Embers Ad Infinitum

While Shang Jianyao still pondered over the last sentence’s meaning, Jiang Baimian quickly wrote: "We didn’t sense anything abnormal, but the chip discovered something amiss. This means..."

She did not finish writing the sentence. She slowly put away the pen and paper and continued holding her chin, staring at Qiao Chu’s side profile in an infatuated daze.

Shang Jianyao retracted his gaze and guessed at the reason, but he didn’t know what he could or should do. This was because some force seemed to be preventing him from thinking deeper. It also prevented him from thinking about where the problem originated or what it even was. It made him vaguely hope that this didn’t shatter a beautiful image.

The source of this power was not external but from his heart.

Life is already so difficult, so why not let yourself be intoxicated by a beautiful dream?

Bang!

Under Qiao Chu’s instructions, the jeep passed through the gaps between many greenish-black vines. This inevitably led to a collision as the jeep’s side was scratched.

These vines with red spikes slid past the glass window, leaving behind countless, extremely fine scratches.

Shang Jianyao—who was searching for a solution on the surface of his thoughts—subconsciously looked over. In the dark and gloomy environment, he saw his reflection in the window.

His heart stirred as his eyes suddenly turned deep. He wanted to use the Corny Person ability on himself. If it were effective, his actions would immediately become corny, and his actions would deviate from the logical reasoning behind his actions.

For example, he couldn’t stand Jiang Baimian, Bai Chen, and Long Yuehong also staring at Qiao Chu and requested to leave in order to advance. For example, he had to start a quarrel in such a dangerous situation...

When such abnormalities happened, the situation would change. Whether the changes were good or bad, they would expose some problems and help Shang Jianyao return to ‘reality.’

A few seconds later, Shang Jianyao’s eyes returned to normal.

He looked down at his hands, then at his reflection in the window.

He shook his head slightly.

His attempt failed.

Corny Person seemed different from Inference Clowning. He couldn’t affect himself by using the simple method of looking into a mirror.

Shang Jianyao retracted his gaze and began thinking seriously. Meanwhile, Qiao Chu was focused on commanding Bai Chen to pass through the swamp—which was covered in terrifying vines—and had no time to bother about him.

Suddenly, the corners of Shang Jianyao’s mouth slightly twitched as they curled up. In such a depressing and gloomy environment, he smiled like a mentally ill patient.

After about ten seconds, Shang Jianyao’s expression returned to normal. He frowned in thought as his eyes gradually lit up. He looked at his reflection in the window again and muttered, "Jiang Baimian has long legs, so do I."

Jiang Baimian turned her head with a confused expression. She raised her hand to touch the metal cochlear implant in her left ear, indicating that she had not heard him clearly with her actions.

Shang Jianyao ignored her and continued muttering, "Jiang Baimian is amazing, and so am I."

Qiao Chu heard Shang Jianyao’s words, but on the one hand, he needed to distinguish the vines’ distribution, the road condition, and the swamp’s various details. He could not afford to be distracted. But on the other hand, he felt that there was nothing wrong with what Shang Jianyao said. It was like a jealous concubine privately slandering the favored person.

Long Yuehong looked at Shang Jianyao, not understanding what he wanted to do. Since he did not understand the situation, he definitely did not intend to protect

Shang Jianyao looked at his reflection in the car window, and his eyes turned increasingly deep.

"So?" The next second, he answered his own question. "We’re the same."

Shang Jianyao’s expression quickly changed a little. It slightly warped as if he was trying his best to suppress something.

Jiang Baimian looked at Shang Jianyao as she asked Long Yuehong, "What did he just say?"

"He said that your legs are long, and so are his. You’re amazing, and so is he. Therefore, the two of you are the same." Long Yuehong repeated the monologue.

Jiang Baimian subconsciously opened her mouth to reply, but she quickly closed it.

After a few seconds, she laughed and said to Shang Jianyao, "What’s the point of doing this?"

Upon seeing that the four-person team didn’t think there was anything wrong with Shang Jianyao’s words and discussed them without hiding anything, Qiao Chu—who was already too busy to be distracted—became even more unconcerned about this small interlude.

At this moment, Shang Jianyao’s butt left his seat. He leaned forward and grabbed Qiao Chu’s shoulder.

Qiao Chu subconsciously wanted to reach out and pull out the United 202 from the holster at his waist. However, he realized that he couldn’t raise his right hand.

It was not that he didn’t have the strength, nor was it because Shang Jianyao had grabbed his shoulder, causing his joints to be locked. It was because he couldn’t do such an action; it was as if he never had such capabilities.

