Embers Ad Infinitum

Chapter 421: Different Methods

Upon hearing Jiang Baimian’s answer, Shang Jianyao retracted his gaze regretfully.

Fortunately, he didn’t insist on going at it alone this time... Long Yuehong heaved a sigh of relief when he saw this. In fact, he also knew that Shang Jianyao was mostly obedient and obeyed orders.

At this moment, Wang Fugui saw that Jiang Baimian was still staring at the rotten corpses that were either a mangled mess or dismembered. He couldn’t help but raise his hand to his nose and say, “Will there be clues on them?”

“Can’t be sure,” Jiang Baimian casually replied. “We don’t have a camera now, so we can’t take photos. I’ll have to memorize all kinds of details and analyze them later.”

At this moment, the conditions didn’t give her the luxury of time to conduct an in-depth autopsy.

Jiang Baimian then put on her gloves and quickly checked the corpses and the items they carried with them to see if they could find any valuable information.

Shang Jianyao watched Wang Fugui and the others while Long Yuehong guarded their surroundings to prevent any attacks. During this process, Long Yuehong sniffed the corpses’ disgusting stench and inexplicably felt like he had entered a ghost story.

After the Ruin Hunters were ‘charmed’ by the white wolf and brought to the city ruin on the other side of the cave, they actually jumped off the building one after another to their deaths!

This was bizarre, mysterious, and terrifying.

And this is only a portion of the people brought here by the white wolf... Where are the others? How are they now? Long Yuehong glanced around warily. He felt that something unknown seemed to be brewing in the desolate, quiet, and verdant city square.

The unknown often represented horror.

Jiang Baimian didn’t waste too much time and quickly completed the preliminary autopsy. As she took off her gloves and placed them in a special plastic bag, she said, “From the looks of it, they did fall to their deaths. However, it’s unknown if anything happened to their minds or bodies before they jumped off the building. Sigh, there’s no way to conduct an in-depth autopsy here.”

She actually knows how to conduct an autopsy... Wang Fugui was stunned. To him, even the term ‘autopsy’ was learned through the Old World books he found when exploring other ruins.

Of course, as Ruin Hunters, they would also come into contact with corpses during their daily adventures. They would check for clues to determine the cause of death, but these checks were very superficial and didn’t form a systematic science.

They relied solely on experience, so they could only determine if a target had died from a gun, a sharp weapon, or a beast. They could also determine if the target had died from an intense battle or had been ambushed from behind.

As for the items found on the corpses, Jiang Baimian put them away and prepared to study them carefully when she returned.

Waite and the others didn’t stop her, nor did they attempt to take a share of the loot. After all, most of the missing Ruin Hunters and wilderness nomads had led tough lives. Apart from weapons, the only valuable items on them were their organs.

“Their guns are missing.” Wang Fugui stated the obvious.

“The White Wolf disarmed them before entering the city ruin? Or did they leave their weapons somewhere before they committed suicide?” Jiang Baimian looked up at the towering black building. She then slowly exhaled and said, “Let’s not go in. We’ll walk around instead to see if there are any clues.”

“Alright.” Waite was the first to respond. He—who only wanted to take the opportunity to make a killing—responded to Jiang Baimian faster than the other three Old Task Force members, Shang Jianyao, Long Yuehong, and Bai Chen.

This made Long Yuehong feel like they were in sync with each other.

Gray and Fars didn’t have any intention of delving into the Old World’s secrets either, so they expressed their support after some thought. To them, discovering the Old World’s secrets was for money and the supplies they needed. Now that they had other methods and other means to obtain valuable items, there was no need to take the risk.

Apart from a small number of people, most humans chose whatever was easy and safe. Of course, the premise was that the wealth obtained by those choices was within the confines of their knowledge.

“Alright.” Wang Fugui retracted his gaze from the black building.

The two teams immediately circled around and walked to the side.

“Caw! Caw! Caw!” A crow flew across the sky, triggering many caws.

“It seems like there are creatures here.” Shang Jianyao had a look of disappointment.

But in such an environment, the cawing is more terrifying than nothing... Long Yuehong retorted inwardly.

As they walked, Jiang Baimian suddenly stopped.

Bai Chen followed her gaze and saw a crude leather shoe.

There was a lot of dirt on this shoe, and its surface had dried rainwater spots. Compared to the shoes on the nearby corpses’ feet, it appeared very ‘new.’

Long Yuehong slowly looked up at the sky above the leather shoes. He then saw a highly decomposed corpse—with its extended tongue sticking out—swaying slightly in the breeze.

One of the corpse’s feet was bare, and the other was wearing a leather shoe. This leather shoe was the same as the one on the ground.

Wang Fugui’s expression froze slightly as he said in a deep voice, “The leather used for these shoes is from a mutated creature. It definitely didn’t exist before the Old World’s destruction.”

