Embers Ad Infinitum

The branches and leaves in the woods on the outskirts are intertwined, and the sunlight can only shine through the gaps, making the place look dim and quiet.

Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao were not in a hurry to go deep. They came to the place where Bai Chen and Long Yuehong parked and hid. Using this as the center of the circle, they searched around bit by bit.

During this process, they all took out their flashlights, broke off a branch, and pushed aside the grass to look for traces.

Jiang Baimian was still in a relatively relaxed state. While searching carefully, he laughed:

"Those who often hunt in the woods will use a slender stick or branch to hit the grass and bushes in front of them, just like we do now, in order to scare away venomous snakes and poisonous insects that may be lurking, so as not to accidentally step on them. I went up and got bitten."

"Why are you scared away? If you are scared, you can catch them and use them as food." Shang Jianyao, who was monitoring the surrounding situation, said it was a waste.

Jiang Baimian nodded gently:

"Human beings are extremely hungry and can do anything, and they have ideas and tools. I have always said this, except for a few people who have been deformed into monsters, the most dangerous creatures on the earth are humans. Well, the 'higher heartless ones' are also Be counted among the human race.”

As she spoke, she suddenly squatted down and used the flashlight to shine on the ground in front of her.

"Sure enough, there are footprints." Jiang Baimian said calmly.

Then, she reminded Shang Jianyao:

"Be careful when you come here. Don't destroy other traces. Also, don't relax your observation of the surroundings."

Shang Jianyao immediately slowed down his steps and moved closer to Jiang Baimian.

Jiang Baimian turned around and made a visual inspection and said:

"The distance between Xiaobai and the others is about five meters, and the relevant memories of Xiaobai and the others have indeed been tampered with or blurred.

"It seems that compared to the time in 'Weeds City', the improvement of the real 'Priest''s ability is not so obvious. There should be no qualitative breakthrough and he has not entered the 'soul corridor'.

"Hey, I didn't remind Xiaobai and Xiaohong before that they should draw their guns and aim as soon as they find someone entering the ten-meter range, and warn the other party not to get closer. I also didn't expect that the real 'priest' would target us like this, and the arrest operation itself There’s no need for him to dig the trap himself.”

Shang Jianyao came next to Jiang Baimian, squatted down, and said with a smile:

"I think you look down on Xiaobai too much."

Jiang Baimian glanced at him sideways:

"You mean, Xiaobai, who knew that the real 'priest' needed to close the distance to 'hypnotize' or 'tamper with memory,' couldn't have let others come within ten meters of her. Was she under other influence when she didn't draw a gun to warn? "

Speaking of this, Jiang Baimian suddenly realized:

“The real ‘priest’ they saw chasing the rabbit was actually an illusion, just like what we encountered before.

"The real 'Father' took this opportunity to sneak next to them quietly, and once the illusion was over, he 'hypnotized' them. Yes, that's how Xu Liyan was 'hypnotized' in the first place. Well, because the distance between the illusion and reality is too close, Xiaobai and Xiaohong were affected again, and some of their memories were blurred, so they mixed the hunter with 'hypnosis' and established a cause-and-effect relationship.

"No wonder Xiaobai said that the hunter was about ten meters away from them, or even further. She should have been prepared to draw a gun to warn the hunter if he got close, so her impression was not so vague in this regard."

Jiang Baimian suddenly gritted his teeth:

“The real ‘Priest’ is indeed cunning.

"I hope he uses this trick against me now!"

In such an illusion, the true "priest" seems to be able to hide his human consciousness or use other methods to hide it from the awakened people present - Zen Master Jing Nian did not discover it at the beginning, but Jiang Baimian believed that he would definitely not study science or pursue pursuits. A real "priest" with the most cutting-edge technology will most likely not cover up his bioelectrical signals.

When the time comes, Jiang Baimian will give him a surprise and let him know what "blind sniping" means.

Shang Jianyao did not respond to Jiang Baimian, but suddenly sighed and said:

"I really want to see the real 'priest' catching rabbits..."

Jiang Baimian imagined that scene and felt it was quite strange:

A well-known villain known for his cunning and good at planning was working hard to catch rabbits in the woods.

This is so funny no matter how you think about it.

"Check the traces!" Jiang Baimian stopped his thoughts from diverging.

She pointed the flashlight at the footprints again, started to measure briefly, and finally made a vague estimate:

"The traces are fresher...height is between 1.75 and 1.80 meters...male...underweight, probably lighter than me. The specific calculation must be combined with the soil conditions. I will let Lao Ge come later and... Extract tiny clues, take photos and archive them... The forefoot is heavy and the back foot is light, and the walking posture is more forward... I am not sure whether the sole pattern is a common type in the original city, and the wear is relatively serious..."

Jiang Baimian then shined the light of the flashlight not far away, looking for the second footprint.

Because it was rainy in spring, the soil in the woods was relatively soft. She and Shang Jianyao quickly found a series of footprints - footprints that were close to where Bai Chen and Long Yuehong originally were.

After Jiang Baimian put the trajectory into his auxiliary chip, he frowned slightly:

"The real 'Father' walks a little strange, but he doesn't look like he's drunk."

