Embers Ad Infinitum

have the strength, nor was it because Shang Jianyao had grabbed his shoulder, causing his joints to be locked.
It was because he couldn’t do such an action; it was as if he never had such capabilities.

A layer of cold sweat immediately covered Qiao Chu’s back.
He instinctively turned his head and looked at Shang Jianyao in the back row.
“What are you doing?”

Shang Jianyao’s gaze burned as he gripped Qiao Chu’s shoulder tightly.
A crazy smile appeared on his lips.
“I want to f*ck you!”

Jiang Baimian’s mouth opened slightly.
She didn’t know whether to curse, laugh, or stop him.

Long Yuehong and Bai Chen—who were clueless about the situation—were both surprised and confused at this moment.
They also felt like they were witnessing a god—no, a devil—descend upon the mortal world.

Qiao Chu’s expression distorted, but his face did not flush as if he had encountered many such situations.

An invisible ripple suddenly appeared in his golden eyes.

As Qiao Chu desperately resisted the force Shang Jianyao exerted to drag him back, he turned his head and gently said to Bai Chen, “Give him a toy.”

Bai Chen was confused and habitually stepped on the brakes.
In a daze, she opened the armrest compartment and took out a few pieces of paper and a ballpoint pen.

At this moment, Shang Jianyao was a little impatient.
His hands suddenly changed positions.

His left hand gripped Qiao Chu’s neck, and his right hand clenched into a fist.
He was about to smash the area under the other party’s ear in an attempt to knock him out and break down all his resistance.

Almost at the same time, Qiao Chu’s body became extremely soft like a large, humanoid python.
As Qiao Chu shrunk and swung, his neck strangely broke free from Shang Jianyao’s grasp as though he was extremely slippery.

He then spoke quickly with a gentle voice.
“Is drawing not fun?”

Shang Jianyao’s actions instantly stopped, and his expression revealed inconcealable perplexity and confusion.
He then looked at Bai Chen and took the pen and paper from her hand.

The smile on his face became clearer.

After receiving the pen and paper, Shang Jianyao eagerly sat down and used his thigh as a cushion to draw.
He had a very focused expression and was extremely quiet, like a child obsessed with their hobby.

Upon seeing this, Qiao Chu finally heaved a sigh of relief.
He glanced around coldly and chuckled without any smiling intent.
“So there is an Awakened among you.
Unfortunately, so am I.”

His hands had already returned to normal, and his right hand was gripping the United 202 gun’s handle.
This was his own pistol.

After hesitating for a few seconds, Qiao Chu gave up on the idea of shooting Shang Jianyao.
He smiled and said, “Praise my benevolence and tolerance.
I still have uses for you.
I don’t accept your obsession, but it’s understandable.
Even a horse chased after me for more than 100 kilometers.”

Jiang Baimian was entranced by his words and sincerely praised him.
“How impressive.”

“How impressive.” Shang Jianyao drew without raising his head as he repeated Jiang Baimian’s words.

Jiang Baimian then asked, “Where are you from?”

“Where are you from?” Shang Jianyao repeated again.

Jiang Baimian couldn’t help but glare at Shang Jianyao.
After thinking for a few seconds, she chuckled and said, “I have breasts, but you don’t.”

Shang Jianyao was just about to repeat her words when his expression suddenly turned confused.
After a few seconds of silence, he focused again and quietly continued drawing.

At this moment, Qiao Chu had already sat up straight and answered Jiang Baimian’s question in a deep voice.
“That’s not something you should know.”

“I understand.” Jiang Baimian didn’t mind and smiled sweetly.

Qiao Chu turned to look at Bai Chen, who had already stepped on the brakes.
“Continue.”

Bai Chen had no objections.

Under Qiao Chu’s instructions, they traversed the vine ‘forest’ deep in the swamp.
During this process, Shang Jianyao kept drawing until he completed a piece of work.

He then seemed to break free from a dream and looked at the child’s scrawl in surprise.
He looked up at the back of Qiao Chu’s head and remained silent.

As time passed, his condition became similar to Long Yuehong and the others.
However, he did not forget to fold the drawing in his hand and put it in his pocket.

Jiang Baimian tried to peek at what Shang Jianyao had drawn but failed.

After moving forward for a few hours, a swarm of mosquitoes—each the size of fingers with dark-red heads—suddenly flew out of the greenish-black and slightly red vines.

“How unlucky…” Qiao Chu couldn’t help but curse when he saw this.

Bai Chen’s body instinctively tensed up.

One swarm, two swarms, three swarms.
More and more giant mosquitoes flew out from the different vines, forming a black mass.

These hideous, dark-red-headed mosquitoes gathered together like black smoke that filled the air.
They were densely packed together, blotting out the sky and covering every gap.

Under such a scene, they looked like an army from hell or a curse from the Old World.

“Close the windows tightly and rush over!” Qiao Chu ordered in a deep voice.