Fellinton's voice echoed in the street, giving Long Yuehong goosebumps.

He subconsciously moved his gun, aiming at the ruin hunter, ready to fire a burst to prevent any further words from coming out.

He was fast, but Shang Jianyao was faster. He strode forward and swung his fist, smashing it behind Fellinton's ear.

Bang!

Fellinton's eyes rolled back, and he fell to the ground, immediately unconscious.

Jiang Baimian then turned her head and said to Long Yuehong, Bai Chen, and the others:

"Immediately examine your own state and see if you have any impulsive desires to stay longer, to collect supplies here long-term, or to solve the mystery of the radio."

Long Yuehong's heart tightened, and he quickly started introspecting.

He quickly shook his head:

"No."

At this moment, he couldn't wait to leave the Wasteland Ruin 13 in the next second.

"No," Bai Chen followed, giving her answer.

"I not only don't want to take risks, but I also plan to evacuate," Weite said, indicating that he was only frightened.

Wang Fugui, Fars, and Grey didn't dare to neglect, and also examined themselves, all shaking their heads.

"Phew, it seems Wu Meng's influence cannot be spread through the language of those affected," Jiang Baimian breathed a sigh of relief, then turned to Shang Jianyao and said, "Check Fellinton and see what items he has on him."

Shang Jianyao quickly squatted down and rummaged through Fellinton's pockets, finding a stack of banknotes, a pile of coins, a pistol, four or five magazines loaded with bullets, a lighter, a small cloth bag filled with shotgun shells, a few expired compressed biscuits, an old-world thermos with a lot of water left in it, and a neatly folded newspaper.

"Newspaper?" Jiang Baimian glanced over and felt that the most "unusual" and potentially problematic item was the newspaper, folded to the size of a tofu block.

After all, Fellinton didn't seem like the kind of person who would read a newspaper while in a dangerous situation.

She reached out and took it, carefully examining it for a few seconds. She discovered that the outermost part was the front page, with the newspaper's name:

"Fah He Post"

The newspaper's paper was already yellowed, but not so fragile that it would fall apart with a touch.

Jiang Baimian quickly skimmed through the news folded on the outside, only determining that it should be a relic of the Old World and not finding anything noteworthy.

Now wasn't a good time to study it carefully. Holding the newspaper, she said to Shang Jianyao:

"Put everything back in his pockets, and then wake him up."

Not long after, Fellinton opened his eyes, his pupils filled with confusion.

He didn't even seem to remember who had attacked him.

After he got up, Jiang Baimian solemnly asked:

"You were acting a little strange just now."

"Strange?" Fellinton asked in fright.

Jiang Baimian didn't answer, but instead waved the newspaper in her hand:

"Do you remember it?"

Fellinton frowned and looked closely for a while:

"I have a little impression, but not very deep. I should have seen it somewhere here."

"We found it on you," Shang Jianyao stated the fact in a ghost-story tone.

Fellinton's pupils suddenly dilated:

"How could that be?"

Jiang Baimian thought for a moment and asked a new question:

"How many days have you been here?"

"Ten days or so..." Fellinton said, recalling.

"In ten days, even on foot, it's enough for you to cross this city and leave in the opposite direction, but why are you still not far from the cave entrance?" Jiang Baimian asked, staring into Fellinton's eyes.

Fellinton's body suddenly stiffened. After a few seconds, he said with a slight tremor:

"I was thinking that this city ruin must have a lot of valuable supplies. It would be a waste to just leave like this. The more dangerous it is, the more I have to take risks..."

At this point, Fellinton stopped in fear.

Jiang Baimian's heart stirred, and she asked a different question:

"You don't have any electronic products on you, but have you used any electronic products during this time?"

Fellinton suppressed his panic and fear, recalling:

"When I was looking for expired food in a shopping mall, I found a radio that looked like it could still be used, and then put the old-world general-purpose battery that I had with me in it. It fit perfectly.

"I fiddled with it, and it actually worked. I received a radio station called something like 'Dao and Electrical Appliance Repair'. The host of the radio station was saying:

"'The more dangerous it is, the more you have to take risks...'"

As he spoke, Fellinton's expression changed continuously, as if he had finally awakened from a dream.

"I, I actually stayed here for so long..." he muttered to himself, slightly hysterically.

After calming down for a few seconds, Fellinton added:

"I remember that newspaper. When I was running away and screaming for help just now, I grabbed the newspaper from inside a car.

"I don't even know why I grabbed it..."

