Embers Ad Infinitum

Seeing that the room was empty again, Jiang Baimian walked towards a wooden armchair and said with a smile:

"As you can tell from the name, our company studies biotechnology, and the relationship between biology and medicine has always been very close, so we are relatively strong in the corresponding fields."

While she was talking, she had already picked up the wooden chair and walked towards Tian Erhe's bed.

In the process, her eyes seemed to casually glance at Shang Jianyao, Long Yuehong, Bai Chen, Li Zhengfei, the radio transceiver and the window on the other side of the bed.

She originally planned to ask Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong to return to the jeep to guard the most valuable property of the "old tune team" and the spare batteries and large amounts of food inside.

But she quickly gave up the idea.

In this night where the undercurrent is likely to be turbulent, it would be better for the members of the "Old Tune Group" not to separate.

“Anyway, if the car is lost or things are robbed, the company will make up for it...

"The most important people now are Mayor Tian and Li Zhengfei, and the most important item is the radio transceiver that keeps in touch with the company. Since they are here, there is no need to dedicate manpower to go to the jeep...

"If something happens, it's not easy to run there. It's easy to be surrounded. It's not that easy to climb over the wall...

"There is a wall behind this room, and you can see the fields not far away. If you can't hold on here, just open the window and jump out, which will be half the battle...

"It's not difficult to fight guerrillas there until people from the company arrive...

"Well, I have the pistol and the corresponding bullets with me..." Jiang Baimian's thoughts were spinning, and he had already considered how to deal with the worst case scenario.

She immediately put the chair next to the bed, sat down, and introduced various situations of "Pangu Creatures" to Tian Erhe, Li Zhengfei and the two town guard members in the room, focusing on the treatment of regular employees and the treatment of other vassal forces. On the situation.

Of course, before Shuiwei Town is officially accepted by "Pangu Biology", there are certain things that cannot be discussed, including the existence of underground buildings, the location of the company's entrance, etc.

Here, Jiang Baimian also deliberately ignored topics such as genetic improvement in an understatement. She knew that many people on the dusty earth were hostile to these technologies that they believed were seriously against nature and would bring disaster, but she was not sure whether Tian Erhe and Li Zhengfei across from them were such people.

Although the name "Pangu Creature" can make everyone think of similar aspects, since the other party has not shown it, Jiang Baimian will not be stupid enough to take the initiative to provoke sensitive topics.

Tian Erhe's mental state is obviously not as good as what he just said. After listening to it for a while, he has to close his eyes to rest or sleep for a while. Li Zhengfei and Bai Chen originally wanted everyone to leave the room and let the mayor have a good rest, but Tian Erhe always woke up quickly and stopped them.

As they chatted for a while, the sky outside the window gradually became dim and shimmering.

Morning comes.

Seeing that the most dangerous period had passed, Jiang Baimian secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

She didn't rest throughout the night. She only left the chair from time to time to move her body. However, she arranged for Shang Jianyao, Long Yuehong and Bai Chen to take turns sleeping to maintain their energy.

Jiang Baimian was about to ask the team members to bring breakfast when he suddenly heard the sound of the wireless telegraph machine.

"There is a telegram..." Jiang Baimian explained to Tian Erhe and Li Zhengfei, and walked over.

Under the expectant gaze of everyone, she quickly translated the contents of the telegram.

She raised her eyebrows and said:

"People sent by the company are at the entrance to the swamp."

"So fast?" Long Yuehong asked on behalf of everyone.

According to the normal process, the company should start arranging manpower and preparing drugs now, which will take almost an hour.

If nothing happens on the way and everything goes smoothly, the dispatched team should arrive in the evening or earlier.

It's a full day earlier than expected.

Jiang Baimian thought for a moment and said:

"It is not uncommon to march at night.

"Besides, the road conditions from the company to this side are relatively good."

She didn't say that at least half of the journey was within the company's actual control area. Many combat teams in the security department had already understood the situation in that area clearly, and they would not step into a pit with their eyes closed.

Of course, traveling at night is indeed prone to problems. After all, the line of sight will be restricted. But sometimes, people have no choice. Being forced by the environment is definitely not an empty talk.

Based on this, the top management of the "Pangu Biology" Security Department consciously asked each combat team and action brigade to add night marching to the training subjects.

This is the difference between regular soldiers and wilderness bandits.

"Could it be that there happened to be a team nearby?" Seeing that Tian Erhe and Li Zhengfei were still surprised, Bai Chen put forward his own guess.

Jiang Baimian shook his head:

"I have stressed that bringing doctors, medicines and equipment with you, the team going out should not have any."

Speaking of this, she smiled at Tian Erhe and Li Zhengfei:

"Let you guess the approximate distance between the company and here."

The distance a team marches at night.

"That's fine, come early and have peace of mind." Tian Erhe gave up his previous worries and exhaled with a smile.

This made him cough a few more times, and Bai Chen patted his back worriedly.

Jiang Baimian took a look and said directly:

"I'll go pick them up. The route into the town is full of twists and turns. People coming here for the first time will definitely get lost."

"Okay." Tian Erhe didn't think there was any problem with this.

Li Zhengfei thought for a while and said to Ding Ce, the "dog" who was guarding the room:

"Xiao Ce, you go with her."

When he said this, his eyes were serious and his head was slightly nodded.

Ding Ce immediately understood what the leader meant:

If you find something wrong along the way, you have to inform the people in town even if you risk your life.

"Yes, boss!" Ding Ce's blood surged and he puffed up his chest.

He was a little scared, but he thought it was worth it.

Jiang Baimian did not refuse and said to Long Yuehong:

"You come with me."

Compared with those who went to pick up the company, it was obviously more dangerous to stay here, so Jiang Baimian asked Long Yuehong to follow him.

