Embers Ad Infinitum

The top of a tall building in the distance from the highest arena.

After Bai Chen set up the "Orange" rifle in a hidden place, he took out the letter given by Jiang Baimian, opened it and read it.

She didn't wait until something was impossible.

After browsing through it quickly, Bai Chen showed a complicated expression on his face, including surprise, confusion, and a bit of amusement.

…………

As the nursery rhyme-like singing echoed, one by one the nobles stood up and walked to the bathroom in the passage.

This was a relatively common scene in the past - before the gladiatorial competition officially started, it was a common choice of many people to clear themselves and adjust their state.

When Marcus saw this scene, the corners of his mouth raised slightly, and he shook his head inconspicuously.

But suddenly, his expression became strange.

He also felt a bulge in his lower abdomen and some uncontrollable urge.

how come? Doubtful thoughts emerged in Marcus' mind.

He hadn't drank any water since lunch, and he had gone to the bathroom specifically before going out. Why did he feel the need to urinate all of a sudden?

But his physical sensation told him that this was not an illusion.

There is no way to explain the previous doubts. To use a Red River proverb:

"There are always things you can't predict and endure, like love and diarrhea."

Marcus' first reaction was to hold it back, but the urge became stronger and stronger, so strong that he was afraid that he would wet his pants if he couldn't help it.

I still have to go there, and just leave the bathroom door open then. Even if it is closed, it doesn't matter. There are lights inside... And among the people in the box, there are two or three awakened ones. Many of them also have military experience. They are not encountered. A loser who panics when an accident happens... I also have a professional bodyguard who is willing to help me block the gun... People always look for explanations that are beneficial to themselves. Marcus quickly convinced himself, stood up, and led the four The bodyguard walked to the bathroom.

After witnessing this scene and not noticing any changes in the "virtual world", Long Yuehong breathed a sigh of relief.

Shang Jianyao did not turn off the portable cassette recorder immediately to avoid deepening the impact. Even the owner of the "virtual world" began to urinate urgently, because it would appear too coincidental, too purposeful, and easily suspected.

Fortunately, when they formulated the plan, they considered what to do in this situation to be reasonable.

Jiang Baimian turned her wrist and looked at the time, took out a silver-white mobile phone and dialed a number.

The identity identified above is "Max".

"Hi, Max, are you free tonight? We want to visit and discuss the matter..." Jiang Baimian said this, turned around and patted Shang Jianyao's arm, indicating to him to close the portable radio recorder and not disturb him. Make phone call.

Shang Jianyao naturally follows goodness.

After the singing stopped, Jiang Baimian continued:

"Then meet at eight o'clock in the evening. Give us at least fifty minutes."

"Okay." There was a deep baritone voice on the other end of the phone.

…………

After Gnawa hung up the phone, he turned off the phone directly to avoid being located later.

Then he started counting down.

In the passage just now, the first number is an invalid number, used to confuse the listener. Its only meaning is to tell Gnawa that the following number is the key point.

And fifty minutes means that the power will be cut off after fifty seconds!

…………

Jiang Baimian put away his phone and glanced at the passage to the bathroom, seeing Marcus and his four bodyguards about to enter.

She slapped off Shang Jianyao's right hand that was "trying" to play the song again, and deliberately whispered:

"The game is about to start, go to the bathroom quickly."

"Okay." Shang Jianyao deliberately placed the portable radio cassette player on his seat.

He stood up quickly, and together with Jiang Baimian, walked towards the passage to the bathroom.

As the "bodyguard", Long Yuehong followed without a doubt.

When they saw the men's bathroom, Marcus and his bodyguard had already entered.

Logically speaking, Jiang Baimian was going to turn to the right and go to the women's bathroom, but at this time, Shang Jianyao stretched out his hand, hugged her waist, and pointed to the men's bathroom with a malicious expression.

"How bad are you?" Jiang Baimian lowered his head and said angrily.

Ugh... Although Long Yuehong was mentally prepared for this line, she still felt nauseous.

And he was very afraid that the team leader would silence him if he turned around.

Next, Shang Jianyao and Jiang Baimian pushed open the unclosed door of the men's bathroom in a half-hug and half-hug posture.

In the aristocratic circles of the "Primordial City" where the "Mandala" belief is relatively popular, this is not a rare thing. Not to mention the men's bathroom, there are also many people trying it in gardens, garages, and rooftops.

The layout of the men's bathroom attached to the noble box is different from other places. There is no urination area. Because many nobles are worried about being attacked, they will let their bodyguards follow them in, and not everyone enjoys urinating in public.

Based on respectability, the design here is very similar to the women's bathroom. It is composed of cubicles, and each cubicle is not directly adjacent to each other and is separated by a blank area.

At this time, Marcus had entered a cubicle, and the four bodyguards were guarding outside.

Shang Jianyao and Jiang Baimian, half-hugging each other, walked towards the corner booth. This posture made them move very slowly.

