Chapter 80

Xiao Chong lowered his head to look at the clothes on his body and mumbled:

"I haven't had tomato and egg stir-fry for a long time."

"Me neither..." Shang Jianyao had a nostalgic look on his face, raised his right hand, and wiped the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand.

Jiang Baimian listened to their conversation, and her expression gradually became a bit strange.

Then, she tried to join in:

"I can make that dish.

"However, in the wilderness, eggs are easier to find, as long as you don't insist on chicken eggs. Tomatoes are a bit harder to come by."

Xiao Chong thought for a moment and said:

"I remember there's a cold storage facility in the Tianxing District with a lot of tomatoes, but I don't know if they've been eaten or if they're still edible."

"There's a chance we can check it out." Jiang Baimian steered the conversation back on track, "Let's leave here first."

"Okay." Xiao Chong responded first, shouldered the red backpack, and skipped to the door.

Watching his back, Shang Jianyao offered:

"I'll go in front."

"Alright." Jiang Baimian didn't stop him.

So, they changed their tactical formation—mainly, Shang Jianyao and Jiang Baimian swapped positions.

The "Old Adjustment Team" walked down the dark, silent corridor again, with most of the light provided by Jiang Baimian at the end of the line. The others' flashlights, which they couldn't hold, only illuminated a small area directly below.

"Hurry up!" Xiao Chong, carrying the red backpack, turned around from time to time to urge the adults, but Shang Jianyao and the others didn't budge, maintaining their own pace.

"Ah." Xiao Chong sighed after a while, "When my school organized parent-child activities, my parents were always like this, slowly following behind as if running would be embarrassing for adults."

"What are parent-child activities?" Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong asked in unison.

"Um, it's like... forget it, explaining it to you wouldn't make sense anyway," Xiao Chong said, organizing his thoughts.

As they walked, they returned to the stairwell without any incidents.

This made Jiang Baimian's expression show that her initial guess was confirmed.

On their way back to the first floor, they encountered no attacks and smoothly passed through the already opened safety gate, seeing the elevator lobby.

Jiang Baimian thought for a moment and spoke in a gentle but loud voice to Xiao Chong, who was wearing yellow:

"Can you wait here? We still have some things to do."

She hadn't forgotten the plan to snipe Qiao Chu here.

Before Xiao Chong could answer, Shang Jianyao added:

"We're going to play a real shooting game.

"Just like the game we played earlier, but in the real world."

Xiao Chong's eyes lit up, and he mumbled:

"I'm just a kid, I shouldn't play such a dangerous game.

"But I can be a spectator!"

As he spoke, he looked expectant, as if hoping Shang Jianyao would give him a gun.

Shang Jianyao ignored his underlying meaning:

"Remember to cheer and clap!"

"Alright..." Xiao Chong looked around disappointedly, "Where should I stay?"

Jiang Baimian pointed to the stairs leading to the second floor:

"Sit there. You can see what's happening here, and it's safer."

"Okay." Xiao Chong, carrying the red backpack, skipped over and sat down without minding the dirt.

Jiang Baimian then turned to Bai Chen:

"Go next to Xiao Chong, lie down, and cover the three elevators.

"When the time comes, we'll press the button to make the elevators stop on this floor.

"Once the elevator doors open, immediately snipe Qiao Chu inside.

"Remember, Qiao Chu might be prepared and use an unconventional posture to avoid the attack, like lying half on the ground, jumping up to grab the top of the elevator, hanging there, and curling up."

Although Bai Chen had extensive experience in urban ruins combat, there were no elevators to use in those places, so she spent some time imagining the scene before saying:

"I understand."

She seemed to connect the scene with a past experience, her expression changing slightly as she tugged at her scarf.

At this point, Jiang Baimian looked at Shang Jianyao and pointed to the three elevators that couldn't be seen from the stairwell:

"Go to the button position, lean against the wall.

"Your tasks are two:

"One, assist Bai Chen to ensure Qiao Chu doesn't find a way to avoid being the first target or hitting a vital spot;

"Two, after the empty elevator passes, press the button to light up the upward direction again."

She then pointed to herself:

"I'll stand in the middle of the three elevators Bai Chen is responsible for, leaning against the wall. In such a situation, it's best to kneel.

"I'll snipe the three elevators on either side of Shang Jianyao. If anything unexpected happens and Shang Jianyao can't act in time, I can press the button to light up the upward direction again.

"Also, I'll try to sense the changes in the electrical signals to determine which elevator Qiao Chu is in ahead of time."

Seeing the team leader pause, Long Yuehong couldn't help but ask:

"What about me?"

"Good, you're showing team spirit." Jiang Baimian praised her, pointing to the stairwell, "You'll monitor the stairs leading to the basement, always ready to shoot. Qiao Chu has a good chance of abandoning the elevators and choosing the stairs."

"Yes, Team Leader!" Although Long Yuehong was nervous and uneasy, she was happy to be able to contribute to the team and receive praise from the team leader.

...

Beside the underground machine room, in the building's electrical room.

Qiao Chu looked into the dark room illuminated by the flashlight, somewhat surprised.

He hadn't expected to find his target so smoothly.

Smoothly didn't mean the "search" itself, as he had spent a lot of time on it, but rather that he hadn't encountered any attacks from his fanatical "admirers" along the way, and there were no unexpected incidents during the process.

