Embers Ad Infinitum

Chapter 88: End of song

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The high roof, the empty rooftop, the mourning female voice is melodious and melodious.

Jiang Baimian listened quietly for a while, then looked around the dead and dark city, and said with a slight sigh:

"This song is pretty good."

Before waiting for Shang Jianyao and the others to respond, Jiang Baimian continued:

"Go on. The lights are out, what's going on, we've got to keep an eye on the jeep and the armored car.

"If there is an oversight and they are wiped out, it will be even more troublesome to face danger in the future."

She wasn't worried about whether there would be any transport in the morning, because there seemed to be a lot of cars that could drive in the ruins of the city.

"Yes, team leader!" Long Yuehong replied like a conditioned reflex.

Jiang Baimian glanced at Shang Jianyao again:

"Turn off the speakers, otherwise it's easy to become a target."

Shang Jianyao did not refute, squatted down, picked up the small speaker with blue bottom and black surface, turned it off, and threw it into the tactical backpack.

The surroundings suddenly became extremely quiet again, only the wind from the high place was roaring.

When the "Old Tune Team" walked towards the stairs, Bai Chen couldn't help but turn his head and glanced at the city scene that was constantly unfolding into the distance.

The buildings were hidden in the darkness, no sound came out, and no light emerged.

"Team leader, do you think this looks like a tombstone?" Bai Chen asked in a soft voice when he retracted his gaze.

Jiang Baimian looked back and said silently for a moment:

"Well, those buildings are like old-world tombstones, tombstones..."

Before she finished speaking, Shang Jianyao took the initiative to ask:

"What is a tombstone?"

There is no cemetery inside "Pangu Creatures", and each deceased employee only has a line of text engraved on the corresponding wall.

"That's it..." Jiang Baimian organized the language, "Forget it, I'll explain it to you later."

She immediately walked up the stairs and turned on the flashlight.

This time, they could no longer take the elevator and could only trot down.

Fortunately, their physical fitness is quite good, and three of them have been genetically modified. Therefore, when they returned to Room 805, they were only slightly out of breath and not very tired.

Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao separated and checked the room again to confirm that no dangerous creatures had broken into it.

"Bai Chen, you and Long Yuehong have a rest. I'm in charge of monitoring jeeps and armored vehicles. Shang Jianyao pays attention to the street outside." Jiang Baimian took a flashlight and returned to the living room.

"Yeah." Bai Chen watched the team leader come to the window of the restaurant and set up the "Orange" rifle before he said thoughtfully, "The place where the explosion occurred just now seems to be the mysterious laboratory that Qiao Chu said."

Jiang Baimian didn't look back, and was watching the downstairs intently:

"That direction, that location, with a high probability.

"I don't know if Qiao Chu's mission is to destroy there, or because he was entangled by the mechanical monk Jingfa, and due to various accidents, this big explosion..."

Shang Jianyao looked at the place where the fire and air flowed just now, and said seriously:

"I guess it's the former possibility."

"The conclusion drawn from the situation of the Eighth Research Institute described by Du Heng?" Jiang Baimian asked subconsciously.

Shang Jianyao shook his head:

"I just counted how many cars were on the side of the road.

"The result is singular."

"..." Jiang Baimian spat, "I shouldn't have discussed the issue with you so seriously."

Long Yuehong hasn't spoken since he left the rooftop. At this moment, he looked at the ruins of the city that was submerged in darkness, and said in a slightly erratic tone:

"Team leader, I now kind of understand why you want to investigate the cause of the destruction of the old world, why you like to dig out the history of the past from the ruins of the city..."

Jiang Baimian listened quietly and smiled with relief:

"As long as you know."

Long Yuehong wanted to say something more, but she didn't know how to express it, so she could only continue to stare at the dead city where many dangers were hidden, and said instead:

"What's going to happen next?"

"Who knows?" Jiang Baimian still stared at the jeep and the armored vehicle, "I just hope that all the changes will not be affected, I just hope that Qiao Chu is driven out of this city ruins by Jingfa, or the two sides have reached their respective limits. , are seriously injured, in short, let us stay safe until dawn and drive away."

"Team leader, it doesn't seem auspicious for you to say that." Shang Jianyao replied casually.

Jiang Baimian was not angry and said helplessly:

"We've all been unlucky so many times, and extremes can be reversed, should Jitai come?"

Hearing the word "unlucky", Long Yuehong felt inexplicably guilty and touched her mouth.

I don't know if Jiang Baimian's words were really effective. In the next few hours, in the ruins of the entire city, although there were sounds of explosions, gunshots, and roars from time to time, they did not spread in the direction of the tunnel.

