Embers Ad Infinitum

In a somewhat awkward atmosphere, Shang Jianyao asked curiously:

"Doesn't it hurt?"

"It hurts." Phocas did not stop beating himself, and his voice was trembling a little, "But the more the pain, the more it makes me forget about the outside world, forget about the past, and see my true self."

This statement... always feels weird... Which religious organization's philosophy is this? The "First City" is really degenerate. Many elders have certain connections with different sects... No wonder the internal conflicts are getting more and more acute... Jiang Baimian considered it for a moment and asked deliberately:

"Do you respect your true self, not who is in charge?"

Snapped!

Phocas gave himself another whip:

"No, 'dawn' is my true self, and my true self is 'dawn'."

Another sect that worships the "dawn" in February... Jiang Baimian did not equate the organization that General Phocas and Boss Ugo belong to with the "Dawn Morning Star" because he only heard it from what he heard so far. From just a few words, you can see that there are quite a few differences between the two sides.

At least in the information provided by "Pangu Biology", "Dawn Morning Star" never mentioned the word "true self".

It is not surprising to several members of the "Old Tune Group" that General Phocas and Boss Ugo believe in the "dawn" of the year, because Ugo has previously shown the ability to influence dreams.

And now, Jiang Baimian and others finally understood what happened to the equipment in Ugo's room:

Their philosophy is to torture themselves, gain pain, and find out their true self.

"I thought you valued dreams more." It was Shang Jianyao who said this.

Long Yuehong also thought so. After all, the most well-known field of "Dawn" is "Dreamland".

Phocas finished whipping himself, took a breath and said:

"That is the misunderstanding of the world, and it is also the wrong path taken by heretics and heretics."

He threw the whip aside, picked up a wet towel, and wiped the blood on his body:

"Our consciousness will indeed be swallowed up by nightmares, and we will become a 'mindless person' in reality.

“But when we talk about dreams, we’re not just talking about dreams.

"In our sect, dreams are a broader concept that refers to problems that obscure the true self."

The difference lies here... This is how the believers of "Dawn" explain "unintentional illness"... Jiang Baimian did not blindly sneer at the other party's theory.

When she is still far away from the conclusion, she will not despise any so-called "truth". Sometimes, the most profound and cruel reasons may be hidden behind the absurdity.

Stones from other hills, can learn!

Phocas wiped his body and put on his clothes with many whip marks:

"The 'Mirror Cult' and the 'Dream Cult' believe that the world itself is a dream. In a sense, this is not wrong, otherwise nightmares would not have the terrifying ability to swallow consciousness."

When talking about other believers who were in power, the general of the "First City" casually mentioned two secret organizations.

"There is also the 'Mirage Dragon Sect'." Shang Jianyao helped Zhou Guanzhu and others strive for status.

Phocas glanced at him and continued:

"But they want to use the power of Zhi Sui to wake up from the dream and enter a new world. It can only be said to be stupid.

"Zhi Sui has given us the method and power a long time ago, but we were blinded by dreams and did not realize it.

"Everyone has a true self within them, and the true self is the 'dawn'. As long as you can find your true self within, you can escape from the dream and enter a new world."

Having said this, the lion-like general raised his right hand, clenched it into a fist, and tapped the side of his head:

"The true self lives forever!"

"Oh." Shang Jianyao looked very attentively, as if he wanted to remember General Phocas's every move just now.

After Phocas had put on his clothes, Jiang Baimian asked with a smile:

"Creating physical pain is how you find your true self?"

"Yes." Phocas nodded slightly, "Every time during mass, we are discussing how to torture ourselves better. Some people prefer to use dripping wax, some prefer to be pricked with needles, and some keep summarizing binding, hanging and whipping. Some people want to torture their various skills by external forces instead of doing it themselves.”

He went on to say:

“Of course, the point is torture, not pain, as the former includes the latter.

"In addition to pain, there is also humiliation and mental torture. The simplest example is that some people try to draw strength from the pain of their partner betraying them, so they take the initiative to create opportunities to test the other party."

Your sect is not serious... Even with Long Yuehong's experience, it feels strange.

At this moment, only one word flashed through Jiang Baimian's mind:

Everyone has his own ambitions...

