Embers Ad Infinitum

"I'm also very interested." Shang Jianyao said there's nothing surprising about this. "It's just that those books look very professional. I'll study them when I have time."

Jiang Baimian didn't care about his response at all, and said to himself:

"Based on the information we collected before, I suspect that human awakening and the restricted area of ​​​​the gods are both products of old world scientists studying the mysteries of consciousness.

"Well, the real direction of the Eighth Research Institute is likely to be the mystery of human consciousness, rather than how to awaken. The latter is a side result. Lin Sui has been identified as a young scientist of Northern Company and a member of the major project committee. His name also appeared in Home In the academic lecture on the cutting-edge field of genetic research at the Reproductive Medical Center, Mr. Du Heng, who was suspected to be the dean of the Eighth Research Institute, was juxtaposed. He was probably one of the key researchers of the Eighth Research Institute.

"I originally suspected that she was one of the 'Vice Dean', 'Charlie', and 'Doctor' and lived near that high tower. I didn't expect that you actually found her home on the street far away from the core area and saw her photo."

She didn't mention "Professor Li" because Lin Sui's surname was Lin. Even if the other party wanted to call themselves by a code name, they would only use "Professor" instead of deliberately adding a fake surname.

"Not necessarily." The honest Shang Jianyao retorted, "Maybe this courtyard does not belong to Lin Sui, but the owner is another researcher in the Eighth Research Institute who has a crush on her."

He agreed with Jiang Baimian's previous guess.

Jiang Baimian thought carefully and said:

"It's not impossible."

Shang Jianyao suddenly felt proud:

"When the old world was destroyed, the owner of the courtyard died, but his secret love and persistence for Lin Sui kept him alive and turned into a ghost, wandering around his home in the 'new world'.

"Those little noises I heard were coming from him!"

"But didn't you just say that the whimpering sound sounded like it came from a woman?" Jiang Baimian asked.

Shang Jianyao was stunned for a second and said:

“Who says women can’t have crushes on women?”

He was confident.

Jiang Baimian was speechless.

At this time, Shang Jianyao's thinking jumped and he changed the topic:

"I think even if Lin Sui is really still alive and is one of the few strong men of the 'New World' in the Eighth Research Institute, he can at most choose between 'Charlie' and 'Doctor', and the others can be eliminated."

The other "new world" powerhouses in the Eighth Academy were promoted one after another many years after the destruction of the old world.

"Why exclude 'Vice Dean'?" Jiang Baimian asked.

Shang Jianyao replied confidently:

"The 'Vice President' should be Oak. He is the Vice President of Northern Company and the Deputy Director of the Major Projects Committee."

The relationship between Northern Company and the Eighth Research Institute is now self-evident.

Jiang Baimian said "hmm" and stopped discussing this topic that had no other clues for the time being.

Considering the mental drain, she said to Shang Jianyao:

"Next, I want you to help me visit two places."

"Which two places?" Shang Jianyao didn't act as if Jiang Baimian asked him to do it, but that he volunteered himself.

Although Jiang Baimian is a road addict, his memory is quite good, and with the help of the system of auxiliary chips and military exoskeleton devices, he quickly realized the parts of the streets and buildings that he had explored and observed tonight.

Of course, she inevitably had some confusion in her memory during this process. After all, she had lost her way in many places and was not sure about it. However, the auxiliary chip and military exoskeleton device had complete records and even preserved her memory. Night photos taken from a high vantage point.

She pointed to a place and said:

"Go to the corresponding location of the 'New World' and see what buildings there are and what abnormalities are there.

"When I tried to jump to the roof while holding on to its wall, I actually went right through that wall..."

Jiang Baimian told his story in a concise and concise manner, including that the building finally turned into a real thing.

Shang Jianyao's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he looked very regretful that he had no personal experience.

"Okay, I'll go take a look later." He agreed immediately.

Immediately afterwards, Jiang Baimian pointed to another location:

"This is the light on the outermost edge of the real tower. Go to the corresponding place in the 'New World' and investigate who lives there or what buildings there are."

Shang Jianyao said "hmm" twice, carefully remembering the specific locations of those two places, and comparing them with the layout of the "new world".

After he finished the work, Jiang Baimian ended the exchange.

Shang Jianyao immediately walked to the two bookcases, pulled out all the books related to human consciousness, and flipped through them quickly.

