Chapter 24

Because the military exoskeletons were designed with the issue of recovery after the wearer's death in mind, and Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong had become familiar with such items during their training over the past two months, they were not strangers to them. Therefore, Shang Jianyao only fumbled for a moment before finding the button and successfully shutting down the integrated system and the power pack.

After completing this step, the next task was a simple one—unfastening the metal clips at each joint.

As Long Yuehong worked on the clips at the elbow and wrist, he opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again.

He did this three times, hesitating, before finally suppressing his voice and asking:

"Weren't you nervous or afraid just now?"

Shang Jianyao, who was working on the legs, pointed at himself:

"Are you asking me?"

"Who else is here besides you?" Long Yuehong asked, both annoyed and amused.

Bai Chen was repairing the jeep behind them, and Jiang Baimian, holding a pistol, had moved to the other side. In the small area where the body lay, only he and Shang Jianyao were present.

Shang Jianyao patted the dead man's thigh:

"There's him too."

"..." Long Yuehong wanted to scold the guy but felt inexplicably afraid.

He remembered the stories adults often used to scare children.

Shang Jianyao's smile faded, and he nodded:

"Of course, I was nervous and afraid."

"But I couldn't tell at all," Long Yuehong blurted out.

Shang Jianyao nodded slightly:

"Because I told myself: my goal is to save all of humanity."

"..." Long Yuehong, who had grown accustomed to Shang Jianyao's occasional eccentricities, asked, "What does that have to do with it? I mean, why wouldn't you be afraid or nervous?"

Shang Jianyao answered solemnly:

"On the path to achieving this goal, sacrifices are inevitable."

At that moment, Long Yuehong didn't know whether to think Shang Jianyao was normal or not.

He quickly decided to drop the topic and asked:

"Aren't you feeling uncomfortable? You killed two people with your own hands.

"Just a short while ago, they were alive, able to talk and laugh, walk and jump, flesh and blood.

"Uh... not necessarily uncomfortable, but don't you have any special feelings?"

Shang Jianyao nodded almost imperceptibly:

"Yes."

Long Yuehong felt a strange sense of relief.

Shang Jianyao continued:

"I want to fire two more shots."

"..." Long Yuehong gave up trying to understand Shang Jianyao's thoughts.

Shang Jianyao glanced at him and looked toward the jeep behind them:

"We never intended to rob them, harm them, or shoot them, but they harbored ill will toward us from the start, tracked us, and attacked us at the first opportunity.

"If we hadn't performed exceptionally well and made one more mistake, we would be the ones lying here, being searched. Do you think they would have any special feelings about it?

"No, they would just sing, spit on us, eat our energy bars, our compressed biscuits, our military rations, and use the black swamp iron snakes we killed to make hotpot. Could you bear it?"

A similar scene flashed through Long Yuehong's mind, reminding him of the intense hunger he had often endured from childhood.

He suddenly became furious:

"No!"

After answering, he deflated like a basketball that hadn't been inflated in a long time:

"But I still don't feel quite right."

Hearing this, the corners of Shang Jianyao's mouth slowly curled into an exaggerated smile:

"This is the Ashland.

"Get used to it."

"You sound like you've never been to the surface before..." Long Yuehong muttered and buried himself in his work.

Before long, they had opened all the metal clips and removed the military exoskeleton from the body.

Jiang Baimian, who had returned to the jeep at some point, said thoughtfully:

"Long Yuehong, try it on and see if you can handle it."

Such things always made some men enthusiastic, and Long Yuehong was one of them. He didn't care about the blood still on the exoskeleton and hurriedly urged Shang Jianyao to help him adjust the length of the auxiliary skeleton, put on the power pack, wear the iron-black helmet, and lock the metal clips.

Once the integrated system completed its self-check, Long Yuehong looked and quickly reported:

"23% power left, it says it can be used for 1 hour and 55 minutes."

"Don't believe that. That's only if you maintain normal movement and do basic operations. If you want to fly and run like crazy, with all systems overloading, I estimate it would last half an hour at most," Jiang Baimian said, lifting her left leg and pointing at the dead man with her toe.

"Got it." Long Yuehong began performing various basic movements.

After a series of operations, he exclaimed:

"Team leader, this is much better than the one we tried at the company!"

Jiang Baimian chuckled:

"That one was a replica. Think about it, how strong can a company that specializes in biology be in mechanics and electronics?"

