Embers Ad Infinitum

Chapter 622: Collective Dream

Oudick was still wearing the same thick, black tweed coat, making one wonder if he had any other clothes. But considering that it was still spring and the wind was relatively cold, it didn’t seem like a problem for him to be dressed in such an outfit.

At this moment, he—who was more than 1.8 meters tall and had both Ashlandic and Red River characteristics—had rather deep facial features. He looked up and stared at the mission information displayed on the large screen with his blue eyes and slightly red nose as he frowned slightly.

Jiang Baimian immediately grabbed Shang Jianyao—who was attempting to reunite with his friend—and mouthed to him:?We are still wanted criminals. Don’t expose our identities in public!

Jiang Baimian didn’t know if Shang Jianyao understood her. In any case, she immediately cast her gaze at the gigantic screen hanging in First City’s Hunter’s Guild lobby after seeing him behave. She tried to make the best use of her time to figure out which mission had made Oudick frown.

The corresponding content quickly reflected in her eyes: “Mission: Investigate the reason behind a collective dream.

“Description: Recently, citizens in the Green Olive Zone have been suffering from nightmares. They have been suffering from insomnia, headaches, nausea, fatigue, and poor appetites for days. After preliminary investigations, 161 such personnel have been confirmed. The nightmares they described are very similar—an indiscernible monster crawls out of the darkness that either bites and swallows them or forces them into a prolonged run before they collapse out of exhaustion, only to be enveloped by the cold.

“Reward: Any clue that passes the review and is confirmed effective will receive a minimum of 20 Oray, with a maximum of 800 Oray. If you manage to truly investigate the truth behind the matter, you will obtain a 5,000 Oray reward. For those who can directly resolve the problem, 20,000 Oray.

“Mission rank: Clue-searching requires C-rank and 100 credit points. Investigating the truth requires B-rank and 1,000 credit points, whereas resolving the problem requires A-rank and 10,000 credit points.

“Mission requirements: None

“Commissioner: Hand of Order and the Hunter’s Guild’s First City branch.”

“Wow.” Shang Jianyao praised sincerely. “If I can complete such a mission, I can directly become a Senior Hunter. No, I’ll just be a little short.”

The Hunters around him couldn’t help but turn their heads to glance at him.?So you are just an Official Hunter? Why are you considering an A-rank mission?

To go from Official Hunter to Intermediate Hunter, one needed 1,000 credit points. From Intermediate Hunter to Senior Hunter, one needed 10,000 credit points. Therefore, as long as an Intermediate Hunter completed this A-rank mission, they could directly become a Senior Hunter.

But in fact, such matters rarely happened. Only Advanced Hunters had the strength to participate in missions rated as A-rank missions by the Hunter’s Guild.

Of course, a Hunter’s rank and strength weren’t equivalent. Some people could drive out fellows who were definitely more dangerous than Grade A and S from this world not long after they became Official Hunters.

Little White can become a Senior Hunter just by finding a single clue…?Long Yuehong’s thoughts were stirred by Shang Jianyao’s words.

However, the Old Task Force members were wanted criminals. Their original Hunter identities definitely couldn’t be used in First City’s sphere of influence. They couldn’t take on missions even if they wanted to.

This situation didn’t affect the Old Task Force from accepting missions in the territories of other factions or raising their Hunter rank. After all, what did First City’s wanted criminals have to do with the Salvation Army?

Only those who seriously violated the Hunter’s Guild’s rules and no longer had any credibility would be blacklisted by the various branches and become Dark Hunters.

Jiang Baimian didn’t pay attention to Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong’s reactions and muttered to herself,?The description of this mission is very strange and terrifying… Is that why the Hunter’s Guild designated the completion difficulty as A-rank? What has this got to do with powerful Awakened in the Dawn domain? Does the True Self Church—which Ugo and the others belong to—know anything? Yes, Oudick has Awakened the abilities of the Dawn domain and is involved in dreams. It’s no wonder he frowned when reading the mission description…

As these thoughts raced through her mind, Jiang Baimian studied the other missions.

This was their goal in coming to the Hunter’s Guild.

Through some of the missions, the Old Task Force confirmed one thing—First City’s war machine was slowly awakening. It was still in the stage of shaking off the dust and cleaning itself.

The target is the Salvation Army? Once these two factions start a war, the stable lives of countless people will crumble…?Jiang Baimian retracted her gaze and led Shang Jianyao and the others—no, she followed Shang Jianyao and the others—out of the Hunter’s Guild.

Oudick had already disappeared by then.

After returning to the jeep, Shang Jianyao asked, “Can we go greet Oudick now?”

In his heart, not only was Oudick a friend, but he was also a good person. He had once lent them a car and had even fought alongside them to deal with the fake Father and Weed City nobles.

