Chapter 88

High up on the rooftop, the vast terrace, a woman's mournful voice sang melodiously and lingeringly.

Jiang Baimian listened quietly for a while, then surveyed the dead, dark city around her, and said with a slight sigh:

"This song is pretty good."

Without waiting for Shang Jianyao and the others to respond, Jiang Baimian continued:

"Let's go down. The lights are out, and who knows what might happen. We need to keep an eye on the jeep and the armored car.

"If we're not careful and they get destroyed, it will be even more troublesome to face the dangers ahead."

She wasn't worried about whether there would be transportation to leave in the morning, as there seemed to be quite a few drivable cars in this city ruin.

"Yes, Team Leader!" Long Yuehong responded reflexively.

Jiang Baimian glanced at Shang Jianyao:

"Turn off the speaker, or we'll easily become targets."

Shang Jianyao didn't argue, squatted down, picked up the small blue-and-black speaker, turned it off, and put it in the tactical backpack.

The surroundings immediately became extremely quiet, with only the wind howling from above.

As the four members of the "Old Tune Team" headed for the stairwell, Bai Chen couldn't help but turn back and look at the cityscape stretching into the distance.

The buildings were hidden in the darkness, with no sound or light emanating from them.

"Team Leader, don't you think this looks like a cemetery?" Bai Chen asked softly as he withdrew his gaze.

Jiang Baimian turned back and, after a moment of silence, said:

"Yes, those buildings are like tombstones of the old world, one after another..."

Before she finished, Shang Jianyao asked:

"What are tombstones?"

In "Pangu Biotech," there were no cemeteries; each deceased employee only had a line of text carved on the corresponding wall.

"They are... never mind, I'll explain later," Jiang Baimian organized her words and said.

She then walked into the stairwell and turned on her flashlight.

This time, they couldn't take the elevator and had to run down the stairs.

Fortunately, their physical condition was quite good, and three of them had undergone genetic modification, so when they returned to Room 805, they were only slightly out of breath and not very tired.

Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao checked the room again to ensure no dangerous creatures had entered.

"Bai Chen, you and Long Yuehong rest. I'll monitor the jeep and the armored car, and Shang Jianyao will keep an eye on the outside streets," Jiang Baimian said, holding the flashlight and returning to the living room.

"Okay," Bai Chen watched as the team leader set up the "Orange" rifle by the dining room window and then said thoughtfully, "The place where the explosion happened seems to be the mysterious laboratory Qiao Chu mentioned."

Jiang Baimian didn't turn back, focusing on the area below:

"That direction, that location, it's likely to be the case.

"I wonder if Qiao Chu's mission was to destroy it, or if it was due to being pursued by the mechanical monks, leading to the explosion..."

Shang Jianyao, looking at the place where the flames and air currents had risen, said seriously:

"I think it's the former."

"Based on the description of the Eighth Institute by Du Heng?" Jiang Baimian asked subconsciously.

Shang Jianyao shook his head:

"I just counted the number of cars on the side of the road.

"The result was an odd number."

"..." Jiang Baimian spat, "I shouldn't have discussed this with you so seriously."

Long Yuehong hadn't spoken since leaving the terrace. Now, he looked at the city ruins shrouded in darkness and said in a somewhat distant tone:

"Team Leader, I now understand why you want to investigate the reason for the destruction of the old world, why you like to dig into the past from the ruins of the city..."

Jiang Baimian listened quietly and smiled with satisfaction:

"Good to know."

Long Yuehong wanted to say more but didn't know how to express it, so he continued to gaze at the silent city full of dangers and said:

"What will happen next?"

"Who knows?" Jiang Baimian kept her eyes on the jeep and the armored car, "I just hope all the changes don't affect us, that Qiao Chu is chased out of the city ruins by the monks, or that both sides are severely injured, and we can just wait until dawn and leave by car."

"Team Leader, saying that doesn't seem very auspicious," Shang Jianyao said casually.

Jiang Baimian said with a mix of annoyance and helplessness:

"We've been so unlucky so many times, things should turn around now."

Hearing the word "unlucky," Long Yuehong felt inexplicably guilty and touched his mouth.

It seemed that Jiang Baimian's words were effective, as in the following hours, although there were occasional explosions, gunshots, and roars in the city ruins, none of them spread toward the tunnel.

By midnight, the city was completely silent.

Time passed minute by minute, and the sky gradually brightened, with the buildings emerging from the darkness, revealing their shapes.

But in the eyes of Jiang Baimian, Shang Jianyao, and the others, they looked more and more like tombstones, faded and dark, gray, or yellow.

"Let's go." After a quick breakfast, Jiang Baimian gave the order.

This time, she had Bai Chen and Long Yuehong sit in the armored car, taking turns driving, while she and Shang Jianyao took the jeep.

In the morning light, they didn't return along the tunnel, as that route was too winding and dangerous. Without Qiao Chu's guidance, the vehicles could easily get stuck in the swamp.

Moreover, Jiang Baimian suspected that some sections of the road couldn't support the weight of the armored car.

Based on An Ruxiang's information and the traces left by the relic hunters, they took a small detour to the north and left the city ruins via a relatively better road.

Along the way, they didn't forget to collect some watches, LCD screens, sunglasses, and various useful metals, even finding two barrels of suitable fuel for the armored car.

As they drove, Jiang Baimian squinted and said to Shang Jianyao in the passenger seat:

"There's a convoy coming from ahead, with dozens or even hundreds of people."

As she spoke, she realized:

"About a hundred people, it's Wang Beicheng's action team."

They were the team sent by "Pangu Biotech" to investigate the anomalies here.

Sure enough, they soon saw the armored vehicles and other equipment, and the captain of the 23rd Team, Wang Beicheng.

