Embers Ad Infinitum

Chapter 453: Every Second Counts

Han Wanghuo—who had learned the news from the intelligence peddler—avoided most pedestrians with Zeng Duo and returned to his rented room.

“Did... you do something?” Zeng Duo looked at Han Wanghuo in confusion and broke the silence.

Han Wanghuo frowned slightly. He also didn’t understand why he was in such a situation.

“Even if I’ve done nasty things and offended others, it was done elsewhere.” He thought for a long time but couldn’t think of anything that required the Hand of Order to make such a big fuss. He felt that even if his Subhuman identity was exposed, it was impossible to attract such attention.

Could it be that someone I’ve been in contact with recently did something major? Han Wanghuo looked out the window and said in a deep voice, “There’s no time to consider why. We have to move immediately.”

“Yes,” Zeng Duo agreed.

They definitely couldn’t blindly move. The two of them quickly used the materials around them to disguise themselves so that they wouldn’t be recognized or remembered by others on the way.

They went downstairs separately and moved the supplies they had been preparing into the car. After doing this, Han Wanghuo closed the door and drove his black, battered SUV to the other end of Antanna Street.

After circling around a bathhouse with good business, the vehicle drove into a relatively quiet alley and stopped in front of an old apartment.

“Second floor,” Han Wanghuo said simply.

Zeng Duo didn’t ask further and followed him up to the second floor. She watched as he took out a key and opened a brownish-red wooden door to a particular apartment.

Under her slightly confused gaze, Han Wanghuo casually said, “This was prepared in advance. It’s never wrong to be careful in the Ashlands.”

“I understand. A cunning rabbit has three burrows.” Zeng Duo nodded slightly.

Upon seeing Han Wanghuo look over in surprise, she smiled and explained, “Although our town has many infected and mutated people, we have always had plenty of food. The environment is relatively stable, and we retained much of the Old World’s knowledge.”

Han Wanghuo nodded indiscernibly. “Stay here and rest. I’ll go to Antanna Street and retrieve that batch of weapons before the arms dealers learn about this. Yes, I’ll go back to the previous place and drive your car. We won’t unload the supplies on this car for now since we don’t know when we’ll need to move again.”

“I’ll go with you,” Zeng Duo said very calmly.

“There’s no need for you to take this risk,” Han Wanghuo habitually advised.

Zeng Duo smiled. “To a person like me who doesn’t have long to live, achieving a goal is more important than life. I don’t wish for the helper I found with great difficulty to vanish. I don’t have any time left to find another batch of helpers.”

Han Wanghuo fell silent for a few seconds before replying concisely, “Alright.”

The disguised duo walked downstairs again.

Zeng Duo looked at the stairs in front of her and suddenly said, “I thought you would let me leave by myself because the Hand of Order is looking for you, not me. That’s how you usually act—you always prioritize others.”

Han Wanghuo glanced at her and coldly said, “That’s because it hasn’t harmed my core interests yet. This time, your heart concerns my life, just like how that batch of weapons concerns whether the mission can be completed. Therefore, I won’t give up. Even if I have to take a slight risk, I have to retrieve it. Don’t think of me as a good person; that was just me pretending.”

Zeng Duo didn’t turn around and glanced at the slightly fierce-looking man from the corner of her eye. “If you weren’t a good person, I’d already be dead. It’s easier to finish me off than face First City’s army.”

“In a situation where you have a choice, keeping a promise will allow you to gain more in the future.” Han Wanghuo left the apartment and walked to his battered jeep. “You saw it just now. My good deed was rewarded.”

Zeng Duo didn’t say anything else. Only when she got into the car and sat in the passenger seat did she mutter softly, “But from the looks of it, you don’t seem to believe in karma. You only think that it was a coincidence.”

Han Wanghuo started the car and didn’t seem to hear this.

...

Near Antanna Street, the two cars rented by the Old Task Force drove on different roads.

In order to deal with the Hand of Order, they didn’t even rent a car personally. Instead, they used Shang Jianyao’s Inference Clowning and ‘requested help’ from two Ruin Hunters.

As for the problem of Inference Clowning’s effects disappearing over time, they didn’t consider it at all because it would happen in a few days. The Old Task Force had long given up on the two cars they rented.

