Embers Ad Infinitum

Chapter 813 Snow City

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It was snow-white-everywhere.

This was the only feeling Long Yuehong had after the Old Task Force had traversed Icefield for three days.

Here, apart from the light-blue sky, darkness, and the various colors coming from the Old Task Force, all he saw was snow-white.

In this season, the few creatures that existed in Icefield remained dormant.

If not for the sunglasses, Long Yuehong suspected that he would’ve already been blinded.

Shang Jianyao—who was driving-muttered as he stared ahead with his eye-protecting sunglasses, “Where are the bandits? Can’t some bandits come?”

At this moment, the music didn’t seem to make him forget the boredom outside.

In the passenger seat, Jiang Baimian nudged her sunglasses and scoffed.
“Where would bandits come from in Icefield? The only outcome of being a bandit here is to starve to death or freeze to death.”

There were pitifully few human settlements in Icefield, and no caravans came.
Bandits couldn’t make a living.

It was only in the summer months when the snow melted and the climate was no longer chilling cold that many Ruin Hunters came to explore the cities abandoned in this area and obtain the corresponding supplies, becoming a little more lively.
This resulted in the appearance of bandits.

The Old Task Force’s current route was planned by Genava.
They wouldn’t venture deep into Icefield; instead, they would head east along Icefield’s southern end and head to the area closest to the White Knights to search for the city ruin where Shang Jianyao’s father had last appeared.

This way, they could avoid most of the extreme weather, and the surrounding temperature wouldn’t be ridiculously cold.
This was a boon for their team’s jeep that used high-performance batteries.

Shang Jianyao deliberately ignored Jiang Baimian’s words and looked into the rearview mirror.
“Little Red, why don’t you pretend to be a bandit?”

If not for the boring scenery outside, Long Yuehong couldn’t be bothered with him.
“Why not you?”

The shock brought about by the ice and snow had already subsided.

“Sure, sure!” Shang Jianyao replied without hesitation.

Long Yuehong was at a loss for words.
Fortunately, Bai Chen—who was beside himlooked in front of her and said, “There seems to be ruins over there.”

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“Yes.” Genava gave definite feedback.

Shang Jianyao looked over and found black silhouettes suspected to be high-rise buildings looming across the snow-laden horizon.

They were covered in snow, but there were some exposed areas.
Otherwise, Bai Chen wouldn’t have been able to confirm that they were ruins and not snow mountains.
“Shall we go take a look?” Shang Jianyao glanced at Jiang Baimian and eagerly suggested, “It’s on the way anyway.”

It was only a slight detour.

Jiang Baimian thought for a moment and said, “Sure, it’s much safer to camp in a city ruin than in the wilderness.”

The high-rise buildings could shield the Old Task Force from the wind and snow.
In Icefield, where they slept in the wilderness, the jeep might be buried if they encountered a blizzard.
These were forces of nature that Jiang Baimian and the others couldn’t resist.

Of course, city ruins often had other dangers in general, but those dangers were most likely ones the Old Task Force could resolve themselves.
“Huzzah!” Shang Jianyao shouted, mimicking the Old World’s entertainment to express his excitement.

Long Yuehong cautiously asked Genava, “Are you sure it’s not a mirage?”

“In theory, no.
But if we really encounter a large-scale illusion created by an Awakened, I won’t be able to tell for the time being,” Genava replied very honestly.

“Isn’t that better?” Shang Jianyao became increasingly excited.

When it was almost evening, the jeep finally arrived at the city ruin.

The top of every building here was covered in thick snow.
Ice stalactites hung down, not only covering some of the outer walls but also creating a feeling that everything was crystal.

In addition, the ground, pools, protruding eaves from the buildings, iron railings, and abandoned vehicles were covered in snow.
At a glance, the city seemed to be frozen in time.

This was completely different from the city ruins that the Old Task Force had previously been to.
It was more shocking and desolate.

Shang Jianyao retracted his gaze and expressed his opinion.
“It looks the same as the snow forest we previously passed by.” Long Yuehong noticed that the abandoned vehicles on the street were haphazardly squeezed together.
It bottlenecked traffic, and skeletons could be seen protruding everywhere.

The skeletons were buried in snow, and most of them only revealed a certain outline.
Only a few were exposed for various reasons and were rotten.

No matter how many times she saw such a scene, Jiang Baimian couldn’t help but feel depressed and sigh.

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This wasn’t an outcome that humans should have.

Be it natural disasters or wars, they weren’t what humans-or rather, what most humans hoped to see.

