Embers Ad Infinitum - Chapter 758 - Art of the Gap
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Chapter 758 - Art of the Gap

Chapter 758: Art of the Gap

Translator:

CKtalon

Underground building, 417th floor.

Long Yuehong looked at his watch and confirmed the time. He didnt go to his grandparents house but went straight to the Rec Center.

As expected, he immediately saw his grandfatherLong Yixuanholding a thermos and chatting with a group of middle-aged and elderly employees. His grandmother, Zhong Zining, was further inside, playing cards with her neighbors.

Back when he was in university, Long Yuehong was especially envious of his grandfather and grandmothers lives.

Their grandchildren were mostly grown up, and they were almost retirement age. They were still in relatively good physical condition, so apart from not being able to go to the surface, they could live their daily lives rather freely.

Furthermore, after working so hard for so many years, they each had a certain rank of employment. Although they werent considered high, they had the advantage of not needing to help their children. They were completely self-sufficient for their daily necessities, and they could also have a feast from time to time.

Long Yuehong carried the bag of fruits and sat beside his grandmother, Zhong Zining. He smiled and asked, Did you win?

These retired and semi-retired old employees betted small and mainly played for entertainment. They would even split one contribution point into ten portions and leave it on a tab before settling the accounts.

Zhong Zining grumbled, I didnt win a few rounds.

Although she was grumbling, the old lady with much white hair still smiled and muttered, Why are you bringing up fruits again? Youre about to get married and are about to have children. You have to save up, understand?

As the saying goes, the youngest son and eldest grandson were most cherished by an old lady. As the firstborn of the Long familys third generation, Long Yuehong had always been doted on by his grandparents and had a good relations.h.i.+p with them.

Long Yuehong smiled and explained, Little White told me to bring these to you guys as a form of respect.

He had already told his grandparents that his fiancees name was Bai Chen.

Of course, Bai Chenwhose parents had pa.s.sed away relatively earlywas a wilderness nomad to her bones; she actually didnt have such self-awareness. Long Yuehong had always freeloaded from his grandparents house for food and drink, and he also didnt have the habit of bringing gifts. Fortunately, the Old Task Force had an Old World folklore researcher and Pangu Biologys model child, Jiang Baimian. From time to time, she would give the young couple some advice.

Long Yuehong was deeply inspired and connected this to a sentence in the song Shang Jianyao sang:

n.o.body would blame you for being polite!

Zhong Zining exclaimed, Little White is too polite.

Although she said that, the smile on her face became brighter. At the same time, she took out a few fruits and distributed them to her mahjong friends. Try it. Try it. A gift from my granddaughter-in-law.

She couldnt hide the smugness in her tone.

So what if your grandchildren were a.s.signed a partner as soon as they became of age? My eldest grandsons wife has a high rank, has many contribution points, and knows how to respect her elders!

Grandma is so generous today

Long Yuehong muttered inwardly.

Fruits within Pangu Biology werent something ordinary families could eat often. Long Yuehong remembered that his grandparents would hide them well every time they exchanged for fruits. Not to mention outsiders, even his parents rarely gave them fruit. Only people of the younger generation like him would rummage through them and say, Hurry up and eat. It will spoil if you dont eat it.

Upon seeing the neighbors around the card table stop and eat the fruits, Long Yuehong casually said, I chatted with Little White about your and Grandpas names before getting off work today. She felt that they are completely different from my parents, siblings, and sister.

Zhong Zining smiled. You have to ask your great-grandparents. They were all educated by the Old World, so they might like to come up with such names. Sigh, your great-grandfather and great-grandmother pa.s.sed away before your father was born. We could only make do by coming up with one.

Although he already knew that his great-grandparents had pa.s.sed away early, Long Yuehong couldnt help but sigh with emotion every time he heard that. Even if they moved underground, Pangu Biology didnt have a good time in the Chaotic Era or the early years of the New Calendar.

After chatting about the names, Long Yuehong followed the strategy he had discussed with Bai Chen, Shang Jianyao, and Jiang Baimian and took the opportunity to start the topic.

He took out the Babymaker talisman in front of everyone at the card table and asked in antic.i.p.ation, Is this really useful? It looks relatively new to me, and it doesnt look like it was obtained from your generation.

Zhong Zining casually replied, The one I used to wear was already tattered. I specially got someone to draw this after your father said that you were getting married. It was very effective; I wore it back then, and I had five children. None of them died early. Your mother didnt want it, so she only had three.

Long Yuehong immediately asked, Who drew it?

Upon seeing his grandmother cast a confused gaze at him, he followed the plan and smiled. A colleague of mine said that he also wants one if its effective.

