Embers Ad Infinitum

Jiang Baimian did not immediately pick up the dark green canvas backpack on the body, but cautiously said to Shang Jianyao:

"Check around to see if there are any dangers that need to be eliminated."

The two worked together and quickly confirmed that the bedroom, kitchen, living room, bathroom and other places were normal enough and there was no other body.

Moreover, they concluded from the remains of some carrion on the body that he was not an aborigine from Taicheng, but a member of the scientific expedition team of Ding Ling's husband Ji Qiang.

After doing these things, Jiang Baimian put on gloves and lifted the dark green canvas backpack from the chest, abdomen and thighs of the corpse.

After opening the zipper, she saw many documents and information.

Among them, several pieces of paper were neatly folded and placed on top.

Jiang Baimian put his backpack on the computer table, picked up the pieces of paper, and unfolded them.

The writing on it is in gray clay script, one stroke after another, neat and neat, and extremely clear, as if he was worried that newcomers would not be able to understand it.

While Jiang Baimian signaled Shang Jianyao to be alert, he quickly browsed:

"I don't know who you will be when you read this letter, where you are from, and which force you belong to. None of these are important. What is important is that someone finally entered this mysterious city again and found us.

"My name is Lu Fuxing, a scientific researcher at the Salvation Army. I should be dead by the time you read this letter.

"Here I will simply tell you the cause and effect of the matter, and why I am writing this letter. Believe me, this is quite important, and it may be related to how you and your companions escape from this mysterious city.

"More than two years ago, a large earthquake occurred in the northeastern part of the ice sheet. After the earthquake, one of our 'Salvation Army' weather stations observing the weather conditions in the ice sheet found some artifacts belonging to the old world civilization floating in the river, and we The Salvation Army has already surveyed the area and found that there are no urban ruins or abandoned towns further up the river or even further.

“As a scientific research institute responsible for investigating the geological conditions, relics, and resource distribution of the ice sheet, my colleagues and I came to the ice sheet under the protection of a team of soldiers, intending to re-explore that area.

“The captain of our scientific expedition team is called Chen Mingqiang. He not only has high academic attainments, but he is also an awakener.

“On the third day after entering the ice field, I felt unwell and had a stomachache at night. I wanted to ask the team doctor to get some medicine. When I walked out of the tent, I found the edge of the campfire shining in the shadow between the two tents. Chen Mingqiang was wandering silently.

“I was shocked at the time, but luckily I recognized him in time, otherwise I would have alerted the patrolling soldiers.

"Chen Mingqiang also discovered me. He explained that he had some insomnia, so he came out to have some fresh air and think about some issues.

"I have no doubt that for those of us who do science, things like this happen all the time.

"After that day, Chen Mingqiang became more and more strange. He was originally a cheerful person who liked chatting with the team members, but he became more and more silent. He often walked behind the team, as if he had become our shadow.

“When passing by the Bei’an Lake Rest Point, he actually ordered us to camp in the wild instead of going in to enjoy clean beds and warm showers.

"Although our mission does have confidentiality requirements, it is not so strict that we cannot even enter our own power's resting point or have contact with anyone. At that time, many of my colleagues were confused and were forced to obey orders by Chen Ming.

“In the end, the result we strive for is to send three people to the rest point to exchange for supplies and make up for what was consumed before.

“After leaving Bei’an Lake, we continued to the planned location.

“I don’t know why, but I feel that many people in the team are getting more and more uncomfortable. Like Chen Mingqiang, they have become quiet and like to walk at the back of the team.

"I tried asking them, which I thought was my duty, and the answer was that I was depressed after being out in the field for too long.

“This is indeed a problem that similar scientific expedition teams often encounter, but this time it appeared particularly early.

"We went against the river and surveyed its upper reaches within two days. We discovered, no, we saw a city, which is the ruins where you and your companions are currently.

"In our original records, this area was the area that suffered the most serious blow when the old world was destroyed, so much so that the entire terrain was distorted. The corresponding city should have sunk into the earth long ago, buried by mud and boulders.

“But now, the eerily preserved ruins of a city appear before our eyes.

"In order to confirm that this was not a mirage, we bypassed the fault zone and arrived at the edge of Taicheng. Yes, it was called Taicheng before the destruction of the old world.

“That night, we sent a telegram to Wubei to inform us of the situation and awaited follow-up instructions.

"Early the next morning, everyone was suddenly woken up. Chen Mingqiang, who controlled the radio station, told us that our superiors asked us to enter Taicheng to explore a place.

“Many colleagues and I are very puzzled that our specialty is not exploring ruins, and this should be left to a specialized team.

