Embers Ad Infinitum

Cornimis, under that sky that seems to be forever dark.

Gennava and Shang Jianyao, who was wearing a military exoskeleton device, were walking towards the "outpost" where the Eighth Research Institute's guard team was stationed last time.

Jiang Baimian, Long Yuehong and Bai Chen hid in a nearby mountain and watched their actions with binoculars.

So far, the "Old Tune Team" can only confirm that the "Angel of Life" necklace can help the holder avoid the "innocent disease" virus that permeates Cornimis. It is not known whether the Little Jade Buddha and the "Six Senses Pearl" can.

There is no way to eliminate wrong answers through experiments, because once they are useless, it means that a member will become an "unintentional person."

Therefore, like last time, they asked Shang Jianyao to enter Conimis with the "Angel of Life" necklace and the intelligent Gennava to complete the exploration mission.

Before going deep into the main city, the "old investigation team" planned to confirm the current situation of the members of the Eighth Research Institute they had encountered before, so as not to suffer another sudden attack.

After arriving at the abandoned building that served as a sentry post, Shang Jianyao stood at the door "doing nothing" and allowed Gnawa to walk around and check.

"There are no traces of human presence during this period." After a while, Gnawa concluded, "Those people and the big cat creature should have never come back."

Shang Jianyao said sadly:

"Won't they come back to confirm the situation?

“So unprofessional!”

He acted even more angry than if one of his own had made a mistake.

"You need to ask them." Gennava answered truthfully.

"Maybe I encountered something in the main city, or maybe I just withdrew from the Eighth Research Institute..." Shang Jianyao muttered to himself.

He originally wanted to raise his left hand to rub his chin, but the "Angel of Life" necklace was wrapped there, causing the entire arm to lose strength.

They didn't stop any longer and climbed up the green buildings one after another. On the cracked road, they headed towards the main city of Cornimis at a normal speed.

Shang Jianyao would make a "woof" sound from time to time, but Gnawa pretended not to hear it.

"Old Ge, tell me, what is hidden deep in the Eighth Research Institute?" Shang Jianyao always makes the topic jump and change without logic.

Wearing the "Chameleon" bionic smart armor, Gennava moved his metal neck left and right:

"have no idea."

"Isn't this asking you to make bold assumptions and verify them carefully?" Shang Jianyao persisted.

He has always had patience and perseverance.

Regarding this issue, the "old tune group" has actually had several rounds of internal discussions and put forward multiple speculations, none of which can be falsified at present.

They currently prefer three answers:

One is the real reason why the success rate of awakening in the Eighth Academy is so high;

The second is the secret of "darkness" - this is inferred from the saying that after the destruction of the old world, the Eighth Research Institute became a lackey of darkness;

The third is related to the "New World". As for what aspect it is related to, there are currently no clues to judge.

Gnawa did not want to discuss such topics with Shang Jianyao close to the main city of Konimis, which had nothing to do with this operation. Moreover, before obtaining new information, this would not have any difference from the previous internal brainstormings. the difference.

He called up Jiang Baimian's behavioral database and simulated the team leader's response to this situation. Then, he selected the one that suited him best from the "threat of violence" and other options, tilted his head slightly, pointed in one direction and said:

"what is that?"

"What?" Shang Jianyao followed excitedly.

The next second, his brows frowned behind the mask:

"Why didn't I find anything?"

"I made a misjudgment." Gnawa apologized quickly.

Shang Jianyao withdrew his gaze in disappointment.

He continued walking towards the main city of Cornimis and was quiet for several minutes.

Seeing that the sky was getting darker and the buildings were getting denser and the dead land was in sight, Shang Jianyao suddenly said again:

"I always feel that I have overlooked some important information in Professor Qin's 'Ocean of Origin'."

"It's normal. 'Destiny Tong' only helps you mobilize all your memories. You still have to do the screening and checking yourself, but manpower is sometimes scarce." Gnawa thinks there is no problem with this.

"But you smart people can't." Shang Jianyao looked envious.

He went on to say:

"But I didn't have this feeling of neglecting important information a few days ago. I just woke up when I entered Conimis."

He described it strangely, but Gnawa could understand what he meant:

"Do you think there was some hidden interference at the time that caused you to ignore some important information?"

"Yes." Shang Jianyao speculated enthusiastically, "Maybe it's a hint that allows me to skip the corresponding memory."