Bai Chen originally wanted to ask, "Can you really accept this? Will you really feel satisfied with it?"

But then I remembered that Phocas repeatedly emphasized "pain" and "torture."

This made her feel that the other person was invulnerable.

"Isn't the most painful thing the death of relatives, companions and friends?" Shang Jianyao asked with a serious expression.

Phocas' expression rarely changed a few times:

"right."

His tone was very low.

Shang Jianyao further asked:

"Would anyone deliberately let their relatives, companions and friends die just to feel this kind of pain?"

Phocas couldn't help but look this guy up and down, as if he was looking at a pervert.

He said in a deep voice:

"How can someone who can intentionally cause the death of their relatives, companions, and friends to feel pain from their deaths?"

"That's right!" Shang Jianyao clenched his right fist and hit his left palm with a cheerful expression on his face.

He seemed to be relieved by Phocas's answer.

Phocas didn't quite understand and didn't want to say anything more. He looked at Jiang Baimian and said:

"What kind of help do you want me to provide?"

Jiang Baimian had already prepared a draft and said with a smile:

"If there is unrest in the city and the responsibility for protecting Avia is handed over to the city defense army, or there is a gap, I hope the general can provide certain convenience in our contact with Avia."

"What if there was no turmoil?" Phocas asked without answering.

Jiang Baimian smiled and replied:

"Then I won't bother you, General. We'll ask you for other favors later."

Phocas was noncommittal and said:

"If you are willing to share the gains from contacting Avia, then I can agree."

Huh... Jiang Baimian breathed a sigh of relief and said in a joking tone:

"Actually, based on your philosophy, why do you want to obtain the secrets left by Aure? Can't you just focus on finding your true self?"

Phocas looked around and said:

"Before we find our true self, we also have to fight against the terrible nightmare to prevent our self-awareness from being swallowed up, and the secrets left behind by Ole are likely to reveal the truth of the nightmare to some extent."

Jiang Baimian stopped asking questions and smiled:

“A pleasure to work with.”

Phocas turned around and looked at the window covered by the curtains, and said casually:

"It's time for me to go back. Gaius will be speaking at the citizens' meeting later."

…………

After getting the radio transceiver from Boss Ugo, the "old tune team" started debugging it directly on the car, and then sent a telegram to "Pangaea".

The content of the telegram was similar to Jiang Baimian's draft yesterday, except that he added the information about today's citizens' rally, and speculated that "unrest may occur", expressing his desire to take advantage of the chaos to contact Avia.

Jiang Baimian hopes to get help from the company.

She felt that as a big force, the company could not only have an intelligence network and an "old tune team" in the original city.

After sending the telegram, Jiang Baimian turned his attention to "Garibaldi" Giuseppe:

"Are there any awakened people at the 'soul corridor' level here in the company?"

Giuseppe shook his head slowly:

"I'm not sure. I'm only responsible for providing relevant information and don't have in-depth contact with the contacts. Before this time, I didn't know you were so strong."

What he means is that there are indeed many people sent by "Pangu Creatures" to perform tasks in the First City. He has indeed met with a large number of them and given designated information, but he does not know if there is any "psychic" in them. Corridor level awakeners.

Having said this, Giuseppe added a few words:

"However, the company has quite a few teams and individuals performing tasks here, and there is a high chance that there will be strong ones."

"Personally?" Jiang Baimian's eyes lit up.

Just as lone hunters tend to be stronger, those who perform company tasks as individuals rather than as a team are certainly not weak.

"Three." Giuseppe replied in the affirmative, "But I have been exposed, and they will definitely not contact me again."

Jiang Baimian nodded thoughtfully and said to Bai Chen:

"Drive the car to the junction of the Red Giant Wolf District and the Green Olive District."

The official broadcast of the First City can be heard there, which allows the "Old Tune Team" to grasp the direction of citizens' gatherings. In the event of unrest, they can promptly evacuate to the Green Olive District - a place where lower-class citizens and wanderers live. It lacks strategic importance and will not become the focus of competition. It will only produce a certain amount of disorderly riots, but this will not threaten the "Old Tune Group".

"Okay." Bai Chen asked the jeep to speed up slightly.