Embers Ad Infinitum

After hearing Ren Jie's answer, Shang Jianyao thought for two seconds and continued to ask:

"Who is the Holy Master?"

Ren Jie smiled:

“This is not what you should know now.

"When you become a 'guide', the Holy Master will take the initiative to summon you.

"At that time, you will know who he is."

Shang Jianyao asked without any discouragement:

"Then how do you become a 'guide'?"

"There is enough performance." Faced with the newly born godson, Ren Jie was very patient.

Before Shang Jianyao could ask again, she added:

"As long as you perform well enough, the Holy Master will not ignore you."

As she spoke, her expression became serious again:

"The Holy Master is always watching us."

At this time, people who were returning one after another because the street lights were about to go out passed by here one after another. Ren Jie glanced around and said:

"We'll talk about anything else later."

Shang Jianyao nodded slightly at first, and then said quickly:

“I just couldn’t scream;

"Let's forget about what happened just now..."

After saying that, he turned around and left without giving Ren Jie a chance to ask.

Ren Jie was stunned for a moment, then laughed and cursed:

"This kid is so embarrassed..."

…………

The next morning, Shang Jianyao had breakfast and came to Room 14 on the 647th floor.

Jiang Baimian was earlier than him and had already looked through some information there.

"So early?" Jiang Baimian raised his head and smiled, "Do you want to practice fighting again?"

She looked eager to try.

Shang Jianyao walked to her desk, pulled out a chair and sat down.

He asked directly without making any greetings:

"Team leader, is the ability of an awakened person to cause cardiac arrest?"

"I'm not sure. I don't know enough about the abilities of the awakened ones." Jiang Baimian replied with some confusion, "If it's not a direct cardiac arrest, but an indirect method, then I know a , Haha, you should also be able to think of, yes, that nightmare horse’s ‘real nightmare’ ability. Once you die in a dream, reality is likely to manifest as cardiac arrest.”

"You weren't sleeping at the time. Were you working?" Shang Jianyao asked without hiding anything.

"So detailed? Did it really happen?" Jiang Baimian was so keen that he immediately noticed something was wrong.

She immediately thought of the news on the hour last night, frowned slightly and said:

"Wang, what is Wang, the director of the 'Material Supply Market' who died of cardiac arrest?

"Do you suspect that he was killed by an awakened person?

"Is there any evidence? Within the company, many people die every year due to heart problems."

Shang Jianyao said calmly:

“I joined a religious order within the company, and they met regularly to distribute Holy Communion.

"Yesterday morning, they accused Wang Yafei at the meeting of desecrating the sacred birthright and using power for personal gain to suppress a certain member of the religious sect.

“At that time, the ‘facilitator’ in charge of our floor said: ‘God will punish sinners’.

"Wang Yafei died less than four hours later."

"This is indeed a bit suspicious." Jiang Baimian commented cogently, and then came to his senses, "Wait a minute, you said you joined a secret sect? Is there any religious belief born or invaded in the company?"

This is the big problem!

"Those who believe in command will be held in December." Shang Jianyao's tone was very calm, as if he was discussing who the principal of the elementary school on this floor was.

Jiang Baimian wanted to laugh again, but also felt a little weird. He didn't go around in circles and asked directly:

“Since you think the sect is suspicious, then go directly to the ‘Order Supervisor’ to report it.

"This is a performance of meritorious service, so don't worry about being implicated.

"Or are you reluctant to part with that cult?"

"One thing is that their Holy Communion is delicious." Shang Jianyao replied sincerely.

Jiang Baimian had long given up the idea of ​​​​arguing with Shang Jianyao, and forced out a smile and said:

"Is that the reason?"

Shang Jianyao was silent for two seconds and said seriously:

“Most of the members of the cult are good people, and they all joined the cult because of some sad past events.

"They didn't do anything bad. They gathered together mainly to find spiritual sustenance and comfort each other."

Jiang Baimian nodded thoughtfully:

"Are you worried that after the company finds out about the cult, they will be implicated and face severe punishment?

"If it turns out that Wang Yafei's death was indeed normal and the whole thing was just a coincidence, then is it really unjust for the cult to be reported and dealt with?"

Shang Jianyao said "hmm", indicating that this was his concern.

Jiang Baimian's eyes moved slightly, then he smiled:

"You are willing to tell me the secrets related to the Order because I am trustworthy?"

"Yes." Shang Jianyao didn't hide it.

The smile on Jiang Baimian's face became more and more obvious.

At this time, Shang Jianyao added:

"Even if you are not trustworthy, I can rely on the ability of the 'reasoning clown' to make you trustworthy."

"..." Jiang Baimian squinted his eyes, raised his left hand, and let tiny silver-white electric arcs fly in his palm, "Say what you just said again."

