, nor can you bring the military exoskeletons or bionic artificial intelligence armor. It's best not to bring obvious weapons like assault rifles or submachine guns."

You probably don't know that your good brother is much more dangerous than a robot… Jiang Baimian muttered inwardly.

The next second, she saw Shang Jianyao open his mouth. She suspected that the fellow wanted to ask if he could bring a nuclear bomb, so she answered Sandro immediately. "No problem."

She then pushed open the door and alighted. She said to Genava, Bai Chen, and Long Yuehong, "Old Ge, White, Red, stay here and look after the supplies in the trunk."

She spoke in the Red River language, but it didn't affect the way she addressed Bai Chen and Long Yuehong.

Their Red River names were White and Reder.

Upon seeing Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao remove the grenades and other items from their belts, Sandro nodded in satisfaction before kindly reminding them, "Actually, you can bring a pistol for self-defense. Of course, you can trust me completely. There's nothing to worry about."

"I plan on bringing this." Shang Jianyao pointed at the remaining black flashlight on his belt.

"What's the use of that?" Sandro asked in confusion.

Shang Jianyao picked up the flashlight and introduced it with a smile. "It looks like a flashlight, but in fact…"

Just as Long Yuehong thought that this fellow was spouting nonsense about 'it's actually a laser transmitter,' Shang Jianyao switched on the flashlight and shone the yellow beam to the side. "It's actually a flashlight."

This almost stunned Long Yuehong.

"However, it's very sturdy and relatively heavy. It can completely be used as a bludgeon." Shang Jianyao waved the flashlight a few times as if he were holding a bludgeon or a hammer.

Jiang Baimian resisted the urge to facepalm and said to Sandro, "We definitely trust you. There's no need to bring any weapons."

She didn't say that her and Shang Jianyao's strongest weapon was themselves.

She had Awakened abilities and an electric eel-like biomechanical limb. Shang Jianyao was an Awakened who had explored the Mind Corridor's depths.

Sandro said in relief, "Let's go in then."

With him leading the way, the armed guards along the way didn't stop them at all and allowed them to enter the four-story building.

The furniture and decorations here matched the house's style very well. It was mainly luxurious and beautiful.

Jiang Baimian casually sized up the area as Sandro led them to a reception room with a fireplace.

"You rely on coal for warmth in the winter?" Shang Jianyao was rather interested in this matter.

Burning coal was strictly prohibited in Pangu Biology's underground building residential area. Ordinary residents couldn't exchange for coal either.

"No, this is just a decoration." Sandro shook his head. "There's relatively little anthracite production near Gesterbourg."

He didn't explain how this place was warmed. After all, he wasn't selling the house.

He pointed at the ceiling and said, "Wait a moment. I'll go up and report to the boss."

"No problem," Jiang Baimian replied with a smile.

Sandro left the reception room and walked up the stairs.

When he reached the third floor, the surveillance on him increased. As Aester's security supervisor, he was extremely familiar with this. He ignored it and went up the stairs to the fourth floor.

After passing through two checkpoints and asking which room the boss was in, Sandro came to a heavy, dark-red wooden door, bent his finger, and knocked thrice.

"Come in." The voice inside sounded slightly tired and old.

Sandro turned the doorknob and walked into the room.

This was a relatively spacious solarium. There was a recliner by the window, and a stack of books, a cupcake, and a cup of black tea stood on the coffee table beside it.

The sky in Gesterbourg was often dark, and the sunlight had to filter through layers of dust to reach the ground. Everyone yearned for the sun.

At this moment, an elder in his fifties was sitting on the recliner. His blond hair had faded significantly, and his straight nose had a few spots. His blue eyes were surrounded by unconcealed wrinkles, and the skin on his cheeks—which weren't too chubby—had clearly fallen.

This wasn't Icefield, and the weather was pretty good today. The temperature wasn't low at all, so the calm elder in his fifties only wore a light-blue shirt with a dark-red sweater and gray pants.

He closed the book in his hand, took off his reading glasses, and looked at Sandro. "You brought guests? Have the goods been delivered to the warehouse?"

"Yes, nothing happened on the way. I suspect that the attacker was deterred by a Ruin Hunter team we hired and chose to give up." Sandro reported the serious matter first.

The latter half of the sentence was his guess, and the other half was a reasonable explanation for his recommendation of the Old Task Force.

He was only Shang Jianyao's good brother and not a fool. He naturally had to think of a way to patronize the boss and not let the latter feel that he was abusing his power for personal gain and be generous at the expense of his boss.

Aester nodded. "That Ruin Hunter team is the guest you brought?"

"Yes." Sandro recalled his good brother's exhortations and didn't introduce the guests' firepower in detail.

Aester fell silent for a moment as if he were thinking about something else.

Just as Sandro felt a little uneasy, Aester looked at him again and said in a deep voice, "Sandro, your performance today isn't like the past you. I'm not saying that you did something wrong, but you wouldn't have taken matters into your own hands in the past and brought the guests here directly. You would've settled them somewhere before reporting it to me. You'd only bring them here when I confirm the time for us to meet."

Sandro became more and more alarmed as he listened. Toward the end, his forehead even broke out into a cold sweat.

He snapped to his senses and blurted out, "I was affected by an Awakened ability!"

Aester nodded slightly. "As expected. Recount the situation; don't miss anything."

With that said, Aester closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair. He assumed a posture of him listening and being in serious thought.

Sandro recalled his encounter and focused on his interaction with Shang Jianyao.

After he finished speaking, Aester didn't move for a while.

The director of the United Mining Association opened his eyes and deliberated for a moment. "Bring them up. I want to see what they plan on doing."

"This way, there's no guarantee of your safety." Sandro played his role of security supervisor.

Aester fell silent for two seconds before smiling. "Don't worry. I won't do anything I'm not confident in."

Sandro could only obey orders. He went down to the first floor and led Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao to the top floor.

On the way, Shang Jianyao tried to speak to him, but the latter ignored him. Therefore, Jiang Baimian knew that Hey had probably lost a brother.

After entering the solarium and seeing Aester, Aester said to Shang Jianyao before he could speak, "Don't speak."

Aester then looked at Jiang Baimian. "You do the talking."

Jiang Baimian was already used to such scenes and directly said, "Mr. Aester, we'd like to make some inquiries."

Aester laughed involuntarily. "Why do you think I'll answer your questions? Can you afford a payment that I can't refuse?"

"How do you know that it won't work if we don't give it a try?" Jiang Baimian was already mentally prepared and had the corresponding excuse. "Why don't we do this? Mr. Aester, hear what we have to say before offering a price you think is suitable."

Shang Jianyao wanted to raise his conditions, but nobody agreed to him speaking.

Aester fell silent for a while before saying, "What do you want to ask?"

"Have you seen this person?" Jiang Baimian reached into Shang Jianyao's pocket and took out the photo they had prepared.

Sandro took it and brought it to Aester.

Aester glanced at it and said, "Someone asked me this question not too long ago—I did."

"What we want to know is what they asked and what kind of answer they obtained." Jiang Baimian finished speaking in one breath. "Alright, you can name your price."

She unnoticeably didn't mention the possibility of rejection and directly focused on the price.

Aester fell silent again, so silent that Jiang Baimian suspected that Shang Jianyao was about to lose his patience and flare up to let the other party know what it meant to do things the hard way.

Finally, Aester smiled and said, "I don't lack money, but I have some regretful matters that require someone to help me resolve."