Embers Ad Infinitum

When Shang Jianyao was reading Lu Fuxing's letter, Jiang Baimian casually pulled out the documents and information in his backpack while guarding against accidents.

Among them, some of the papers were obviously yellowed and showed signs of drying and brittleness, while some of them were relatively well preserved, but had a faint musty smell.

The former is a document taken out by Lu Fuxing and others from the Vegetative Rehabilitation Center of Renhui Hospital, and the latter is a suicide note left by the survivors.

These suicide notes did not have envelopes, but were neatly folded, with the recipient written on the upper side.

During the search, Jiang Baimian caught a familiar name from the corner of his eye:

"Ding Ling."

She immediately diverted half of her attention to her backpack, and a line of text caught her eye:

"Wubei border settlement, Ding Ling takes over."

Is this the suicide note left by Ji Qiang? Jiang Baimian didn't know whether to be happy or sigh.

She originally thought that Ding Ling's husband Ji Qiang might have died in the Vegetative Rehabilitation Center of Renhui Hospital, because he was only a scientific researcher, neither an awakened person nor a warrior with outstanding strength. At most, he had received training from the "Salvation Army" Compulsory combat and shooting training for all members over the age of twelve and under sixty years old every year.

Even if Ji Qiang was lucky and did not become eccentric, became silent, was not forced to enter any room, or the room he entered was not very dangerous, he would have had little hope in the subsequent split of the scientific expedition team and in that fierce battle. Survive and escape from the Vegetative Rehabilitation Center of Yanhui Hospital.

Unexpectedly, he persisted until the end and left a suicide note.

Jiang Baimian had to lament that he was really lucky at that time, but even though he was lucky, he was inevitably trapped in Taicheng in the end, infected with "unintentional disease", and there was only a suicide note to prove that he had been there. .

With curiosity, Jiang Baimian relied on his own abilities and the "comprehensive early warning system" of the military exoskeleton device to sense the surroundings and observed the nearby situation with the corner of his eye. He stretched out his left hand and picked up Ji Qiang's letter. Shake your wrist and throw it away.

This is several pages long.

Jiang Baimian quickly browsed:

"Lingling:

"This may be the last time I call you that. I have been infected with the 'Wuxin disease' and my head is slowly becoming dizzy.

"Although I have never encountered an 'unintentional illness' with early symptoms and a little bit serious, the performance of my colleagues made me sure that this is really an 'unintentional illness'. When I wrote this letter, it has already been three months. I got sick personally and was shot dead by us on the spot. If I didn't make it to the last one, this should also be my ending.

"The difficulty I told you originally was that you have to stay in the ice field for several months to survey the situation in a large area. Then you may face snowstorms and a cold season that is several times worse than the winter in Wubei.

"In such a season and such a mission, someone will die in the line of duty every time. This was what I worried about at first.

“But things changed beyond my imagination. This was an encounter filled with weirdness, blood, madness, and despair.

“We discovered a strange city that we had passed twice before without noticing it, and we entered a building that didn’t look like it was of this world.

"I can't tell you the specific process. First, it's bound by confidentiality rules. Second, I don't want you to have nightmares about it, and I don't want you to be brooding about it for the rest of your life, wanting to investigate the truth and avenge me.

"What I can tell you is that the culprit of the whole thing has died in that building, in the fierce battle that occurred after the team split. The only thing I am confused about is why he and that group of people did those things. Don't worry, the organization will investigate, and we have the ability.

"When I was a child, when I listened to my grandfather and grandmother telling stories about the early days of the establishment of the Salvation Army, I actually didn't quite understand why a loving couple in that era could not persevere after they were separated due to war, disaster, or the order of the organization. When we meet again, we already have lovers.

“Now, I vaguely understand.

"Lingling, let me call you this again. At the back of this suicide note, I wrote a special application to transfer you back to Wubei. As a victim in the line of duty, I am qualified.

"When you return to Wubei, remember to visit my parents. I didn't leave a suicide note for them, and I don't want the organization to notify them. I'm afraid they are too old and can't stand the excitement. When you visit them, you can slowly lay the groundwork for me. Regarding the sacrifice, wait until they are mentally prepared before telling them.

"Lingling, when you return to Wubei, remember to find another partner. You like children so much. When you talk to me about the future, your eyes will shine. I still remember you saying that you will like me because of us. When we first met, I patiently helped a child repair her toy. I still remember your beautiful smile at that time.

