Embers Ad Infinitum

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Long Yuehong’s mouth was still agape.
Listening to Shang Jianyao’s explanation was like listening to a radio host tell a story.

Jiang Baimian didn’t waste her breath and immediately turned her head.
“Bai Chen, stop the car.
We’ll change seats.”

“Team Leader, I’m more familiar with the Blackmarsh Wilderness.” Bai Chen tried to reason with Jiang Baimian as she gently stepped on the brakes without any resistance.

Jiang Baimian was in no rush to explain.
She opened the door first, went to the driver’s seat, and swapped seats with Bai Chen.

After the jeep started moving again, she looked ahead and said, “I’ve undergone genetic modification and obtained some unique abilities.”

Bai Chen, Long Yuehong, and Shang Jianyao were all stunned when they heard this.
Even within Pangu Biology, genetic modification technology was far from mature.
The failure rate was rather high, so nobody was willing to try it unless they really had no choice.

“The genetic modification was conducted to save my life back then.
It was done together with the biological limb transplant.” Jiang Baimian quickly explained everything.
“I have a special cell in my body that can sense electric field signals within a certain range.
When humans and beasts move, their muscle contractions and certain reactions will produce weak electric signals.
Therefore, I can easily discover the enemy’s location and condition as long as they are within a certain range, regardless of whether they are hiding or not.”

1

“No wonder you sensed the Ruin Hunter in an exoskeleton device coming over earlier than me…” Bai Chen came to a realization.

Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong immediately had one of their earlier questions answered.

During their first night out, Shang Jianyao had clearly discovered traces of humans.
However, Jiang Baimian was not curious at all, nor did she order them to search the surroundings.
She should have long grasped the human’s characteristics and condition and made a judgment back then.

While driving, Jiang Baimian quickly continued, “The Blackmarsh Iron Snake was in a hibernation-like state back then.
The electric signal it produced was very weak, so I thought it was just an ordinary animal.
This was why I didn’t discover it in advance.

“However, Jingfa is a mechanical monk.
A mechanical monk’s physical activity relies on very strong electric signals.
Hence, I could sense him from a further distance and determine what he was up to.
I was actually prepared for this attack.
I deliberately made Bai Chen slow down to incite him into attacking, hoping to take the opportunity to destroy him or seriously injure him.

“Previously, I didn’t tell you that Jingfa has always been a persistent mechanical monk.
If you are targeted by him, he will definitely chase you all the way.
However, this would’ve been too dangerous.
The best way is to hurt him and make him lose the ability to chase after us for a short period of time.
Unfortunately, I never imagined that he would be an Awakened.
A mechanical monk—who is also an Awakened at the same time—might have killed us all.

“I need to apologize for that.
Jingfa will definitely attempt to launch a long-range attack when he chases after us.
I’m the only one here who can sense it in advance and get the vehicle to make evasive maneuvers in time.
Yes, it will definitely be too late if I provide verbal guidance.”

Bai Chen nodded in understanding.
“I’ll pay attention to the road ahead and our surroundings.
I’ll tell you which direction you can’t go in advance.
How about using clock positions as a substitute?”

There were five bloody finger marks on the back of Bai Chen’s neck.
It was quite harrowing.

“Alright.” Jiang Baimian slowed down and let the jeep smoothly bypass an obstacle.
At the same time, she looked in the rearview mirror and said, “Shang Jianyao, Long Yuehong, quickly decide on who will wear the exoskeleton.
The person wearing the exoskeleton will be the main force in resisting Jingfa.”

Before Long Yuehong could speak, Shang Jianyao firmly said, “Let me do it.” He looked at Long Yuehong—who was about to argue—and simply explained his reasons.
“Jingfa is also an Awakened.
You can’t be on par with him in this regard.
I need the exoskeleton to help me narrow the distance.”

“…Alright.” Long Yuehong stood up and bent down.
Together with Shang Jianyao, they dragged the exoskeleton from the trunk to their seat.

He then helped Shang Jianyao wear it.

“Remember to change it to the high-performance battery in the trunk,” Jiang Baimian reminded them.

Very few large factions could produce real high-performance batteries; currently, only the Orange Company and the Future Intelligence Company could produce them.
The other factions could, at most, produce some inferior imitations—which were only suitable for civilian use that did not venture beyond the faction’s sphere of influence.

Therefore, the high-performance batteries for many different types of military equipment were compatible—with a 50% chance of success.
The Old Task Force was rather lucky this time.
The high-performance batteries needed for the jeep and the high-performance batteries for the military exoskeleton were standard items produced by the Future Intelligence Company.

“Okay.” Shang Jianyao didn’t dare be careless in this regard.

After changing the batteries, Shang Jianyao wore the powerpack and metal exoskeleton.
Then, as he bent down to button the auxiliary joint clasps, he asked, “Team Leader, why did you suddenly fail when you hacked into Jingfa’s internal system?” Shang Jianyao suspected that it was one of Jingfa’s abilities as an Awakened.
He currently knew about two of Jingfa’s abilities—Hungry Ghost Realm and mind-reading.