Embers Ad Infinitum

Chapter 627: Dream Guardian

Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao were the only ones among the Old Task Force who had fought alongside Oudick.

Bai Chen was nonplussed about it. She looked at the road ahead through the windshield and said, “Shall we confirm his situation and find an opportunity to warn him?”

“Alright!” Shang Jianyao agreed without hesitation.

“How?” Long Yuehong was more concerned about this question.

The Old Task Force members were ‘infamous’ wanted criminals in First City’s sphere of influence.

Jiang Baimian pondered for a moment and replied, “We’ll do it the old-fashioned way. Hey, use Thought Guidance to find a Ruin Hunter to issue a mission at the guild that’s about how Oudick’s friend is looking for him. We can then wait for the other Ruin Hunters to help us confirm Oudick’s current situation and location.”

When the Old Task Force was previously wanted by the Hand of Order, they had relied on similar methods to deal with various matters in First City.

“No problem.” The rash Shang Jianyao began to crack his knuckles eagerly.

After completing the preliminary ‘work,’ the Old Task Force drove the jeep to a street near the Hunter’s Guild and parked at a relatively inconspicuous spot.

In less than an hour, Shang Jianyao’s new friend—a First City citizen who was too old to join the army and could only continue being a Ruin Hunter—entered this street.

His name was Autun. He wasn’t tall, and his black hair was very short. There were already fine wrinkles around his blue eyes.

At this moment, he looked around professionally. After confirming that nobody was paying attention to him, he walked to the Old Task Force’s jeep.

Shang Jianyao rolled down the window, stuck his head out, and waved at him.

Autun approached, bent down, and suppressed his voice. “There’s news regarding the Advanced Hunter you’re looking for.”

He didn’t continue and only smiled at Shang Jianyao.

“Are we still friends?” Shang Jianyao muttered as he took out three 5-Oray notes.

As they had confirmed that this mission required them to explore the Holm Fertility Center in Wasteland Ruin 13—which definitely required them to pass through First City’s sphere of influence—the supplies Jiang Baimian had applied for when the Old Task Force left Pangu Biology included notes worth 1,000 Oray.

In a sense, this might be one of the most convenient supplies to carry in the Ashlands.

Autun took the notes, raised them against the sun, and checked their authenticity. He then lowered his head and smiled. “Don’t you Ashlandics have a saying: Even brothers keep careful accounts? I took the risk and ran around to help you commission the mission and confirm the information. I deserve something for that, right!?”

Of the 15 Oray that Shang Jianyao had given him, 10 Oray was the mission payment that Autun had paid. In other words, he had only earned 5 Oray after all that work.

Of course, if it weren’t for the Old Task Force’s conscience, he would most likely suffer a loss of 10 Oray under Thought Guidance, much less earn money.

Shang Jianyao didn’t retort Autun. He restrained the expression on his face and asked seriously, “How’s Oudick now? Where is he?”

Autun subconsciously looked around to confirm that nobody was paying attention. After he retracted his gaze, he replied in a deep voice, “That Advanced Hunter named Oudick has gone crazy.”

“Crazy?” As Jiang Baimian narrowed her eyes, Shang Jianyao’s face revealed unconcealed anger.

“Yes.” Autun nodded heavily. “It likely happened yesterday morning. After his family discovered it, they sent him to the Red River Mental Hospital for treatment.”

Red River Mental Hospital was located in the Red Wolf Zone. It was the only specialized mental hospital in First City.

If one didn’t go there, they could only go to a few general hospitals’ psychiatry departments.

Sigh, something really went wrong… Another victim…?Long Yuehong had always been compassionate and empathetic. Furthermore, this wasn’t a stranger he didn’t know or hadn’t come into contact with.

Jiang Baimian glanced at Shang Jianyao, calmed down, and asked Autun again, “Any specific symptoms?”

“I’m not sure. It seems to be random shouting and smashing of things,” Autun replied. “I learned about it from a friend of his; he visited him at the mental hospital in the morning. If you want to know the exact situation, you have to pay attention to the time. Visiting hours at the mental hospital end at 6 p.m.”

Jiang Baimian nodded. “Alright, sorry to trouble you.”

“Thank you.” Shang Jianyao waved his hand weakly.

After Autun left, Jiang Baimian turned around and said to Bai Chen, Long Yuehong, and Genava, “It seems like Boss Ugo really died from the nightmare. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be such a coincidence.”