A layer of cold sweat immediately covered Qiao Chu’s back. He instinctively turned his head and looked at Shang Jianyao in the back row. "What are you doing?"

Shang Jianyao’s gaze burned as he gripped Qiao Chu’s shoulder tightly. A crazy smile appeared on his lips. "I want to f*ck you!"

Jiang Baimian’s mouth opened slightly. She didn’t know whether to curse, laugh, or stop him.

Long Yuehong and Bai Chen—who were clueless about the situation—were both surprised and confused at this moment. They also felt like they were witnessing a god—no, a devil—descend upon the mortal world.

Qiao Chu’s expression distorted, but his face did not flush as if he had encountered many such situations.

An invisible ripple suddenly appeared in his golden eyes.

As Qiao Chu desperately resisted the force Shang Jianyao exerted to drag him back, he turned his head and gently said to Bai Chen, "Give him a toy."

Bai Chen was confused and habitually stepped on the brakes. In a daze, she opened the armrest compartment and took out a few pieces of paper and a ballpoint pen.

At this moment, Shang Jianyao was a little impatient. His hands suddenly changed positions.

His left hand gripped Qiao Chu’s neck, and his right hand clenched into a fist. He was about to smash the area under the other party’s ear in an attempt to knock him out and break down all his resistance.

Almost at the same time, Qiao Chu’s body became extremely soft like a large, humanoid python. As Qiao Chu shrunk and swung, his neck strangely broke free from Shang Jianyao’s grasp as though he was extremely slippery.

He then spoke quickly with a gentle voice. "Is drawing not fun?"

Shang Jianyao’s actions instantly stopped, and his expression revealed inconcealable perplexity and confusion. He then looked at Bai Chen and took the pen and paper from her hand.

The smile on his face became clearer.

After receiving the pen and paper, Shang Jianyao eagerly sat down and used his thigh as a cushion to draw. He had a very focused expression and was extremely quiet, like a child obsessed with their hobby.

Upon seeing this, Qiao Chu finally heaved a sigh of relief. He glanced around coldly and chuckled without any smiling intent. "So there is an Awakened among you. Unfortunately, so am I."

His hands had already returned to normal, and his right hand was gripping the United 202 gun’s handle. This was his own pistol.

After hesitating for a few seconds, Qiao Chu gave up on the idea of shooting Shang Jianyao. He smiled and said, "Praise my benevolence and tolerance. I still have uses for you. I don’t accept your obsession, but it’s understandable. Even a horse chased after me for more than 100 kilometers."

Jiang Baimian was entranced by his words and sincerely praised him. "How impressive."

"How impressive." Shang Jianyao drew without raising his head as he repeated Jiang Baimian’s words.

Jiang Baimian then asked, "Where are you from?"

"Where are you from?" Shang Jianyao repeated again.

Jiang Baimian couldn’t help but glare at Shang Jianyao. After thinking for a few seconds, she chuckled and said, "I have breasts, but you don’t."

Shang Jianyao was just about to repeat her words when his expression suddenly turned confused. After a few seconds of silence, he focused again and quietly continued drawing.

At this moment, Qiao Chu had already sat up straight and answered Jiang Baimian’s question in a deep voice. "That’s not something you should know."

"I understand." Jiang Baimian didn’t mind and smiled sweetly.

Qiao Chu turned to look at Bai Chen, who had already stepped on the brakes. "Continue."

Bai Chen had no objections.

Under Qiao Chu’s instructions, they traversed the vine ‘forest’ deep in the swamp. During this process, Shang Jianyao kept drawing until he completed a piece of work.

He then seemed to break free from a dream and looked at the child’s scrawl in surprise. He looked up at the back of Qiao Chu’s head and remained silent.

As time passed, his condition became similar to Long Yuehong and the others. However, he did not forget to fold the drawing in his hand and put it in his pocket.

Jiang Baimian tried to peek at what Shang Jianyao had drawn but failed.

After moving forward for a few hours, a swarm of mosquitoes—each the size of fingers with dark-red heads—suddenly flew out of the greenish-black and slightly red vines.

"How unlucky..." Qiao Chu couldn’t help but curse when he saw this.

Bai Chen’s body instinctively tensed up.

One swarm, two swarms, three swarms. More and more giant mosquitoes flew out from the different vines, forming a black mass.

These hideous, dark-red-headed mosquitoes gathered together like black smoke that filled the air. They were densely packed together, blotting out the sky and covering every gap.

Under such a scene, they looked like an army from hell or a curse from the Old World.

"Close the windows tightly and rush over!" Qiao Chu ordered in a deep voice.