Squid Who Loves Diving
Chapter 693 Immigration Office
Ding Ling waved her hand:
“I’m used to it, I’m used to it.
“In short, they’re all not quite right in the head. Don’t bother with them.”
Shang Jianyao relentlessly pressed:
“How not quite right?”
Seeing that Xue Shiyue and the others were also a little interested in this question, Ding Ling explained simply:
“There’s something wrong with their heads. According to my man, they have some kind of persecution complex. They always feel that someone wants to harm them, wants to control them.”
“What’s the reason?” Shang Jianyao was quite curious.
Ding Ling pointed to her left chest:
“Scared by the 'Heartless Disease.'
“They suspect that most of the members of the 'Materials Coordination Committee' have fallen, and have colluded with certain forces hidden in the darkness that caused the destruction of the Old World, secretly using mind control devices to influence everyone, making everyone unknowingly obey, and even their thinking is no longer free.”
Mind control device… they are indeed sick… Long Yuehong had only seen similar things in the Old World entertainment materials.
Ding Ling continued:
“And once someone discovers something is wrong and has the idea of resisting, their thinking ability will be erased, leaving only biological instincts, that is, becoming 'Heartless Ones.'
“Well, that’s how they explain the cause of 'Heartless Disease.'”
Mind control device, thinking erasure, "Heartless Disease"... Jiang Baimian had to admit that the members of the "Salvation Army" were really broad-minded.
Moreover, their theory sounded quite plausible and could not be completely denied.
Because the internal logic of this statement is self-consistent, but whether there is such a thing as a mind control device is another matter, and no one has investigated the source of the "Heartless Disease" and can give a strong rebuttal. Even the "Old Task Force" itself only feels that it has a certain relationship with the "New World" and "Darkness" and lacks sufficient evidence.
“I see…” Shang Jianyao looked like he was about to be persuaded, “Then why do they wear aluminum pots on their heads?”
Ding Ling said uncertainly:
“Probably the mind control device controls the operation of the human brain by affecting brain waves. Only by placing the entire head under the protection of an aluminum pot can they maintain freedom of thought and see the truth of the world.
“So, they wear aluminum pots at all times, even when sleeping at night.”
Sure enough, they have mental problems… Long Yuehong confirmed again.
Shang Jianyao clapped his hands:
“What a great performance art!
“And…”
He turned his head and looked at Genaver:
“This is the same as you wearing an electromagnetic shielding suit.”
“Indeed.” Genaver was very honest.
This made Long Yuehong shiver, and he quickly asked:
“Then do they still have people getting 'Heartless Disease'?”
“Of course.” Ding Ling answered very simply.
Long Yuehong breathed a sigh of relief, annoyed that he had been tricked by Shang Jianyao again without leaving a trace.
Bai Chen began to think about this matter from another perspective:
“Given the style of your 'Salvation Army,' why would you allow these people to walk on the streets openly instead of sending them to a mental hospital?”
“They have been preaching that if they are targeted, it means that their suspicions are correct: most of the members of the 'Materials Coordination Committee' have fallen and want to use mind control to be permanently and generationally high above.” Ding Ling chuckled, "Anyway, they are just more unique in this respect, which does not affect their work, and some of them are hidden deeper and will not wear aluminum pots directly, but will get aluminum sheets and sew them into the hat lining. On the surface, they look like normal people.”
Jiang Baimian nodded thoughtfully:
“There must be a source for such thoughts, right? Did you find the people who spread these claims earliest and lock them up in prison?”
“I’m not too sure about this.” Ding Ling turned her body and pointed to the gray high-rise building behind her, which was ten stories high, “It’s getting late, let me take you to get your permits first.”
Long Yuehong fixed his eyes and saw several vertical plaques with white characters on a black background hanging next to the door of the building:
"Ubei Management Committee"
"Immigration Office"
"Taxation Office"
"Security Check Office"
……
Ding Ling led Jiang Baimian and others into the building while casually explaining:
“In fact, most of us don’t need to pay taxes. The corresponding part has already been deducted when issuing bills and change.
“The Taxation Office is set up for inbound people, cross-border traders, and ruin hunters like you, and belongs to the same system as the Immigration Office and the Security Check Office.”
Jiang Baimian took a light breath and said:
“Does that mean we have to pay taxes on the materials we brought?”
This is much stricter than "First City".
Ding Ling laughed:
“That’s why I asked you to take out a large part of the materials to exchange for bills first.”
It’s good to have someone familiar with the ropes… Long Yuehong sighed sincerely.
Jiang Baimian turned to ask about another matter.
She pointed to Genaver and said:
“Robots should be regulated items. Does it really not affect the issuance of permits?”
“Not a big problem.” Ding Ling replied with considerable confidence, “It will just add a clause to the permit, stating that you cannot bring this robot into the settlement, lest it suddenly becomes uncontrollable and causes tragedy. As for Ubei, there are many robots.”
Her implication was that Ubei had enough power to suppress rampaging robots.
“That’s good, that’s good…” Jiang Baimian breathed a sigh of relief.
Since robots are okay, then other things shouldn’t be a problem either.
Shang Jianyao looked at Genaver with sympathy:
“You are so pitiful.”
“Sigh.” Genaver cooperated and made a sound.
