Embers Ad Infinitum

"Jiang Xiaoyue!" Shang Jianyao jumped up. "You're still alive?"

Jiang Xiaoyue replied expressionlessly, "Of course, I'm still alive."

"Aren't you a vegetable?" Shang Jianyao had a shocked expression.

Jiang Xiaoyue—who was sitting cross-legged by the bay window—said coldly, "It's cured."

Clap! Clap! Clap!

Shang Jianyao clapped and praised sincerely, "A medical miracle."

Jiang Xiaoyue's eyebrows twitched slightly when she heard that.

Perhaps sensing the sarcasm in this sentence, Shang Jianyao quickly diverted the other party's attention. "Why does the person who enters your room contract the Heartless disease?"

Jiang Xiaoyue raised her chin slightly and replied, "How can I waste food that comes knocking on my door?"

Shang Jianyao fell silent for a while before arguing, "But I was fine after entering Dawn's dream."

"What he thinks has nothing to do with me." Jiang Xiaoyue still had the same forced expression and tone.

Shang Jianyao fell silent again, and his expression became extremely serious.

Jiang Xiaoyue didn't seem to care if anyone spoke. She remained sitting cross-legged by the bay window and looked at Shang Jianyao at the door.

Shang Jianyao's expression was extremely calm as he seriously said, "I remember your room number in the Mind Corridor is 503."

Jiang Xiaoyue nodded slightly and didn't make a sound.

Shang Jianyao said, "Is this Master Zhuang's mind world?"

"Not entirely." Jiang Xiaoyue's expression changed a little.

Shang Jianyao continued, "The first person I encountered here is suspected to be April's Kalendaria, Shadow of Distortion. Then, are you May's Kalendaria, Monitor?"

Jiang Xiaoyue didn't answer directly. "That's not important. What's important is the choice you make in the future."

"Are you here to intercept me like Shadow of Distortion?" Shang Jianyao quietly took a step back out the door.

'Intercept' here included the option of humanitarian destruction.

Jiang Xiaoyue faintly gave an ingenuine smile. "In theory, I should do so, but I'm in some sort of dilemma. That's why I'm telling you so much. I've already thought it through. Even if I want to maintain the status quo, I have to be the one dictating it.

"You can leave this room now. It won't be a problem for you to pass through this area in any way."

"Oh, oh." As the Shang Jianyaos tried their best to control the one who abhorred evil and claimed to be the embodiment of justice, they slowly moved their feet back to the aisle.

At this moment, the honest Shang Jianyao took control of the body and asked, "I have a question. Were you really dating that middle-aged tycoon back then?"

The air in the room suddenly froze, and the light dimmed significantly.

Shang Jianyao quickly raised his hands and covered his mouth. They wished they could kill the honest one on the spot.

Jiang Xiaoyue narrowed her eyes and muttered to herself, "I didn't want to stop you…"

With a sizzling sound, illusory lines appeared around Shang Jianyao.

They came from Jiang Xiaoyue and were extending toward Shang Jianyao's body. They were dense and countless.

"Mind control?" Shang Jianyao shouted in horror and ran.

The illusory threads gathered into waves that surged toward his back layer by layer. During this process, no matter what ability Shang Jianyao used, there was no response.

Upon seeing that the illusory lines were about to stab into the back of Shang Jianyao's head and back, Jiang Xiaoyue's expression changed. She raised her right hand and gently pressed down.

The illusory lines instantly disappeared—all of them.

Shang Jianyao didn't notice anything and ran like a rampaging bull.

After running for a while and seeing that he seemed fine, Shang Jianyao stopped.

"This place is really dangerous." He sighed sincerely. "I can't defeat anyone!"

He then stroked his chin. "Why did Jiang Xiaoyue say that this isn't completely Master Zhuang's mind world?"

As he muttered to himself, Shang Jianyao sized up his surroundings and observed where he had fled to.

His current location remained a maze. There were five aisles at the intersection that led in different directions.

The ceiling, walls, and ground were still painted white. The doors on both sides were painted different colors.

This left Shang Jianyao completely confused about where he was.

"Besides, where should I go next? I can't check each room, right? That's too dangerous…" The ruthless Shang Jianyao was a little afraid of his current situation.

He didn't know how to leave this 'maze'—or rather, he didn't know where the exit was. His escape route was already blocked. If he wanted to leave, he could only find another way.