"Lingling, when you are looking for a partner, you must choose someone who works in Wubei and will not be sent abroad. Even if he gets less bills every month, it doesn't matter much.

"Lingling, I'd rather be a peace dog than a stray dog."

I would rather be a peace dog than leave others alone... Jiang Baimian slowly exhaled.

At this time, Shang Jianyao also read the letter left by Lu Fuxing.

He raised his right hand covered with metal bones, pressed it with the palm on his left chest, and solemnly saluted the corpse in front of him:

"For all mankind!"

After he completed the ceremony, Jiang Baimian said:

"Fold the letter and put it back in your backpack later, and hand it to the Salvation Army when we return."

"What's your letter?" Shang Jianyao asked curiously, nodding.

"It was left by Ji Qiang, Ding Ling's husband Ji Qiang." Jiang Baimian said in silence for a second.

Shang Jianyao, who values ​​feelings, immediately extended his hand:

"Let me see."

Jiang Baimian handed Ji Qiang's suicide note to him, intending to take this opportunity to briefly review the documents to avoid any accidents and loss of information later.

At this time, she discovered that there was only one thin page in the suicide note.

Curious, she shook it off and looked:

"Son:

"Your father is going to die!"

After reading only two lines, Jiang Baimian felt that the slightly sad atmosphere was almost broken.

She calmed down and started reading again:

"Fortunately, you are an adult and have been assigned a job. Your father and I are not too worried about you. As for the target, the organization will introduce it to you.

"You've been saying that I'm stubborn and unwilling to be accommodating. I scold those high-level relatives who resell supplies every day. I've been marginalized in the unit. Why do you still actively participate in missions that last for several months and go to the most remote places with the worst climate?" Survey? I’ll answer you now.

"When your grandfather was still alive, he often told me a saying from the old world, which is that if you have some light, you will have some enthusiasm. Those people who don't learn well, those who are willing to degenerate, pretend to be public for personal gain, and are unwilling to work hard are their faults. I can't scold them while also pushing back and being lazy.

“I have to live up to the oath I made.

"As for you, I never thought that you could have the ideal of saving all mankind. I just hope that you can be a down-to-earth person, work diligently, and not join the ranks of those people or be willing to degenerate.

"Let those people continue to do it. Everyone has sharp eyes. What is private is temporary, and what is public is eternal. Sooner or later, you young people will wake up and understand.

"When the time comes, the bright future of mankind will surely be realized!"

Jiang Baimian folded the letter again and stuffed it back into his backpack.

She picked up the stack of documents and flipped through them gently, fearing to cause damage.

These documents are roughly divided into four categories, namely correspondence, experimental records, superior orders and doctors' notes.

Among them, there are three most important ones. Lu Fuxing marked them accordingly, which greatly saved Jiang Baimian's time:

One was an order to transfer one-third of the patients in the Vegetative Rehabilitation Center to Base No. 2. The person who issued the order was signed "Eighth Research Institute" and the date was one week before the destruction of the old world;

One is an experimental record involving the brain conditions and body reactions of multiple patients. It repeatedly mentions the use of some kind of stimulation, but does not say what kind of stimulation it was;

One was a note from a doctor. On one page, he wrote, "We are almost building the stairs to the forbidden area of ​​​​the gods, and we can already vaguely see the so-called new world."

Base No. 2... Jiang Baimian whispered and stuffed the documents in his hand back into the dark green canvas backpack.

She turned to Shang Jianyao and said:

"Go down, evacuate Taicheng and take a closer look."

Shang Jianyao, who had been reading Ji Qiang's suicide note, raised his head, his eyes under the helmet goggles were red and filled with tears.

Jiang Baimian's first reaction was shock and surprise.

This is simply not how Shang Jianyao would behave.

Then, she vaguely understood the reason:

Shang Jianyao, who currently values ​​relationships and has a younger mental age, probably thought of his father from Ji Qiang's suicide note and wondered whether he would leave a few words to his mother and him before he died.

Jiang Baimian sighed and patted Shang Jianyao on the shoulder:

"Put the suicide note and let's go down.

"The bodies in the surrounding rooms are waiting for the Salvation Army to collect them."

After such a round of missile strikes, the fake Taicheng should not appear again, and people from the "Salvation Army" can directly enter the real Taicheng.

Shang Jianyao quickly changed his personality and said with a smile:

"good."