Embers Ad Infinitum

Shang Jianyao's question itself was not too strange, but it had nothing to do with the previous conversation, which made Gu Bo feel confused:

"Why do you ask?"

"Just ask." Shang Jianyao's answer made Gu Bo feel tight in his chest.

Noticing the change in his expression, Shang Jianyao raised his hands, leaned back, and added:

"Everything is a fantasy, why take it seriously?"

Oops, learn it now and apply it now. Have you fallen in love with this sentence recently? Jiang Baimian did not disturb Shang Jianyao's performance. After all, she also wanted to know if Gu Bo knew Du Heng.

Gu Bo hissed:

“Are you a believer in ‘Broken Mirror’?

"How did I hear that you were planning to join the 'Melting Pot'?"

As the president of the local Hunter Guild, he is definitely well-informed.

"My intention to join the 'Melting Pot Sect' does not conflict with my appreciation of certain aspects of the 'Mirage Sect'." Shang Jianyao answered seriously.

It would be best to give everyone a share of the Holy Communion... Long Yuehong added silently for him.

Gu Bo nodded first, but then felt something was wrong:

"Then why do you even have to learn the salute method of the 'Mirage Dragon Cult'?"

"Strengthen the tone." Shang Jianyao answered extremely sincerely.

Gu Bo suddenly felt that continuing to dwell on this matter would not only waste a lot of time, but might also end up with an answer that would make him vomit blood, so he wisely gave up the question and said instead:

"I don't know which Du Heng you are asking about. This is not a rare name. I have seen three or four of them."

"Self-proclaimed 'antiquities scholar', with long black hair and a beard..." Jiang Baimian briefly described Du Heng's characteristics.

Gu Bo recalled for a while:

“I actually met him when he came to Tarnan to explore the ruins of the surrounding city, and we had a few chats.

"What's so weird about him? I think he's just ordinary. Apart from being good-looking, he's relatively well-educated and likes to teach others."

Jiang Baimian did not answer Gu Bo's doubts and asked:

"How long ago was that?"

"It's been about forty years..." Gu Bo said not too confidently.

But one thing he was absolutely sure of was that this matter was very old.

"Then let me tell you, forty years later, Du Heng will still look like this." Jiang Baimian answered Gu Bo's previous question.

Gu Bo hissed again:

"This is a bit awesome..."

He once again recalled all the details at that time and said thoughtfully:

"He acted really normal. I just had a vague feeling that he was pursuing something or something."

Afraid that Long Yuehong and the others would not understand, he found another example:

"A garbage hunter like me, haha, every time I go to a city ruins, the purpose is very general, that is, to find valuable items, and his purpose is very clear, although I don't know what it is, but there is this A feeling.”

It turns out that garbage hunter is also a term used in both north and south... Long Yuehong held back her smile.

After all, he's now an official trash hunter, too.

"We think so too." Jiang Baimian responded.

Gu Bo and Du Heng only had a one-time relationship and could not provide any more information. The topic was quickly ended.

He looked around, took out a map with high accuracy and said:

"You guys stay at the intersection northwest of the town. There is a road leading directly into the mountains..."

This road is not the one Shang Jianyao and the others have walked. It connects the Jiushan Mountains and is rarely visited.

…………

Tarnan, northwest, on the banks of the Moville River, at the junction of the Chilar Mountains.

Taking the opportunity to apply for a lot of supplies, the "old transfer team" drove the jeep here.

Jiang Baimian glanced at the sky, looked back at the small town behind him, and said with a smile:

"Deployed according to the predetermined plan, it is like a training class for building fortifications.

"Well, we have to make corresponding changes according to the characteristics of the target. We can't be rigid."

"Yes, team leader!" Shang Jianyao replied loudly.

The next second, he picked up a full-length mirror, ran excitedly to the intersection, inserted it into the soil, and fixed it with stones.

Long Yuehong also did something similar.

Before long, the entire intersection was surrounded by multiple full-length mirrors, all facing the outside in unison, leaving only the retreat into Tarnan.

"Why does this feel weird..." As the "commander-in-chief", Jiang Baimian said to himself with a smile when he saw the results.

Shang Jianyao started to introduce seriously:

"This is the eight-door golden light array, which can subdue demons, subjugate demons, and eliminate ghosts."

"Is there this in the radio program?" Jiang Baimian was very surprised.

Although she listens less to the radio and spends more time on the Internet, it is not that she has never listened to it at all. She feels that the company's radio stories are still selective and not so outrageous.

Shang Jianyao replied calmly:

"I took a sneak peek from the boss lady's ghost movie."

"But that's not the eight-door golden light array..." Long Yuehong also took a few glances at that time.

Shang Jianyao nodded:

"I think the words 'eight gates', 'golden light' and 'formation' are better combined."

Long Yuehong, who couldn't win the argument, turned around and took out a bunch of items from the trunk of the Jeep.

This includes, but is not limited to, mines, sapper shovels, nails, and twine.

