Although the scene before them seemed perfectly normal from the perspectives of logic, atmosphere, and the psychological expectations set by earlier conversations, Jiang Baimian, Long Yuehong, and the others couldn't help but feel a bit strange.
The saying "Don't drink and drive, don't drive when drunk" just didn't seem like it should appear in this manner!
Clap, clap, clap. Shang Jianyao's applause was never absent.
Then, he asked:
"If it's tattooed on the back, won't you not be able to see it? How will you constantly remind yourself?"
The gray-bearded uncle, who had just put down his clothes, paused, momentarily at a loss for words.
However, he was a man who had traveled far and wide and experienced many things, and he quickly recovered, asking with a smile:
"Then where do you think it should be tattooed?"
"On the backs of both hands, one phrase on each. Every time you want to drink, you can see it as soon as you raise your hand." Shang Jianyao seemed to have genuinely considered this question.
"..." The gray-bearded uncle nodded. "Well, that's a good idea. I'll add it to the options later."
Jiang Baimian could tell that the other party was just making polite conversation, so she changed the subject and asked with a smile:
"What should we call you?"
"Felin," the man with a thick circle of gray whiskers around his mouth replied simply.
He didn't care what the four people across from him were called, and repeated his previous question:
"Want to have some wine?
"It's made from wild tree fruit, a local specialty. Once you leave this village, you won't find it anywhere else."
At this point, he touched his short beard and chuckled:
"Almost every summer, we specifically take the time to come back here to pick this wild tree fruit for making wine."
Jiang Baimian looked around, and asked with an unchanged smile:
"What can we trade for wine?"
Felin immediately chuckled:
"What you trade for wine doesn't depend on what we want, but on what you have.
"In the graylands, those who are fixated on a single answer often get nothing."
"We have..." Amid the rhythmic music coming from outside, Jiang Baimian seemed quite relaxed. She rolled her eyes, and with a teasing expression, patted Long Yuehong on her right side. "How about trading him? He can drive, he has a peaceful temperament, he's not short, his fighting skills are barely passable, and he knows a little about maintenance. He's perfect to be your son-in-law."
"Team Leader..." Long Yuehong never expected the topic to suddenly turn to him, and he felt a little uncomfortable.
Felin laughed heartily:
"I appreciate your kindness.
"My youngest daughter doesn't lack suitors. She's as beautiful as her mother, her driving skills are almost as good as her father's, and although her maintenance skills are a little immature, her foundation is solid, and she's not old.
"Moreover, she's always liked watching and participating when I'm repairing vehicles since she was little. I don't know when, but the smell of gasoline, diesel, and lubricating oil on her body can't be washed away. Many young men in the group yearn for her day and night."
Long Yuehong listened to Felin's description while imagining the scene, and subconsciously shrank back.
From the moment he boarded this RV, he could smell the faint scent of gasoline emanating from Felin and the other drinkers nearby.
Worried that the topic would turn back to him, he looked at Jiang Baimian and said, pretending to complain:
"Team Leader, why don't you recommend Shang Jianyao?"
Jiang Baimian laughed:
"Isn't that because I'm afraid Shang Jianyao would be kicked out of the camp before he even spent a day there?
"So, does this count as payment or not?"
Seeing that Shang Jianyao seemed about to respond to this topic, Jiang Baimian immediately turned her gaze to Felin:
"How about we trade with military canned food? It's braised beef inside."
"How much does it weigh?" Felin asked skillfully.
"500 grams," Jiang Baimian reported a number.
"Then which kind do you want?" Felin introduced with a smile, "One is wine directly brewed from wild tree fruit. It has a very low alcohol content and won't get you drunk. It's similar to wine. You know wine, right?"
"Yes," Jiang Baimian and the others nodded simultaneously.
Within "Pangu Biology," people could still buy a little wine during holidays according to their respective quotas.
As for Bai Chen, she had wandered through countless places over the years and could occasionally drink wine.
Felin continued:
"For that kind, four cups for one can.
"There's also another kind, which is obtained by repeatedly distilling this fruit wine. It has a very high alcohol content, and it's very easy to get drunk the first time you drink it. Four cups cost three cans.
"You can record it all first and pay when you leave the camp."
Jiang Baimian certainly couldn't let her team members get drunk in this unfamiliar environment, and said directly:
"Then we'll have the fruit wine with the lower alcohol content."
Long Yuehong and the others naturally had no objections.
"Alright." Felin turned four glasses upside down on the milky-white platform.
At this moment, next to the "Old Task Force," at a table by the window, a large, burly man laughed loudly:
"As expected, it's a team of women and children. They only dare to drink fruit wine that's like water!"
Shang Jianyao, who was sitting on the edge closest to them, suddenly turned his head and looked over.
The burly man wearing black clothing flexed his arm, making his muscles stand out, and met Shang Jianyao's gaze without backing down.
One second, two seconds... ten seconds... Shang Jianyao maintained his posture, motionless.
Jiang Baimian looked at Long Yuehong and Bai Chen, and read the same meaning in their eyes:
Great, Shang Jianyao is playing the game again where whoever looks away first, whoever can't hold out and speaks first, loses.
Of course, this was just a game he unilaterally acknowledged.
After ten seconds or so, the burly man finally couldn't control himself and suddenly stood up:
"What do you mean?"
"You lost," Shang Jianyao laughed.
