Another day passed. In the late morning, Han Wanghuo arrived at the motel camp in his dilapidated off-road vehicle.
"This is all the information I could gather about 'Mechanical Paradise.'" He handed a stack of papers to Jiang Baimian, who was wearing a delicate monk mask.
Jiang Baimian didn't rush to look at it. She glanced at it and asked,
"Did Song the Vigilant find you?"
"We talked." Han Wanghuo nodded slightly, "But it's not necessary anymore."
*I can see that you're a very decisive and determined person...* Jiang Baimian thought to herself.
As she was choosing her words, Shang Jianyao interjected,
"Where are you planning to go next?"
"Why are you asking?" Although Han Wanghuo wasn't a believer of the Vigilant Church, he had been in Redstone Town for many years. Under the influence of what he heard and saw, he instinctively asked.
Moreover, not easily revealing one's whereabouts was also a habit of experienced ruin hunters.
Shang Jianyao replied frankly,
"We want to observe you."
"Huh?" Han Wanghuo was a little confused.
Shang Jianyao further explained,
"As friends, observing your life and caring about your well-being, isn't that normal?"
"Friends..." Han Wanghuo repeated the word softly, seemingly surprised.
After a few seconds, he laughed self-deprecatingly,
"I should go to First City.
"There are more opportunities there, a more complex environment. It's more suitable for someone like me."
Jiang Baimian nodded thoughtfully,
"I heard that the Council of Elders even raised an army of sub-humans."
This army was hated, discriminated against, and rejected by the citizens of First City, and could only rely on the Council of Elders' power. Otherwise, if they were abandoned, they would either not be able to leave First City alive, or they would collectively "move" to the mining area.
And the Council of Elders' power thus gained a sufficiently loyal, obedient, and combat-capable army.
"That has nothing to do with me," Han Wanghuo replied simply.
He then said,
"I should go."
"I'll find you in First City later!" Shang Jianyao waved his right hand, looking reluctant to part.
Han Wanghuo took a few steps, thought for a moment, stopped, turned around, and nodded almost imperceptibly:
"Goodbye."
"Goodbye." Jiang Baimian, Long Yuehong, and Bai Chen all responded.
Han Wanghuo slowly exhaled, opened the door of the off-road vehicle, and got into the driver's seat.
He drove the car, heading west through the city ruins, and arrived at a clearing by the lake.
Many target boards were erected here, and members of the Town Guard took turns shooting at them.
During this process, they sometimes used a prone position, sometimes changed to a squatting position, and sometimes changed to a standing position, constantly improving their firearm proficiency in different states.
Seeing Han Wanghuo get out of the car and come over, the Town Guard members in the rest area shouted in unison:
"Team Leader Han."
Some members used Red River language.
Han Wanghuo was stunned for a moment, then smiled slightly and said:
"How is it? How's the training going?"
He repeated his question in Red River language to show fairness.
Tan Jie, expressionless, stepped forward and said:
"Everyone's level has improved a lot during this period. It's still more effective to train together and exchange ideas."
In the past three years, due to the conflicts between the Ashlanders and the Red River people, and everyone's belief in vigilance and hiding, Han Wanghuo had exhausted all his methods and had not been able to organize unified training. He could only divide the time slots and let the Town Guard members take turns to practice.
After the attack by the Fishmen and Mountain Monster coalition forces, the residents of Redstone Town seemed to have been stimulated and were no longer so extreme. They could barely gather together to practice and exchange ideas. After all, many of their relatives and friends had fallen in front of them, their bodies broken, blood flowing, a more tragic scene than ever before.
And thanks to Han Wanghuo's concept of mixing Ashlanders and Red River people into squads, their interdependence and mutual assistance in emergency situations during the war finally brought a little trust.
Han Wanghuo showed a slight smile again:
"Not bad."
At this time, a Red River person with brownish-yellow hair stepped out and said:
"Team Leader Han, the ammunition is a bit tight now."
It wasn't that the Town Guard's ammunition was insufficient, but they had to reserve a share to guard against sudden attacks by the subhuman coalition forces and bandit groups, so there wasn't enough to allocate to live-fire practice.
Han Wanghuo nodded slightly:
"Send someone to find An Hebasi. He said he wanted to contribute to the town."
Hearing this sentence, whether it was the Red River people or the Ashlanders, the Town Guard members present laughed.
--Although Han Wanghuo only used Red River language this time, the Ashlanders here could understand some of it.
"Yes, Team Leader Han!" After laughing, several Town Guard members responded firmly.
After discussing this matter, Han Wanghuo walked towards the shooting range, and Tan Jie followed beside him.
"After this, they really recognized you as the captain. Your section of the defense line was the most tragic place." Tan Jie said a few words without expression.
Han Wanghuo remained silent and did not respond.
As he walked along, the team members who had finished their shooting practice turned around and greeted him:
"Team Leader Han."
"Team Leader Han."
"Team Leader Han."
……
Han Wanghuo walked to the end and closed his eyes.
