Bai Chen held a tattered magazine in her hand, missing its cover and many of its first pages. She only managed to discern the title from the header.

"A periodical found within that psychological shadow," Bai Chen said, handing the magazine to Jiang Baimian.

The magazine was printed on high-quality paper, showing little sign of yellowing or brittleness despite being decades old. It felt smooth and resilient to the touch.

"Lin Sui?" Jiang Baimian didn't hide her excitement as she took the *People* magazine and quickly scanned the remaining fragment of the interview.

In the interview, the young woman hailed as a genius scientist primarily discussed her views on life, the world, and values, without mentioning her current research or workplace.

After a quick read, Jiang Baimian found her to be a typical scientist from the Old World, with nothing particularly noteworthy.

Before the Old World's destruction, various major countries were technologically advanced, and there were easily over fifty, if not a hundred, young scientists who could be called such. Not all of them would join the projects of the Nine Great Research Institutes.

Jiang Baimian composed herself and decided to reread the interview carefully from beginning to end to confirm her initial impression.

After all, only a small portion of the interview remained, totaling no more than six thousand words.

As she read word by word, Jiang Baimian's expression gradually turned serious.

She noticed that Lin Sui had mentioned the following when discussing her worldview:

"Many science fiction works have previously featured uploading human consciousness and memories to computers and virtual networks. In my opinion, this may be a prophecy…

"In the future, humans may exist as conscious beings. As long as backups are made, even death is not the end of everything. However, this requires us to construct a corresponding philosophy, addressing the question of what makes me, me, and incorporating the ethical conflicts between the original and the backup into the control system from the beginning…"

These remarks about the future sparked a term in Jiang Baimian's mind:

"Eternal Life" Project!

Could Lin Sui be one of the leaders of the "Eternal Life" Project, a key scientist at a certain research institute? Jiang Baimian suppressed her excitement, read the interview carefully, and then pointed out the relevant content to Long Yuehong and Bai Chen.

Long Yuehong, who had a deep impression of the mechanical monks and the "Eternal Life" Project, easily understood what the team leader was trying to convey and sighed with regret:

"This magazine is too badly damaged. It doesn't even have a character introduction. Otherwise, we could have known where Lin Sui was from, what schools she attended, and what organizations she later worked for…"

The information mentioned by Long Yuehong might be useless, or it might involve crucial secrets that would send shivers down one's spine just by hearing them. For example, what if Lin Sui was a local of Tieshi City and had immediate family working at the Second Food Company? Or what if she had studied at the First Senior High School of Bingyuan Tai City?

If she, a suspected leader of the "Eternal Life" Project, was associated with the Buddhist Holy Land, then things would become quite intriguing.

—Currently, the vast majority of "Eternal Life" individuals have converted to Buddhism, worshiping "Bodhi" or "Zhuang Sheng," and referring to their original research base as the Pure Land of Lapiz Lazuli!

"First of all, let's rule out the possibility that Lin Sui is a vegetable," said Shang Jianyao, who had woken up at some point.

This conclusion was obvious, as the magazine was published a week before the Old World's destruction.

Jiang Baimian "Mmm"ed in agreement.

"She also doesn't seem to be related to Fan Wensi and Li Jinlong from the Ironworks ruins.

"I'm wondering if there are any clues about her in the Pure Land of Lapiz Lazuli of the Monks' Order…"

Shang Jianyao instantly became excited.

"If there's an opportunity later, I can try to join the Monks' Order and infiltrate their Pure Land of Lapiz Lazuli."

He seemed to want to make Abbot Pudu live up to his name.

After discussing for a while, the members of the "Old Task Force" continued to flip through the other books, newspapers, and magazines.

Near dusk, they completed their filtration and found no further clues.

As they left Cliff Camp, Shang Jianyao perked up and strained to dispel the previous "thought guidance" effect with words, to prevent the mountain monsters here from being too hospitable and attracting those with malicious intentions.

All members of the "Old Task Force" had to admit that in such places and environments, vigilance was the best choice.

…

Back at the Ark, Bai Chen and the others were delighted to find that Genaeva had arrived.

The intelligent robot was cleaning the dust off himself.

"You didn't drive?" Long Yuehong asked, quite surprised.

Genaeva replied in a slightly synthesized baritone:

"If I drive an electric car, I have to consume electricity, and the car also consumes electricity. It's better to carry a solar charging panel and travel on foot, which can save energy and not slow down the speed too much.

"If I drive a fuel car, I need to go around a large circle, spending more time to ensure the supply of gasoline."

He had arrived at the conclusion that "walking" was the most energy-efficient method after careful and rigorous calculations.

"Old Ge, you can't do that!" Shang Jianyao exclaimed, heartbroken.