Just as Shang Jianyao was about to search for the maze's pattern, a slight commotion came from a room in front of him. Right on the heels of that, the corresponding white wooden door opened by itself.

Shang Jianyao was curious and vigilant. He leaned to one side, prepared to peep into the room.

Suddenly, a slightly clear male voice sounded in the room. "Don't you want to know your current situation and what to do next? Come in, and I'll tell you."

This was spoken in the Red River language.

"How do I know you're not lying to me?" Shang Jianyao was rather vigilant.

He had already finished nudging toward the door and began peeping. He then saw a male figure in a floral shirt.

The voice replied, "There's no need for me to go through so much trouble to lie to you."

"These words sound so familiar…" Shang Jianyao muttered. "Write a promissory note!"

The person in the room fell silent as if he didn't know how to respond. After a few seconds, he said, "Apart from me, nobody else will give you an answer. You have no choice."

"How do I know if you're lying to me?" Although Shang Jianyao said that, his body honestly walked to the room under the rash Shang Jianyao's lead.

At the same time, he repeatedly emphasized, "You said it yourself. You must not lie to me."

This sentence had the power of Thought Implantation mixed in.

From the beginning, Shang Jianyao had been preparing for Thought Implantation. Of course, he had no way of knowing if it would be effective in the end. The Winst Garland and Jiang Xiaoyue he had encountered here had somehow 'avoided' his influence.

After arriving at the door, Shang Jianyao saw the speaker clearly.

He was a young man with side-parted blond hair. His looks were above average, and he exuded obvious arrogance.

At this moment, he was sitting in a cushioned chair. He was wearing a floral shirt and loose beach pants with a pair of sunglasses on his head. He looked like he was on vacation.

Although Shang Jianyao no longer bothered about whether he was lying, the young man still resolved his worries. "If lying is useful, there's no need for you to bear the consequences."

"Why?" Shang Jianyao was confused.

The young man's voice deepened. "You'll know later."

"Oh." Shang Jianyao asked politely, "How should I address you?"

The young man laughed. "We just met not long ago. I'm Truth."

"You're Truth? This wasn't how you spoke previously!" Shang Jianyao was shocked.

Truth answered his trivial question. "On the one hand, something happened to me previously, affecting my ability to speak outside the tower. On the other hand, that way of speaking matches my status as a quasi-Kalendaria."

"I like the latter reason." Shang Jianyao clapped. He then curiously asked, "What's a quasi-Kalendaria?"

Truth's expression turned cold. "A quasi-Kalendaria is an existence that will definitely become a Kalendaria."

"You want to replace Last Man?" Shang Jianyao recalled the Old Task Force's guess.

Truth revealed a mocking smile. "It's only a matter of time before that coward is replaced. Furthermore, he's in the camp wanting to maintain the status quo. Heh heh, I can tell you now that Last Man's price is weak-minded. 'He' is now an incurable coward. Even if you aren't a Kalendaria, he will submit if you are a little tougher on him."

Shang Jianyao had a look of joy. "I see."

He then asked, "Why are you helping me?"

Truth replied, "For freedom and the future of the Ashlands."

"What do you mean?" Shang Jianyao pressed.

Truth smiled and explained, "Most Kalendarium no longer want to maintain the status quo; they want to escape the rules set by Master Zhuang. In the Ashlands, the Arbiter of Fate has already prepared a sufficiently compatible body for us. That way, we no longer need to feed on human consciousness. We only need to change bodies regularly to maintain our condition. We will also restrain the Awakened's actions and allow the humans in the Ashlands to completely escape the Heartless disease."

Shang Jianyao came to a realization. "Big Boss is in the camp that wants the situation changed? Are we the chosen ones chosen by 'Her'?"

Truth seemed to answer every question. 'He' smiled and said, "Although it's not too accurate, you can say that. After all, you're the only one who succeeded among so many Old Task Force members."

"Successfully finding the real New World?" Shang Jianyao asked calmly and rationally.

Truth shook 'His' head. "How can the Arbiter of Fate not know the real reason for the Old World's destruction and the Heartless disease's essence? How can she not know where the New World is in reality?"

"She sent out Old Task Forces because she hoped that you guys would come into contact with Master Zhuang's personalities scattered across the Ashlands during this process and make friends with one of 'Them.' Master Zhuang's personality always revolves around matters related to the Old World, but the other Old Task Forces failed for various reasons."