Embers Ad Infinitum

"General Phocas's residence..." Long Yuehong asked in confusion, "Why do you say that? Did you encounter anything weird at that time?"

Jiang Baimian shook his head:

"I just listed all the things related to the Zhao Family Manor and went through it in my mind. In the whole process, there were actually not many people we had direct contact with. The Zhao family's secret agent, Lanster, the owner of the Harvest Bathroom, the Zhao Family Manor Zhao Shouren, the steward, Shen Kui, a member of the "Anti-Intellectual Cult", General Phocas and some of the servants and guards of his mansion.

"When we were face to face with them, Shang Jianyao and I were sufficiently vigilant and not careless to avoid being monitored, followed, or locked into a residential area without any notice."

"Yes, then why do you think something went wrong at General Phocas's residence?" Long Yuehong asked.

Jiang Baimian further explained:

“That’s where things are most likely to go wrong.

"Isn't it normal to be secretly monitored in the general's residence? This is a security measure without any problems.

"So, Shang Jianyao and I were not so vigilant in this regard and cooperated very well with their work. Perhaps, during this process, we were unknowingly given a hint, and we relaxed our requirements on the way back and no longer So serious about anti-tracking, Xingzang was exposed. Well, maybe because it was just a hint, he returned to normal after a sleep, and we completely ignored this aspect afterwards.

“And that time we didn’t have any veterans or smart people to fight against this kind of thing.

"Well, I remember that time, after we left General Phocas's residence, we first went to the hotel to inquire about the 'Wuxin Disease' epidemic, and then went directly back to the rental house on Iron Medal Street.

"That's where we started from when we split up this time."

Long Yuehong was horrified when she heard:

"Isn't this too exaggerated? Both of you will be unknowingly hinted at..."

Isn’t this “anti-intellectual religion” too terrifying?

Bai Chen nodded and seemed to feel that this was not something that humans could do.

Jiang Baimian exhaled and looked sideways at Shang Jianyao next to him:

"Use the 'Destiny Pearl' to review that memory and see if there are any problems with our words and deeds."

"Destiny Pearl" is one of the biggest back-up tools for the "Old Tune Group" to fight against the "anti-intellectual religion".

—The other is Gnawa.

Every time he encounters similar things, Jiang Baimian is especially grateful to Di Marco.

Shang Jianyao had been listening quietly just now, as if he had entered a state of serious thinking.

He quickly took out the luminous pearl that emitted green light and held it in his palm.

Compared with the past, the light of this "destiny pearl" has obviously dimmed.

It suddenly lit up.

…………

In the "Sea of ​​Origin", Shang Jianyao sat cross-legged in mid-air, divided into nine parts.

The huge waves rushed upward, and the countless shimmering lights contained expanded and magnified, forming various pictures.

Shang Jianyao each took charge of an area and narrowed down the memories from the visit to General Phocas to the return to Iron Medal Street.

They looked at it frame by frame, as if thinking about how to cut these scenes into a movie.

It didn't take long for them to complete the review, merge into one, and return to the real world.

While putting away the "Destiny Pearl", Shang Jianyao said:

"Mianmian, Dabai, and I really slacked off on anti-tracking after we left Phocas's mansion, and we weren't that careful."

Hearing these words, Long Yuehong's pupils dilated instantly.

I really took a hint at General Phocas’s residence! Something went wrong without realizing it!

At this time, Shang Jianyao added:

"But I'm not sure whether we have relaxed ourselves due to changes in circumstances, or whether we have been affected by external factors."

Jiang Baimian retracted his glare at this guy and asked:

"Didn't you realize when we were affected?"

Shang Jianyao shook his head:

"We only came into contact with a few people at the general's residence. The conversations were all normal, and there was nothing like the whole person becoming sluggish when making eye contact."

This is the scariest thing! Long Yuehong glanced at Bai Chen and found that her face was also solemn.

Jiang Baimian said thoughtfully:

"So, who is the problem among those people? It's just a hint. It probably doesn't need to be as complicated as 'hypnosis'. Maybe it's just a gesture, an eye contact, or a common-sounding word. Being unknowingly influenced... Well, if the 'Anti-Intellectual Cult' wants to ignite the internal conflicts in the 'First City', it is indeed possible to send people to lurk into General Phocas's mansion to control the development of things."

