Chapter 33

Amidst the faint recitation echoing through the Water Enclosure Town, Long Yuehong opened her mouth but found herself at a loss for words, feeling an unusually complex emotion that was hard to describe.

None of the four spoke, seemingly engrossed in listening until the jeep drove out of the gate and headed toward the distance.

"What were they reciting? I didn't hear it clearly." Jiang Baimian glanced at the rearview mirror, her tone slightly regretful.

"Before my bed, the moon shines bright." Shang Jianyao repeated the opening line of "Thoughts on a Tranquil Night."

"Ah, I see..." Jiang Baimian sighed with emotion but didn't say more.

She drove the jeep carefully, navigating the difficult, crisscrossing roads in the marsh.

Once they were completely out of the area, Bai Chen looked ahead and spoke as if to herself:

"One of the reasons I want to become a formal member of the company is that I can borrow many books."

"It's not that special..." Long Yuehong, who had grown up inside "Pangu Bio," didn't find it particularly unusual, "In the ruins of the old world's cities, there were no books, no libraries?"

Bai Chen's gaze seemed to drift far away:

"There were, at first, many, but I wasn't born then.

"Later, many books were taken away by major forces and certain individuals. The remaining ones were used as easy-to-light firewood by relic hunters and nomads, gnawed and torn by rats and other animals, making them unusable. Only a few can be found and read.

"In the less explored ruins of cities, there might still be a large number of books, but those places are too dangerous."

After a brief silence, Shang Jianyao asked, his mind leaping:

"Can you read?"

"Yes, my father and mother taught me. After they died, they left me a good teacher." Bai Chen's expression softened, her lips curling slightly.

But her eyes were unfocused, as if she had just woken up in the middle of the night and was sitting with her knees hugged, staring aimlessly out the window.

Jiang Baimian glanced at Bai Chen and continued to focus on the road ahead.

She laughed and said:

"Can you speak a bit louder when you talk?

"Are you bullying me for having poor hearing? I'm starting to suspect you're saying bad things about me behind my back."

Long Yuehong's heart stirred, and she muttered softly:

"We're all saying it in front of you."

"We're all saying it in front of you." At the same time, Shang Jianyao responded to Jiang Baimian's "accusation."

Long Yuehong felt a bit pleased:

"Ha, how about that? Do I understand you well? Can I follow your train of thought!"

"How do you know I'm not deliberately letting you follow?" Shang Jianyao didn't back down.

"Good, when we go out for training, we need to maintain team morale. It should be both serious and lively; otherwise, the spirit can easily become overly tense, and it won't be long before it collapses." Jiang Baimian commented casually, "Alright, let's not talk about this. Let's discuss the experiences of Mayor Tian and see what useful information we can derive from the details he described, especially about the destruction of the old world."

Shang Jianyao seemed to have thought about it already and said:

"The 'Heartless' mainly appeared in larger cities, almost none in rural areas and small towns."

"The destruction of rural areas and small towns seems to have been caused by both war and geological disasters." Bai Chen added.

Jiang Baimian nodded slightly:

"War and geological disasters might be equivalent.

"Before the destruction of the old world, there might have been geological weapons, of course, this needs to be verified, and we need to find the relevant information by exploring certain city ruins."

Hearing this, Long Yuehong pondered and said:

"What is the relationship between the appearance of the 'Heartless' and the war?

"Did their appearance cause the war, or did the war trigger their appearance?"

"That can't be answered, there's not enough information." Jiang Baimian smiled, "This will be the main direction of our Old World Investigation Team's future work."

She glanced at the road, adjusted the steering wheel, and continued to pose questions to guide the team members' thinking:

"Why do you think the 'Heartless' initially appeared mainly in large cities and almost not in rural areas and small towns?"

"More densely populated cities? Is that an important condition for transmission?" Shang Jianyao answered, combining the definition of cities from the textbook.

Bai Chen said from another perspective:

"Cities are more important, so they are the main targets?"

"Possible." Jiang Baimian didn't deny it.

The four discussed these issues for a while. Although they couldn't draw conclusions, they all broadened their thinking and had a clearer idea of the investigations and data collection they needed to do in the future.

As the jeep drove at a moderate speed, Jiang Baimian posed another question:

"What do you think about the person the relic hunters are looking for?

"The one with black hair and golden eyes, whom the residents of Water Enclosure Town have encountered."

Long Yuehong drew a breath:

"He seems very strange, not only mysterious in origin but also strange in himself.

