Embers Ad Infinitum

Chapter 64: into the night

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"The Eighth Research Institute..." Jiang Baimian repeated the term in a low voice.

Obviously, she had never heard of such an organization before.

Bai Chen, Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong did the same, looking at Qiao Chu with a little more admiration.

Mysterious origins and strong strength have always been effective elements that make people fascinated.

Jiang Baimian, who was wearing a helmet, moved his lips and seemed to be organizing his language. He wanted to further ask where the Eighth Research Institute was located, what technologies it had inherited, and what relationship it had with the old world. From the ruins of the city deep in the Everglades.

Before she could speak, Qiao Chu turned around and walked to the right, leaving only a light sentence:

"Take off the exoskeleton and save electricity."

"Okay." Jiang Baimian agreed immediately.

That itself was something she wanted to do.

- The amount of electricity saved by the solar charging panels was given to the jeep today, and it is now night.

Although they still have a spare high-performance battery, in such a rather strange old world city, they must try to make the energy a little more generous and be prepared.

When Bai Chen helped Jiang Baimian take off the military exoskeleton device, Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong looked at the current place.

The first thing they saw was an LCD screen, which was at least two circles larger than its counterparts in the "Activity Center" on the 495th floor.

"This is a good thing..." Long Yuehong sighed, eager to try.

If this can bring back the company, no, move back to the company, even if it is broken, I don’t know how many contribution points can be exchanged.

Although these are mostly items that need to be turned in, the company will also give certain rewards as appropriate.

Qiao Chu walked to the window on the far right, glanced at Long Yuehong and said:

"In the buildings you saw just now, behind most of the glass windows, there is such a monitor."

Long Yuehong recalled the high-rise buildings he had seen before, and blurted out:

"so much?"

He then asked Qiao Chu with a little doubt:

"Why do you suddenly say this?"

Shang Jianyao next to him interjected with a smile:

"Meaning, picking up garbage should also pick up more valuable ones!"

"This is a 'bond mine'." Bai Chen added using a common phrase among the wilderness wanderers.

"Banan" means that the region is rich in various resources, and there is nothing to worry about in a certain period of time.

In this case, because the items that can be carried each time are limited, you have to choose carefully to live up to your own exploration.

It's like entering a gold mine, and you must put more gold in your bag, not ordinary stones.

Long Yuehong thought about it carefully, agreed with Shang Jianyao's words, and continued to look at the surrounding things:

Below the LCD screen with many smudges on the surface is a set of long low wooden cabinets. It looks gray, and it is barely recognizable that it is originally milky white.

On the low wooden cabinet is an emerald green water glass, two palm-sized electronic devices with wires, and a transparent long-necked bottle.

About a third of the dirty water remained in the bottle, with some black debris floating above it.

This is consistent with Jiang Baimian's previous judgment:

If the city hadn't been "maintained" since the destruction of the old world, the water in the bottle would have evaporated—the windows were closed, the houses were dry, and it didn't look like rain had drifted past.

Opposite the wall where the LCD screen is hung is a coffee table of the same color and style as the low wooden cabinet, with some dirty drinking glasses and a pack of tissue paper with a dark shell on it.

On the left side of the coffee table is a trash can full of holes, which is covered with a blue translucent plastic bag; on the side of the coffee table, next to the door, is a group of dirty-looking cloths that were originally made of snow blue or dark gray. Sofa; between the coffee table and the low wooden cabinet, there is a faded folding low stool, the stool surface is pink, the outline and pattern seem to form a cartoon image of a pig; the right side of the coffee table is a relatively wide area, Qiao Chu Just stand there.

Behind Qiao Chu was a row of dusty wooden railings, with several large pieces of glass standing on the outside of the railings, acting as walls.

Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong have not learned what such windows are called in textbooks, but they heard Qiao Chu call them floor-to-ceiling windows just now, and they thought it was quite vivid.

On both sides of the floor-to-ceiling windows, there is a washing area with a stone platform on one side, and several brown-red tile basins are piled on the other side.

The soil in the pot is yellow-brown, and there are certain cracks, and the plants planted in it seem to have disappeared long ago, buried deep, leaving no trace.

In front of Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong is an aisle, and there seem to be several rooms in it.

There is a small round table on their left side, with a tablecloth simply embroidered with a few flowers on it. The original white color of the tablecloth is close to dark gray.

Around this round table, there are four ordinary chairs with mottled cream white lacquer.

One of them has obvious cracks, and the wood inside appears to be badly corrupted.

On the side of the round table facing the door, there was a semi-open room, and Shang Jianyao saw the same type of rice cooker as his own at a glance.

It is also the shell coating peeling off, and many places are stained with rust.