"It is also possible that the one who is secretly monitoring is an awakened person at the 'soul corridor' level, such as 'Shepherd' Bouillon, and we have been exposed to his abilities for a long time, and we think that the monitoring is normal, so we are slowly being It was hinted remotely." Shang Jianyao suggested another possibility.

Long Yuehong felt a sense of fear and blurted out:

"Should we inform General Phocas?"

Jiang Baimian suddenly laughed:

“What if the person in question is General Phocas himself?

"That day in the general's mansion, he was the one who talked to us the most."

Long Yuehong was stunned for a moment.

"So this pool of water is very deep. We can't control it. It's better to mingle less and just cut off the hand of the real 'priest' that is reaching out to us." Jiang Baimian turned his attention to Gennava, " Lao Ge, don’t just listen and cook the noodles.”

"We don't have soy sauce." Gnawa said his dilemma.

In the beginning, the city was mostly populated by Honghe people, who did not have the habit of using soy sauce.

And if you go to the streets where the Gray Tu people live, there is no need for the "Jiudiao Group" to make their own handmade noodles.

Fortunately, the Red Giant Wolf District is considered a place with a relatively high standard of living on Huitu. Jiang Baimian and others managed to get some other seasonings and barely managed to eat noodles.

…………

The next morning, Jiang Baimian sent a telegram to Zhao Zhengqi at the agreed time, roughly describing the development of the matter.

She believed that the other party must have known the specific process, that the people of the "anti-intellectual religion" had been initially "cleared out", and that Zhao Yixue was imprisoned in the residence of General Phocas, but as a team of relic hunters with ideals and ethics, You still have to report what needs to be reported, and when you are attacked by a real "priest", you must report it with great emphasis.

Not long after, the Zhao family responded with a telegram.

"Let us contact Lanster and find Zhao Shouyi, the general manager of the Zhao family here, to complete the transfer of ownership of the Left Bank Manor." Jiang Baimian finished decoding and smiled, "Let us not continue to pursue it, leave everything to General Phocas will handle it. Haha, isn't Old Zhao too cowardly? The anti-intellectual cultists have bullied them to the point of being bullied, and they are not willing to completely break their faces. They will stop at the thought. Well, he didn't mention the celebration banquet. General Phocas probably didn’t say anything, it seems like there’s still a long time before the celebration.”

"At least we were given a manor as payment." Although Bai Chen's expression did not change, his tone was quite satisfactory.

As a relic hunter who was a wilderness wanderer, she was happy every time she gained a lot of money.

In sharp contrast to her was Shang Jianyao, who was slightly disappointed.

Jiang Baimian nodded first, then sighed:

"If you only have one manor, you can only choose between a military exoskeleton device and a robotic arm."

Even if Lehman offers a 30% discount, you can only choose one.

Such controlled items are often expensive and unavailable. If the "old tune team" hadn't established contact with Lehman, an arms dealer from "United Industries", shocked him and helped him figure out the truth about his desire, there would have been no way. Impossible to buy.

"The robotic arm is cooler!" Shang Jianyao immediately expressed his opinion.

"But military exoskeleton devices are easier to use and can be put to use immediately." Long Yuehong objected slightly.

"You already have it." Shang Jianyao pointed out.

"But the team leader doesn't have it yet. You don't need it, and the team leader also needs it." Long Yuehong argued with reason.

Shang Jianyao fell into silence, seeming very embarrassed.

When Jiang Baimian saw this, he smiled and said:

"Let's see when the time comes. Maybe our question is not which one to choose, but which one we can afford."

After ending the argument, Jiang Baimian raised his hands and slowly stretched his body:

"There are three things to do today. One is to get the manor and be safe. The other is to meet with the company's intelligence officer and give him the items that need to be tested. The third is to go to the hotel and find the boss."

"What are you looking for, Boss Ugo?" Long Yuehong asked in confusion.

Bai Chen frowned slightly, also not understanding what the team leader was thinking.

She asked tentatively:

"Let's see if the 'Wu Xin Bing' epidemic is over. Do we want to move back?"

Jiang Baimian looked around and said with a smile:

"This is one thing, and the other thing is to ask him who was following him when we went to the hotel that day to ask about Wuxinyou.

"He's not a simple hotel owner, maybe you noticed."

That day refers to the day when Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao went to visit General Phocas.