Chapter 40

Jiang Baimian was very busy. She had to keep her eyes on the road ahead, fearing that she might drive the jeep into a swamp or have the car overturned by rocks, tree roots, or other obstacles. At the same time, she had to focus on sensing the various electrical signals around her, trying to determine if the mechanical monk Jingfa had caught up and what his current state was.

However, this did not affect her thinking. Her mind seemed to have been optimized due to genetic modification.

"That moment..." Jiang Baimian deliberated, but her voice was louder than a normal person's, "My state was very strange. I didn't know who I was or what I should do. Uh... it wasn't a problem with my memory. At the time, I could recall many things that had happened before, but I couldn't get any information about who I was or what I should do from those memories."

At this point, Jiang Baimian habitually reflected on herself:

"I thought that affecting Jingfa's body would prevent him from using the abilities of an Awakened, but I was wrong...

"Is this the difference between a mechanical monk and a regular human?"

Bai Chen shook his head upon hearing this:

"This has nothing to do with a misjudgment. At that time, it was a desperate counterattack, and there was no time to consider so much."

After securing the clips on his leg joints, Shang Jianyao lifted his head and said:

"Many abilities of Awakened individuals rely more on consciousness, and the impact on the body depends on the situation. For example, if the body is injured, causing intense pain, the Awakened individual might be unable to think or focus their consciousness, and thus unable to use their abilities..."

As he spoke, Shang Jianyao suddenly fell silent, seemingly realizing that this could also be used against him.

Before Jiang Baimian and the others could speak, he took a breath and continued:

"Similarly, if an Awakened individual is knocked unconscious with a single punch, they definitely won't be able to use their abilities."

After giving an example, Shang Jianyao thought for a moment and agreed with Jiang Baimian's previous judgment:

"In this aspect, mechanical monks are indeed different from regular humans."

Jiang Baimian smiled wryly:

"Unfortunately, my 'golden finger' isn't too strong. If I could quickly infiltrate Jingfa's power system and turn off his power, he probably wouldn't be able to use his Awakened abilities. But that's not the case. Who knows how long an 'Immortal' can remain conscious after their consciousness is detached from the synthetic chip.

"Ha, you should also be careful. Don't be too confident. Without solid evidence, it's best to doubt your own judgments more."

Bai Chen was slightly taken aback and glanced at Jiang Baimian:

"Leader, you seem to be in a pretty good state, not at all depressed."

After all, they were being pursued by a terrifying mechanical monk, and their state and emotions should have been tense, oppressive, angry, depressed, and anxious.

"It's much better than when Jingfa caught us. Shouldn't we be relieved and happy?" Jiang Baimian remained focused on sensing the surroundings, "If it weren't for Shang Jianyao, we wouldn't have escaped. If we had truly fallen into the hands of that psychologically twisted pervert, the outcome would have been very, very bad. Although I haven't seen the bodies of the women Jingfa killed, I've heard descriptions..."

Mentioning this, the usually optimistic Jiang Baimian couldn't help but let her expression turn gloomy.

She didn't elaborate, fearing it would affect Bai Chen, Shang Jianyao, and Long Yuehong's state.

At this moment, Shang Jianyao had completed the wearing of the military exoskeleton.

His lips moved a few times before he finally spoke:

"Normally, an Awakened individual has only three abilities."

Jiang Baimian turned the steering wheel to avoid a tree growing in the middle of the road:

"Three... Jingfa's abilities include: the one that made me forget who I was... 'Hungry Ghost Realm'... and what else?"

Listening quietly, Long Yuehong immediately thought of the answer:

"Mind Reading!

"Jingfa said he has Mind Reading and can hear parts of other people's thoughts."

"Three abilities are complete... Maybe we can consider this and find a clever way to deal with Jingfa. Ah, right, Awakened abilities should have a range limit..." Jiang Baimian muttered to herself while driving.

However, her muttering was always quite loud, and everyone else could hear it clearly.

Shang Jianyao thought for a moment and responded:

"When he used Mind Reading and the ability to make you lose self-awareness, he was within one meter. It's hard to determine the maximum range."

Jiang Baimian thought for a moment and smiled slightly:

"But we can make a rough judgment.

