"It seems we can only find the answer when Shang Jianyao enters the 'Mind Corridor'," Long Yuehong said, sounding slightly disappointed.

In reality, the mysterious laboratory in the No. 1 Swamp Ruins had already been destroyed, so they could only try to unearth the hidden secrets from the dreams or memories of certain individuals.

Jiang Baimian first nodded, and then proposed another possibility:

"The 'Mind Corridor' rooms recorded by Yan Hu may not necessarily equate to the original owner of 'Coward'.

"The original owner could have left behind enough aura in other rooms while exploring, due to certain purposes or some kind of accident.

"Also, maybe it's room '102'. Yan Hu didn't tick it, which doesn't mean Yan Hu only went in once. Perhaps he didn't finish exploring the first time, only gaining the 'Coward' aura, so he conducted a second or even a third exploration, and never managed to return."

Clap clap clap, Shang Jianyao's applause was never late.

Jiang Baimian glanced at him:

"Next is observation, to see if there are any other changes, and also to see if the company will release records of the excavation of the No. 1 Swamp Ruins."

Having said that, she walked back to her position and began reading the piled-up materials.

...

For a long period of time afterward, the "Old Task Force" was methodically preparing for their trip to First City in a relatively peaceful and stable state.

They spent most of their time training themselves and grasping the various situations in "First City." At the same time, they went to the surface three times, sometimes for field training, sometimes for in-depth mastery classes on military exoskeletons.

Shang Jianyao never found any remnants of yellow-green mist in the "Sea of Origins" again, but to Jiang Baimian's surprise, he hadn't encountered a fourth island of fear for so long.

As for room 23 in Area B on the 495th floor, it had already been allocated to a couple who had married out of free love, and nothing abnormal had happened. Long Yuehong and Shang Jianyao's encounter really felt like a dream.

Similarly, the "Naturalism Church's" forces inside "Pangu Biology" seemed to have been completely eradicated. There was no follow-up.

In the blink of an eye, April arrived.

Jiang Baimian stood in room 14 on the 647th floor, with a serious expression as she said to Shang Jianyao, Long Yuehong, and Bai Chen:

"Tomorrow is the scheduled departure date.

"Do you have any other thoughts?"

Shang Jianyao and the others shook their heads in unison.

The departure date had been discussed and decided upon by them last month, and each of them had enough psychological preparation.

Jiang Baimian's lips curled up slightly, revealing a bright smile:

"Then I announce, early dismissal. You can go back now."

"Yes, Team Leader!" Bai Chen, Long Yuehong, and Shang Jianyao answered in unison.

...

622nd floor, Area B, room 59.

Bai Chen took out the key and opened the door.

The room inside was simply furnished, with a bed against the wall, a table by the window, a chair by the table, and a set of cabinets by the bed.

Simple as it was, it was very tidy. There was no extra clutter, and no obvious dust. It was clean and refreshing.

Bai Chen didn't turn on the light. She sat down on the chair, watching the glow of the streetlights outside the window fall on the table. Half of her body was in the light, and half was in the dimness.

After a while, she reached out and opened the drawer of the table.

Inside, there was a heavy mechanical part lying quietly.

There were some cracks on the surface of the part, and the color was quite dim.

Bai Chen picked up the part, held it, looked at it, and didn't move for a long time.

...

349th floor, Area C, No. 12.

Jiang Baimian dragged herself home until almost eight o'clock.

Of course, she had called in advance, saying that she was having dinner in the "Security Department" cafeteria, so her parents didn't need to prepare a portion for her.

As soon as she opened the door, Jiang Baimian saw that the room was dim. Jiang Wenfeng was sitting in a chair by the window, flipping through a book in the light of the streetlights.

"Take care of your eyes!" Jiang Baimian slapped the living room lights on.

Suddenly, it was like daytime here.

Jiang Baimian walked towards Jiang Wenfeng, who raised his hand and rubbed the inner corner of his eye, while complaining:

"How much energy can this save?

"You can't use up your monthly energy quota!"

Not giving Jiang Wenfeng a chance to speak, Jiang Baimian glanced left and right:

"Where's Mom?"

"Went to visit a neighbor." Jiang Wenfeng breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile.

Good opportunity… Jiang Baimian thought to herself, and sat down next to Jiang Wenfeng.

She took a breath, trying to appear calm and composed:

"Dad, I'm going out on a mission again tomorrow."

Jiang Wenfeng took off his reading glasses, turned his head to look at his daughter, and asked in a steady tone:

"Where are you going this time?"

Jiang Baimian obediently replied:

"First City."

"Ah, that's a good place, and a bad place." Jiang Wenfeng stood up, walked to the small table next to him, picked up the landline phone, and dialed a number.

He said a few words to the other side, said "uh-huh" twice, then put down the phone and turned to Jiang Baimian:

"Old Huang has a deep friendship with an elder in the First City Senate named Meyers. If you encounter difficulties that you can't solve yourself, and the company's assistance can't keep up for a while, go find this elder and give Huang Lao's name."

"Okay." Jiang Baimian nodded quickly.

When Jiang Wenfeng sat down again, she was silent for a few seconds, hugged her father's arm, and leaned her head over.

