Embers Ad Infinitum

Shang Jianyao happily walked towards the classical building, intending to knock on the door and pay a visit.

He was always polite.

Just as he was approaching the door, a slightly shrill female voice sounded from the only room with lights on in the entire building:

"Don't come in!"

This is in Honghe dialect.

The sound carried far away in the dark and quiet streets, bringing out the feeling of emptiness.

"Why?" Shang Jianyao asked confused.

He stopped on the street, raised his head, and looked at the lighted window on the second floor.

On the glass with colored patterns, dim yellow light flowed out quietly, but no human figure was outlined.

The slightly sharp female voice sounded again, but a little calmer:

"This is my home and I don't allow anyone in."

"Oh oh oh." Shang Jianyao followed suit.

At this time, in the entire street, only the street lamp next to him and the second floor of the building in front of him had light to dispel the darkness.

"Then can I ask a few questions?" Shang Jianyao made a new request, "I just came here and I don't understand many things."

He was quite honest and didn't hide anything.

There was silence for a while behind the empty window on the second floor. The woman neither agreed nor refused.

When Shang Jianyao acquiesced to his request, he asked:

"Is this the 'New World'?"

"Yes." The female voice passed through the window and entered the empty and silent street.

Shang Jianyao asked:

"Then are you an awakened person at the 'New World' level, or are you an aborigine here?"

The woman was silent for a few seconds:

"There are no Aboriginal people here."

"Did they be driven out and killed?" Honest Shang Jianyao dug into the matter.

This time, the woman didn't answer.

Shang Jianyao turned to ask:

"Are all the people here as friendly as you?"

The female voice sounded again in the quiet "night":

“I’m not as friendly as you think I am, if you just forced your way into this house.

“In the ‘New World,’ avoid those who are hungry and do not touch others’ expense.”

"Isn't there no hunger or disease in the 'New World'?" Shang Jianyao was shocked.

The female voice was silent for a while and said:

"You have entered the 'new world' and you should know what I mean by hunger."

"But I'm not hungry at all." Shang Jianyao expressed doubt.

The dim light from the window on the second floor shook, and the female voice said immediately:

"It seems that you still retain your body, and you haven't met any of the powerful or powerful awakened ones yet."

"So it seems that it is a good thing to keep your body?" Shang Jianyao raised his hand and rubbed his chin.

"Not necessarily." The female voice did not give a detailed answer.

Shang Jianyao's thinking jumped and changed the question:

"The core of this place is the tower?"

"Yes." The female voice paused and said, "The senior officials all live there."

There was unconcealable fear in her voice.

"That's it." Shang Jianyao clenched his right fist and left palm, "Then I have to go to the tower to register."

At the second floor window, the light did not flicker and no sound came out.

After a while, the female voice said slightly urgently:

"Don't ask any more. I can't answer your other questions."

"Who said that?" Shang Jianyao retorted, "I also want to ask whether the price for you is timidity or vigilance. Don't you even know what the price is for you?"

The light from the window on the second floor shook violently several times, but still no one appeared.

Shang Jianyao didn't seem to understand the other party's "expulsion order" at all, so he asked again:

"Then why don't you turn out the lights? Then no one will know you are hiding in the room.

"Could it be that without light, darkness will swallow you up?"

The female voice came from behind the window:

"The light is the embodiment of your spirit and consciousness. It will not go out until you die."

Shang Jianyao suddenly realized, he fisted his right fist with his left palm again and said:

"No wonder wherever I go, the street lights are on, and all the previous ones are turned off!

"I thought it was because the executives were both hospitable and economical on electricity."

The female voice didn't respond.

Shang Jianyao asked again:

"Then what dangers are hidden in the darkness here?"

"There's no danger." The female voice became more and more impatient.

Shang Jianyao said "Oh":

"Is there daylight? It can't always be night, right?"

"There is no daylight." The female voice said quickly.

"Why?" Shang Jianyao was puzzled.

The female voice was sharp again:

"I have no idea!"

She fell silent, and only the light from the window showed that she was still there.

Shang Jianyao asked a few more questions, but the other party didn't answer them. He had to wave his hand and said:

"Then I'm going to the tower. Let's talk later."

