Embers Ad Infinitum

Is this the ultimate mental breakdown, completely crazy? Just as Jiang Baimian was about to squeeze in, he found that the crowd dispersed with a roar.

Two robot guard members wearing dark green uniforms came from the opposite side.

They are about the same height as Gnawa, and their eyes also emit blue light, so that Jiang Baimian, who claims to be face-blind, cannot tell who they are. After all, the different add-on modules are most likely to be covered by clothing. Covered.

The two robot guard members quickly picked up a man in the middle of the road and walked to the other end of the street.

The man was wearing blue and white, relatively loose cotton clothes, with messy black hair hanging down, green stubble that had just grown around his mouth, and a sense of hysteria in his eyes.

As he was being dragged forward, he kept shouting:

"All dead! All dead!"

The originally lively streets became quiet. It was not until the man was taken to another area by members of the robot guard and disappeared from everyone's eyes that everyone recovered and discussed the matter of the "high-level careless people" in the southwestern mountainous area.

It is said to be a southwest mountainous area. In fact, it should be in the northeast relative to Tarnan, but people here are accustomed to using the main peak of the Chiral Mountains as the standard for classification.

Jiang Baimian glanced at it and found that the pedestrians on the street showed no fear or worry. They seemed to think that this was just a small matter that the robot guards could easily solve.

"Mechanical Paradise" gave them a strong sense of security... Jiang Baimian sighed silently and continued to secretly follow Shang Jianyao ahead.

…………

At ten o'clock in the evening, in the "221" room of the "Youmeng" hotel, the four members of the "old tune team" who were out on the road reunited.

"Not bad, they're all back intact." Jiang Baimian glanced around and said with a smile.

The focus of her words was to praise Long Yuehong.

Without giving Long Yuehong a chance to be humble, she directly added:

"Let's share our harvest, starting with, um, Xiaobai."

Although Bai Chen had been watching Long Yuehong, this did not prevent her from using her observation skills and Long Yuehong's time to seek advice from others to collect some information:

“There are two bars in Tarnan, but they only sell fruit wine, and only in limited quantities.

"The situation inside is similar to the company's 'activity center'. Mainly local residents in the off-season, relic hunters who dare not take risks in winter, and people on rotation from various caravans gather together to play cards, chat, sing, and dance..."

Obviously, the grain output in Tarnan cannot support the brewing industry. Even if there is an excess share, there will definitely be no shortage of people, and foreign caravans will choose more valuable trading products, and there will be no shortage of people. Who travels over mountains and ridges just to transport a dozen or twenty barrels of wine? On the dusty soil, there are very few places with as many alcoholic beverages as Weed City, and most of them have insufficient food.

Therefore, for the residents of Tarnan, seasonal wild fruits in the Chilar Mountains that are not very tasty to eat directly and have a short shelf life can be used to make some wine.

Jian Shang Jian Yao's eyes lit up when he heard this, and Jiang Baimian laughed:

“There are quite a lot of entertainment options here.

"Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be a radio show."

Within "Pangu Biotechnology", every rest day, the "Activity Center" will organize special activities, including but not limited to ballroom dancing, basketball playing, tug-of-war competitions, etc., to enrich the spiritual life of employees.

After hearing this, Long Yuehong added helpfully:

“But there’s old world entertainment material.

"I found that many townspeople here have portable computers, which contain more or less old world entertainment materials."

In this situation, even "Pangaea Creatures" can't compare.

Who among ordinary employees can have a computer at home?

"The electronic products here are indeed not very valuable. In Weed Grass City, some nobles may not have portable computers." Jiang Baimian commented.

Of course, given the relationship between Weed City and "Mechanical Paradise", the main reason why those nobles don't have computers is because they think computers are useless.

Can this also help with farming?

After Bai Chen finished telling the information she had collected, Jiang Baimian turned to ask Shang Jianyao:

"What did you gain?"

Don't be happy dancing, satisfied singing, fried chicken wings delicious... As soon as he finished speaking, Jiang Baimian added in his mind.

Shang Jianyao replied seriously:

"The sect that organizes people to sing in the street is the Mirage Sect, and they worship the 'Broken Mirror', which is held in November.

"They believe that the current world is just a huge illusion, which is used by the 'Broken Mirror' to test human beings. The true form of this 'God of Illusions' is the mirage in ancient legends. They can only please Him in various ways. Only then can we get rid of the painful illusion, wake up from the dream, and see the real and beautiful world, which is the new world...

"They call the believers who have been favored by the 'Broken Mirror' the 'Dragonborn'..."

Oh, that's good. I didn't forget my mission while singing, dancing and eating fried chicken wings... Jiang Baimian listened and suddenly felt something was wrong and hurriedly asked:

"Don't you care what the Holy Communion of the Mirage Cult is?"

Shang Jianyao replied calmly:

"I'm afraid I hesitate."

Jiang Baimian clicked his tongue:

"Actually, there may be no need to worry. Think about it, they all think that the current world is a huge illusion, so why do they have the Holy Communion? It's all fake and illusory anyway."