"Why?" Genaeva asked, puzzled.

Shang Jianyao explained earnestly:

"As a human, you must learn to be lazy and enjoy yourself. This is the driving force behind technological progress.

"I know you don't feel tired, but you have to pretend to be, or you won't fit in!"

*Clang!* Genaeva struck his left palm with his right fist.

"I understand!

"Flaws can make you more like a person."

"You are already a person," Bai Chen interjected.

To prevent Genaeva from going astray, Jiang Baimian decided to interrupt Shang Jianyao's "thought guidance," which lacked real power.

She cleared her throat and said:

"Old Ge, are all the devices ready?"

"They are ready to repair and extract data," Genaeva said, pointing to the tactical backpack on his back.

Jiang Baimian then took out the two phones from the Ironworks ruins and handed them to Genaeva:

"Let's start now."

Genaeva immediately entered work mode.

The next morning, he presented the printed documents, revealing his findings:

"These two phones started storing data two years before the Old World's destruction, but they also imported some old photos.

"Only a few of these photos have been restored, all of which are family portraits of a family of three.

"The only other data extracted were a few frequently recurring words:

"Renhui Hospital, Harbor Homes, Rent, Progress…"

Renhui Hospital… The place where Fan Wensi and Li Jinlong's son, who was a vegetable, participated in the new treatment as a volunteer? Jiang Baimian asked thoughtfully:

"Did they mention specific locations? Hospitals and residential areas with similar names exist in many cities of the Old World."

"Physically damaged, unable to recover," Genaeva replied regretfully.

Bai Chen seized on another detail:

"Did both phones start storing data at the same time?"

"Yes," Genaeva replied affirmatively.

"How could Fan Wensi and Li Jinlong have suddenly replaced their old phones at the same time?" What Bai Chen wanted to convey was whether there was a hidden reason behind this.

And this might be a clue.

"Isn't it normal to buy a gift for your loved one and get one for yourself at the same time?" Shang Jianyao, who valued relationships, found this easy to understand.

Immediately afterward, the honest man retorted:

"It's obvious that they received a large sum of compensation after their son was knocked into a vegetative state."

"The time doesn't match. There's at least a year's difference in between," Long Yuehong said, shaking his head in denial.

Although they couldn't determine exactly when Fan Wensi and Li Jinlong's son had the accident and became a vegetable, judging from the word "years" in the medical records, it should have been three years or more before the Old World's destruction, while Fan Wensi and Li Jinlong replaced their phones two years before the Old World's destruction.

The honest Shang Jianyao gave his own explanation:

"In the year or two after receiving compensation, they didn't dare to spend it. They saved every penny and spent all the money on their son's recovery. It wasn't until they realized that he would never wake up and had to try the free new treatment that they remembered their phones were nearly completely broken."

This was a very reasonable explanation, so reasonable that Jiang Baimian, Long Yuehong, and Bai Chen fell silent.

Genaeva looked left and right and decided to remain silent as well.

After a long pause, Jiang Baimian sighed and said:

"If Renhui Hospital is the place where Fan Wensi and Li Jinlong's son received the new treatment, then Harbor Homes is most likely the residential area they rented, which can be indirectly confirmed by the word 'rent.'

"Think about it. Your son—uh, none of you have sons yet. Anyway, after your family members are sent to a certain hospital to receive a new treatment, would you rent a place nearby and visit regularly?"

"Yes!" Although he didn't have a son, Genaeva had a daughter, and his answer was resolute.

Long Yuehong imagined the scene:

"But why did Fan Wensi and Li Jinlong return to the Ironworks?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Long Yuehong thought of an explanation:

After discovering that the new treatment didn't seem to have any effect, their hope was completely shattered…

Jiang Baimian shook her head:

"The Old World's destruction was not long before the Spring Festival. It's normal for Fan Wensi and Li Jinlong to return to their hometown to visit relatives."

"Indeed," Long Yuehong agreed, understanding as a member of the Ashlands.

After another exchange, Jiang Baimian instructed Genaeva to put away the two phones and said:

"Since there is no information related to the Tieshi City ruins in them, let's ignore them for now.

"Now, let's pay a visit to that team suspected of being from the Salvation Army."

"Why?" Long Yuehong asked, puzzled.

Jiang Baimian smiled:

"The investigation into the cause of the Old World's destruction and the five Buddhist Holy Lands is not the exclusive privilege of one team or one force.

"Why can't we chat with them and exchange information?

"It won't bring any harm to us or the company."

Seeing that Long Yuehong and Bai Chen still didn't quite understand, Jiang Baimian further explained:

"It's like theoretical physics research in the Old World. The results belong to all of humanity. The value of hiding and keeping secrets is less than the value of mutual exchange, discussion, debate, and competition."