Embers Ad Infinitum

When it was almost noon, most of the Heartless put aside what they were doing and walked toward the tower's periphery.

With Jiang Baimian's recent experience, she could imagine the situation outside this area with her eyes closed.

The Heartless in charge of logistics had already prepared food. The ones working in the core area would return home to fill their stomachs. They would then make the best use of their time to rest for a while or return to work immediately, giving their colleagues—who had yet to eat—time to eat.

If it weren't for the fact that the Heartless present didn't communicate with each other and that their every move seemed to be a preset program, this would be a very warm, lively, and ordinary scene that exuded vibrancy.

At this moment, Jiang Baimian felt like she was watching a silent drama starring monsters. She couldn't help but tremble.

As the number of Heartless in the area around the tower plummeted—with most of the remaining ones still working in the nuclear power plant—Jiang Baimian quietly walked out of her hiding spot and sneaked toward the unique building a kilometer away from the nuclear power plant.

Mirror Dimension silently unfolded, and the small number of Heartless along the way were 'isolated' from reality. Although their every move could still have an actual interaction with the matter in this area, these had to be reviewed and filtered by Jiang Baimian.

In such a situation, they couldn't distinguish reality from illusion even if there were many Superior Heartless here.

However, Jiang Baimian didn't swagger to the target building and chose to advance carefully. She was worried that a New World powerhouse might be sleeping in such an important place.

Ignoring the potency of the effects a New World powerhouse suffered when facing Mirror Dimension at the Mind Corridor level, Jiang Baimian felt that it was better not to have any high hopes just because the other party's consciousness wasn't situated locally.

Under the enhancement of the military exoskeleton, it didn't take Jiang Baimian long to pass through the Heartless and arrive in front of the vortex-like, aqua-blue building.

She was just about to approach the metal door when her head suddenly throbbed, accompanied by obvious dizziness—this was a precursor to the Heartless disease!

Jiang Baimian could be considered experienced in this regard and immediately took a few steps back.

Everything returned to normal.

"Just a little short…" Jiang Baimian muttered to herself in disappointment.

Her strength or level was still a little lacking.

Jiang Baimian tried to take two more steps forward and arrived at the edge of the symptoms. She then observed the dashboard displayed on the visor screen.

The gauges representing electromagnetism and other parameters spun crazily. They alternated between fast and slow, sometimes clockwise and counterclockwise without any pattern.

If one stayed in such an environment for too long, the human body would suffer serious negative effects.

Jiang Baimian wasn't surprised at all. Having expected this, she returned to her previous hiding spot.

Jiang Baimian only returned the way she came after the Heartless's lunch break ended and the area outside became quiet.

Of course, it was impossible for her to retrace her steps in her current state. It was only because there were few Heartless outside and she had the Mirror Dimension. Furthermore, the city was relatively small, and the 'characteristics' of the separation between the two worlds were abnormally obvious. It was only after many attempts that she found her way back to the tunnel entrance.

After closing the door, Jiang Baimian immediately extended her consciousness and communicated with Shang Jianyao.

"You reached the door, but there's no way to go any further?" Shang Jianyao appeared more disappointed and anxious than Jiang Baimian.

"Yes." Jiang Baimian nodded. "Collate a strategy guide for me. I'll explore a few rooms as soon as possible to improve myself."

She had secretly advanced outside, so she naturally couldn't obtain the room information given by Pangu Biology. She could only rely on Shang Jianyao.

"No problem." Shang Jianyao threw his prior emotions to the back of his mind. "I'll tell you a few simple things first. You're no stranger to the person in Room 506…"

Jiang Baimian remembered the principle of not spending too much time on a single exchange. After hearing the strategy guide for clearing the three rooms, she interrupted Shang Jianyao. "I hope this can help me push open the door and enter the building. I have a feeling that the answer to many secrets is inside."

"That's right, that's right." Shang Jianyao first echoed before saying, "What if there are no qualitative changes when exploring two to three rooms?"

"Then, we can only take it slow. It should be fine as long as I enter the Mind Corridor's depths." Jiang Baimian thought for a moment and said, "But this will drag on for too long. It's not something that can be done in a day or two—or even a month or two. You don't have many nutrient shots left, and it won't last more than four days even if we're thrifty."

