Embers Ad Infinitum

Chapter 544: Migration

North Shore Wastelands, Early Spring Town, bomb shelter.

Genava ventured deeper and finally saw the silver metal door. According to his judgment, the laboratory established by First City was behind the door.

On both sides of the door were soldiers wearing military exoskeletons. They held heavy machine guns and stood motionless.

The two soldiers reacted just as Genava approached. One of them fired, and the other used the grenade launcher on his left arm to fire at Genava.

Genava wasn’t surprised at all. The results of his analysis were that First City’s people needed to provide advance notice if they wanted to enter the laboratory and wear the correct sensors. Anyone who approached without advance notice or was unmarked would definitely be mercilessly attacked.

They’d rather make a mistake killing the wrong person than let them pass!

If it were any ordinary human, they definitely wouldn’t have been able to dodge such an attack in a timely fashion. Genava had been scanning the area ahead and reacted immediately.

Amidst the loud explosion, not only did he avoid the blast zone, but he also counterattacked with his electromagnetic weapon.

The two soldiers wearing military exoskeletons fully utilized the comprehensive warning system and exchanged blows with Genava.

What surprised Genava the most was that the other party wasn’t surprised, flustered, or uneasy by the fact that the enemy had reached the laboratory entrance. They were calm as if they were carrying out something they had practiced hundreds or thousands of times.

Ta! Ta! Ta! Boom! Boom! Bang! Bang! Bang! Smack! Smack! Smack!

Genava and the two soldiers wearing military exoskeletons kept firing at each other amidst the explosions and stray bullets. For a moment, neither party gained the upper hand. The bomb shelter was relatively sturdy, and there were no signs of collapse.

Genava was temporarily at a disadvantage because he was facing two.

With an electric spark, he relied on the fact that his processor was truly multi-core and could work in parallel. During the intense battle, he broadcasted his voice loudly. “Abandon your fantasies, drop your weapons, and surrender! There are no reinforcements waiting for you. All the garrison troops are either dead, seriously injured, or deserted. Otherwise, it’s impossible for me to make it here. The bulk of our troops are still outside. They’ll be here soon! Surrender, and you’ll be spared! We will exchange captives with First City!”

Genava simulated Jiang Baimian’s thoughts in an attempt to break down the two enemies’ fighting spirit. Otherwise, he probably wouldn’t see the dawn of victory in less than 20 minutes if they continued fighting.

All his words weren’t lies. Compared to a smart bot like him, Zeng Duo and Han Wanghuo were two. In terms of numbers, they undoubtedly made up the bulk of the troops.

In such an environment, Genava felt that his chances of clinching victory were probably when the two soldiers opposite him gradually ran out of power as time passed. Furthermore, he carried more than ten high-performance batteries with him.

The two soldiers wearing military exoskeletons didn’t waver at all despite hearing his sincere shout. They maintained their previous cadence and used fierce firepower to stop Genava from approaching.

Their faces were covered by masks, so Genava couldn’t observe any changes in their expressions. He could only determine that they weren’t affected according to the surveillance of other biophysical signals.

After waiting for a while, just as Genava gave up on the psychological strategy, the two soldiers wearing military exoskeletons forced him out into a safe distance. They suddenly turned around at the same time and returned to the laboratory through the silver metal door.

With a beep, the door slowly opened to the side.

The two soldiers ran in one after another.

Genava was just about to take the opportunity to barge in when his sensors detected problems. He abruptly turned around and jumped into the distance without holding back.

Genava had just landed when a dull boom sounded from behind.

Rumble!

The explosion increased in size and quickly filled the laboratory, causing the entire bomb shelter to shake violently.

Self-destruct mechanism!

The two soldiers activated the laboratory’s self-destruct mechanism!

Worried that the area would collapse, Genava ran toward the exit. He had seen many people and watched plenty of Old World entertainment, but he had never encountered humans who were willing to die so magnanimously.

Once the self-destruct mechanism was activated, the two soldiers wearing military exoskeletons would definitely die!

Is this the spirit of human sacrifice? Did they not have any fear or regret when they activated the self-destruct device? Questions surfaced in Genava’s core module one after another.

When he rushed out of the bomb shelter and returned to the surface, the surviving townsfolk of Early Spring Town had obtained their vehicles in groups of three to five or had jump-started the cars left behind by the garrison. They were using them to search and load supplies.

