Embers Ad Infinitum

"Truth isn't a Kalendaria!" Shang Jianyao wasn't surprised at all and retorted on the spot.

Liu Chuan turned his head and looked at this fellow angrily.

Shang Jianyao didn't show any weakness. Silver-white lightning lit up in his eyes again.

After the two of them exchanged gazes for a few seconds, Liu Chuan seemed to find it a little unbearable and slowly moved his gaze away.

"You're weak; you can't keep it up!" Shang Jianyao said whatever was on his mind.

This act of adding fuel to the fire made Liu Chuan suddenly cast his gaze back at him.

At this moment, all the lights in the basement flickered at the same time and quickly lit up like miniature suns.

"My eyes!" Shang Jianyao shouted and raised his hand to block his face.

The other New World powerhouses had similar reactions. They either covered their eyes with their hands or lowered their eyelids, not daring to look straight at the strong light.

After a short burst of intensity, the light returned to normal. A low and ethereal male voice then sounded in Shang Jianyao and the others' ears at the same time as if it came from another world. "Everyone, the chaos is about to begin."

Shang Jianyao opened his eyes and saw a tall, thin, and black figure moving on the left wall of the basement, but there was no one.

"Are you Truth?" He interrupted the black figure's words without any reverence.

The black figure fell silent for a moment before saying, "I am."

Shang Jianyao tersely acknowledged it and didn't interject.

He looked around and realized that Liu Chuan and another person had their heads lowered, appearing abnormally respectful. Although Flora, Barnard, and the others weren't that exaggerated, they showed sufficient respect.

They all had focused expressions.

The tall, thin 'black figure' swayed on the wall and said, "When signs of the chaos appear, join forces and head to the tower. Don't waste any time on the way.

"In the face of Charlie, Professor Li, and the other traitors, if we can't finish them off quickly, leave some people to tangle with them. The rest will continue forward.

"At the appointed time, I shall open the tower's door. After you enter, you only need to destroy the core facilities there to see the passage back to the Ashlands.

"The Kalendarium's power reverberates in the tower. This will bring you great danger, but this is also your only chance. If you don't take advantage of the distraction of the Kalendarium brought about by the chaos, you will never be able to escape!

"Everyone, patiently wait here for signs of the chaos."

Just as Truth said that, Shang Jianyao immediately raised his right hand. "I have a question. Why can't the Kalendarium be distracted during the chaos?"

The black figure didn't answer him because after saying that, it rapidly expanded and disappeared from the basement.

Upon seeing this, Shang Jianyao said in disappointment, "What a fast runner! It's like we're ferocious beasts."

Liu Chuan turned his head and glared at him, but he didn't say a word.

Shang Jianyao didn't look at him at all and continued asking, "What are the signs of chaos?"

At this point, Liu Chuan had nothing to hide. He frankly answered, "There will be obvious unrest in the New World at irregular intervals. This spreads out from the tower, including earthquakes, storms, and collapsing houses."

"Irregular? Then, how do you guys know that there will soon be chaos?" Shang Jianyao asked questions about anything he didn't know.

Liu Chuan took a deep breath and replied, "This is news passed down by the great Truth from the tower. It has always been very accurate."

"Alright." Shang Jianyao had an expression that said: "I barely believe you."

He then steered the topic back to the previous topic. "Why didn't Truth stay behind to answer a few of our questions? Everyone is very nervous about doing such an important and dangerous matter. There must be many questions."

I can't discern any nervousness from you… Liu Chuan saw the few New World powerhouses nearby who understood Ashlandic nod slightly and agree with Shang Jianyao. He quickly and calmly explained, "Great existences don't care about such trivial matters and won't respond to doubts."

"Who said so?" Shang Jianyao immediately retorted. "In the past, when I prayed to the Kalendarium, the Kalendarium would answer."

"In what way?" Liu Chuan's expression tensed up.

Including Flora and Barnard, some New World powerhouses cast their gazes over.

Although it was common for Kalendarium to answer believers' prayers and questions, and this was generally known as an oracle, the people in the basement currently planned on resisting the tower and attempting to escape. It was inevitable that they would be a little terrified when they heard the word 'Kalendarium.'

