Embers Ad Infinitum

For some reason, Long Yuehong heard a bit of sadness in the voice of the old man wearing an aluminum pot, which was raised an octave, and at the same time, she felt that he had some indescribable expectations.

Bai Chen was silent for a few seconds, then asked:

"Why do you think there is such a thing as brain control?"

The old man wearing an aluminum pot seemed to be a little breathless due to the excitement just now. He took two breaths and then said:

"Didn't I make it clear just now?

"If there weren't brainwave machines and secret control, how could those who had gone through the ordeal of mountains of corpses and seas of blood suddenly change and even give up on their ideals?

"besides……"

He paused, and the head wearing the aluminum pot seemed to be raised a little:

"As relic hunters, if you can come all the way to Wubei, you must have seen the so-called awakened ones.

"They use brain waves to influence targets and achieve various weird effects. This is one of the manifestations of brain control!

"However, this method of human intervention is still too inefficient. The man behind the destruction of the old world created an electroencephalograph, which can cover one or even several cities at a time and affect hundreds of thousands of humans!

"Only people like us who are prepared and wear aluminum pots can escape this secret control, maintain independent thinking, remember their own ideals, and not join in with them!"

The old man became excited again, and the next few words were accented.

Long Yuehong blurted out:

"Wearing an aluminum pot can prevent the Awakened from exerting influence?"

The old man's face above the nose was blocked by a gray-white aluminum pot, making it impossible to see the changes in his expression:

"Yes, definitely!

"Let me tell you, if I hadn't been wearing an aluminum pot all the time, I would have become a 'careless person' a long time ago. The mastermind behind the scenes will not be merciful to those who discover the secrets of brain control, or they will completely control you and prevent you from having independent thoughts. , or directly destroy your brain and make you a 'careless person'!

"Many of my comrades were just not cautious enough and did not wear aluminum pots all the time to resist secret control, so they were suddenly infected with the 'Wuxin Disease' and were brutally eliminated. Alas..."

But Shang Jianyao said before that he could sense the consciousness of the two passers-by wearing aluminum pots, and being able to sense consciousness means that he can exert influence... Long Yuehong muttered in his heart, but did not say it out loud, afraid It stimulated the sensitive and extreme nerves of the old man opposite.

And he also remembered that Ding Ling said that these people who advocate brain control and always wear aluminum pots think that they can avoid the infection of "unintentional diseases", but it turns out that this is not the case.

Of course, these people seem to have found a suitable explanation internally.

After Bai Chen listened quietly, he suddenly asked:

"Why did you tell us so much?"

She had originally prepared a whole set of rhetoric, hoping to induce the other party to tell relevant things, but she did not expect that everything would go so smoothly, so smoothly that she felt that maybe she and others were just acting as listeners at the right time and in the right place.

The old man wearing an aluminum pot waved his right hand:

"I am sharing these things with you because you have just entered Wubei and have probably not encountered brain control yet. Hey, if I can save one, I will save one more comrade."

At this moment, Long Yuehong felt that if Shang Jianyao were here, he would probably take a step forward, press the left side of his chest with his right hand, and shout out the slogan "For all mankind" impassionedly.

Bai Chen was stunned for a moment, not knowing how to respond, so he simply squeezed out two words:

"Thanks."

The old man wearing an aluminum pot was about to say something more when he suddenly turned around and faced the back door of the hotel not far away.

"The fallen ones' lackey is here. I heard his footsteps. I'm leaving." The old man waved his hand, lowered his head, looked at the road under his feet, and walked step by step towards the side exit of the parking lot.

Long Yuehong and Bai Chen followed the old man's previous turn and looked at the back door of the small building. They saw the slightly bald, middle-aged hotel manager standing there with an awkward and ugly expression.

At this moment, the old man walking out slowly shouted again:

"Remember to find an aluminum pot and put it on!"

The hotel manager finally came to his senses, walked quickly to Bai Chen and Long Yuehong, and said angrily:

"Don't listen to him, he has something in his head..."

As he spoke, the hotel manager raised his finger and pointed at his temple:

"question!"

Bai Chen remained calm, deliberately letting a trace of doubt appear on his face:

"Who is he? It feels weird?"

Hey, Xiaobai learned very well from team leader... Or maybe she would have performed like this before joining the company? Long Yuehong's focus was not quite right.

The hotel manager looked around and lowered his voice:

"He is a veteran who joined the Salvation Army when it was founded and has lived till now. You also know that people who have experienced large-scale wars and casualties must have some kind of war trauma syndrome, and in the chaotic era and the new In the early days of history, no one paid much attention to this aspect. It would be good if everyone was alive. After such wars, he gradually became irritable, irritable, and unable to concentrate.

