Embers Ad Infinitum

black uniform and was neither fat nor thin, reaching the standard height and weight.
Although this lady was walking alongside the young man, her bearing and attitude indicated that she was the leader.

The man looked to be 17 or 18 years old.
There was some hair above his lips, and he looked ordinary and unsophisticated.

After approaching the Old Task Force, the young man—who still had a hint of youth—took the initiative to introduce the lady beside him.
“This is Captain Ding from our border settlement.”

“Ding Ling.” The lady smiled and stretched out her right palm openly.

Upon hearing this slightly accented introduction, Jiang Baimian laughed.
“Were you the one who warned us over the broadcast?”

She also stretched out her right palm and gently shook her hand.

Ding Ling nodded.
“This is our duty as a border settlement.
We can’t permit suspicious people entry.
October Xue, right? Although I know that this is most likely an alias, it’s fine.
A name is only a designation.”

She then casually introduced the young man beside her.
“Zeng Ping’an.”

“Good name!” Shang Jianyao clapped, making the lad feel a little embarrassed.

“Beautiful hopes of peace by his parents,” Ding Ling explained simply.

Jiang Baimian then introduced her team members.
Of course, she only gave aliases.

As for Genava, he was now acting as an ordinary robot.
He had no name but a code name, so there was no need to introduce him.

After the two parties finished exchanging pleasantries, Shang Jianyao asked Ding Ling with a sense of responsibility, “If First City chooses to use this place as a breakthrough point, can a small settlement like yours—with dozens of people—really withstand it?”

He acted like a senior Salvation Army member.

At this moment, Ding Ling felt like she had encountered an inspection by her superior.

What has this got to do with you even if we can’t stop them!? She smiled and said, “We definitely can’t block them.
Our main purpose is to serve as an early warning system and use several different methods.

“Last year, this settlement encountered a sudden attack by First City.
After we gave the warning, we gave up on this place and retreated into the mountains in teams.
We then found an opportunity to sabotage the enemy along the way and slow down their advance.
As long as people remain alive, we can definitely establish a new settlement.”

Ding Ling’s answer was relatively detailed, and she mainly wanted to tell the strong team opposite her that the Salvation Army settlement had a mature plan for different enemies so that they shouldn’t take the risk.

“It must be very difficult and dangerous to retreat deep into the mountains, right?” Shang Jianyao had a look of concern.

Ding Ling was stunned for a moment before saying, “Yes.”

Her and Zeng Ping’an’s expressions flickered as if they recalled the various dangers back then.

After a few seconds, Ding Ling took the initiative to ask, “W-why do you want to go to Icefield?”

I noticed that you showed some concern toward Icefield… Jiang Baimian organized her words and said, “Before the Old World was destroyed, part of Icefield was still a place with relatively normal weather.
There were many human cities.
Later, the climate changed dramatically, and Icefield expanded and swallowed those areas.

“Due to Icefield’s climate restrictions and the small amount of arable land, there aren’t many wilderness nomads and Ruin Hunters there.
Many city ruins are still in relatively well-kept states, allowing us to return with a bountiful harvest.”

“That’s indeed the case.” Ding Ling nodded.
“Even our Salvation Army only organizes teams to gather resources from them most of the time during summer.
Yes, it will be midsummer if you head over now.”

She opened her mouth and paused.
After a while, she hesitantly asked, “When you reach Icefield, can you help me find out about someone?”

“Who is it?” asked the helpful Zen Master Redemption.

Ding Ling lowered her head and smiled.
“My husband.
His name is Ji Qiang, a researcher.
We originally met twice a year, but he participated in an expedition team that went to Icefield two years ago.
He said that he was carrying out a secret mission.
If he succeeded, he would be qualified to transfer me back to Ubei, and our family would be reunited.
However, I lost contact with him from then on.
His unit couldn’t give me a detailed answer due to confidentiality.”

Perhaps it was because he didn’t expect his captain to go into such excruciating detail that it involved job allocation and transfers, the young man beside her, Zeng Ping’an, felt a little awkward.

“I see…” Jiang Baimian thought for a moment and said, “If it’s just to find out about someone, it’s as easy as ABC..”

Ding Ling smiled sincerely.
“I have his photo here.
We took the picture in Ubei just after we got married.”

Ubei was one of the core Salvation Army cities.
The guns—Ubei 6 and Ubei 7—they produced were relatively common in the Ashlands.

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