Next to the rice cooker, there are two metal objects that look like a stove. There are two pots, one large and one small. The large one is iron black, the small one is pink on the outside and gray on the inside.

In addition to these, Shang Jianyao also saw faucets, metal sinks and various cabinets.

Based on his common sense, he came to the conclusion that this should be the kitchen.

"Luxury..." Long Yuehong, who was beside him, looked over and sighed with emotion.

Shang Jianyao nodded in agreement and said:

"Yes, yes."

In their perception, a room with a kitchen is already reserved for senior employees, and a room with such a large kitchen may have to be found in the management residence of the "living area".

While speaking, Shang Jianyao raised his feet and stepped back quietly step by step.

Qiao Chu's eyes flashed over.

At this time, Shang Jianyao had retreated to the door and looked up.

"605..." He read out the house number.

"What are you doing?" Long Yuehong asked in surprise.

"There are five rooms on each floor, each unit has a total of 20 or 30 floors, and each building has several units..." Shang Jianyao said to himself, "There are hundreds of rooms as big as this."

Qiao Chu obviously did not catch the focus of Shang Jianyao's thinking, and said calmly:

"Come in and close the door."

After Shang Jianyao gently closed the door, Long Yuehong came back to his senses:

"There are seven or eight buildings here, and there are more buildings around...

"Is this the old world?"

Shang Jianyao ignored him, squatted down, and opened the wooden cabinet on the right side of the entrance.

The stale smell floated out instantly, and rows of various shoes were quietly placed inside the wooden cabinet.

"Close it!" Qiao Chu squeezed his nose and said.

Shang Jianyao didn't take a closer look, and slammed the cabinet door shut.

Long Yuehong sighed again:

"luxury!"

What kind of person is this, there are so many shoes!

At this time, the sunset had sunk below the horizon, and the sky was made of gray metal, reflecting a little light.

The eyes of Shang Jianyao and others looked through the floor-to-ceiling windows and saw that the whole city became darker, and the high-rise buildings seemed like isolated islands, being engulfed by the increasingly fierce dark "tide".

Their hearts seem to sink with it.

Suddenly, there was a commotion in the neighborhood not far away, and there was a "bang" sound.

Jiang Baimian and others looked at each other and made a judgment at the same time:

This is the sound of gunshots!

Someone just shot!

Before they could speak, a hoarse roar sounded around the area.

The roar quickly "spread", and there were responses from all directions, one after another.

"Roar!"

"Wow!"

This kind of movement is continuous, and they are all approaching the gunshot block.

The city that was completely dead just now became lively in an instant.

After a minute or two, the roars subsided, and the whole city fell back into extreme silence.

Jiang Baimian, who had already taken off the military exoskeleton device, frowned slightly, thought for a few seconds, and said:

"Heartless?"

As far as she knows, many urban ruins have "unintentional people" lingering and wandering, and the exact number depends on how many local ecosystems and remnants can support.

Qiao Chu still carried the silver rifle on his back, facing the floor-to-ceiling window, and staring at the dead city outside:

"right."

"The relic hunter who entered the ruins from another road before encountered the 'unintentional' attack and fired a shot, causing a chain reaction?" Jiang Baimian tried his best to restore what happened just now.

This time, Qiao Chu ignored her and stood there quietly, not knowing what she was looking at.

Shang Jianyao turned and said:

"Could the roar we heard in the wilderness come from them?"

"Impossible, how could this level of sound travel so far?" Jiang Baimian replied thoughtfully, "However, what we heard was probably the roars of the 'intentional ones' in the area at that time. , they were responding to the most exaggerated roar at the beginning, and looking from the direction, the roar that resounded through the wilderness could really come from here..."

"Judging from the power of that roar and the response that can inspire the 'unintentional', that monster is probably very dangerous, very dangerous!" Long Yuehong joined the discussion, and the more she talked, the more nervous she became.

Hearing these words, Jiang Baimian, Shang Jianyao, and Bai Chen's expressions suddenly fluctuated, as if they remembered their decision not to approach the dangerous area.

This completely contradicts their current state.

Jiang Baimian's eyes moved slightly, his expression gradually became heavy, and he subconsciously looked at Qiao Chu.

At this time, Qiao Chu had turned around and smiled slightly:

"Since you have come here, you can only protect yourself first.

"At the same time, think about what is the most precious thing you want to take care of."

His golden eyes briefly lost focus, like a deep lake reflecting the sun.

Jiang Baimian pursed his lips, and his eyes became gentle again:

"I understand."

Shang Jianyao and others then returned to the state before the discussion.

Qiao Chu retracted his gaze, looked around and said:

"Eat dinner first, then take turns to rest and wait for the early morning."