He turned around, looked up, and saw Red River people with different hair colors and Ashlanders with black hair and brown eyes gathered together. Although their attitudes towards each other were very unfamiliar and they were still highly vigilant, they would occasionally exchange a few words.
Withdrawing his gaze, Han Wanghuo said to Tan Jie:
"Watch them."
"Okay." Tan Jie watched Han Wanghuo walk around the outside of the shooting range, step by step towards his black off-road vehicle.
After getting in the car, Han Wanghuo sat quietly for dozens of seconds, then started the car and drove towards Redstone Town.
After entering the underground and parking the car, he looked ahead, took a silent breath, and exhaled slowly.
Then, he opened the door, got out of the car, and entered the interior of Redstone Town, going down the escalator all the way.
When passing by an old world relic advertising box, he bent his fingers and tapped the surface.
"Any situation?" Amidst the clanging sound, Han Wanghuo asked.
"No, everything is normal." A voice came from inside the metal advertising box.
Han Wanghuo "Hmm"ed:
"Remember to rest, take turns."
After saying that, he walked towards the escalator leading to the bottom floor.
Just then, the security guard in the metal advertising box added:
"Good morning, Team Leader Han!"
Han Wanghuo's footsteps stopped, and he slowly turned around, showing a slight smile and said:
"Good morning."
The escalator began to descend, and Han Wanghuo arrived at the security office.
Weller wasn't there, and there were only two security guards hiding inside.
Han Wanghuo walked to his desk, stared at it for a moment, and slowly took a letter out of his pocket.
He solemnly placed the letter on the table and pressed it down with the waterless cup.
His gaze then swept over the familiar tables, chairs, hanging lamps, stationery, and walls, very slowly and carefully.
*Huff*, he exhaled, turned his body, and walked towards the door.
While the escalator was going up, Han Wanghuo raised his head and looked around the town, which seemed empty and deserted.
After leaving the town, he drove his dilapidated off-road vehicle all the way to the northwest of the city ruins.
After an unknown amount of time, the hills on the edge of the ruins came into view.
Han Wanghuo stepped on the brakes reflexively and stopped the off-road vehicle.
He sat in the driver's seat and turned his gaze to the rearview mirror.
In the rearview mirror, the dilapidated and silent edge of the city ruins was bathed in the winter sunlight near noon, as if covered with a faint golden coat.
After watching for a long time, Han Wanghuo withdrew his gaze, touched the rifle placed beside him, and lifted his right foot that was stepping on the brakes.
As the vehicle started moving again, he saw hills and barren fields in the distance.
The off-road vehicle galloped on the uninhabited gray earth.
…………
After receiving the relevant information about "Mechanical Paradise," the four members of the "Old Task Force" came to the Vigilant Church to bid farewell to Song He.
They had attended the Requiem Ceremony held here last night to pray for the people who died in the previous war.
The Vigilant Church's Requiem Ceremony didn't have a hiding session, but everyone wore masks, like a sad masquerade ball.
Shang Jianyao was not disappointed by this and participated very seriously.
After leaving the church and getting into the jeep, Long Yuehong was about to speak when he suddenly saw several teenagers playing on the collapsed buildings nearby.
One of them was Viel, sporting his soft yellow hair.
"Hehe, I almost thought he was an adult." If he hadn't seen this scene, Long Yuehong would have forgotten Viel's age.
This big boy's mysterious whereabouts and strange words always made people forget his age.
Moreover, his love of viewing reality from the Pipe World did show a maturity beyond his peers.
"This guy probably has some problems, but we're not the local sheriffs. If there are problems, we have to investigate," Jiang Baimian said with a laugh upon hearing this.
At this time, Bai Chen started the jeep.
Shang Jianyao then turned his head, looking at the Vigilant Church, seemingly reluctant to leave.
"What are you still lingering for?" Jiang Baimian asked casually.
Shang Jianyao replied seriously:
"I haven't yet allowed the Fishmen, Mountain Monsters, Ashlanders, and Red River people here to live in peace."
Jiang Baimian was silent for a moment and said:
"This requires time to settle down, and Song the Vigilant also has this intention.
"Besides, it's not like we're not coming back. When we return from 'Mechanical Paradise', we'll still have to pass by here.
"At that time, you can do what you want to do according to the situation."
Shang Jianyao thought for a moment and suddenly became excited:
"Then I'm going to say to everyone in Redstone Town:
"We're back again!"
*They may not welcome it...* Long Yuehong muttered in his heart.
Because they had already packed their belongings, they didn't return to the motel camp and drove the jeep south.
Target: "Mechanical Paradise."
…………
Outside the Vigilant Church, a boy about the same age as Viel sat on the edge of the collapsed building and complained:
"Why didn't you come when my dad was buried? Are we still friends?"
This teenager had dark green eyes.
Viel, also sitting on the edge of the collapsed building, curled his lips and said:
"It's not like you don't know, I really didn't like him. He always laughed at my height."