Besides the photo and the title, the cover had no extra introduction. Shang Jianyao carefully examined it for a few moments before returning the journal and magazine to their original positions.
Next, carrying the "Berserker" assault rifle, he followed the route the room's owner had concealed and used to transfer, heading towards another part of the city.
As for how he determined which places the room's owner had passed through, Shang Jianyao had found the pattern.
That was, the more realistic and reasonable the scene's details, the more likely the room's owner had been there. The more chaotic, contradictory, and distorted it was, the more it indicated that the room's owner had never set foot there. The situation presented stemmed from the subconscious mind's self-perfection, a fusion of multiple experiences.
Subsequent progress proved the correctness of this pattern, but that didn't mean Shang Jianyao had smooth sailing from then on.
He still suffered quite a few attacks because the room's owner's process of hiding and transferring was also full of twists and turns. He stepped into dangerous situations several times, barely escaping with his own strength and a bit of luck, and seeking new routes.
As far as Shang Jianyao was concerned, as long as he was careful, even if he couldn't sense human consciousness within someone else's psychological shadow, dealing with those "Heartless" without special abilities wasn't a big problem. But once he opened fire, it would always attract a large number of "Heartless," forcing him to transfer forcefully.
Later, he gave up the "Berserker" assault rifle and switched to the "United 202" and "Ice Moss," both with silencers.
This did have a certain effect, but it didn't completely solve the problem, because the "Heartless" that attacked him would also make noise, calling friends and inviting companions to bully the few with the many.
Shang Jianyao wasn't too anxious; he treated it as a real-person RPG game, controlling the expenditure of his mental strength while using sweeping operations to facilitate transfer, and memorizing the few dangerous scenarios he had encountered, preparing to avoid them directly after reloading next time.
When his mental strength was almost exhausted, he decisively plunged several "Heartless" into an unspeakable state of melancholy, taking the opportunity to extricate himself and leave the "522" room along the safe route he had previously explored.
There were already "Advanced Heartless" with special abilities among these "Heartless!"
Floor 495, Block B, Room 196.
Shang Jianyao opened his eyes and muttered to himself:
"The number of enemies along the room's owner's transfer route is decreasing, but their quality is increasing... He may have come into contact with something special in the ruins of that city later..."
"Iron Mountain Remains?"
As his thoughts turned, Shang Jianyao heard a familiar voice on the radio, a voice with a bit of childishness:
"Hello everyone, I am the hourly news announcer, Hou Yi. It is now 8 p.m. on the dot..."
Everything seemed to become peaceful again.
...
The next morning, Shang Jianyao had breakfast at the Floor 495 employee cafeteria and entered the elevator.
Coincidentally, Long Yuehong arrived right after him.
Shang Jianyao watched the elevator doors close and chatted with Long Yuehong:
"What did you eat this morning?"
"My mom used the leftovers from last night to make a big pot of noodles." Long Yuehong was quite satisfied with this.
Many employees of Pangu Biology had this habit. If there weren't many leftovers from the night before, not enough to make a dish on their own, they would put them together as a topping for noodles the next day.
This was similar to the "Hotchpotch" in the Rootless camp, a habit formed during an era of scarce resources.
Shang Jianyao glanced at Long Yuehong and changed the subject with a leap of thought:
"Why did you bring your computer?"
Long Yuehong was carrying his portable computer, including the mouse and plug.
Long Yuehong said, "Uh":
"I don't know if the rewards will be distributed today. We can't train all day; the body can't take it. Sigh, it's pretty boring to stay in the office with nothing to do."
"You dislike the Old World entertainment data I selected?" Shang Jianyao was "aggrieved."
These past few days, when Long Yuehong had nothing to do in Room 14 on Floor 647, he would go to Shang Jianyao's place and watch Old World dramas with him, while Bai Chen was with Jiang Baimian's group.
Long Yuehong scratched his head with his left hand:
"It's not that, it's just more convenient this way."
As they spoke, they arrived at Floor 647 and entered Room 14.
Bai Chen was already inside. Surprisingly, it was Jiang Baimian who was absent.
