Embers Ad Infinitum

Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong each looked to the side and saw the stalls on the roadside. Some were selling old-world style crystal, diamond, jade, and white jade jewelry, and some were selling LCD screens and portable computers of different sizes. , some are cans, clothes and other supplies, and some are simply a collection of scattered sundries.

"Contains old world entertainment information..." Long Yuehong read out the contents of a paper sign.

It was not hung, but placed in front of one of the stalls.

This stall specializes in restored old world computers.

After hearing the words read by Long Yuehong, Bai Chen, who was driving, reminded him seriously:

"Better not touch it."

"Why?" Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong asked at the same time.

Bai Chen recalled:

"When I was wandering in the wilderness, I met a very powerful relic hunter. He was about half the team leader."

"Hey, have I become the standard of measurement?" Jiang Baimian was observing the busy streets with great interest and laughed when he heard this.

Bai Chen did not respond to her teasing and continued:

“One time, while exploring a ruined city, he found a portable computer with nothing wrong with it except the battery.

"Later, he found someone to fix various minor problems, traded in new batteries that could be used, and finally started the computer..."

Because he had to give way to a pedestrian crossing the highway, Bai Chen paused before finishing his sentence.

Long Yuehong tried to make a guess:

“As a result, something terrible happened?

"Is there some danger hidden in that old world entertainment material on that computer?"

"No." Bai Chen said truthfully, "After he dug out those entertainment materials, he became addicted to them and stopped exploring the ruins of the city. He relied on his past savings and connections to do some small business in the original city, barely able to sustain himself. Moreover, even when he was busy in the store, he couldn’t do without the computer. He didn’t think about how to do business well or how to expand the scale. He just wanted to stay in front of the computer, clicking the mouse and pressing the keyboard.”

Finally, Bai Chen concluded:

"He was originally a very ambitious and capable man. He might be able to get his own manor one day, but in the end, it was just ruined."

Long Yuehong said oh twice:

"It's really scary, those old world entertainment materials."

Shang Jianyao said enthusiastically:

"I wanted to challenge myself and see if I could overcome those old world entertainment materials."

During the discussion, Long Yuehong glanced at the team leader and found that her mouth was tightly closed, her cheeks were slightly bulging, and her body was trembling slightly, as if she was having a hard time holding back her laughter.

The team leader should have been exposed to old world entertainment materials... As soon as Long Yuehong had such an idea, Jiang Baimian laughed so hard that he couldn't stand up straight:

"Haha, Xiaobai, you look so cute when you are serious!

"Ha ha……"

Bai Chen pursed his lips and did not respond.

Jiang Baimian immediately put away his smile and said seriously:

"But Shang Jianyao must not be allowed to touch those old world entertainment materials."

Just radio programs, music playlists and year-end report performances made Shang Jianyao come up with so many tricks. What if he was exposed to rich and complete old-world entertainment materials?

"You don't believe me?" Shang Jianyao protested.

"No, I don't believe those old world entertainment materials. I'm afraid they will be contaminated by you." Jiang Baimian opened his eyes and talked nonsense.

She felt that this should be the most convincing "reason" for Shang Jianyao.

Sure enough, Shang Jianyao replied:

"You have to be lucky, now I am the arrogant one."

"..." Jiang Baimian turned his eyes upward and breathed out slowly.

The jeep drove for a while, and Long Yuehong saw someone setting up a half-high stand by the roadside, holding a black-shell book, and was preaching something condescendingly to the surrounding crowd. There were also people holding another thick book and kept talking. Talk to the passers-by...

"There are indeed many religions here." Long Yuehong sighed with emotion based on the information he had obtained previously.

Because the intelligent robots in the "Mechanical Paradise" do not believe in religion, and they do not care whether others believe in religion or not, many originally secret sects have surfaced here, setting up churches, temples or pavilions to preach in public.

As for the "Melting Pot Sect", an organization that can operate openly in the "Linhai Alliance", it has no scruples. Not only did it build churches and send "devotees", but it also directly turned itself into many trading companies in the "Linhai Alliance" , the team's Tarnan service point.

Of course, another prerequisite for missionary work is that there are people who need to be preached to, and Tarnan has no shortage of people.

——Before receiving the information given by Han Wang, the "Old Adjustment Team" thought that Tarnan was mostly populated by robots, and that the humans were just passing caravans, hunters, and trade representatives, and they were passers-by. Moreover, these people did not add up to much. There will be more, because we know that in Tarnan, there are only a few forces allowed to trade with "Mechanical Paradise". Even if each family sends several caravans and relic hunters responsible for protecting them, the total population here will not reach a medium-sized Standards for settlements.

Reality overturned this perception. Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao already knew before leaving Hongshiji that there were a large number of local residents in Tarnan.

They come from three sources:

One is certain members of the caravan and their descendants.

