Embers Ad Infinitum

At 9:05 in the morning, in an alley diagonally opposite the Hunter's Guild.

After Long Yuehong confirmed that no one was following her, she ran in cautiously and said to Bai Chen who was hiding in the corner:

"You can go to the guild to pick up the mission."

Bai Chen took off the beret on his head and the mask on his face, and pulled on the dusty scarf:

"good."

She felt it was necessary to cooperate with the investigation, clear the suspicion, and ask the guild to remove the mission. Otherwise, the waves of ruin hunters coming to her would be really annoying and bring unnecessary danger.

The only thing she couldn't understand was why Long Yuehong insisted on doing reconnaissance first and then going to the hall. It was not a dragon's den or a tiger's den.

But since the newcomer assigned by the company has this sense of caution, it is still worth encouraging.

Accompanying Bai Chen out of the alley, Long Yuehong warned under the gazes that came one after another:

"When asked, touch your pockets every minute."

Bai Chen said slightly amused:

"Do you really believe that nagging guy?"

The guy who rented across from them had a handsome face, but he looked like a psycho.

But then again, if it wasn't for the fact that he didn't find anything when he touched it later, Bai Chen would have really believed that he had a little paper star in his pocket.

But even so, thinking about what the guy said about waiting for someone to ask before touching, and about touching it to mean that he is dreaming, Bai Chen was not so sure that there really was no paper-folded little star.

She has also encountered and heard of some magical things, especially involving the Awakened.

It seems that I still believe this in my subconscious... Bai Chen didn't think much and entered the guild hall before several ruin hunters approached.

Once inside, she was no longer in such a hurry. She looked up at the scrolling display and simultaneous broadcast on the big screen:

“Mission: Find the suspect in Eugene’s disappearance.

"Description: A man and a woman. The man is about 1.8 meters tall, wearing a navy blue down jacket and a baseball cap; the woman is about 1.7 meters tall, wearing a gray cotton-padded jacket, also wearing a baseball cap...

“Reward: As long as it passes the review and is confirmed to be valid, the minimum for a clue is 10 Ore and the maximum is 500 Ore.

"Task level: C, 100 credit points.

"..."

Immediately afterwards, Bai Chen saw his own photo on the big screen:

"Mission: Find the ruins hunter Bai Chen.

"Description: Female, formerly known as Qian Bai and Bai Feng, involved in the disappearance of Eugene, about 1.6 meters tall, with short hair, see the photo for details.

"Reward: Those who provide clues will receive 5 Orei for each valid clue, and those who take Bai Chen to the guild or city defense army headquarters will receive 20 Orei.

"Task level: E, 10 credit points."

You are indeed looking for me... Bai Chen looked around and noticed a man wearing a dark black woolen coat looking towards him.

She had met this relic hunter before, and she had heard Long Yuehong mention his name just now, and knew that he was "Advanced Hunter" Odik.

Bai Chen withdrew his gaze nonchalantly, walked to a window in the round platform area, and said calmly:

"I'll take the mission."

"Which task?" the female clerk at the window asked instinctively.

According to their work rules, they cannot directly let the relic hunters come over to operate the machine next to them. They must complete the service before they can issue a reminder.

"Looking for the ruins hunter Bai Chen." Bai Chen didn't feel weird about saying his name at all.

"Okay, please give me the hunter badge." The clerk said with a smile.

She took the badge, swiped it, and was suddenly stunned.

After a few seconds, she raised her head slightly and looked outside through the glass:

"Are you Bai Chen?"

The hunter's name registered by Bai Chen was Qian Bai, but the name provided by Eugene was his real name.

"Yes." Bai Chen said calmly, "Take the opportunity to make a fortune."

It took a while for the clerk to react:

"Then I'll just give you the option to complete the task?

"Also, please wait here for a while, and I will report."

Bai Chen said directly:

"It's best to let someone who can make the decision come over and let me cooperate with the investigation to meet my conditions."

Of course, the clerk couldn't agree to her directly. He picked up the phone on the table and reported the matter.

Not long after, a tall and thin man, surrounded by several bodyguards, came to the hall and walked towards Bai Chen.

His hair is thinner, but still black, and wrinkles have grown at the corners of his eyes, mouth, and forehead. The most obvious feature is his larger nose.

"I am Cui En, the vice-president of the guild." The tall and thin man nodded and introduced himself.

Then he said quite politely:

"Ms. Bai Chen, don't be nervous, the city defense army is just looking for you to assist in the investigation."

Bai Chen said to himself:

"I have two conditions:

"First of all, I don't trust them. As you know, there have been cases in many places where the real culprit cannot be found, and a few scapegoats are randomly recruited and forcibly identified as the culprit. Therefore, I only accept questioning here at the guild and cooperate with the investigation. .

"Second, I still have tasks to complete, and I still have to make money to survive. Time is running out, so please hurry up."

The purpose of the Hunter's Guild has always been to serve hunters, facilitate hunters, and become a home in a sense for hunters. Regardless of whether this was actually realized, at least no guild leader dared to deny it in public, and Cui En was no exception.