"When he pounced on us from a distant tree, he chose 'Hungry Ghost Realm.'

"This choice itself can explain some things: either the ability to make someone lose self-awareness has a much shorter range than 'Hungry Ghost Realm,' or it can only target one person, while 'Hungry Ghost Realm' can affect everyone in a specific area."

Bai Chen recalled:

"I remember. When we noticed the 'starving ghosts' around us, Jingfa had just pounced from a distant tree, about twenty meters away, or a bit more."

Her knowledge of the monk sect's doctrines, stories, and legends was clearly more extensive than Jiang Baimian's.

"Right, we need to remember: 'Hungry Ghost Realm' has an effective range of at least twenty meters." Jiang Baimian slightly raised her voice.

Shang Jianyao was silent for a moment and said:

"He is stronger than me."

"His age is probably several times yours, and he has been an Awakened individual for many more years." Jiang Baimian comforted him.

She had no way of knowing when Jingfa became an Awakened individual, but from his words, she judged that he must have uploaded his consciousness to a robotic body after becoming an Awakened individual, becoming an 'Immortal.' As a mechanical monk, Jingfa was already quite active in the late chaotic era before the New Calendar.

At this moment, Long Yuehong seemed to accept a fact:

His good friend, Shang Jianyao, who grew up with him, was actually an Awakened individual with bizarre and terrifying abilities!

He would never forget the scene he had witnessed earlier:

The originally murderous and determined mechanical monk Jingfa suddenly became extremely friendly after hearing a few words from Shang Jianyao, even shaking hands and saying goodbye with reluctance.

This completely颠覆了龙悦红的认知。

他看向商见曜，忍不住开口问道：

“你，什么时候，成为觉醒者的？”

商见曜沉默了一会儿，说道：

“没多久。”

龙悦红本想再问些什么，但忽然觉得这不太合适，就像在刺探别人的秘密。

吉普车内，短暂竟无人说话。

蒋白棉打破了这种状态，看着前方，笑了一声道：

“需要我们在相关事情上保密吗？”

“谢谢。”商见曜缓缓吐了口气。

白晨、龙悦红相继表示自己一定保密。

商见曜正要说点什么，忽然看见蒋白棉的脸色微有变化。

与此同时，蒋白棉猛地打了下方向盘，让吉普车拐了个大弯。

车内的白晨、商见曜和龙悦红虽然都系着安全带，但还是止不住地往右侧靠去。

一枚榴弹飞过，落在了他们原本该抵达的地方。

轰隆！

炽烈的火光绽放，狂暴的冲击波让大地都微微颤抖。

吉普拐弯之后，蒋白棉一脚油门到底，让车辆又箭一般地射了出去。

嗤的一声，一道赤红的激光钻入地面，烧融出一个看不到底部的孔洞。

“十一点。”抓住机会，白晨用时钟的位置告诉了蒋白棉哪个方向不能去，否则车辆将陷入沼泽，缓慢下沉。

蒋白棉对这种说法非常熟悉，没有换算，直接就打了方向盘。

接着，她低喊道：

“商见曜。”