Without needing Zeng Duo’s persuasion, they—who had plenty of survival experience living in the Ashlands—knew that it wasn’t wise to stay here for long. They didn’t carry grand hopes of being able to continue living here. In a while, First City’s troops would rush over!

Han Wanghuo had long felt the ground tremble. Upon seeing this, he quickly asked Genava loudly, “How was it?”

Genava moved his metal neck from side to side. “The laboratory was destroyed.”

“Then…” Zeng Duo didn’t know if October Xue had anything else for Genava.

Genava looked around and said, “We have to set off in ten minutes.”

“Alright.” Zeng Duo quickly used the speaker on the military exoskeleton to inform her townsfolk.

…

First City, Grimm Watch Shop.

After the person in the helicopter suddenly jumped down from midair, the city defense forces’ search stopped.

Given the concealment of the Awakened’s ability, nobody would know where the attack came from or who it originated from before he woke up—if he could even wake up.

Before the other powerhouses from First City rushed over, the blond-bearded Grimm walked out of the workshop area. As he wiped his hands, he said to Jiang Baimian and the others, “The transplant is done, but the injured hasn’t woken up. I’m not a doctor, so I can’t determine when he will wake up.”

“This…” Jiang Baimian smiled. “How much is the transplant fee?”

Grimm thought for a moment and said, “I heard from Conley that you have a very effective first-aid needle. If you don’t mind, give me two syringes to offset the transplant fee. It can save lives at critical moments.”

The Old Task Force still had four FECAs left.

Isn’t that too cheap? That was Jiang Baimian’s first reaction. She then came to a realization.

FECA was cheap because they considered it from the perspective of Pangu Biology employees. They felt that such emergency needles—which they could apply for in large quantities—were no different from other equipment. But for most people in the Ashlands, such needles could really save lives when used well.

Just like Long Yuehong today. If he hadn’t been given three shots of FECA, he definitely wouldn’t have been able to survive until the surgery’s completion.

Jiang Baimian heaved a sigh of relief. It feels good not to have to worry about money.

Since they were without debt, they lost the excuse of mortgaging Long Yuehong at the workshop. Furthermore, it was foreseeable that this area would suffer a stricter and more careful search. It was rather dangerous to leave Long Yuehong here alone.

Bai Chen and Shang Jianyao brought the simple stretcher over and carried the charred-black Long Yuehong back to the jeep’s backseat.

Bai Chen started the jeep and asked Jiang Baimian, “Where are we going next? Shall we get General Phocas to help us arrange a place suitable for recuperation?”

Most importantly, they had to give Little Red another infusion as soon as possible to ensure the surgery’s success.

Jiang Baimian shook her head. “We aren’t going to General Phocas.”

“Huh?” Bai Chen was a little surprised.

Jiang Baimian fell silent for a few seconds before saying, “It’s too much of a coincidence that we bumped into Asus and Christina. From their conversation, we can tell that Christina lives in that apartment. At least, she often lives there.”

There seemed to be no necessary connection between her two sentences, but Bai Chen immediately understood what she wanted to say. “Team Leader, are you saying that General Phocas arranged for this?”

“It might not be an arrangement.” Jiang Baimian thought for a moment and said, “He discovered that one of the commissioner’s safe houses shared the same apartment building with Christina’s apartment. He might’ve sent us over with the idea that it would be best if we were finished off but not a loss if nothing happened. Yes, he should’ve long known about the relationship between Asus and Christina and the Church of Paragon Desire. He hoped to get lucky and bury a nail.”

“How nasty!” Shang Jianyao—who was watching Long Yuehong in the backseat—voiced his opinion. “He still owes us a celebratory feast!”

Jiang Baimian didn’t respond and said to Bai Chen, “Go to the Red Wolf Zone and use our last safe house. Then, we will steal some medicine from the nearby hospitals under the night’s cover. We’ll give Little Red an infusion ourselves. Also, we have to report the situation to the company.”

“Alright.” Bai Chen turned the car into a spot outside Antanna Street.

As they had identification, documents, and uniforms, and the scene was relatively chaotic, the Old Task Force easily left this dangerous place.

As Bai Chen drove, Shang Jianyao suddenly looked out the window and shouted happily, “Teacher Du Heng!”