Embers Ad Infinitum

One, one hundred? Then what were you counting just now? Before you finish counting, we have all met those people! Even after joining the "Old Tune Group" for several years, Long Yuehong still couldn't fully adapt to Shang Jianyao's style of doing things.

This is because the other party often comes up with new tricks.

"Nearly a hundred people?" Jiang Baimian gestured to Bai Chen to slow down and frowned to himself, "Why did a team of this size appear in the ice field?"

"Just go and ask and you will know." Shang Jianyao looked like there was nothing to worry about.

His face was filled with words like:

If you have any questions, just ask the person involved directly. It’s such a simple matter, and we are all brothers everywhere!

Jiang Baimian thought for a while and said:

“Let’s find a place to observe from a distance first, and then consider whether to contact.

"Hey, take out your loudspeaker and be ready to shout. Laoge, monitor the status of others. In case there are awakened people at the 'soul corridor' level on the opposite side, our current approach cannot be hidden from anyone."

"Okay!" Shang Jianyao responded excitedly, and then volunteered, "Lao Ge will drive, and I'll sit in the passenger seat, so it's easier to observe and react."

Jiang Baimian said with some relief:

"Your idea is good, but why do we have to drive there?

"Wouldn't it be better to hide the jeep somewhere near here, guarded by Xiaobai, Xiaohong, and Laoge, while you and I hide our consciousness and sneak over quietly?"

"Yes!" Shang Jianyao clenched his right fist and left palm.

Jiang Baimian quickly issued the order:

"Xiaobai, pull over and park."

Soon, the "Old Tune Team" was divided into two teams. Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao put on military exoskeleton devices, concealed their consciousness, and headed towards the target area.

They did not take the main road, but took advantage of the snowy alleys to approach the place where a large number of human consciousnesses gathered in a roundabout way.

Not long after, they entered the third floor of a building and looked down at the front.

The first thing that caught their eyes was the streaks of ice hanging outside the half-open windows, and then a cleared square with not much snow.

There are monuments and human statues on the square, but they have suffered severe corrosion, so that the surface has deformed and holes have appeared, which looks extremely scary.

Surrounding the monument and the humanoid statue, there are heavy-duty trucks equipped with anti-skid tires, which together with many RVs surrounded a camp.

On these trucks, all the plastic sheets used to protect them from rain and snow were lifted, revealing the empty truck beds.

There are also many RVs and off-road vehicles in the camp. They are of different colors, some are black, some are white, some are brown, and some are red, as if they are holding an expo.

At this time, fifty or sixty humans gathered around several bonfires, looking at each other blankly and speechlessly, as if their souls had been extracted.

There were also people in their 30s and 40s. According to Shang Jianyao and Jiang Baimian, they were in different cars.

There are people in every car.

"This way of setting up a camp..." Jiang Baimian showed a recalling expression.

Shang Jianyao was quite excited:

"My brothers, the 'Rootless'!"

The "rootless" are a group of people who live in RVs and are accustomed to wandering. Their customs and habits are different from those of ordinary human groups.

Jiang Baimian said "hmm":

"This is a little different from the 'Sangzi' business group we have seen before.

"'Sangzi' is dominated by RVs. This team's RVs and trucks are almost equally divided. Moreover, 'Sangzi' are basically from the Gray Earth, and the vast majority here are from the Red River."

"Cousin." Shang Jianyao corrected his statement when he realized his mistake.

He then said with concern:

"It seems like something happened to these 'rootless people' and they lost their goods."

He judged this from the empty truck.

Without waiting for Jiang Baimian to respond, he continued:

"As a group whose main business is the transportation and resale of goods, they lost their goods and lost their credibility. They could only come to the ice sheet to find a quiet place, repent collectively, and decide whether to commit suicide..."

"Stop, stop, stop!" Jiang Baimian forcibly interrupted this guy's speculation.

The more you say it, the more outrageous it becomes!

She looked at Shang Jianyao and said with a "haha" smile:

"I know you want to go over and ask what happened and care about your cousins."

"Yes, yes." Shang Jianyao admitted frankly.

"The problem now is that it is difficult for those 'rootless people' to distinguish between friends and foes." Jiang Baimian thought for a moment, "Take out your loudspeaker and express your goodwill."

The “goodwill” that comes with being a friend.

After receiving permission, Shang Jianyao immediately took out his blue and white loudspeaker from the tactical backpack hanging on his body.

He had experimented before. When exerting influence, relying on the loudspeaker module that comes with the military exoskeleton device was not as effective as directly using an independent loudspeaker. It seemed that there was too much turnover, the circuit was too complex, and too much loss occurred.

Of course, this attenuation is only about 10%. At the current distance, it does not affect Shang Jianyao's use of "thinking guidance" on the group of people suspected of being "rootless". It’s more fun to speak with a loudspeaker.

"Good morning, everyone." He greeted them politely in Honghe dialect.

The group of people suspected of being "rootless" reacted instantly.

They came to their senses one after another and went their separate ways to find cover.

