Embers Ad Infinitum

Chapter 151: Partners

At 9:05 a.m., in an alley diagonally opposite the Hunter’s Guild.

After Long Yuehong confirmed that nobody was tailing him, he carefully ran in and spoke to Bai Chen, who was hiding in the corner. “You can go to the guild to accept the mission.”

Bai Chen took off her beret and mask and tugged at her gray scarf. “Alright.”

She felt that it was necessary to cooperate with the investigation and clear the suspicion so that the guild could take down the mission. Otherwise, it would be very annoying if wave after wave of Ruin Hunters came looking for her. Furthermore, it would bring unnecessary danger.

The only thing she couldn’t understand was why Long Yuehong insisted on reconnoitering before heading to the lobby. It wasn’t a dangerous place.

But since the rookie assigned by the company had such a cautious attitude, it was still worth encouraging.

After accompanying Bai Chen out of the alley, Long Yuehong reminded her as various gazes swept over them. “When being interrogated, touch your pocket every minute.”

Bai Chen said in amusement, “Do you really believe that naggy fellow?”

The fellow who rented the room opposite them clearly had a handsome face, but he looked like a lunatic. However, if it weren’t for the fact that she couldn’t find anything when she tried touching her pocket later, Bai Chen really would’ve believed that there was a folded star in her pocket.

But even so, when she thought of what the fellow had said about waiting for someone to ask before touching her pocket—about how touching it meant that she was dreaming—Bai Chen was not so sure that there really were no folded stars.

She had also encountered and heard of some magical things, especially those involving Awakened.

It seems like I subconsciously believe in this matter... Bai Chen didn’t think too much about it and entered the Guild Hall before the Ruin Hunters approached.

When she was inside, she was no longer in a rush. She looked up at the scrolling and synchronized broadcast on the large screen.

“Mission: Find the suspects involved in Eugene’s disappearance.

“Description: A man and a woman. The man is about 1.8 meters tall. He wore a navy down jacket and a baseball cap. The woman was about 1.7 meters tall and wore a gray cotton jacket. She also wore a baseball cap...

“Reward: A clue that passes a review and is deemed valid will earn you at least 10 Oray, with a maximum of 500 Oray.

“Mission rank: C, 100 credit points.

“...”

Bai Chen then saw her photo on the big screen.

“Mission: Find Ruin Hunter Bai Chen.

“Description: Female. Known aliases: Qian Bai and Bai Feng. Involved in Eugene’s disappearance. She’s about 1.6 meters tall and has short hair. See photos for specifics.

“Reward: 5 Oray for every effective clue provided. 20 Oray for bringing Bai Chen to the guild or the City Defense Command’s headquarters.

“Mission rank: E, 10 credit points.”

They are indeed looking for me... Bai Chen looked around and noticed a man in a thick black coat looking at her.

She had previously seen this Ruin Hunter and had just heard Long Yuehong mention his name. Thus, she knew that he was Advanced Hunter Oudick.

Bai Chen casually retracted her gaze and walked to a window at the circular platform area. She calmly said, “I’m here to take on a mission.”

“Which mission?” asked the female employee at the window instinctively.

According to their standard operating procedures, they couldn’t redirect Ruin Hunters that came to them for the machines. They had to provide them the service before they could give a reminder.

“Searching for Ruin Hunter Bai Chen.” Bai Chen didn’t have the strange feeling of saying her name.

“Alright, please give me your Hunter’s Badge,” said the employee with a smile.

She took the badge and swiped it before suddenly becoming stunned.

After a few seconds, she looked up slightly and looked out through the glass. “You... are Bai Chen?”

Bai Chen had registered herself as Qian Bai with the Hunter’s Guild, but Eugene’s team had provided the guild with her real name.

“Yes.” Bai Chen was relatively calm. “Taking the opportunity to earn a sum.”

The clerk reacted after a while. “Then, I’ll directly give you the choice of mission completion? Also, please wait here for a while; I’ll report the matter.”

Bai Chen directly said, “It’s best if someone that can make a decision comes over and lets me cooperate with the investigation while satisfying my conditions.”

The employee naturally couldn’t agree to Bai Chen’s request directly. She picked up the phone on the table and reported the matter.

Before long, a tall, thin man came to the lobby and walked toward Bai Chen with a few bodyguards guarding him. His hair was relatively sparse, but it was still black. Wrinkles had grown out of the corners of his eyes, mouth, and forehead. The most obvious characteristic was his large nose.

“I’m the guild’s Vice President, Cui En.” The tall, thin man nodded and introduced himself. He then politely said, “Madam Bai Chen, there’s no need to be nervous. The city’s defense forces are only looking for you to assist in the investigations.”

Bai Chen said without any care, “I have two conditions: First, I don’t trust them. As you know, there are many situations where they can’t find the true culprit and might casually choose a few scapegoats to point them out as the culprits. Therefore, I’ll only accept the interrogation and cooperate with investigations inside the guild.

“Second, I still have unfinished missions and need to earn money to survive. I’m in a rush; please be quick.”

The Hunter’s Guild’s creed had always been to serve and facilitate Hunters, becoming a Hunter’s home in a sense. Regardless of whether this was actually realized or not, none of the guild’s brass would dare to deny it in public.