He continued along the dark and silent street, the street lamps following his footsteps, one after another lighting up, and one after another extinguishing, until only one remained.

On the second floor of the building behind, dim lights have been quietly illuminating that small area.

Shang Jianyao took a few steps and glanced at the tower. He didn't know what he was thinking.

Suddenly, he clapped his hands and said to himself:

"I still remember what the tower looked like from the place where Yan Hu was imprisoned...

"Analysis should be able to determine which floor of which building...

"Would you like to visit Yan Hu first? Listen to how he describes the 'new world'?"

Shang Jianyao was very motivated and did what he said. He immediately changed his route and headed in the general direction.

…………

On the mountain road outside the Eighth Research Institute, Jiang Baimian parked the jeep in a hidden place beside the road.

She then looked at Shang Jianyao in the passenger seat and considered what to do next.

The most critical point at the moment is that she must establish contact with Shang Jianyao of the "New World" as soon as possible and obtain corresponding feedback.

Without that information, it would be difficult for her to determine her subsequent thoughts.

As for how to "contact" Shang Jianyao, Jiang Baimian had already made a plan.

Shang Jianyao had some interactions with the sleeping Yan Hu back then!

Jiang Baimian exhaled, extended his spirit, and connected with Shang Jianyao's consciousness.

Her eyes suddenly became dark, with only a little light flickering in the distance.

The dim light gradually brightened and condensed into a street lamp, and Shang Jianyao, wearing gray camouflage, was standing under the lamp.

"Save me!" Shang Jianyao waved his right hand with joy.

Jiang Baimian was shocked:

"Why are you shouting like that?"

Perhaps because of the thick barrier between the two parties, her voice seemed very low, so she repeated it at a louder volume.

Shang Jianyao smiled and said:

"I'm imitating Yan Hu."

"..." Jiang Baimian was silent for a few seconds and said, "My mental state is not bad."

She wasted no time and asked immediately:

"So, is what we speculated true?"

She did not mention specific things, fearing that it would trigger "sensitive word" monitoring and cause Shang Jianyao to be harmed.

——"The Salvation Army" Those strong men who tried to reveal the secrets of the "New World" did not end well.

"Yes." Shang Jianyao nodded seriously.

In the "new world", the awakened person can absorb the target's human consciousness to replenish himself.

Jiang Baimian couldn't help but sigh, and then asked:

“Are there ‘heartless people’ in the ‘new world’?”

"Never encountered it before." Shang Jianyao answered truthfully.

From this point of view, those "careless people" who are like living dead belong exclusively to the "new world" of reality? Then I can only sneak in and investigate by myself... Jiang Baimian frowned slightly and said:

"Where do you think the secrets of the 'New World' are most likely to be hidden?"

"That high tower! All the senior officials live in it!" Shang Jianyao replied excitedly.

The executives live in the towers of the "new world"...but what about the towers of reality? Jiang Baimian's thoughts were spinning without stopping at all.

At this time, Shang Jianyao babbled:

"There are still many differences between this place and reality. The towers are very high, there are lights everywhere, and the architectural styles are not so uniform. There are classical buildings with a Red River style, courtyards like ancient gray earth, and high-rise buildings in the old world... "

The actual small city was in the style of the old world ten or twenty years before its destruction, but there were no high-rise buildings.

"Yeah." Jiang Baimian didn't know what to say about this at the moment.

Shang Jianyao took the initiative and said:

"Each lamp here represents the spirit and consciousness of the corresponding awakened person. It will not be extinguished unless it dies."

Having said this, he clenched his right fist and slapped his left palm:

"I understand! At the beginning, there was only a little bit of light in Yan Hu's place, and it was as if he was lying in darkness. It was because his consciousness was close to dying!"

So that's it... Jiang Baimian also nodded.

Shang Jianyao continued:

"I plan to go to Yan Hu first and visit him at home to see what he will say."

Jiang Baimian frowned again:

"Yan Hu was imprisoned, aren't you afraid of offending the person who imprisoned him?

"That might be an executive."

Without giving Shang Jianyao a chance to find a reason, she put forward her own suggestion:

"You first find Flora, Barnard and other friendly 'New World' experts to clarify the corresponding situation and then consider what to do."