The man with the watermelon knife said, "Hey!"

"Don't even mention it. I was forced over here by Old Bat. I kept telling him to wait one more day, but he just wouldn't listen!"

Jiang Baimian instinctively wanted to ask who Old Bat was, but after opening her mouth, she rationally closed it.

In fact, Shang Jianyao also intended to ask the same question, but his logical reasoning ability told him that it would definitely damage their "brotherly relationship" and make the other party suspicious—if they were brothers, how could he not know who Old Bat was?

He laughed and said, "Old Bat, huh… Why is he in such a hurry?"

"What can he do? It's not like someone over there is pressing him!" The man carrying the watermelon knife and a black pistol rubbed his greasy, sticking-up hair, looking worried, and said, "Those guys will kill you if they don't like what you say. Who would dare to be perfunctory…"

"Those guys?" Shang Jianyao deliberately showed a confused expression. "I haven't been back for that long, and something already happened?"

Although he really wanted to directly ask who those guys were, he still restrained himself.

The man with the watermelon knife paused, seemingly not expecting that his brother hadn't been back for a while.

A few seconds later, he sighed again.

"Don't even mention it. Ever since 'Hyena' and his group came, we don't even have underground shelters to sleep in! Several old people froze to death at night."

When he mentioned "Hyena," he instinctively looked around, as if afraid of being overheard.

"Hyena"… Shang Jianyao turned his head and looked at Jiang Baimian, wondering if the experienced team leader had heard of this nickname.

Jiang Baimian's expression became more serious, and she nodded thoughtfully.

"Damn 'Hyena'!" Shang Jianyao deliberately swore.

The man with the watermelon knife seemed to want to curse along, but ultimately didn't dare to, and dejectedly said, "He doesn't have a mother."

Speaking of which, this man, whose exact age was difficult to discern from his appearance, said reminiscently:

"Back then, I was only a teenager. 'Hyena' hadn't become a bandit yet.

"I heard that his mother was eaten by a group of sub-humans who wandered over from somewhere."

Shang Jianyao's eyebrows twitched slightly, and he blurted out, "Was it done by the Rat Men?"

He knew from Jiang Baimian that the residents of Black Rat Town were called "Rat Men" by the surrounding humans.

This was also a discriminatory term.

"No." The man carrying the watermelon knife shook his head. "Those Rat Men have been here for decades. They came before I was born. They are good at gathering and digging, can find anything, and eat anything. They're not the kind that wanders around."

Shang Jianyao was silent for a few seconds and said, "'Hyena' and his group, what are they doing here?"

"They said, they said there was some discovery at the Yue Lu Station. Old Bat asked, but 'Hyena's' people don't know either. They're sending people to investigate." After the man with the watermelon knife said "investigate," he suddenly remembered his task and immediately became worried again. "I don't know what's abnormal here. If I don't report the results today, 'Hyena's' people might throw me to the dogs."

"Dogs?" Shang Jianyao asked subconsciously.

The man with the watermelon knife spat.

"'Hyena' raises a very fierce dog, like his own son!

"He always says we're useless, that no one can win against his dog in a one-on-one fight, and it's better to feed us to the dog."

After complaining, the man asked expectantly, "Brother, have you found anything here?"

"Nothing." Shang Jianyao answered truthfully. "The people who set off the fireworks earlier left long ago, leaving nothing behind!"

"Is that so… Then why did they set off fireworks? Uh… Old Bat said it was some kind of flare?" The man with the watermelon knife seemed to want to return.

Shang Jianyao glanced in the direction the man with the baseball bat had run.

"Who knows?

"Just go back. If 'Hyena' doesn't believe you, let him send someone else to investigate.

"Oh, right, I scared that brother earlier. Wait a while, catch up with him, and help me explain."

"Alright." The man with the watermelon knife patted his chest. "When are you guys going back?"

"Soon, soon." The corners of Shang Jianyao's mouth turned up slightly. "Remember to tell Old Bat that we'll pay 'Hyena' a visit when we get back."

"Pay a visit…" The man with the watermelon knife suddenly sensed something was wrong, but after looking at the grenade launcher Shang Jianyao was holding and the assault rifle Jiang Baimian was carrying, he wisely gave up thinking.

He quickly turned around and waved his hand.

"May we meet again."

"May we meet again." Shang Jianyao enthusiastically waved back.

After watching the man with the watermelon knife disappear at the end of the road, Jiang Baimian glanced at Shang Jianyao.

"What? Still want to stand in the middle of the road, afraid others won't see you?"

There weren't any complete or well-formed roads between the hills and small mountains, but as more people walked them, a main road naturally formed.

As she spoke, Jiang Baimian turned to a more hidden area on the side of a hill.

Shang Jianyao followed, first exchanging weapons with the team leader, and then asked, "Who is 'Hyena'?"

Jiang Baimian chuckled.

"A somewhat famous bandit leader in the Black Marsh Wilderness, mainly active near the 'White Knights Order'."

"He rose to fame more than a decade ago. He wasn't very old back then, so he might not even be thirty yet.

"His bandit gang grew little by little, from the initial three or four people with four or five guns to now having seventeen or eighteen core members with plenty of firepower and decent equipment. Some people suspect that 'Hyena' has access to an Old World armory, which is why he developed so quickly."