During this period of time, Jiang Baimian's 'work' had become much easier because Shang Jianyao only relied on nutrient shots to maintain his physical condition. She only needed to pay attention to whether he would pee his pants.

Shang Jianyao smiled. "There might be an opportunity in two to three days. There will be chaos in the New World—this might reflect in the form of reduced consciousness extraction intensity in reality. You can enter that building at your current level.

"Sigh, it's actually not a real tower…"

"I'll give it a try when the time comes," Jiang Baimian said after some hesitation.

…

New World. In the building beside the Ashlandic compound.

Shang Jianyao only waited for a day before Liu Chuan knocked on his door.

In fact, there was no need to knock. Just as the other party entered the street, Shang Jianyao saw the street lamps light up.

However, the ritualistic him chose to wait.

"That fast?" Shang Jianyao opened the door and asked 'reservedly.'

Liu Chuan nodded. "The signs have appeared."

The café owner wore a white shirt, a black vest, black pants, and black leather shoes with a black bow tie.

"What signs?" Shang Jianyao asked.

Liu Chuan looked around. "We'll talk about it later. Follow me somewhere first."

"Alright." Shang Jianyao didn't ask any further and acted like he trusted the other party very much.

Liu Chuan led him toward the tower. After making many turns, they arrived in front of an ordinary six-story building.

There were no lights inside yet—only darkness.

Of course, the lights lit up as the two of them entered.

Liu Chuan went all the way down to the basement entrance.

The door was tightly shut.

"A basement?" Shang Jianyao was very surprised.

Over the past few days, he had explored many houses without finding any basements.

"The special thing about this building is that it has a sizable basement," Liu Chuan introduced as he knocked on the door.

The benefit of the basement was that no matter how many people gathered or how many 'lights' were switched on, the people outside couldn't see or discover them.

"Who is it?" someone asked in the Red River language.

"Revere," Liu Chuan replied.

The dark iron door in the basement creaked open. The interior was brightly lit as if it were daytime.

Shang Jianyao was 'surprised.' "It's that simple? I thought there would be a pattern to your knocking and that there's a secret code."

"There's no need to make it so complicated," Liu Chuan casually replied. "Those who can come here are all trustworthy."

"Oh, oh." Shang Jianyao indicated his understanding.

Liu Chuan walked into the basement and introduced Shang Jianyao to the people who had already arrived.

"This is our new companion. His Red River name is Doug, and his Ashlandic name is Shang Jianyao."

He repeated it in two languages.

Shang Jianyao took the opportunity to observe the underground room.

This place was rather spacious, and there were some chairs and sofas. There were currently about 13 people present.

Flora and Barnard weren't absent, but they could only choose to sit in chairs because of their respective physical problems. They couldn't get up to greet Shang Jianyao.

Apart from the two of them, the rest consisted of men and women, either Ashlandics or of Red River ethnicity. They generally looked to be in their forties, and only two or three looked to be in their thirties.

Shang Jianyao was very polite. He greeted everyone present and asked for their names.

After going one round, he returned to Liu Chuan's side.

At this moment, the basement entrance was already closed. The lights on the ceiling and walls were all lit up, and they were clearly brighter than normal.

Shang Jianyao looked at Liu Chuan silently with a thoughtful expression.

Liu Chuan felt a chill run down his spine and hesitantly asked, "What's the matter?"

Shang Jianyao stroked his chin. "I forgot to ask something."

"What is it?" Liu Chuan frowned slightly.

Shang Jianyao smiled and said, "How should I raise my level in the New World?"

Liu Chuan sized him up for a few seconds and said, "If I knew, I wouldn't be stuck at my original level now."

"What a pity." Shang Jianyao expressed his sympathy.

He casually chatted. "Which faction were you from in the past?"

Liu Chuan knew that the young man in front of him was an employee of Pangu Biology and replied without hiding anything, "I come from End Year City."

"What a coincidence!" Shang Jianyao looked like he was meeting an old friend.

Liu Chuan casually introduced, "Flora is from the Orange Company, and Barnard is from the Linhai Alliance…"

Shang Jianyao then asked, "Are you religious?"

Liu Chuan fell silent for a moment before saying, "Yes."

"Which Kalendaria is it?" Shang Jianyao was rather curious.

Liu Chuan looked at the basement entrance and said, "Truth."