Embers Ad Infinitum

Chapter 191: Walking Ninety Miles Out of a Hundred Is Just Halfway the Journey

In Room 05 of the hotel camp.

Jiang Baimian sat by her bed and looked at Shang Jianyao. “How is it? Have you learned anything more about diseases recently?”

Shang Jianyao put down the book in his hand and seriously answered, “I realized that most diseases come from external infections. As long as we take precautions and follow the procedure strictly, we basically won’t get sick.”

“There’s nothing wrong with that,” Jiang Baimian commented.

Shang Jianyao had always been a man of action. He immediately lay flat on the bed and massaged his temples.

...

In the Sea of Origins that shimmered, Shang Jianyao followed his previous strategy and used Inference Clowning to make himself believe that he was Pangu Biology. He then climbed onto the Island of Diseases.

Figures draped in white bedsheets appeared as expected, appearing to blot out the sky and earth.

Shang Jianyao smiled at them, splitting himself into countless figures, just like how Pangu Biology was made up of countless employees.

A portion of these figures gathered and evolved into a fully-equipped hospital. It was divided into a disinfection zone, a patient area, and other areas. It strictly implemented measures to control the spread of infection.

The remaining Shang Jianyaos took up their respective jobs. Some wore Shang Jianyao face masks and created a local advantage in numbers. They pounced on the terrifying figures draped in white bedsheets and tied them to Shang Jianyao stretchers.

Some carried Shang Jianyao stretchers and quickly entered the Shang Jianyao hospital. According to the procedure, they sent the figures in white bedsheets to the wards.

Some transformed into Shang Jianyao doctors and used Shang Jianyao disinfectant before wearing Shang Jianyao face masks, Shang Jianyao goggles, and Shang Jianyao protective suits. They passed through the disinfection area with Shang Jianyao nurses and used Shang Jianyao injections to treat the patients.

During this process, Shang Jianyao disinfectant, Shang Jianyao masks, Shang Jianyao medical alcohol, and Shang Jianyao protective suits were constantly expended. However, Shang Jianyao doctors and Shang Jianyao nurses maintained their health; nobody fell ill.

This improved Shang Jianyao’s collective situation significantly, allowing the figures in white bedsheets to receive ‘treatment’ before they dissipated on the hospital beds.

For the first time, the Shang Jianyaos had the upper hand.

After a long confrontation, the figures draped in white bedsheets became fewer and fewer. In the end, only the Shang Jianyaos remained on the island.

Upon seeing this, the Shang Jianyao doctors and Shang Jianyao nurses slowly exhaled and sat in Shang Jianyao chairs.

At this moment, they felt intense fatigue. This fatigue made their bodies extremely weak as if something baffling was growing in them.

The Shang Jianyao doctors and Shang Jianyao nurses looked up and sized each other up. They realized that the other party’s white coats and white clothes had turned to white bedsheets at some point in time.

These white bedsheets were large and enveloped them, leaving only a shadow.

Diseases had struck again.

...

Shang Jianyao opened his eyes, sat up, and panted twice.

“How was it?” Jiang Baimian asked as she sat by her bed. Her waist was leaning against a folded blanket, and a vertical pillow was behind her head.

Shang Jianyao’s eyes lit up as he said, “I’m about to win!”

“Oh?” Jiang Baimian expressed her puzzlement with her tone.

Shang Jianyao explained seriously, “We’ve already controlled the infection and beaten them to a pulp. But in the end, just as it was about to end, we inexplicably fell ill again.”

“Stop, stop, stop!” Jiang Baimian quickly stopped him. “When you return to reality, don’t use the term ‘we’ to describe yourself. This will only worsen your condition. No matter how divided you are in the mind world, you will only have one body when you come out.”

“That’s right. It would be good if there were multiple bodies in reality.” Shang Jianyao agreed.

“...” Jiang Baimian wisely didn’t harp on the topic to prevent Shang Jianyao from gaining a deeper understanding of this topic. She then asked, “How did you feel before you fell ill?”

Shang Jianyao immediately replied, “Very tired, very exhausted, and very weak.”

Jiang Baimian nodded thoughtfully. “Diseases don’t just come from infections. They might also come from some intrinsic pathology or malignant mutations from cellular division. This has a certain level of correlation with genetics, mental state, physical condition, and habits. It doesn’t mean that one will definitely not fall ill once they prevent infection.”

Shang Jianyao tersely acknowledged it. “I think so too.” He hadn’t been reading books for nothing.

“It’s good if you don’t think so.” Jiang Baimian sighed instead. “The fear in the mind world is mostly related to your own understanding. If you subconsciously believed that diseases only come from infections, you might’ve already defeated the white bedsheets and cleared this ‘island.'”

Shang Jianyao’s eyes lit up. “I can try not to think so.”

Jiang Baimian said in amusement, “It shouldn’t be possible at the moment. Your Inference Clowning only misleads the surface cognition, making one unconsciously ignore certain memories and imagine certain situations. It doesn’t actually control the memories’ content, nor does it affect the corresponding subconscious.