"He is like this, and so are many of his comrades. Some have even started drinking. Our Salvation Army has put a considerable part of its resources on them.

"Forget it. After he and his comrades who also suffered from trauma syndrome quit their front-line positions, the problem became more serious. They became suspicious. They always felt that someone was trying to harm them, and they always felt that the committee members and division chiefs who were still on the front line had fallen. , forgetting ideals, not looking at what era this is, and not looking at the current problems that have changed from how to survive to how to mobilize everyone's enthusiasm and develop better.

"Later, as if they were mentally ill, they organized an anti-secret control organization and called on everyone to wear aluminum pots to escape the brain control of the mastermind behind the scenes. Is this a sign of illness?"

Long Yuehong did not correct that it was probably a syndrome rather than a syndrome. For a middle-aged hotel manager, knowing such a word is quite good, which shows that the "Salvation Army" has been engaged in popular education for a long time.

Why can a hotel manager say that the current problem has changed from how to survive to how to mobilize everyone's enthusiasm... Such a question flashed through Bai Chen's mind, but what he said was completely irrelevant:

"Manager, why did he come to the hotel parking lot?"

The hotel manager sighed and said:

"He and his old comrades live in a nearby nursing home. If people with their qualifications want to force their way into the hotel, how can we dare to stop them?

"He originally liked to stop young people on the street and talk about brain control and depravity, but later no one liked to listen to it anymore, so he set his sights on outsiders staying in our hotel.

"He often comes here, pretending to accidentally bump into something and fall to the ground, waiting for someone to help him. Then, he can take this opportunity to teach the person helping him about brain control."

Ah... Long Yuehong was dumbfounded.

He finally confirmed that he and Xiaobai were really "touched".

It turned out that the old man hit the jeep deliberately and waited for someone to help him. The reason why he sat there without any injuries was because getting up too early would have no effect.

No wonder he answered whatever Xiaobai asked, and he also took the initiative to talk about it eloquently... The more Long Yuehong thought about it, the more she felt that she was too stupid and naive at the time.

Bai Chen also stayed for a few seconds before frowning slightly and said:

"Will the merchants who come to trade and the relic hunters who enter the country really come to help him?"

Based on her many years of experience as a wanderer in the wilderness, she didn't think these two types of people would have any good intentions. There were too few people like Wu Shoushi.

The hotel manager laughed:

“Many people are always willing to show their kindness in order to become a member of our Salvation Army.

"Haha, good people and good deeds may really help them shorten the years of their settlement. This is encouraged by the Materials Coordination Committee."

That's it... Long Yuehong thinks this policy is good.

After the exchange, there was nothing more to say. He and Bai Chen said goodbye to the hotel manager named Shen Kang and returned to the room on the third floor through the normal passage.

…………

When Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao returned, Bai Chen took the initiative to talk about the old man wearing an aluminum pot.

Shang Jianyao's eyes lit up when he heard this, he turned his head and said to Long Yuehong:

"How about you try wearing an aluminum pot and see if I can control you?"

"No need." Long Yuehong shook her head without hesitation.

This is obvious!

Gnawa denied it from a scientific point of view:

"This won't work unless the aluminum pot covers the whole body and is grounded to produce an electromagnetic shielding effect."

"Maybe you can give it a try..." Jiang Baimian began to think thoughtfully.

She also wanted to see whether the awakened person's ability was carried by electromagnetic waves.

Long Yuehong suddenly felt a little nervous.

Bai Chen turned to talk about the hotel manager's arrogant remarks.

In response, Jiang Baimian smiled and said:

"It's easy to understand. Since the old man comes to the hotel from time to time to talk to someone, he must have told him about brain control and depravity, and he is someone who will accept benefits and betray some of the interests of the Salvation Army. I must have felt very guilty. When I was free, I probably often thought about how I would defend myself if faced with such accusations.

"In this case, if you listen more to the radio, read more documents issued, and chat with people around you, you will naturally gradually form a self-consistent rhetoric."

Seeing that it was getting late, Jiang Baimian was about to invite the team members to the hotel restaurant for lunch when the broadcast in the room, in the corridor and high on the street outside suddenly rang.

rang at the same time.

A male voice that obviously used a voice changer said in a high pitched voice:

“Guys, I’m a gamer.

"I want to play a game with you now:

"I have hidden a nuclear warhead somewhere in Wubei. If you don't find it within three days, it will explode with a bang.

"Everyone, please work hard. I hope Wubei will not be turned into ruins in a grand fireworks."

After the male voice said these words, it no longer appeared, and the sound of electric current came from the radio.