Embers Ad Infinitum

The jeep drove forward for a while along the bumpy road with high cliffs on one side, and arrived at a valley.

In the valley, the clean stream made a clear sound, flowing happily forward, nourishing a large area of ​​fertile soil.

It is not deep, and is even a bit shallow. The Jeep of the "Old Tune Team" can directly drive over the cobblestones at the bottom.

The road breaks off here and continues on the other side, with a small settlement made of reinforced concrete standing in the middle.

On the high wall of the settlement, several men wearing black uniforms of the "Salvation Army" were holding semi-automatic rifles, assault rifles and other weapons, looking sharply at Jiang Baimian and others.

In the farmland spread out around the stream, some men and women similarly dressed as soldiers were working.

Jiang Baimian, who was sitting in the passenger seat, nodded slightly and knew that this was a border military stronghold.

In similar strongholds, soldiers take turns guarding, patrolling, farming, and hunting. Except for ammunition, clothing, etc., which require regular supplies from the rear, they are barely self-sufficient.

At the same time, Jiang Baimian glanced around and discovered some traces with experience. Based on this, he judged that there were many members of the "Salvation Army" lurking on the cliffs around the valley.

"This is a stronghold to guard against awakened attacks at the 'soul corridor' level. We have deployed powerful long-range firepower a few hundred meters away..." Jiang Baimian looked back thoughtfully.

She turned to the team members and smiled:

"It's getting dark, so we'll camp by the stream tonight."

"Okay!" Shang Jianyao answered simply and neatly.

He suddenly pushed the door open and got out of the car, facing the military stronghold, stretched out his right hand to press his left chest, and shouted loudly:

"For all mankind!"

The members of the "Salvation Army" on the settlement wall were a little stunned for a moment.

One after another they decided to ignore the guy as long as he took no further action.

Jiang Baimian, who followed him out of the car, curled his lips behind Shang Jianyao and pretended not to recognize him.

Seeing that the "Old Tune Team" had no intention of entering the settlement, but instead camped at a certain distance, the members of the "Salvation Army" quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

"They are quite good!" Shang Jianyao sighed to Long Yuehong and others when he saw this.

Long Yuehong was a little confused:

"Why do you say that?"

Shang Jianyao replied confidently:

"When encountering a few of us outsiders who seem to have a lot of money in such a remote and uninhabited border stronghold, shouldn't normal soldiers be looking for trouble to satisfy their greed?

“And they were actually relieved that we didn’t cause any trouble.

"What a sign of kindness and mercy!"

Bai Chen agreed with Shang Jianyao's words:

"Similar incidents have occurred in many wilderness strongholds in the 'First City'. Later, ruin hunters and smuggling caravans would rather take the risk of encountering bandits, 'careless people', aberrant creatures and accidents to bypass those places. .”

If you really want to be targeted by the soldiers in the wilderness stronghold of "Prime City", it is still a good thing to lose property, but you are afraid that you will not be able to save people.

Moreover, if you fight back and injure and kill several regular soldiers, unless you silence them all so that no one can find out afterwards, you will definitely be wanted by the "First City".

Jiang Baimian ruthlessly exposed Shang Jianyao's beautiful fantasy:

"Maybe it's because our resume is so impressive."

To be wanted time and time again by "Prime City", with bounties reaching tens of thousands of Ore, and still running around alive, they really don't look like a team to be trifled with.

Jian Shang Jian Yao's expression suddenly collapsed and he made no secret of it, as if he was still a child. Jiang Baimian sighed silently and added two more sentences:

"No matter how much the outside world says that the Salvation Army has become degenerate, I think they should still retain some bottom lines and will not attack innocent people at will.

"Hmm... If it were a military stronghold in the First City, how could it be that the soldiers were part-time farmers and took turns farming? They would 100% capture wilderness wanderers as slaves to do these things on their behalf."

"Yes." Bai Chen nodded.

Currently, only some areas of the Gray Earth have restored a certain degree of order, and the borders or wilderness strongholds are obviously not within this scope.

Shang Jianyao smiled again, hummed a song, and volunteered to go to the stream to test the water quality.

Just as the "Old Tune Team" was collecting firewood, setting up a bonfire, and preparing dinner, the steel gate of the military stronghold opened.

A man and a woman came out. The woman was about 1.65 meters tall, about thirty years old, mature and charming.

She has black hair and brown eyes, thick eyebrows, not ugly facial features, and her skin color is close to that of Jiang Baimian. They are both a healthy wheat color, but she is a bit darker.

