The "Old Task Force's" jeep traveled through the towering mountains, heading towards the southern area along a poorly maintained road that barely survived.
Their destination was a place called "Tarnan."
This was the only external trading point established by "Mechanical Paradise." Only those who had gained their trust or could provide important strategic materials knew of its existence. Redstone Town and Wildgrass City were among them.
——The "Rootless" merchant group, which mainly focused on transportation, did not qualify because "Mechanical Paradise" was probably the most powerful force that didn't lack transportation capacity.
Jiang Baimian and the others were currently acting as trade representatives from Wildgrass City. This identity was obtained through Xu Liyan, the president of Shang Jianyao's Brotherhood's Wildgrass City branch. It was genuine and trustworthy.
Before leaving Redstone Town, they had also asked the Watcher Song He for the identity of a Redstone Town trade representative as a backup, in case Xu Liyan suddenly didn't acknowledge Shang Jianyao as a brother.
Although, for the sake of "Pangu Biology," Xu Liyan wouldn't take any direct action against Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao, he could still send a telegram to "Mechanical Paradise" saying that these four guys were scammers, just to vent his inner dissatisfaction a little.
"So hungry so hungry so hungry I'm really so hungry..." (Note 1: Quoted from Luo Tianyi's "Feeding Song")
The song played by Shang Jianyao's small speaker echoed in the jeep, almost making Long Yuehong hallucinate:
"So thirsty so thirsty so thirsty I'm really so thirsty..."
They were currently in a mountainous area, the kind that was very short on water.
Especially during the dry winter months.
A day ago, the "Old Task Force" had finished their reserve water and hadn't found a water source since then. They had followed traces to two places, but ultimately confirmed that the corresponding areas were heavily polluted, with certain indexes exceeding the standard by many times.
By digging up the roots of certain trees, Shang Jianyao and the others weren't in a situation where they would die of thirst immediately, but this was only a temporary measure.
"There should be a water source further ahead." Jiang Baimian observed the geographical environment outside the window and said with a relatively confident tone.
"Yes." Bai Chen agreed.
Huff, Long Yuehong breathed a sigh of relief.
He now realized that the feeling of lacking water was even more unbearable than facing fishmen and mountain monsters charging at him. The latter only lasted a few minutes, and once it was over, it was over. If it wasn't over, then there was nothing to worry about.
The current state was a kind of chronic torture.
——He didn't even want to speak, in order to reduce saliva evaporation.
Shang Jianyao, who was taking turns driving, was still energetic. Except for his slightly dry lips, he didn't seem to be affected at all.
"Ah, I forgot to exchange for the Dragon King Mask. Otherwise, I could have prayed for rain." He expressed his regret about this.
Since leaving Redstone Town, the members of the "Old Task Force" no longer habitually wore masks, except for Shang Jianyao, who occasionally put on that spirited monkey face to scare Long Yuehong.
He would even imitate the sound of "Idiot" in a lifelike manner.
"Dragon Kings make rain themselves, they don't need to pray." Jiang Baimian corrected Shang Jianyao's mistake.
As she spoke, bypassing the high cliff ahead would enter a valley where the brownish soil had a bit of moisture.
"Slow down." Jiang Baimian reminded, "The visibility here is poor. We don't know what the situation will be after turning the corner."
The sensory range of her and Shang Jianyao was limited and not omnipotent.
Shang Jianyao glanced at Jiang Baimian in the passenger seat, raised the foot on the accelerator, and slowed down the car.
He had always been receptive to good advice.
Slowly, the military green jeep crushed the dirt road, bypassing the rock wall.
Shang Jianyao and Jiang Baimian suddenly felt a sense of openness.
The first thing that caught their eyes was a winding stream, where sand and pebbles coexisted, setting off the unusually clear water.
On both sides of the stream were large stones, with mud and sand filling the gaps between them, outlining the main color of the surrounding area.
Further out were standing trees, some withered and some still retaining a little green, forming a dirt-filled road.
Then, Jiang Baimian's gaze shifted and saw dozens of people upstream of the stream, nearly a hundred meters away.
