Embers Ad Infinitum

After going downstairs and getting in the car, Long Yuehong looked at the situation on the street through the rear window.

He saw a dozen people lined up outside a civilian clinic not far away. Their faces were not very good, either pale, tired or haggard.

As far as Long Yuehong's knowledge is concerned, such a scene is definitely abnormal, because most of the residents in Qinglili District are struggling to make ends meet. Unless they are particularly ill, they will definitely not choose to see a doctor. They would rather Give yourself a hug and hold yourself up.

It makes no sense that there are so many seriously ill people in the nearby neighborhood.

As her thoughts flashed, Long Yuehong thought of her experience last night and the mission of the Hunter Guild, and said in a guessing tone:

"Are these the same people who had that nightmare last night?"

"Should." Bai Chen, who was on the same side as Long Yuehong, agreed.

"Let me see, let me see." Shang Jianyao shouted, crossing his body across Gnawa and Long Yuehong.

Long Yuehong ignored this guy and said to herself:

"But the nightmare last night ended abruptly, and none of us had any symptoms of dizziness, nausea, or fatigue."

"This is likely to vary from person to person." Jiang Baimian said after considering, "We are all time-tested warriors with good strength and firm will. Even in a dream, relying on instinct is definitely better than Green Olive. Most of the residents in the district held on for a long time, and waited until the time came to scare the 'nightmare' away with the help of Xiao Chong and Teacher Du Heng, but those residents would most likely be overtaken by the monsters before then and drowned in the darkness."

So there were corresponding symptoms and a certain degree of discomfort.

Gennava moved his metal neck up and down, and supported Shang Jianyao's body with his hands:

"There are definitely more people affected than those queuing up in front of the clinic. When faced with this situation, most people will choose to hold on for the day and have a good sleep at night to see if they can recover."

He made this judgment based on his own library of human behavior patterns.

Jiang Baimian said "hmm" and said to Bai Chen:

"Let's go around and go to Ugo Hotel."

This effectively conceals the fact that they live nearby.

As the jeep moved forward, several security guards in gray-blue uniforms came out of the clinic and raised their hands to signal Bai Chen to stop.

Long Yuehong glanced at Shang Jianyao, who had just sat upright, and signaled him to prepare for "thinking guidance."

Beneath, bee, bee.

One of the security guards bent down and knocked on the passenger window.

Jiang Baimian, who was disguised, pressed the window and asked with pretense of anxiety:

"Sir, what's the matter?"

The security guard asked seriously:

"Did you have any nightmares last night?

"how is it like?"

Jiang Baimian raised the corners of his mouth, took out his hunter badge and waved it:

"Sir, we saw the collective dream mission in the guild yesterday."

She didn't say that she only watched missed calls, nor did she mention that she had nightmares and was not affected, but her actions and words made people naturally understand in the direction she wanted:

This is a group of ruin hunters who took over the mission and came here to investigate today. They did not live here last night, so there is no doubt that they did not have nightmares.

The security officer who asked the question did not hide his disappointed expression, waved his hand and said:

“Don’t cause trouble, stay calm!

"Notify me immediately if there is any situation!"

"Yes, sir." Jiang Baimian raised his hands and saluted with an indifferent expression, making himself look like an experienced hunter who had been around the First City and the surrounding areas for a long time.

After she closed the window, Bai Chen drove the jeep and drove around the neighborhood.

On the way, in order to make the performance realistic enough, the "Old Tune Team" stopped the vehicle from time to time and asked passers-by whether they had nightmares and what kind of nightmares they had.

After just asking five people, they got three positive answers, and the nightmares these three had were almost identical:

In the wilderness or inside an abandoned building, you are chased by monsters hidden in the darkness with bloody pale palms and elbows alternately supporting the ground. In the end, you trip due to lack of physical strength or misfortune, and are shrouded in coldness. You wake up with a start. Today is more or less All have a little headache and dizziness.

"It's similar to what the team leader guessed." Long Yuehong said sincerely.

Jiang Baimian looked out the window and sighed slightly worriedly:

"It would be nice if the impact of the 'nightmare' only stopped here..."

She was afraid that the problem would become worse and worse and eventually out of control.

At this time, Jeep arrived at the khaki three-story building where Ugo Hotel is located.

As a relic hunter who came to this neighborhood to investigate the "nightmare", it was reasonable and normal behavior to go door to door and ask questions.

