Chapter 53

The man holding the watermelon knife sighed, "Don't even mention it. It's all because of that old bat forcing us to come here. I've been telling him to wait, day after day, but he just won't listen!"

Jiang Baimian instinctively wanted to ask who the old bat was, but after opening his mouth, he wisely closed it again.

In fact, Shang Jianyao also intended to ask, but his logical reasoning told him that this would definitely damage their "brotherhood" and make the other person suspicious. If they were brothers, how could he not know who the old bat was?

He laughed, "The old bat... why is he in such a hurry?"

"What can he do? They're just pushing from the other side!" The man holding the watermelon knife and a black pistol rubbed his greasy, unkempt hair and said with a worried look, "Those guys will kill you if you say one wrong word. Who dares to be careless..."

"Those guys?" Shang Jianyao deliberately showed a puzzled expression, "How long has it been since I last went back, and something happened already?"

Although he really wanted to ask who those guys were, he restrained himself.

The man holding the watermelon knife was taken aback, seemingly not expecting that his brother hadn't been back for a while.

A few seconds later, he sighed again, "Don't even mention it. Ever since the 'Hyenas' came, we can't even sleep in our hideouts! Several elders froze to death at night."

When he mentioned the "Hyenas," he instinctively looked around, as if afraid of being overheard.

"Hyenas"… Shang Jianyao turned his head to look at Jiang Baimian, wondering if the experienced team leader had heard of this nickname.

Jiang Baimian's expression became more serious, and he nodded thoughtfully.

"Damn the 'Hyenas'!" Shang Jianyao deliberately swore.

The man holding the watermelon knife seemed to want to curse along, but ultimately didn't dare, and said sullenly, "He has no mother."

At this point, the man, whose age was hard to tell, recalled, "Back then, I was only a teenager, and the 'Hyenas' hadn't become bandits yet. I heard that his mother was eaten by a group of subhumans who came from somewhere."

Shang Jianyao's eyes flickered, and he blurted out, "Was it the rat people?"

He knew from Jiang Baimian that the residents of Black Rat Town were called "rat people" by the surrounding humans.

It was also a derogatory term.

"No," the man holding the watermelon knife shook his head, "Those rat people have been here for decades. They came before I was born, and they are good at foraging and digging. They can find anything and eat anything, so they're not the kind who wander around."

Shang Jianyao was silent for a few seconds and then asked, "What are the 'Hyenas' doing here?"

"They say there's some discovery at the Moonlu Station. The old bat asked, but the 'Hyenas' don't know either. They're sending people to investigate." The man holding the watermelon knife, after saying "investigate," suddenly remembered his task and became worried again, "I don't know what's wrong here. If I don't report back today, the 'Hyenas' might throw me to the dogs."

"Dogs?" Shang Jianyao asked instinctively.

The man holding the watermelon knife spat, "The 'Hyenas' have a very fierce dog, like a son to him! He always says we're useless, that no one can beat his dog one-on-one, and that we're better off being fed to the dog."

After complaining, the man asked hopefully, "Brother, did you find anything here?"

"Nothing," Shang Jianyao answered honestly, "The person who set off the fireworks has already left, leaving nothing behind!"

"Is that so... what kind of fireworks did they set off? Oh... the old bat said it was some kind of signal flare?" The man holding the watermelon knife seemed to want to return.

Shang Jianyao glanced at the direction the man with the baseball bat had fled, "Who knows? Let's just go back. If the 'Hyenas' don't believe it, they can send more people to investigate. By the way, the brother who got scared earlier, catch up to him and explain for me."

"Sure." The man holding the watermelon knife patted his chest, "When are you guys coming back?"

"Soon, soon." Shang Jianyao's lips curled slightly, "Remember to tell the old bat that we'll visit the 'Hyenas' soon."

"Visit..." The man holding the watermelon knife suddenly sensed something was off, but seeing the grenade launcher Shang Jianyao was holding and the assault rifle Jiang Baimian had, he wisely gave up thinking.

He quickly turned around and waved, "May we meet again."

"May we meet again." Shang Jianyao waved back enthusiastically.

After watching the man holding the watermelon knife disappear at the end of the road, Jiang Baimian glanced at Shang Jianyao, "What? Still standing in the middle of the road, afraid no one will see you?"

There were no proper roads between the hills and small mountains, but with more people walking, a path naturally formed.

As they spoke, Jiang Baimian turned toward a more concealed spot on the hillside.

Shang Jianyao followed, first exchanging weapons with the team leader, and then asked, "Who are the 'Hyenas'?"

Jiang Baimian chuckled, "A somewhat famous bandit leader in the Black Marsh Wilderness, usually active near the 'White Knights' area. He became famous about ten years ago, not too old at the time. Whether he's over thirty now is still a question. His bandit gang grew gradually, from a few people with a few guns to now having about eighteen core members, well-armed and well-equipped. Some suspect that the 'Hyenas' have control over an old-world armory, which is why they've grown so quickly.