During the exchange, Ding Ling told her subordinates to leave on their own, treating it as a holiday, while she led Shang Jianyao and others into a hall on the side of the first floor.
A sign reading "Immigration Office" hung here.
Ding Ling didn't greet the staff members on the scene. She went directly to an office deep in the aisle and smiled at the old man inside:
“Grandpa Hong, there are a few ruin hunters here who want to apply for permits.”
The old man looked to be in his sixties or seventies, with sparse white hair, sharp eyes, and a tough temperament. He was wearing neat blue clothes representing a government official rather than a military officer.
He seemed to have only noticed someone approaching now, glanced at the door, and nodded to Ding Ling:
“Let them in.”
Ding Ling then introduced to Xue Shiyue and others:
“This is Director Hong, Director Hong of the Immigration Office. He also serves as the Director of the Taxation Office. He is an old comrade-in-arms of my man’s deceased grandfather.”
Shang Jianyao was immediately excited and stepped forward and said:
“Are you an old warrior of the 'Salvation Army' who experienced the Chaotic Era and the early years of the New Calendar?”
Hong Guangming looked Shang Jianyao up and down warily:
“I was born in the early Chaotic Era, and joined later. I can be considered to have experienced a lot.”
Shang Jianyao straightened his back and pressed his right hand to his left chest:
“For all of humanity!”
Seeing Hong Guangming's suspicious look, Jiang Baimian quickly explained:
“He is a fanatical admirer of your 'Salvation Army,' especially fond of the things you did in the later Chaotic Era and the early New Calendar.”
Hong Guangming breathed a sigh of relief and stood up and said:
“Since you were brought by Little Ling, briefly tell me your origins and purpose. I will then check what materials you have brought, whether you have any weapons of mass destruction, and then I can issue the permit.”
He chuckled:
“If it were someone else, they would have to go to the Security Check Office first.”
After he stood up, Jiang Baimian realized that his left arm and right leg were obviously abnormal, as if he had transplanted some unknown model of mechanical prosthetics.
This could be seen from the iron-black color of his left palm and the movement of getting up.
Noticing her gaze, Hong Guangming was not angry and said with a smile:
“Lost in a battle, just like your companion.”
Long Yuehong's mechanical arm was still quite obvious.
Shang Jianyao cast a look of reverence at him.
“Sorry to trouble you, Grandpa Hong.” Ding Ling opened the way at the door.
Hong Guangming then walked over a little limping.
The problem with him was not the mechanical right leg, but the left leg, which still belonged to humans.
It seemed that because of his old age, it could not keep up with the rhythm of the mechanical right leg, which was slightly uncoordinated.
Ding Ling did not try to help Hong Guangming, and indicated that Shang Jianyao and others should not do so either, as if afraid of hurting the other party's self-esteem.
Combat injuries are medals, while old age is another matter.
After leaving the Ubei Management Committee building and arriving next to the "Old Task Force's" jeep, Hong Guangming looked at Jiang Baimian and said:
“You can tell me your origins and purpose.”
Jiang Baimian simply repeated what he had said to Ding Ling before, and finally emphasized:
“We are really wanted by 'First City.'”
“The Hunter's Guild also has their bounty…” Ding Ling helped to prove.
“Wanted by 'First City', plotting a big conspiracy?” Hong Guangming smiled indifferently, “What conspiracy?”
“That’s the excuse they found.” Shang Jianyao was about to answer honestly, but Jiang Baimian preempted him, “Actually, we stole some information, and later killed some of their people in an anti-pursuit.”
Hong Guangming swept them a few more times and joked:
“You wouldn’t really be carrying weapons of mass destruction, would you?”
As he spoke, he signaled Long Yuehong to open the trunk for him to check.
“Some cans… a single-soldier combat rocket launcher, haha, this doesn’t count, the power is limited…” Hong Guangming checked them one by one, pointing to the four crates at the innermost part, “What is in these?”
“Three sets of military exoskeletons and two sets of bionic smart armor.” Shang Jianyao answered honestly.
Ding Ling was helpless. Hong Guangming laughed:
“As expected of fugitives with a net worth calculated in tens of thousands of Ores, open them and let me see.”
Long Yuehong, Bai Chen, Shang Jianyao, and Genaver each dragged out a box and opened it on the spot.
The scene suddenly fell into extreme silence.
Ding Ling stared blankly, suddenly feeling that there was a reason why this team was wanted.
Did they really rob three sets of military exoskeletons and two sets of bionic smart armor from "First City?"
Hong Guangming was a person who had seen the world and experienced life and death. He quickly recovered and looked at Jiang Baimian and others and said:
“You are really not simple…
“These equipment are all controlled items.”
Ding Ling suddenly woke up and walked a few steps forward to Hong Guangming's side. She took out a stack of bills and said in a suppressed voice:
“Grandpa Hong, please be lenient. They really just want to go to the Icefield to explore ruins.”
This part of the bills was roughly equal to the profits she had previously seized from the transaction with the "Old Task Force".
Hong Guangming weighed the bills and nodded slightly:
“You’ve said so much.”
He then warned the "Old Task Force":
“Well, you can’t bring these items into the settlement. I will write it clearly on the permit.”
Jiang Baimian breathed a sigh of relief and subconsciously looked at Shang Jianyao.
Shang Jianyao's expression was blank, as if he had turned into a statue.