They were mostly male, dressed in a variety of clothes, and carrying all kinds of weapons.
Jiang Baimian's gaze shifted from the old cotton-padded jackets, dirty down jackets, and greasy leather clothes to the side of the road, where she found many cars and tents.
Those who carried weapons were either slowly fetching water, or busily preparing lunch, or sitting on the ground, talking and laughing loudly, or fondling women who were tied up with their hands behind their backs, occasionally slapping the few male prisoners who glared at them.
"A bandit gang." Bai Chen in the back seat of the jeep looked at the windshield and gave her judgment.
A large bandit gang that had just robbed a caravan or a settlement of wasteland wanderers.
When the "Old Task Force" saw this bandit gang, the members responsible for guarding also discovered them.
"Boss, new prey!" This black-haired, blue-eyed bandit excitedly reported to the leader.
Since entering winter, caravans had decreased, and settlements had closed their doors tightly, their harvests had been insufficient, barely making ends meet.
And today, perhaps blessed by the Year Star, they had just tracked down a caravan in the morning and robbed a lot of supplies and people, and now they encountered a lonely jeep crashing into this valley.
Their leader was a burly man in his thirties, nearly 1.75 meters tall, with messy golden hair hanging down, and a rather strong build.
The blue of his eyes was very light, his face was unusually rough, and he wore a helmet with bull horns on his head, which he didn't know which city ruins he found it in.
Hearing his subordinate's report, the leader looked over there and laughed loudly:
"This is like a weak and helpless little lamb breaking into a lion's territory.
"Go, bring them back and let me see what kind of travelers dare to cross the Kir爾 Mountains in winter."
This belongs to a remnant of the Old Mountains.
After a pause, the leader added:
"Go with four cars.
"They may just be scouts for a caravan."
There may be many vehicles, many people, and many weapons behind.
"Yes, Boss!" The black-haired, blue-eyed bandit responded loudly, and then began to greet his companions.
At this time, they saw the military green jeep reversing and forcibly withdrawing from the valley.
The other party seemed to be so frightened that they had forgotten that the vehicle could also turn and U-turn.
"Haha!" The bandits made various strange noises, waved their weapons, and rushed onto the designated vehicles.
They liked this kind of timid prey the most!
This often saved them a lot of bullets.
When the vehicles started and chased after the target, the captured men and women withdrew their lost and desperate gazes.
They thought they could be rescued.
Who knew, only one jeep had come.
This seemed to be just a team of relic hunters who happened to be passing by and coming to fetch water.
Accompanied by excited cheers, two off-road vehicles and two pickup trucks, carrying a dozen bandits, frantically rushed towards the corner, not wanting the prey to escape their sight.
As the first car rounded the corner, the driver's gaze suddenly froze.
The military green jeep was quietly parked dozens of meters away, leaning to the side, like a short wall.
Behind the jeep, a tall man was putting on a black metal skeleton with the help of his companions; on the side of the jeep, a slightly petite woman was resting her rifle on the hood; on the other side of the jeep, a woman with a ponytail wearing a gray camouflage uniform was squatting there, carrying a heavy single-soldier rocket launcher on her shoulder.
Rocket launcher!
The pupils of the bandit driver in the first car and his "passengers" suddenly dilated.
The next second, death spewed out flames.
Boom!
The bandit leader, who was waiting by the stream for his subordinates to bring back the prey, had just lit a confiscated yellowish homemade cigarette when he heard a deafening sound.
Pa!
The homemade cigarette fell to the ground before it could reach his mouth.
His eyes were filled with a rapidly expanding fireball.
This crimson fireball instantly swallowed the pickup truck that was rushing in front and was about to turn.
This scene was imprinted in the hearts of all who witnessed it like an oil painting.
Bang!
The off-road vehicle that was rushing in second place failed to brake in time and crashed into the burning pickup truck.
Crash!
Its side window shattered, and a bullet pierced into the cab.
As the driver splattered blood, the bandit leader in the distance couldn't help but flash several absurd thoughts:
"Trap! This is a trap!
"We're surrounded!"