"If he hadn't failed to occupy decent mines or farmland, he would definitely have more than just seventeen or eighteen core subordinates. He could at least expand to two or three hundred people. This would allow him to establish a large settlement of his own, similar to Wildgrass City, and then consider being recruited by a large force, thus having a guarantee, or playing both sides, becoming a small influential force."

"Heh, maybe 'Hyena' thinks that raising hundreds or thousands of people is too tiring, managing a city is too troublesome, and he has to be bullied by large forces, which is not as carefree as being a bandit. That's why he's maintained his current size."

"Oh, right, his real name is Lin Li."

Shang Jianyao listened carefully and summarized, "He is very suspicious, and the number of people is larger than we expected."

The core members alone were nearly twenty, and the coerced vassals were at least a hundred.

"They even have armored vehicles, heavy machine guns, and rocket launchers," Jiang Baimian added. "However, they shouldn't have military exoskeletons, bionic smart armor, Gauss weapons, or plasma weapons. It seems that even if the rumors are true, the armory 'Hyena' has access to is general-purpose and doesn't have any high-tech stuff."

Seeing Shang Jianyao silent, Jiang Baimian smiled and said, "With the current strength of our 'Old Task Force,' we do have a good chance of taking down this bandit gang with a sneak attack. Those vassals won't really risk their lives for 'Hyena.' As long as we don't give 'Hyena' the opportunity to form a supervising team."

"However, given their member quality and weapons equipment, we have to prepare for at least half of us to die."

As she spoke, Jiang Baimian turned her head and looked outside the hiding spot.

"Besides, we might not even get a chance to sneak attack."

"You just let that wilderness drifter go back. Aren't you worried that he'll realize something is wrong once he's in a different environment?"

"Aren't you worried that he'll report it and let 'Hyena' guess that we have Awakened on our side?"

"Otherwise? Kill him?" Shang Jianyao replied without changing his expression.

"You're so soft-hearted," Jiang Baimian scoffed. "Me too. People like us who were born into large factions and haven't experienced the various conflicts of the chaotic era are always easily soft-hearted."

She then added, "But if you really wanted to sneak attack, you could have controlled that wilderness drifter first and let him go after it was over."

"You should have thought of this. You've always been wary of when your abilities will fail."

Speaking of this, Jiang Baimian smiled.

"In conclusion, you've already given up on the idea of attacking that bandit gang yourself."

"You're such a good friend!"

"We can't be sure that it's 'Hyena's' group yet," Shang Jianyao replied expressionlessly. "Let's wait for the company to send people."

"Good idea!" Jiang Baimian praised with a smile.

Shang Jianyao looked around, suddenly frowned, and asked, "Team Leader, what do you think 'Hyena's' group will do after hearing the report?"

"I haven't dealt with them before, so it's difficult to make a judgment. However, you can tell from the nickname 'Hyena' that the group is good at bullying the few, good at following and tracking, and good at attacking from behind. Although they are fierce and cruel, they are definitely not crazy or reckless. Ah, I'm just saying, I can't be sure. I'll have to ask Bai Chen for confirmation later," Jiang Baimian replied thoughtfully. "Anyway, there are only two possible responses.

"One is to search this area in the opposite direction and kill us investigators to erase the corresponding traces before the company's main force arrives. However, they must consider the possibility that the emergency flare itself is a trap, waiting for them to walk right in.

"The second is to immediately abandon the coerced vassals here and transfer with the core members. There aren't many of them, and they have enough vehicles and have also obtained a lot of supplies from Black Rat Town. Their actions will definitely not be as slow and cumbersome as the main force. Moreover, there are too many areas to hide in the wilderness."

"After figuring out who the enemy is, they will migrate to the vicinity of other large forces and change the area they rob."

Seeing Shang Jianyao's eyes light up, Jiang Baimian deliberately "hummed."

"Are you thinking that if they dare to search in the opposite direction, you'll dare to put on the exoskeleton and defeat them one by one?"

Before Shang Jianyao could respond, the tall woman with the ponytail smiled.

"How could I give you such an opportunity?

"It's obviously my turn!"

She then changed the subject.

"But I think there's a greater chance that 'Hyena's' group won't react at all."

"Why?" Shang Jianyao was quite puzzled.

Jiang Baimian restrained most of her smile.

"The forcibly coerced vassals and 'Hyena' might not be of one mind."

"They can't wait for a large force to come and drive 'Hyena' away. The worst they'll get is being captured and enslaved, which is better than being cannon fodder for 'Hyena.' Moreover, if a fierce battle really breaks out, they'll have plenty of opportunities to escape."

"If that Old Bat is smart, he'll know what to report and what to hide."

Shang Jianyao listened thoughtfully and nodded slowly.

The two stopped discussing and continued to observe their surroundings, but didn't find anything suspicious.

When it was almost time for dinner, they ended their operation and returned to their hidden camp on the small mountain.

Nothing was said for the day. In the middle of the night, Shang Jianyao, who was sleeping in the tent, was woken up by Long Yuehong. He picked up his Berserker assault rifle and took over the night watch duty.

After patrolling once, he cast his gaze below.

From here, he could directly see the small forest and the blocked entrance to Black Rat Town.

Under the dim and extremely quiet night sky, a stone suddenly fell from the cave entrance.

ps: Requesting recommendation tickets~