Tarnan is controlled by the "Mechanical Paradise" and private fighting is prohibited. The public security order is quite good and it also has a strong armed force. There is no need to worry about being attacked by bandits or other forces. For many people, it is simply a paradise.

In the chaotic years and the early days of the New Calendar, this was even more irresistible. At that time, many caravans and trade groups in many city-states had personnel who stayed and settled down either through formal channels or by directly breaking away from their original forces. Anyway, there are too many unowned houses that can be taken over in such a well-maintained urban ruins.

——At that time, the "Linhai Alliance" had not yet been established, and "Machine Paradise" traded with multiple city-states in that area. Later, these city-states outside the polluted areas were able to form states and then form alliances in the form of states. It was actually thanks to the help provided by "Machine Paradise", which included but was not limited to dispatching robot volunteer teams and providing water purification technology. , against the "higher unintentional ones", etc.

The second is the wilderness wanderers in the surrounding area.

Such a peaceful and peaceful city, where essential supplies can be exchanged, makes every group who wanders here not want to leave.

The third is the foreign ruin hunters.

There are many urban ruins around Tarnan, including the Chilar Mountains, which attract many ruin hunters. They inevitably found such a safe enough city, and after living in Tarnan for a period of time, a large number of them chose not to venture elsewhere and stayed in Tarnan to cultivate farmland. He made a living by exploring various ruins in the area, and established a local hunter guild.

Of course, the prerequisite for the establishment of a local hunter's guild is to sign a memorandum with "Mechanical Paradise" to ensure that the various behaviors of hunters are restrained and that they will not proactively disclose Tarnan's existence to the outside world.

——The jewelry, electrical appliances and sundries on the roadside stalls were all found from the ruins of the surrounding cities.

Previously, Means from Shifang Trading Company mentioned that Tarnan's robots do not eat food or farm, resulting in very few fresh ingredients here. Everyone can only rely on cans, biscuits and energy bars to survive, referring to "outsiders".

Local residents have cultivated farmland on this land. However, because it is located in a mountainous area, the soil is poor and pollution remains in many areas, making it impossible to cultivate. Therefore, the food and vegetables produced are only enough for their own use.

The animals they feed are occasionally sold.

In other words, it is not impossible to buy flour, rice, vegetables and other supplies in Tarnan, but it is more expensive and very uneconomical. Many caravans and relic hunters would rather go to the surrounding areas to get them.

While talking, Jeep finally walked out of this busy street and entered a quieter area.

The street lights here are still bright, and there seems to be no shortage of electricity in Tarnan, but only a few houses reflect a yellowish or white light.

There is no one living behind a large number of windows.

"I thought Tarnan was already lively and prosperous, but in the end, not every room in the ruins of this city was filled." Long Yuehong compared Tarnan with Weed City.

"After all, this is a semi-secret place." Jiang Baimian said casually.

Long Yuehong glanced left and right again, and suddenly said with emotion:

"Compared to the ruins of Swamp No. 1, this is a small city. There must be cities like this everywhere on the dust.

"Before the destruction of the old world, this place was probably full of people, but it was still just a small city..."

Tarnan, which is not even a fifth of a small city, can be called lively in today's dust. How prosperous was the old world back then?

Shang Jianyao immediately agreed:

"yes."

He immediately said:

"So, do you want to read after me?"

"What are you reading?" Long Yuehong was a little confused.

Shang Jianyao replied seriously:

"In order to save all mankind, I volunteer..."

It was not Jiang Baimian who interrupted his words, but Bai Chen.

She stopped the car in front of a hotel.

This hotel is called "Youmeng", and it is about two to three hundred meters away from the busiest street. It originally seemed to be an old-world hotel, but it was later repaired and renovated.

This is a place highly recommended by several smugglers in Hongshiji, saying it is the most comfortable place to stay.

After parking the jeep in front of the hotel, Jiang Baimian, Shang Jianyao and others passed through the automatically rotating door and walked to the front desk.

During this process, Shang Jianyao deliberately followed the rotation of the door. Just as he was about to turn back, Jiang Baimian pulled him back.

Long Yuehong was also curious about the door that would rotate on its own when it sensed that she and others were approaching.

This falls within certain applications of his area of ​​expertise.

Sitting at the front desk of the hotel is a woman in her thirties. She is from a gray soil. She is wearing a colorful and unique thick woolen skirt. She has pretty good facial features and a quite charming temperament.

While twirling her hanging hair, she smiled and said to the guests:

"You have made a wise choice. If you go to places where no one lives in the city and find a room to sleep in, you are likely to encounter..."

At this point, she paused and said in a sinister tone:

"ghost."

Shang Jianyao suddenly became excited:

"Where? Where?"

"..." The woman who seemed to be the hotel proprietress was dumbfounded.