Embers Ad Infinitum

Shang Jianyao touched his chin and pinched his cheeks awkwardly.

Finally, he gave an ambiguous answer:

"It depends on the situation. If there are understanding people and supervision from the older generation, it will definitely be stricter. If not, it depends on the self-consciousness of those people, hey..."

As he spoke, Shang Jianyao sighed.

He behaves like a loyal soldier worried about the future of the Salvation Army.

Is not this nonsensical? Long Yuehong complained in her heart about Shang Jianyao's answer just now.

This is roughly equivalent to when someone asks "Will the temperature drop tomorrow?" and says, "If the cold air moves south, it will definitely cool down. If not, the fluctuation range will be relatively small."

Bai Chen expressed his opinion:

"Judging from the current situation, I am more inclined to believe that the person in room 214 has really handed over the nuclear warhead to his subordinates or accomplices, and is quite sure that he will use conspiracy to force the Salvation Army to evacuate the people. After that, the other party can Bring the nuclear warhead safely out of Wubei.

"Under such circumstances, he only had to wait through tonight, and he could follow the hotel guests to evacuate Wubei tomorrow without any problems being detected. Who knew that he would meet us."

The plan of the person in room 214 actually has a high error tolerance rate. Putting aside the next family or accomplices that the "Old Tune Team" does not understand and is not even sure of their existence, in the small environment of "Huitu Hotel", with "Tian Er" With the "pass" prop, he can monitor the content of everyone's exchanges in real time, and blur the corresponding memories as soon as he finds signs of something wrong. Not only will this not cause big noises and attract the attention of others, but it can also last for several days under normal circumstances. , or even longer.

However, he never expected that the "Old Tune Team" had seen too much of the world, was powerful, had various props, and had a bioelectric signal sensor that could have a certain effect even when separated by several walls. 2. Reconnaissance means.

Hearing this, Jiang Baimian couldn't help but have the same doubt as Shang Jianyao had before:

Is the price paid by the person in room 214 really high blood pressure? Are you sure it's not bad luck?

Man, if you walk and memorize words, your teeth will get clogged even if you drink cold water!

After discussing this issue for a while, Jiang Baimian suddenly felt multiple human consciousnesses coming up from the stairs and heading towards him.

"Come to arrest us?" Shang Jianyao not only did not panic or fear, but also looked excited.

He shouldn't have any thoughts of fighting with the "Salvation Army"... Judging from his expression, it doesn't look like he's trying to scare Xiao Hong... Jiang Baimian glanced at this guy sideways in confusion:

"Why are you so excited?"

The honest Shang Jianyao replied:

“Once I’m successfully captured, I can join the Salvation Army in a way that makes me guilty and meritorious service!

"I don't think any force would reject an awakened person at the 'soul corridor' level."

"..." Jiang Baimian and Long Yuehong were both stunned.

After two seconds, Jiang Baimian gritted his teeth and said:

"You don't need to be arrested, you can surrender openly now."

Shang Jianyao shook his head:

"No, this is a betrayal of the company!"

You also know about feelings? Before Jiang Baimian could say anything, Shang Jianyao added:

"After being arrested, the company should be able to understand my desire to endure the humiliation and preserve my usefulness."

Jiang Baimian gradually felt that it would be better to slap Shang Jianyao with his left hand when arguing with him. Anyway, the debate would end in the same way.

At this time, the lucky Shang Jianyao found that the few human consciousnesses that had gone upstairs stopped outside the room where he and others were waiting.

A knock on the door followed.

"Please come in." Jiang Baimian retracted his gaze and looked at the door.

There is no doubt that the person responsible for opening the door is Shang Jianyao.

Outside the door were Ding Ling and Commissioner Huang, who was wearing a black Salvation Army uniform but without shoulder straps.

There were several people behind Commissioner Huang. Some of them were wearing black uniforms from the Salvation Army, while others were wearing olive green clothing representing the Public Security Management Committee.

Commissioner Huang, who was almost 1.7 meters tall, looked back and said to the personnel responsible for protecting him:

"You stay outside."

No one had any objections. No one said that allowing Commissioner Huang to enter the room alone was against security rules.

This shows that Commissioner Huang's usual style of telling the truth, and also shows that the security personnel have confidence in his strength.

After Commissioner Huang took two steps forward, he thought for a while and said to Ding Ling:

"You don't have to follow me, just close the door."

Ding Ling nodded:

"Yes, Commissioner Huang."

She exited the room and closed the wooden door.

Commissioner Huang immediately looked around and smiled at several members of the "Old Tune Team":

"Don't worry, according to feedback from all parties, it is indeed impossible for you to transfer the nuclear warhead.

"This shows that you were the first to dig out the suspect and deal with it in a timely manner. On behalf of the Wubei Material Coordination Committee and the Wubei Public Security Management Committee, I would like to thank you!"

Shang Jianyao was not happy at all when he was thanked, and was even a little disappointed.

Commissioner Huang noticed the change in his mood and gave him a slightly puzzled look.

However, this is not something worth worrying about. Commissioner Huang turned to smile and sighed:

"I told you the general situation of the missing nuclear warhead before, just to ask you to help pay attention to what is going on in the 'Huitu Hotel' and to pay attention to the outsiders here.

“It’s not that we don’t have the ability to investigate them one by one, but I have always adhered to a concept: the more helpers we develop, the harder it will be for the enemy!

