Inside the room that originally belonged to the mayor of Early Spring Town, Malov looked at the three dejected bandits in front of him and asked in disbelief:
"Who gave you the courage to attack this place?"
In the eyes of this Major, even the most powerful North Bandit Gang in the wasteland wouldn't dare to challenge the regular army of "First City".
Moreover, they, who guarded Early Spring Town, were clearly better equipped than ordinary troops!
One of the bandits replied with a mix of annoyance and lingering fear:
"Sir, we, we were deceived. We thought you had been stationed in the wasteland for a long time, with low morale, and only had equipment in name, easily, easily broken."
"Yes, yes, yes, our leader also said that you are arrogant and complacent, negligent and careless. As long as we launch a surprise attack, we can throw you into chaos, unable to organize an effective resistance, and only able to hand over the spoils." Another bandit quickly chimed in.
Malov and the soldiers in the room didn't resolve their doubts because of this, but instead, their faces turned red.
Because what the other party said was actually somewhat in line with the actual situation!
Their unit had been guarding Early Spring Town for two or three months. The residents here mostly possessed malignant mutations, leaving them with no outlet for their desires, and they had long been abnormally irritable, only wanting to end a cycle early and return to First City for rest.
Coupled with their powerful equipment and the prestige of "First City" providing sufficient deterrent, they were certain that they would not be attacked. Whether it was daily training or routine patrols, they gradually relaxed, only maintaining an empty shell.
As a result, the "Vulture" Bandit Gang's surprise attack that came at night really threw them into chaos. If it weren't for that existence, they might not have had time to reorganize their defenses and launch a counterattack.
As the leader of this unit, Malov only felt that the prisoners' words were like slaps, constantly hitting him in the face, making him want to pull out his "Red River" pistol and fire a few rounds at these guys.
Fortunately, nothing really happened, otherwise, I would definitely end up in a military court... Malov took a breath and slowly exhaled:
"Who told you this? No, who deceived you?"
"A man and a woman, they found one of our strongholds." One of the bandits, whose face was pale due to blood loss, said as he recalled.
"What do they look like?" Malov pressed.
"Didn't see clearly." The first bandit to answer shook his head.
He had a shaved head covered in dry, black dirt.
Another bandit helped explain:
"It was night at the time, and it was raining. There weren't many torches in our stronghold, and even fewer flashlights. Except for the few who interacted with them face-to-face, no one else could see what they looked like."
"None of you?" Malov frowned slightly.
The bandits shook their heads in unison.
Is this a coincidence? The bandit leader must have interacted with those two face-to-face, but he's dead... Malov suppressed his doubts and instead asked:
"How did they convince you, uh, convince your leader, and how did your leader convince you?"
"They just repeated what we said earlier..." The pale-faced bandit replied with confusion. "I don't know why I believed the leader at the time, uh, Yasi. Usually, when something so important happens, someone would definitely raise questions..."
Malov keenly noticed the problem:
"How long did the man and woman talk to your leader?"
"Less than five minutes, definitely less than five minutes!" The bald bandit hesitated at first, then became certain.
"They didn't show anything, it was purely a conversation?" Malov asked new questions, following his own conjecture.
"No." The bandits answered one after another.
Malov glanced at the soldiers in the room and paced back and forth:
"When your leader was convincing you, did the man and woman do anything?"
"They were at the edge of the stronghold, hiding in the shadows. After our leader, uh, Yasi, convinced us, they provided your patrol routes, the monitoring patterns of the drones, and the surrounding terrain." The pale-faced bandit answered truthfully.
Malov paced back and forth again and said to the soldiers in the room:
"Keep an eye on them, I'll be back soon."
He quickly left the room, walked down the corridor to the other end, and knocked on a deep red wooden door.
"Mr. Preiss, the situation we've gathered is like this..."
He summarized the content of the prisoners' answers and described it roughly.
After he finished speaking, a male voice, seemingly trying hard to restrain something, came from inside the room after a dozen seconds:
"Ask them if anything happened before the man and woman arrived."
"Yes, Mr. Preiss." Malov turned around and returned to his room.
He stared at the prisoners and repeated the question raised by Preiss in a deep voice.
The bald bandit recalled and said:
"They used a loudspeaker or speakers to say 'We are surrounded,' and then they talked a bunch of inexplicable grand principles."
"What kind?" Malov pressed.
The pale-faced bandit briefly summarized the content from memory: When faced with things you don't understand, you should humbly ask for guidance, and you shouldn't blindly resist, but learn, understand, and accept...
