Chapter 39

As Jiang Baomian inserted her left index finger into the hole in Jingfa's neck, the mechanical monk's metallic body seemed to lose its power, stiffening beside the passenger seat.

At the same time, Bai Chen lifted her right foot from the accelerator, leaned to the side, and tried to grab the grenade launcher that Jiang Baomian had placed on her lap as quickly as possible.

Seeing this, Long Yuehong and Shang Jianyao almost simultaneously reacted:

Long Yuehong quickly raised the "Berserker" assault rifle slung over her shoulder and aimed it at the back of Jingfa's head;

Shang Jianyao's body slightly leaned forward, his eyes suddenly becoming dark:

"Master, look..."

He had just spoken these four words when he saw Jiang Baomian's body suddenly collapse onto the passenger seat.

Her left hand hung limply, detached from Jingfa's neck, her eyes filled with confusion, and she muttered strange words:

"Who am I... What am I doing here..."

Snap!

The mechanical monk Jingfa's body returned to normal. He pressed down with his body, extended his left hand forward, and forcefully gripped Bai Chen's neck, preventing her from picking up the grenade launcher.

Bang! Bang!

The bullets fired by Long Yuehong accurately hit the back of Jingfa's head, but only sparked and created two small dents.

Moreover, the bullets that ricocheted almost hit Long Yuehong's face, flying out the window along the C-pillar of the jeep.

Witnessing this, Shang Jianyao's pupils dilated, but he still smoothly and quickly said:

"You have human consciousness, and I have human consciousness."

Jingfa, with one knee on the armrest, continued to grip Bai Chen's neck while turning his head to look at Shang Jianyao.

Perhaps because Shang Jianyao had been friendly and communicative, or perhaps because Shang Jianyao was not a woman, the mechanical monk did not immediately stop him but only stared at him with bright red eyes.

Shang Jianyao continued to speak rapidly:

"You are an Awakened,

"I am also an Awakened.

"So..."

Long Yuehong was taken aback and turned her head, while Jiang Baomian's eyes, which had been filled with confusion, regained some clarity.

The red light in Jingfa's eyes flickered rapidly and then returned to calm.

His cold, emotionless voice hesitated before speaking:

"So, we, should be friendly?"

"Yes!" Shang Jianyao nodded firmly.

Jingfa hesitated for two seconds and finally released his left hand from Bai Chen's neck.

At this moment, Jiang Baomian seemed to have shaken off the strange state she had been in, looking back and forth between Shang Jianyao and Jingfa, both surprised and puzzled.

Just as she was about to quietly pick up the grenade launcher, regardless of whether the explosion would affect them, she saw Shang Jianyao shake his head twice.

Jiang Baomian understood and let her hands leave the grenade launcher.

At the same time, she tightly closed her mouth, making no sound to avoid drawing Jingfa's attention.

During this process, she raised her right index finger to her lips, signaling Bai Chen to remain still.

Shang Jianyao continued to look at Jingfa, speaking with unusual sincerity:

"Master, we appreciate your kindness.

"Since we have traveled together for a long distance, let's part ways here?"

Jingfa thought for a moment, nodded, and said:

"Okay."

Shang Jianyao immediately turned, opened the car door, and got out, making room.

Jingfa did not linger and smoothly exited the jeep.

Long Yuehong, who had been watching from the beginning, had her mouth agape, feeling as if she were in a dream.

This was truly too bizarre and absurd!

Jingfa, who had just gotten out of the car, was about to fold his hands together, but Shang Jianyao extended his right hand first.

Jingfa hesitated for a second and then extended his right hand as well.

A flesh-colored human hand and a large hand made of black metal skeleton thus shook hands.

Shang Jianyao gently shook the hand a couple of times and then pulled it back.

He then sat back in the rear seat of the jeep and closed the door.

Seeing that the mechanical monk Jingfa was still standing there, not moving, Shang Jianyao raised his right hand and waved it through the open car window.

"Goodbye!" he said with genuine emotion.

The monk Jingfa, dressed in a monk's robe and a red kasaya, quickly responded, waving his hand:

"Goodbye."

Without needing Shang Jianyao to remind him, Bai Chen, who had already returned to the driver's seat, stepped on the gas, making the jeep speed off.

Jiang Baomian did not speak and did not let Bai Chen make a sound, only watching the mechanical monk in the yellow robe and red kasaya become smaller and more distant in the rearview mirror.

When she could no longer see this terrifying member of the monk sect, Jiang Baomian silently calculated the distance and asked in a low voice:

"How long will this effect last?"

Shang Jianyao, without any reservations, answered frankly:

"If the people, examples, and environment around him continuously reinforce the same answer, he will not be able to detect the truth until he encounters contradictory evidence or results.