"I know the 'Sangzi' business group, and I am a brother with Feilin. They are also 'rootless people' and are active in the vast land from Weed City to the Gold Coast." While Shang Jianyao shouted, Jiang Baimian used the binoculars to pay attention situation of those people.

When they heard "Sangzi" and Feilin, they all paused obviously, and some even showed expressions of thinking.

Based on this, Jiang Baimian judged that these people were indeed "rootless people". Even if they were not, they were closely related to "rootless people".

Shang Jianyao took the loudspeaker and continued:

"I like the 'rootless' very much and am willing to become friends and brothers and sisters with every 'rootless'..."

After he finished "rambling", those people relaxed. Except for those who stayed behind in the car, the rest gathered around the campfire again, smiled at Jiang and Shang and waved their hands.

Shang Jianyao put down the loudspeaker with satisfaction.

"Go over." Jiang Baimian said nothing more.

The two people wearing military exoskeleton devices easily jumped from the third floor and arrived at the camp in a few ups and downs.

"What do you call it?" Shang Jianyao pushed up the protective mask of his helmet, stretched out his hands, and enthusiastically shook hands with the oncoming team leader.

Jiang Baimian, who also pushed up his mask, slowed down his breathing because he was greeted by the strong smell of gasoline and diesel.

"Smith." The weather-beaten Red River man in his fifties responded with a smile, "What about you?"

He said he was tall, but he was actually only 1.75 meters tall, but compared to most people on the surface, this height was pretty good.

"Zhang Qubing."

"Xue Shiyue."

Shang Jianyao and Jiang Baimian skillfully gave their pseudonyms in Honghe dialect.

Smith with blue eyes asked in shock:

"Zhang Qubing and Xue Shiyue are being rewarded by the 'First City'?"

You "rootless people" are really well-informed. You are indeed a group of people who live in vehicles and wander around... Jiang Baimian muttered in his heart.

"Yes, we are very valuable." Shang Jianyao replied proudly.

The people gathered around nodded at the same time.

Very valuable indeed.

And being valuable often means being very powerful or dangerous.

Shang Jianyao asked in confirmation:

"Are you really 'rootless'?"

"Yes." Smith admitted frankly, "We only met Fei's 'Sangzi' business group within the sphere of influence of the Orange Company last year."

Shang Jianyao nodded:

"What's wrong with you?"

He pointed to the empty heavy truck.

Smith showed a confused and confused expression:

“We received a transportation business, and the cargo owner asked us to transport a large amount of materials to this ice and snow ruins, and someone would come and receive it.

“As a result, this morning we found that all the supplies were missing, so many supplies!

"And we guys on night watch are completely unimpressed by this! Neither are we!"

How can thieves easily steal twenty or thirty heavy-duty trucks and RVs full of supplies?

Without the same number of fleets with the same loading capacity, it would be impossible to accomplish this.

Moreover, even if there is such a convoy, the transfer of materials is a time-consuming and labor-intensive task, and there is no reason for the "rootless people" to not notice it.

So Smith and his tribe were at a loss for a long time, at a loss.

The only thing they were thankful for was that the vehicles they regarded as their family members and relatives were not lost.

"Oh..." Shang Jianyao sympathized at first, and then asked with excitement, "Have you ever had the same dream?"

Do you suspect that these "rootless people" were forced to sleep? Jiang Baimian thoughtfully waited for the answer.

Smith and others looked at each other and shook their heads one after another.

"Everyone who watches the night remembers that he didn't fall asleep," Smith emphasized.

Jiang Baimian thought for a few seconds and said:

"Are you sure the owner of the cargo asked you to come here to complete the transaction?"

Who would come to the Icefields to do this kind of big deal? Besides being hidden, what an inconvenience!

"We've confirmed it again and again," Smith replied.

Shang Jianyao asked with concern:

"Did the cargo owner pay you for the freight? This is the key point."

"You have to pay half, and you have to pay the rest when you return." At this point, Smith suddenly showed a painful expression.

He frowned and gasped:

"I, I don't remember the appearance, identity and address of the owner of the cargo..."

Jiang Baimian's heart moved when he heard this:

"Something actually happened last night, but you have forgotten?

"Has the corresponding memory been deleted on a large scale?

"Besides, this may be what the cargo owner calls 'receiving'."

Smith and others looked at each other, unable to answer.

Jiang Baimian did not urge him and started thinking by himself:

According to our experience in dealing with "anti-intellectual religions", large-scale memory deletion is an ability only possessed by the "soul corridor". Moreover, it affects nearly a hundred people at the same time without leaving any traces, indicating that at least the "soul corridor" has been explored. The deep kind...

A mysterious and sneaky large-scale material transaction... Both parties to the transaction did not want to expose their identities, and used a high level of power... involving certain sensitive materials, or people sitting in sensitive positions, or...

Thinking of this, Jiang Baimian suddenly had a suspect:

That force was clearly located on the ice sheet, but it had never made any external transactions or replenished supplies, so no one knew their specific location.

The Eighth Research Institute!