At that time, if the situation in the town changes suddenly, Shang Jianyao, who is good at "making friends", and Bai Chen, who is familiar with the environment, will have a higher chance of survival if they partner up.

"Yes, team leader!" Long Yuehong answered louder than Ding Ce.

This is a habit.

When Jiang Baimian and the others left, Bai Chen said to Tian Erhe:

"You should feel relieved now, right?

"Sleep a little longer, they're not that fast."

Her tone was like comforting a child.

"How can we really feel at ease until they enter the town?" Tian Erhe shook his head stubbornly.

He looked at Bai Chen and coughed twice:

"I wanted to ask you before, why are you always wearing this scarf?"

There is a stove in the room and the temperature is not that low.

Bai Chen's expression changed slightly, then he smiled bitterly and said:

"There's something bad..."

Tian Erhe didn't ask any more questions and half-closed his eyes, as if he could no longer support his energy and needed to slow down.

Seeing this, Li Zhengfei turned his attention to Shang Jianyao, as if he wanted to pass the rest of the time with small talk - this might help him get more information.

However, Shang Jianyao made a zipper motion with his fingers in front of his mouth and whined twice.

"Ah?" Li Zhengfei looked confused.

Bai Chenyin tried to explain with some speculation:

"What he means is that it's not convenient for him to talk."

He might be afraid that his brain would twitch and ruin the somewhat sad and solemn atmosphere... Bai Chen completed the remaining words in his mind.

Shang Jianyao nodded heavily, indicating that that was it.

Seeing that his guess was confirmed, Bai Chen looked at Shang Jianyao with a much gentler look.

She didn't expect that this teammate who had mental problems and was very detached would silently make such a big effort and sacrifice.

However, Bai Chen also inexplicably felt that Shang Jianyao's condition seemed to be a little more serious than before.

Li Zhengfei couldn't understand why Shang Jianyao was inconvenient to speak. He could only think that this was a more tactful way of refusing to disclose more information.

He had to turn to look at Bai Chen, but Bai Chen got busy, tidying up the spittoon, opening the door for ventilation, and cleaning the room.

After an unknown period of time, Tian Erhe woke up. He turned his head, listened for a while, and then asked weakly:

"What's the sound outside?

"come yet?"

Bai Chen walked to the corridor outside in a few steps, held his hands on the railing, and looked at the gate of Shuiwei Town.

No outsiders had appeared there yet, only the sounds of "one, two, three, four" and "one, two, three, four" could be heard vaguely.

"The sounds outside are 'one, two, three, four' and 'one, two, three, four'." At this time, Shang Jianyao imitated what he heard.

Tian Erhe's expression quickly softened, and his wrinkles unfolded one after another:

"The children are doing morning exercises..." He said to himself with a smile, and his mental state seemed to improve immediately.

…………

Outside the swamp, Ding Ce followed Jiang Baimian and Long Yuehong and saw the team sent by "Pangu Creatures".

He was deeply shocked by the cars with shining metal and glass, the soldiers in gray and green uniforms, and the weapons that gave people a brand-new feel.

Jiang Baimian nodded slightly and praised the person responsible for this matter in his heart:

“The company is indeed very experienced...

"Know that similar reception must be glamorous in appearance and win over others without fighting..."

…………

Shuiwei Town, outside Tian Erhe's room.

Bai Chen no longer knew how many times he had been urged by the mayor to go to the corridor to see if Jiang Baimian and the others were back.

Finally, she saw the convoy slowly approaching the town and saw the familiar gray-green jeep.

"Here! They're here!" Bai Chen quickly turned around and shouted into the room.

Tian Erhe relaxed instantly.

He took a few breaths, turned his head and said to Li Zhengfei:

"You arrange the manpower and maintain order.

"When we meet in person, we will gather everyone together and announce this matter."

Li Zhengfei had already stood up and answered:

"Go right away."

Bai Chen still stayed in the corridor, pressing the handrail with both hands, and kept turning back to report the situation to Tian Erhe, like a little excited girl:

"They got through the gate."

"They got off."

“They were lining up to cross the square.

"Everyone was a little confused, but order was quickly restored."

After reporting here, Bai Chen suddenly stopped.

She felt that the room was eerily quiet, without any echo.

Bai Chen turned around and saw Shang Jianyao standing closer to the door, looking at the bed with a solemn expression. Tian Erhe had shrunk down at some point and changed from sitting to lying down.

A bad premonition suddenly emerged, Bai Chen's expression changed, he ran in quickly and squatted next to Tian Erhe.

She saw that the mayor's face had turned blue and black, without any luster.

She stretched out her fingers tremblingly and brought them to Tian Erhe's nose.

After more than ten seconds, she suddenly retracted her hand and shouted tentatively:

"Mayor!"

This time, there was no response.

Bai Chen's vision suddenly blurred, his knees lost support, and he knelt on the ground with a bang.

She grabbed the edge of the bed uncontrollably, and shouted as if her voice was mostly blocked:

"grandfather!"

…………

Under the gaze of the townspeople whose clothes were messy and dirty, Jiang Baimian led the people sent by "Pangu Creature" through the area where mud houses, brick houses, and tents were chaotically built.

As soon as she reached the flag-raising platform, she suddenly heard a neat and childish voice coming from the building in the deepest part of Shuiwei Town:

"In the journey of the great road, the world is for the common good, select the worthy and capable, maintain trust and cultivate harmony.

"For this reason, people do not only care for their relatives, nor do they only have children for their children, so that the old will have their end, the strong will be useful, the young will have their own growth, and the humble, widowed, lonely, alone, disabled and sick will all be supported..."

Note 1: Quoted from "Book of Rites"