"However, as a qualified member of the Salvation Army, obeying orders has been integrated into my blood. After Chen Mingqiang presented the telegram sent by his superiors and it was jointly certified by two colleagues and a soldier, I no longer had any objections.

“In retrospect, I suspected that the telegram was a forgery because the three people who testified about the whole thing had become eccentric, silent and self-marginalized to the point of almost non-existence.

“How dare he forge orders from his superiors.

"After entering Taicheng, we came to a hospital. Chen Mingqiang seemed to be very familiar with this place and took us directly into the nine-story building on the right.

“It’s called the ‘Vegetative Rehabilitation Center of Renhui Hospital’.

"It was a very scary place. Chen Mingqiang seemed to be using us as a mine detection tool and asked me and many of my colleagues to enter different rooms.

"Some people went crazy, some became vegetative, some got 'unintentional disease' and were shot on the spot, some became as strange as Chen Mingqiang and others, some suddenly rushed to the window and jumped He fell down and killed himself...

"I don't want to recall it anymore. This is a very cruel thing to me. In short, if you enter the Vegetative Rehabilitation Center of Renhui Hospital, please do not open the door and enter the room casually.

“As much as we lost, we also gained, we found some very important documents that were beyond my imagination.

"The remaining people were unwilling to enter those rooms anymore and clashed with Chen Mingqiang, including some soldiers, and there were also awakened people among these soldiers.

"Those who had become silent and eccentric took Chen Mingqiang's side, and a fierce battle broke out between the two sides.

"We were at a disadvantage and many people died. Finally, we found an opportunity and hurriedly escaped from the building.

"But Chen Mingqiang did not pursue him and chose to stay in the vegetative rehabilitation center.

“Two of us were separated while escaping, but the rest gathered together, retrieved their original vehicles, and planned to leave Taicheng, return to the camp, and ask for help from their superiors.

“But when we returned to the edge of the city, we were surprised to find that the road out of the city had been destroyed and the entire city was completely cut off from the outside world.

"We wanted to try somewhere else, but gradually we found that our spirits were gradually declining and we were getting more and more tired. It didn't take long before the first 'unintentional one' among us was born.

“Then the second, then the third.

"We began to suspect that everyone was infected with the 'careless' virus, which would attack sooner or later. Everyone fell into despair, as if they saw death approaching them step by step.

"I'm not too young anymore and I'm mentally prepared for this. I told them to write a suicide note before the disease attacks. Maybe they'll have a chance to let their family members see it in the future.

“I also took the opportunity to write this letter and organize the documents we obtained at the Vegetative Rehabilitation Center of Yanhui Hospital.

“In the following days, those who were still sober were responsible for dealing with colleagues and teammates who had become ‘unintentional’, and the last sober person committed suicide on his own.

“Unexpectedly, I was the one who survived to the end, and I thought the rest of the content would be written by my other colleagues.

“Before this, we had already found paint to make this window and the surrounding walls red, so that people entering Taicheng can see at a glance that there is something wrong here.

"If you are colleagues, you can go to other rooms on this floor to look for the bones of my colleagues and teammates. If not, just look at the following:

"The documents in the backpack are very important. I don't care whether they were obtained by our Salvation Army or some other force. They belong to all mankind.

“Friends who read this letter, if you can choose, please spread the contents of those documents, no matter which force it is to.

"The person behind the Vegetative Rehabilitation Center of Renhui Hospital is the Eighth Research Institute of the old world. They are conducting a very dangerous and terrifying experiment involving the forbidden area of ​​​​the gods and the new world!

“I know those documents lack more detailed and important content, but they can unite all the forces on the earth to jointly seek the secrets buried by the Eighth Research Institute.

"Finally, there are suicide notes left by some of my colleagues and teammates in the backpack. If you don't want to bother, just keep them. If you are willing, please give them to a member of the Salvation Army and ask him to give them to you." The letter is sent to the appropriate person.

"I'm very grateful that you and your companions have seen this. If you are also trapped in Taicheng, you can go to Renhui Hospital to look for Chen Mingqiang's bones. I suspect that he contains the secret that allows us to enter Taicheng. This is also the case. The key to getting out.

"I have mentioned in my letter before that the Vegetative Rehabilitation Center of Renhui Hospital is very dangerous, and you probably have to select two or three people who are willing to sacrifice and dare to sacrifice.

"Okay, I feel that my spirit is getting more and more lax, and my rationality is getting more and more unable to control my impulses. I plan to use a pistol to end my life.

“Please be sure to spread the contents of those documents so that a better future for humanity can be realized.

"For all mankind!"

Jiang Baimian read it silently and handed the letter in his hand to Shang Jianyao.