Chapter 32

Deep into the night, the wind was bleak, and the rain was bitter, as if the entire Shuwei Town had been swallowed by darkness, with only a few scattered lights piercing through.

The previous noise, clamor, and the mixed odors quickly dissipated, leaving Shang Jianyao with a sense of isolation and silence from the world.

In the rain curtain around the wooden shed, several town guard members patrolled in areas that could provide shelter, while others put on the dark raincoats and large woven bags they had prepared in advance, moving back and forth on the walls and wooden frames.

Under the light of the bulbs, the raindrops fell like a string of pearls, densely and continuously.

"There used to be two diesel generators here, but one broke down and couldn't be fixed. Well, for a settlement in the wilderness, a lack of electricity isn't a serious issue; food, clothing, weapons, and clean water are the most critical resources." Bai Chen casually mentioned a few words.

Jiang Baimian added with a smile:

"Can you speak louder? Well, food and clean water determine whether you can survive, clothing determines whether you will freeze to death or get sick, and weapons determine whether others will leave you food, clothing, and clean water."

She glanced to both sides, noticing the heavy rain, and then clapped her hands:

"Fix the jeep tomorrow morning. This is the first 'lesson' of tonight's field training.

"We need to review the previous battle and summarize our experiences and lessons.

"Everyone should describe their choices and experiences from their own perspective. Bai Chen, you go first."

As a relatively new member of "Pangu Bio" who hadn't participated in such training before, Bai Chen didn't expect there to be a 'post-battle review.' She was somewhat hesitant, clearly unprepared.

However, she wasn't resistant. She had been able to survive for so many years in the wilderness partly because she often reflected and remembered her mistakes.

After organizing her thoughts, she began to review every detail from her first encounter with the part-time bandit and the relic hunter group.

After her, it was Shang Jianyao, followed by Long Yuehong, and finally Jiang Baimian.

Jiang Baimian finished and looked at Shang Jianyao:

"Your decision to proactively attack and shoot the two motorcycle riders was very decisive but also very reckless.

"If it weren't for... your good luck, you would most likely have been the one to die."

She paused and then continued:

"However, luck is also part of your strength. You need to balance the two and try to be more confident."

Shang Jianyao initially listened with a slightly puzzled expression, then nodded thoughtfully, acknowledging the team leader's words.

Long Yuehong thought Jiang Baimian's last few words were a joke and didn't give them much thought. She frowned and raised her biggest concern:

"Team Leader, you said the bandit leader in the exoskeleton suit made a mistake in judgment and was not cautious enough, which is why we were able to take him down.

"So, if a person in a similar exoskeleton suit didn't make such a big mistake, how would we deal with him?"

Jiang Baimian looked at Long Yuehong:

"Why do you think there's a way to deal with it?

"Not making a big mistake means the person in the exoskeleton suit has considerable experience and physical strength. Such a person, equipped with an exoskeleton suit, is a powerful weapon on the battlefield, an elite among elites.

"Given our small numbers, lack of heavy weapons, and only one grenade launcher that we haven't had the chance to use, how could we possibly deal with such an enemy? Are you underestimating military-grade exoskeleton suits?"

"That means..." Long Yuehong realized they had been walking on the edge of hell.

Jiang Baimian looked around and said:

"The best time to deal with such an enemy is before they put on the exoskeleton suit.

"If you miss that opportunity, you need to race against them before they close the distance. Military-grade exoskeleton suits aren't much faster than a high-speed jeep, and some models are even slower, with poorer endurance.

"Unfortunately, we encountered terrain changes and a battle with the Black Swamp Iron Snake, leaving us in a dire situation. If that guy hadn't been hesitant and hadn't been so careful about conserving energy and protecting the loot, we would have been half-dead or more in the first round of attacks."

Long Yuehong's face turned pale, gaining a deeper understanding of the dangers of the gray earth. Shang Jianyao and Bai Chen listened intently, sensing that Jiang Baimian hadn't finished speaking.

Jiang Baimian said:

"Before Shang Jianyao killed the motorcycle riders and enraged that guy, I had two plans.

"One was to immediately surrender to close the distance. As long as we could get within a certain range, even if we were severely injured and immobilized, I had a way to counterattack."

She smiled sarcastically:

"The biggest problem with this plan was that Bai Chen and I had a good chance of surviving and becoming captives, at least temporarily, while you two would likely be shot dead unless they had a preference for men."

Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong's expressions instantly became very complex.

Seeing their reactions, Jiang Baimian said with a good mood:

"The second plan was to exploit the guy's excessive caution and hesitation, setting a trap that he couldn't avoid. If he couldn't avoid it, I had a high chance of hitting his unprotected vital points."

"What kind of trap?" Long Yuehong blurted out.

Jiang Baimian looked at him for two seconds, then shrugged:

"I hadn't thought it through yet."

"..." Long Yuehong and Shang Jianyao's facial muscles twitched slightly.

Jiang Baimian immediately became "angry and embarrassed":

"The situation was sudden, how could I have thought it through so quickly?

"While I was still thinking, the situation changed, and I didn't need to waste my brainpower anymore!"

She then turned her head and looked at Bai Chen, who was listening quietly:

"Do you have anything to add?"

Bai Chen thought for a moment and said:

"Most bandits in the wilderness aim to rob resources, not to kill.

"If there's no other way, I would consider abandoning the jeep and its contents, for example, letting the vehicle drive into the swamp unmanned to distract them, and then hiding in another direction of the swamp.

"Many areas in the large swamp can be traversed by humans, but not by those wearing exoskeleton suits due to their excessive weight."