商见曜微不可见地吸了口气，猛地打开疾驰中的吉普车车门，身体一斜，滚了下去。

以吉普车现在的速度，正常情况下他做出这种尝试难免会受伤，但如今，他穿着军用级外骨骼装置。

胳膊一撑，商见曜轻松弹了起来，以蛇形走位的方式奔向榴弹、激光发出的位置。

他没有带突击步枪和冲锋枪，因为这对机械僧侣没有作用。

他能依赖的是外骨骼装置本身自带的榴弹发射器和电磁武器。

蹬蹬蹬，不惜能源的狂奔中，商见曜通过金属头盔的晶体护目镜看见了那个穿着破烂僧袍、披着红色袈裟的铁黑色机器人。

但下一秒，净法却转身就跑，和商见曜兜起了圈子，并利用外骨骼装置反应速度、流畅程度不如机器人的缺陷，逐渐拉大了距离。

这么追了一阵，商见曜失去了这机械僧侣的踪影。

外骨骼装置的综合预警系统也没有任何发现——显然，对方有针对性的反预警能力。

无法再追下去的商见曜不得不原路返回，依靠吉普车的车轮痕迹，找到了蒋白棉等人，然后在吉普不停的情况下，开门上车。

而回来的途中，他有刻意去破坏车轮的痕迹，并在别的方向伪造了破坏痕迹，希望能干扰净法的判断。

“他在躲着我。”商见曜关上门后，简单交代了事情的经过。

“他害怕你？你的能力克制他？”龙悦红下意识给出了自己的想法。

“不会，他的能力范围更大。”商见曜没有避讳地说道。

蒋白棉微皱眉头，正要开口，猛地又打了下方向盘。

轰隆！

净法的远程攻击又来了！

但是，当穿戴军用外骨骼装置的商见曜下车，奔跑过去后，净法又主动退让，拉开了距离，不给他战斗的机会。

一次，两次，三次……类似的情况间隔时间不等地发生着。

“他这是想做什么？”龙悦红也察觉到了问题。

蒋白棉撇了下嘴道：

“大概是他带了不少高性能电池，觉得有希望把我们的外骨骼装置耗到没电，还挺有耐心的嘛……”

“可是，他带不了多少榴弹啊。”龙悦红条件反射地提出了疑问。

白晨看了眼后视镜道：

“最近几次，他用的都只是激光武器。”

龙悦红顿时有点担忧：

“那我们该怎么办？”

PS: 求推荐票~

---

Jiang Baimian was very busy. She had to keep her eyes on the road ahead, fearing that she might drive the jeep into a swamp or have the car overturned by rocks, tree roots, or other obstacles. At the same time, she had to focus on sensing the various electrical signals around her, trying to determine if the mechanical monk Jingfa had caught up and what his current state was.

However, this did not affect her thinking. Her mind seemed to have been optimized due to genetic modification.

"That moment..." Jiang Baimian deliberated, but her voice was louder than a normal person's, "My state was very strange. I didn't know who I was or what I should do. Uh... it wasn't a problem with my memory. At the time, I could recall many things that had happened before, but I couldn't get any information about who I was or what I should do from those memories."

At this point, Jiang Baimian habitually reflected on herself:

"I thought that affecting Jingfa's body would prevent him from using the abilities of an Awakened, but I was wrong...

"Is this the difference between a mechanical monk and a regular human?"

Bai Chen shook his head upon hearing this:

"This has nothing to do with a misjudgment. At that time, it was a desperate counterattack, and there was no time to consider so much."

After securing the clips on his leg joints, Shang Jianyao lifted his head and said:

"Many abilities of Awakened individuals rely more on consciousness, and the impact on the body depends on the situation. For example, if the body is injured, causing intense pain, the Awakened individual might be unable to think or focus their consciousness, and thus unable to use their abilities..."

As he spoke, Shang Jianyao suddenly fell silent, seemingly realizing that this could also be used against him.

Before Jiang Baimian and the others could speak, he took a breath and continued:

"Similarly, if an Awakened individual is knocked unconscious with a single punch, they definitely won't be able to use their abilities."

After giving an example, Shang Jianyao thought for a moment and agreed with Jiang Baimian's previous judgment:

"In this aspect, mechanical monks are indeed different from regular humans."

Jiang Baimian smiled wryly:

"Unfortunately, my 'golden finger' isn't too strong. If I could quickly infiltrate Jingfa's power system and turn off his power, he probably wouldn't be able to use his Awakened abilities. But that's not the case. Who knows how long an 'Immortal' can remain conscious after their consciousness is detached from the synthetic chip.

"Ha, you should also be careful. Don't be too confident. Without solid evidence, it's best to doubt your own judgments more."

Bai Chen was slightly taken aback and glanced at Jiang Baimian:

"Leader, you seem to be in a pretty good state, not at all depressed."

After all, they were being pursued by a terrifying mechanical monk, and their state and emotions should have been tense, oppressive, angry, depressed, and anxious.

"It's much better than when Jingfa caught us. Shouldn't we be relieved and happy?" Jiang Baimian remained focused on sensing the surroundings, "If it weren't for Shang Jianyao, we wouldn't have escaped. If we had truly fallen into the hands of that psychologically twisted pervert, the outcome would have been very, very bad. Although I haven't seen the bodies of the women Jingfa killed, I've heard descriptions..."