As soon as he entered the hall, Shang Jianyao sighed regretfully:

"No one is here."

The "person" here refers to Boss Ugo.

There were actually some scattered rooms on the first floor, where a few guests lived, so Shang Jianyao didn't confirm that Boss Ugo was not there until he entered the lobby and observed the environment.

"Go to the True Self Teaching?" Jiang Baimian muttered to himself, lowering his voice.

Now she can control the volume freely without worrying about being heard when she whispers too loudly.

At this time, the front desk was empty, and the wooden door of the connecting room behind was closed.

Bai Chen looked around and saw two hotel guests coming back from the door. As they walked through the hall, they rubbed their foreheads and communicated casually:

"I thought I could have a good sleep after leaving the wilderness, but I actually had a nightmare, which scared me so much that I couldn't sleep for the rest of the night."

"Me too, maybe it's because I've been under a lot of pressure recently. If it still happens in the future, I plan to go to the clinic to find a doctor to get some medicine. Although it's definitely not cheap, as a relic hunter, it's more important to stay in good condition."

"I wonder if there is something unusual in this neighborhood. The boss didn't get up in the morning and opened the door. Or maybe I did it for him."

"Really? Did you drive it?"

"Of course. You came out too late. I opened the door before you arrived."

Hearing the conversation between the two hotel guests, Bai Chen's eyes flickered, and he had a vague premonition.

She quickly turned her gaze to Jiang Baimian and found that the team leader's brows also wrinkled slightly.

"Even if Boss Ugo really goes out to do business, he will not forget to open the door of the hotel." When the two guests returned to the room, Bai Chen expressed his thoughts.

Shang Jianyao glanced at the room behind the front desk.

The wooden door there was closed, and no sound came out.

"Go and have a look." Jiang Baimian was giving an order on the surface, but actually he walked to the front desk himself.

Gnawa, Long Yuehong, and Bai Chen naturally dispersed and entered the fighting position, ready to fire and cover their teammates at any time.

Shang Jianyao followed Jiang Baimian and carefully observed her direction.

"Well, I'm not lost." Shang Jianyao was quite pleased.

With only a few meters away and the target being so big, I could see it clearly. Could I have gotten lost? Jiang Baimian tried hard to keep his expression serious.

She walked around the front desk and arrived at Ugo's room, then stretched out her right palm and turned the handle.

The wooden door slowly retreated, Jiang Baimian's nose twitched, and his expression suddenly became solemn.

As the door opened, the scene inside the room came into full view of her:

A bed was placed against the wall on the left, next to a wooden table. On the table were messy piles of sewing needles, old knives, black leather whips, multiple ropes, and only half-length candles.

Ugo, a dark-skinned hotel owner, was naked from the waist down and fell on his back on the floor, his face tightly covered by a translucent blue plastic bag.

His eyes were wide open, there were signs of incontinence on his lower body, and a faint stench filled the room.

He no longer has human consciousness, and he has lost his life.

The sadness on Jiang Baimian's face flashed across his face, he turned half sideways and said in a deep voice to the team members outside:

"Boss Ugo is dead."

died? Boss Ugo is dead? Long Yuehong couldn't accept it.

The hotel owner was fine yesterday and promised the team leader to contact General Phocas. Why did he suddenly die today?

Shang Jianyao raised his left palm and sighed:

"Namo Ayodoro Samyak Sambodhi, may he ascend to the ultimate bliss."

Jiang Baimian walked into the room step by step, always paying attention not to damage the scene.

When Shang Jianyao arrived at the door, she squatted down and did a general inspection.

After a few minutes, Jiang Baimian straightened his back and said in confusion:

“The cause of death was likely suffocation.

"Judging from the scene, Boss Ugo put the plastic bag over his head, tightly tied the opening, and suffocated himself to death..."

If it were anyone else, Jiang Baimian would definitely think that this was a scene deliberately fabricated by the real murderer, but if it happened to Ugo and a devout believer in the True Self Cult, she felt it was not impossible.

These people always seek to abuse themselves in various ways, hoping to feel their "true self" through similar behaviors.

This is tantamount to dancing on the edge of a cliff, and the slightest accident may break you into pieces.

Without waiting for anyone else to respond, Jiang Baimian added:

"The time of death was probably between 11pm and 4am last night."

Last night... Long Yuehong's heart moved and she blurted out in horror:

"It's not caused by that 'nightmare', is it?"