Shang Jianyao 'seriously' said, "Although 'They' didn't say a word, I can clearly decipher 'Their' meaning."

"What meaning was it?" Liu Chuan asked.

Shang Jianyao replied 'seriously,' "Telling me to get lost."

He was the one who liked to joke now.

"…" If Liu Chuan hadn't paid the price of having a 'weak personality,' he definitely would've punched Shang Jianyao in the face.

…

Pangu Biology, Room 14 on the 647th floor.

Long Yuehong and Bai Chen sat in the Old Task Force's office, appearing a little idle.

Of course, this was only on the surface. In fact, they were racking their brains over some problems.

"It's best if we train every two days to maintain our physical and mental states," Long Yuehong proactively suggested. His subtext was that if they didn't do so, they might not be able to receive the telegram from Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao in time through Genava.

In that case, the two people in the underground building might miss the best opportunity.

Of course, Jiang Baimian had previously considered this problem when formulating the plan to split up. She believed that they couldn't place all their hopes on a telegram—there were too many twists and turns that prevented them from responding in time.

Another way to transmit information was the recording pen.

The principle was that after Shang Jianyao entered the New World, he could complete the lock-on through his body, the remaining aura, and power. In other words, he should be able to make the recording pen play by itself under his control like Xiaochong and Wu Meng to warn his teammates.

However, this required a certain amount of time to break through the New World's barrier, transmit power, and pass his thoughts. There was an obvious delay, and it couldn't compare to the speed at which he could piss himself.

Putting them together with the telegram provided timely feedback. It would at most be a ten-minute delay, preventing Long Yuehong and Bai Chen from missing the opportunity.

However, there were also some unknowns. Jiang Baimian didn't know what Wu Meng's level was, so she couldn't be sure that Shang Jianyao could definitely do the same thing after entering the New World.

Therefore, Long Yuehong couldn't skip on the telegrams and recording pen.

"Alright." Bai Chen nodded. "I'll report to Deputy Minister Xenny."

Long Yuehong then looked at the computer and phone on his team leader's desk and sighed sincerely. "Actually, we're no longer considered members of the Old Task Force…"

He and Bai Chen were closer to internal affairs.

"As long as the team hasn't disbanded, it will always be so," Bai Chen replied solemnly.

…

Eighth Research Institute, behind the tunnel door.

Jiang Baimian wore a military exoskeleton and sat with her back against the wall, resting with her eyes closed.

She had just injected Shang Jianyao with a nutrient shot. She also planned on seizing the opportunity to rest for a while and wait for the New World's chaos to begin.

When the time came, she would attempt to enter the mysterious building in the New World's core area.

The illusion it presented was a tower!

…

In the basement of the special building in the New World.

As Shang Jianyao chatted with Flora, Barnard, and the others, he suddenly exclaimed, "Oh no, I forgot something!"

"What is it?" Flora—who was sitting in a chair—asked in concern.

The Shang Jianyao standing there replied, "Before the chaos begins, I still have something to deal with. I have some friends to inform!"

For example, he wanted to go to the Ashlandic compound and have a chat with the sobbing woman in the darkness to see if the chaos could trigger the corresponding changes and make her say more. For example, he wanted to go to the place where Yama Tiger and the others were imprisoned and remind them that the chaos was about to begin and to be wary that the person imprisoning them might take the opportunity to do something. For example, he wanted to ask Jacob and the other friendly people to see if they wanted to escape the New World…

"This matter is strictly confidential," Liu Chuan emphasized when he heard Shang Jianyao's words.

Barnard trembled as he explained, "A group of people chose to obey the tower's management and want to use this method to exchange for the right to return to the Ashlands often. Traitors like Vice President and Charlie also have followers.

"If the news of us taking advantage of this chaos to do something spreads, the difficulty of the matter will rise exponentially. It might even make us suffer the Kalendarium's divine punishment before the chaos begins."

"Oh…" Shang Jianyao looked around in disappointment.

Upon seeing that those who could understand the conversation had shown signs of opposition, he could only say, "Alright."

The next second, his thoughts jumped as he asked about something else. "What kind of punishment will you receive for transmitting the secrets here to the outside world? Who metes out the punishment?"

PS: Requesting for monthly votes during the double-votes period~