Mentioning this, the usually optimistic Jiang Baimian couldn't help but let her expression turn gloomy.

She didn't elaborate, fearing it would affect Bai Chen, Shang Jianyao, and Long Yuehong's state.

At this moment, Shang Jianyao had completed the wearing of the military exoskeleton.

His lips moved a few times before he finally spoke:

"Normally, an Awakened individual has only three abilities."

Jiang Baimian turned the steering wheel to avoid a tree growing in the middle of the road:

"Three... Jingfa's abilities include: the one that made me forget who I was... 'Hungry Ghost Realm'... and what else?"

Listening quietly, Long Yuehong immediately thought of the answer:

"Mind Reading!

"Jingfa said he has Mind Reading and can hear parts of other people's thoughts."

"Three abilities are complete... Maybe we can consider this and find a clever way to deal with Jingfa. Ah, right, Awakened abilities should have a range limit..." Jiang Baimian muttered to herself while driving.

However, her muttering was always quite loud, and everyone else could hear it clearly.

Shang Jianyao thought for a moment and responded:

"When he used Mind Reading and the ability to make you lose self-awareness, he was within one meter. It's hard to determine the maximum range."

Jiang Baimian thought for a moment and smiled slightly:

"But we can make a rough judgment.

"When he pounced on us from a distant tree, he chose 'Hungry Ghost Realm.'

"This choice itself can explain some things: either the ability to make someone lose self-awareness has a much shorter range than 'Hungry Ghost Realm,' or it can only target one person, while 'Hungry Ghost Realm' can affect everyone in a specific area."

Bai Chen recalled:

"I remember. When we noticed the 'starving ghosts' around us, Jingfa had just pounced from a distant tree, about twenty meters away, or a bit more."

Her knowledge of the monk sect's doctrines, stories, and legends was clearly more extensive than Jiang Baimian's.

"Right, we need to remember: 'Hungry Ghost Realm' has an effective range of at least twenty meters." Jiang Baimian slightly raised her voice.

Shang Jianyao was silent for a moment and said:

"He is stronger than me."

"His age is probably several times yours, and he has been an Awakened individual for many more years." Jiang Baimian comforted him.

She had no way of knowing when Jingfa became an Awakened individual, but from his words, she judged that he must have uploaded his consciousness to a robotic body after becoming an Awakened individual, becoming an 'Immortal.' As a mechanical monk, Jingfa was already quite active in the late chaotic era before the New Calendar.

At this moment, Long Yuehong seemed to accept a fact:

His good friend, Shang Jianyao, who grew up with him, was actually an Awakened individual with bizarre and terrifying abilities!

He would never forget the scene he had witnessed earlier:

The originally murderous and determined mechanical monk Jingfa suddenly became extremely friendly after hearing a few words from Shang Jianyao, even shaking hands and saying goodbye with reluctance.

This completely颠覆了龙悦红的认知。

He looked at Shang Jianyao and couldn't help but ask:

"You, when did you become an Awakened individual?"

Shang Jianyao was silent for a moment and said:

"Not long ago."

Long Yuehong wanted to ask more but suddenly felt it wasn't appropriate, like prying into someone's secrets.

Inside the jeep, there was a brief silence.

Jiang Baimian broke the silence, looking ahead and laughing slightly:

"Do we need to keep this a secret?"

"Thank you." Shang Jianyao slowly exhaled.

Bai Chen and Long Yuehong both promised to keep it a secret.

Shang Jianyao was about to say something when he suddenly noticed a change in Jiang Baimian's expression.

At the same time, Jiang Baimian sharply turned the steering wheel, making the jeep take a wide turn.

Bai Chen, Shang Jianyao, and Long Yuehong, despite being buckled in, were still pushed to the right side of the vehicle.

A grenade flew over and landed where they would have been.

Boom!

Intense flames burst forth, and the violent shockwave made the ground tremble.

After the turn, Jiang Baimian floored the gas pedal, and the vehicle shot forward like an arrow.

With a hiss, a red laser drilled into the ground, burning a hole that seemed to have no bottom.

"Eleven o'clock." Seizing the opportunity, Bai Chen used the clock's position to tell Jiang Baimian which direction to avoid, or the vehicle would sink into the swamp