"Yes..." Shang Jianyao seemed to be convinced.

But he immediately asked:

"Then they don't even have to eat? Wouldn't it be better to 'wake up hungry' earlier?"

Jiang Baimian almost couldn't answer this question, but fortunately she responded quickly enough and her association skills were good enough:

"Didn't we encounter the 'Nightmare Horse'? If you starve to death in your dream, you will actually starve to death."

Shang Jianyao clenched his right fist with his left palm and said:

"I see."

He went on to talk about the "Scale of Glory."

As for the "Melting Pot Sect", everyone had heard Means mention it before, so he didn't repeat it again.

After Shang Jianyao was Long Yuehong. He told the information he had obtained from several local old men and women one by one.

"Maximian? 'Mechanical Paradise' has actually put a bounty on a human being for so many years... What has he done? Or is he involved in some important research in the old world?" Jiang Baimian made a decision based on the fact that Maximian was a suspected scientist. Make a guess.

"Maybe." Long Yuehong suggested, "Team leader, I want to visit the local president of the Hunter Guild, Gu Bo, tomorrow. He should know a lot."

He couldn't find where Gu Bo's family was tonight.

"Okay." Jiang Baimian praised happily, "Not bad, you are becoming more and more active and proactive, which shows that your confidence has improved. Well, tomorrow you and Xiaobai will visit President Gu Bo. I Go to the church of the 'Melting Pot Sect' with Shang Jianyao and meet the 'devotee' Li Zhe."

Now that I have Means' letter, it would be a waste not to take the opportunity to go over to build relationships and get some information!

Finally, Jiang Baimian talked about the crazy survivor and other experiences.

…………

The next morning, after a simple breakfast, the "old tune group" split into two and went to their destinations.

The church of the "Melting Pot Sect" is at the southern end of the street last night. It seems to have been renovated from a small factory in the old world.

It is an independent building, with the outer walls painted iron black and the door painted fiery red. At first glance, it really looks like a strange "melting furnace".

After walking here, Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao saw the street sign, and knew the name of the current street from its mottled paint surface:

"Riverside Avenue"

The door of the Melting Pot Church was closed tightly, and no strangers were allowed to enter. However, Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao heard from Means that this was mainly to simulate the "melting pot" feeling, not to prevent anyone from entering.

Jiang Baimian stretched out his left hand and pushed open the door, only to feel a wave of heat coming towards him.

This is in sharp contrast to the harsh cold wind outside.

Jiang Baimian looked up and found that the dome was very high, with gray or iron-black pipes extending to different places along the pillars and walls.

"It's producing heat." Shang Jianyao put his palm on a black iron pipe by the door.

Jiang Baimian thought for a while and made a judgment:

"There should be hot water flowing inside. What a luxury!"

She thinks it mimics old world heating systems.

Based on this, it can be deduced that there is probably a large boiler behind the church with piles of coal.

Although it felt strange to associate the church with these things, with a strange industrial feel, Jiang Baimian felt relieved when he thought that the name of this sect was "The Melting Pot."

"Please close the door." A voice came from the front of the prayer hall.

Well, you can't let the heat escape too much, it will waste a lot of energy... Jiang Baimian had a new understanding of why the "Melting Pot Sect" always closed its door.

Shang Jianyao closed the door and asked curiously:

"If it's summer, will there be heating here?"

Jiang Baimian imagined the scene and suddenly felt very hot.

"There will be no heating. The architectural design here can ensure that the summer heat stays inside, directly creating the feeling of a furnace." The man in front of the prayer hall explained.

He is about forty years old, wearing a fiery red robe. He is a typical gray native, with slightly darker skin, relatively high cheekbones, wet hair, and sweat on his forehead.

"Excuse me, is Mr. Li Zhe here?" Jiang Baimian approached and asked politely.

The man in red robe exhaled and said:

"I am Li Zhe, a 'devotee' of the church."

"Are you hot?" Shang Jianyao asked curiously.

Li Zhe nodded:

"It's very hot, but also very comfortable and relaxing. It feels like all the impurities in the body have been forged in the furnace."

Seeing that Jiang Baimian and the others were a little confused, Li Zhe pointed to a door on the side:

"I just finished celebrating a mass. That's our mass room."

"Do you have a special room for mass?" Jiang Baimian did not hide his doubts and curiosity.

Li Zhe smiled and said:

"Yes, our mass ceremony is relatively demanding. We need to water the red-hot stones in a relatively closed room and watch the water vapor spread.

“Ah, this is the breath of God, He is bathing us.

“It will penetrate into our clothes and burrow into our skin, allowing us to expel the impurity and fatigue from our bodies...

"After each Mass, after changing clothes, everyone will feel that the body has become very relaxed and the whole person has become energetic. This is a gift from God, just like the feeling we have after enjoying the Holy Communion in the summer."

"..." The more Jiang Baimian listened, the weirder his expression became.

She really wanted to ask, did your sect have a sanctuary in the old world? If so, was it called a "bathing center"?