"Normally, no one can win the affection of a group of people, both men and women, at first sight!"

"Actually, I'm a bit curious, curious about what he looks like and how charming he is." Jiang Baimian laughed, "But you're right, that is quite strange. For someone who can create such strange phenomena, my first reaction is to categorize them as Awakened."

"Why?" Shang Jianyao blurted out.

Bai Chen showed no confusion at the term "Awakened," clearly aware of the existence of such people.

Jiang Baimian eased off the gas, slowing the car slightly:

"Awakened individuals, in addition to having bizarre and terrifying abilities, may also exhibit strange and different behaviors from normal people. Yes, these behaviors are as varied as their abilities, with a low probability of being the same."

"An Awakened individual appearing in the Black Marsh Wilderness is definitely not just for survival." Bai Chen looked out the window, gazing into the depths of the marsh, "He might be looking for something... the depths of the marsh may hide significant secrets."

Jiang Baimian nodded:

"Indeed. Forget it, let's not talk about it. Our route won't pass north of Yuelu Station. Besides, it's too dangerous to take two new members to participate in such an unusual event. We can only report it to the company when the opportunity arises.

"Long Yuehong, Bai Chen, you can rest now.

"Ah, ha, Bai Chen, don't sleep yet, tell me how to proceed..."

"..." Bai Chen looked at Jiang Baimian, somewhat doubting whether this was still the previously reliable team leader.

Thus, the jeep traveled through the Black Marsh Wilderness and stopped at a cement intersection overgrown with weeds by noon.

"This is the first stop of our field training." Jiang Baimian got out of the car and pointed to the left side of the jeep.

Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong followed, looking in the direction the team leader pointed.

There was a sloping side road, the cement surface cracked by clumps of weeds and plants, with almost no intact areas.

On the left side of the road, what was once a field had been mostly swallowed by the marsh, with the remaining area covered in various plants. On the right side, there were three buildings forming an open square, one of which had collapsed, and the others were covered with ivy and other plants.

At the end of the road was a fairly large square, with more four-, five-, and six-story buildings on both sides, as well as a very large and tall bungalow.

They were partially collapsed, the rest mixed with green, indistinguishable from each other.

At the end of the square was a large, iron-black, double-opening gate wide enough for four jeeps to pass side by side. The gate was completely open, revealing a row of buildings that didn't look like residences.

Behind these buildings, where Shang Jianyao and the others couldn't see, several brick-red or gray-black "chimneys" rose into the sky, quite spectacular.

Their walls were embedded with iron-black, very simple stairs. The higher up, the sparser the green plants in the cracks.

After Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong observed for a while, Jiang Baimian explained:

"In the future, our team will often enter the ruins of old-world cities, especially those rarely visited or undiscovered, which will be quite dangerous.

"So, you need to adapt to such places in advance and gain some experience."

"But this doesn't look like a city." Long Yuehong couldn't help but say.

Jiang Baimian laughed:

"Of course, we have to start with the lowest difficulty.

"This used to be a steel plant with a complete social structure, like a miniature city. You can see, the buildings by the road are a hospital and a radio station.

"Right, this place has been visited by relic hunters many times, and most valuable things are already gone.

"Your tasks today are mainly two:

"One, find some food here, whether it's something others missed or targeting the wild beasts that appear here.

"Two, draw a complete map and mark all key points.

"How about that, simple, right?"

Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong didn't answer, as their experience couldn't determine whether this was simple or difficult.

Jiang Baimian looked at the steel plant again:

"Relic hunters often appear here. If you encounter them, you need to learn how to deal with them, how to interact, and how to exchange information and supplies."

"Team leader, didn't you say that most valuable things are already gone here? What are those relic hunters doing here?" Long Yuehong asked, slightly surprised.

Jiang Baimian chuckled:

"Isn't there a saying? Even a rotten ship has three pounds of nails, let alone such a large steel plant?

"If they don't find anything elsewhere, they might come here and find something useful.

"Previously, a relic hunter dug up the ground and removed a section of the main water pipe, then took it back and exchanged it for some food."

Seeing Long Yuehong and Shang Jianyao nod slightly, indicating no more questions, Jiang Baimian turned her body:

"Let's start.

"I and Bai Chen will stay here and watch the car. If you encounter problems you can't solve, send a signal for help. If you need guidance, come back within two kilometers and use the walkie-talkie."

PS: Please give me a recommendation vote~

PS2: I recommend a book, "The Great Yu's Journey," a book about exorcism, poetry, and food.