Nan Ke Temple.
The “Old Task Force,” having preliminarily reached an agreement with Genaeva and awaiting a response from the “Source Brain,” came here once again.
This was because, according to Genaeva, Zhou Yue, the temple master, had some things to communicate to those participating in the operation.
Zhou Yue was still wearing that white robe, with a hemp rope tied around her waist and her black hair simply draped over her shoulders.
Behind her was the ancient and solemn shrine and the giant dragon symbol made of shattered mirror shards, with rows of black-backed chairs placed on either side.
At this time, there were many worshipers praying, but none were seated; they all stood in the gaps, slightly raising their arms and tilting their bodies back, muttering incantations.
As her gaze swept around, Jiang Baimian glanced at Shang Jianyao.
Shang Jianyao nodded.
There are quite a few real humans this time… Did last night’s chaos cause the townspeople and outsiders to embrace religion at the last minute, praying to the gods of their respective faiths, hoping to receive protection? Jiang Baimian sighed inwardly upon confirmation.
As soon as she entered, she noticed that many of the worshipers in the temple possessed bioelectrical signals, which was completely different from last time.
Of course, whether Shang Jianyao’s nod meant what Jiang Baimian wanted was not something she could guarantee.
“May you please the gods!” Zhou Yue spread her arms and tilted her body back.
Even though she has face blindness, she still has a very charlatan-like aura… Just as Jiang Baimian had this thought, she heard Shang Jianyao ask:
“Why don’t you sing?”
He had previously participated in the "Mirage Dragon Church" choir.
Zhou Yue had originally intended to get straight to the point, but was met with such a question, which blocked her from speaking her mind.
However, she was a devout believer who trusted in "Everything is a dream, why bother being serious," and quickly adjusted her mindset, answering with a smile:
“Singing is a way to please the gods, not a courtesy between believers.”
Shang Jianyao seemed to have been waiting for a similar answer, and immediately put it into practice:
“Everything is a dream, why bother being serious?”
“Also…” Zhou Yue thought seriously for a moment and actually nodded.
Receiving confirmation, Shang Jianyao immediately put forward a further suggestion:
“I know a song that is especially suitable for you.”
As he spoke, he began to sing:
“Forever and ever, descendants of the dragon…” (Note 1)
“Descendants,” Zhou Yue corrected.
Unable to bear the topic drifting towards the horizon, Jiang Baimian interrupted their exchange, asking with a forced smile:
“Temple Master Zhou, Mayor Genaeva said you have some things to tell us.”
“Oh…” Zhou Yue suddenly realized, “You are the relic hunter team that fought the ‘Higher Mindless’ together last night? Have you decided to participate in Tarnan's defense operation?”
So you didn't recognize us the whole time? And you were chatting so harmoniously… Jiang Baimian almost choked on a mouthful of old blood.
Similar thoughts flashed through the minds of Long Yuehong and Bai Chen, but the emotions varied in intensity.
Haa… Jiang Baimian took a breath and answered Zhou Yue's question:
“It’s just tentative, we are still waiting for Commander Genaeva to give us an answer.
“Of course, no matter what, we will take on the defense of a certain area, which is also protecting ourselves.”
If the "Source Brain" isn't even willing to communicate by phone, then Jiang Baimian certainly won't lead the "Old Task Force" members to take the initiative. She feels there is no need to take the risk, anyway, Tarnan is full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers, with so many sects existing, there is certainly no shortage of strong individuals.
“Understood.” Zhou Yue replied with an expression of "I don't understand anything."
She then smiled, her eyes slightly narrowed as a result:
“I mainly have two things to tell you.”
“Please speak.” This time it was the polite Shang Jianyao.
Zhou Yue hummed:
“After returning last night, I racked my brains and finally confirmed one thing:
“That ‘Higher Mindless’ is afraid of looking in mirrors.”
“Looking in mirrors?” Although Jiang Baimian had already guessed that the target’s weakness was related to mirrors, she was still somewhat surprised.
She had thought that the "Higher Mindless" feared shiny objects, but unexpectedly it was the act of "looking in mirrors."
Afraid of seeing itself in the mirror? Jiang Baimian's mind quickly flashed through some guesses.
Long Yuehong, on the other hand, complained about Zhou Yue:
Clearly knew it long ago, and still says racked her brains and finally confirmed….
Lying without batting an eye, oh right, everything is a dream, why bother being serious…
“Yes.” Zhou Yue gave an affirmative reply, “So, you’d better prepare a few more mirrors on your bodies, and take them out to shine around when you encounter illusions.”
“Is that so?” Shang Jianyao turned his back and then turned back around.
A palm-sized mirror was already tied to his forehead.
——On the way to Nan Ke Temple, the “Old Task Force” purchased many mirrors.
“……” Zhou Yue was stunned by the other party's appearance and briefly forgot her words.
Just as Jiang Baimian and the others thought this was another case of being baffled by Shang Jianyao's behavior, Zhou Yue widened her eyes:
“Why didn’t I think of wearing it on my head?
“I twisted my waist so much last night that it still hurts.”
This time it was Jiang Baimian and the others who were speechless.
After a few seconds, Jiang Baimian reminded her:
“If you wear it on your head, then now your neck will be sore and your head will be dizzy.”