Jiang Baimian then pointed to different places and said:

"Dig a hole there, make it into a hunting trap, throw the iron nails in... Seal it with two hemp ropes... There, there, there, bury a mine each..."

After giving the instructions, Jiang Baimian said with a slight complacency:

“One of the biggest problems with the ability to hallucinate is that it only affects creatures that can think and respond.

"But it can't make mines, ropes, nails, traps, etc. hallucinate.

"They are arranged here. No matter what kind of illusion it is, they will not move or move. They are waiting for you to come to your door. It is extremely real..."

To avoid distortion of electromagnetic signals, she chooses more "classical" things that don't rely much on electronic components.

"I'm afraid Xiaohong will step on it." Shang Jianyao expressed his worries while digging a hole.

"Am I that stupid?" Long Yuehong protested.

Shang Jianyao glanced at him:

"Hey, I made genetic improvements..."

"Stop!" Long Yuehong stopped him in time.

Jiang Baimian also helped:

"As long as she is not affected by hallucinations, Xiaohong is very reliable now."

This is why they set up full-length mirrors first and then laid mines and traps.

Otherwise, they may "misremember" the location and step on it themselves.

After a lot of work, the "old tune team" completed the construction of the fortifications and erected a wooden sign with its own light bulb next to the two full-length mirrors facing the mountainous area.

The wooden sign reads:

"This road is blocked, please take the northeast gate."

The person in charge of the northeast gate is a member of the "Mirage Dragon Sect", and Zhou Yue personally guards it.

"Phew, done!" Jiang Baimian was not only the one who stood and directed, but also participated in the labor, but the focus was on monitoring whether there were any electrical signals from large creatures approaching in the surrounding area.

Before Shang Jianyao could speak, she turned to Jipu and said:

“We will stay behind the jeep later and try to ignore any movement.

"Didn't Master Zhou say? Do more and you will make more mistakes. Do less and you will make fewer mistakes."

Hearing these words, Long Yuehong breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that although the enemy was powerful, he had a strong fortress.

After everyone entered their predetermined positions, the four of them chatted from time to time.

There will be some strange answers mixed in here.

"How old were you when you wet the bed?"

"Five years old..."

This was not because Shang Jianyao was deliberately trying to embarrass Long Yuehong, but because he was doing identity verification regularly.

With previous experience and corresponding intelligence, Jiang Baimian believed that the illusion constructed by the "higher unintentional person" came from himself, not his own memory and emotions.

Therefore, if the companion becomes fake, then he will definitely not be able to answer more private questions - even if the questioner is distorted by hallucinations, he will not get the correct answer.

This can be used to guard against "malicious" approaches.

To this end, Shang Jianyao prepared a hundred questions for Long Yuehong.

…………

The sun gradually moved towards the west, and the sky gradually softened.

Just as Jiang Baimian was preparing to arrange matters for the evening, a car drove out of the mountains and arrived at the intersection.

This is a dark blue car with steel plates, a high chassis and large tires.

Shang Jianyao picked up the loudspeaker and whistled:

"Handsome guy!"

This shout made the people in the car a little confused, as if they were doubting this guy's sexual orientation.

After a few seconds, the car door opened and four people got out.

One is a man with the lower half of his skull on the right side shining with silver-white metal light and irregular shrapnel embedded in his forehead. The other is a woman with a gentle and intellectual temperament, long and straight black hair. The other is wearing a black priest's robe from the old world and is close to Shang's height. Jian Yao, with a gentle smile on his face, was a gray man wearing a khaki military uniform and a matching beret. His facial features were all standard, but the lines were relatively rigid.

They were the team of relic hunters that Shang Jianyao, Jiang Baimian and others met at the water point in Chilar Mountain.

"You can't leave here?" The man whose skull was half made of metal asked loudly.

Jiang Baimian picked up another loudspeaker:

"Stand in front of the full-length mirror."

Afraid that the other party would not accept it, she added and explained:

“In order to identify authenticity and verify identity.

"You should know what that 'Higher Heartless' is best at."

The four ruin hunters communicated with each other, nodded, and walked to the full-length mirror one after another, taking photos for a few seconds.

The gentle and intellectual woman and the man in black priest robes took the opportunity to trim their hair.

"What's your name?" Shang Jianyao asked through a loudspeaker.

"Bai Xiao." The man whose lower half of his skull shone with metallic light and who had a mole under his left eye replied loudly.

"Lin Tong." This is the woman's name, "a person who studies biology."

Coincidentally, our company is called "Pangu Biotechnology"... As Jiang Baimian muttered, the man wearing a black priest's robe and a gentle smile also answered:

"thunder."

"Zhang Shaopeng." The man in military uniform said.

Seeing that they had all looked in the mirror, Shang Jianyao asked the question before Jiang Baimian:

"What did we talk about at the last water point in the Chiral Mountains?"

The four people looked at each other, and Bai Xiao answered:

"Talk about the ruins of the city around Tarnan."

Long Yuehong's eyes suddenly solidified.

At that time, they had no chat at all with this team of ruin hunters. They were only reminded by the other party that there were "high-level careless people" in the southwest mountainous area!