Chapter 84

Hearing Jiang Bai's words, Long Yuehong felt both enlightened and as if he had fallen into a dream.

He couldn't help but look around again, completely unable to associate the "Heartless" who were seriously sweeping leaves and wiping windows with the images in his mind.

The "Heartless" in the ruins that the "Old Tune Group" had encountered on the way to the "Urban Smart Network Control Center" were no different from those outside, fierce, irrational, aggressive, and with a strong hunting instinct, as if they had regressed to the stage when humans had just escaped from the animal state.

At that time, if someone had told Long Yuehong that the "Heartless" here would sweep the floor, wipe the windows, and maintain the lines, he would have laughed it off as a joke.

But now, this scene was so real before his eyes.

A glance revealed that the distant street lamps were lined up, and countless "Heartless" had returned to the streets and windows after the city "lit up" again, doing all kinds of things.

They were no longer vicious, no longer treating Long Yuehong and the others as prey, but were "obediently" and diligently completing their tasks, making the entire city appear more prosperous than before.

At this moment, Long Yuehong felt as if they were in another world, coexisting peacefully but unable to establish any connection.

As his thoughts turned, he heard Jiang Bai sigh:

"It's like a shadow cast from the old world of the past..."

"Why do they sweep the floor, wipe the windows, and maintain the exterior and streets?" Shang Jianyao suddenly asked.

Long Yuehong instinctively replied:

"Perhaps it's some kind of instinct. Their work in the old world was these tasks, and after becoming 'Heartless,' it became a fixed instinct..."

As he spoke, Long Yuehong's voice gradually lowered until it disappeared.

He also realized that this explanation couldn't hold, as the old world had been destroyed for nearly seventy years, and the "Heartless" here had gone through many generations, none of whom had ever lived or worked in the old world.

Finally, he added:

"That instinct, passed down through generations by the demonstration and teaching of their parents.

"The descendants of repairmen still repair equipment, and the descendants of cleaners still clean the streets..."

Jiang Bai laughed and said before Shang Jianyao could speak:

"Don't carve all sorts of nonsense into the genes; it would lead to the body's collapse.

"Teaching is possible, but it's only useful for simple, repetitive work."

Bai Chen, on guard around, thoughtfully said:

"Has it been through many generations that the current 'Heartless' can learn more complex things? No, even if they can learn, the previous generations couldn't, and the corresponding technology must have been lost..."

"Perhaps someone is teaching them, instilling some 'instincts' in them." Shang Jianyao withdrew his gaze and stated his guess.

Jiang Bai, Long Yuehong, and Bai Chen simultaneously thought of the strange and mysterious boy Xiao Chong, and for a moment, they couldn't refute Shang Jianyao's theory.

During the discussion, they had walked several steps toward the opposite street, wanting to see more clearly the figures behind the bright windows.

A few seconds later, Long Yuehong looked at the "Heartless" sweeping the streets, repairing tree branches, and heading to other places, and sighed:

"Is this the scene of the old world's city?

"Did people live and work like this back then?

"Was the night back then so brightly lit, as if the stars were reflected on the ground?"

Because of these words, Jiang Bai once again raised her head and looked at the opposite building.

On each floor, more than a third of the windows emitted a yellow or white light, with people coming and going, wiping windows, "watching" TV, soothing "children," or chopping on cutting boards. Although no sound could be heard, Jiang Bai directly felt the "liveliness" and "vitality."

At this moment, she seemed to have returned to several decades ago, to the time before the old world was destroyed, and smelled the scent of life.

As her gaze moved upward, Jiang Bai's pupils suddenly dilated.

She saw a red dot flickering on the top of a nearby high-rise building.

It seemed to come from a sniper rifle.

"Take cover!" Jiang Bai shouted, leaping and rolling to the side of the road, hiding in an open house.

With a bang, the ground where she had just stood splattered with gravel.

Thanks to previous experience, Shang Jianyao, Bai Chen, and Long Yuehong didn't doubt the team leader's order and immediately reacted, quickly rushing into the street-facing houses opposite the side entrance of the "Urban Smart Network Control Center" with different movements and postures.

Two more shots came from different building tops, drilling into the ground.

After hiding in the room, Jiang Bai took out the walkie-talkie, pressed the button, and said urgently:

"There are at least three snipers on the surrounding rooftops.

"This style of coming to the source of the anomaly but not entering, only lying in wait around, reminds me of someone.

"The 'Hyenas'!"

This was the standard style of the "Hyenas" gang.

This wasn't to say that only they liked to use similar methods, but among the teams that appeared around and had at least three sniper rifles, they were the most famous, and possibly the only one.

