Embers Ad Infinitum

Chapter 480: Coping With Shifting Events By Keeping the Status Quo

Jiang Baimian and the others used the codebook they had found on Garibaldi and his portable radio transceiver. They then reported that Garibaldi had been rescued but had long been exposed.

During this process, the Old Task Force tried to add the encounter of them being intercepted by Zennaga and brought back to the temple.

They were prepared for Zennaga to stop them, with no chance of succeeding. However, there was only silence outside.

There weren’t even any monks passing by.

“They aren’t worried at all…” Jiang Baimian heaved a sigh of relief.

She could roughly understand why Zennaga was so at ease. Even if the forces backing them received the news in time, in the face of such a huge organization like the Crystal Consciousness Church, formulating a plan, organizing manpower, making advanced preparations, and starting the rescue operation was unlikely to be completed in less than half a month.

And this was with the Crystal Consciousness Church not being wary.

Ten days later, the Old Task Force would be able to leave the temple named Sikhara openly.

“What do we do now?” Long Yuehong didn’t hide his worry.

Although Zennaga looked rather kind and benevolent, this didn’t mean that the other Crystal Consciousness Church monks were the same. After all, a large number of them were in the Subhuti domain. Just based on probability, there were definitely people with mental problems.

For some reason, the Old Task Force hadn’t hit their sore spots. This could be concluded from the difference between Jingfa and Jingnian.

Shang Jianyao clenched his right fist and punched his left palm. “This is an opportunity!”

“Huh?” It wasn’t only Long Yuehong—even Jiang Baimian and Bai Chen were a little confused.

Shang Jianyao deliberately made his voice sound magnetic. “The more dangerous it is, the more one should take risks. This is the opportunity for me to accommodate myself and enter the Mind Corridor. When that happens, we will have the strength to put up a fight.”

So you were possessed by Wu Meng… Jiang Baimian criticized inwardly and deliberated before saying, “How confident are you?”

“Not at all,” Shang Jianyao replied very bluntly.

“…” Jiang Baimian slowly exhaled. “There’s no rush. From the looks of it, this matter hasn’t reached the point where we have to go all out. Master Zennaga should be able to suppress or stop the other monks. Otherwise, with his personality and philosophy, he wouldn’t have brought us to this temple to watch over us.”

“That’s true.” Long Yuehong nodded.

To be honest, if Zennaga hadn’t forced his team to be remanded in Sikhara temple for the purpose of watching over them with his unclear prophecy, he would’ve had a good impression of the monk.

At least from his attitude toward ordinary people, he was a real monk.

“But our plan has been interrupted…” Bai Chen didn’t seem to enjoy forced imprisonment. She had quite some hatred for Zennaga.

Jiang Baimian smiled. “What plan do we have? Wasn’t it just waiting for chaos to erupt in First City and then fish in troubled waters to find an opportunity to complete the mission? With our strength, can we really get involved? Those big shots can kill us with a single slap.”

The Old Task Force was very aware of this. They had never thought of taking the initiative to strike and tip First City’s balance. They were only taking advantage of any ensuing situation and some particular development.

“No, that’s not our plan,” Shang Jianyao said with a serious expression. “Since Master Zennaga said that we would bring chaos to First City, we must’ve made a mistake and remembered the wrong plan.”

Are you serious, or are you mocking Zennaga? Long Yuehong boldly muttered inwardly.

Jiang Baimian nodded. “That’s right. I’m also very curious about the Zen Master’s prophecy. It’s the same whether we’re here or outside. Could it be that his act of intercepting us and bringing us back to Sikhara temple to watch over us is the trigger that can trigger a series of changes?”

At this point, Jiang Baimian laughed. “Prophecies are always fulfilled in ways that the prophet cannot predict, is it not?”

Team Leader, you’re still trying to shake Zennaga’s beliefs… Long Yuehong saw through Jiang Baimian’s true goal.

Unfortunately, Zennaga’s voice didn’t sound in their minds.

Jiang Baimian could only stretch herself. “Let’s get some sleep and wait for something to happen. Right, send a telegram to Old Ge and tell him that First City’s situation is still relatively stable. As for us, we have been invited by Master Zennaga of the Crystal Consciousness Church to be guests at Sikhara temple for ten days.”

