Embers Ad Infinitum

Jiang Baimian did not expect that the other party was asking about such a simple matter, so he thought about it briefly and replied:

"If you follow the normal route, you can get there in two or three days. If the Nu Lake floods, you need to take a detour, which may take more than a week."

It sounds like these people have never been to Red Stone Collection... What are they doing there? Buy all kinds of contraband? Long Yuehong, who was listening in, extracted the key points of the conversation just now.

Without waiting for the other party to respond, Jiang Baimian said in a joking tone:

"Didn't you find a guide?"

"Found it." The younger man's expression changed slightly, "He is not a thing..."

The older man with a Chinese-character face glanced at his companion and stopped him from continuing.

He chuckled to himself:

"We are not very familiar with this place, and the guide we found is not that reliable, and we almost got lost."

He admitted that his team was unfamiliar with the area, as this could easily be deduced from their asking how long the Redstone Collection was.

Isn't a guide a thing? Jiang Baimian repeated in his mind what the young man had just said.

This gave her a guess:

Was that guide responsible for the attack that happened last night?

After he was hired by this team, he bullied them that they were foreigners, colluded with the bandit gang, left a mark, and planned to cooperate inside and outside to make a fortune?

"You are not lost." The honest Shang Jianyao pointed out the loopholes in the other party's words, "You are on the right road now."

The older man glanced at Shang Jianyao, smiled and explained:

"I said almost, but actually we don't know which direction to go next, so we can only come here and ask you for advice."

Shang Jianyao quickly pointed in the direction he came from:

"Get it out of the way first."

You don’t need to say it, normal humans know it...well, except for idiots like the team leader... Long Yue cursed a few words, but did not dare to say it out loud.

In order to prevent Shang Jianyao from continuing to "embarrass himself", Jiang Baimian raised his right hand and planned to give directions.

Wait a moment! Team leader, don’t you have any sense of self-consciousness? Long Yuehong tried to stop him, but couldn't speak.

What is the difference between this and a blind man showing someone the way?

While Shang Jianyao's face showed "fear", Bai Chen said before Jiang Baimian:

"You keep walking in this direction until you see Nu Lake, then go south along the lake and find a large city ruins."

The route she provided has clear directions and clear landmarks. There are no twists and turns in the middle. People can understand it immediately and think there should be no problem.

The older man sketched a map in his mind and asked:

"Are there no other ruins of cities on the way?"

The reason why Hongshiji is difficult to find is because there are huge urban agglomerations in Nuhu and its surrounding areas in the old world.

"It was there before reaching Nu Lake, but not to the south." Bai Chen explained simply.

This has been previously confirmed by the "old tune team".

"In other words, the Red Stone Collection is really not that far away... No wonder you can get there in two or three days if you hurry up." The older man showed a relieved smile, "You are regular visitors to the Red Stone Collection."

Otherwise, I wouldn’t be so familiar with the road.

"I've been there twice." Jiang Baimian said that he really couldn't tell the truth anymore.

Of course, she didn't mention that just two times, the "Old Tune Group" had turned Hongshiji upside down, and the power structure had undergone tremendous changes.

The older man nodded and didn't ask any more questions:

“What do we need to be paid?”

Jiang Baimian saw Shang Jianyao deep in thought and wondered what request he would make, so he quickly smiled and said:

"Just give me a few cans."

"Okay." The older man turned his head and said to his companion, "Go to the car and get eight cans."

His voice was deep and majestic.

The young man immediately turned around and walked towards the dark mountain bike parked ten meters away.

Taking advantage of this free time, the older man continued to ask:

"What should you pay attention to in the Red Stone Collection?"

"Learn to play hide and seek." Shang Jianyao's expression was sincere and serious.

The older man was silent for a few seconds, and then asked thoughtfully:

"The people there mainly believe in 'Yougu'?"

"Yes." Shang Jianyao raised his hands, crossed them against his chest, and took a step back, "Distance is our friend!"

"Do you also believe in 'Yougu'?" the older man asked with slight interest.

Shang Jianyao thought for a while and said:

"It depends."

Because of your piety, the Zhi Sui people didn't strike you to death with a thunderbolt, it's definitely because they haven't decided who will take action yet... Jiang Baimian muttered silently.