"Isn't this too treacherous?" Long Yuehong, holding the walkie-talkie, blurted out.

The "Hyenas" gang didn't seem to want to explore the anomaly and find more valuable things but only planned to eliminate the relic hunters who had withdrawn.

"They are a gang." Jiang Bai responded with a hint of amusement, "Fortunately, they were probably also distracted by the changes in the city ruins after the power was restored and didn't immediately target us."

"But we were also affected by the changes in the ruins." Bai Chen simply defended.

"Or maybe they climbed twenty floors and hadn't caught their breath when we came out, and now the power is back, and we can use the elevator." Shang Jianyao sighed, "What a pity..."

Long Yuehong was very in sync:

"What a pity?"

"What a pity that I was distracted by the changes in the ruins; otherwise, I could have given them a Gold Coast Swing Hula Dance." Shang Jianyao's tone conveyed obvious regret.

"… Looking forward to such a day in the future." Jiang Bai, holding the walkie-talkie, casually replied, "The most important issue now is how to escape the 'Hyenas' ambush? They definitely have more than just snipers."

"The 'Hyenas' have armored vehicles, heavy machine guns, and rocket launchers. After using snipers to control our movement range, they will likely send people to sweep us." Bai Chen recalled various information and calmly gave the most likely scenario.

"What should we do?" Although Long Yuehong wasn't too panicked, he still felt that they were in great danger.

Without military exoskeletons, they couldn't avoid heavy machine gun fire in such a limited area, and neither grenade launchers, rifles, nor grenades could penetrate the thick armor.

If the military exoskeletons were still available, they could try electromagnetic weapons.

Jiang Bai was silent for a few seconds and then gave orders through the walkie-talkie:

"There are definitely no snipers on the 'Urban Smart Network Control Center' building; the 'Hyenas' dare not enter that area.

"So, we can go to the entrance and walk along the walls, which are their blind spots.

"Find a good position in advance. When the armored vehicle comes, Bai Chen will shoot the machine gunner first to briefly suppress him. If the fire control system of the armored vehicle is intact and the heavy machine gun can be operated inside, I will try to hit the shooting position with a 'Thunder Spear.' The goal is to create an opportunity for Shang Jianyao to get closer.

"Shang Jianyao, when the time comes, you will crawl under the armored vehicle. The distance between you and the people inside is less than a meter, allowing you to fully utilize your abilities and not worry about the threat of snipers."

Jiang Bai named the attack of her eel-type bio-limb "Thunder Spear."

"Okay!" Shang Jianyao seemed to have been eager to do this.

Bai Chen also responded.

Long Yuehong listened quietly and said after a moment:

"What should I do?"

"Cheer me on." Shang Jianyao said seriously.

After Shang Jianyao finished speaking, Jiang Bai added:

"You are responsible for guarding the surroundings. What if it's not just an armored vehicle?

"I'll give you the grenade launcher later."

Long Yuehong immediately answered loudly:

"Yes, team leader!"

Just as Jiang Bai was about to say more, she suddenly turned her head, sensing something.

"They're here! On the right street, only one vehicle." She quickly informed Shang Jianyao and the others and found a metal scissors in the room.

The four members of the "Old Tune Group" immediately returned to the entrance, moving along the walls to different positions.

During this process, they exchanged some weapons to prepare for the next step.

Soon, the armored vehicle appeared at the street corner.

It had three large wheels on one side, a military green exterior, a door on the side, and dark bulletproof glass on the front.

It was more than twice the size of an ordinary vehicle, with a heavy machine gun mounted on top and a rod-like antenna.

Just a glance, and Long Yuehong's mind was filled with words like "steel," "hard," "power," "crushing," and "indestructible."

At this moment, a pleasant melody quickly approached and turned into the current street.

It was a large blue vehicle with a giant metal tank, lights on, playing music, and spraying water onto the street.

In the driver's seat, a "Heartless" wearing an old orange and white cotton jacket sat there, operating the steering wheel with slightly stiff movements.

His eyes were blank, and he wore a black, chipped headphone.

This water truck, illuminating the road ahead, drove fast and almost collided with the armored vehicle coming from the side.

With a screech, the "Heartless" driver reflexively stepped on the brakes, blocking the road.

The armored vehicle driver, never having encountered such a situation, also stopped the vehicle.

Seeing this, Jiang Bai's eyes lit up, and she shouted:

"Opportunity!"

Amid the cheerful and melodious water truck music, she took a step forward and pulled back her left arm.

The metal scissors in her hand were instantly wrapped in crackling silver-white electric snakes.

PS: Requesting recommendations!