This time, "Pangu Biology's" reply was quite quick:

"Gather all items and follow the 'Salvation Army' plan."

"That's as good as saying nothing," Long Yuehong, who had always been loyal to the company, couldn't help but complain.

To be honest, he didn't expect the company to provide any substantial assistance. After all, they were tens of thousands of miles away. Unless "Pangu Biology" possessed fantasy technologies such as space folding, curvature navigation, or wormhole traversal, they could only watch helplessly.

Long Yuehong had originally hoped that the company would at least provide some information about powerful "New World" individuals that could be utilized, or have informants lurking in the "Salvation Army" provide some assistance.

In the end, there was nothing!

After thinking about it, he came up with reasons for "Pangu Biology"—the company didn't have much information about powerful "New World" individuals, and there were none that the "Old Task Force" could use to fight against the "New World" returnees. Moreover, the "Salvation Army's" screening was strict, and the company had no informants who could successfully infiltrate, or even if they joined the "Salvation Army," they could only linger on the fringes and play no role.

At this moment, Long Yuehong heard rustling sounds.

He turned his head and saw Shang Jianyao taking out a neatly folded piece of paper.

"What's this?" Long Yuehong asked, puzzled.

Shang Jianyao responded with a smile:

"Another preparation."

Another preparation... Jiang Baimian vaguely had a bad feeling.

Immediately afterward, Shang Jianyao unfolded the paper, revealing various patterns drawn on it.

"Chart of Blessings from the Celestial Worthies of the Year"!

Bai Chen, Long Yuehong, and Jiang Baimian all fell silent, watching helplessly as Shang Jianyao placed the "Chart of Blessings from the Celestial Worthies of the Year" on the table, bowed once, bowed again, and bowed a third time.

"What kind of preparation is this?" Genava asked honestly.

"Praying for blessings," Shang Jianyao replied solemnly. "As the saying goes, sharpening your spear before battle, even if it's slow, it'll still be sharp."

You know it's sharpening your spear before battle! Jiang Baimian shouted in her heart.

However, she still had some expectations about it:

The "Old Task Force" was being watched by several Celestial Worthies, and they might be carrying the chips of one or more of them. Theoretically, they would be blessed to some extent.

Of course, it couldn't be ruled out that the Celestial Worthies were spreading their nets wide. In that case, if the "Old Task Force" couldn't survive the "Doctor's" challenge and didn't reach the intended "place," they definitely wouldn't receive any additional help.

After Shang Jianyao finished worshiping the "Chart of Blessings from the Celestial Worthies of the Year" and put away the paper, Jiang Baimian gestured to Long Yuehong and the others to put the radio transceiver into the box and carry the crates containing the military exoskeleton devices and bionic intelligent armor. She then frowned slightly and said:

"I'm only worried that Committee Member Huang's plan won't achieve its goal.

"Do you remember that 'Assassin'? She's the 'Doctor's' subordinate, good at hiding herself. She might be hiding somewhere nearby, gathering intelligence for the 'Doctor'. When the time comes, it won't be a secret which team we and the slumbering one in Ubei have joined. The 'Doctor' won't need to gamble and can easily lock onto the targets."

"We told Committee Member Huang about the 'Assassin's' abilities and corresponding price a long time ago. He should be on guard," Bai Chen wasn't too worried about this. "The 'Salvation Army' should have a way and the ability to avoid such probing."

The "Assassin's" price was a strong compulsion for symmetry.

"Yes, yes," Long Yuehong quickly echoed.

Jiang Baimian nodded slightly:

"That's right.

"We can remind Committee Member Huang again later."

The "Old Task Force," who had been prepared for a long time, quickly packed up their belongings, carried them on their backs, and planned to go downstairs later, head straight to the jeep, put everything inside, and then, according to Committee Member Huang's arrangement, mix in with a group of people and leave Ubei along the Moonscale River.

Not long after, they heard a loud and chaotic "da-da-da" sound.

