Embers Ad Infinitum

Chapter 638: Assignment

Translator: CKtalon

The man in sunglasses combed his short, golden-brown hair and finally obtained permission to enter the room.

As he walked, he grumbled, “Lan, in the entire Ashlands, who will meticulously tidy their hair neatly like me? Uh, except you. You actually still find this asymmetrical?”

The female voice sounded again, no longer as cold. “Welf, remember not to take off your sunglasses. Otherwise, I’ll definitely dig them out. It’s unbelievable that the effects of genetic enhancement are so bad on you. You’re simply a defective product.”

As she spoke, her figure appeared in the living room. She wore a white shirt, a blue cowboy coat, the same pair of pants, and a wide felt hat.

All the details were symmetrical. This included her oval face, willowy eyebrows, long black hair, and bright eyes.

Normally speaking, it was impossible for a human’s face or body to be perfectly symmetrical. There would always be a slight flaw, but not for Xu Lan. She was like the work of a master artist. She could be folded along the middle and overlap perfectly, no more or less.

This made her appear less natural and show traces of artificial modification.

Welf—who had been labeled defective—was angry, but he didn’t dare to show it. He could only mutter, “Lan, I actually don’t quite understand why you keep adjusting your body slightly. After all, you can’t see yourself and won’t be controlled by your damn OCD.”

“Do you want me to never look in the mirror? How cruel is that for a lady?” Even though Xu Lan was smiling, she was well-trained. The corners of her mouth curled up, perfectly symmetrical.

Welf didn’t dare retort and said, “But there’s no need to spend so much time adjusting your clothes and hairstyle. It will definitely be asymmetrical if you head out for a walk or from a single fight.”

Xu Lan scoffed. “Foolish logic. You shit out everything you eat every day, so you don’t have to eat?”

As she spoke, she cast her gaze at the glass coffee table not far away.

On each side of the coffee table were an identical cup and the same red jewelry box that mirrored the other side. In the middle was a tablet computer propped up by a support frame.

A dark-red line hung down from the tablet computer’s camera, perfectly splitting the entire camera.

Welf felt indignant and decided not to partner with this woman with that cursed OCD for the next mission.

Amidst the silent curse, he thought of his other colleagues; each of them was truly despicable beyond words.

A timid and weak person would always make the people around him want to bully him.

Welf composed himself and watched Xu Lan light up the screen and unlock it. The lady that required absolute symmetry then opened a telegram simulation software and inputted a string of numbers.

While the tablet computer’s corresponding icons indicated that there was no network connection, Xu Lan directly chose ‘Connect.’

The LCD screen suddenly darkened as if it had instantly lost all its power.

Before long, the scene lit up again, and a blurry figure appeared.

The figure stood in front of a floor-to-ceiling window. The lights outside were bright as if the galaxy had touched ground.

Further away, a tall tower loomed into the clouds.

“Have you discovered the target?” Amidst the static, a figure asked.

Xu Lan lowered her head and replied rather respectfully, “Yes, Doctor.”

On the one hand, she did this to express her respect and fear. On the other hand, she didn’t want to see the scene that made her blood boil—Doctor wasn’t standing in the middle of the floor-to-ceiling window but a little to the left!

Welf didn’t lower his head and said with the same respectful attitude, “I’ve already found the target’s hiding spot, but they seem to have noticed this.”

“So you retreated?” The blurry figure clearly knew Welf’s style.

His tone became serious. “Lan, immediately bring this tablet computer and go to the target’s hiding spot with Welf. We have to lock onto them!”

“Yes, Doctor!” Xu Lan replied without hesitation.

Amidst the static, she picked up a red jewelry box on the coffee table and snapped it open. Inside was an ancient golden ring.

…

Shang Jianyao led Jiang Baimian, Long Yuehong, and Bai Chen back to Genava’s rented apartment.

“Did you discover anything?” Jiang Baimian spoke a little faster than normal.

Genava moved his metal neck from side to side. “No, everything was normal there.”

Jiang Baimian nodded slightly and said, “It seems like it was indeed a trap over there. The information we obtained was from modified memories.”

Without waiting for Genava’s response, she directly ordered, “The target and his companions have locked onto us. We need to evacuate immediately. We’ll talk about the details in the car.”

The Old Task Force quickly retrieved some of the cameras and got in their jeep and the rented car.

Genava was following Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao this time. He heard them talk about their gains at Oudick’s house, their corresponding guesses, and Bai Chen and Long Yuehong’s encounter.

“One is an Awakened in the Last Man domain, and the price makes him timid and weak. His ability allows him to read memories and modify memories on a large scale. The other is an Awakened in the Golden Scale domain. The price is symmetry OCD with temporarily unknown abilities… Your inference can indeed explain all the current problems.” As the red glow in Genava’s eyes flickered many times, he injected all the details into a corresponding model and did a complete analysis. “Our previous whereabouts have been exposed. It’s best to move while we are unaware when the enemy will make a comeback or attack.”