Normally, as long as one is not blindfolded, a person's forward movement must be roughly maintained in a certain state, and he will not adjust his direction until he needs to turn.

But the footprints on the ground are sometimes to the left, sometimes to the right, sometimes deep, sometimes shallow, giving people the feeling that the target is slightly staggered.

If this change is large, it can also be explained that the real "priest" is avoiding the attention of Bai Chen and Long Yuehong or is in a drunken state, but the deviation of all footprints is quite small.

Shang Jianyao nodded seriously and said:

"It seems that he is also a lover of dance, or likes to jump around."

A picture suddenly flashed through Jiang Baimian's mind, and he almost couldn't get it out of his mind.

That was the scene of the real "Priest" and Shang Jianyao dancing "Little Apple" together.

At this time, Shang Jianyao added:

"Or he's weak."

Jiang Baimian's eyes lit up and he said:

"Combined with the fact that he is underweight, I suspect that the real 'Priest' is not in good health.

"His three abilities are 'hypnosis', 'memory tampering' and the one related to hallucinations, which does not involve physical health, so either the price he paid is related to this, or he himself is relatively weak.

"Hmm... I remember that one of the prices of the 'Last Man' realm is 'sleep disorder'... Could this be the real 'Priest'? Don't you think these footprints are like those left by a person who is not very awake and walks with a dazed posture?" Did you come down?"

Bang bang bang, Shang Jianyao clapped his hands.

"And what are the characteristics of long-term sleep disorders? Heavy dark circles, a very tired state, a haggard face, and dependence on those items that can stimulate the mind..." Jiang Baimian became more and more excited as he talked. .

Shang Jianyao was equally excited:

"I have a picture in my head."

Jiang Baimian fixed these footprints and led Shang Jianyao deep into the woods.

Along the way, there were cases where the footprints were damaged or not left behind, but after enlarging the search range, the two found new traces and followed them all the way.

After a long time, Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao walked out of the woods and came to the other side.

This is also a rammed earth road, with vehicles coming and going from time to time.

The two searched around for a while, but couldn't find where the footprints disappeared because the damage was too severe.

However, Shang Jianyao still picked up something.

It was a cigarette butt covered in dirt.

"Combined with the fact that cigarettes can refresh you, the real 'Father' seems to have a sleep disorder. This is probably left by him. I'll go back and find someone to check." Jiang Baimian put on his gloves and put the cigarette butts into a container that originally contained medicines. In a small bag.

Where the cigarette butt was found, there were traces of wheels running over it.

"It looks like a modified off-road vehicle, heavier than normal." Jiang Baimian visually observed.

The two searched for a long time, but found nothing, so they returned to the place where the Jeep and Gray Cross-country were parked, and asked Gnawa to extract clues and take photos of the scene.

After finishing all this, several members of the "Old Tune Team" drove back to the First City.

To be on the safe side, they did not return to the rental house on Iron Medal Street in the Green Olive District and moved into a safe house in the Red Giant Wolf District.

"Huh, contact Zhao Zhengqi tomorrow morning and see what kind of reward he can get." Jiang Baimian threw himself into the easy chair.

Long Yuehong said hesitantly:

"Would he not be able to give us as much as we want? After all, we haven't done anything since, and the words we gave to the manor were not a promise."

"And, moreover, he has now established a relationship with General Phocas."

"Then we can be armed to ask for wages." Shang Jianyao said eagerly.

Jiang Baimian smiled and said:

"But the risk we bear is not small. We almost died at the hands of the real 'priest'. I think he should be able to understand our hard work and at least give us a manor.

"Well, I will also hint to him that we will continue this matter until the real 'priest' is solved. Haha, he definitely doesn't want this person to be alive. Although a manor will be very painful for the Zhao family, it will not hurt. To the point of shaking one’s muscles and bones.”

Long Yuehong blurted out in surprise:

"We still need to track down the 'anti-intellectual cult' and deal with the real 'priest'?"

Jiang Baimian sat up straight:

“This is not a question of whether we will solve the real ‘priest’, but whether he will continue to retaliate against us.

"With such a time bomb hidden around us, we don't feel at ease in anything we do. Even if he doesn't come forward in person, when we find an opportunity to approach the two targets, he can suddenly shout and kill us immediately."

Speaking of this, Jiang Baimian showed a warm smile:

"Besides, I've always said that I'm stingy!"

Bang bang bang, Shang Jianyao’s applause is never late.

Jiang Baimian turned to look at Bai Chen and Gennava:

"But we must try to keep a good distance from General Phocas. At most, we can get some interrogation results through Zhao Zhengqi or Xu Liyan. We don't have the ability to get involved in the internal struggle of the First City unless the company personally ends it."

After saying that, she clapped her palms lightly and said with a smile:

"Xiao Hong and Xiao Bai quickly take a rest and let their emotional state fully recover. The three of us will study the extracted clues and prepare an introductory textbook on Hui Tu dialect."

Before Long Yuehong and Bai Chen had time to respond, Shang Jianyao asked "hesitantly":

"Then, are you still going to the celebration party?"