By midnight, it was completely silent here.

Time passed by minute by minute, the horizon gradually lit up, and the buildings broke free from the darkness, revealing their own appearance.

But in the eyes of Jiang Baimian, Shang Jianyao and others, they are more and more like tombstones, or faded tombstones of dark black or gray or khaki.

"Let's go." After quickly eating breakfast, Jiang Baimian gave the order.

This time, she let Bai Chen and Long Yuehong sit in the armored car and took turns driving, while she and Shang Jianyao were in charge of the jeep.

In the morning light, they did not return along the original road of the tunnel, because the road was too winding and dangerous. Without Qiao Chu, who was familiar with the situation, the vehicle could easily get stuck in the swamp.

Moreover, Jiang Baimian suspected that some sections of the road could not bear the weight of armored vehicles at all.

According to An Ruxiang's statement and the traces left by the relic hunters, they made a small half-circle to the north and left the ruins of the city on a relatively good road.

On the way, they did not forget to collect some watches, LCD screens, sunglasses and various useful metals, and even found two barrels of suitable oil for the armored car.

Driving on, Jiang Baimian narrowed his eyes and said to Shang Jian Yao in the co-pilot position:

"There is a convoy coming in front, dozens or hundreds of people."

As soon as she finished speaking, she woke up.

"About a hundred people, this is Wang Beicheng's action team."

That was the team sent by "Pangu Creatures" to investigate the anomaly here.

Sure enough, they soon saw armored vehicles and other things, and saw Wang Beicheng, the captain of the 23rd Brigade.

Wang Beicheng was also surprised to meet Jiang Baimian and others again. He straightened the gray-black beret on his head, glanced at the armored vehicle behind the jeep that did not belong to the company, and said to Jiang Baimian:

"Didn't you go to Qifeng Town

"Why did you come here again and get an armored vehicle?"

More importantly, it seems that they entered the newly discovered ruins of the city earlier than they did.

"Haha, accident, accident." Jiang Baimian laughed dryly.

She immediately became serious, and roughly recounted the story of herself and others being charmed by Qiao Chu and entering the ruins of the city from the trail.

This includes the "City Intelligence Network Control Center", the mysterious laboratory, "Higher Unintentional", Nightmare Horse, Xiaochong, Du Heng, Galoran, the last big bang and other related information.

Here, Jiang Baimian only concealed the knowledge of the Awakened provided by Du Heng, and where Shang Jianyao's ability played a role, and skillfully linked the reason why they got rid of Qiao Chu's charm with the "high-level unintentional person" and the boy Xiaochong Together.

From a certain point of view, this is actually true.

Wang Beicheng listened, his expression became solemn, and finally said sincerely:

"Thank you so much, if it weren't for this information, we would go in rashly, and I don't know how many people would die!

"Furthermore, the 'higher mindless' and aberrant creatures there are definitely more than the ones you have encountered. Even if we rely on our action brigade, even if we have a certain understanding in advance, it is still very dangerous.

"I will send the information back immediately and ask for reinforcements.

"Next, we should only build a stronghold on the edge of the city for the time being..."

Jiang Baimian waved his hand:

"What you do has nothing to do with us."

Wang Beicheng glanced at the armored vehicle again, rubbed his hands, and smiled hesitantly:

"Can you support the brother team?"

For them, one more armored vehicle and one more heavy machine gun will add a considerable amount of combat effectiveness.

Jiang Baimian smiled:

"no problem.

"But we have a lot of stuff in the armored vehicle, and the jeep alone can't take it with you. You have to help us transport it back to the company. I have a list.

"Also, the heavy machine gun of that armored vehicle is also our trophy, so it should be counted as a contribution."

For them, the jeep was the most convenient way to drive on the dirt.

Wang Beicheng took a breath like a toothache:

"it is good."

After saying goodbye to the Wang Beicheng brigade, Long Yuehong and Bai Chen returned to the jeep.

Jiang Baimian said thoughtfully while driving:

"Since I met Wang Beicheng and the others, it means that there should be no danger on this road, and I won't encounter Qiao Chu again.

"Shang Jianyao, you can remove your 'reasoning clown' effect."

Shang Jianyao was playing with a pair of black sunglasses, sometimes putting them on and sometimes taking them off.

Hearing the command of the team leader, he smiled and said:

"There are many couples who are in free love within the company."

Jiang Baimian was stunned for a moment, then patted the jeep's horn:

"Yeah, how can I think that the distribution is true love?"

Shang Jianyao immediately turned his head and said to Bai Chen:

"Humans can also be trusted and relied upon.