She has clean, refreshing ear-length hair and wears a black uniform. Her body shape is neither fat nor thin, quite standard.

At this time, although the lady was walking side by side with the young man, her temperament and attitude showed that she was the dominant one.

——The man was about seventeen or eighteen years old. He had a light fluff on his lips. He was ordinary-looking and looked quite young.

After approaching the "Old Tune Group", the young man who still retains a certain sense of youth took the initiative to introduce the lady next to him:

"This is Captain Ding from our border settlement."

"Ding Ling." The lady smiled and extended her right palm openly.

Hearing this slightly accented self-introduction, Jiang Baimian laughed:

"Are you the one who warned us over the radio?"

She also stretched out her right palm and shook it lightly.

Ding Ling nodded:

“This is our responsibility as a border settlement and we cannot let suspicious people pass by.

"Xue Shiyue, right? Although I know your name is probably a pseudonym, it doesn't matter. The name is just a code name."

Then, she casually introduced the young people around her:

"Once safe."

"What a name!" Shang Jianyao clapped his hands, making the young man feel a little embarrassed.

"His parents have great expectations for him." Ding Ling explained simply.

Jiang Baimian then introduced his team members.

Of course, she gave all false names.

As for Gennava, he now plays an ordinary robot with no name, only a codename and no introduction.

After the two parties finished their greetings, Shang Jianyao asked Ding Ling responsibly:

"If the 'First City' chooses to use this place as a breakthrough point, can a small settlement like yours with dozens of people really be able to stop it?"

He acted like a veteran member of the Salvation Army.

At this moment, Ding Ling had the feeling of being inspected by a superior.

Whether we can stop it or not is none of your business? She smiled slightly and said:

“It’s definitely unstoppable.

“We mainly provide early warning, using several different methods.

“Last year, this settlement encountered a raid from the ‘Primary City’. After we gave an early warning, we gave up here and retreated into the mountains in small groups, and then looked for opportunities to interfere with the enemy along the way and slow down their advance.

"As long as people are still there, new settlements will certainly be established."

Ding Ling gave a more detailed answer, mainly because she wanted to tell the opposing team, which was not weak, that the "Salvation Army" settlement had mature plans for different enemies, so that they would not take risks.

"It must be difficult and dangerous to retreat into the mountains, right?" Shang Jianyao looked concerned.

Ding Ling was stunned for a moment before saying:

"right."

The expressions of her and Zeng Ping'an next to her changed slightly, as if they were recalling all the hardships and dangers at that time.

After a few seconds, Ding Ling took the initiative and asked:

"Why do you want to go to the ice field?"

I felt you were a little concerned about the ice field before... Jiang Baimian organized the following words:

"Before the destruction of the old world, part of the current ice sheet was still a place with relatively normal weather, and there were many human cities. Later, the climate changed drastically, and the ice sheet expanded and swallowed up those areas.

"Due to the climate restrictions of the ice sheet, there is very little arable land, and there are not many wilderness wanderers and ruin hunters there. Many urban ruins are still in relatively good condition, allowing us to return home with a full load."

"That's true." Ding Ling nodded, "Even our Salvation Army only organizes teams to collect resources in the summer. Well, you are going all the way now, it is midsummer."

She opened her mouth, but hesitated to speak. After a long while, she hesitated and said:

"When you arrive at the ice field, can you help me keep an eye on someone?"

"Who?" asked Zen Master Pudu, who was compassionate and helpful.

Ding Ling lowered her head and smiled:

"My husband, his name is Ji Qiang, a scientific researcher.

"We were able to get together twice a year, but the year before last he joined an expedition team and went to the ice field. He said he was carrying out a secret mission. If he could succeed, he would be eligible to transfer me back to Wubei. The family could be reunited from After that, I lost information about him, and his unit has been unable to give me a detailed reply due to confidentiality regulations."

Perhaps she didn't expect the captain to talk in such detail about the assignment and transfer of work, which made the young man next to her, Zeng Ping'an, a little embarrassed.

"That's it..." Jiang Baimian thought for a moment and said, "It's okay to pay attention. It's just a simple effort."

Ding Ling showed a heartfelt smile:

“I have a picture of him here.

"We will take photos in Wubei when we get married."

Wubei is one of the core cities of the "Salvation Army". The Wubei 6 and Wubei 7 produced there are quite common pistols in the dust.