As a bodyguard, Long Yuehong "habitually" closed the bathroom door.

Now is the perfect time to close your doors!

Because the power has not been cut off at this time, the lights are still on, and the condition of the bathroom is far from a level that requires vigilance. It is enough for the owner of the "virtual world" to maintain normal operation, and there is no need to add any additional details.

If he had just started to protect Marcus, he might be vigilant beyond the limit, but it is obvious that he has been doing this for many years, and he must be close to numbness in some details. If he can't do more, he won't do much. Do.

With a click, the bathroom door closed.

Long Yuehong didn't dare to be completely reassured about this. He was not sure whether this was his hallucination or an illusion in the "virtual world".

In the real world, the bathroom door may still be in its original state.

If this is the case, the "Old Tune Team" can only accept the ending of failure.

Less than ten seconds after he closed the door, and when Jiang Baimian, Shang Jianyao and the target compartment were still some distance away, the lights in the bathroom suddenly went out!

There was no warning, not even two flashes!

It suddenly became dark here, with only the faint wind moving in the pipe.

Almost at the same time, Jiang Baimian suddenly felt that his surroundings had become relaxed and clear.

It was like she had finally surfaced after diving for some distance.

No one needed to remind her, she knew that the "virtual world" had subsided, at least it no longer enveloped the men's bathroom attached to the noble box!

And this kind of environment and reaction also made her understand the price paid by the owner of the "virtual world".

Claustrophobia!

Even if the awakened person at the "soul corridor" level can continue to simulate a lighted and unenclosed bathroom in the "virtual world", the reality cannot be changed, which will make him feel fearful and unable to know what is true and what is false. Take control of yourself and draw your attention away from this area.

As a result, the "virtual world" was eliminated in the bathroom.

Seizing this opportunity, Shang Jianyao held the "Bead of Destiny" in his pocket.

Instead of using the "reasoning clown" which was more time consuming and had more steps, he chose the "fate guide"!

With this, he can make his consciousness leave the body and directly invade the target's spiritual world, but the other party may not be able to detect it.

The range of using "Destiny Pass" in this way is thirty meters, and the entire bathroom is not that big!

The turquoise light lit up in the pocket, without destroying the darkness outside.

Shang Jianyao's consciousness instantly appeared in a shimmering "Sea of ​​Origin" shrouded in fog.

Countless waves surged up, showing various pictures.

Shang Jianyao didn't go back too far because Marcus was only six years old when Ole died. Even if there was something important, it was impossible to tell him directly.

There was not much time available to review the memory, so Shang Jianyao only selected relevant fragments from two aspects:

One is that before and after Ole's death, there was something left for Marcus or his mother, Ole's daughter;

The second is what Marcus' mother said to him before she passed away.

The direction was clear enough, and the nine merchants were very skilled in their division of labor. It didn't take long to find the information they wanted:

First, Ole left no secret items or information to Marcus and his mother, only the properties, fields, etc. were passed down;

Second, Marcus’ mother did say a few words to him before she passed away:

"Don't complain, don't expect too much, just live a good life as an ordinary noble. Also, be wary of the 'Machine Heaven', don't believe in the 'Source Brain'... Be careful, be careful of the Eighth Research Institute, try your best, try your best to be with you My cousin keeps her distance, she, she has something incredible there, very, very dangerous... If, if you encounter a crisis that cannot be avoided, tell the enemy that you know the password to enter the ruins laboratory of Wasteland No. 13, yes, that is That, 'Messiah'..."

Shang Jianyao didn't have much time to continue looking back at Marcus's memory, so he stopped when he was ready, allowing the power of the "Destiny Pearl" to suddenly reach its extreme.

This made Marcus feel dizzy, and he felt like his vision was going dark, and all the past events were coming back to him.

This effectively covered up the slight sluggishness and confusion caused by Shang Jianyao's invasion of his spiritual world.

Immediately afterwards, Shang Jianyao transferred the remaining power of the Fate Pearl to his own "Sea of ​​Origin".

In this way, there won't be any problems with the bead during the subsequent "inspection".

Frugality is a good virtue.

When the green light dimmed quickly, Jiang Baimian, who was touched by Shang Jianyao, took out his mobile phone.

She turned on the flashlight mode, shined it at the switch, and shouted in feigning surprise and fear:

"Why is there a power outage?"

"I don't know." As a bodyguard, Long Yuehong responded very cooperatively.

There is a certain distance between him and the switch, and anyone with a discerning eye can tell that it was not him.

Jiang Baimian ordered in horror:

"Quick, open the door!"

Their conversation and their performance all fell into the eyes of Marcus's four bodyguards, and Marcus also recovered from his dizziness, held the partition of the compartment, and opened the door.

Bang, bang, Long Yuehong's heartbeat inevitably accelerated. After opening the bathroom door, she pressed the switch several times in succession, but the light did not turn on again.

"It seems like there's a power outage in the whole place." He looked back at the aisle leading to the women's bathroom.

The street lights there were also out.