After removing the storage device from the computer on the table and walking out of the room with the "red" window, Shang Jianyao tilted his head to look at the tightly closed wooden doors around him.

He didn't try to open them. He retracted his gaze and followed Jiang Baimian, who was carrying a dark green canvas backpack and wearing a military exoskeleton, down the stairs.

When they returned to the jeep, Long Yuehong and Bai Chen had also received the signal to return to the team.

After a while, inside the vehicle, Long Yuehong, sitting in the passenger seat, finally finished reading the letter left by Lu Fuxing.

He sincerely exclaimed:

"It's a good thing we didn't go to the Renhui Hospital's Vegetative Rehabilitation Center, or we might have been wiped out, uh..."

He "uh" was because he thought Genava might not die.

In short, the horror of the Renhui Hospital's Vegetative Rehabilitation Center exceeded his imagination. Just entering different rooms could lead to different dangers, and it seemed there was no way to defend against them.

Regarding Long Yuehong's exclamation, Jiang Baimian nodded lightly:

"This can be considered a blessing in disguise in some sense."

Although she and her team members had attached great importance to the Renhui Hospital's Vegetative Rehabilitation Center, believing that its danger level surpassed that of Taicheng First Senior High School, and had placed it last on their exploration list, after reading the letter left by Lu Fuxing, she felt that she had still underestimated the risks they might encounter.

Just pushing open a wooden door and entering a room could drive you crazy, turn you into a vegetable, cause you to suffer from "Heartless Disease," or lead you to impulsively commit suicide, all without any prior warning or detectable abnormalities!

This was incredibly terrifying for any team.

Even if the "Old Task Force" had an Awakened with "Mind Corridor" abilities, a non-carbon-based intelligent robot, and powerful humans who had undergone gene modification and bio-prosthetic transplants, they would likely have to sacrifice one or two lives before they could discover the problem.

Of course, Jiang Baimian suspected that the anomalies in different rooms were related to the corresponding "New World" nodes.

They were connected to different locations in the "New World," so they naturally produced different effects.

And the "Old Task Force" possessed the "Six Senses Beads" and the "Angel of Life" necklace, two items that could sense "New World" nodes.

In other words, the "Old Task Force" still had a certain chance of detecting the problem in advance and avoiding those dangerous rooms. However, Jiang Baimian wasn't very confident about this, as she couldn't be sure whether the fundamental problem in the Renhui Hospital's Vegetative Rehabilitation Center was the presence of multiple "New World" nodes.

In that kind of dangerous environment, if they misjudged the situation, a total wipeout could really happen.

After a brief silence, Jiang Baimian, having finished reading all the documents, made a summary:

"Currently, all the clues point to the Eighth Research Institute.

"Before the Old World was destroyed, they extensively collected vegetative people to conduct a very dangerous experiment, seemingly touching the forbidden zone of the gods.

"This may have led to the outbreak of 'Heartless Disease,' causing the destruction of the Old World. At the same time, their organization suffered some kind of influence and became the dark's pawns, trying to erase the relevant clues.

"Their Base No. 2 seems to be the origin of all the problems, if Fan Wensi, Li Jinlong's son Li Hui, and Jiang Xiaoyue were transferred there."

Shang Jianyao responded with a dejected expression:

"But we don't know where the Eighth Research Institute is hidden."

After speaking, he tilted his head, looked at Genava, and asked with anticipation:

"Old Ge, can't you really deduce the specific latitude and longitude coordinates of the Eighth Research Institute from the missile trajectory?"

"If there was enough data collected, it would be possible, but it was discovered a little late." The honest Genava extinguished Shang Jianyao's hope.

Jiang Baimian followed up:

"Moreover, I suspect that the missile base and the Eighth Research Institute's headquarters are not in the same place.

"When building a normal research institute, who would build so many missile silos?

"A reasonable deduction is that after the Old World was destroyed, the Eighth Research Institute seized several secret missile bases and raised a large group of people to maintain them.

"Well, the protective measures at those missile bases may be more stringent. It cannot be ruled out that the Eighth Research Institute later moved its headquarters to a similar place.

"Our next direction of investigation is to find out where the Eighth Research Institute is located, and then have the company and the 'Savior Army' surround and annihilate them.

"But before that, we need to return to the company to rest and collect more information."

"Yes, yes." Long Yuehong was the first to agree.

"What about these documents and the suicide note?" Shang Jianyao, who valued emotions, asked with concern.

Jiang Baimian nodded:

"I originally wanted to stay for a few more days. Since there was a missile strike here, the 'Savior Army' observation station near here should have noticed it. At that time, the 'Savior Army' would most likely send teams to search for anomalies and hand the things over to them.

"But we have that nuclear warhead in the car. Meeting the 'Savior Army' in this sensitive area might cause problems.

