Embers Ad Infinitum

Chapter 476: Crystal Consciousness

Cars are too heavy… What kind of reason is this… Long Yuehong—who was sitting in the back row—bowed down to pick up the pistol he had dropped due to the cold and pain while he repeated Zennaga’s answer dazedly. Is there any connection between the weight of a car and driving? The person drives the car, not the other way round.

As Long Yuehong’s thoughts ran through his mind, the gray-robed monk—Zennaga—had already made the black motorcycle dash forward. Bai Chen had no choice but to step on the accelerator and get their vehicle to follow closely behind.

In the passenger seat, Jiang Baimian looked at Zennaga’s back and didn’t hide her thoughts. How can one crack his Mind Reading ability? If he knows everything in advance, there’s no chance of winning… We can’t just sacrifice ourselves by becoming Heartless and rely on instinct to achieve victory, right? Ignoring the problem of reaching this stage, even if we wanted to, the Heartless disease isn’t something that can be obtained just by saying it…

In this aspect, he is clearly stronger than Jingfa the mechanical monk. He can clearly hear our thoughts from a distance…

He possesses the Mind Reading ability. The ability that makes us feel pain probably comes from the prayer beads in his hand, so he can use both simultaneously…

Controlling matter is a basic ability, and it doesn’t seem to conflict with his Mind Reading… Yes, the pain of being pricked by needles still existed when he used the stone slab to block the electric current, but it was clearly alleviated… It looks like it still has some effect…

Mind Reading comes under the Subhuti domain. The corresponding price of Mind Reading is related to one’s mental state, changes in desires, and senses. It might also be that one can’t lie…

He answered so many of our questions, so it’s suspected to be the latter. However, this might be their Church’s commandment, just like the Monks Conclave… His senses don’t seem to have any problems at the moment, nor does he show any signs of increased lust. For the time being, there’s no way to guess what the price is… Sigh, I only hope that he doesn’t have a split personality. Otherwise, the benevolent Zennaga might switch to the cruel and dark Zennaga later…

Jiang Baimian knew that Zennaga might very well read her inner thoughts. She only believed that these were unimportant matters, a reaction that any normal human in the current situation would have. At most, she knew a little more about Awakened and had come into contact with the mechanical monk, Jingfa. This probably wouldn’t touch Zennaga’s sore spot, nor would it expose the Old Task Force’s countermeasures. They had zero escape plans, so how could they expose something they didn’t have?

Jiang Baimian looked at the black motorcycle ahead that turned into another street and turned to look at Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong in the backseat.

She was both amused and surprised to discover that Shang Jianyao’s expression was sometimes serious, sometimes happy, sometimes heavy, and sometimes relaxed. It was as if he was wearing a kaleidoscope mask.

Jiang Baimian deliberated and asked, “What are you thinking about?”

She wasn’t worried that her question would cause Shang Jianyao’s plan to leak out because it couldn’t be concealed in front of Mind Reading.

Shang Jianyao’s expression returned to normal as he nodded slightly. “Each of us is drawing up our own escape plan, but we aren’t voting on which one we’ll use. Even if he hears our discussion, it’s impossible for him to be on guard against every plan. When the time comes, we will vote according to the situation and immediately take action once it’s decided. This way, he will only know about it a couple of seconds in advance and won’t be able to deal with it appropriately. The code name we gave this method is ‘Bolt Out of the Blue.'”

It’s feasible in theory… Long Yuehong was stunned when he heard that. He actually felt that Shang Jianyao’s plan was rather good.

Jiang Baimian frowned and said, “The problem is that you—uh, all of you won’t be fully prepared for every plan before all of you cast the vote.”

This was equivalent to the unprepared versus the unprepared.

Shang Jianyao frankly replied, “That is the biggest difficulty of this method.”

He then added, “I have another way—it’s to keep thinking about it and make him constantly monitor us. We can spend the entire day thinking about things. He definitely can’t maintain his Mind Reading all day.”

Even if Mind Corridor-level Awakened were far superior to Shang Jianyao—who was at the Sea of Origins—their abilities were definitely limited.

Just as Shang Jianyao finished speaking, a voice sounded in Long Yuehong’s heart. It was a calm and indifferent voice. “Indeed, but you don’t know when I’m using Mind Reading and when I’m not.”

This… This is Zennaga’s voice? No, I didn’t hear it with my ears. It’s like it popped up in my head… Long Yuehong’s pupils dilated in surprise. He cast his gaze at Jiang Baimian, Shang Jianyao, and Bai Chen, trying to determine if he was hallucinating or imagining things from their reactions.