Jiang Baimian looked up and saw seven or eight deep black armed helicopters flying over from the distance.

They landed one after another in the empty parking lot of the "Gray Earth Hotel."

"So that's it..." Jiang Baimian's heart stirred, and she roughly understood Committee Member Huang's strategy.

These helicopters all had their logos painted over, and their exteriors were almost indistinguishable. When each team got on board later, after they flew into the air and crisscrossed back and forth, the "Assassin" on the ground wouldn't be able to tell which helicopter the "Old Task Force" and the slumbering one in Ubei were on.

She couldn't follow the helicopters like she could follow cars. This was due to the limitations of speed and the issue of altitude.

Moreover, the helicopter's space was limited. After being filled with personnel and equipment, there was no room for an "Invisible Man" to squeeze in, eliminating the possibility of the other party mixing into the correct team.

Well, the "Assassin" could also cling to the helicopter's landing gear and ascend into the air with it, but Committee Member Huang should be preventing this... Jiang Baimian breathed a sigh of relief and said to the team members:

"Alright, let's go downstairs.

"It seems we have to temporarily say goodbye to our jeep."

Obviously, the "Old Task Force" would be evacuated by one of the helicopters. When they reached a safe area, their jeep would be driven over by the "Salvation Army."

"Yes, team leader!" Shang Jianyao and the others responded in unison.

Then, they followed Jiang Baimian, carrying tactical backpacks and different crates, out of the room and down the stairs to the ground floor.

At this moment, there were already many cars in the parking lot of the "Gray Earth Hotel," and hundreds of "Salvation Army" soldiers wearing black uniforms stood in an orderly and upright manner near the back door of the hotel.

Besides them, there were roughly the same number of political officers and staff wearing neat blue clothing.

Jiang Baimian saw two familiar faces at a glance: Hong Guangming, the director of the Ubei Immigration Bureau, and Shen Kang, the hotel manager.

These people weren't standing as neatly, and their expressions were varied and hard to describe.

"Director Hong, why did Committee Member Huang suddenly ask us to gather here too?" Shen Kang knew Hong Guangming and asked in a low voice.

In his opinion, Director Hong was Committee Member Huang's old subordinate and should know some inside information.

Hong Guangming, who was less than 1.7 meters tall and had mechanical-electronic modifications to his left arm and right leg, touched his sparse white hair and replied with a bad temper:

"You're asking me, who should I ask?"

Shen Kang was still uneasy:

"Could it be that they want to investigate us? Those without problems will follow the main force, and those with problems will be cannon fodder..."

Hong Guangming suddenly turned his body and glared at Shen Kang:

"What problems? What problems could there be?

"Everything here was built with our blood and sweat. What's wrong with taking some extra benefits?

"Saving all of humanity? Who still believes in that these days? It's just a slogan! Look at the people above, most of them don't even believe it themselves. Everyone can see how their children are doing!"

Shen Kang looked at Hong Guangming's mechanical-electronic left arm and right leg and didn't dare to respond. He could only mutter in his heart:

Didn't you believe in it wholeheartedly back then?

During their conversation, Committee Member Huang walked onto the steps with his staff and security guards.

He spoke to the young soldiers in black uniforms and the political officers in blue in an exceptionally loud voice:

"Everyone, there is now an arduous task that will select people from among you.

"This task is very dangerous, but rest assured, I will personally participate!"

Seeing pairs of eyes looking at him, Committee Member Huang nodded and added with a serious expression:

"I can't deceive you. According to our 'Salvation Army' tradition, similar tasks must be clearly explained in advance.

"Among them, I can't talk about matters involving confidentiality regulations. I can only tell you that this task is of great importance and will affect the foundation of our 'Salvation Army.' And its degree of danger is..."

Speaking of this, Committee Member Huang paused before saying:

"Ten deaths and no survivors!"