Jiang Baimian glared at him. “Remember your identity: A wanted criminal with a high bounty. Even if you don’t respect the law enforcement’s Hand of Order, you have to consider whether you will implicate Oudick.”

“Alright.” Although Shang Jianyao—who valued relationships—understood, he was still displeased.

Bai Chen—who was driving—asked about something else. “Which area are we staying in tonight?”

Jiang Baimian smiled. “Find a rented apartment near Ugo Hotel.”

Hence, the Old Task Force returned to the Green Olive Zone and found a rented apartment where they could see Ugo Hotel from a distance.

There were no longer any more citizen demonstrations in First City. Jiang Baimian and the others tried a dinner made of pork sausages, sweet vegetable mixed soup, oatmeal bread, and roasted potato peel.

During this process, they didn’t forget to boil water and soak the dried mushrooms to enhance the variety of dishes.

After having their fill, Jiang Baimian generously allowed everyone to play on their laptops for two hours after returning to the rented apartment.

After entertainment time ended, Genava took turns guarding the night. The others returned to their rooms and prepared to tuck in.

However, Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao still had things to do before sleeping.

…

In the Sea of Origins, Jiang Baimian landed on the island of fear again.

After a few explorations, she had already confirmed that this place presented an abandoned and uninhabited Pangu Biology underground building. This might very well correspond to her fear of losing her family, friends, colleagues, and familiar life.

There were no enemies here for Jiang Baimian to deal with, nor was there any special state that required her to crack. She could only wander around the empty company every time like a lost sheep. She would sit in a daze and stare blankly like a lingering ghost.

When her mind was exhausted through the passage of time, Jiang Baimian ultimately had to leave and return to reality.

She had already tried three different plans, but they had failed to produce any effects.

Regarding this, she was very envious of Shang Jianyao. She felt that if it were him facing such a situation, he would definitely split off into many different selves and play different roles to make the underground building lively and less lonely.

But upon careful thought, Jiang Baimian felt that this was a deeper level of loneliness with indescribable grief.

Phew, I’ll tour the underground building from top to bottom today to see if I missed anything or if there’s anything that can give me inspiration… After that, I’ll put down my pride and discuss it with Hey and the others. I hope they can give suggestions from different angles…

?Jiang Baimian looked at the underground building’s entrance and fell into deep thought. She then carefully identified her bearings, confirmed the way, and walked into the elevator.

…

Mind Corridor, Room 912, on the cruise ship.

Shang Jianyao realized that he had returned to the time when he had just climbed onto the deck.

The sea breeze blew, and the sky was bright. People gathered in groups of three to five around the cruise ship as they conversed.

Near the cabin entrance, the man with the black mole at the end of his eyebrows and his companion—who couldn’t bear to light the wrinkled cigarette in his mouth—stood there, just like when Shang Jianyao first saw them.

Shang Jianyao stroked his chin. “As expected—there will be a time skip every time I enter. When it skips to the end, things return to the beginning.”

After this period of experiments, they had already grasped the pattern of this psychological trauma.

One: under normal circumstances, they would return to the nearest room when they last left.

Two: if they escaped on the last day of this ‘world’ and entered again, they would return to the first day they arrived on the deck and appear where they had first stepped foot.

Three: the time flow wasn’t fixed between every entry, but it followed a pattern—day and night took turns strictly. In other words, it would be daytime on one entry and definitely night on the next entry. The reverse was also true.

Four: everyone on the cruise ship was normal during the day and had food to eat. At night, most people would enter a chaotic and deranged state. Once Shang Jianyao used his abilities, he would quickly be assimilated. If he was attacked and died here, he might very well become a vegetable.

Five: this psychological trauma consisted of four days and three nights in total.

Six: the period before they boarded the cruise ship seemed very special. It didn’t appear again after that.

“The sixth point is very worth exploring…” The timid Shang Jianyao was the only one who could keep up with the calm and rational Shang Jianyao when it came to thinking.

“Unfortunately, we can’t return.” The Shang Jianyao that sought novelty was greatly disappointed.

The timid Shang Jianyao sneered. “Just because we can’t do it doesn’t mean that others can’t. If we can capture a Mind Corridor-level Awakened and force him into this room, he should be able to appear at the dock. This might bring about some changes.”

Clap! Clap! Clap!

The honest Shang Jianyao definitely clapped when it was time.

…

Jiang Baimian walked to the end of an aisle and saw darkness behind the half-closed door. This reminded her of Eidolon Nun, and she suddenly felt a little terrified.

At this moment, she felt the floor and walls shake gently.

A change??Just as this thought flashed through Jiang Baimian’s mind, she saw a bloody, pale palm that stuck close to the ground reach out from the darkness.