No one could answer Shang Jianyao's question. Only Long Yuehong seriously considered why the old monk chose to jump from the building instead of hanging himself to sever his physical form.

"Maybe hanging seemed weaker?" He repeatedly compared the two options, only able to come up with this explanation.

At this moment, the scene before the "Old Task Force" members' eyes returned to normal, leaving only simple furniture and the slightly mottled walls around them.

Jiang Baimian retracted her gaze from the front and laughed self-deprecatingly:

"I previously thought that the 'Crystal Consciousness Church' was different from the monastic orders, truly restoring the Buddhist doctrines of the Old World.

"Now it seems that Zen Master Cannaga is relatively special, compassionate and benevolent.

"Hmm… those scenes from just now reminded me of cults in the Old World's entertainment materials.

"Think about it: the dim, starlit night, the dark and deep hall, the gray-robed monks gathered from all directions, the overlapping different perspectives, the Buddha statue quietly watching all this, the Zen master who claimed to have attained enlightenment but suddenly jumped from the top floor of the temple and splattered his brains… Aren't they really worshiping evil gods?"

"Evil Buddhas," Shang Jianyao corrected Jiang Baimian's wording.

Long Yue nodded, feeling moved, "Indeed, I get chills just thinking about what happened just now."

Bai Chen recalled and said, "'Crystal Consciousness Church' won't be too evil even if it is evil; it's definitely better than the monastic orders.

"When I was in First City, I didn't hear about them doing anything excessive. The evil things should all be targeted at internal members."

Clearly, Bai Chen deeply detested the mechanical monk Jingfa, leading to an extremely low opinion of the monastic orders.

Jiang Baimian carefully thought for a while and exhaled, "Let's sleep.

"If we can't find a chance to escape tomorrow and have nothing else to do, I'll borrow the 'Crystal Consciousness Church's' scriptures and books from the monks who deliver food to see what differences exist between their doctrines, the monastic orders, and some Buddhist scriptures left over from the Old World."

She spoke about finding a chance to escape in a very open manner, not afraid of Cannaga "hearing" it.

Anyway, no one believed the "Old Task Force" when they said they had resigned themselves to fate and were willing to stay for ten days.

Thus, Shang Jianyao was the first to occupy a bed.

Jiang Baimian then looked at Bai Chen, "You sleep first. Xiao Hong and I will take the night watch."

She pointed to the other empty bed.

Even under surveillance, even within the Crystal Consciousness Church's Sika Luo Temple, they didn't dare to be careless and still maintained the habit of taking turns on night watch.

Cannaga being compassionate and kind didn't mean that all the other monks were the same.

There was a high probability that there were some mentally unstable types among them, and the strange events that had just occurred made every member of the "Old Task Force" vigilant.

As for why they reorganized the groups, it was because Jiang Baimian wanted to ensure that each group on night watch had the ability to sense approaching humans.

"Okay," Bai Chen didn't question it.

At this time, the struggling "Garibaldi" reached the limit of his physical strength and drifted off to sleep again.

…

A night passed uneventfully.

Not long after sunrise, Han Wanghuo, Zeng Duo, and Genava drove away from the wilderness wanderer settlement in the northern mountains and returned to the Black Wasteland, carrying an old radio transceiver they had traded for.

"There's a small hunter team over there," Han Wanghuo, who was driving, said, looking into the distance. "Should we go over and ask for directions, leave some traces?"

"We can," Genava, in the middle seat in the back row, answered.

Zeng Duo, however, was somewhat stunned because she didn't see any small hunter team at all.

It was only after the vehicle had traveled for a few more seconds that she noticed a multi-purpose vehicle in the distance.

His eyesight is so good? Zeng Duo glanced at Han Wanghuo with surprise.

It wasn't surprising that the smart robot Genava could clearly distinguish things at that distance, but Han Wanghuo, as an ordinary human, could also do such a thing?

Thinking of Han Wanghuo's yellowed whites of his eyes, Zeng Duo murmured to herself:

"Does he also have a mutation?"

Soon, Zeng Duo recovered and responded to Han Wanghuo's suggestion:

"Sure."

Han Wanghuo immediately drove the vehicle behind a small hill, and while simply camouflaging it, he said to Genava:

"You stay here and act like you're providing backup.

"We can't let others know that there are only three of us left; we have to make them think there are more people hiding here."

Genava was quite satisfied that Han Wanghuo easily admitted that he was a "person":

"No problem."

After he opened the door and got out of the car, found a good place to "hide," Han Wanghuo drove the dark black off-road vehicle with Zeng Duo towards the white multi-purpose vehicle.

When they were still quite a distance away, Han Wanghuo proactively stopped the car, leaned out, waved, and shouted loudly:

"I want to ask something!"

Going straight over without saying hello in advance could easily be mistaken for robbers or relic hunters who moonlight as robbers.

The white multi-purpose vehicle also stopped, and a man wearing an Old World cowboy hat stepped out of the passenger seat.

He was wearing a white shirt and an open brown vest, with a revolver at his waist and a sharp dagger twirling in his hand.