Jiang Baimian—who was sitting in one of the cars—picked up the walkie-talkie and instructed Long Yuehong, Bai Chen, and Genava on the other car. “If nothing unexpected happens, the Hand of Order and some Ruin Hunters will definitely be able to know that Old Han lives nearby through the Hunter’s Guild’s mission records and carry out an investigation. Our solution is to drive and disguise ourselves as Ruin Hunters who are in search of clues and observing the surroundings for any activity.

“Once you discover any commotion, rush over immediately and try to save Old Han before he is arrested. Uh... We can’t give up on observing pedestrians during this process. Maybe we’ll be lucky enough to encounter an undisguised Old Han, who hasn’t been discovered?”

After Long Yuehong conveyed his team leader’s message to Bai Chen—who was driving—he asked, “If Old Han doesn’t live nearby, won’t we return empty-handed?”

“We’ll have to thank the heavens if that’s really the case!” Jiang Baimian replied in amusement. “That means that Old Han won’t be in danger for the time being. Alright, we’ll each be in charge of an area according to our previous arrangements.

“By the way, the focus is on the short and thin woman when observing passersby. If Old Han has disguised himself, his characteristics won’t be too obvious. However, his companion won’t be like that; this is also something the Hunter’s Guild doesn’t know.”

After giving these instructions, Jiang Baimian turned her head and said to the driving Shang Jianyao, “Let’s go to Antanna Street and wait. The probability of Old Han appearing there is very high.”

At this point, Jiang Baimian laughed. “Are you going to ask why? This is very simple. We have previously deduced that Old Han has accepted a very difficult mission in order to get a heart transplant. He’s searching for partners everywhere. Logically speaking, it’s not difficult for us to determine that Old Han is gathering weapons, ammunition, and canned food at the same time. This is a necessary condition for completing a complicated mission.

“If Old Han had already prepared all of this, he definitely would’ve set off long ago since his medical condition can’t afford to wait. If he isn’t done with his preparations, one possibility is that they don’t have enough manpower. The other possibility is that they don’t have enough supplies. What place is more suitable than Antanna Street for the latter?”

Jiang Baimian couldn’t be sure if Han Wanghuo was currently stuck with the problem regarding supplies or helpers, so she could only say that there was a certain probability.

Make bold assumptions and carefully verify them.

Shang Jianyao—who was driving—tersely agreed. “It’s not like I’m Little Red.”

This time, Jiang Baimian directly understood what he meant: He wasn’t Long Yuehong. He didn’t need anyone to enlighten him, nor did he take a long time to figure things out.

As they spoke, Shang Jianyao casually picked up a baseball cap and wore it on his head, lowering the cap very low.

“This is...” Jiang Baimian asked hesitantly.

Shang Jianyao replied seriously, “A disguise learned from the few fake Fathers.”

“You make us look like villains.” Jiang Baimian clicked her tongue and cast her gaze at the approaching Antanna Street.

This was First City’s largest, most famous, and most chaotic black market.

...

On Antanna Street, the houses were erected messily, and the environment was dark. The people coming and going had a certain level of vigilance.

Han Wanghuo—who was wearing a hat and glasses—walked into Old Reggie’s signboard-less gun shop.

Zeng Duo—who had also disguised herself—followed closely behind him and observed the surroundings with great experience.

“Is my batch of firearms there?” Han Wanghuo knocked on the counter in front of Old Reggie.

The bearded Old Reggie looked up at him and observed him for a moment before smiling. “It’s you; nice disguise. You don’t seem simple. I remember that someone was looking for you previously, and it was someone you know.”

“I remember that people in the arms business don’t ask the other party the reason for their purchase,” Han Wanghuo replied in a deep voice.

Old Reggie laughed. “No, I’ll still ask. It won’t be nice if they take the firearms and rob me on the spot. Haha, the goods you wanted are ready. I hope you brought enough money.”

Han Wanghuo patted the small bag on his shoulder. “It’s all here.”

Just as he said that, a few people entered the gun shop.

The leader wore a shirt and a vest. He was of medium build and had black hair, brown eyes, and ordinary looks. He also had a pair of wooden eyes that didn’t seem agile.

This was none other than a capable Hand of Order personnel—the Golden Apple Zone Orderly’s aide, Theodore.

A man beside him took out a restored photo, took a few steps forward, and handed it to Old Reggie. “Have you seen this person?”

The person in the photo had messy eyebrows and looked fierce. There were two scars on his face—one horizontal and one vertical. He was none other than Han Wanghuo.