Embers Ad Infinitum

Chapter 868: Harvest

After receiving the Subhuti figurine, Shang Jianyao was in no rush to use it. He rambled on. “I have to make some preparations…”

He then unzipped his tactical backpack slung from his body and took out the Six Senses Beads and the small jade Buddha. He wore one on his wrist and held the other in his hand. Following that, he took out the Life Angel necklace.

His left leg sank and coupled with the adjustments from the programming, the exoskeleton supported his body.

Beside Shang Jianyao, Gitis’s male body was a little stunned when seeing him take out several items as if he were performing a magic trick.

After wearing the Life Angel necklace around his neck, Shang Jianyao held the small jade Buddha in one hand and the Subhuti figurine in the other as he cast his gaze at Professor Qin—who was 200 meters away.

A green light lit up. Shang Jianyao’s consciousness jumped as he entered the target’s Sea of Origins.

Light formed an ocean here that shimmered quietly. There was no wind or waves.

Shang Jianyao levitated in midair and looked around. He sat cross-legged and chanted a Buddhist proclamation in a very professional manner. “Namo Annutara-Samyak-Subhuti…”

Amidst the recital, the Sea of Origins began to stir. The faint light highlighted the past, forming huge waves that surged into the sky wave after wave.

With a destination in mind, Shang Jianyao quickly gained something: As a quasi-high-ranking member of the Eighth Research Institute, Professor Qin did know the organization’s exact location!

When he came and went, he didn’t need to blindfold or stuff his ears. If there was no wind, snow, or corresponding alerts, he would take a helicopter. Otherwise, he would enter by car. There were specialized personnel to handle his tracks.

Even the Eighth Research Institute wouldn’t be willing to go out in such weather if they encountered a blizzard.

From Professor Qin’s memories, Shang Jianyao actually couldn’t determine where the Eighth Research Institute was. After all, Professor Qin didn’t need to pilot the helicopter or drive the corresponding vehicle; there was no need to memorize the exact coordinates.

Shang Jianyao could only remember the route he took and the geographical characteristics along the way. He would then leave it to Genava to calculate the target’s exact location.

After achieving his original goal, Shang Jianyao relaxed. He skipped the chanting of the Buddhist proclamation and continued using the Subhuti figurine’s power to stir up Professor Qin’s memories regarding the Eighth Research Institute.

This wasn’t much different from what Murray and Benito had provided them, but it was more detailed and accurate.

Perhaps it was because Professor Qin had been tortured by his body all year round and had an extremely gloomy personality, but he felt that the Professor’s Association members were nothing good. He treated them as his competitors in entering the New World.

He had secretly flipped through many relevant memories from the subordinates and juniors of these high-ranking members and grasped the price of some. At the same time, he also learned a lot about the shortcomings.

Among them, there was no lack of information that left Shang Jianyao in marvel. For example, a certain Professor’s Association member firmly believed that he was a tree. He kept silent at every meeting and occasionally moved with the wind. He relied on his descendants to escort him back and forth.

If not for his family injecting nutrient fluids into him in the name of watering him, he might’ve long starved to death.

From Professor Qin’s point of view, it was a waste of resources for such a fellow to take a seat in the Professor’s Association. He yearned for him to die early every day to make room.

However, the tenured Professor was really strong. Nobody even knew if he was just a virtual fabrication.

The Eighth Research Institute’s information indicated that self-awareness of being inhuman was a price in the Shattered Mirror domain.

As he quickly explored, Shang Jianyao soon made another discovery: Something seemed to be hidden deep in the Eighth Research Institute. The Professor’s Association and even one of their organization’s missions was to guard the passage and prevent anyone from approaching.

“Interesting…” Shang Jianyao laughed.

After a while, his consciousness returned to his body.

“Here.” Shang Jianyao handed the Subhuti figurine to Gitis’s male body.

The man in the cap fell into a daze for a few seconds before saying, “That fast?”

According to ‘his’ experience, it would take at least a few minutes for people who attempted Destiny Connection for the first time to adapt and understand what to do. It was also a matter of practice to find the corresponding information from the vast sea of memories. A rookie might instantly be knocked out by the deluge of information, and only skilled people knew how to filter through them.

Shang Jianyao revealed a benevolent expression. Unfortunately, this was blocked by the military exoskeleton’s visor.

“Namo Annutara-Samyak-Subhuti. This Penniless Monk is also a Buddhist.” After handing over the Subhuti figurine, he raised his left palm vertically again.

“I couldn’t tell,” Gitis’s male body said honestly.

Jiang Baimian approached and asked, “How was it?”

Shang Jianyao replied smugly, “Found something. I realized that most Awakened have personality flaws. Sometimes, it really can be bad. There aren’t many like me—uh, us.”