He didn't look at the content specifically, but just checked to see if there was a note inside and whether there were notes written in the margins of the pages.

This took Shang Jianyao nearly half an hour, but he found nothing.

He turned to other rooms and began to search carefully and carefully.

Although this is most likely in vain, Shang Jianyao is surprisingly patient at certain times, even abnormally so.

Finally, having found nothing, he left the courtyard, determined the direction, and looked for the first location given by Jiang Baimian.

Shang Jianyao, who was never a roadie, went around a few streets with more lights and arrived at the corresponding location in a short time.

What appeared in front of him was a small square with elegant stone pillars and statues with their own characteristics erected on the square.

Those statues belonged to the sages of the old world, including the Gray Earth people and the Red River people. Shang Jianyao had seen them in textbooks and entertainment materials, and he would not admit they were wrong.

"It's nothing weird..." Shang Jianyao muttered to himself in disappointment after walking in and out between the statue and the stone pillar and reaching out to touch their surfaces.

The vicious Shang Jianyao sneered at his companion:

"If the secret of the 'New World' is discovered so easily, will it be our turn?"

"Yes, yes." Shang Jianyao agreed.

They took note of the situation here and went to the second location mentioned by Jiang Baimian, which was the street corresponding to the light on the outermost edge of the tower in reality.

As before, Shang Jianzong walked in the dark and tried to stay away from lighted places, lest interacting with others would slow down his exploration.

After an unknown amount of time, he finally reached the entrance of the street and looked towards the target location.

There stands a gray-blue four-story building with a rather ancient overall style.

On the top floor of the building, a bright fluorescent lamp was "on", but no one was reflected in the window.

"There are lights here too..." Shang Jianyao muttered to himself while stepping back.

The reckless Shang Jianyao asked dissatisfiedly:

"Why don't you just go there?"

Because of the incident in the courtyard, he was jointly suppressed.

"Who knows whether the person living inside is a friendly person like Jacob or a devil who wants to find more batteries. We have to observe it carefully for a while before making a decision." The vicious Shang Jianyao replied angrily.

The calm and rational Shang Jianyao rubbed his chin:

“We find a house where we can see the entrance to the target location, but not too close to avoid being noticed.

"Then, observe the visitor to determine the identity of the owner."

"How can we be sure?" Shang Jianyao, who values ​​emotions, asked doubtfully, "We may not know those visitors."

The vicious Shang Jianyao smiled "hehe":

"Observe whether the visitor is alone when he leaves. If there is only one person, find an opportunity to follow him, become a 'friend', and confirm the identity of the owner from his mouth."

"How can you follow without being discovered?" Honest Shang Jianyao pointed to the bright street light above his head.

All the businessmen fell into silence at the same time.

In the end, the reckless Shang Jianyao made the final decision:

"Observe first and then talk!"

They observed the terrain, entered a high-rise building dominated by darkness at the corner of the street, and climbed to the sixth floor.

The fluorescent lights in the corresponding windows light up.

Shang Jianyao stood in a hidden place and looked through the glass window at the target location diagonally opposite.

He tried to hide his human consciousness, but it didn't work.

…………

Jiang Baimian stood up and glanced at Shang Jianyao lying against the wall and the crate containing the nuclear warhead. One thought after another flashed through his mind.

Soon, she made a decision and planned to move all the supplies in the jeep here.

This can effectively save her time traveling between tunnels and jeeps, allowing her to devote more energy to exploring the small city.

At the same time, this can directly reduce the number of times you get lost.

"Huh..." Jiang Baimian breathed out and laughed at himself in his heart, "Actually, I don't need to risk exploring at all. I should wait until I have gained something, and wait until the fog surrounding the intelligence dissipates more, before I try again. , but I really don’t want to be held back. Moreover, there is a high probability that the anomalies and clues found externally will help..."

After convincing himself for a while, Jiang Baimian still wore the military exoskeleton device and headed outside the Eighth Research Institute.

After getting lost again and again, she moved all the supplies next to Shang Jianyao and the nuclear warhead, and hid the jeep in a hidden location outside.

After doing all this, she found a place to charge her battery, sat against the wall, and entered the "Sea of ​​Origins."

In the shimmering ocean, Jiang Baimian continued to swim toward the distant distance.