Sigh.
Jiang Baimian exhaled and said, “Find a place with shelter from the snow and set up camp.”

She didn’t plan on enjoying the protection of the walls in this city’s high-rise buildings to prevent any accidents or loss of the vehicle.

In Icefield, without a car and the supplies loaded on it, the Old Task Force couldn’t last long no matter how powerful they were.

Genava was the same.

Under the smart bot’s exploration and calculations, the Old Task Force’s jeep soon drove behind a tall building and stopped beside a collapsed perimeter wall.

The howling wind was blocked by the building as it circled around the sides and stopped attacking them.

“Let’s eat, let’s eat!” Shang Jianyao enthusiastically pushed open the door and alighted.

“Why are you so enthusiastic?” Long Yuehong —who had alighted-asked casually.

After the initial excitement of arriving in Icefield, he had never seen Shang Jianyao in such a state.

Shang Jianyao’s eyes lit up as he replied, “We can only explore after we have our fill.”

“Get some rest.” Jiang Baimian—who was on the other side of the jeep-stopped this fellow’s delusions.

Bai Chen had just pushed open the door when she suddenly saw a white figure jump from the top of a tall building covered in thick snow to another building in the distance.
The figure then disappeared from her field of vision.

“There seems to be some creature over there.” Bai Chen pointed in the corresponding direction.

Jiang Baimian looked over and didn’t discover anything.
Genava and the others were the same.

“What is it?” Shang Jianyao asked curiously.

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Bai Chen pursed her lips and said, “A white leopard or some other feline creature.”

Jiang Baimian nodded slightly.
“A creature from Icefield that has relatively high resistance to the cold?”

Shang Jianyao was concerned about another question.
“What does such a creature usually eat?”

“Other Icefield creatures.” Long Yuehong felt that the question was self-explanatory.
Would you feed it if it didn’t have anything to eat?

Jiang Baimian clapped her hands.
“Alright, everyone knows that creatures exist in Icefield.
Let’s just mind our own business.”

Apart from Shang Jianyao, who had some objections, the others had no objections.

The Old Task Force soon split into two teams.
One team prepared dinner, and the other team chopped down the doors nearby and gathered a large amount of firewood.

The bonfire burned, and the crackling flames made one feel a sense of warmth.

Long Yuehong hadn’t seen flames for days and was rather touched.
He exhaled and said, “I used to think that compared to the company, places like the Blackmarsh Wilderness don’t seem like places humans should live in.
But I now feel that compared to Icefield, those places in the Blackmarsh Wilderness are like heaven.”

For once, Shang Jianyao didn’t retort.

In the middle of the night, Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao wrapped themselves in thick clothes and alighted from the jeep to replace Bai Chen and Long Yuehong.

The bonfire gently swayed, bringing light and warmth, as well as black shadows and silence.

Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao were experienced warriors who didn’t lower their vigilance because of the harsh environment.
They circled the bonfire and slowly paced around, observing and sensing their surroundings.

After nearly an hour, Jiang Baimian suddenly frowned and tilted her ear.
“Is there a sound?”

Clap! Clap! Clap!

Shang Jianyao clapped.
“Your ears are much better than before.”

He indicated that there was indeed a sound through such a reply.

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The sound was deep and rumbling as it came from afar, sounding like a whimper from the wind.

Jiang Baimian focused for a while and muttered to herself, “The sound of engines? And there’s more than one, perhaps more than ten…”

“A convoy?” Shang Jianyao guessed excitedly.

Jiang Baimian frowned.
“What convoy won’t rest in the middle of the night?”

More importantly, which convoy would come to Icefield in this season?

“You’ll have to ask them that.” Shang Jianyao said matter-of-factly.

Jiang Baimian listened for a while before saying, “The sound of the engines is getting further and further away.
It shouldn’t have anything to do with us.
Maintain basic vigilance and don’t get involved.”

“Alright.” Shang Jianyao didn’t act up this time.

After more than half an hour, the sounds completely disappeared.
Jiang Baimian informed Genava, Bai Chen, and Long Yuehong of this matter at dawn.
They then had breakfast and got into the jeep, prepared to leave the city ruin and continue heading to their destination.

The jeep drove out of the city along the streets on both sides of the road.

After passing through an intersection, Shang Jianyao—who was sleeping in the backseatsuddenly opened his eyes and excitedly said, “There are people over there.
There’s one, two, three, four, five…”

He kept counting until Jiang Baimian interrupted him.
“Give a rough number.”

Shang Jianyao had to stop counting.
“Fewer than 100, but it’s not much fewer.”

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