He meant that the corpse hanging from the tree belonged to a Ruin Hunter or wilderness nomad who had previously disappeared.

Over there, they committed suicide by jumping off a building. Over here, they committed suicide by hanging themselves? Long Yuehong felt a chill run down his spine.

Jiang Baimian slowly nodded, indicating that it didn’t seem wrong.

Shang Jianyao curiously asked, “Which mutated creature?”

“I don’t know what the various large factions call it, but it’s a mutated electric eel. Its hide is closer to that of a snake, and it resembles a python. At the same time, it retains the ability to release high-voltage electric currents. It thrives in environments like lakes and rivers. Many Ashlandic nomads call it the Dragon King. There are even people who offer sacrifices to them and offer them tributes.” Wang Fugui gave a simple introduction. “The smaller ones among them aren’t that difficult to kill.”

As he spoke, he didn’t associate this mutated creature with Jiang Baimian’s special abilities at all. In his mind, it was likely a hidden and special discharge device.

After Shang Jianyao obtained the answer, he looked up at the tree. “Shall we bring it down?”

“We can give it a try.” Jiang Baimian nodded slightly.

Shang Jianyao put on gloves and volunteered. Wang Fugui’s team of four Hunters and Long Yuehong looked vigilant as if they were afraid that it would spring to life or something terrifying would happen.

The corpse was quickly placed on the ground, and Jiang Baimian did a simple inspection.

Waite and the others took the opportunity to search the surrounding vehicles and skeletons for valuable items.

“He died from hanging.” Before long, Jiang Baimian stood up.

Upon seeing this, Shang Jianyao dragged a piece of Old World plastic used for tent sheds on the street and covered the corpse.

“You’re... pretty...” Wang Fugui was momentarily at a loss for words.

“Normal?” Shang Jianyao gave a self-evaluation.

“...” Wang Fugui couldn’t answer him.

After collecting some supplies, the two teams turned into a residential area beside them. This was the residential area closest to the black building.

“I wonder if anyone working in that building lives here...” Jiang Baimian muttered to her team members.

Shang Jianyao shook his head with a heavy expression. “According to the situation presented by the various pieces of entertainment information in the Old World, housing prices in a city’s core area is something ordinary employees can’t afford.”

“Those who can afford it are the higher-ups. That’s more valuable.” Jiang Baimian nodded. “There’s also the possibility of renting a place. It’s very convenient to live near a workplace.”

As they conversed, they held their weapons and carefully entered the residential area. Although they had yet to encounter any danger, the strangeness here had already made the mood tense.

Just as they passed through the entrance, the eight of them cast their gazes at the scenic pond ahead.

There was a corpse floating there. It was swollen, rotten, and had turned pale from soaking in the water.

“One of the people that the white wolf brought here?” Long Yuehong made a guess based on his previous experience. This person drowned himself in the scenic pond? The people the white wolf brought into Wasteland Ruin 13 committed suicide in various ways in different parts of the city ruin?

Hiss...

Long Yuehong heard Waite gasp. Frankly speaking, he almost did the same, but he was just a tad bit slower.

The strangeness of this matter almost exceeded the limits his psyche could take.

Wang Fugui stared at it for a moment and said, “I’m really afraid that I’d commit suicide without any warning like them if I stay here for too long...”

“That’s a possibility,” Jiang Baimian replied seriously.

Waite’s pupils slightly dilated as he anxiously said, “Why don’t we head back? We can gather some supplies and books along the way.”

He had already obtained quite a number of items and had no motivation to persist.

Jiang Baimian glanced at Shang Jianyao, Long Yuehong, and Bai Chen and deliberated before saying, “Alright.”

The bizarreness of the matter exceeded her imagination. She felt that it was better to err on the side of caution.

Apart from Shang Jianyao’s slight regret, Long Yuehong and Bai Chen agreed.

Upon seeing this, Gray and Fars clearly heaved sighs of relief. In such a situation, normal humans were unwilling to stay any longer, much less experienced humans like them.

As the Ashlandic proverb said: the older and more experienced one was, the more timid they became.

At this moment, a voice sounded from somewhere hundreds of meters away. “Howl!”

This was a standard wolf howl—it wasn’t as terrifying as the monster howl from Swamp Ruin 1.

“That white wolf?” Shang Jianyao asked excitedly.

Wang Fugui fell silent for a few seconds. “Should we capture it while we’re at it?”

This was an extremely lucrative mission. It was also the reason why lone Hunters like Wang Fugui and the Old Task Force had come to the North Shore Mountains.

Before Jiang Baimian could respond, Shang Jianyao said with a troubled expression, “I’m afraid that will anger its owner.”

Owner... Yes, the white wolf brought so many people here. If they aren’t for itself, it should be serving an existence... Long Yuehong’s heart palpitated as he instantly made the connection.

Based on what was known, there was only one person who could be the white wolf’s owner in Wasteland Ruin 13: Wu Meng.