"You're a lunatic!" The burly man blurted out, "Are you still a kid? Has the hair down there even grown in yet?"
Felin, who was pouring wine, looked up at this and shouted:
"Zhao Tie, don't mess around. A few sips of horse pee and you don't even know your own name?"
Zhao Tie didn't dare to disobey his leader and sat down grumbling.
At this moment, Shang Jianyao suddenly left his high stool and walked in front of Zhao Tie.
Then, he began to unbuckle his belt.
"You, what are you doing?" Zhao Tie and his companions were a little stunned.
Shang Jianyao said seriously:
"Mine is definitely bigger than yours."
At this moment, not only Zhao Tie, but even Jiang Baimian, Long Yuehong, and the others doubted their ears.
When they reacted, a burst of violent anger suddenly rushed from Zhao Tie's heart into his mind.
This was not only because he felt that the other party was humiliating him, but also because he didn't know how to respond.
He couldn't possibly really stand up, in front of everyone, take off his pants, and compare with the other party, right?
He was shameless, but Zhao Tie still had some face.
Moreover, it would be fine if he won the comparison, but what if he lost?
If that were the case, Zhao Tie felt that he might not even have the face to stay in the caravan.
No, he can't be led by the nose... Zhao Tie narrowed his eyes and pointed outside:
"You're pretty cocky.
"Dare to go outside and practice?"
"Okay!" Shang Jianyao fastened his belt and agreed quickly.
Jiang Baimian frowned slightly, feeling that she couldn't quite see through this matter.
She wasn't worried that Shang Jianyao would lose the fight—she had a lot of confidence in her fighting ability, and Shang Jianyao was second only to her in the "Old Task Force."
She was just a little unsure what Shang Jianyao wanted to do.
With the idea of having a fight, showing some strength, and facilitating later conversations, she did not stop him and told Long Yuehong not to speak.
Seeing that Shang Jianyao's partners didn't care much, Felin, the leader of this "Rootless" caravan, took on a show-watching mentality, cleared his throat, and shouted outside:
"Stop the music!
"Someone is going to 'perform'!"
The speakers on both sides of the RV quickly became quiet, and the men and women twisting and turning in the blank area formed by the tables and chairs retreated to the outside.
Zhao Tie jumped off the leader's RV aggressively and entered the open space where various lights were constantly changing back and forth.
Shang Jianyao didn't rush out. He first took off his tactical backpack and took out his beloved blue-bottomed, black-faced small speaker from it.
This could be plugged in, or it could use a long-lasting battery from the Old World—some forces were currently producing it as well.
Seeing this scene, Jiang Baimian's thick and beautiful eyebrows twitched slightly.
Shang Jianyao then placed the small speaker at the door of the RV and pressed a button.
Amid the buzzing of electricity, he entered the open space.
The next second, a high-pitched female voice came from the small speaker:
"I'm looking up
"Above the Moon..."
Accompanied by this song, Shang Jianyao's body swayed, and his feet constantly alternated back and forth, appearing very rhythmic.
Then, he beckoned to Zhao Tie:
"Come on!"
"Yesterday's forgotten things oh
"Dried up sorrow..."
In such a song, facing such an opponent, Zhao Tie suddenly had the feeling that if he really went up, he would lose.
It would make him feel as if he had been stripped naked and paraded in public.
But at this point, he couldn't go back, he couldn't admit defeat, right?
Zhao Tie did some mental preparation, took a deep breath, and stepped forward.
During this process, he kept staring at Shang Jianyao's feet and shoulder positions.
This was because, in the several fighting techniques he knew, footwork was very important, and shoulder position could help him predict which hand the opponent would use to punch.
——As a "Rootless," he had received strict training since childhood. When he was in Initial City, he had even been apprenticed to a powerful fighter, and he didn't just rely on his size to bully people.
Adjusting his steps, Zhao Tie stepped forward.
Almost at the same time, Shang Jianyao took a step back.
Zhao Tie advanced again, and Shang Jianyao retreated again, always maintaining a good enough distance.
Suddenly, Shang Jianyao took the lead and stepped forward.
Zhao Tie reflexively took a step back to dodge.
One step forward, one step back, one advance, one retreat, the two perfectly stepped on the rhythm of the "visible invisible" section of the song.
The onlookers immediately applauded:
"Good dance!"
They finally understood what the leader meant by performance just now.
Hearing such "praise," Zhao Tie's face flushed, and he could no longer control himself, and pounced forward.
Shang Jianyao easily dodged, tripped him with his foot, and pulled him down, slamming Zhao Tie to the ground, making him dizzy.
Then, he leaned down and completely subdued the opponent.
Zhao Tie was also considered straightforward. Seeing that he could no longer salvage the situation, he didn't put on a brave face and directly lowered his head, saying in a low voice:
"I lost."
Shang Jianyao stood up, walked back reluctantly, put away the small speaker, and turned it off.
Jiang Baimian looked at him and asked with a frown:
"You went through such a big circle, just to go outside and dance?"
Shang Jianyao nodded sincerely:
"Yes.
"You wouldn't allow me to go out directly."
"You're too persistent, aren't you? Heh, you even know how to use a feint. You're quite clever," Jiang Baimian said with a laugh.
Shang Jianyao thought for a moment and gave an answer:
"Maybe the illness has become more serious."
Note 1: Quoted from Phoenix Legend, "Above the Moon"