Malov was bewildered.
He repeatedly confirmed it several times and came to the outside of Preiss's room again, telling the other party the information he had obtained in its original form.
Before Malov finished speaking, Preiss's slightly shocked voice came from behind the closed door:
"Wu Meng?"
…………
First City, Red Giant Wolf District, 19 Rosta Street, "Hand of Order" Headquarters.
Law enforcement officer Wall, who was as tall as a wall, met his superior, Red Giant Wolf District Order Officer Travis.
"The military has provided some feedback." Travis picked up the paper materials in front of him.
After Wall took it, the Red Giant Wolf District Order Officer simply said:
"They have a unit carrying out a secret mission in the North Anfod area."
"Could this be too much of a coincidence?" Wall asked in a deep voice without looking at the materials.
What he meant was that after Xue Shiyue and Zhang Qubing's team escaped to the North Bank Wasteland, instead of thinking about getting out of the influence of "First City" as soon as possible, they were still interested in the North Anfod area. Was there a certain connection between this and the military's secret mission?
"It's just a bit of a coincidence, that's why I let you take a look at this information." Travis sat behind his desk and nodded slightly. "Sit down and take your time reading."
Wall didn't pretend to be polite, sat down directly, and quickly browsed the documents in his hand.
After seeing the bewitched bandit gang and the voice that made people lose their vigilance, Wall's expression gradually became serious.
He raised his head and looked at his superior:
"When we were investigating how Xue Shiyue and Zhang Qubing's team escaped from the city, we obtained some clues.
"They seemed to have 'gained the trust' of a group of smugglers in the form of broadcasts."
This was very similar to the bandit gang's experience.
"You mean, Xue Shiyue and Zhang Qubing's team are after the military's secret mission?" Travis nodded slightly.
"Yes, otherwise it wouldn't be such a coincidence." Wall said with considerable confidence, "The man and woman who 'convinced' the bandits matched Xue Shiyue and Zhang Qubing in terms of height characteristics. Although they made enough disguises and cover-ups, killing all the witnesses, these coincidences are enough to betray them."
Travis "mm"ed:
"They are staying in the North Bank Wasteland, they must have their own purpose.
"And this matter also involves a dangerous existence."
Wall didn't ask which dangerous existence it was. Since Travis didn't say it directly, it meant that he wasn't qualified to know yet.
He planned to visit his father-in-law, the newly promoted Elder and powerful figure in the military, Gaius, after returning, to see what was going on.
After talking for a while, Travis breathed a sigh of relief and said:
"I will submit the clues and inferences you have found."
…………
North Anfod, inside a city ruin.
"The defenses of Early Spring Town have become more strict." Han Wanghuo said about his observation results.
Jiang Baimian nodded, turned her head, and looked at Long Yuehong, Bai Chen, and Genava.
"From the First City direction, new troops are heading this way." Bai Chen said steadily.
In order to scout this information, both she and Long Yuehong had worn military exoskeletons.
While Han Wanghuo and Zeng Duo's expressions were serious, Jiang Baimian smiled:
"This is a good thing."
"Yes, yes, yes." Shang Jianyao played the role of Long Yuehong.
Seeing Zeng Duo cast a puzzled look, Jiang Baimian smiled and said:
"First City should have investigated and found out that we were secretly driving the 'Vulture' Bandit Gang. It seems that they are not too stupid. They have not let down our performance."
"Why?" Han Wanghuo asked in confusion.
This would only lead to a straight increase in the defensive power of Early Spring Town, making rescue impossible.
Jiang Baimian smiled:
"I analyzed it before, there is almost no hope of rescuing Early Spring Town by ourselves, unless you can wait until winter, and that is just a guess.
"In that case, it's better to let First City send more elite squads, more powerhouses at the 'Mind Corridor' level, to increase defenses and hunt us down.
"And we..."
Jiang Baimian suppressed her smile:
"Return to First City."
"Ah?" This time, Long Yuehong couldn't understand the team leader's thinking either.
Jiang Baimian chuckled and said:
"The situation in First City is already very delicate, on the verge of chaos, and it has barely maintained a balance.
"After we transfer a large number of personnel and some strongmen away, there is a high probability that the balance will be tilted. At that time, we will step in and look for opportunities.
"When the First City is in turmoil, the vast majority of the strongmen and troops guarding Early Spring Town will be transferred back. At that time, the defenses here will be empty."
Seeing Long Yuehong, Zeng Duo, and others' pupils dilate, Jiang Baimian added with a grin:
"This is called feinting east to attack west, then attacking east again."