"Dad, am I being very willful and selfish like this…" she looked ahead and said to herself.

Jiang Wenfeng patted her arm with his other hand, and said with a smile:

"When your grandfather was young, everyone worked hard day and night, just to completely improve the company's internal circulation and truly build the place where everyone lives and survives the apocalypse.

"Some people sacrificed for this, some were left with a lifetime of illness, and some lost their relatives and friends, but no one regretted it.

"He often told me that staying underground is not a long-term solution. Our future will always be under the sun."

Speaking of this, Jiang Wenfeng paused:

"I can understand your ideals."

Jiang Baimian hummed twice:

"Then are you willing?"

Jiang Wenfeng sighed a long sigh:

"Whether I'm willing or not, I have to be. A grown-up child is beyond their parents’ control."

Jiang Baimian leaned her head closer and laughed:

"Then help appease my mother later."

"Are you plotting against me?" Jiang Wenfeng said with a smile.

Jiang Baimian laughed along:

"When Ms. Xue gets angry, Baimian runs away in fright. I can only rely on you."

Jiang Wenfeng looked ahead and exhaled:

"Your mother is sharp-tongued but soft-hearted. Every time you go out on a mission, she doesn't sleep well at night and often secretly wipes away tears."

Jiang Baimian couldn't help but close her eyes and said in a muffled voice:

"I will remember to bring gifts for Ms. Xue…"

...

495th floor, Area C, No. 11.

The Long family of five sat around the dining table, eating dinner.

"The dishes are so rich today." Long Aihong said with a heartfelt sigh after eating a mouthful of braised pork.

Long Yuehong said with a smile:

"I got off work early today, so I added some dishes."

"Brother, it would be great if you could get off work so early every day." Long Aihong fantasized about that beautiful scene.

"What are you saying?" Gu Hong scolded, "Those who get off work early every day are either leaders or idlers. Do you want your brother to never improve in the future?"

"I'm just saying." Long Aihong replied in a low voice.

At this moment, she discovered that her second brother, Long Zhigu, had secretly eaten several more pieces of meat while she was talking, so she quickly closed her mouth and focused on the food.

When his father, mother, younger brother, and younger sister were almost finished, Long Yuehong looked around and said casually:

"I'm going out on a mission again tomorrow. If it's fast, I can come back in a month. If it's slow, it may take several months."

This was completely different from the time spent on previous field training exercises.

Clatter, Gu Hong's chopsticks fell on the table.

She quickly picked them up and put on a smile:

"Did they say where you were going to perform the mission?"

"The First City side." Long Yuehong didn't go into details, only mentioned it roughly.

Gu Hong held the chopsticks and kept her mouth shut, not speaking for a long time.

Seeing this, Long Dayong straightened his body and said in a deep voice:

"You must be careful in everything. Your mother and I can't help you much. We can only say that you don't have to worry about things at home.

"When you're outside, you have to listen to your leader. She definitely has more experience than you, and what she says must be reasonable. If you encounter a situation, don't rush too hard, take a look, wait a bit…"

Speaking of this, Long Dayong paused, as if he was stuck.

At this time, Gu Hong sniffed and said:

"Remember to bring that thin sweater. The temperature on the surface often drops in April…"

As she spoke, she couldn't continue, and her eyes were slightly red.

"Okay." Long Yuehong suddenly felt that the dishes in front of him were becoming blurry.

Long Aihong and Long Zhigu next to him gave him a thumbs-up gesture.

...

495th floor, Area B, No. 196.

Shang Jianyao was still leaning back on the bed, hidden in the darkness, waiting for the broadcast to begin.

Before long, that familiar voice echoed:

"Hello everyone, I am the hourly news announcer, Hou Yi. It is now 8:00 p.m.…

"This morning at 9:00 a.m., the Board of Directors held its third management meeting of the year, reviewing the 'Big Boss's' year-end speech. At the meeting, Ji Ze, Director of the Board and Vice President, reported on the production, research, and trade situation in the first quarter.

"Production, research, and trade in the first quarter have been stable and improving…

"The management meeting decided that the supply of meat, eggs, and milk will be increased in the coming week…

"According to the latest report from the 'Security Department,' the frequency of bandit activity in the wilderness has returned to the same level as last year…

"The spring table tennis tournament has come to an end. The representative team from the 580th floor has won the final victory…

"The first baby boom of the year has arrived…

"The reform of radio programs is steadily advancing…

"The temperature in the wilderness area dropped sharply today…"

...

The next morning, Shang Jianyao, dressed neatly, walked into Area C.

Long Yuehong was already waiting at his doorstep.

The two didn't speak, but walked side by side, entered the elevator, and arrived at the 647th floor.

After going to the small changing room to change into gray-blue camouflage uniforms and filling their tactical backpacks with various items, Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong headed towards room 14.

On the way, they encountered Bai Chen coming out of the women's changing room.

The three entered the "Old Task Force" office one after another, where Jiang Baimian, who was already ready, was waiting.

She looked around and said with a smile:

"Let's go!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Shang Jianyao helped add:

"To save all of humanity!"

ps: Double monthly tickets are on the last day~