Gnawa held the chameleon's head, and red light flashed twice in his eyes:

"There were other awakened ones there at that time. He was hiding in the dark and exerting influence on you?"

This is not impossible.

The assassin might have been watching the scene for a while, or even sitting in the crimson SUV that belonged to Jitis's male body.

Shang Jianyao shook his head:

"I think it's a matter of memory.

"They have their own implications."

"Just the memory fragments of certain things can silently hint to you?" The model related to the awakened person currently established by Gnawa does not support this situation.

"Yes." Shang Jian Yao said with yearning, "This is probably the power at the level of Zhi Sui."

"There are other explanations." Gennava analyzed, "It is also possible that Professor Qin was affected beforehand, and the corresponding memory fragments were disguised to escape your screening. Did you notice something weird or something strange at that time? It was incongruous, but I didn’t notice it until today.”

Bang bang bang, Shang Jianyao slapped the armor on his chest with his right palm covered with metal bones:

"So it can still be like this!"

He acted as if he was not the one who used the "Fate Link" to recall all Professor Qin's memories.

Before Gnawa could respond, he said enthusiastically:

"What will the hidden part of the memory be about?"

"Darkness or Principal." Gnawa quickly established a model and came to the conclusion, "The power of the Eighth Research Institute is definitely more than those of the strong ones in the 'New World', and Professor Qin, as a quasi-high-level executive, should not have any doubts about himself. I don’t know anything about the biggest supporter of the power, but when you used ‘Fate Channel’ to check his memory, you didn’t get any information in this regard.”

Bang bang bang, Shang Jianyao once again applauded in the same way as before.

He was honest and good at finding faults, and quickly raised another question:

"Then why are the memories related to the specific location of the Eighth Research Institute not hidden?"

"Maybe I hid Professor Qin and didn't know how to go back." Shang Jianyao answered himself.

Gnavapoor raises more possibilities:

"Either only that part of memory can hide itself with the power of suggestion, or the person who influenced Professor Qin beforehand was not from the Eighth Research Institute. He not only wanted us to find the Eighth Research Institute, but also didn't want us to know certain things..."

During the exchange, they officially entered the main city of Cornimis.

Looking at the cars piled up on the street in front of him, Shang Jianyao suddenly let out an "oops" and said:

"How can we discuss Professor Qin's memory?

"You have to focus on the mission itself!"

The red light in Gnawa's eyes suddenly froze for two seconds.

"It's all my fault." Shang Jianyao has always had a spirit of self-criticism.

He glanced around and said:

"First go to the residence of Mistress Esther and the child."

This is what they promised Gitis, and they will do it.

When making plans in advance, Jiang Baimian prioritized this matter before exploring the secret of the "Son of Zhi Sui".

This is because if we arrive at the luxury apartment where "Zhi Sui's Son" lives first, no one can predict the subsequent development. Maybe Cornynmis will disappear and enter the "new world" as a whole, leaving the "Old Tune Team" "There is no chance to fulfill Esther's last wish.

"Okay." Even if Shang Jianyao didn't take the initiative, Gennava would remind him.

As an outsider, Esther's residence in Cornimis is obviously not close to the core area, but is located far north of the main city.

It was also an apartment. The dark blue building was very stylish, but the plants and broken glass everywhere made it look extremely dilapidated.

"We haven't even reached the place where the 'New World' overlaps with Cornimis and the projection appears..." Shang Jianyao said with some disappointment.

"This is a good thing. After we quickly get what Esther wants, we can focus on finding the residence of the 'Son of Zhi Sui'." Gnawa's eyes flashed red for a few times and said, "If the disaster had been It came very suddenly, and the old tune team might be scattered in or around the residence of the 'Zhi Sui Zi'."

Shang Jianyao was silent for a moment and said:

"It is also possible that he became a 'careless person' and wandered to other places and died in a corner of the city."

Hearing this, Gnawa looked around in a circle by turning his neck and then back:

"Did you notice anything wrong?"

"What?" Shang Jianyao asked excitedly.

Gennava replied in a deep voice with a slightly synthetic feel:

“Last time we came to Cornimis, we could find some fresh traces of the ‘Careless Ones’ along the way.

"Not at all this time."

They had even encountered "Heartless Ones" with abnormally high levels of power before.