Hearing Lei Man's words, Jiang Bai Mian, wearing a mask, chuckled:
"What a coincidence."
After a pause, she added:
"I previously thought your commission was related to 'United Industries' and required us to go somewhere else."
Seeing that this mysterious team of ruin hunters was showing goodwill, Lei Man forced a smile and said:
"If you are willing, I also have many commissions related to 'United Industries'."
Shang Jian Yao asked with great interest:
"What are they?"
Isn't this just a polite remark... Lei Man was momentarily speechless.
Regarding matters with "United Industries", he had always believed that good connections were better than good skills.
Jiang Bai Mian chuckled inwardly, while directing Long Yue Hong to continue helping Bai Chen cook, she said to Lei Man:
"Tell us about your commission, but we may not accept it."
Huff... Lei Man breathed a sigh of relief:
"It's like this, when I was still an employee of a military enterprise under 'United Industries', I was saved by a ruin hunter.
"His name is Lars, a bit younger than me, a very good marksman, outstanding in combat, a 'Veteran Hunter'.
"Later, we often met, he helped me a lot, and I gave him quite a few commissions, allowing him to live a decent life..."
After briefly recounting the past, Lei Man finally said:
"In short, he is my best friend."
"What happened to him?" Jiang Bai Mian asked.
Long Yue Hong, who was helping Bai Chen cook, also perked up his ears.
This story seemed somewhat interesting.
Lei Man's expression slowly became heavy:
"He's missing.
"He disappeared in Redstone Town about a year ago."
"Before he disappeared, did he tell you anything?" It wasn't Jiang Bai Mian who asked this, but Shang Jian Yao, who had his arms crossed and was stroking his chin with one hand.
All he was missing was a pipe to simulate a famous detective from a radio drama.
Lei Man slowly exhaled and said:
"The gathering point he came from was attacked, and his only living younger sister was abducted and became a slave.
"He had been searching for his sister's whereabouts, and one day, he happily told me that he had found a lead, confirming that his sister had been sold to Redstone Town, and was likely already a servant in the 'Underground Ark'.
"I thought it shouldn't be too difficult to redeem someone from the 'Underground Ark', so I told him that as long as he could confirm his sister was there, I could sponsor him with a sum of supplies to complete the transaction.
"He quickly set off for Redstone Town, and a friend of mine told me that he did arrive, but hadn't been seen in a few days.
"He just disappeared like that."
Towards the end, Lei Man's tone was very somber.
"You suspect his disappearance is related to the 'Underground Ark'?" Jiang Bai Mian pressed.
"Maybe he had a conflict with some people in Redstone Town, was secretly killed, tied to a stone, and sunk into the lake." Shang Jian Yao offered another possibility.
In the Greylands, except within a few major forces, order and chaos coexist, and murder and robbery are common occurrences.
Lei Man shook his head:
"This might happen in other gathering points, but Redstone Town, as you know, all the townspeople like to hide, and without business entanglements, it's difficult for outsiders to create conflict with them, uh, I also had Lars carry a letter I wrote, asking my friends to take care of him."
"For example, Hervig?" Jiang Bai Mian asked with a smile.
"Yes." Lei Man didn't deny it.
Before Hervig died, he was Lei Man's main partner in Redstone Town, worthy of being called a friend.
Shang Jian Yao was immediately excited:
"Could it be Hervig who did it?
"Hervig's relationship with his wife wasn't too good, Lars was staying at their house, and he's a very capable hunter, could the two have quickly developed a romantic entanglement, discovered by Hervig, who killed him in a fit of anger?"
What kind of radio dramas and radio stories does the company usually broadcast... Wait, why does this story sound so familiar? Based on Weller's affair with his superior's wife, being caught on the spot, mixed with Bishop Renato suffering from 'Heartless Disease', Hervig being scared to death in the ventilation duct? Jiang Bai Mian gradually understood the source of Shang Jian Yao's inspiration.
Lei Man shook his head without hesitation:
"Impossible."
"What evidence do you have?" Shang Jian Yao expressed his disapproval.
Lei Man hesitated for a moment, clasping his hands together:
"He couldn't have had an affair with Theresa, because he likes men."
This... Jiang Bai Mian looked at the arms dealer in front of her, gave Shang Jian Yao a look, telling him not to continue "deducing", saying something like "I understand, it was Lars and Hervig who were having an affair, discovered by Theresa, who became enraged and asked the adulterous Bishop Renato to help kill the male third party."
Putting aside the confusion and complexity of this story, it would definitely cause emotional harm to Lei Man.
Shang Jian Yao returned a regretful look and closed his mouth.
Jiang Bai Mian turned and asked:
"Have you discovered any leads since then?"
Lei Man took a few seconds before saying:
"I found out that he visited the 'Visa Trading Company' and met with a steward of DiMarco named Ulrich.
