The guards hidden at the entrance of Redstone Collection almost simultaneously saw the mask and recognized the jeep.
Their bodies stiffened for two seconds, and following their alert doctrines, they withdrew their weapons, hid themselves more discreetly, and had no intention of calling out.
Shang Jianyao was not at all surprised, and he got back into the car, introducing the situation to Genaeva:
"This is the local custom here. Would you like a mask too?"
Genaeva couldn't analyze whether this was good or bad, so he could only give a vague answer:
"I'll consider it."
"He just needs to wear sunglasses." Jiang Baimian suggested as she drove the jeep into Redstone Collection, "And he needs to change his clothes."
Genaeva was still wearing his dark green military uniform.
This belonged to Tarnan's robot guards.
"Are there clothes for sale here?" Because Shang Jianyao and the others were wearing masks, Genaeva didn't feel that changing clothes was discrimination against him.
"It doesn't need to be so fancy. Just take off the jacket and wear the shirt inside. We can buy a few sets to change later." Jiang Baimian said thoughtfully.
As soon as she finished speaking, she suddenly had a strange thought:
Would Genaeva ask if he needed to wear pants?
Fortunately, Genaeva didn't question this, and moved his metal neck as he said:
"Okay."
He took off his jacket as he spoke.
Well, smart robots are different from ordinary robots. They don't ask about everything and don't need to be told everything… Jiang Baimian muttered to herself and found a familiar parking space, parking the jeep there.
After entering Redstone Collection, before Genaeva could scan the layout and structure, Shang Jianyao rushed to an old-world advertising box and knocked on it loudly.
As the sound echoed, the box door opened, revealing a Town Guard member holding a submachine gun inside.
His mask was pushed to the top of his head. He was a typical Ashlander.
"You're not cautious enough." Shang Jianyao pointed out.
He acted as if they were very familiar.
The Town Guard member answered somewhat aggrievedly:
"If I hide inside and wear a mask, I won't be able to breathe."
"That's true." Shang Jianyao said, understandingly.
He then asked:
"Who can I find to get a lot of high-performance batteries?"
The Town Guard member quietly breathed a sigh of relief:
"Mr. Dimarco's butler, Ulrich, is in charge of energy-related matters at 'Visa Trading Company'.
"Also, Anhebass has channels and might have some stock."
High-performance batteries are classified in the energy sector in the smuggling industry, and although Anhebass "contributed" a batch of weapons to Shang Jianyao and the others, he was actually closer to an energy merchant.
He sold weapons to the Mountain Monsters for coal business.
"Very good!" Shang Jianyao smiled.
He then asked a new question:
"Who is the current Sheriff and Town Guard Captain?"
"Captain Tan Jie." The Town Guard member answered truthfully.
"Oh, him." Shang Jianyao nodded happily, "I just like the way he curses without any expression."
This… Long Yuehong suddenly felt that Shang Jianyao's performance today was even more exaggerated than usual.
He couldn't help but mutter:
"What's wrong with him today?"
Jiang Baimian touched her ear and said solemnly:
"Perhaps this is the performance-type Shang Jianyao."
"Uh…" Long Yuehong was stunned for a moment, and then suddenly realized.
This was all the fault of the old-world dramas!
"I feel like he's come home." Genaeva gave his assessment.
"They're all his brothers." Jiang Baimian explained nonsensically.
Bai Chen said softly:
"The effect of old-world entertainment materials…"
At this time, Shang Jianyao had already changed several topics, such as whether anyone from "Mechanical Paradise" had come recently.
He finally asked:
"Who is the new Bishop?"
The Town Guard member replied:
"Bishop Antoniola, he looks very strong."
Jiang Baimian took a few steps forward and asked:
"Did he come alone?"
"No." The Town Guard member shook his head, "There was also 'Fear Bishop' Saint Sigmund and other clergymen, but they left after going to Lakeside Island, the one you guys visited."
"Did they take anything back? Has Lakeside Island changed?" Jiang Baimian mainly wanted to ask about this.
"I don't know." The Town Guard member thought for a moment and said he didn't know, "Anyway, we are forbidden from approaching the island in any form. What's there to prohibit? With the Fishmen there, how dare we go to the lake?"
Shang Jianyao and Jiang Baimian asked about other things and roughly grasped the current situation in Redstone Collection.
Apart from the new Bishop's appointment, the most significant change was that Hervig's widow, Mrs. Theresa, had become a person of some status here.
The arms dealer Lehman had also left, and it was said that his face was ashen when he left.
After finishing the conversation, the Old Task Force went to Kasha Inn and ordered three rooms with canned food, energy bars, and compressed biscuits.