The man, with rough skin and traces of wind and rain, looked at Han Wanghuo in the distance for a few seconds and responded loudly:

"Come over here; it's too tiring to shout like this."

He had one hand on the revolver at his waist, indicating that he wasn't without vigilance.

Han Wanghuo observed the man and didn't start the car immediately.

Just then, Zeng Duo frowned slightly and said:

"He probably hasn't been in the wasteland for many days."

This was a judgment made by a relic hunter who frequented the wasteland.

The water sources, food, and environment here were quite harsh. As long as humans entered, no matter how well prepared they were, after five or six days, they would become "dirty" and tired, and they wouldn't be as energetic and clean as the man across from them.

Han Wanghuo accepted Zeng Duo's judgment and nodded lightly.

"The closest place to here is First City. They must have seen our bounty when they came from First City, and with our current 'disguise,' he couldn't possibly not recognize us."

Speaking of this, Han Wanghuo paused, "Since he recognized us but still asked us to go over, then it means they have a certain confidence in dealing with us, well, before our 'backup' arrives."

"Mm," Zeng Duo looked at the man with the cowboy hat a few more times and felt that his attitude was indeed suspicious.

Han Wanghuo no longer hesitated. While stepping on the accelerator, he turned the steering wheel, causing the dark black off-road vehicle to turn directly towards the small hill where Genava was "hiding."

The man with the cowboy hat sighed in disappointment when he saw this scene.

He then took out a walkie-talkie and said in a deep voice:

"Target acquired."

…

Sixth floor of the Sika Luo Temple.

Jiang Baimian looked at the young monk who brought several loaves of oat bread and water and asked with a smile:

"Master, after what happened last night, we have become very interested in your church. I wonder if we can borrow a few scriptures to read?"

The young monk hurriedly lowered his head and chanted a Buddhist prayer:

"This is precisely the original intention of establishing our church."

As Jiang Baimian was about to express her gratitude, Shang Jianyao by the window suddenly turned around and asked:

"Why are so many monks going out today?"

"The Chief has entered Nirvana and gone to the Land of Ultimate Bliss, which is what you ordinary people call the New World, so we have to send people to the Five Holy Lands to hold the corresponding rituals," the young monk replied frankly.

"Five Holy Lands?" Jiang Baimian heard this term for the first time. "Which are the five?"

The young monk shook his head somewhat embarrassedly:

"The Buddha said: It cannot be said, it cannot be said.

"This poor monk cannot lie, but I can choose not to answer."

"Why can't this be said?" Jiang Baimian asked in confusion.

The young monk explained simply:

"The Five Holy Lands are all related to my Buddha Bodhi and the World-Free Lord Tathagata, either where They entered Nirvana, or where They descended into the world, or where They lectured in the ancient years of the Old World.

"In order to prevent outsiders from destroying the holy sites, we have hidden the corresponding information as secrets."

Speaking of this, the young monk smiled honestly:

"Actually, I don't know exactly which the Five Holy Lands are, I only know a little bit roughly.

"In our church, only monks who have opened the Sixth Consciousness can specifically touch the matters of the holy sites."

"Alright," Jiang Baimian sighed regretfully.

She didn't let Shang Jianyao go up to "make friends." After all, when you're under someone else's roof, how can you be so arrogant?

What if they anger Cannaga and he turns evil?

Not long after Jiang Baimian and the others finished breakfast, the young monk from before brought several scriptures of the "Crystal Consciousness Church."

As the four members of the "Old Task Force" flipped through them, one book each, Long Yuehong suddenly made a sound of surprise:

"There's a piece of paper sandwiched in here."

Jiang Baimian, Shang Jianyao, and Bai Chen all turned their gazes towards him.

Long Yuehong curiously took out the piece of paper, unfolding it while smiling:

"It's still quite new."

As soon as he finished speaking, his expression suddenly froze.

"What's wrong?" Jiang Baimian and Bai Chen got up and walked towards Long Yuehong, and Shang Jianyao even jumped over.

Long Yuehong came back to his senses and said with confusion and bewilderment:

"It's written on it, it's the situation of the Five Holy Lands…"

This… Jiang Baimian and the others crowded beside Long Yuehong at the same time, turning their attention to the piece of paper.

On the paper was floral Red River script, with the first line reading:

"Five Holy Lands:"

The second line was the specific names:

"1. Iron Mountain City Second Food Company."

"…" Long Yuehong didn't know how to criticize it for a moment.

The style is too wrong, right?

These are the so-called holy sites?

Your holy site is the Second Food Company?

Jiang Baimian had similar thoughts. Her gaze quickly moved down, looking at the third line:

"2. Changhe City United Steel Factory."

Changhe City United Steel Factory? Jiang Baimian suddenly turned her head, looking at Shang Jianyao and Bai Chen.

Isn't that the Old World's original name for the steel factory ruins where they encountered the mechanical monk Jingfa in the Black Marsh Wilderness?

The mechanical monk Jingfa appeared there not by chance?