Embers Ad Infinitum

Hearing Jiang Baimian's words, Long Yuehong felt as if she had suddenly realized something and fell into a dream.

He couldn't help but look around again, unable to connect the "unintentional people" who were diligently sweeping fallen leaves and wiping windows with the inherent image in his mind.

It's not like the "old tune team" has never encountered the "unintentional people" in this ruins on their way to the "Urban Intelligent Network Control Center". They are just like the same kind outside, they are fierce, irrational, full of aggression, and have a strong desire to hunt. Instinct seems to have degenerated to the stage when humans just got rid of the beast state.

At that time, if someone had told Long Yuehong that the "unintentional people" here could sweep the floor, wash the windows, and maintain the wiring, he would have scoffed and regarded it as a joke.

And now, this scene was so realistically played out before his eyes.

At a glance, there are continuous street lights in the distance, and there are countless people. I don’t know how many "unintentional people" returned to the streets and came to the windows after the city was "lit" again, doing various things.

They are no longer vicious and no longer regard Long Yuehong and others as prey. They "follow the rules" and complete their work conscientiously, making the whole city appear different from its previous prosperity.

At this moment, Long Yuehong felt as if they were in another world. The two sides coexisted peacefully but could not establish contact.

As his thoughts were turning, he heard Jiang Baimian sigh:

"It's like a silhouette from the old world projected from the past..."

"Why do they sweep floors, clean windows, and maintain exterior walls and streets?" Shang Jianyao suddenly asked.

Long Yuehong answered subconsciously:

"Maybe it's some kind of instinct. That's what they did in the old world. After becoming a 'careless person', it solidified into instinct..."

As he spoke, Long Yuehong's voice gradually lowered until it disappeared.

He also found that his explanation was untenable, because the old world had been destroyed for nearly seventy years, and the "unintentional people" here had changed for countless generations, and there were no ones who had lived and worked in the old world.

Finally, he forcefully added:

“That instinct has been passed down from generation to generation through the example and teaching of parents.

"The descendants of repairmen are still repairing equipment, and the descendants of cleaners are still cleaning the streets..."

Jiang Baimian laughed and said before Shang Jianyao could speak:

“Don’t engrave any messy things into your genes, as this will cause your body to collapse.

"Teaching is indeed possible, but it is only useful for simple, repetitive tasks."

Bai Chen looked around and said thoughtfully:

"After many generations of reproduction, the current 'unintentional ones' can learn more complex things? No, even if they can learn it, the previous generations could not. The corresponding technology must have been lost..."

"Maybe someone is teaching them and instilling some 'instincts' in them." Shang Jianyao retracted his gaze and expressed his guess.

Jiang Baimian, Long Yuehong, and Bai Chen simultaneously thought of the weird and mysterious boy Xiao Chong from before, and for a moment they couldn't refute Shang Jianyao's statement.

During the discussion just now, they all walked a few steps across the street, wanting to see the figures behind the bright windows more clearly.

A few seconds later, Long Yuehong looked at the "unintentional people" cleaning the streets, repairing tree branches, and walking to other places in the distance, and said with emotion:

“Is this an old world urban scene?

“Is this how people lived and worked back then?

"At that time, the lights were so bright at night, as if the stars were reflected on the ground?"

Because of these words, Jiang Baimian raised his head again and looked at the building opposite.

On every floor, more than one-third of the windows shine with yellowish or white light. People come and go inside, cleaning the windows, watching TV, or coaxing children. ", or chopping on the cutting board. Although no sound was heard, Jiang Baimian intuitively felt the "liveliness" and "exuberance".

At this moment, she seemed to have returned decades ago, to a time when the old world was not yet destroyed, and could smell the breath of life.

As his gaze continued to move upward, Jiang Baimian's pupils suddenly dilated.

She saw a red dot shaking on the top of a tall building not far away.

This appears to be from a sniper rifle.

"Hide forward!" Jiang Baimian shouted, leaping and rolling to the side of the road, and hid in an open house.

With a snap, gravel flew up from the hard ground where she was standing just now.

Thanks to their previous experience, Shang Jianyao, Bai Chen and Long Yuehong did not doubt the team leader's order at all. They each reacted immediately, using different actions and postures, and quickly rushed into the "city intelligence". "Network Control Center" in the house facing the street opposite the side door.

With two snaps, two more bullets were fired from the top of different buildings and penetrated into the ground.

After Jiang Baimian hid against the wall in the room, he took off the walkie-talkie, pressed the button, and said urgently:

“There are snipers on at least three rooftops around.

"This style of coming to the source of the anomaly but not going in, just lying in ambush around it, reminds me of a person.

"'hyena'!"

This is the standard "hyena" bandit style.

This is not to say that they are the only ones who like to use similar methods, but among the teams that appear around and have at least three sniper rifles, they are the most famous, and probably the only one.

