Chapter 52

Jiang Baimian instinctively made an "ah" mouth shape but quickly closed it, not making a sound.

She redirected her gaze to the front, smoothly turned around a bush, and then, seemingly casually, laughed and said:

"I always feel that I might have a hidden talent, which is to make people feel close and at ease around me, willing to share their pent-up troubles."

"It's not something that needs to be strictly kept secret." Shang Jianyao didn't entirely agree with Jiang Baimian's statement, but this also helped him break free from the scenario created by her words.

"Ha ha, just kidding." Jiang Baimian nodded as if in deep thought, "Actually, it's because we've all gone through two crises together, and you've revealed the secret of being an Awakened. So, there's a decent level of trust between us. Have you ever heard the saying that the quickest way to bring two people closer is to share a small secret? Besides, we are also friends in adversity."

Shang Jianyao, who had been serious just a moment ago, suddenly laughed:

"How can you be sure that this trust isn't created by my Awakened ability?"

"..." Jiang Baimian carefully recalled and realized she couldn't rule out this possibility. After all, the scene where Shang Jianyao shook hands with the mechanical monk Jingfa was too memorable. Shang Jianyao had also mentioned that if a loop of proof could be formed in interpersonal interactions, the affected person would almost never notice the abnormality on their own, only discovering it after leaving the corresponding environment.

"Ha ha, just kidding." Shang Jianyao responded in the same way as Jiang Baimian.

Jiang Baimian turned her head and gave him a sidelong glance:

"I almost drew my gun, you know?"

She retracted her gaze and said to herself:

"Even though you were indeed joking, I still need to guard against similar situations... maybe set up a few logical verifications for myself?

"Hmm... the simplest method is to record key information on paper or in a chip every day and review it before going to sleep. This way, if there are any contradictions, I can immediately realize it. I must say, diaries are still quite useful."

"Awakened abilities are not omnipotent." Shang Jianyao added.

Jiang Baimian didn't say more and continued to search for clues with Shang Jianyao in the hilly area.

After about an hour, she looked around and said:

"The surrounding area is too large and the environment is complex. Just the two of us walking step by step won't complete an effective search in less than ten days or half a month."

Shang Jianyao didn't speak because he saw that the team leader still had a smile on her face, indicating she already had a plan.

Sure enough, Jiang Baimian looked at him and said with a smile:

"Let's go back to the hill where we launched the emergency signal flare."

Shang Jianyao's heart stirred, sensing something.

Jiang Baimian continued:

"There, we'll definitely encounter many relic hunters and wilderness wanderers. We can ask them for information to see if there are any large bandit groups or dangerous teams active in the surrounding area."

At this point, she showed the same smile she had after severely injuring Jingfa:

"If you were the leader of the attacking group and saw that the place where a big deal was done and the team's traces were deliberately erased had some abnormality, wouldn't you send some unrelated people to the area where the emergency signal flare was launched to investigate the specific situation? After all, a large number of relic hunters and wilderness wanderers will go there, and no one can distinguish them.

"By then, if we can determine which major power is behind Black Rat Town, we can make some targeted preparations in advance."

Shang Jianyao suddenly understood:

"They won't send their core members to investigate, nor will they find people who are subordinate to them. The most likely scenario is that they will directly hire real, nearby wilderness wanderers."

This way, even if it's a trap, there won't be any problems, just like no one can find a drop of water with a unique essence but no obvious abnormalities in a lake.

After thinking it through, Shang Jianyao asked with a slight hint of confusion:

"Team leader, you must have thought this through long ago. Why didn't we just wait there?"

"Those relic hunters and wilderness wanderers wouldn't come so quickly. Waiting there would be meaningless. It's better to familiarize you with the search process." Jiang Baimian glanced at her black electronic watch, "It's about time. Let's go."

When they returned to the hill where the emergency signal flare was launched, Shang Jianyao realized that their previous search was actually leading them in this direction—after slightly changing direction, they only needed ten minutes to reach the destination.

This meant that Jiang Baimian had not just thought of the related issues on the spot but had planned them in advance, even the search route.

After observing for a few minutes, Shang Jianyao and Jiang Baimian found the best position, climbed a tree, and monitored the several roads leading to the hill.

After about fifteen minutes, relic hunters and wilderness wanderers began to arrive, heading to the hilltop.