Then, she reminded the other person:

"When you arrive at Hongshiji, you need to find a town citizen among the ruins of the city and ask him to lead the way to your destination.

"This is a folk custom there. People who have been there cannot tell others the specific location of the Red Stone Collection."

The older man didn't show any embarrassment, he just nodded:

"Thanks."

At this time, his companion came back with eight cans.

Canned sardines, canned elbows with sauce... Long Yuehong took a quick look and found that the categories were a little different from what she usually eats.

After Jiang Baimian took the can, the older man said goodbye.

He took his companions, returned to the car, and drove towards the main army.

Throughout the process, they had basic precautions, but were not particularly vigilant.

"I have a certain degree of confidence in my own strength..." Jiang Baimian sighed after watching the dark mountain bike go away.

She looked down at the can in her hand and suddenly smiled:

"Guess where these people come from?"

Bai Chen recalled the conversation just now and said unhurriedly:

“Although they tried their best to control their accent, there were still some flaws.

"They should be from the gray northeastern region, or often interact with people there."

After hearing about the northeastern region of the mainland and that the team was all from the Gray Earth, Long Yuehong made a guess:

"People from the Salvation Army?"

The area east of the "White Knights" and "First City" belongs to the "Salvation Army".

Jiang Baimian laughed softly:

“Anyway, the categories of these cans look like they come from there.

"Moreover, their behavior is crisp and neat, and the overall order is orderly. They look like soldiers rather than bandits or hunters,"

Perhaps for smuggling purposes, the cans in Jiang Baimian's hands did not have the manufacturer stamped on them.

Shang Jianyao suddenly became excited. He stretched out his right hand and pressed it on the left side of his chest. He straightened his body and saluted the other members of the group:

"For all mankind!"

He looked like he was going to go find those people to "reminisce about old times" right now!

Jiang Baimian stopped him:

“Let’s talk about it when we get to the Red Stone Collection.

"I don't know why they came to Nu Lake..."

The "Salvation Army" is separated from the Nuhu area by the "Primary City", so its influence can hardly penetrate through, and few of their people usually move around here.

"To open up smuggling routes?" Bai Chen guessed.

Jiang Baimian nodded gently and said thoughtfully:

“After the turmoil in ‘Prime City’, there was a tendency to shift conflicts outward, and the ‘Salvation Army’ was the first to bear the brunt.

"In this way, it is normal for them to plan in many ways and reserve resources."

On the dark-colored mountain bike that returned to the main force, the young man in the driving area glanced at the older companion next to him and said with respect:

"Commissioner Xu, the most active male in the team just now should be an awakener, but I'm not sure if he is at the 'soul corridor' level.

"There may be other awakened ones among them."

The older man known as Commissioner Xu nodded gently and said:

“His price right now seems to be a lack of self-control, which falls into ‘last man’ territory.

"But there are still many costs for similar performance, which cannot be determined for the time being."

…

After the team suspected to be from the "Salvation Army" left the river and headed in the direction pointed by Bai Chen, several members of the "Old Tune Team" calmly finished their lunch and got into the jeep.

Jiang Baimian glanced at Shang Jianyao in the back row:

"You can take a nap and go into that psychological shadow again to see if there's anything unusual about it."

Shang Jianyao has long been eager to give it a try.

…………

"Soul Corridor", inside the "912" room.

After Shang Jianyao entered, he thought he would appear at the dock, which was the starting point of this psychological shadow, but he found that he came directly to the cabin of the cruise ship.

"Can I archive here?" Shang Jianyao looked surprised.

This way you don’t have to go back to the starting point and start all over again every time!

He looked around and raised his hand to rub his chin:

“This is another unusual point.

"Also, when we boarded the cruise ship before, it was not completely dark, but now the moon is hanging high outside."

At this time, a dark cloud passed by and blocked the moon.

Relying on the illumination of the corridor wall lamp, Shang Jianyao opened a door next to him.

This was the room he entered last time. He wanted to see how the people inside were doing now.

The next second, Shang Jianyao saw the man and woman who had a fierce confrontation again.

But now, one of them is standing by the bed, constantly pushing his back forward, beating the air, and the other is holding his chest, spinning back and forth in the area near the door, as if he has lost his way in such a small place.