"After these few days, do you think we can also protect your back?"

Bai Chen was stunned, his eyes flickering uncontrollably.

At this time, Jiang Baimian interrupted:

"Why does this sound so familiar

"You plagiarize what I said!"

"This is called quoting." Shang Jianyao responded solemnly.

Bai Chen listened to their quarrel, and the corners of his mouth turned up unconsciously.

Shang Jianyao looked at Long Yuehong who was a little confused, smiled and said:

"Biological organ transplantation, neural reconstruction, artificial uterus."

"..." Long Yuehong's facial muscles twitched a few times, resisting the urge to beat Shang Jianyao.

Can't beat it after all.

Before he recalled, he found that he was under the influence of the "reasoning clown" unknowingly, and immediately blurted out a little fearfully and asked:

"Have you misled me with 'reasoning clown'?"

Shang Jian Yao didn't turn his head back and said directly:

"You do not deserve."

"..." Long Yuehong didn't know whether to be happy or sad.

Jiang Baimian finally couldn't stand it any longer, and said to Shang Jian Yao:

"You go to sleep for a while, and then it's your turn to drive.

"Hey, I finally got rid of this mess.

"Next, we can't delay any longer, the goal is to pray for Fengzhen!"

Shang Jianyao heard the words, pinched his temples, put on his sunglasses, leaned back in the chair, and closed his eyes.

Deep in the Hall of Stars, at the top of the silver staircase, in front of the gray and white stone gate.

Shang Jianyao glanced at the three grooves above, put his pocket in one hand, stretched out the other, and pressed it against the door.

In the groove, the white light soared and aggregated into three illusory stars.

Among them, the white light representing the "reasoning clown" is much brighter than the other two groups.

In the next second, the white light that displayed the words "Sentimental Man" rapidly brightened, and it was soon equivalent to "The Reasoning Clown".

After a short period of solidification, the heavy stone door trembled slightly and slowly retreated.

As the crack in the door got bigger and bigger, Shang Jianyao could see the scene inside clearly.

It was an illusory "sea" that could not see the edge, and the shimmering light slid gently on the water surface.

"Sea of Origins".

After Jiang Baimian drove the jeep out of the depths of the swamp, he woke up Shang Jianyao:

"It's your turn.

"Next, let's have a smooth journey!"

Shang Jianyao opened his eyes, took off his sunglasses, and neatly walked around to the driver's seat, swapping places with the team leader.

When he was seated, he saw that in front of him was an endless gray-black wilderness, with few clouds in the sky and a bright blue sky.

"The weather is so nice." Shang Jianyao nodded, put on his sunglasses first, and then took out the small speaker from his tactical backpack.

Seeing Jiang Baimian looking over, he moved his body and said with a smile:

"How can you drive without music?"

When Bai Chen and Long Yuehong watched one after another, Shang Jianyao rang the speaker.

A hoarse cry followed:

"Arise, hungry slave...

"Rise up, suffering people of the world..."

In the passionate and generous singing, Shang Jianyao waved his hand:

"Set off!"

Before he finished speaking, he kicked the accelerator and made the jeep gallop in the wilderness, heading into the distance.

(End of the first part)

Note 1: Quoted from "The Internationale", you can refer to the version of the Tang Dynasty band.

first summary

It's time for the much-anticipated summary of each volume. Well, I'm probably the only one looking forward to it.

In fact, this time is quite embarrassing. I will write a few more chapters until December 31st, so that I can merge the testimonials on the shelves and save the trouble.

Of course, this is also beneficial. It will be on the shelves on January 1st, and the first part will be finished on December 31st. How dare I ask for leave

So, everything has pros and cons.

Speaking of the first part itself, because the mystery itself was written very heavily, if the long night continues this tone, it will not only appear repetitive, but also have no buffer and room for adjustment and adjustment. In addition, in my previous novels, except for Xiaomeng, others are in character and Internally, there are great similarities, but there are differences in some aspects and some details.

So, I want to challenge a protagonist who is completely different from before and break through my own limitations.

Based on these two points, I have said before that I plan to write a psychopathic protagonist. On the one hand, this is a new experience for me, and on the other hand, it can also bring joy to the darker background. Undercurrent of sadness.

I'm not a mental patient, lol, I can't really simulate the mentality of mental illness, this is the biggest obstacle before my real creation, after repeated thinking, I came up with a way, that is to give up most of the mental activities, use Actions and words to shape the characters.

After adopting this method, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was very different from the previous creations. I was no longer a person who pre-determined what kind of character he was, what his preferences were, what were his small shortcomings, and he Where is the arc of the character, but gives his background, his past experience, and then, when he encounters different things, starting from the background, experience, and character state, he deduces different reactions.