In addition, the local hunter guild has a special relationship with the city lord's palace, so Bai Chen's request can be easily met. Cui En pondered for a moment and said with a smile:

"Can.

"Don't worry, as long as you haven't done anything, the guild won't just watch you being wronged."

Cui En said the latter sentence very loudly, so that the surrounding ruins hunters could hear it.

With the promise of the vice president in charge of hunter affairs, Bai Chen felt relieved and followed him up to the second floor and entered a small room.

There is only a rectangular table with armchairs on each side.

Bai Chen sat on the inside and subconsciously reached out to reach into his pocket.

She forcibly controlled her impulse and silently laughed at herself:

"I was really influenced by that nagging guy..."

To this day, I still believe that a small origami star will suddenly appear in my pocket.

She waited for a while, and Cui En came in with his bodyguards and said slightly apologetically:

"The city defense army called back and said they wouldn't be able to send anyone over until the afternoon.

"How about you go do your own thing first and come back later?"

"Even if you are not afraid of me running away, I still have to worry about other ruin hunters harassing me, so we should resolve this matter as soon as possible." Bai Chen was very insistent and candid.

Cui En thought for a moment:

"Then I will communicate again and try to make our people responsible."

In essence, there is no difference. Everyone is serving the city lord's palace.

Bai Chen nodded and waited quietly.

About a quarter of an hour later, Cui En returned to this room and said with a smile:

"After coordination, we will find professional and credible people here to be responsible for follow-up inquiries and investigations."

After speaking, he introduced the man next to him:

"This is 'Senior Hunter' Odik. One of his nicknames is 'The Lie Detector'. No lie can be hidden from him."

Odike, who had black hair and blue eyes, nodded slightly as a greeting.

Seeing that the person asking the question had arrived, Bai Chen remembered Long Yuehong's instructions and instinctively raised his hand and put it on the edge of his pocket.

At this time, Cui En had led the bodyguard out and closed the door.

Bai Chen took the opportunity to stuff his hands into his pockets.

The next second, her pupils dilated a little.

She touched an origami object!

She really felt an origami object in her pocket!

She checked before going out!

Does this mean... I'm dreaming? The corresponding memories emerged, and Bai Chen suddenly got rid of a slightly hazy state, and found that he was walking out of the door of "Today" nightclub with Long Yuehong, and there seemed to be a fierce gaze from Eugene behind him.

I was dreaming... Bai Chen's heart moved, and he didn't show any abnormality. He replayed the scene in his memory and silently walked back to the building where the "Afu Gun Store" was located.

Then, she entered her room, lay down on the upper bunk of the bunk bed, and stared at the ceiling in pain.

Just like that, she fell asleep at some point. When she woke up, after breakfast, Long Yuehong walked into the room and told her that the guild had a mission and that a ruin hunter was looking for her, and asked her to put on some disguise when she went out.

During this process, Bai Chen deliberately omitted the nagging guy and did not allow him to participate in the scene.

Boom, boom, boom... Suddenly, Bai Chen heard a knock on the door and woke up.

She found that she was still in the small room of the Hunter Guild.

Odik didn't know when he had sat across from her, stopped tapping his fingers on the table, and said calmly with blue eyes:

"You fell asleep.

"Did you worry about Eugene last night and toss and turn and couldn't sleep?"

"Yes, I want to kill him, but I don't have the ability. I'm so scared of him that I tremble." Bai Chen said calmly.

She has a clear conscience.

Odik looked at her for a few seconds, nodded slightly and said:

"You didn't lie."

He turned around and asked a few more questions, all of which received unabashed answers.

Bai Chen even took off his scarf and showed him the tattoo of the slave girl on his neck.

This made Bai Chen feel a little strange, because she usually didn't want others to see this, but today she did it quite naturally.

Her explanation for this was to get rid of suspicion as soon as possible.

"I can understand your pain and fear." Odik said nonsense, then stood up and said, "You can leave."

"So fast?" Bai Chen was quite surprised.

Odik responded simply:

"Because you didn't lie."

Bai Chen stood up and left the room without looking into the details.

Returning to the lobby on the first floor, she received 20 Orei notes and 10 credit points. She met up with Long Yuehong, who was still a "novice hunter", walked out of the guild hall, and turned towards the central square.

On the way, Bai Chen met the talkative guy and his companions who lived opposite.

When the two sides were about to pass each other, Shang Jianyao smiled, took out a nameplate, and secretly made a sign on his chest.

It was a nameplate with gold characters on a red background.

It says:

"Pangaea Creatures"

As soon as Bai Chen saw this nameplate, it was as if the circuit of her memory was connected, and things about Shang Jianyao and Jiang Baimian rushed back to her mind.

She gritted her teeth to prevent herself from showing any abnormality.

When the two sides were far apart, she moved her mouth slightly and raised her hand to cover her slightly red eyes.

It feels good to have company.