"So, let's return now, find a chance to photocopy all the documents, and then, when leaving the 'Savior Army' territory, hand this backpack, along with the documents and the suicide note inside, to Ding Ling."

"I think this plan is pretty good," Bai Chen commented.

Shang Jianyao thought for a while and sighed:

"We can only do that."

Jiang Baimian didn't say anything more and told Bai Chen, who was driving:

"Let's return now."

As the jeep gradually moved away from Taicheng, Jiang Baimian couldn't help but tilt her head and look out the window.

The ruins of the Old World had truly become ruins, with a large number of buildings collapsing, only partially surviving, like tombstones standing in a cemetery.

The summer wind blew, warm and peaceful in the ice field environment, lacking heat.

...

After many days of trekking, those "Asceticism Department" monks followed Palanqi all the way to the vicinity of Taicheng.

Looking at the collapsed buildings and the scorched marks left by the fires, they remained silent for a long time, unmoving.

After several minutes, Palanqi sighed:

"The omen has appeared. The great calamity is approaching."

...

On the border between the "Savior Army" and "First City," along the dilapidated road in Yunshan, Jiang Baimian drove the jeep, with the help of the artificial intelligence navigator Shang Jianyao, heading out of the towering mountains.

"Why did you just give the backpack to Ding Ling and leave?" Shang Jianyao expressed deep regret for not being able to stay for a free meal.

Jiang Baimian "heh"d and said:

"I don't want to see other people being sad."

The honest Shang Jianyao thought deeply and said:

"Indeed, that's not polite."

Long Yuehong, in the middle of the back row, holding Bai Chen's right hand, leaned forward and looked ahead:

"Are we heading straight back to the company now?"

"Yes." Jiang Baimian nodded.

Of course, they would definitely replenish supplies and electricity multiple times along the way, or they wouldn't make it back to "Pangu Biology."

"When the time comes, Old Ge, you'll stay in Wasteland City or Blackmarsh Wilderness, and watch over that nuclear bomb..." Jiang Baimian started to ramble.

Genava didn't object:

"No problem."

Shang Jianyao quickly gave two instructions:

"Be sure to keep an eye on it!

"Who knows when it might come in handy in the future.

"This time, we didn't use it to blow up Taicheng First Senior High School and Renhui Hospital. We can give someone a surprise in the future."

Why do I feel like you're very regretful? Jiang Baimian muttered to herself.

While chatting, Long Yuehong suddenly said hesitantly:

"I discussed it with Xiaobai, with Xiaobai last night, and we're going to register with the Order Supervision Bureau when we get back to the company, and then have a meal at home with relatives and friends.

"Team Leader, will you come?"

As for Shang Jianyao, he definitely wouldn't miss this kind of opportunity to have fun and get a free meal, and Long Yuehong wouldn't fail to invite him.

Jiang Baimian laughed as she drove:

"I have to think about what gift to give you."

"No need for gifts," Bai Chen said.

"Yes, yes." Long Yuehong echoed.

Then, he exclaimed again:

"This is like a dream..."

Shang Jianyao chuckled:

"Is this your dream?

"Find a partner, start a family, have a few children, and be able to eat meat every day?"

"Yes." Although Long Yuehong was embarrassed, he bravely admitted it.

Shang Jianyao didn't make it difficult for him and turned to look at Bai Chen:

"What's your dream?"

Bai Chen organized her words:

"To have companions I can entrust my back to, and a partner I can hold hands with and face death together."

Long Yuehong squeezed her hand tightly.

Shang Jianyao looked at Genava in passing:

"Old Ge, what's your dream?"

Genava's eyes flickered a few times:

"I already have a certain understanding of what a human is. Next is to find the meaning of being human."

Clap clap clap, Shang Jianyao applauded.

He asked Jiang Baimian again:

"What about you?"

"Me?" Jiang Baimian smiled and said, "Of course, it's to find out the cause of the Old World's destruction and the origin of 'Heartless Disease,' and to find a way to eliminate the sword hanging over humanity's head."

Shang Jianyao withdrew his gaze and said to himself:

"As for me, my dream is..."

"No one wants to ask you!" Jiang Baimian said, amused and annoyed.

Shang Jianyao straightened his back and finished forcibly:

"To save all of humanity!"

Jiang Baimian rolled her eyes at him and turned on the small blue and black speaker that she had requisitioned.

The song she had been listening to frequently in recent months began to play:

"Still remember the dream of your youth?

"Like a flower that never withers

"Accompanying me through the wind and rain

"Seeing the impermanence of the world

"Seeing the changes of time..." (Note 1)

In the singing, the jeep drove out of Yunshan, and ahead was an endless wasteland.

(End of Part Five)

Note 1: "Love of My Life", Jonathan Lee