Zhong Zining came to a realization and expressed her understanding. She even felt a little pleased with herself. Its the Mu family in Zone B. Their ancestor was some Daoist priest; he knew how to make all kinds of talismans.

Sounds fine

Long Yuehong heaved a sigh of relief. He then recalled something: The Eternal Time Church also had Daoists!

Zhong Zining continued, If that colleague of yours really wants one, lead him to this floor tomorrow. Ill bring him to request one. Its best to request for one using a relative close to you by blood.

Sure, sure! Long Yuehong tried his best to remain calm.

The conversation just now was actually a routine that Jiang Baimian had personally designed. Her goal was to push Shang Jianyao out and get him to meet the person who drew the Babymaker talisman openly as Long Yuehongs colleague and have a nice communication.

If Long Yuehongs grandmother was really strange, and the Babymaker talisman directly originated from her With such a foundation, Shang Jianyao could also visit the old couple without any problems and resolve the problem easily.

The greatest benefit of this solution was that Long Yuehongs every move was sufficiently normal and that there was nothing worth suspecting. Shang Jianyao would subsequently take over and absolve him from the trouble.

495th floor, Zone B, Room 196.

Shang Jianyao lay on the bed, ma.s.saged his temples, and entered the Mind Corridor.

Being urged by Jiang Baimian, he planned on clearing Room 506s second psychological trauma as soon as possible and becoming an Awakened who had explored the Mind Corridors depths.

Mind Corridor, Room 506.

Shang Jianyao appeared at the door of a house. He was surrounded by similar buildings that formed a sizable community.

The people coming and going wore clothes of different colors, but these were relatively old. Some even had many patches.

Unlike the white coats in the first psychological trauma, the people here would greet and chat whenever they encountered each other. They seemed to know each other, and it was similar to the situation on each floor of Pangu Biologys underground buildings Residential Zone.

The calm and rational Shang Jianyao observed for a while before walking to a middle-aged man in gold-rimmed gla.s.ses who pa.s.sed by.

Are you on break today? he greeted as if they were familiar with each other.

The middle-aged man was stunned for a moment before shaking his head and smiling. Im just heading home for a meal. You are?

Shang Jianyao didnt choke at all. I just came back from outside. The elements really took a toll on me. I no longer look the same.

Oh. The man in the gold-rimmed gla.s.ses felt a sense of guilt, feeling that it was his problem not to recognize the other party.

After implanting a thought, Shang Jianyao casually chatted. I was sent to the Third Research Inst.i.tute.

Isnt that far in the south? The man in gold-rimmed gla.s.ses was abnormally stunned. He had clearly heard of the Third Research Inst.i.tute.

Shang Jianyao smiled. Thats right. Its almost at the beach. You might not believe it, but the Third Research Inst.i.tute has now changed its name to Mechanical Paradise. Most of the people I encountered are smart bots.

Its normal. They study artificial intelligence there to begin with. The man in the gold-rimmed gla.s.ses felt that there was nothing wrong.

Shang Jianyao concealed his cold eyes and curled the corners of his mouth. I heard from their people that the higher the research inst.i.tutes serial number is, the more advanced and valuable the research project is.

A meaningless guess. Our research isnt much different from what the Second Research Inst.i.tute studies; the only difference is in direction. Who can tell whos more advanced and valuable? The middle-aged man in gold-rimmed gla.s.ses scoffed at this comment.

Thats right! Shang Jianyao replied in a tone of deep agreement.

After chatting for a while, he turned to walk to the old lady, who was taking in the cold air outside a building.

Although the old lady had a lot of white hair, she was very hale and hearty. At this moment, she was sitting on a stool under a tree, sizing up the pedestrians around her.

You are? The old lady noticed Shang Jianyaos approach.

Shang Jianyao smiled. Im someone sent by the Third Research Inst.i.tute to visit your research inst.i.tute. I want to know if you guys are really the First Research Inst.i.tute established by the Old World?

The old lady examined the fellow as if she were looking at a fool. Did you remember wrong? This is the Fourth Research Inst.i.tute!

How is that possible? Could it be that the higher-ups gave the wrong information? Shang Jianyao began to put on an act.

During this process, the ruthless him laughed inwardly.

So its the Fourth Research Inst.i.tute.

He then frowned.

Whats the danger here? This doesnt seem like the second psychological trauma described in the strategy guide Could it be that I used an unconventional method in the first psychological trauma and took the initiative to receive the anesthetic injection, so I directly jumped to the third psychological trauma?

The calm and rational Shang Jianyao looked around solemnly, searching for a place that might be dangerous.