"Isn't this too insidious?" Long Yuehong replied, holding the walkie-talkie.

The "Hyena" bandit group actually didn't want to explore the anomaly and find something more valuable. They only planned to deal with the evacuated ruin hunters.

"They are a gang of bandits." Jiang Baimian responded with some humor. "Fortunately, they were probably dazzled by the changes after the power supply was restored in the ruins of the city just now, so they did not deal with us immediately."

"But we were also affected by the changes in the ruins." Bai Chen defended simply.

"It may be that they climbed more than 20 floors and we came out before they could catch their breath. Moreover, they got a call and could use the elevator." Shang Jianyao sighed inexplicably, "What a pity..."

Long Yuehong is very understanding:

"What's a pity?"

"It's a pity that I was attracted by the changes in the ruins. Otherwise, I could have danced a Gold Coast hula dance for them first." There was obvious regret in Shang Jianyao's tone.

"... I look forward to a day like this in the future." Jiang Baimian held the walkie-talkie and said casually, "The most important question now is, how to escape the ambush of the 'hyena'? They must not only use snipers."

"The 'Hyenas' have armored vehicles, heavy machine guns, and rocket launchers. After using snipers to control our range of activities, they should send people over to clean up." Bai Chen recalled all the news he had heard and calmly gave the final answer. There are possible developments.

"What should I do?" Although Long Yuehong was not too panicked, she still felt that she and others were in danger.

Without the military exoskeleton device, they were unable to avoid heavy machine gun fire within such a limited range, and neither grenade guns, rifles, nor grenades could break through the thick armor.

If the military exoskeleton device is still there, you can try using electromagnetic weapons.

Jiang Baimian was silent for a few seconds and gave the order through the intercom:

"There are definitely no snipers in the building of the 'City Intelligent Network Control Center'. The 'Hyenas' and the others don't dare to enter that area at all.

“So, we can go to the door and walk against the wall, which is their blind spot.

"After finding a position in advance, when the armored vehicle came over, Bai Chen immediately shot the machine gunner and suppressed him briefly. If the fire control system of the armored vehicle is intact and the heavy machine gun can be operated inside the vehicle, then I will try to give him a shooting position. A 'Thunder Spear', in short, the purpose is to create an opportunity for Shang Jianyao to get closer.

"Shang Jianyao, when the time comes, you can get under the armored vehicle. The distance between you and the people in the vehicle is less than one meter. You can give full play to your abilities and you don't have to worry about the threat of snipers."

Jiang Baimian named the attack of his electric eel-shaped biological prosthetic arm "Thunder Spear".

"Okay!" Shang Jianyao seemed to have wanted to do this for a long time.

Bai Chen also responded.

After Long Yuehong listened quietly, she said in silence for two seconds:

"what I do?"

"Help me come on." Shang Jianyao said seriously.

As soon as Shang Jianyao finished speaking, Jiang Baimian added:

"You are responsible for guarding the surroundings, what if it's not just armored vehicles that come?

"I'll give you the grenade gun later."

Long Yuehong immediately replied loudly:

"Yes, team leader!"

Jiang Baimian was about to say a few more words when he suddenly turned his head and felt something.

"Here we come! There is only one car on the street on the right." She quickly told Shang Jianyao and others the information, and rummaged through the room to find a pair of metal scissors.

The four members of the "Old Tune Group" immediately returned to the door, moved against the wall, and headed to different locations.

During this process, they exchanged some weapons and prepared themselves for the next step.

Soon, the armored vehicle appeared at the corner of the street.

It has three large wheels on one side, the armor surface is painted in military green, there is a door on the side, and there is dark bulletproof glass on the front.

It was more than twice the size of an ordinary vehicle, with an iron-black heavy machine gun mounted on the top and an antenna-like thing erect.

Long Yuehong just glanced at it, and words such as "steel", "hardness", "strength", "crushing", and "indestructible" came to mind.

At this moment, a pleasant sound of music quickly entered the street from far to near.

It was a big blue car with a giant metal can in it. It turned on its lights, played music, and sprayed water into the street.

In the driver's seat of the big car, an "unintentional person" wearing an old orange-white cotton-padded jacket sat there, steering the steering wheel in a slightly dull manner.

His eyes were dull, and a pair of black, peeling headphones hung on his head.

The water sprinkler truck lighting up the road ahead was driving very fast and almost collided with the armored vehicle coming out from the side.

With a squeaking sound, the "unintentional" driver stepped on the brakes reflexively, causing the vehicle to get stuck there.

The driver of the armored vehicle, who had never been in a similar situation, also brought the vehicle to a stop.

Seeing this scene, Jiang Baimian's eyes lit up and he shouted:

"Chance!"

During the brisk and melodious sprinkling music, she took a step forward and then raised her left arm.

The metal scissors in her hand were immediately "entangled" with crackling silver-white electric snakes.

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