Embers Ad Infinitum

The old woman did not appear to be a centenarian, but she was definitely over 80 years old. She looked as if she had lived from the Old World’s destruction until now.

She had lived in this city that was long dead. Furthermore, her eyes were turbid, and her gaze was fierce like a beast’s. She had the typical Heartless characteristics.

A Heartless actually opened her mouth to speak. Even though the words were spoken with great difficulty and in a staccato manner, she was still speaking!

This was a sign of human intelligence!

For a moment, Jiang Baimian felt panic, fear, and intense interest. One of her goals was to figure out the Heartless disease’s pathology and spreading patterns.

At this moment, the wrinkled old woman in a dark beanie and a black cashmere dress took two steps forward.

The swaddling clothes in her arms spun a quarter of a circle outward. It went from facing her chest to facing upward.

Jiang Baimian, Long Yuehong, and the others subconsciously looked over. With the flashlight’s help, they saw what was in the swaddling clothes.

The first thing they saw was a small, white skull. More white bones seemed to be connected to the base of the skull, but they were just barely visible due to the red and blue swaddling clothes.

It was a baby’s skeleton.

The old woman had been hugging this skeleton for countless years.

At this moment, Jiang Baimian felt her heart being tightly gripped by a hand named ‘Fear.’ It was about to stop beating.

She, Long Yuehong, Bai Chen, and Shang Jianyao stood in their spots. Their faces were pale, and their bodies were stiff. They couldn’t move at all.

From the corner of her eye, Jiang Baimian suddenly saw Shang Jianyao’s expression instantly return to normal, even becoming very serious.

Shang Jianyao ignored the old woman and looked at Jiang Baimian before seriously asking, “Why aren’t you firing?”

“Why am I not firing?” Jiang Baimian ruminated over these words as if she had grasped something amiss.

In just a second or two, she came to a realization.

In such a dangerous place with such a repressive environment, it was impossible for her to determine if the Heartless around her had any intention of attacking. Once she sensed an electric signal or saw a figure, she would’ve immediately fired to eliminate the latent danger.

She had clearly sensed the electric signal in advance, but when she saw the old woman’s figure, she didn’t reflexively raise her hand and fire. She even allowed the old woman to take two steps forward.

What did this mean?

Jiang Baimian was shocked when she thought of this and instantly retracted her attention from the old lady. Almost at the same time, she sensed another electric signal approaching them at high speed.

When she looked over, there was no one there.

Jiang Baimian was no longer plagued by fear. Without hesitation, she raised her Ice Moss-holding right hand and pulled the trigger at the spot she had predicted.

With a bang, the strange, old woman and the terrifying baby corpse in front of Bai Chen and Long Yuehong vanished as if they had never appeared.

Under the flashlight’s beam, they saw that several tables were stacked deep in the room. On them lay a woman—who wore short, red winter clothing.

This woman’s black hair was messy, and her locks looked greasy. Her eyes were turbid and bloodshot. Her gaze was abnormally fierce as if only her bestiality remained.

She was a Heartless.

Her short, washed-out, winter clothes were unzipped. It hung open, revealing her bulging, hairy stomach. She didn’t wear any clothes on the lower half of her body. Only a tattered cotton blanket covered her slightly. Her legs were separated and spread out in a posture that ordinary people would find a little strange.

Long Yuehong was a little confused about this. Shang Jianyao—who had participated in many gatherings and eaten many rounds of Holy Communion—made the judgment after a single glance.

The Heartless was giving birth.

Heartless also had the instinct to reproduce.

There was a man in the direction of Jiang Baimian’s hurtling round. He wore a white singlet, and his skin was bronze in color. A small portion of his body had thick hair. Above his head was knotted black hair. He had a thick beard, and his eyes were also turbid and incomparably fierce.

The scene of the old woman—which the Old Task Force had seen and encountered—was actually an illusion!

Jiang Baimian’s shot did not hit the male Heartless. He seemed to have sensed the danger in advance and had jumped up by exerting strength with his feet.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Shang Jianyao and Bai Chen reacted and raised their muzzles simultaneously, pulling the triggers.

The male Heartless seized the precious second and kicked the corridor wall to change his position forcefully. He rebounded upward, grabbed the edge of the hole in the ceiling, pulled up with his arms, and swung his body inside.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Shang Jianyao and Jiang Baimian did not stop firing as they continuously fired upward.

This Heartless could always correctly respond in advance as if he had a strange premonition.

Although Long Yuehong—who was beside them—reacted a little slower, it wasn’t like he did nothing after that. He held his assault rifle and monitored the female Heartless in the room with a tense expression, preventing her from attacking.

He didn’t fire because he could now tell that the other party seemed to be giving birth.

At this moment, Bai Chen—whose eyes flickered slightly—suddenly turned around and aimed her gun at the expectant female Heartless in the room.

She was as quiet as ever, and there was no pity on her face.

The next second, the ceiling in the room suddenly fell and smashed into Bai Chen’s head.

The male Heartless in a white singlet jumped down with it and pounced at the woman on the table.

His back muscles bulged as they stretched upward. He was like a butterfly that had completely spread its wings, almost tearing apart his singlet’s restraints.

Bai Chen seemed to have expected this as she rolled to the side before the ceiling could smash onto her.

Jiang Baimian had already understood Bai Chen’s thoughts when she turned to face the room. At this moment, she didn’t waste the opportunity to swing her hand and pull the trigger.

With a bang, a glistening yellow bullet flew across the short distance and struck the male Heartless’s lower left shoulder.

The other party bent down in time to avoid the bullet hitting his heart.

The wound created by the bullet was not as large as Jiang Baimian had imagined. The superhuman muscles seemed to restrict and reduce the damage effectively.

Jiang Baimian—who had experienced many battles—did not allow her surprise to affect her. She followed up with another shot.

The bullet hit the back of the male Heartless’s thigh this time, splattering fresh blood.

With a thud, the male Heartless collapsed.

The female Heartless on the simple wooden bed struggled to look over and let out a shrill cry.

Amidst her tragic cries, Jiang Baimian saw the male Heartless rapidly collapse into a pool of squirming flesh and blood.

This flesh exuded an unimaginable aura of fear, making Jiang Baimian, Shang Jianyao, Long Yuehong, and Bai Chen’s legs tremble. Their legs became so weak that they were unable to support themselves.

They knelt down quickly and slowly, contracting their bodies tightly, unable to react.

During this process, Jiang Baimian, Shang Jianyao, and Bai Chen tried their best to resist the fear that could break all humans. However, they only slowed down their bending.

This left them in uncontrollable despair.

Shang Jianyao’s brain had a spasm at this moment, and he couldn’t help but jump up. He then sat down cross-legged with an abnormally serious expression, looking as if he were considering a philosophical question.

Jiang Baimian’s heart palpitated as she asked with difficulty, “What… are you… thinking about?”

Shang Jianyao nodded and replied seriously, “I’m wondering why I find Qiao Chu not so charming in this illusion.”