"If he hadn't occupied better mines or farmland, he would definitely have more than eighteen core followers, at least a few hundred. This would allow him to establish a large settlement, similar to Weed City, and then consider being recruited by a major power for protection or to become an influential minor power.

"Ha, or maybe the 'Hyenas' think it's too much trouble to support a few hundred or a few thousand people, managing a city is too complicated, and they'd rather be bandits and live freely, so they maintain their current size.

"Ah, by the way, his real name is Lin Li."

Shang Jianyao listened carefully and summarized, "Highly suspicious, and more numerous than we expected."

Just the core members number nearly twenty, and the followers are at least a hundred.

"They even have armored vehicles, heavy machine guns, and rocket launchers," Jiang Baimian added, "But they probably don't have military exoskeletons, bionic smart armor, Gauss weapons, or plasma weapons. It seems that even if the rumors are true, the armory the 'Hyenas' control is general-purpose and lacks advanced technology."

Seeing Shang Jianyao silent, Jiang Baimian smiled, "With our 'Old Tune Team's' current strength, we do have a good chance of taking out this bandit gang in a surprise attack. The followers won't truly fight for the 'Hyenas,' as long as the 'Hyenas' don't send a battle team to supervise.

"But with their members' quality and weapons, we need to be prepared for at least half of us to die."

As she spoke, Jiang Baimian glanced outside the concealed location, "Besides, there might not be a chance for a surprise attack.

"You let that wilderness wanderer go back just now, aren't you worried he'll notice something is off in a different environment?

"Or that he'll report to the 'Hyenas' and make them suspect we have Awakened ones here?"

"Or what? Kill him?" Shang Jianyao responded with an unchanged expression.

"Such a soft heart." Jiang Baimian sneered, "I am too. People like us, born into major powers and not experienced in the chaos of the past, tend to be soft-hearted."

She then continued, "But if we really want to surprise attack, we could have controlled that wilderness wanderer first and let him go after the job is done.

"You shouldn't have missed this. You are always cautious about when your abilities will fail."

At this, Jiang Baimian smiled, "In summary, you've already given up on the idea of attacking the bandit gang on your own.

"Such a good friend!"

"It's not confirmed yet that it's the 'Hyenas' gang," Shang Jianyao responded expressionlessly, "Let's wait for the company to send people."

"Good idea!" Jiang Baimian laughed in agreement.

Shang Jianyao looked around and suddenly frowned, "Team leader, what do you think the 'Hyenas' will do when they hear the report?"

"I haven't dealt with them, so it's hard to judge. But from the nickname 'Hyenas,' they are good at outnumbering and outmaneuvering, good at trailing and ambushing. They are ruthless and cruel but not crazy or reckless. I'm just speculating, and we need to verify with Bai Chen. Anyway, their response will likely be one of two:

"First, they might search this area in reverse before the company's main force arrives, eliminate us investigators, and erase the traces. But they must consider the possibility that the emergency signal flare is a trap, waiting for them to fall into it.

"Second, they might immediately abandon the followers they've coerced and move with their core members. They are not many, have enough transportation, and have obtained a lot of supplies from Black Rat Town. Their actions won't be as slow and cumbersome as a large force, and there are too many places to hide in the wilderness.

"Once they figure out who the enemy is, they might migrate to the area around another major power and change their robbery zones."

Seeing Shang Jianyao's eyes light up, Jiang Baimian deliberately "hmm"ed, "Are you thinking that if they dare to search in reverse, you'll dare to wear the exoskeleton and take them out one by one?"

Before Shang Jianyao could respond, the tall woman with a ponytail smiled, "How could I give you such a chance?

"Obviously, I would do it!"

She then changed the subject, "But I think it's more likely that the 'Hyenas' won't react at all."

"Why?" Shang Jianyao was quite puzzled.

Jiang Baimian's smile faded, "The followers they've coerced might not be on the same page as the 'Hyenas.'

"They would be happy if a major power comes and drives the 'Hyenas' away. Being captured as slaves is better than being cannon fodder for the 'Hyenas,' and in a real battle, they have plenty of chances to escape.

"If that old bat is smart, he'll know what to report and what to hide."

Shang Jianyao listened thoughtfully and slowly nodded.

They stopped discussing and continued observing, but found no more suspicious people.

As it neared mealtime, they ended their operation and returned to the hidden camp on the hill.

The day passed uneventfully. At midnight, Shang Jianyao was woken by Long Yuehong, took the "Berserker" assault rifle, and took over the night watch.

After patrolling, he looked down.

From here, he could see the small forest and the blocked entrance to Black Rat Town.

Under the dim and extremely quiet night, a stone suddenly fell from the cave entrance.

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