After arriving at the underground parking lot attached to the "Fire and Iron" Inn, Jiang Baimian said to Shang Jianyao:

"You drive first. On the way back, let Xiaobai or Xiaohong drive."

"No problem." Shang Jianyao agreed, but instead of heading towards the driver's seat door, he went around to the back of the jeep and opened the trunk.

"What's wrong?" Honest Genava asked.

The "Old Task Force" had already moved the equipment guarded by Genava in the suite back to the car in advance, so there was nothing else that needed to be stuffed into the trunk.

Shang Jianyao carefully examined the wooden crates, a box of bullets, several spare weapons, and the remaining small amount of canned food, biscuits, and energy bars.

After completing this task, he answered Genava's question:

"I'm checking if that Bodhi statue has suddenly appeared in our car."

What a dark joke... Just as Long Yuehong had this thought, he couldn't help but peer into the trunk.

He remembered when they were in the "Salvation Army," in Wubei, they had painstakingly tracked down the whereabouts of the nuclear bomb, only to discover that the target item was quietly lying in the trunk of their own jeep.

Therefore, Shang Jianyao's sudden idea was not impossible.

"No." Shang Jianyao withdrew his gaze with disappointment, "Sigh..."

Those beings' imaginations shouldn't be so limited, always using the same script to fool people... Jiang Baimian muttered, walking to the passenger seat and opening the door.

The jeep quickly drove onto the street, where Si Pan Te was standing by the roadside, waiting for them.

His vehicle was a rugged, brownish-green pickup truck with the door open, allowing one to easily see the canvas backpack and double-barreled shotgun placed on the passenger seat.

"Your breakfast." Si Pan Te walked to the jeep and handed a yellowish-brown paper bag to the slowly descending window.

"What is it?" Shang Jianyao reached out and took it, eagerly opening it.

Inside were sandwiches with sausage and pickled cucumbers.

"Pure meat." Si Pan Te pointed to the sausages.

This was a pretty good breakfast in Gesterbourg.

"Mutated species meat?" Shang Jianyao asked.

"What else?" Si Pan Te laughed. "Natural meat sausages are too expensive; the boss's meal allowance isn't enough."

Although Gesterbourg is located near the ice plains and can be considered extremely cold from late autumn to early spring, the climate is relatively normal at other times. However, it lacks basic electrical appliances. Even with sufficient power supply, few people own refrigerators. Therefore, smoking and pickling are essential for preserving meat for a long time.

--Gesterbourg's electrical appliances mainly come from the surrounding city ruins, but only a few can be truly repaired after being brought back. Most have to be dismantled and sold as parts.

"Oh..." Shang Jianyao didn't care at all, and enthusiastically began distributing the sausage and pickled cucumber sandwiches.

He had long wanted to taste the meat of mutated species.

With their genetically modified bodies, as long as they didn't eat it regularly, there wouldn't be any major effects.

Taking a big bite and chewing for a while, Shang Jianyao commented:

"It's not much different from normal, ordinary meat, except the gamey taste is stronger."

Even after being made into sausages, it still has a slight gamey taste, which is enough to illustrate the original situation.

"Yeah." Long Yuehong agreed.

After they finished their breakfast with their water bottles, Si Pan Te honked the horn, signaling that they could follow his vehicle.

Driving along the street for a while, the two vehicles went around the castle one after another and entered the road leading out of the city next to the factory area.

The tall furnaces and chimneys immediately came into view for the members of the "Old Task Force."

They spewed smoke that was either grayish, yellowish, or blackish, like fingers stretching towards the sky.

Shang Jianyao sincerely exclaimed:

"This is the real holy land of Buddhism!"

Long Yuehong and the others couldn't refute him.

The two vehicles, one in front and one behind, left the greater Gesterbourg along the concrete road and headed towards the nearby mountains.

Along the way, they saw the railway tracks and roads connecting the mountain mines, as well as trains and trucks of various designs passing by, fully loaded with goods.

In about ten minutes, Si Pan Te's brownish-green pickup truck and the "Old Task Force's" jeep officially entered the mountainous area.

The green on both sides gradually increased, and the road became more winding and tortuous. Occasionally, they saw bare mountain ridges, collapsed cliffs, and blackened streams.

The two vehicles passed by several mines without stopping, and continued further into the mountains.

The road conditions limited their speed. After about thirty to forty minutes, Si Pan Te said through the car's intercom:

"Almost there.

"Remember, don't talk nonsense. I'll handle the negotiations."