The next second, Jiang Baimian looked around and sighed. “His Mind Reading has reached a level where it can be used in reverse…”

Zennaga’s Mind Reading not only allowed him to hear the thoughts of the four Old Task Force members but also allowed them to hear Zennaga’s thoughts.

This is close to the telepathic experiments that the Old World wanted to conduct before it was destroyed… Jiang Baimian retracted her gaze and recalled some information she had read in the past.

Long Yuehong was a little pessimistic about whether he could escape Zennaga’s watch ahead of time.

Although Zennaga couldn’t use his Mind Reading all the time, the Old Task Force didn’t know when he was ‘listening in’ or when he wasn’t. Therefore, they had no way of confirming if he knew the plan they had made in advance.

What was even more terrifying was that Zennaga could ‘hear’ it and pretend not to hear it. He could watch coldly as the Old Task Force schemed and squeezed out all their secrets before easily snuffing out their hopes.

The current situation and pressure made Long Yuehong truly understand how terrifying an Awakened at the Mind Corridor level was. This wasn’t something that the off-form DiMarco and the clearly flawed Superior Heartless could compare to.

At the same time, Long Yuehong deeply realized something: In the Awakened domain, it was very important to gain the initiative!

The Old Task Force had previously been able to kill DiMarco and crack the Virtual World largely because they were lurking in the dark and obtained the initiative through intelligence. On the other hand, Zennaga possessed the two great abilities of Prescience and Mind Reading. They were simply synonymous with having the initiative.

Silence dominated the dark-green SUV. Jiang Baimian, Shang Jianyao, and the others didn’t speak for a long time.

Zennaga—who was dressed in a gray robe—rode a black motorcycle through the streets and alleys, leading the Old Task Force to the easternmost area of the Red Wolf Zone.

Just as they were about to leave the city, a temple appeared in front of Jiang Baimian and the others. It was seven stories high and had a yellowish-brown base that was dyed blue.

It had different pillars and large windows in the Red River style, as well as various statues of Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Wisdom Kings in the Ashlandic style. These statues were located along the periphery of the top five stories as if they were watching over the world.

“We’re almost there.” Zennaga’s voice sounded in Long Yuehong, Bai Chen, and the others’ hearts again.

At this point, it was obvious to Jiang Baimian that they would be placed under house arrest in this strange temple.

“Crystal Consciousness Church?” she guessed thoughtfully through examining the architectural style. Her voice wasn’t loud, but she knew that Zennaga could definitely hear her.

Zennaga slowed down the motorcycle. “Yes.”

Jiang Baimian momentarily couldn’t think of a way to escape and could only casually say, “Zen Master, we still have many items back at our residence. We can’t return for ten days. What if we lose them? Also, we were preparing to buy a solar charger board for the original car. We might not have the corresponding opportunity to do so ten days later if the chaos still happens. When that happens, we will be trapped in the city and be unable to take refuge in the wasteland.

“Zen Master, can you accompany us back first and settle these matters? If it’s expressly forbidden, you can send a couple of acolytes for the errand. I’ll give you the address and keys.”

Zennaga looked at the approaching temple and said calmly, “Okay, give me the address and keys later.”

Jiang Baimian’s heart skipped a beat when she heard that. She immediately nodded and said, “Thank you, Zen Master. By the way, we were out today to save a companion. He is trapped in his enemy’s residence and can’t find a chance to escape. Zen Master, saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda. You can’t bear to see him lose his life because of your prophecy, right?

“Why don’t we do this? You can accompany us to the place where he’s trapped and watch our actions to prevent us from escaping. Don’t worry; we don’t like to use force ourselves. We will definitely use words to resolve things whenever possible, so it won’t cause any chaos. If you’re really worried, you can personally help us save him. I have no objections, and I will even express my gratitude.”

Upon hearing his team leader’s words, words instantly flashed through Long Yuehong’s mind: A glib tongue.

If it were anyone else, Long Yuehong felt that his team leader’s words would definitely be useless. But from his performance just now, Zennaga might really be a benevolent monk.

Zennaga—who was wearing a gray monk robe—stopped his black motorcycle and got off. He then looked at the dark-green SUV behind him.

Bai Chen stepped on the brakes.

Jiang Baimian calmly endured Zennaga’s gaze because she really hadn’t thought of exploiting the rescue of Garibaldi to escape.

After a few seconds, Zennaga raised his left palm vertically. “Namo Annutara-Samyak-Subhuti, This Penniless Monk shall accompany you then.”