…

In a wilderness nomad settlement in the North Shore Mountains.

Han Wanghuo and Zeng Duo sat in a secluded corner and read Genava’s translation under the afterglow of the setting sun.

“Something seems to have happened to them.” Zeng Duo frowned.

As a Ruin Hunter who had spent a fair amount of time in First City and the North Shore Wastelands, she knew that the Crystal Consciousness Church had certain connections with First City’s officials, allowing them to preach publicly.

Han Wanghuo thought for a few seconds and said, “From the fact that they can still send telegrams, the problem isn’t too serious. What should we do next?”

He cast his gaze at Genava.

Genava said in a slightly synthetic male voice, “Since something has happened to them, we have to see what’s not mentioned in the telegram. This is what Big White said before. The telegram didn’t ask us to change our plans, so we will act according to our original plan.”

Big White… Zeng Duo had always found the Old Task Force’s nicknames odd. The members of such a powerful team are actually nicknamed Big White, Little White, Hey, and Little Red… How is this a team worth tens of thousands of Oray per person? Such names are clearly ones used in First City’s citizen school clubs—the kind that’s used for low-class plebeians.

In comparison, ‘Old Ge’ was really very normal.

“Alright.” Han Wanghuo also believed that it was best to cope with shifting events by keeping the status quo.

After burning the message and waiting for the rye bread to soften, Zeng Duo saw that the scene was a little heavy. She looked at Genava and asked curiously, “You were the mayor of Mechanical Paradise, right? Why did you follow Big—uh, October Xue, Zhang Qubing, and the others to First City? Mechanical Paradise has a cooperative relationship with them?”

In her mind, smart bots were also robots. They couldn’t violate their program design and the orders from above. Without permission, they definitely couldn’t leave their posts.

The red light in Genava’s eyes flickered a few times. “I’m too humanized. If I didn’t leave, I’d have been brought back to headquarters to be formatted. I followed Hey, Big White, and the others to find the answer to the question ‘what makes a human.’ I wanted to find out if I was considered human, what kind of person I am, and what the meaning of my life is.”

Zeng Duo was stunned when she heard that. She felt like her head was spinning.

What makes a human… Han Wanghuo—who was staring at the fire and listening quietly—turned to look at Genava.

The flickering firelight reflected on his face in the afterglow of the setting sun.

Genava let out a slightly synthetic laugh. “Haha. Before I left Tarnan, I was a qualified mayor, a considerate husband, a loving father, and a dignified officer. That was the definition of self in my core program. Now, I feel that I have more possibilities; it’s not just that. When I’ve built a sufficiently perfect human template, I might be able to find my true self.”

Zeng Duo didn’t know how to respond. All she could do was smile and say, “It’s not that complicated for me. I just want everyone in Early Spring Town to live better.”

Han Wanghuo glanced at her and said coldly, “Have you never thought about yourself?”

Zeng Duo opened her mouth and closed it again. She cast her gaze at the rye bread that was gradually softening.

…

At night, Garibaldi finally woke up.

As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw four faces above him. Spooked, he quickly shrank his body and looked for a weapon.

“You’re awake?” Shang Jianyao asked with a smile. This time, he used Ashlandic.

Garibaldi was stunned for a moment. After careful inspection, he finally recognized that this was the company’s dispatch team he had met before.

“You rescued me?” At the mention of the word ‘rescue,’ Garibaldi’s expression couldn’t help but change.

Even Long Yuehong could tell that he was afraid but also reluctant to leave.

“That’s right.” Jiang Baimian smiled and took a step back. “Sit up first. Do you need help?”

Glancing at the lady, Garibaldi’s body suddenly trembled as he hurriedly shook his head. “No, there’s no need.”

He sat up quickly. During this process, his gaze swept across Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong, and he couldn’t help but shiver.

Jiang Baimian raised her hand and pressed on the corner of her mouth to hold it still.

After Garibaldi’s emotions eased a little, Jiang Baimian asked, “What does the lady who left a deep impression on you look like?”