This was much more expensive than when they stayed last time, and the innkeeper explained:
"You guys brought a robot this time, so you'll definitely need to charge it often. This is an advance payment for the electricity bill."
This hit the Old Task Force's weak spot.
They had many high-performance batteries waiting to be recharged!
Genaeva only had one spare battery left, and the military exoskeleton hadn't been worn since Long Yuehong took it off last time.
…………
Inn camp.
Jiang Baimian distributed the electronic cards:
"Shang Jianyao and I will share a room, Little White and Little Red will share a room, and Old G will have his own room."
Long Yuehong and the others were already used to this arrangement and didn't object. Only Genaeva hesitated and asked:
"Are you two couples?"
"Cough…" Long Yuehong choked on his saliva and coughed.
Jiang Baimian looked at Genaeva and laughed:
"Why do you think so?"
"Why would a man and a woman share a room if they weren't a couple?" Genaeva asked his question.
Shang Jianyao laughed.
He patted Genaeva on the shoulder:
"Old G, your view is too rigid.
"There are many combinations within human groups. Those who can be called couples are not only men and women, but also women and women, men and men, neither men nor women, half men and half women…"
He went further and further until Jiang Baimian glared at him.
"Besides," Shang Jianyao changed the subject, "Who shares a room in our Old Task Force only depends on the actual need. Think about it, which of them can restrain me? If I sneak out to do bad things in the middle of the night, they might not even notice."
Oh, he's quite proud, isn't he? Jiang Baimian was amused and annoyed at the same time.
Genaeva thought for a moment:
"I understand this principle."
He then asked again:
"Why do you have to sneak out to do bad things in the middle of the night?"
Shang Jianyao pondered for a few seconds and answered solemnly:
"Brain fart."
Before Genaeva could ask what that specifically meant, Jiang Baimian said with a smile:
"Old G, it was impolite of you to ask so directly whether they are a couple. Look, you made them both feel so uncomfortable."
Obviously, only Long Yuehong felt uncomfortable. Bai Chen was calm and didn't take it seriously.
Genaeva's slightly synthetic voice revealed a bit of sincerity:
"Actually, I know this isn't very polite, but didn't you say that companions don't need to care so much? And I want to improve my understanding of human society and you carbon-based beings as soon as possible to lay a good foundation for my future personal survival and independent action.
"This is also what you taught me, to look, ask, listen, and experience more."
Jiang Baimian laughed:
"That's right, but you can use a more polite way, such as asking me privately, not in front of them."
"I see…" Genaeva responded in a tone that suggested he had learned something new.
Next, they each went back to their rooms, rested for a while, and then gathered together to prepare dinner.
Among them, Genaeva's "food" was a high-performance battery that was charging.
Just then, they felt some commotion on the other side of the inn camp.
"What happened?" Long Yuehong looked out the door in confusion.
Shang Jianyao even put down what he was holding and walked out.
In the setting sun, they saw a group of people gathered in the distance, not knowing what they were doing.
"I'll go take a look." Shang Jianyao said, and curiously approached.
Jiang Baimian, Bai Chen, Long Yuehong, and Genaeva exchanged glances, closed the door, and followed.
As they got closer, they could see the situation more clearly:
There were forty or fifty young men and women whose faces were relatively clean, but their clothes were tattered.
Long Yuehong saw old cotton shoes with toes sticking out and down jackets with several large holes.
These men and women ranged in age from fifteen or sixteen to twenty-three or twenty-four, surrounded by seven or eight people with guns and a relatively neat appearance.
The man who seemed to be the leader among the gunmen was speaking loudly:
"I know, you've all suffered a lot in the past, otherwise you wouldn't have been sold to me as slaves.
"But now, your good days are coming!"
The forty or fifty young men and women listened with slightly numb expressions, but they also seemed to have some expectation.
The slave trader continued:
"Think about it, if I hadn't found a good place for you, would I have let you stay in a hotel? There are abandoned houses everywhere in Redstone Collection. Where can't I cram you in?
"Hehe, in two or three days, you'll be able to enter the 'Underground Ark'. Even the lowest slaves can get enough to eat, have free clothes, and sleep for at least six hours a day. If you get sick, there are doctors to see.
"Although you will always live in the underground castle, you don't have to worry about plagues, bandits, armies, and other wanderers, or fear being attacked by beasts. If you perform well enough, you might even become a supervisor and be sent to work on the ground….
"In short, you must accept training well at that time and strive to become Mr. Dimarco's servants…"
As they listened to his story, the faces of the forty or fifty men and women gradually brightened.
A certain light seemed to be shining in their clear eyes.
Their toes sticking out of the cotton shoes and their red and swollen fingers moved unconsciously.
At this moment, only one sentence was echoing in Long Yuehong's mind:
"Dimarco is a very cruel man."