As he spoke, he deviated from the topic.

Jiang Baimian glanced at Gitis’s male body. Considering the urgency of time, she didn’t want to involve the other party in the Eighth Research Institute’s matters and nodded at Shang Jianyao. “Let’s discuss it when we get back. We’ll deal with the scene now.”

At this moment, Long Yuehong and Bai Chen had already been woken up by Genava.

Due to the incomplete memories implanted and the contradictions they noticed, they escaped the influence. They treated it as if they had watched a movie starring them—no, it couldn’t be considered a movie. It was only a few edited scenes.

“How should we deal with Professor Qin?” Bai Chen—who was wearing a military exoskeleton—asked Jiang Baimian. She had already locked onto the unconscious target through the comprehensive warning system.

Before Jiang Baimian could answer, ‘ ‘ Shang Jianyao spoke first. “I promised him that he would be dealt with leniency if he surrendered!”

You bought into your own kool-aid? As expected, there are still some repercussions regarding Thought Implantation. Yes, it might also be a certain Shang Jianyao’s characteristic…?Jiang Baimian muttered inwardly.

“This is your promise, so you don’t have to interfere with how we deal with him,” Bai Chen replied calmly.

Shang Jianyao fell into deep thought as if he had encountered a computer bug.

Jiang Baimian then said, “Compared to handing Professor Qin to the White Knights and the various large factions to suffer prolonged torture, finishing him off now might be a lenient punishment.”

Controlling an Awakened deep in the Mind Corridor wasn’t easy for the Old Task Force. It was unknown when they might commit a mistake.

With Thought Implantation, who knew what would cause the effects to collapse? With prolonged injections of anesthetic, Professor Qin might develop a certain level of resistance and quietly wake up before the expected time.

“Alright.” Shang Jianyao finally nodded in agreement.

Jiang Baimian then said to Bai Chen, Long Yuehong, and Genava, “Go over, eliminate the target, and bury the corpse. Yes, Old Ge will be in charge of checking the other party’s items.”

“Alright,” Bai Chen replied coldly.

Long Yuehong nodded. He then looked at Qiao Chu’s corpse not far away, and it was all red.

He really didn’t expect that he would end up killing this Old Task Force ‘acquaintance’ at close range.

At this moment, a joke from back then flashed across his mind:?Kill them and turn them into specimens…

It’s all Hey’s fault for always saying disgusting things!?Long Yuehong cursed Shang Jianyao inwardly and rushed to the hill with Bai Chen and Genava.

He was wearing the Blackmarsh Iron Snake bionic artificial intelligence armor, so he definitely couldn’t match the military exoskeleton’s speed and ended up straggling. When he arrived, Bai Chen had already given Professor Qin a short burst and ended his life.

Genava picked up the Pen of Hobbies that had fallen to the side, pulled off Professor Qin’s Maze Glasses, and said to his companion, “These two should be items.”

Bai Chen and Long Yuehong didn’t dare to touch them. They only nodded to indicate that they would get their team leader and Hey to confirm it later.

Genava then searched Professor Qin, rummaged through his small backpack, and found a pistol, bullets, and explosives, but he didn’t find any money.

“Does he usually freeload using his abilities?” Shang Jianyao had a look of indignation when he heard this. He no longer had the dilemma of wanting to deal with them leniently.

On the other hand, they found two Grand Knight gold coins and more than ten Knight silver coins on Qiao Chu.

Jiang Baimian then turned her head and said to Gitis’s male body, “You can choose either of the two items. You can also take half of the other spoils, including the Gauss rifle.”

Gitis played a rather important role in this battle.

“We’ll discuss it after we return and confirm the effects and price.” Gitis’s male body fell silent for a moment.

‘He’ wasn’t an Awakened yet, so his desire for other items wasn’t that strong.

At this moment, Genava and the others finished burying Professor Qin and Qiao Chu’s corpses and cleaned up the scene.

“Should we carry out a search? It’s impossible for Professor Qin and Qiao Chu to come on foot. Their vehicles are definitely within a kilometer or two of us.” Bai Chen asked for her team leader’s opinion.

“There’s also our exoskeleton!” Shang Jianyao agreed.

Jiang Baimian thought for a moment before saying, “Don’t stay any longer to prevent any accidents from happening. The most important thing now is to return and analyze our gains, lock onto the target, and report to the higher-ups.”

Apart from Shang Jianyao, nobody objected.

The Old Task Force members disarmed themselves one after another, got into the jeep, and returned to Gesterbourg. The dark-red SUV driven by Gitis’s male body followed closely behind.

On the way, Shang Jianyao asked in confusion, “What about the bloody disaster?”

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