It was still a while before the 8:30 PM power outage, and the streetlights were still shining, illuminating the way for pedestrians.

However, it couldn't compare to the interior of "Pangu Biology's" underground building. Many streetlights in South Street had long been broken, with only one working light every few tens of meters. In many places, only a faint light flickered, making it impossible to see anything clearly.

Bai Chen had taken Long Yuehong to scout the area before dinner, and had already prepared several plans for what to do next. As she walked, she remained calm and steady, like a woman returning home with a large object.

Long Yuehong was undoubtedly a little nervous, but his first time out had been filled with too many events. He had developed some immunity to similar situations, so he didn't feel weak in the limbs or have a pounding heart.

He silently followed Bai Chen, occasionally blocking the view of passersby to prevent the "Orange" rifle wrapped in cloth from being too conspicuous.

There was a sentry post at the entrance to the South Street slave market, with two guards inside holding identical assault rifles, scanning the surroundings somewhat absentmindedly, sometimes sitting and sometimes standing.

Bai Chen passed them, walking towards the central square at a moderate pace.

Soon, she and Long Yuehong entered a streetlight blind spot, becoming like two blurred shadows on the dark street.

At that moment, Bai Chen suddenly turned around and went to the entrance of the courtyard of the adjacent building. In a second or two, she deftly climbed over the iron fence gate.

Long Yuehong watched with admiration, because during this process, Bai Chen also had to focus on stabilizing the rifle in her arms.

Without wasting time, Long Yuehong quickly followed, climbing over the iron fence gate without making any noise.

He and Bai Chen then entered the building adjacent to the South Street slave market. Under the dim light of a yellow bulb, they made their way up the cold staircase to the top floor.

Bai Chen took out a piece of wire she had prepared in advance, inserted it into the lock, and after a few manipulations, opened the door to the rooftop.

Although the exterior of this building looked like it had overhanging eaves and bracket sets, it was more of a imitation and decoration. The normal layout it should have was present.

Once on the rooftop, they partially closed the door. Under the dim moonlight, Bai Chen and Long Yuehong came to the side closest to the South Street slave market.

In this quiet night, in this open space, they heard singing, shouting, music, and all kinds of noises coming from West Street.

Just then, Long Yuehong looked towards the South Street slave market and tilted his head slightly, saying:

"It sounds like there's some noise over there?"

As soon as he finished speaking, with a brief lull in the noise from West Street, the sounds from the South Street slave market became much clearer.

It was the sound of many whimpers and sobs.

Each sound was small, so faint that it seemed nonexistent, but when they overlapped, they quietly rippled through the dark night, occasionally mixed with heart-wrenching coughs and almost imperceptible groans of pain.

"It's the slaves crying." Bai Chen said, looking at the market below without expression.

Long Yuehong was silent for a moment, and couldn't help but sigh:

"It's really terrible...

"Too bad there are only four of us, we can't save them."

Bai Chen turned her head and looked at the alley across the street.

After a while, she said:

"In this season, if you're not prepared with enough supplies, it's better to let them stay here."

Long Yuehong thought about it carefully and realized that this was indeed the case.

But the fact that this was true made him feel even more indescribable sadness than before.

He watched Bai Chen choose a position, set up the "Orange" rifle, put her eye to the scope, and began monitoring the opposite alley. He himself, as instructed, used binoculars to observe the rooftops and rooms on the other side of the South Street slave market.

"Nothing to report." Long Yuehong concluded after repeated confirmation.

"Check every three minutes." Bai Chen emphasized.

"Yes..." After saying the first word, Long Yuehong stopped.

He usually said "Yes, Team Leader," but this time he didn't know what to say "yes" to, and adding Bai Chen's name directly seemed inappropriate.

Bai Chen didn't care and focused all her attention on monitoring the target area.

Long Yuehong followed her gaze and looked across the street, just in time to see Team Leader and Shang Jianyao turning into the alley, as if taking a stroll after dinner.

...

"Wait next to that broken streetlight ahead." Jiang Baimian had the hood of her black cotton-padded jacket over her head, with a circle of brown fur around the edge.

