Embers Ad Infinitum

There is only one problem with those elevators, and that is no electricity.

This is normal when you think about it. It has been more than ten years since Cornynmis was destroyed by the disaster. Even if there are generators that can operate by themselves and are maintained by robots, they are now unable to function due to lack of energy.

——Unlike Dajiang City, the ruins of Marsh No. 1, this place does not have sufficient water resources.

"The only option is to take the stairs." As an intelligent robot, Gnawa will not be frustrated by this.

"No, no, no." Shang Jianyao shook his head, "There is another option."

A smile appeared on his face beneath his protective mask.

He then raised his hand and pointed to the elevators:

“You can also climb directly on the cable.”

Gnawa immediately assessed the feasibility:

“For me, there’s no problem with that.

"For normal humans, the risk is very high and the probability of completion is very low. But if you have the assistance of a military exoskeleton device, there should be no difficulty."

As soon as he finished speaking, Shang Jianyao began to deny himself:

"It's better to take the stairs, maybe you can encounter more bones."

Gnawa's eyes flashed red for a few times, but he made no sound.

Shang Jianyao's eyes swept across the two open elevators, and he suddenly jumped and "flyed" into one of them.

He and the weight of the military exoskeleton device caused the car to sink significantly and sway a few times.

"Be careful!" Gennava quickly reminded.

The elevator here has been abandoned for more than ten years, and no one knows whether the cable will break due to such behavior.

Shang Jianyao didn't answer, lowered his head and measured every inch of space in the elevator with his feet.

In just a few seconds, he said disappointedly:

"There's no body."

Gennava understood the significance of his behavior and knew that he was worried that the overlap with the "New World" might cause some parts of the apartment to appear empty, but in fact they were hiding mysteries.

This could easily make Shang Jianyao miss clues about his father.

After checking the other elevator, Shang Jianyao regretfully walked to the stairs.

There are no lights here, it's dark.

As the light of the flashlight shone in, the mottled stairs appeared in the eyes of Shang Jianyao and Gnawa.

"Except for looking shabby, it's quite clean." Shang Jianyao clicked his tongue in surprise.

Gnawa's eyes flashed red and said:

“It may be that the electromagnetic environment in this area is too chaotic, preventing dust from outside from entering.

"The specific principle is..."

Shang Jianyao turned his head, glanced at his companion, and interrupted his words with a plaintive tone:

"Old Ge, at times like this, all you have to do is say, 'Yeah, yeah.'"

Gennava failed to analyze the reason, but still chose to cooperate:

"good."

The two of them climbed up the stairs and walked to the top step by step.

It can be seen that the lights outside the stairwell on each floor are bright, and through the cracks in the door, a bright zone is drawn inside.

Shang Jianyao, who was cautious at present, did not choose to go directly through a similar area. He would go around what he could. If he couldn't, he simply used the handrail of the stairs to climb to the upper floor.

Gnawa followed suit.

They didn't dare to bet that they wouldn't be discovered without being "seen" by the "new world" powerhouses or other creatures that might exist on each floor.

The cowardly but cautious Shang Jianyao suspected that the lights were actually the spiritual manifestations of those strong people. As for the overlapping source of the problem, touching the lights was the same as singing loudly next to other people's ears. There was no way to hide it.

As for why there were only lights and no figures on the first floor, he didn't know.

While going up so slowly, Shang Jianyao always restrained his human consciousness and only relied on the light of the flashlight that was specially adjusted to a weak state to illuminate the way forward.

Along the way, he and Gnawa discovered several more bodies.

Several of the bodies on the lower floor also only had clothes and nothing on them. They had obviously been raided by the Eighth Research Institute. However, the bodies found halfway down the floor had some personal belongings in their pockets.

Through their clothes and belongings, Gnawa clearly judged that these were employees of "Pangu Creatures" and members of the old team.

With the help of skeletal characteristics and object conditions, another conclusion can also be drawn:

This is not Shang Jianyao's father.

"They are just personal belongings..." Shang Jianyao, who was squatting on one knee on the stairs, handed all the items found on the corpse in front of him to Gnawa, with undisguised disappointment in his tone.

Gennava knew that he wanted to find corresponding clues from those items. Unfortunately, they were either compressed biscuits, chocolates, candies and other items that were convenient for quickly replenishing energy, or they were self-defense items such as pistols and bullets.

"Perhaps the management of that team is very strict and members are not allowed to record information privately, so as not to be obtained by others after being separated." Gnawa stuffed the received items into his backpack.