"But now, there is no one or anything around him to tell him that we are friendly, so a cycle of confirmation cannot be formed. In five minutes or less, he should be able to detect the anomaly, as he clearly remembers that there were two women in our group, and he knows his attitude towards women."

Long Yuehong's mouth remained open, listening to Shang Jianyao's explanation as if she were listening to a radio host telling a story.

Jiang Baomian, without wasting words, immediately turned her head and said:

"Bai Chen, stop the car, we need to switch places."

"Leader, I am more familiar with the Black Swamp Wilderness," Bai Chen argued while gently pressing the brake without resistance.

Jiang Baomian did not rush to explain but first opened the car door, walked around to the driver's seat, and switched places with Bai Chen.

Once the jeep was moving again, she looked ahead and said:

"I have undergone genetic modification, gaining some unique abilities."

Upon hearing this, Bai Chen, Long Yuehong, and Shang Jianyao were all quite surprised.

Even within "Pangu Biotech," genetic modification technology was far from mature, with a high failure rate, and no one would willingly try it unless they had no other choice.

"This was done to save my life, along with the transplantation of a biological prosthetic," Jiang Baomian quickly explained. "I have a special type of cell in my body that can sense electrical signals within a certain range. When humans and animals move, their muscles contract and produce weak electrical signals. Therefore, as long as the enemy enters a certain range, regardless of whether they are hiding or being careless, I can easily detect their position and state."

"No wonder you detected the relic hunter in the exoskeleton suit earlier than I did..." Bai Chen suddenly understood.

Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong also immediately understood a previous confusion:

During their first night, Shang Jianyao had clearly detected human traces, but Jiang Baomian showed no curiosity and did not mobilize everyone to search the surroundings—she must have already known the characteristics and state of that human and made a judgment.

Jiang Baomian, while driving, quickly added:

"The black swamp iron snake was in a hibernation-like state, with very weak electrical signals. I thought it was just an ordinary animal and failed to detect it in advance. However, Jingfa is a mechanical monk, and his body movements rely on very strong electrical signals. I could detect him from a greater distance and judge what he was likely to do.

"Before he attacked, I was already prepared. I intentionally slowed down the car to lure him into attacking, hoping to seize the opportunity to destroy or severely damage him.

"I didn't tell you earlier because Jingfa is a persistent mechanical monk. If he targets us, he will relentlessly pursue us, which would be too dangerous. The best approach is to hurt him and temporarily disable his ability to chase us. Unfortunately, I didn't expect him to also be an Awakened, a mechanical monk who is also an Awakened, almost causing all of us to die.

"For this, I apologize.

"When Jingfa comes back, he will likely attempt a long-range attack. Only I can detect it in advance and make the car take evasive actions. Guiding through words would be too slow."

Bai Chen nodded, indicating understanding:

"I will pay attention to the road ahead and to the left and right, and tell you which direction to avoid.

"Using time as a reference, how about that?"

The back of her neck still bore five bloody finger marks, looking quite terrifying.

"Okay." Jiang Baomian slowed down the car, smoothly navigating around an obstacle.

At the same time, she looked at the rearview mirror and said:

"Shang Jianyao, Long Yuehong, quickly decide who will wear the exoskeleton suit. The person in the exoskeleton will be the main force against Jingfa."

Before Long Yuehong could speak, Shang Jianyao said firmly:

"I will."

He looked at Long Yuehong, who was trying to argue, and explained simply:

"Jingfa is also an Awakened, and you cannot balance with him in this aspect. I need the exoskeleton to help me close the distance."

"…Okay." Long Yuehong stood up, bent over, and together with Shang Jianyao, dragged the exoskeleton suit from the trunk to the seat.

Then, she assisted Shang Jianyao in putting it on.

"Remember to replace the high-performance battery," Jiang Baomian reminded.

Because very few major forces could produce truly high-performance batteries, only "Orange Company" and "Future Intelligence" could, while others could only produce inferior counterfeits suitable for civilian use within their own territories, many military devices used interchangeable high-performance batteries—there was a 50% chance. This time, the old team's luck was good, as the high-performance batteries needed for the jeep and the military exoskeleton suit were both standard products from "Future Intelligence."

"Okay." Shang Jianyao was very cautious in this regard.

After replacing the battery, Shang Jianyao, while wearing the energy backpack and metal skeleton, bent over to fasten the clips at the auxiliary joints and asked:

"Leader, why did you suddenly fail when you tried to hack into Jingfa's internal system?"

He suspected it was one of Jingfa's Awakened abilities.

He already knew two of them:

"Hungry Ghost Realm" and "Mind Reading."

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