Having been rescued and acknowledged, Miens was eager to repay the favor, and immediately said to Shang Jianyao:
"If you really want to join our 'Furnace Sect,' then go to Tarnan as a favor. I'll write a letter for you to take to Mr. Li Zhe, telling him about your friendliness, sincerity, and the help you've provided."
Seeing that it was a place they were going to anyway, Jiang Baimian didn't stop Shang Jianyao with her eyes, letting him do as he pleased.
"Okay, okay," Shang Jianyao agreed without hesitation.
As he spoke, he even took out paper and a pen, looking like he was saying, "Quick, write it now."
Miens was a little stunned. He wasn't just being polite earlier, but it seemed like they still had serious matters to discuss, so how could they start writing just like that?
Jiang Baimian resolved his awkwardness in time, and instead asked:
"Besides your 'LinHai Alliance,' what other major forces are there in Tarnan?"
"None," Miens answered almost without thinking. "Besides us and 'Mechanical Paradise' being neighbors, and having a good relationship, having obtained permission to enter, other major forces either don't know about Tarnan's existence at all, or can only trade through certain small and medium-sized forces recognized by 'Mechanical Paradise.'"
For example, Redstone Town and Wildgrass City, which is relatively special within the "First City" sphere of influence? Jiang Baimian gained a better understanding of how the smuggling node of Redstone Town was able to exist.
She smiled and said:
"'Mechanical Paradise' is quite cautious."
"Actually, Tarnan isn't anything special, except that there are more robots and mechanical and electronic products," Miens didn't quite understand the reason why "Mechanical Paradise" did this.
At this moment, a howling cold wind swept through the valley, causing Miens and the other members of the Ten Directions Corporation to shiver.
Seeing this, Jiang Baimian exclaimed:
"Oh dear, I was so busy talking to you that I forgot you're all only wearing single layers."
Their coats had been taken away by the bandits when they were captured.
After speaking, Jiang Baimian pointed to the side with her chin:
"Luckily, there's no shortage of clothes and supplies.
"Well, bury the bodies as a favor, consider it payment."
Several dead bandits were lying in this area.
As for those who were seriously injured and hadn't died yet, the "Old Task Force" was running low on medical supplies on their way south, so they just assumed they were already dead.
Miens had the idea of taking the clothes from the corpses, but he was too embarrassed to mention it.
According to the rules in the area between "Mechanical Paradise" and the "LinHai Alliance," they all belonged to spoils of war, and only those who had made contributions could enjoy them.
What he didn't expect was that the heroic and beautiful woman in front of him was not only willing to use the clothes on the corpses to relieve himself and others, but also gave away the supplies that the bandits had not had time to take away when they fled in a hurry.
"This, this is not right," Miens hesitated for a moment, then waved his hand.
This wasn't to say that he was morally noble and unwilling to take advantage of others, but that the team in front of him was powerful, and if he and his companions offended them in the slightest or didn't perform well, they might not be able to leave this valley.
Jiang Baimian smiled:
"Don't be polite.
"If you keep wearing this, you'll freeze to death tonight, and you don't have any food or vehicles, how will you travel after that?
"Uh, those machines are your goods, right?"
She was referring to the portable computers that filled one of the vehicles. They were thin, either white or black, and all shimmered with a lustrous glow.
"Yes," Miens thought for a moment and said, "We won't be polite about the clothes, food, and vehicle, there's really no other way. You can take those portable computers, consider it our repayment."
"That's too much," Jiang Baimian thought for a moment and said, "Let's follow the rules of the ruin hunters. For such a mission, we'll take about thirty percent of the supplies.
She didn't deliberately act generously, because Lei Man might still have to gather supplies in exchange for equipment later.
After intense "bargaining," the reward was finally fixed at "forty percent."
At this point, Miens was completely relieved and called his companions to go to the corpses.
As soon as he bent down, he suddenly exclaimed:
"Just threw it away like that? You really don't know how to cherish things!"
Shang Jianyao ran over and asked curiously:
"What is it?"
Miens picked up a small blue cloth bag, the kind that could be held in one hand:
"My spice bag, it's all good stuff inside!
"Besides our 'LinHai Alliance,' where else can you find so many spices.
"The bandits initially thought it was gold, chips, or high-performance batteries, so they just took it away."
Shang Jianyao asked with bright eyes:
"Do you use it when you eat?"
"Yes, some are used to boil the broth, some are used to mix dipping sauces. Everyone chooses different combinations according to their own preferences," Miens replied in a slightly sacred tone.
Seeing that there was nothing going on here, Jiang Baimian turned her gaze to Long Yuehong:
"You can take off the exoskeleton. Ordinary level of alert is enough."
Gotta save electricity!
There hadn't been any sun all day, and they had a spare battery ready to use on the jeep.
While Long Yuehong, with Shang Jianyao’s help, uninstalled the exoskeleton, Jiang Baimian walked to Bai Chen's side and looked at the bandits squatting on the ground:
"Your bandit gang is called 'Mountain Fox'?"