After writing and writing like this, I realized that Shang Jianyao was such a person.

For friends who read novels, this may not make sense, because no matter what method is used, in the final analysis, it is to shape the characters, and there is no distinction between high and low, but for the writer, this kind of new feeling is very special. wonderful.

This is not to praise myself for writing well. This does not exist. There must be various problems when trying a technique for the first time.

This way of writing is not without shortcomings and drawbacks, at least I have found several now:

First, without psychological activities, the most powerful weapon for creating a sense of substitution is missing, which is quite troublesome for an online novel, and without the sense of substitution, many plots cannot spread the tension.

Second, the initial shaping of the character will take a long time. I was probably in Shuiwei Town, when Shang Jianyao separated the beef for the little girl a little bit, I felt that the character's feet really stood on the ground.

Third, there is no way to quickly label a new character, deepen the impression, and shape the image by psychological activities.

Combined with the writing style of travel notes and road films that I used to the death in the first film, it was difficult for the whole story to develop too much tension, and some supporting characters were not able to stand up quickly, so that there were obviously many ups and downs. , the plot seems slow.

This notation also has its own advantages:

When there is a lack of psychological activities, the shaping of characters relies more on interaction, and once there are more interactions, the characters that appear frequently will naturally become distinct and plump.

In the first part, it is mainly the members of the old tune group.

I can boast a little about this, but well, there is still too little plot at present, and the arc of the characters must not be brought out. I just hope that it can be done well in the future.

After talking about the characters, let's talk about the overall structure of the first part.

Because I want to present such a big environment first, to show the reflection of the old world, the grayness of the new world and the absurdity of their combination, to make a big picture first, to pave the atmosphere and tone, so I used travel notes and highways. The writing method of the film does not set the content of explosion and climax, but focuses on experience.

In addition, the feeling of upgrading is also toned down, which makes the plot tension of the entire first film very weak, after all, it lacks two powerful weapons.

By the way, the name of the first part is "Prelude", and the frontispiece is:

"At the moment of death, the solemn first note of a nameless song will sound. Life is but a series of preludes to this song."

When many friends saw this, they thought they would die, but it was not. I wrote about a "civilized" life.

In the last two chapters, one song is one of the series of preludes before the death of the old era, which is the nostalgia and mourning for the past civilization, and the other is the prelude to the new world, which is a sincere expectation for it.

In the long night of civilization, there are still many embers.

Perhaps one day, a certain residual fire will start a prairie fire again and illuminate the world. This is closer to the meaning of Liszt's "Prelude". Humans and civilizations will eventually die, but we will make the prelude as long, grand and splendid as possible.

If in the process of reading the first part, when you hear the song "Recalling the Past", you can have feelings for the old world, and the word civilization flashes in your mind, then I think what I want to express is It's out, enough.

Having said that, let's talk about the problems of the first part:

First, the second half is too tiring to read. This is not a problem of words, but a problem of rhythm. Maybe it's because I'm used to playing games, and I always get a bunch of side lines before doing the main line, so when I set it up like this at first, I didn't think there was any problem at all, but after I actually started writing, I found out that once it was given to Qifeng Town to send the chip If you always deviate from the task and delay the task for too long, the reader will be irritable, and the plot will be too protracted, making it tiring to read.

Playing games by yourself is really different from designing "games" for others, lol.

The second is in the city ruins. I hope that through the description of the scenes and things that we are familiar with, I hope to set off the atmosphere of the wasteland and pave the way for the nostalgia and mourning for the old world. Therefore, many places are written very carefully, which is nothing in itself. The problem, but I overlooked one point. At that time, the old tune group was not free and was controlled by Qiao Chu. Many friends would be eager to get rid of this as soon as possible, which contradicted the peace of mind needed to read the detailed description. This is really because I didn't design it well and dealt with it incorrectly.

The first part is mainly to outline the outline, and try some new writing methods at the same time, and that's about it.

It’s an old rule, I’ll ask for leave to rest and organize the outline. However, because the second part will be very short, with only twenty chapters, it’s a more important turning point, so I’ll only ask for a day and a half of leave, and the day after tomorrow, at noon on the 31st, 12 noon Updates will resume at half past midnight.

You don't have to worry about the length being too short. It is expected that the third, fourth, fifth and seventh chapters are all long, about 200 chapters.

The second title is "Unfinished"

In fact, there is still a lot to say, but leave it to the testimonials, otherwise there will be so many words.

Anyway thank you all.

Part 2 not finished