Advanced Hunter Oudick—who also had Awakened abilities in the dream domain—went crazy on the same night!

Before Bai Chen and the others could speak, the rash Shang Jianyao said in a deep voice, “I plan on visiting Oudick in the afternoon. I hope we can find the truth behind that nightmare!”

Jiang Baimian didn’t mention that the tragic encounters of acquaintances were a daily occurrence in the Ashlands. She nodded and said, “Alright.”

…

At 2 p.m., in the Red River Mental Hospital’s lobby.

The Old Task Force met Oudick’s wife, Laurice. She and Oudick had been married for less than a year.

“We’re Oudick’s friends. We heard that he’s sick and wish to visit him.” Jiang Baimian used the euphemism of being sick as a substitute for being crazy.

Laurice looked to be in her mid-twenties. She had brown hair and green eyes. She was of average build and wore a dark-colored culottes that made it easier for her to move in.

Jiang Baimian speculated that her family background before marriage was pretty good. At the very least, it afforded her the freedom not to get married at 15 or 16 years old.

Her words and actions also confirmed Jiang Baimian’s judgment. “It’s not convenient for Oudick to meet people now. It’s better if you wait for his condition to stabilize before visiting again.”

Before Shang Jianyao could speak, Jiang Baimian took the initiative to say, “We are also Ruin Hunters. We believe that there might be some hidden reason why Oudick fell so suddenly. If we can find some clues on him, it might help him recover as soon as possible.”

This sentence hit the nail on the head, and Laurice’s green eyes instantly clouded over.

As Laurice wiped the corners of her eyes, she sobbed and said, “You definitely won’t believe it. All I did was take a nap before waking up to find my reliable husband irritable, crazy, and difficult to communicate with. Nothing happened before that; everything was just like usual… It’s been a while since he took on missions that required him to go to very dangerous places!”

Jiang Baimian, Shang Jianyao, Bai Chen, and the others looked at each other and deliberated before saying, “Actually, we have some guesses. We met Oudick in the Hunter’s Guild’s lobby yesterday. He planned on taking on a mission called collective dream…”

As she wasn’t sure if Oudick eventually took it, Jiang Baimian used ‘planned.’

After describing the nightmare’s situation, she didn’t ‘hide.’ “Could Oudick’s sudden illness be related to that nightmare?”

Laurice’s expression changed a few times as she muttered to herself, “His fellow parishioners seem to have mentioned this…”

“Parishioners?” Shang Jianyao acutely grasped this term.

Laurice slowly exhaled and said, “My husband has always believed in February’s Kalendaria, Dawn, and has joined one of the Churches. They insist that dreams are dangerous. Nightmares will devour a person’s soul, causing the Heartless disease and various diseases to appear. It might even kill them directly. Therefore, Guardians are needed to patrol dreams and defend humanity. I think he—he might’ve been injured last night while fighting a nightmare…”

The more she thought about it, the more she felt that there was a certain connection between the nightmare and her husband’s madness.

Uh, the Dawn’s Morning Star doctrine…?Jiang Baimian first heard about this from Wang Beicheng. Later, she obtained the corresponding information from Pangu Biology.

At the same time, she also speculated that the Dream Keepers of Dawn’s Morning Star were rather proud of their identities. They were very willing to inform their parents, spouses, and children while keeping it from outsiders.

Without giving Laurice a chance to compose herself, Jiang Baimian made another request. “Madam, let us meet Oudick. There might very well be clues needed for his recovery hidden in his words and actions.”

Laurice hesitated for a few seconds before gritting her teeth. “Alright, I’ll talk to the doctor.”

Seven to eight minutes later, she led the Old Task Force members to the third floor.

At the end of the third-floor corridor stood a doctor in a white coat and a blue surgical mask. He said to Jiang Baimian and the others in the Red River language, “The patient is very aggressive. It’s best if you communicate through the iron door.”

Aggressive? Oudick clearly didn’t use his abilities. Otherwise, how could you still be standing??Just as Jiang Baimian had these thoughts, she heard thumping sounds coming from the iron door.

Oudick’s voice sounded in agitation. “A person on the left, a person on the right, with a small picture frame in the middle! One of your eyes is big, and the other is small. You’re not a good person. I’ll help you dig them all out!”