Embers Ad Infinitum

”

“…” Jiang Baimian admitted that Shang Jianyao had a sharp sense of smell, but she didn’t want to agree with him.

3

Bai Chen—who had been watching Jiang Baimian roll down the car window—interrupted thoughtfully, “Team Leader, when were you born?”

“Year 23 of the New Calendar.
Why?” Jiang Baimian casually replied.

“You’re three years younger than me…” Bai Chen was slightly shocked.

Long Yuehong was even more surprised.
“Team Leader, you’re only two years older than us? You’re already a D6!”

“This is the benefit of working in the Security Department.
It may be dangerous, but promotions happen really fast.
After all, your superior, such as me, might die at any moment,” Jiang Baimian joked.

2

She paused and casually added, “Besides, I’ve previously made some contributions.
Ah, I forgot to remind you that it’s important to observe the color of the air.
You have to wear a gas mask in advance sometimes.”

In the next half-hour, the jeep stumbled through the forest.
Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong remained like children, watching the scenery outside attentively.
They were curious about everything.

Upon seeing the soil in front of them gradually turning black and the trees around him starting to thin out, making the road less rugged, Long Yuehong suddenly frowned and said, “I keep having the feeling that the environment outside isn’t right.
There’s something missing…”

Shang Jianyao sat up straight and spoke in a deep but not low voice.
“There’s no one.”

Nobody… Yes! Long Yuehong slapped his thigh and said, “Yeah, apart from a few outposts along the way, there are no humans at all!”

The people at the outpost were undoubtedly all employees of the company.

“The people nearby have either been recruited by the company, wandered to another place that has food, or…” Jiang Baimian changed the topic.
“When we pass the outpost ahead and truly enter the Blackmarsh Wilderness, we will have a chance of encountering humans.”

Bai Chen didn’t turn around and added in a low voice, “But that might not be what you want…”

Jiang Baimian tilted her head and asked, “What did you say?”

“Team Leader, focus on driving!” Bai Chen restrained her emotions and shouted with a smile.

Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong fell silent.
From time to time, they would look out the window at the increasingly open area.

After an unknown period of time, Long Yuehong suddenly asked, “Team Leader, I haven’t told my family that I’m going out for field training and that I won’t be returning home soon.
What should I do?”

“The higher-ups will send someone to inform them.” Jiang Baimian looked at the road ahead and gently pulled the steering wheel.

Long Yuehong shut his mouth.

There was another long silence in the jeep.

After they passed by Pangu Biology’s border sentry, the terrain ahead became increasingly flat.

2

The soil here was grayish-black and relatively soft.
On the soil were clearly all kinds of intersecting marks.
Some belonged to wheels, some came from animals, and some came from humans.

The trees around the road were sparser, allowing people to see the black swamp in the distance.

These trees’ trunks were black in color, and their leaves were dark-green.
Some of them were very tall, at least 20 to 30 meters tall.
Some were very short, only about the height of a person.
The thing they had in common was their warped and grotesque angles.
They looked like dead monsters that appeared dark even under the sun.

“We don’t have to be too careful at the edge of the swamp.
Once we venture deeper, we have to slow down and pay attention to whether the road ahead has been swallowed by the swamp.
If we really drive into a swamp, we have to abandon the car and retreat.” Bai Chen took the opportunity to lecture the two men.
“Team Leader, there’s a clean water source over there.”

Jiang Baimian nodded.
“Alright, let’s take a rest over there and get some of our water supplies replenished.
Shang Jianyao, Long Yuehong, you guys will drive while the terrain is open and not too dangerous.
I hope you can finish learning by today.”

She turned the wheel and let the jeep drive into a sparse forest area in the wilderness.

An underground river burrowed out of the surface here, flowing for a few hundred meters before returning underground.

Jiang Baimian walked to the riverside with a solar charger board and a thermal kettle that had a large capacity.
She said to Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong, “There’s usually no problem with such flowing underground water, but we still have to observe two things.

“First, we have to determine whether there are any clear abnormalities in the plants nearby.
Second, we have to see if the creatures in the water appear strange compared to their own kind.
Then, if the conditions permit, boil the water before filling up the waterskins.
If not, put in Bio Cleansing Capsules.”

4

After observing for a while, Jiang Baimian squatted by the river and filled the kettle with water.
She then put the thermal kettle on the already charged solar charger and plugged it in.
During this process, she took out a milky-white plastic bottle, poured out a white capsule the size of a fingernail, and threw it into the water.

This was a Bio Cleansing Capsule, unique to Pangu Biology.

Long Yuehong excitedly watched from the side as if he wanted to try it himself.
For him, who needed to go to the Supplies Allocation Market every day to get hot water, this was relatively new.
He had quite a big family, and a child’s energy quota was limited.

A kettle for hot water was not cheap either.
Therefore, he could only take a thermos and go to the hot water room in the Supplies Allocation Market to get water.

After Jiang Baimian was done, she stood up and glanced at Long Yuehong before she jokingly scolded him.
“At times like these, what you should do is draw your Ice Moss to prevent any creatures from attacking us or snatching our supplies.
There’s no need to mention Bai Chen.
She’s extremely experienced.
Look, Shang Jianyao is also paying attention to his surroundings.”

After drawing his Ice Moss pistol, Shang Jianyao—who was looking at the ‘source’ of the river—suddenly said, “Team Leader, there’s a figure darting over there!”