He had long noticed that the tallest man, named Dao Ge, had a habit of interrupting.

"No problem." Jiang Baimian didn't want to cause a lot of trouble for the sake of two Great Knight gold coins and affect the subsequent investigation. Therefore, her determination to keep Shang Jianyao under control and prevent him from freelancing was very strong.

Shang Jianyao turned his body and instructed Long Yuehong and Genava in the back row:

"You two heard that, right? Silence is golden at that time. Leave it to Si Pan Te to handle."

Hehe... Long Yuehong completed the slander in the most concise way.

"What if he can't handle it?" Honest Genava asked.

Shang Jianyao immediately laughed:

"Then we can only reluctantly take over."

I hope it doesn't develop to that point... Long Yuehong didn't dare to say this out loud.

After another two or three minutes, an open area appeared in front, with old-world Red River style villas clustered among the towering old trees.

These villas seemed to have been renovated and showed no signs of decay. Their parking lot was located at the edge of the forest, forming a connected area.

At this time, there were more than a dozen vehicles and thirty to forty people in the parking lot. At a glance, Jiang Baimian noticed that the trucks, pickup trucks, and vans carrying goods were either tightly covered with tarpaulins, completely covering the cargo bed, or had dark plastic film on the windows, preventing people from seeing the situation in the back half.

And those people, most of their equipment could be described as sophisticated, with bulletproof vests, assault rifles, grenades, walkie-talkies, grenade launchers...

The configuration of the other twelve or thirteen people was relatively poor. They were clustered around different vehicles, with rifles, pistols, shotguns, and modified hunting guns as their main weapons. Only a few had submachine guns.

Without a doubt, none of them had bulletproof vests. Their clothing was diverse, and their temperament allowed Bai Chen to determine that these were ruin hunters without asking.

Their own men plus a few hired ruin hunter squads... Jiang Baimian nodded thoughtfully, signaling Shang Jianyao to follow Si Pan Te to find a parking spot.

They arrived the latest, and the good spots were all taken. They could only find two spots in the corner of the parking lot.

This also fit Jiang Baimian's thinking.

Because a lion uses its full strength to hunt a rabbit, let alone a slightly mysterious commission with a declared risk. Therefore, the "Old Task Force" would not participate in the mission carelessly, intending to be fully armed and prepared for accidents.

As soon as they got out of the car, a man in a gray coat walked over and stopped in front of Si Pan Te.

This man was in his thirties, with a face with hard lines, as if carved from stone, a hooked nose, short brownish-yellow hair, and light blue eyes. He didn't smile.

He was carrying a Red River pistol that used 9mm bullets and didn't bring any other weapons, which made him stand out.

Of course, he was wearing a bulletproof vest under his coat.

"You were almost late." This man reprimanded Si Pan Te unceremoniously.

Si Pan Te put on a smile:

"Mr. Sandro, we encountered a car accident on the road and were held up for a while."

This was undoubtedly false, just an excuse.

Sandro didn't dwell on the issue and said directly:

"I'll give you ten minutes to prepare.

"During the mission, you are responsible for driving your own car, leading the way in front, paying attention to the situation on both sides at all times, and intercepting any oncoming vehicles that may have problems.

"When we return to Gesterbourg, I will go to the Hunter's Guild to pay you your reward."

His gaze swept over Genava and nodded lightly, seemingly quite satisfied with Si Pan Te's team.

This may be why he didn't care that Si Pan Te and the others were almost late.

After speaking, Sandro turned and walked towards other ruin hunter teams.

"Is that the employer?" Shang Jianyao asked curiously after holding back for a while.

"Yes, he is our employer, but he is not the owner of this batch of goods. He is the security supervisor under the owner of the goods. He used to be a very powerful ruin hunter." Si Pan Te introduced casually.

He then asked:

"Do you need to prepare?"

"Yes." Jiang Baimian glanced at the main group. Seeing that their gazes towards this side were blocked by Si Pan Te's pickup truck, she went around to the trunk and took out the wooden crates one by one.

"What are these?" Si Pan Te was a little curious.

No one answered him. The members of the "Old Task Force" opened the wooden crates and helped each other put on their equipment.

A military exoskeleton device! Two, three... a bionic intelligent armor, two... Si Pan Te's eyes gradually widened, and his mouth forgot to close.

What's the situation with this team?

What exactly is going on?

Why would a team like them accept a commission worth only two Great Knight gold coins?

Could their real purpose be to rob the goods?