"Sure enough, you really discovered the problem, found the clues, and solved the dangerous element."

As expected of an older batch of "Salvation Army" soldiers, there is nothing to say about his heart and magnanimity... Jiang Baimian looked at Commissioner Huang, who was much older than his father, looked at his white hair, and responded with a smile:

“I was just lucky, and I got a clue after just two or three questions.

"Commissioner Huang, sit down and talk. We don't feel comfortable with you standing like this."

She didn't talk about respecting the elderly or not, because some elderly people don't like to be called old.

Commissioner Huang nodded, walked to the sofa in the suite, and sat down.

After Jiang Baimian, Shang Jianyao and others also found their seats and sat down, he nodded gently and said:

"I'm personally sure there's nothing wrong with you."

For some reason, Jiang Baimian always felt that Commissioner Huang put a little emphasis on "any".

Commissioner Huang continued:

"I came here to hear your speculations on the whereabouts of the nuclear warhead. You have proven with facts that you have excellent minds."

"Uh..." Jiang Baimian hesitated to talk about the speculation that the accomplices in Room 214 might be family members of the senior officials of the "Salvation Army" in Wubei. After all, it is important for outsiders to know how to avoid suspicion and not to get involved with the "Salvation Army" Internal affairs is the first precept to avoid suspicion.

Regardless of whether they intend to sow discord between certain factions of the "Salvation Army", based on the actual situation, their intentions are punishable.

At this time, the "inner ghost" Shang Jianyao had already stated the two scenarios guessed by the "old tune team":

"One, that is indeed a lunatic. He has installed a nuclear warhead somewhere in Wubei...

"Second, he is a middleman, or in other words, he has accomplices...and some people in Wubei may have left the city at this moment. Will the inspection on them be very strict?"

Commissioner Huang laughed dumbly and said:

"The second case is the inspiration from Lao Zhang?

"What he wants, can't I think of it?

"From this afternoon to evening, I personally took charge and did not give anyone any face. I only released them one by one after strict inspection."

Shang Jianyao was not happy about this, but instead said "Hey".

"Are you trying to say why those people can be evacuated from Wubei in advance? Well, Lao Zhang will definitely ask the same question." Commissioner Huang stood up and walked to the window.

He pointed to the soldiers in charge of martial law outside and said:

"My colleagues chose to stay in Wubei and face the risk of nuclear explosion with me. My subordinates chose to stay in Wubei and face the risk of nuclear explosion with me. Those young people outside are active or passive. , also stayed in Wubei, facing the risk of nuclear explosion with me.

"They are willing to sacrifice and contribute to this incident. How can I bear to let their families stay in such a dangerous place? How can I not help them eliminate their worries?"

After listening to Commissioner Huang's words, Long Yuehong, who originally resonated with Mr. Zhang's indignation, felt that what the other party said made sense.

Commissioner Huang exhaled slowly and continued:

"I can understand Lao Zhang's disappointment, confusion, anger, and doubt. I have also been through such a stage."

He cast his eyes out the window again, as if looking at the stars high in the sky that were mostly covered by clouds:

"I have forgotten which year of the new calendar it was. The number of wilderness wanderers our Salvation Army has absorbed has exceeded a certain limit. The old world storage warehouses and various food sources originally controlled have also been consumed to a very dangerous level, so , a great famine occurred and many people starved to death.

"Do you remember Hong Guangming? One of his children died at that time.

"After this famine, we deeply realized that we cannot continue like this. We have to take responsibility for the lives of those who already belong to the Salvation Army. We have to wait for a long time to lay the foundation for agriculture and industry. Be down-to-earth and build up food reserves.

“Many people were confused at the time and felt that this was not a violation of the original oath and abandonment of the ideals in their hearts.

"Well, although Lao Zhang and the others are confused, they can accept it. After all, the Great Famine is really happening in front of them.

"Later, hey, during the stage of reclaiming farmland and building industry, we encountered many problems. The most serious one was that after we stabilized, many people wanted to live on one-third of an acre. People, we can't stay tight all the time. That string.

"We old guys have seen the prosperity of the old world and know what the goal is. But the little guys who were born after the chaotic era, or those who were less than seven or eight years old when the old world was destroyed, feel that it is very difficult to do now. Okay, and try to make yourself better on this basis as much as possible.

"The yearning for a better life is everyone's natural right, but we cannot regard everyone as a saint, selfless and unselfish. This is unrealistic and unscientific.

“Maybe at a certain stage, everyone can hold themselves to the standards of a saint. Maybe at all stages, a small number of people can always hold themselves to the standards of a saint. But at all stages, it is impossible for everyone to always hold themselves to the standards of a saint. Standards require oneself, and those who are selfish are always the majority.

"Facing this situation, we can only accept the reality and adjust our management system and management methods little by little to mobilize the enthusiasm of more people. In the process, many problems inevitably occurred, which Lao Zhang and the others cannot accept. , but we old guys have been working hard to solve it, but sometimes compromise can go further. It may be better to go back and solve it after we get out of the corresponding predicament."

Shang Jianyao listened quietly without interrupting.

PS: I will take another chapter off tomorrow. I walked a long way home today, but I have no manuscripts saved. My current habit is to save one or two manuscripts, because this way I will be more calm and less anxious when writing. Therefore, there will be no update tomorrow. I will resume on Monday. normal.