He didn't mention that only two or three of the groups would be like that, and the others still had a chance of survival. After all, no one could say for sure which two or three teams would be destroyed.

Hearing "ten deaths and no survivors," the entire parking lot suddenly became somewhat commotion.

The young faces of those "Salvation Army" soldiers, who were originally well-disciplined, all revealed expressions of panic and fear.

They were willing to accept orders and fight the enemy in a bloody battle, but that didn't mean they wouldn't be afraid or want to retreat when faced with a mission that was certain to lead to death.

The political officers, who had been away from the front lines for many years or had never experienced them, were even worse, and they all turned their gazes to the soldiers, as if saying this was your business, don't involve us.

Committee Member Huang's gaze swept over these faces and sighed silently:

"This time, we will prioritize voluntary participation. Those who are willing to stand up will be rewarded according to the highest standards, and your families will also receive corresponding benefits.

"Alright, those who are willing to participate in this mission, step out to the left!"

The entire parking lot suddenly fell into a deathly silence. Many people looked at each other, but their legs were weak and they found it difficult to take that step.

Dozens of seconds passed, and only a few people showed a willingness to join.

Just then, someone shouted loudly:

"Old Huang, don't make things difficult for these young ones. Leave it to us old fossils!"

Jiang Baimian, Long Yuehong, and the others looked in the direction of the voice and saw twenty or thirty people wearing aluminum pots of different styles walking into the parking lot.

The leader was Old Zhang, whose "Salvation Army" uniform had been washed to the point of being faded.

Old Zhang walked step by step to the front of the formation and turned to face Committee Member Huang.

Then, he took off the aluminum pot from his head, revealing a gray-haired and wrinkled head.

He looked at Committee Member Huang and smiled self-deprecatingly:

"Many people think that we old guys are conservative, stubborn, rigid, and have psychological problems, and they can't wait for us to die sooner. Now, it's just as they wish, so we can exert a little residual heat."

After speaking, Old Zhang's expression became solemn, and he put his feet together and said:

"Commander Huang, Zhang Wangyuan of the Second Battalion reports for duty!"

Following him, the old "Salvation Army" soldiers wearing aluminum pots took off the aluminum pots that were blocking their eyes and "protecting" their heads, straightened their bodies, and shouted loudly:

"Commander Huang, Liu Ming of the Regimental Headquarters reports for duty!"

"Commander Huang, Zhou Kaiqi of the Fourth Company of the Third Battalion reports for duty!"

……

Standing in the political officer formation, Hong Guangming looked at these familiar faces, and his expression suddenly became quite trance-like.

He seemed to have returned to the past, back to the era when his blood was still burning.

Committee Member Huang also had a moment of trance, and then nodded with emotion.

His already upright body became even straighter, and he retracted his feet and put his legs together.

Seeing this scene, Hong Guangming's mind buzzed, and he felt a surge of hot blood that could no longer be suppressed in his heart.

He hobbled out of the formation and solemnly saluted Committee Member Huang:

"Commander Huang, Hong Guangming of the First Company of the Second Battalion reports for duty!"

Committee Member Huang breathed a sigh of relief with satisfaction, and then solemnly stretched out his right hand and pressed it to his left chest.

Then, he looked around and shouted in a loud voice:

"For all of humanity!"

Old Zhang, Hong Guangming, and the others followed suit, raising their right hands and pressing them to their left chests, responding in unison with the most solemn and devout attitude:

"For all of humanity!"

The young "Salvation Army" soldiers and those political officers watched this scene with dazed expressions, unable to recover for a short time.

Just then, next to Shang Jianyao, who was wearing a black trench coat and black sunglasses, a small blue-and-black speaker sang hoarsely:

"I don't want to die in failure and loneliness
I don't want to live underground all the time
Material trickery
Hurried ants
People without ideals are not sad
He's not sad!" (Note 1)

Note 1: Quote from "Those Who Have No Ideals Are Not Sad" by New Pants.