"Besides that, there are no other leads. I mobilized people and asked many people in Redstone Town to help, investigating the 'Underground Ark', but there were no gains.
"I even personally looked for Ulrich, but he said that Lars disappeared after learning that his sister had unfortunately died of illness. Yes, Lars's sister did enter the 'Underground Ark' and became a servant there, but died of illness within a few months."
Died of illness? Jiang Bai Mian suddenly thought of what Viyel had said before:
DiMarco is very cruel and likes to take his anger out on servants, not treating human lives as a serious matter.
Lei Man glanced at the woman wearing the refined monk mask, and said again after considering his words:
"Recently, through Hervig, I learned some news.
"The 'Underground Ark' has an exit somewhere in Iron Mountain, and people frequently enter and exit."
Iron Mountain is north of the city ruins, where the Mountain Monsters live, and on the other side of the Iron Mountain range is a relatively famous ruin from the chaotic era called "Iron City."
This matched the information Viyel provided... Jiang Bai Mian thoughtfully asked:
"How did Hervig know?"
Lei Man didn't intend to hide anything for the deceased:
"He learned it from Anherbast, and Anherbast heard it from the Mountain Monsters."
That's right, Anherbast has been secretly trading with the Mountain Monsters... Wait, the "Underground Ark" has an exit somewhere in Iron Mountain... It must be not far from where the Mountain Monsters live. If DiMarco wanted to sell information about Redstone Town, he could do it secretly... Jiang Bai Mian quickly strung the things together.
"Where exactly is it?" she asked.
Lei Man took out a hand-drawn map, pointing to the red circle on it:
"Here."
He immediately described what the symbols on the map represented, making it easier for the "Qian Bai Squad" to accurately find the destination.
After saying this, Lei Man took out a photo:
"This was taken not long before Lars disappeared."
Jiang Bai Mian took the photo, glanced at it, and found that Lars was a very masculine adult.
He had short flaxen hair, a straight nose, light blue eyes, light stubble around his mouth, and the biggest feature was a small blue birthmark on his forehead.
As for height, it was hard to tell from the photo.
After Jiang Bai Mian finished looking at the photo, Lei Man considered it and said:
"I don't expect you to promise me now, I just hope that you can help me pay attention during your investigation of the 'Underground Ark'.
"If you can incidentally discover his whereabouts or related clues, you can come to me at any time to claim a reward."
He's good at handling people... Well, otherwise, he wouldn't have become an arms dealer with a rich fortune... The only problem is that he only uses this kind of observation and lowering his posture on people stronger than him... Jiang Bai Mian nodded slightly:
"We will pay attention for you."
"What reward can you give?" Shang Jian Yao interjected.
This time, Jiang Bai Mian didn't glare at him, because this was also what she wanted to ask.
Lei Man revealed a slight smile:
"For example, a relatively new type of exoskeleton device, but it may take about a year to get the opportunity to obtain it.
"Similarly, there is also the T1 multifunctional mechanical arm, give me more than half a year, uh, not responsible for transplantation.
"Besides these, there are armored vehicles, tanks, various artillery..."
Jiang Bai Mian listened quietly and reminded:
"You don't need to have too high expectations."
…………
After seeing Lei Man off and eating lunch, the "Old Tune Team" drove the jeep towards Iron Mountain in the north.
"Could this be a trap?" Along the way, Long Yue Hong said somewhat vigilantly.
Jiang Bai Mian laughed:
"Let's not talk about whether there is a necessary reason to deal with us, even if there is, our team's strength has been improved, and now we are truly a team that can destroy a wanderer settlement."
Knowing that the team leader was talking about that military exoskeleton device, Long Yue Hong suddenly felt a little happy.
As they spoke, following the instructions on the map, they finally arrived at Iron Mountain after nearly two hours and found the exit of the "Underground Ark" located in a hidden place at the foot of the mountain.
This was a valley, with a small path leading to a cave, and the entrance to the "Underground Ark" was deep inside the cave.
Jiang Bai Mian didn't let Shang Jian Yao and the others approach immediately, but instead found a high point nearby that was convenient for monitoring, hid themselves, and closely watched the entrance of the cave.
Time passed by second by second, the sky gradually became dim, and Long Yue Hong became a little impatient while squatting.
He turned his head and looked at Shang Jian Yao, who was hiding behind a few trees, and asked in a casual tone:
"Don't you find it boring?"
"I am a stone now, and a stone will not have such a feeling as boredom." Shang Jian Yao said without looking sideways.
"..." Long Yue Hong couldn't help but reply, "Stones don't talk either."
"I'm playing the role of a talking stone." Shang Jian Yao explained with a calm expression.
I'm really stupid, really... Long Yue Hong cursed himself in his heart, feeling that squatting was more interesting.
Just then, two people came out of the cave, carrying a heavy sack.