The more Fellinton said, the more confused he became, both fearful and puzzled.

"What does Wu Meng mean by letting him take this newspaper?" Wang Fugui looked at Jiang Baimian's right hand.

"Read it from beginning to end when we get back," Jiang Baimian put the newspaper back into her tactical backpack.

On the one hand, she felt that reading it now would be a waste of time and delay the evacuation. On the other hand, she was afraid that something bad would happen while reading the newspaper and thought it would be safer to do it in a safe place.

"Okay," Wang Fugui clearly thought so too.

The group of nine no longer lingered or detoured, and walked along the same route they had come from towards the cave entrance.

The supplies that were easier to obtain along the way had already been taken. Weite and the others turned their attention to the shops on both sides of the street.

They either entered directly and took what they liked, or smashed the glass and reached in to take out the shiny targets, striving for a quick resolution without delaying their return journey.

As they walked, Jiang Baimian suddenly turned her gaze to the side.

Following her line of sight, Long Yuehong saw a shopping mall with a sign that had fallen to the ground.

"Something's up?" Bai Chen asked.

Jiang Baimian frowned slightly:

"The shopping mall's entrance and exit are equipped with loudspeakers. It seemed like there was a little movement just now..."

She didn't say that she sensed a flash of electricity.

"Wu Meng wants to use the loudspeakers to tell us about 'Dao and Electrical Appliance Repair'!" Shang Jianyao clenched his right fist and tapped the "Berserker" assault rifle he was holding in his left hand, looking as if he understood the truth.

"Hisss..." Weite stole Long Yuehong's line again, "Let's get out of here quickly, don't listen!"

Fellinton's experience had left a deep impression on him, and his heart was uneasy.

"Yeah, yeah," Long Yuehong agreed.

Jiang Baimian withdrew her gaze and continued forward.

After taking a few steps, she said to herself:

"The first time, Wu Meng controlled Genava, uh, our robot, and also said 'The more dangerous it is, the more you have to take risks. The Dao moves in reverse,' in a broadcast. Why weren't we affected?"

While Wang Fugui and the others were pondering this question, Shang Jianyao suddenly laughed:

"When did you get the illusion that we weren't affected?

"Exploring twice in such a short period, is that normal?"

Long Yuehong and the others were all shocked.

"Why didn't you say so earlier?" Jiang Baimian glared at Shang Jianyao.

Shang Jianyao answered with a smile:

"Because I was also affected.

"This kind of influence is too weak, not like what Fellinton experienced. It just slightly strengthened some of our tendencies. It's hard to detect through self-examination unless something goes wrong."

You're pretty proud of yourself... Long Yuehong couldn't help but mutter inwardly.

Bai Chen pursed her lips, not showing the slight weakness in her heart.

Wu Meng was truly hard to guard against!

"Wu Meng is really scary..." Wang Fugui exclaimed, "I actually thought about figuring out the secrets of this city ruin before, figuring out what kind of existence he is."

As soon as he finished speaking, Weite said like a frightened bird:

"I remember he also said 'The Dao is in circuits, circuit boards, and electrical appliances' twice using electricity. Will this have any impact on us?"

"That sentence doesn't involve semantic information relating to subjective tendencies, so it shouldn't be a problem," Jiang Baimian was quite certain about this.

Grey, wrapped in a leather jacket, spoke his doubts as he walked:

"Why didn't Wu Meng seize those two opportunities and had to say this nonsense?"

No one could explain it, only Shang Jianyao answered with a smile:

"Maybe he has obsessive-compulsive disorder and has to preach to the target before exerting influence."

"That's, not impossible..." Wang Fugui thought for a few seconds and actually agreed.

During their exchange, their pace didn't slow down at all, as if there was a monster behind them eager to devour them.

No, it wasn't "as if," there was.

After bypassing the buildings that might have loudspeakers, the group of nine finally saw the park again.

…

Because the "Initial City" elite team hadn't arrived yet, the "Old Task Force" returned to the Forward Camp and prepared to rest here for the night before going down the mountain.

Taking advantage of the not-yet-evening sunlight, they and Wang Fugui and the others began to read the newspaper they had found on Fellinton.

This was a local newspaper, mainly containing various affairs of the Fah He region, interspersed with some international politics and entertainment gossip.

While quickly skimming through it, Jiang Baimian saw a news item:

"The 29th International Biotechnology Expo was held in Fah He. Northern Corporation showcased its latest genetic research results..."