Embers Ad Infinitum

This continuous mountain range is called Yunshan. If you want to get around it, you can either go northwest and pass through the sphere of influence of the "White Knights", or go all the way southeast to the great plain where the terrain has relaxed, where is the "Primary City" "The front line confronting the "Salvation Army" is the defense area of ​​the former's Eastern Army.

In the old world, Yunshan was not an insurmountable natural danger. Many bridges and tunnels connected the two sides. But today, many bridges have collapsed, many tunnels are blocked, and there are only a few routes left to cross the mountains. , and this is guarded by people from the "First City" and the "Salvation Army".

Bai Chen, who was in the driving area, let go of one hand and pointed to a road leading into the mountain ahead:

“You can cross Yunshan from here without encountering particularly strict inspections.

"It was a lower-level road in the old world. It runs through mountains and does not rely much on tunnels and bridges. Although many places have collapsed along the way, it can still barely accommodate a large vehicle."

Jiang Baimian nodded "Yeah" first, then asked curiously:

"Xiao Bai, haven't you been here before? Why are you so familiar..."

"Because I know how to read maps." The person who helped answered was Shang Jianyao.

Bai Chen explained while driving the jeep towards the mountain road:

“Although I have never been here, I have had a certain understanding of it for a long time.

"At that time, the Salvation Army sent people everywhere to collect wilderness wanderers and organized them to go to the east of Yunshan. They said that although there was still a certain gap in food, they would definitely be able to survive by relying on the mountains and water, and strictly following the rationing system. Let everyone barely survive, then work together, fight against dangers together, open up pieces of farmland in less polluted areas, and build factories one by one, so that everyone will no longer worry about famine and cold..."

The more Bai Chen spoke, the slower he spoke, as if he recalled the feeling of hearing these things for the first time.

Shang Jianyao straightened his back, pressed his right hand on his left chest and said:

"For all mankind!"

"For all mankind" is the slogan and ideal of the "Salvation Army", and "for all mankind" is Shang Jianyao's own, and he makes the distinction very clearly.

Bai Chen ignored him and said to himself:

"At that time, someone from the Salvation Army also came to our settlement. He described such a future to us, and also gave us a way to bypass the army in the First City and pass through Yunshan.

“This is the path.

"I noticed it at a glance when we were collecting maps and intelligence in the Prime City."

Long Yuehong, who listened carefully, quickly testified:

"Yes, I remember that Xiaobai specifically asked about the condition of this road."

"Yes." Gnawa said that was indeed the case.

Jiang Baimian didn't care much about this "small road" for the time being. She was more curious about another point:

"Xiao Bai, was there anyone in your settlement who followed you to the Salvation Army?"

"There are quite a few. My parents originally wanted to, but because I was still relatively young and not suitable for long-distance travel, they decided to wait a few years before talking." Bai Chen pursed his lips, "Later, they passed away, and in the past dozen or so years Years ago, I never heard that the Salvation Army was still doing something similar."

"Is that so..." Jiang Baimian ignored the topic smoothly.

While several members of the "Old Tunes Group" were communicating, the jeep drove into the mountains.

The further we go, the greener and lush the trees on both sides become, and from time to time, the sound of birds chirping can be heard from a distance.

Less than seventy years after the destruction of the old world, the impact of human civilization on this area has only faded for such a period of time. Nature seems to have eliminated all traces, except for the dilapidated, overgrown, and disrepaired road.

Shang Jianyao listened intently to the chirping of birds, as if thinking about different cooking methods in the wilderness.

He only thought of "roasting" and couldn't help but raise his hand to wipe the corners of his mouth.

As the Jeep drove and stopped, several members of the "Old Adjustment Team" would come down every once in a while to clean up the insurmountable obstacles or get a few trees and put them in some inconvenient depressions, which made the vehicle The speed can't be increased no matter what.

From early nine in the morning to around four in the afternoon, Shang Jianyao and others were still struggling to move forward in Yunshan, but they seemed to have escaped the actual control range of the "Primary City".

When passing through an area with high cliffs on the left and right, Jiang Baimian suddenly paused while looking at the scenery.

She was neither fast nor slow, and looked out the window quite naturally.

At the same time, she said casually:

"There are very human-like bioelectrical signals, two."

She couldn't make a very accurate judgment purely by relying on bioelectric signals. After all, many medium-sized animals were similar in size to humans.

Shang Jianyao responded immediately:

"I sense no human consciousness."

Long Yuehong and Bai Chen tensed up.

Jiang Baimian nodded:

“Either two big ‘monkeys’ or two awakened beings.