Cui En was no exception.

Coupled with the fact that the local Hunter’s Guild had a special relationship with Castellan Manor, Bai Chen’s request was easy to fulfill.

Cui En pondered for a moment and smiled. “Sure. Don’t worry; as long as you haven’t done it, the Guild won’t watch you be wronged.”

Cui En said the last sentence very loudly so that the Ruin Hunters around them could hear him.

With the vice president in charge of Hunter’s Affairs promising her, Bai Chen felt relieved. She followed him to the second floor and entered a small room.

There was only a rectangular table here, with a chair on each side.

Bai Chen sat on the inner seat and subconsciously reached into her pocket.

She forcefully controlled her urge and silently mocked herself. I really was influenced by that naggy fellow...

Bai Chen still believed that a small, folded star would suddenly appear in her pocket.

She waited for a while before Cui En came in with his bodyguard and said apologetically, “The city guard called back and said that they won’t send anyone over until the afternoon. You can busy yourself first; come back when the time comes. How about that?”

“Even if you aren’t afraid that I’ll escape, I have to worry that other Ruin Hunters will disturb me. It’s better to resolve this matter as soon as possible.” Bai Chen was rather persistent and honest.

Cui En thought for a moment. “Then, I’ll communicate with them and try to get our people to take responsibility.”

In essence, there was no difference. Everyone was under Castellan Manor’s service.

Bai Chen nodded and quietly waited.

About 15 minutes later, Cui En returned to the room and smiled. “We have finished the negotiation. We’ll get a professional and trustworthy person to be in charge of the subsequent inquiries and investigations.”

With that said, Cui En introduced the man beside him. “This is Advanced Hunter Oudick. One of his nicknames is Polygraph. No lie can hide from him.”

The black-haired, blue-eyed Oudick nodded slightly as a form of greeting.

Upon seeing that the interrogator had already arrived, Bai Chen recalled Long Yuehong’s instructions and instinctively raised her hand to the edge of her pocket.

At this moment, Cui En had already led his bodyguards out and closed the door.

Bai Chen took the opportunity to stuff her hand into her pocket.

The next second, her pupils dilated a little because she touched an item folded from paper!

She really found a folded paper item in her pocket!

Before coming out, she had confirmed that there was nothing!

This means that... I’m dreaming? The corresponding memories surfaced in Bai Chen’s mind, and she suddenly escaped her slightly muddle-headed state. She realized that she was walking out of the Today nightclub with Long Yuehong. There seemed to be a ferocious gaze from Eugene, which locked onto her from behind.

I’m dreaming... Bai Chen’s heart palpitated, but she didn’t show any abnormalities. She replicated the scene in her memories and silently walked back to the building where Ah Fu’s Gun Shop was.

She then entered her room, lay down on the top bunk, and dazedly stared at the ceiling while in pain.

Just like that, she fell asleep at some point in time. When she woke up and finished breakfast, Long Yuehong walked into the room and told her that the guild had assigned a mission. Ruin Hunters were looking for her, so she had to disguise herself whenever she was out.

During this process, Bai Chen deliberately omitted the naggy fellow and prevented him from participating in the scene.

Knock! Knock! Knock...

Suddenly, Bai Chen heard a knock on the door and woke up.

She realized that she was still in the Hunter’s Guild’s small room.

At some point in time, Oudick had already sat opposite her. He retracted his fingers from the table and calmly spoke with his blue eyes. “You fell asleep. Did you have trouble sleeping last night because of Eugene?”

“Yes, I wish I could kill him, but I didn’t have the ability. I’m so afraid of him that I’m trembling,” Bai Chen answered frankly.

She had a clear conscience.

Oudick looked at her for a few seconds before nodding gently. “You’re not lying.”

He then asked a few more questions and obtained unconcealed answers.

Bai Chen even took off her scarf and showed him the female slave tattoo on her neck.

This made Bai Chen feel a little strange because she usually didn’t want others to see this. However, she did it quite naturally today.

Her explanation was that she wanted to be rid of the suspicion as soon as possible.

“I can understand your pain and fear,” Oudick said before getting up. “You can leave.”

“That fast?” Bai Chen was rather surprised.

Oudick replied simply, “Because you didn’t lie.”

Bai Chen didn’t probe further. She stood up and left the room.

After returning to the lobby on the first floor and receiving 20 Oray and 10 credit points, she met up with Long Yuehong—who was still a Rookie Hunter. They walked out of the guild lobby and turned into Central Square.

On the way, Bai Chen encountered the strange, naggy fellow and his companion—who both lived opposite her.

When the two parties were about to brush past each other, Shang Jianyao smiled. He took out a name tag and secretly gestured at his chest.

It was a red name tag with golden words. It read: Pangu Biology.

When Bai Chen saw this name tag, it was as if a circuit connected in her memories. The matters regarding Shang Jianyao and Jiang Baimian surged back into her mind.

She gritted her teeth to prevent herself from revealing any abnormalities.

After the two parties had distanced themselves, the corners of her mouth twitched slightly. She raised her hand to block her slightly red eyes.

It felt good to have companions.