Wang Beicheng was equally surprised to meet Jiang Baimian and the others again. He adjusted his gray beret, looked at the armored car behind the jeep, and said to Jiang Baimian:

"Weren't you going to Qifeng Town?

"How did you end up here, and get an armored car?"

More importantly, they seemed to have entered the newly discovered city ruins earlier than his team.

"Haha, it was an accident," Jiang Baimian laughed dryly.

She then became serious and briefly recounted how they were lured by Qiao Chu and entered the city ruins through a small path.

This included information about the "City Smart Network Control Center," the mysterious laboratory, the "High-Level Heartless," the nightmare horse, Xiao Chong, Du Heng, Galaran, and the final explosion.

In this account, Jiang Baimian only concealed the awakening knowledge provided by Du Heng and the parts where Shang Jianyao's abilities played a role, skillfully linking their escape from Qiao Chu's charm to the "High-Level Heartless" and the boy Xiao Chong.

In a sense, this was the truth.

As Wang Beicheng listened, his expression grew serious, and he said sincerely:

"Thank you so much. Without this information, we would have gone in blindly and lost many people!

"Moreover, the 'High-Level Heartless' and mutated creatures in there are likely more than what you encountered. Even with prior knowledge, it's still very dangerous for our action team.

"I will immediately send the information back and request reinforcements.

"For now, we will only set up a base at the edge of the city..."

Jiang Baimian waved her hand:

"What you do is none of our business."

Wang Beicheng looked at the armored car again, rubbed his hands, and hesitated with a smile:

"Can you support our team?"

For them, an additional armored car and a heavy machine gun meant a significant boost in combat power.

Jiang Baimian smiled:

"No problem.

"But we have many things in the armored car, and the jeep alone can't carry them. You need to help us transport them back to the company. I have a list.

"Also, the heavy machine gun on the armored car is our spoils of war and should count as a contribution."

For them, traveling on the gray earth was more convenient in a jeep.

Wang Beicheng sucked in a breath as if in pain:

"Okay."

After parting ways with Wang Beicheng's team, Long Yuehong and Bai Chen returned to the jeep.

Jiang Baimian, driving, said thoughtfully:

"Since we've met Wang Beicheng, it means this road should be safe, and we won't encounter Qiao Chu again.

"Shang Jianyao, you can deactivate your 'Reasoning Clown' effect."

Shang Jianyao was playing with a pair of black sunglasses, putting them on and taking them off from time to time.

Hearing the team leader's order, he smiled and said:

"There are many couples in the company who fell in love freely."

Jiang Baimian was taken aback and patted the jeep's horn:

"Right, why did I think assigned relationships were true love?"

Shang Jianyao then turned to Bai Chen:

"Humans can be trusted and relied upon.

"After these few days, don't you think we can protect your back?"

Bai Chen was stunned, and his eyes flickered uncontrollably.

At this moment, Jiang Baimian interjected:

"Why does this sound so familiar?

"You're plagiarizing my words!"

"This is called quoting," Shang Jianyao responded seriously.

Bai Chen, listening to their argument, couldn't help but smile.

Shang Jianyao then looked at the somewhat bewildered Long Yuehong and smiled:

"Organ transplant, neural reconstruction, artificial uterus."

"..." Long Yuehong's facial muscles twitched, resisting the urge to beat up Shang Jianyao.

After all, he couldn't win.

Recalling the past, he realized he had unknowingly been influenced by the "Reasoning Clown" and asked fearfully:

"Do you often use the 'Reasoning Clown' to mislead me?"

Shang Jianyao didn't turn his head and said directly:

"You're not worthy."

"..." Long Yuehong didn't know whether to be relieved or sad.

Jiang Baimian finally couldn't stand it and said to Shang Jianyao:

"Get some sleep, it's your turn to drive soon.

"Phew, finally getting rid of this mess.

"Next, we can't delay any longer. Our goal is Qifeng Town!"

Shang Jianyao, hearing this, pinched his temples, put on his sunglasses, leaned back in the seat, and closed his eyes.

...

In the depths of the "Hall of Stars," at the top of the silver staircase, in front of the gray stone door.

Shang Jianyao looked at the three indentations above, one hand in his pocket, the other reaching out to touch the door.

White light rose from the indentations, forming three ethereal stars.

The white light representing the "Reasoning Clown" was significantly brighter than the other two.

The next second, the white light displaying the words "Sentimental Person" rapidly brightened, quickly matching the "Reasoning Clown."

After a brief pause, the heavy stone door trembled and slowly moved backward.

As the gap widened, Shang Jianyao saw the scene inside.

It was an endless, ethereal "sea," with a faint light gliding over the surface.

The "Origin Sea."

...

After driving the jeep out of the deep swamp, Jiang Baimian woke up Shang Jianyao:

"It's your turn.

"Let's have a smooth journey from now on!"

Shang Jianyao opened his eyes, took off his sunglasses, and smoothly moved to the driver's seat, switching places with the team leader.

Once seated, he saw an endless gray-black wilderness ahead, with few clouds in the clear blue sky.

"The weather is really nice," Shang Jianyao nodded, first putting on his sunglasses, then taking out the small speaker from the tactical backpack.

Seeing Jiang Baimian look over, he stretched and said with a smile:

"How can you drive without music?"

As Bai Chen and Long Yuehong looked over, Shang Jianyao turned on the speaker.

A voice full of passion and determination echoed:

"Arise, ye wretched of the earth...

"Arise, ye prisoners of want..."

With the stirring and generous song, Shang Jianyao waved his hand:

"Let's go!"

As he spoke, he stepped on the gas, and the jeep sped across