They were all quite cautious, maintaining clear boundaries without infringing on each other. After all, it was uncertain whether there would be any gains around the anomaly, and starting a fight prematurely would be too foolish.

After a while, Jiang Baimian patted Shang Jianyao's shoulder and pointed to the left road.

She didn't speak because she couldn't be sure how loud her voice was, so she could only indicate with gestures.

Shang Jianyao followed her gaze and saw two furtive and timid male wilderness wanderers.

From their appearance, it was hard to tell their exact age, but they shared rough, cracked, and sunburned skin, oily and greasy hair, and unkempt beards with various stains.

One of them wore a deep blue, holey sweater, a shirt that was so oily it had hardened and whose original color was indistinguishable, and a black overcoat that was clearly ill-fitting and reached below the waist. He wore military green rubber shoes, had a black pistol with a metallic sheen on his waist, and held a long, blade-like knife.

Shang Jianyao thought it looked like the watermelon knife in the textbook.

The other was tightly wrapped in a black, old cotton jacket. Through the obvious large holes, one could see the compressed, blackened, and hardened cotton inside. He seemed to have no gun, but a sharp dagger was on his waist, and he held a baseball bat with a dirty, extremely shriveled bag over his shoulder.

"Is there any problem?" Shang Jianyao asked in a low voice.

This was no different from the other wilderness wanderers who had come before, just a bit more ragged.

"I..." Jiang Baimian made a sound, her tone clearly questioning.

Shang Jianyao immediately understood the team leader's meaning and quickly said:

"Lower your voice."

After two "adjustments," Jiang Baimian finally managed to control her voice:

"Don't you think these two wilderness wanderers are too poorly equipped?"

"Isn't it normal for wilderness wanderers to be poorly equipped?" Shang Jianyao countered.

"Yes." Jiang Baimian didn't deny it, watching the two wanderers and carefully said, "The key is that their behavior contradicts their equipment.

"Under normal circumstances, a wilderness wanderer with only a small pistol and a few cold weapons wouldn't dare to be among the first to arrive at a place with an anomaly. Once a fight breaks out, they have almost no ability to protect themselves.

"For such wilderness wanderers, they would come half a day or even a day later to see if they could find any leftovers. By then, their competitors would be similar, and they wouldn't be completely defenseless."

Shang Jianyao nodded slightly:

"This is like many animals that feed on the rotten carcasses left by predators.

"In other words, there's a certain probability that these two wilderness wanderers were forced to come here?"

And who would force two powerless wilderness wanderers to investigate an anomaly?

Jiang Baimian was teaching through practice, smiling and saying:

"Yes.

"Can you make them friendly and directly tell us the situation?"

Shang Jianyao looked at the two approaching wilderness wanderers and said frankly:

"If there was only one, no problem.

"If both are present, they might witness each other, causing the 'inference' to fail.

"If we separate them, influence one first, and then the other, it can work."

Jiang Baimian made an "OK" gesture:

"This is simple.

"Switch guns."

After that, she and Shang Jianyao exchanged the grenade launcher and the assault rifle.

The next second, Jiang Baimian leaped down and landed in front of the two wilderness wanderers.

After landing, she quickly raised the assault rifle, coldly pointing it at the man in the holey sweater with the pistol on his waist.

Almost simultaneously, she turned her waist slightly and kicked out with her right leg, like a suddenly taut whip.

This kick clearly missed, but it scared the man with the baseball bat, who quickly retreated and fell to the ground.

He glanced at the assault rifle in Jiang Baimian's hand and, without hesitation, abandoned his companion, rolling and crawling away, not daring to look back.

The man with the pistol and the watermelon knife, who was always pointed at by the assault rifle, didn't dare to move.

At this moment, Shang Jianyao followed and leaped down, smiling and said:

"Don't be nervous.

"We have no ill intentions."

He gestured for Jiang Baimian to lower the gun and, taking advantage of the man's confusion, said:

"See, you're here to gather information, and we're here to gather information.

"You're human, and we're human.

"So..."

The man's expression gradually became lively, and he finally smiled:

"Brother!"

When he called out this term, he subconsciously glanced at Jiang Baimian, who had put away the assault rifle and showed no hostility. This made him even more confident in his reasoning and judgment.

"Brother!" Shang Jianyao mimicked him, warmly greeting, "Who sent you here?"

PS: Please give me a recommendation!