"Yes, you are trustworthy." Shang Jianyao followed the good advice.

Jiang Baimian put down his palm and asked casually:

"Why would you think of discussing it with me?"

"You have a better mind." Shang Jianyao was quite honest.

Jiang Baimian smiled again:

"It's good to know."

She asked curiously:

"If you were left to do it yourself, how would you handle this matter?"

Shang Jianyao had already considered this question and answered it very smoothly:

"Find the Holy Master above the 'Guide', find the person who gave the order, find the awakened person who performed the task, find the restless senior leaders of the sect, and kill them all secretly.

"Then the Order is completely harmless, a place where everyone shares their knowledge, worries, and food."

He said it was like going to the "supply market" to buy some groceries on a day off.

Jiang Baimian didn't know how to comment for a moment. After a few seconds, he said:

"This is a bit difficult... Awakened ones with the ability of 'cardiac arrest' are not easy to deal with, especially in such a narrow environment within the company. Besides, there may not be only one awakened person in the sect, and maybe some of the higher-ups do as well. , if you want to kill them all, the difficulty is too high, and there is a high probability that you will die.

“In addition, it is basically impossible to cover up the past after killing so many people.

"Do you think the company is just a decoration?"

Jiang Baimian followed this idea and continued:

“Although you have the ability of ‘reasoning clown’, when you do your own investigation, you definitely can’t compare to a company taking the lead. This can mobilize all resources to quickly find out the truth and solve the problem.

“So, my advice is still: report it to the company.

"As for those ordinary members of the cult, as long as they really haven't done anything bad, the company's punishment will not be too severe, and they will just teach them a lesson. After all, everyone is a valuable resource.

"Moreover, you can use your own merit to help reduce their punishment."

Jian Shang Jian Yao showed a thoughtful expression, and she added:

“Everyone lives here and they definitely want the company to be stable.

"If you keep covering up similar problems and try to solve them on your own, they will only become more serious."

Shang Jianyao stood up:

"I'm going to the Order Supervision Bureau right away."

"Stop, stop! Don't be so hasty, I haven't finished speaking yet!" Jiang Baimian quickly called this guy back.

Shang Jianyao sat down again, looked at Jiang Baimian, and waited for her next words.

Jiang Baimian said "hmm":

"First tell the story again, exactly as it is."

Shang Jianyao recalled his memories without any secret, and even told what time he went to the toilet.

Jiang Baimian listened very carefully and did not interrupt Shang Jianyao's statement, so as not to affect his thinking and cause omissions.

But even though she was already very familiar with Shang Jianyao's style, after hearing that the other party took the initiative to call Ren Jie "mom" in order to "gain the trust" of Ren Jie, she still opened her mouth slightly, surprised and wanting to laugh.

"...Every time I feel that I know you well enough, you refresh my knowledge again." Jiang Baimian sighed helplessly.

Then, she nodded slightly and said:

"There's something illogical about this."

"Where?" Shang Jianyao asked very cooperatively.

Jiang Baimian organized his words and said:

"If Wang Yafei died two or three weeks later, or a month later, then I think there would be no problem and it would be normal to proceed.

"But at early 6 a.m., the 'leader' had just defined Wang Yafei as a sinner and said that God would punish sinners. More than three hours later, Wang Yafei died of cardiac arrest.

"This will bring about an obvious problem, that is, all members present at the time will associate Wang Yafei's death with divine punishment."

"Yes, that's it." Shang Jianyao confirmed Jiang Baimian's statement, "Everyone thinks so."

Jiang Baimian immediately smiled and asked:

"Then how did they react?

"Is there awe, fear, panic, confusion?"

Shang Jianyao nodded.

Jiang Baimian continued:

"Under such an explosive emotional impact, different members will inevitably make different choices based on their own personalities and experiences.

"I admit that most people will become more and more reverent to the gods, completely believe in the existence of Si Ming, and become extremely religious, but there will definitely be a small number of members, either because of fear, panic, or a sense of guilt or justice. , and thought of reporting it to the company.

"You are a clear example of that."

Shang Jianyao thought for a while and roughly understood what Jiang Baimian meant:

"If Wang Yafei's death had been put a month later, and everyone had a buffer, the impact would not be so great. Instead, they would have more associations and speculations, and become more reverent to the gods. But now, under such a huge impact, different people People are likely to make different choices?”

Jiang Baimian nodded solemnly and said:

“That brings up a thought.

"Why are the higher-ups of the sect so sure that no one will betray them?

"Two explanations. One, they are religious lunatics who do not consider the consequences or their own safety. They just want to judge the guilty. Second, they are sure that the betrayal and reporting will not succeed."

Jiang Baimian then looked into Shang Jianyao's eyes and asked seriously:

"Which one do you think it is?"

PS: Second update, please vote for me~