"Yes." "It is." The bandits answered one after another.
"What's your boss's name?" Jiang Baimian changed to holding the "Grim Reaper" rocket launcher in one hand, causing the bandits and Miers and others to gasp.
This strength wasn't an exaggeration, but it looked like she was doing it with ease.
A blond bandit came back to his senses and quickly said:
"Pannonia."
"Will he come back to redeem you?" Jiang Baimian showed a slight smile.
The bandits were silent for several seconds before answering unevenly:
"Should."
"Maybe."
"Probably."
They had all seen a lot of unredeemed prisoners. The final fate of those people was not very good: either they were killed directly to avoid wasting food, or they were carried as reserve food, or they were sold to human traffickers.
Jiang Baimian remained noncommittal and asked instead:
"If you rob something, where do you go to trade?"
"If we can go to Tarnan, we will go to Tarnan. Those robots are fair and trustworthy, and they will maintain order," the blond bandit answered before all his companions.
While Jiang Baimian was asking for information, Long Yuehong finally uninstalled the exoskeleton and put it back in the back seat of the jeep.
Then, he and Shang Jianyao switched positions. One held an assault rifle, responsible for guarding, and the other went to the stream to test and fetch water, and used solar charging panels to boil it.
After the water boiled, Long Yuehong waited anxiously but patiently until the water temperature dropped a lot before pouring it into their water bags.
After doing these things, he held up the water bag and drank it glug-glug.
At this moment, he felt that the water was so delicious and so addictive.
After drinking a small half of the bag in one breath, Long Yuehong wiped his mouth with satisfaction and looked around.
At this time, Miens and others had buried the corpses, put on the bandits' coats, and wrapped themselves up thickly.
They were using the bandits' leftover coal and other materials to make a fire and cook, and they felt Long Yuehong's gaze.
After exchanging glances for a while, Miens walked towards Jiang Baimian and the others, smiling and saying:
"Want to eat together?
"The bandits left behind a sheep, some potatoes, and a lot of ingredients."
The bandits came to this valley to prepare lunch.
Shang Jianyao first winked at Jiang Baimian, then directly agreed:
"Okay."
"Just to see your holy meal," Jiang Baimian said with a smile.
Long Yuehong subconsciously wanted to raise his hand and wipe the corner of his mouth, but he immediately remembered that he was not Shang Jianyao.
Next, Jiang Baimian and the others watched as Miens and others skillfully shaved meat, removed bones, boiled soup, and sprinkled different spices.
In the end, a strong aroma lingered in their noses, no matter how the cold wind in the valley blew, it would not dissipate.
Seeing that his companions had almost processed the ingredients, Miens asked Shang Jianyao and the others about their general tastes, and took their lunch boxes, using soup as the base, and pairing them with various carefully selected seasonings.
Before long, Shang Jianyao picked up a thin slice of mutton that had just been scalded, rolled it in his dipping sauce, and put it into his mouth.
"...Good, delicious..." he praised vaguely.
Long Yuehong's heart was pounding when he heard this, and he was about to pick up a slice of mutton and put it into the iron pot from the bandits.
At this moment, a female employee of the Ten Directions Corporation stuffed the mutton that she had just scalded into Long Yuehong's bowl.
"You try it," she said with a smile.
"No need, no need." Long Yuehong immediately felt a little uncomfortable.
The female employees of the Ten Directions Corporation had been traveling on the Greylands for many years and had hunter identities. Although they had been molested by bandits before, they quickly adjusted and were no longer depressed.
They found that after the "God Descending" savior removed the exoskeleton, he was a young man, not short, with a clean face, and their favorability exploded, so they took the opportunity to prepare lunch and found various opportunities to chat with Long Yuehong.
The more enthusiastic they were, the more restrained Long Yuehong became, and he even wanted to ask why they didn't go to Shang Jianyao.
——At that time, Shang Jianyao and Jiang Baimian were both seriously learning hot pot techniques from Miens, without looking sideways.
The meat was already in the bowl, and Long Yuehong couldn't refuse, so after dipping a little sauce, he stuffed the slice of mutton into his mouth.
The freshness of the meat, the saltiness of the salt, and the wonderful feeling of various spices mixed together instantly exploded in Long Yuehong's mouth, making him gobble it up.
This lunch was eaten with great pleasure by both the host and the guest. Jiang Baimian and Bai Chen most appreciated the potatoes slices that had been boiled until soft and glutinous.
During this process, they also chatted with Miens and others about the "LinHai Alliance" and learned that this major force had relatively abundant supplies. Although the lives of the lower-level people were still difficult, only slightly better than the wasteland wanderers in small settlements, the middle level had begun to pay attention to food and clothing.
Miens and others had finally escaped the tiger's mouth, had a full meal, and got back most of their supplies. After the meal, they couldn't restrain their gratitude and successively walked to the open space by the creek to dance a dance praising the Arbiter of Time.
"Quite devout..." Jiang Baimian had just smiled when she discovered that Shang Jianyao didn't know when he had mixed in and was dancing in a decent manner.