When facing such a dangerous enemy, they had to seize the initiative.

Jiang Baimian looked at the alley where the car had turned into and smiled. “Therefore, we have to circle around more deserted streets.”

This was to avoid the tracking done by flipping through memories.

The red light in Genava’s eyes flickered a few times. “The exits on these streets and alleys are actually relatively fixed, and there are only a few. If the other party doesn’t mind expanding their range and scans every human near every exit, they will definitely be able to track us. It’s best if we disguise ourselves to a certain extent in a deserted area. We can then leave when we sense no consciousness outside, leaving no witnesses in the greater vicinity. Unfortunately, Hey’s Thought Guidance doesn’t involve memories. It only interferes with logical abilities and thoughts.”

From Genava’s point of view, the current plan could only delay the enemy for a while and buy more time for the team to prepare.

Jiang Baimian turned her head to glance at Shang Jianyao and smiled. “There’s no need to go through so much trouble.”

The red light in Genava’s eyes flickered again, but he didn’t say anything else.

After circling from the Green Olive Zone to the Red Wolf Zone, the Old Task Force circled back to the Green Olive Zone.

Shang Jianyao followed Jiang Baimian’s instructions and parked the car in front of an ordinary apartment building that was only five stories tall.

This was the True Self Church’s stronghold!

Long Yuehong—who was in the jeep behind—widened his eyes in confusion.

At this moment, Jiang Baimian pushed open the door and alighted. She muttered to herself, “Let’s rent a room here tonight.”

Ah… As expected of you… Long Yuehong roughly understood Jiang Baimian’s intentions.

Very few people knew of the True Self Church’s stronghold, which was disguised as an apartment available for rent. Therefore, it was reasonable to rent an apartment here.

When the time came, the True Self Church would definitely interfere, having seen hope, once the Old Task Force gained the upper hand.

Of course, the premise was that the True Self Church would tacitly agree to the Old Task Force’s actions and allow them to rent a room here.

Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao walked to the apartment block first. As expected, they were stopped by the True Self Church members disguised as guards.

“We want to rent a room.” Jiang Baimian was very direct.

The guard was stunned for a moment before saying, “Wait here. I’ll ask the apartment owner.”

He turned around and hurriedly searched for someone who could call the shots.

About seven to eight minutes later, he returned to the door and expressionlessly said to the Old Task Force members, “Please come in. A room on the top floor happened to be vacated recently.”

He didn’t mention how much the rent was.

Jiang Baimian smiled beautifully. “Thank you.”

The Old Task Force found a place to park their vehicles.

After entering the room on the top floor, Shang Jianyao swung his tactical backpack in front of him. Following this, he unzipped his pants and took out the Life Angel necklace.

For this, he had to stand on one foot.

Shang Jianyao then threw the silver necklace to Jiang Baimian.

“Oh?” As Jiang Baimian stretched out her left hand to catch it, her right arm hung limply.

This was an item that the company had indicated could be used to resist danger. She felt that it could only be of greatest use in the hands of the team’s strongest person.

Shang Jianyao smiled at her. “I’m afraid that the target and his companions will use the nightmare’s power. With this necklace, you can resist such risks to a certain extent.”

The logic is right, but… Jiang Baimian asked, “What about you?”

Shang Jianyao didn’t answer immediately and took out the Six Senses Beads from his tactical backpack.

He threw it to Long Yuehong. “Hold it.”

“It’s not like I can use it.” Long Yuehong’s eyes reddened when he caught it.

As an ordinary person, he could only suffer negative effects.

“It has fused with some strange auras from Buddhism’s Holy Lands, so it has a chance of helping you reduce the nightmare’s influence. Therefore, you have to wear it all the time. You can’t take it off even when resting,” Shang Jianyao said very seriously.

With that said, he—who had switched to an unknown personality—smiled and said, “When the time comes, your dream will be all over the place. Even the nightmare might not be able to bear to look at it.”

“Alright…” Long Yuehong agreed hesitantly.

At this moment, the honest Genava worriedly said, “Will this cause ischemic priapism?”

The atmosphere in the room immediately became a little embarrassing.

Fortunately, Shang Jianyao wasn’t an ordinary person. He took out the small jade Buddha from his pocket with a normal expression and threw it to Bai Chen. “It also has its own uniqueness.”

Bai Chen thought for a moment before saying, “Why don’t I exchange items with Little Red? I’ve experienced that kind of suffering before. I can get used to it and can tolerate it.”

This time, she spoke frankly about her past encounter. There was no change in her expression.

“That works too.” Shang Jianyao readily agreed.

After Bai Chen and Long Yuehong exchanged their items, Jiang Baimian looked at Shang Jianyao in confusion and concern. “Now that you’ve shared all the special items with us, what about you?”

Shang Jianyao looked around and smiled. “I have Teacher Du Heng and Xiaochong’s help.”

He emphasized the word ‘Xiaochong.’

Jiang Baimian immediately understood what he meant—there was still Xiaochong’s aura in his Sea of Origins!