This was completely different from his original expectations—he knew there were many dangerous creatures in the building, so after the first "trial" failed, he changed his approach, driving the "Old Adjustment Team" members. Otherwise, according to his habits and preferences, he wouldn't have bothered with anyone else, and if others got too close, he wouldn't mind shooting them directly.

Although he didn't understand why things had developed this way, since success was within reach, Qiao Chu didn't think too much about it, stepped forward with his metal-covered legs, and entered the room.

...

"There's one more issue." After assigning everyone their tasks, Jiang Baimian said with a serious expression, "Qiao Chu's 'Charm' ability has a wide range, and according to the current setup, even Bai Chen, who is the farthest away, will be affected, so we need to prepare in advance."

She directly looked at Shang Jianyao:

"Is there a way?

"If not, we'll abandon this place, go to the top of the building, and snipe Qiao Chu from a distance when he leaves. By then, the city's lighting will have partially recovered."

Shang Jianyao smiled and answered without hesitation:

"Yes!"

He continued:

"But I need to do it individually, otherwise, the effect will be greatly reduced, or even ineffective, if everyone witnesses it."

"Why didn't you ask others to avoid it when we were in the basement?" Long Yuehong asked curiously.

"At that time, you were under the influence of 'Charm,' so you would ignore some things and emphasize others. Also, the conditions I used were what you considered reasonable at the time, and the conclusions were the same," Shang Jianyao explained seriously.

Jiang Baimian understood:

"Then let's start, quickly."

Shang Jianyao pointed to outside the elevator lobby:

"Team Leader, come with me."

"Okay." Jiang Baimian followed Shang Jianyao to a place where Long Yuehong and Bai Chen couldn't see or hear.

Shang Jianyao looked into Jiang Baimian's eyes, his pupils instantly becoming deep:

"Team Leader, look:

"Eighty percent of the couples in 'Pangu Bio' are assigned by the company;

"Many of these families live well, with harmonious and supportive relationships.

"So..."

Jiang Baimian was taken aback and blurted out:

"Only company-assigned partners are true partners, true love.

"Love at first sight is always a scam!"

Shang Jianyao nodded and smiled:

"So we need to beat the scammer's head."

"Where did you learn the term 'beat the scammer's head'?" Jiang Baimian glanced at Shang Jianyao.

"Can ordinary employees in 'Pangu Bio' even afford a dog?

"Even if they do, it's for food."

"From a radio program." Shang Jianyao looked at Jiang Baimian suspiciously, "Haven't you heard the serialized story?"

"No." Jiang Baimian responded, sighing, "I feel like I might not have had a childhood."

Shang Jianyao didn't say more and returned to the elevator lobby with the team leader, saying to Long Yuehong:

"It's your turn."

Long Yuehong followed nervously, asking in a low voice:

"How do you plan to deceive, no, influence me?"

"It's simple." Shang Jianyao said casually, "Look, you've always wanted a beautiful female partner, to have a few children, and let them eat meat three times a week. Can a man do that?"

Long Yuehong's expression changed, and he said in a low voice:

"No!"

He quickly distanced himself from Shang Jianyao:

"You're so disgusting.

"Being with a man is so disgusting!"

At this point, they hadn't even reached the designated position.

Shang Jianyao laughed, patted the side of the assault rifle, and turned to Bai Chen:

"It's your turn."

"Am I done?" Long Yuehong looked puzzled.

Shang Jianyao responded seriously:

"You don't need to, you're already good."

"What?" Long Yuehong walked back to his original position, still puzzled.

Bai Chen glanced at him as she walked by, saying nothing.

Shang Jianyao led Bai Chen to the previous spot and said sincerely:

"Can you tell me about someone or something you value?

"The more I know about you, the better the final effect will be.

"No need to be too detailed, just a brief mention."

Bai Chen thought for a moment, tugged at her scarf, and said in a slightly hoarse voice:

"I once had a robot that accompanied me through the toughest years.

"Later, it died saving me..."

Shang Jianyao's eyes had become deep at some point:

"Look:

"That robot grew with you, always protecting you;

"It even sacrificed itself to save you;

"So..."

Bai Chen's eyes suddenly moistened.

She paused for a moment and said firmly:

"Only robots are true partners, humans are not worth loving!"

Clap, Shang Jianyao clapped:

"No need to be so extreme, it's fine, you can go back."

Bai Chen resisted the urge to think and took her position.

At this moment, Shang Jianyao walked to the gray elevator, looked at his reflection in the flashlight's light, and whispered seriously:

"People on the gray earth are still suffering from famine, pollution, disease, mutation, and war; they still live under the shadow of 'Heartless Disease';

"This is something everyone must face, no one is an exception;

"So..."

Shang Jianyao paused and said in a low voice:

"Love will only hinder me from saving humanity!"

He then turned to Jiang Baimian:

"Done."

Jiang Baimian, who hadn't heard Shang Jianyao's whisper, had no additional reaction and said directly:

"Everyone to your positions!"

The "Old Adjustment Team" members quickly adjusted their positions and postures, patiently waiting for changes.

About one or two minutes later, the elevator lobby suddenly lit up.

The entire first-floor lobby lit up.

The bright white light dispelled the darkness, ruling this area.

The building's power supply had been restored.

PS: Please give me a recommendation!