“The different islands in the Sea of Origins should be different projections of your memories and subconscious. No matter how much you deceive yourself, they will appear according to the actual situation you know.”

At this point, Jiang Baimian thought for a moment and said, “I just don’t know if the real Father’s memory tampering or the Awakened who can delete memories in the company can do something in this regard. Yes, without sufficient examples and putting it into practice, I can’t determine if their abilities have truly changed the content of memories, or if it’s some kind of long-term misdirection.”

As Shang Jianyao listened, he took out a pen and paper and began scribbling.

“What are you writing?” Jiang Baimian got off the bed and went over.

When she read the paper clearly, Shang Jianyao had already written the title: “True Father’s Capturing Plan.”

“...” Jiang Baimian’s smile stiffened.

She raised her hand and pinched the corners of her mouth. “I think there should be considerable latent dangers if we rely on other people’s abilities in the hope of pulling a trick. The simplest inference is that, although you clear the Island of Diseases, you will immediately face Memory Island. This comes from your subconscious fear of memory modification.

“Memory is one of a person’s most intrinsic characteristics. The fear that comes from this aspect is most likely ten to a hundred times greater than the fear of disease. There’s no way to defeat it. If you give up on modifying your memories and return to normal, the Island of Diseases will make a comeback. Think about it. Isn’t the fake Father stuck on some ‘island’ and unable to advance?”

Upon seeing Shang Jianyao nod slightly, Jiang Baimian heaved a sigh of relief. “You’re already 90% of the way to victory. As long as you have a clearer understanding of your own disease and slightly change the method, I believe it won’t be long before you succeed.”

“Yes.” Shang Jianyao fell into deep thought as if he were considering what to improve.

Jiang Baimian also helped think and deliberated before saying, “Do you want to get some medical supplies and do a volunteer medical consultation at Redstone Collection? This doesn’t require medical skills obtained through formal training. Instead, we can use this method to make contact with all kinds of patients and gain a deeper understanding of diseases. In any case, it’s good for the patient to have an additional channel to obtain medicine. At least there’s a little hope.”

Shang Jianyao put down his pen and paper, clenched his right fist, and struck his left palm. “Why didn’t I think of that?”

Upon seeing his sudden excitement, Jiang Baimian began to wonder if she had made a bad suggestion.

Fortunately, the people from Redstone Collection are very vigilant. They must be the same when it comes to taking medicine or getting medical advice... Jiang Baimian tried her best to comfort herself.

...

As they temporarily didn’t have any additional medical supplies, the volunteer medical consultation plan was forced to be postponed. After the four people from the Old Task Force took a nap, they leisurely revised their plan on making contact with Mechanical Paradise in the room. They chatted about the Old World and went to an open area to practice combat.

A day passed just like that.

In the middle of the night, Shang Jianyao—who was lying in bed—suddenly opened his eyes. He quietly got off the bed and picked up the mask.

Jiang Baimian—who was in the bed beside him—had already woken up.

Shang Jianyao quickly put on his mask, bent his back, and crept to the window by the door.

The curtains were drawn here, blocking out the moonlight and starlight outside.

Shang Jianyao half-squatted, grabbed the curtain, and suddenly pulled it to the side.

With a swoosh, he stood up and looked out the window.

A face appeared under the faint moonlight.

The skin of this face was grayish-black and suffused a weak glow. Upon careful inspection, it appeared like scales. From the bottom of his ears to the sides of his neck, gills constantly trembled. His eyes also protruded, mostly white and a little black.

It clung to the glass so tightly that its muscles were squashed, making it appear grotesque.

At this moment, the ‘monster’ outside the window also saw the scene inside clearly.

Standing there was a terrifying ‘monkey’ with a pointy mouth and a furry face!

The ‘monster’ let out a terrified exclamation and abruptly turned around, running out of the camp.

Shang Jianyao was first stunned before he became abnormally excited. He was just about to open the window, jump out of the room, and give chase.

“He’s already escaped the vicinity of Corny Person.” Jiang Baimian—who wasn’t far behind him—gave a hint. “Don’t chase in the dark to prevent any accidents.”

Shang Jianyao stopped and stared out the window before sighing regretfully.

“Did you see the person clearly?” Jiang Baimian asked curiously.

In that instant, Shang Jianyao’s body blocked her line of sight, preventing her from seeing the spy. All she heard was a sound.

Shang Jianyao immediately described what he had seen and heard excitedly.

At this moment, Bai Chen and Long Yuehong—who had been woken up—walked over in their clothes.

After Jiang Baimian heard that, she muttered to herself thoughtfully, “A Subhuman that has fish-like mutations?”

“This is the Lake of Wrath,” Bai Chen added.

This meant that there was a large lake in the area, which was suitable for Subhuman survival.

Shang Jianyao came to a realization. “No wonder I felt I could make friends.”

Long Yuehong glanced at him. “Were you not frightened just now?”

Shang Jianyao was stunned for a moment before he replied in frustration, “I might’ve scared him.”