“Also…” Zhou Yue thought carefully and felt that back pain was relatively better.
She changed the subject and said:
“There is also one more thing, and that is that you must not measure that ‘Higher Mindless’ by your performance last night.
“There are too many places in Tarnan at night that resemble mirrors, and the strength he displays must be greatly discounted.”
After a moment of contemplation, she added:
“This level of ‘Higher Mindless’ may still have special traits.
“In short, you have to be careful.”
“Thank you.” Shang Jianyao sincerely responded on behalf of the entire team.
Jiang Baimian followed with a smile:
“We won’t joke around with our lives.”
“That’s good.” Zhou Yue “uh”ed, “You don’t need to risk searching the surrounding area either, just do your defense well. One of our sect's ‘Dream Protectors’ is on the way.”
This, will he get lost? Long Yuehong remembered the words Zhou Yue had once said, feeling that their sect had "unreliable" written all over their faces.
The question he was too embarrassed to ask was "replaced" by Shang Jianyao:
“What if he gets lost?”
Zhou Yue immediately chuckled twice:
“The one coming is definitely the type who won’t get lost.”
Jiang Baimian did not continue this topic that exposed others' flaws, and once again asked for advice:
“Temple Master Zhou, regarding the ‘Higher Mindless’’s illusions, do you have any solutions or ideas?”
Zhou Yue replied thoughtfully:
“The more you do, the more mistakes you make; the less you do, the fewer mistakes you make.”
“Then does that mean you won’t make mistakes if you don’t do anything?” Shang Jianyao asked in cooperation.
“No.” Zhou Yue shook her head, “Illusions are about having truth in falsehood and falsehood in truth. If you don’t do anything, he will blend into the illusions, walk up to you, and shoot you in the head.”
After chatting about illusions for a while, the “Old Task Force” bid farewell to Nan Ke Temple and went straight to Tarnan General Hospital.
They were going to see the survivors from last night—the remaining members of the “Mountain Fox” bandit gang.
After obtaining the consent of the robot guards with the warrant given by Genaeva, Jiang Baimian, Shang Jianyao, and the others met Pannania.
The leader of the “Mountain Fox” bandit gang had his long blond hair shaved off, his head wrapped in countless layers of white gauze, and he looked listless, seemingly questioning his existence.
In just a few short days, the once powerful “Mountain Fox” bandit gang was about to collapse.
Moreover, the things they encountered were more bizarre than the last.
The previous powerful relic hunter team was at least within a comprehensible range, but everything that happened last night exceeded Pannania's imagination.
Hearing the sound of the door opening and closing, Pannania raised his head.
His pupils suddenly dilated, and he sat up abruptly, stammering:
“I, I didn’t do anything.
“It wasn’t my intention to stay here.”
“Don’t be nervous.” Jiang Baimian reassured with a smile.
“At most we’ll beat you up, we won’t kill you.” Shang Jianyao echoed.
Long Yuehong was a little curious about the logical basis of Shang Jianyao’s statement, so he asked:
“Why?”
This bandit leader has done a lot of bad things; killing him would be acting for the heavens.
Shang Jianyao replied solemnly:
“Tarnan prohibits private fights and prohibits harming others beyond a certain limit.”
I thought you had a pang of sympathy… Long Yuehong realized that he was still relatively naive.
The two's "harmonious duo" successfully calmed Pannania's fear, and he looked around and said:
“You, what’s the matter?”
“We want to ask you what exactly you encountered last night.” Jiang Baimian cut straight to the chase.
Unconcealable fear once again appeared on Pannania’s face:
“We, after we left ‘Wild Pigeon,’ we thought of going to ‘Green Grape’ across the street.
“On the way, Johnny suddenly had to pee and thought of finding a corner to take care of it, so we stopped in the middle of the road to wait for him.”
“Why didn’t you go into ‘Green Grape’ and wait?” It was Bai Chen who asked.
She had a good understanding of the state of such teams when conducting corresponding activities:
Normally, Pannania should have said to that Johnny, “Hurry up and come over after you pee,” instead of waiting in the middle of the road with a large group of people.
Pannania’s tone was a little weaker:
“I, I was afraid, that you would chase after us.
“It’s more reassuring with more people.”
“And then?” Jiang Baimian pressed on.
Pannania recalled and said:
“Johnny left and never came back. We searched all the way, but we encountered a lot of wild beasts, some were mutated, some were starving, and there were also ‘Mindless’ mixed in.
“We fought them fiercely, and several people died. Finally, the robot guards came and protected us back to our rooms.
“At that time, we were all very tired, thinking that the robot guards would handle the subsequent matters, so we took off our clothes and went to sleep peacefully…”
Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao took turns asking some details from normal and abnormal angles, and then let go of the bandit leader, who was about to become a frightened bird, and left the ward.
Before they left, Pannania reflexively raised his right hand and waved:
“Goodbye.”
Shang Jianyao smiled and politely responded:
“Goodbye.”
After questioning the remaining bandits and returning to the jeep, Jiang Baimian suddenly said:
“Temple Master Zhou is still hiding some things…”
Note 1: Quoted from "Descendants of the Dragon," written by Mr. Hou Dejian
ps: Seeking monthly votes at the beginning of the month~