"Salvation Army patrol?"

Since this is the hidden route given by the "Salvation Army", it must be under their supervision.

"What to do next?" Long Yuehong did not follow Jiang Baimian and looked to the right side of the cliff covered with a lot of vegetation.

Jiang Baimian smiled and said:

"Don't worry about it for now. We have to deal with people from the Salvation Army after all. Pretending to be stupid is not necessarily a bad thing."

"Well, we also know Xu Datong from the Public Security Management Committee." Long Yuehong quite agreed with the team leader's statement.

The core organization of the "Salvation Army" is called the "Material Coordination Committee", and the "Public Security Management Committee" directly belongs to it. It is equivalent to the product of the combination of the "Pange Biological Order Supervision Department" and the Security Department that has eliminated the external combat function. It has very great real power.

In old world parlance, the "Salvation Army" is a highly unified force between the military and the government. In terms of internal affairs management, many places have a strong military flavor.

On the gray soil, this is not a special case, but the norm. There are only a few places where the military and managers are particularly clearly distinguished, such as "Pangu Creatures".

Hearing Long Yuehong's words, Shang Jianyao clicked his tongue:

"How do you know there is no political struggle or factionalism within the Salvation Army?

"What if we meet Commissioner Xu's political enemy?"

Long Yuehong was speechless for a moment.

From the old world entertainment materials he has read and the several forces he has experienced, wherever there are people, there are fights.

Jiang Baimian sneered at Shang Jianyao:

"Don't you always believe that the Salvation Army has degenerated and think that they are still the same organization full of ideals and brilliance?"

Shang Jianyao's expression darkened little by little, and he said sadly:

"That's why I told the worst-case scenario in advance."

Uh, is it Shang Jianyao who values ​​emotions now, or is he a Shang Jianyao who hates evil and takes it as his own duty to save all mankind? Jiang Baimian said to Gnawa who was taking turns driving:

"Keep the same speed."

Not long after, at the corner of the dangerous road, a female voice suddenly sounded:

"parking!

"Don't go any further, or you will be bombarded from a distance!"

The language is in Gray dialect, with a slight accent.

Jiang Baimian looked up and found a slightly rusty loudspeaker tied to a tree on the edge of the road.

It connects lines, which are hidden among the vegetation.

"Stop the car." Jiang Baimian said to Gnawa as if he was prepared.

The jeep stopped in the middle of the road, and several members of the "old tune team" got out of the car one after another.

In such an environment, sitting in a car is not that safe. It is too easy to become a target and it is inconvenient to dodge.

"Who are you and why are you here?" The female voice sounded over the radio again.

Maybe it's because the equipment is old and the sound is slightly distorted.

Jiang Baimian replied:

"We are relic hunters who want to make a living east of Yunshan."

"Why don't you stay in the 'Primary City'?" the female voice asked from the distance.

She was outside Shang Jianyao's sensing range.

Jiang Baimian looked "helpless":

“We are unlucky and are wanted by the ‘First City’.

"I think you should also have a Hunter's Guild here. You can check through them whether we are really wanted by the Prime City."

"Name, hunter number." The female voice was quite polite and did not let the "Old Tune Team" hand over the hunter badge directly.

After Jiang Baimian finished reporting the fake name and real number, the female voice asked:

"Why are you wanted?"

Uh... Jiang Baimian couldn't remember the first thing for which he and others were wanted.

I have been wanted by "Prime City" too many times!

"We robbed three military exoskeleton devices and two bionic smart armors!" Bai Chen, Long Yuehong, and Gennava teamed up but failed to stop Shang Jianyao from blowing up his wealth.

There was silence on the other side.

Shang Jianyao then laughed again and said:

"Kidding."

There was still silence on the other side.

After a while, the female voice came over the radio again:

"After confirmation, you are indeed wanted by the "Prime City", and the reward is very high.

"And you haven't been arrested until today, which shows that you are very powerful."

"Yes, yes." Shang Jianyao was not modest at all.

Jiang Baimian smiled and said:

“But we come with kindness, and our ultimate destination is the ice sheet.

"You shouldn't reject outside hunters, right?"

At least no one mentioned that the "Salvation Army" does not allow relic hunters from other forces to enter.

"Ice field?" The female voice suddenly sounded a little strange.

She paused for a few seconds before saying:

"We just don't welcome relic hunters who act as spies.

"You can continue moving forward. When you encounter a settlement, you are not allowed to enter. You can only camp outside unless you undergo further inspection."

Seeing that the communication was normal and smooth, Jiang Baimian breathed a sigh of relief and said:

"OK."