It seemed to have the effect of making her face look smaller.

Shang Jianyao kept his mouth shut and didn't make any random remarks. He followed Team Leader to the other side of the broken streetlight and hid himself in the shadows.

The light from the street couldn't reach this side at all. Only some light spilled out from the buildings on both sides, vaguely revealing the outlines of various things.

Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao stopped talking and each observed one side, paying attention to the pedestrians passing by.

Whenever someone approached, they looked at each other, as if they were a couple on a date.

They believed that those couples inside "Pangu Biology" who, after the lights were turned off, braved the cold to meet in corners, were representative. Similar people definitely existed on the surface, and this was especially true in relatively better places like Weed City. Bai Chen did not deny this.

Time passed quickly, and 8 o'clock soon arrived.

After another minute or two, a figure walked into the alley from the South Street entrance.

He was wearing a navy blue cotton coat, a furry leather hat, and a black scarf. He was slightly hunched over and kept his head down, like an old man trembling in the cold wind.

As he passed Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao, the old man suddenly slipped, his body swayed, and something fell to the ground.

He quickly squatted down, using the light from the buildings on both sides to search for the lost item.

Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao had already seen clearly that the old man had dropped a badge with a red background and no words on it.

"Is this what you dropped?" Jiang Baimian bent down and handed her own nameplate with a red background and gold letters to the old man with a smile.

The old man glanced at it and raised his head:

"Yes."

In the dim light, he didn't look old at all, but rather in his thirties, with eyebrows that were neither thick nor thin, and features that were neither ugly nor handsome, the kind of person that didn't leave a strong impression.

After answering, the man quickly picked up his "badge" and stood up.

Confirming that the other party was a company operative lurking in Weed City, Jiang Baimian smiled and asked casually:

"Have you already scouted this place and observed the environment?"

The operative nodded and said casually:

"Whether it's wearing clothes inside out, adding or removing hats, the way you wear a scarf, or the way you walk, it can make you look like a different person at night, but it takes a little skill."

Jiang Baimian listened quietly, then suddenly laughed:

"You've passed by here four times already, right?"

The operative looked at Jiang Baimian in astonishment.

He wasn't surprised that the woman in front of him had noticed that he had been nearby, but that she could accurately say how many times in total!

Jiang Baimian smiled and looked at his feet:

"Remember to change your shoes next time."

The operative suddenly realized.

Jiang Baimian "hmmmed" and nodded:

"Indeed, extra shoes are inconvenient to carry around, so you can only consider getting them dirty.

"Are you a little reluctant?"

On the Ashlands, apart from those self-proclaimed noble lords, who would be willing to deliberately ruin their own things?

The average employees of "Pangu Biology" also lived a life of relatively scarce resources, just better than most wilderness wanderer settlements.

"A little." The operative nodded truthfully.

He didn't say much, and looked around:

"This isn't a convenient place to talk, I'll take you somewhere."

Jiang Baimian immediately turned her head and looked at Shang Jianyao.

The operative noticed this and frowned slightly:

"Don't trust me?"

At this moment, Shang Jianyao laughed:

"Why wouldn't we trust you?

"Look:

"We are all company employees;

"Our families are all inside the company;

"So..."

The operative's expression gradually softened:

"That's right, everyone here is someone we can trust."

His attitude became noticeably warmer:

"I've been stationed in Weed City for almost two years. In another year, I'll be able to go back. I don't know if my daughter, haha, will still recognize me. She was only five years old when I left."

"That's not a very auspicious thing to say, you should say it less." Shang Jianyao interrupted him.

The operative was stunned, and subconsciously glanced at Shang Jianyao, only to see his face full of sincerity.

"That's true." The operative felt the concern of a friend.

Then, he pointed to the other end of the alley:

"Let's change locations, there are people coming and going here."

The operative had an instinctive wariness and high demands for rendezvous locations.

Because of the "Reasoning Clown" insurance, even if the other party wasn't trustworthy before, they became trustworthy now. So Jiang Baimian no longer hesitated and nodded slightly:

"Okay."

After speaking, she took out the walkie-talkie and pressed the button:

"You can move out now."