"Yes." Shang Jianyao stood up, picked up the "Berserker" assault rifle again, and walked up the stairs.

As he was walking, he suddenly stumbled.

"Be careful." Gnawa imitated humans and expressed concern through reminders.

"It's okay." Shang Jianyao first comforted Gnawa, and then said, "I should have been affected by the ability of the awakened one."

"Is this okay?" Gnawa's eyes flashed red but he still couldn't understand.

Shang Jianyao did not stop:

“This ability feels relatively weak and has no obvious impact on me.

"Also, although I was hit by the ability, I didn't sense the enemy's consciousness."

Normally, when an ability affects a person, it means that a connection has been established with that person, and it is no longer possible to hide human consciousness from the other person's induction, unless the enemy can interrupt it before the enemy discovers it, hide it again, or be in a dangerous situation. Out of target sensing range.

The former can be ruled out for the time being, because Shang Jianyao's steps are not very stable yet, and he seems to have nothing to do with the assistance of the military exoskeleton device, and the latter means that the hidden awakened person is much stronger than Shang Jianyao, but This is contradictory to the weak effect of ability.

"It's a bit strange," Gnawa responded in a slightly synthesized voice.

Shang Jianyao smiled and said:

"It doesn't matter. We are only a few floors away from the top. Let's not worry about anything else. Hurry up and go up..."

As he spoke, his tongue seemed to get a little bigger, and his body began to sway, making it difficult to maintain balance.

Shang was not surprised but overjoyed when he saw Yao, and said loudly:

"This is very similar to the 'drunkard' ability that Dabai, Xiaohong, and Xiaobai have encountered!

"Is it the eighth, awakened person from the institute, hiding nearby?

"But she should be weaker than me!"

Gennava understood what he meant - there was no reason why he couldn't sense the other person's human consciousness and was passively beaten.

Before Gennava could respond, Shang Jianyao fell to the ground with a clang.

"I'm drunk, my head is still dizzy, and it hurts..." He whispered to himself.

He then began switching the behavior of the military exoskeleton from "assistant" to "dominant."

Equipment-led, "autonomous driving".

As the command was entered, Shang Jianyao "stands up" and continues steadily along the stairs to the top floor.

Although he was still in a "drunk" state, it had no effect on his actions at all.

"Cheese, that's power, Lao Ge..." Shang Jianyao's tongue was so big that he was a little slurred.

At this moment, a rope clamped on the glass window of the stairwell swayed in the wind.

On a dark night, it looked like a dancing snake.

Shang Jianyao's eyes suddenly froze, and his whole body seemed to be in a state of wanting to twist his body and run away.

But a military exoskeleton device stopped him.

The command received by this device has not been changed, and it determines that such a rope is not a threat!

"No!" Shang Jianyao screamed, and was "hijacked" by the military exoskeleton device to continue upstairs.

The closer he got to the rope, the louder he screamed. In the end, he even shouted:

"Old Ge, save me!"

Gennava analyzed a certain possibility and chose to just follow without speaking.

Finally, Shang Jianyao crossed the glass window of the stairwell and no longer had to see the rope that was shaking like a snake.

He immediately calmed down.

After a few seconds, he said excitedly without daring to turn around:

"Old Ge, this should be caused by the power overflowing from the top floor.

"Otherwise, it is impossible to have both the ability and the effect and the additional cost."

As far as the Old Tune Team knows, "Twisted Biophobia" is a price to pay.

"Although some of the costs and the effects of certain abilities are the same, I still think that your guess has a high probability of being true." Gennava agreed with Shang Jianyao's speculation.

Shang Jianyao said happily:

"Then let's continue going up. The source of the problem is not far away!"

At this point, his voice suddenly became deeper:

"The closer you get to the top floor, the stronger the influence should be. Wait a minute, if I can't control myself, Lao Ge, just knock me out and take me up."

"Okay." Gnawa agreed, "But you need to adjust the order and put me on the white list that does not require precautions or confrontation."

Otherwise, he really wouldn't be able to solve the military exoskeleton device that dominates Shang Jianyao's body in a short time.

In this way, Shang Jianyao walked hard, with Gennava following him, ready to help at any time.

When Shang Jianyao's "drunken" state was about to reach the point of unconsciousness, the two finally arrived at the stairwell on the top floor, only separated from the target location by a double wooden door.

It's pitch black here, and the light from the flashlight can only illuminate a small area.