Jiang Baimian nodded in satisfaction:

"Good, this is the difference in thinking between a wilderness wanderer and someone from a major power when dealing with the same situation.

"Did you learn anything?"

Clap, clap, clap. Shang Jianyao clapped at the right moment, and Long Yuehong also subconsciously joined in.

What am I doing... Long Yuehong quickly realized and awkwardly responded:

"I learned, but I need to digest and absorb it slowly."

After reviewing the battle, the four people took turns on guard duty in pairs, as they had done the previous night.

Because it had rained, the night was much colder than the previous one. The charcoal provided by Tian Erhe was limited, so they took out thick cotton coats from the trunk and wrapped themselves in them.

The rain pattered, washing everything in the enveloping darkness until the sky gradually brightened and the rain finally stopped.

Shuwei Town had a mature and complete drainage system, so there was no standing water, but the ground was wet, and some soil had become muddy.

Bai Chen, using the water, finished eating the compressed biscuits and began to replace the parts of the jeep, performing a relatively simple repair.

At this moment, Tian Erhe walked over in the morning mist and asked with a smile:

"Can you fix it, Bai girl?

"If you can fix it, we will take the light machine gun and the motorcycles."

"It can be fixed." Bai Chen didn't turn around but raised her hand to indicate.

Tian Erhe immediately called out to the surrounding town guard members:

"Come, move that machine gun.

"Oh, I feel like you've given too much. How about this, I'll add another tent for you?"

"Sure." Jiang Baimian had no objections.

At this moment, Tian Erhe saw the Black Swamp Iron Snake skin on the roof of the jeep.

"This...?" His eyes widened, "Did you do this?"

When the jeep arrived yesterday, the sky was dark due to the thick clouds, and they hadn't seen clearly what was tied to the roof, assuming it was a black tent.

Following Tian Erhe's gaze, the surrounding town guard members saw the snake skin that gave a strong sense of oppression.

"Black Swamp Iron Snake..." Someone whispered the name of this nightmare.

Jiang Baimian laughed softly:

"This guy was too big, so we could only strip off the outer skin."

The people of Shuwei Town fell silent, and Jiang Baimian felt a bit awkward.

She had nothing to do, so she looked at the town, which was gradually becoming lively, and asked:

"Mayor, can we walk around and look around?"

"Sure, where do you want to go? I can take you there?" Tian Erhe adjusted his hat, "How about going to the classroom? You seemed interested in our classes, right?"

In the clear morning light, the wrinkles on his face were more noticeable and profound.

"Sure." Jiang Baimian turned to Shang Jianyao, "Follow me. Long Yuehong, help Bai Chen keep an eye on the surroundings."

Shang Jianyao didn't refuse and followed Jiang Baimian and Tian Erhe to the three buildings arranged in a "pin" shape.

On the way, they passed through an area with various houses built in a chaotic manner, seeing some walls with holes that could only be blocked with wood and straw, seeing some townspeople drink a cup of cold water and rush to the fields behind the town, seeing a tent that had become wet from last night's rain and seemed to be leaking, and seeing people with yellowish, thin bodies and tattered clothes heading in different directions.

After passing through this area, they reached a small square made of cement. The flagpole on the flag-raising platform was still there, but the flag was missing.

Shang Jianyao and Jiang Baimian followed Tian Erhe, bypassed the front building, and entered the left building at the back, going up to the third floor.

One side was a corridor with railings, and the other side was divided into small rooms, with adequate lighting and good ventilation.

After a few steps, Tian Erhe led them to a relatively large room.

Through the bright and clean glass window, Shang Jianyao and Jiang Baimian saw about twenty desks and chairs inside, with narrow aisles and small gaps.

At that moment, about twenty children under ten years old, wearing various tattered and dirty clothes, sat behind the desks and chairs, looking up at the podium, listening to the teacher attentively.

Some of them were shivering slightly, still not fully adapted to the morning cold, and some had their younger siblings hanging from their chests in swaddling clothes, occasionally soothing them.

They were both boys and girls, with different appearances, but all had straight backs and sat properly.

Shang Jianyao glanced at the timetable on the wall:

"Morning exercises... General knowledge... Chinese... Math... History..."

"These are the middle-grade students." Tian Erhe whispered, not wanting to disturb the children inside.

Jiang Baimian focused for a few seconds and said:

"Let's go, we don't want to disturb them."

After touring Shuwei Town with Tian Erhe, the two returned to the wooden shed, where Bai Chen had already fixed the jeep.

Since Shuwei Town didn't have much food, especially meat, Jiang Baimian didn't try to trade again and said to Tian Erhe:

"Mayor, we need to leave."

Tian Erhe nodded lightly:

"I hope to see you again."

"Sure." Jiang Baimian smiled and nodded.

"Sure." Bai Chen responded at the same time.

They quickly packed their belongings and got into the jeep. This time, Jiang Baimian was driving.

As the jeep slowly approached the gate with the barbed wire, Shang Jianyao, Long Yuehong, and others looked back at the area with densely built and chaotic buildings.

The townspeople had already gone to the fields or gone out hunting, leaving only a few at home.

This made the area look even more dilapidated and desolate.

In the silent silence, Shang Jianyao and others suddenly heard a clear and innocent voice from the deepest building:

"Beside my bed, the moon shines bright,

"Like frost on the ground, it seems so light.

"Raising my head, I gaze at the moon so high,

"Lowering my head, I think of my home, so far and nigh."

Note 1: The poem is from Li Bai's "Thoughts on a Tranquil Night."

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