"True." Long Yuehong excitedly tested the other functions of the military exoskeleton.

Shang Jianyao remained crouched, searching every pocket of the body, even the inner layer of the underwear.

"In the end, only two packets of biscuits," he said, looking at the items in front of him with disgust.

These two packets of biscuits were not compressed, and the packaging had red river script, which Shang Jianyao could barely recognize as "scallion" and "soda" due to severe wear.

In Ashland, the two most common languages were Ashlandese and Red River, the former being the common language of "Pangu Bio" and "Salvation Army," and the latter mainly used in the Red River Basin and nearby regions, including "First City," "White Knights," and "Orange Company."

Besides the two packets of biscuits, Shang Jianyao found two letters and a badge.

One letter was neatly folded, the other casually crumpled.

Shang Jianyao unfolded the neatly folded letter and commented:

"This has been folded many times."

Jiang Baimian, after instructing Long Yuehong to be on guard, crouched next to Shang Jianyao and read the letter with him.

The letter was written in Ashlandese:

"Dear Father,

"I am doing well in First City. Although I still have some reading difficulties, my conversation is almost flawless, and no one can tell I come from the wilderness...

"...The hierarchy here is very strict, but compared to the outside, it is like heaven. As long as you follow their rules, obey those above you, and find your place, you can live a relatively smooth life...

"...Don't worry about my studies. With the help of a certain person, I have transferred to a proper college. If I graduate smoothly, I can shed the 'slave' identity and become a citizen...

"...I wonder if the town's food reserves are enough. Although it's still summer, I've heard from some classmates that this winter will be particularly harsh. I don't know the basis for their judgment, but I feel it's necessary to tell you to prepare early, even if it's a rumor, it's better to believe it and not ignore it...

"...You said you became a relic hunter, which is a good thing. Compared to being a bandit, this profession is safer, though it is also dangerous... Don't go to newly discovered city ruins, don't go to city ruins where few return, and don't be a bandit anymore, even though it can bring food to the town quickly...

"...I will try to find merchants in the city who dare to smuggle food, but I have no guarantee and no resources to exchange. I only hope that the children of the elders, whom that person introduced me to, might provide an opportunity...

"...Finally, I hope you stay healthy, that famine does not come, that Uncle Jishun, Uncle Jinfeng, Brother Ayu, and Brother Qianning are all doing well, and that they can bring enough food home. I hope everyone can wait for the Senate's recognition and be incorporated into First City as citizens, not slaves. Also, that person treats Mother well, so there's no need to worry...

"...Your little Anji."

After reading, Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao were silent for a long time.

"This is Ashland," Jiang Baimian said with a self-deprecating laugh after a while.

Shang Jianyao responded softly:

"He read this letter at least twenty times..."

The folds and condition of the paper allowed for a certain judgment.

Jiang Baimian wanted to tell Shang Jianyao that life in the wilderness was a matter of survival, and there was no need to feel guilty, but she suddenly remembered something and patted his shoulder:

"Everyone has two sides, sometimes more. How they treat their children is different from how they treat strangers.

"As a stranger, you don't need to care how the child will be without a father; you just need to be glad you're still alive.

"I know what you're thinking, and I've heard some rumors. I can confidently tell you that our company's people won't sink to the level of being wilderness bandits. If they rob, it will only be enemy supply convoys."

Shang Jianyao didn't speak, folded the letter, and put it back in the dead man's inner pocket.

Then, he unfolded the other, crumpled letter:

"Task Description:

"Explore the area north of Yuelu Station and gather intelligence on the target.

"Target Description:

"Male, unknown origin, about 1.8 meters tall, black hair, golden eyes, extremely handsome, and equally charming. He likes to wear trench coats, boots, and gloves, and his hair is always neatly combed, unlike a wilderness wanderer. Danger level: High.

"Reward:

"One ton of ordinary-grade flour (guaranteed by the Guild).

"Task Level:

"C, 100 credit points."

"This is a task document from the Hunter's Guild," Jiang Baimian explained, then picked up the badge Shang Jianyao had found, thinking, "Yuelu Station is an old-world relic in the Black Swamp wilderness. North of it is the deep marsh, where dangers abound."

As she spoke, Jiang Baimian examined the badge.

The badge was brass-colored, with a face with indistinct features on the front, and a knife and a gun engraved on the cheeks.

The back of the badge had a small chip embedded.

This was a badge from the Hunter's Guild.

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