However, she didn't keep everyone waiting for too long and appeared at the door a few minutes later.
"I was temporarily summoned by Minister Xi Yu," Jiang Baimian said with a smile. "The rewards have been decided, and they will be officially distributed this afternoon."
"Ura!"
"Long live!"
It was Shang Jianyao who shouted "Ura," and it was also Shang Jianyao who shouted "Long live."
Seeing that Bai Chen and Long Yuehong also looked forward to it, just expressing it to different degrees, Jiang Baimian walked towards her position and said with a smile:
"First of all, we keep all our gains for ourselves, and the submitted items will be returned soon."
This was the most important thing. You had to know that the Old Task Force had submitted a full three sets of different models of military exoskeletons, a Chameleon-series bionic intelligent armor, Six Senses Beads, a "Life Angel" necklace, and other powerful equipment, and only one military exoskeleton had been allowed to be kept beforehand.
Now, the higher-ups decided to return all the items and help repair them, which relieved Jiang Baimian and made her quite satisfied.
She then added a sentence:
"But there is one prerequisite: some items must be kept by the department's specialized institutions, and we can only claim them when we need to go out for training or complete tasks."
With the previous bombing case as a precedent, how could the company allow employees to bring military exoskeletons and props with magical abilities into the interior? Even guns needed to be applied for before Jiang Baimian and the others could use them.
If something went wrong, it would be troublesome.
If it weren't for the fact that bionic limbs and mechanical arms were inseparable from their owners, the company would have no other choice but to hold their noses and accept it. Long Yuehong estimated that he would be a one-armed hero for a while.
"That's how it should be." Long Yuehong supported the higher-ups' decision at the first opportunity.
"What a pity..." Shang Jianyao didn't know what he was regretting.
Bai Chen's focus had already shifted elsewhere:
"What other rewards are there?"
Jiang Baimian didn't answer immediately but frowned slightly and said:
"Minister Xi Yu also mentioned something about the 'Life Angel' necklace. The company has made certain modifications to it, ensuring that the effect doesn't change while giving Shang Jianyao another layer of protection, saying it can be used at critical moments to resist the 'sequelae' of going berserk before."
"Shang Jianyao can learn the specifics later from the obtained classified information."
"That's simple; I can guess it now." Shang Jianyao laughed. "After they knew that there was a remnant of foreign aura in my Sea of Origins, they planned to send me another aura from their own people. When something unexpected happens, they will put the aura of their own people into the Sea of Origins and ask him for help. After that, they are their own people, so it is easy to talk to them."
"That is also a kind of supervision." Jiang Baimian nodded lightly. "In that case, are there any Fate Domain awakeners within the company who have explored the depths of the Mind Corridor?"
"Since the company's awakening experiments have had a certain effect, even if the probability is very low, they should have accumulated some awakeners in different domains," Bai Chen said, expressing her opinion.
Jiang Baimian didn't discuss this rather sensitive matter further, smiled, and continued to talk about the rewards:
"This time, we completed a very difficult mission that no one has succeeded in for many years, and the company is very satisfied. They decided to promote me directly to D9. Hehe, I thought I would have to do at least two or three more tasks to have a chance.
"Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong, you both jumped two levels again and are now D7 team leader-level employees.
"Xiao Bai, you have been promoted to D6."
Seeing that the rewards were much more generous than expected, Long Yuehong couldn't help but calculate quickly:
My basic salary will increase by another 1,000, reaching 4,800 Contribution Points, and my monthly extra allowance will be 1,100. That means I can get 10,000 Contribution Points at the end of the year at once...
When I get married later, the house I can get will most likely have a small bathroom...
If I transferred away from the Security Department, I could get another level promotion and even become the director of the activity center...
I've only been working for more than a year...
As Long Yuehong was calculating happily, Jiang Baimian glanced at Shang Jianyao:
"I don't quite understand your choice, either. I don't necessarily have to be a team leader; anyway, we always discuss things among ourselves.
"Okay, since it's already decided, I won't say much more. There are other rewards this time."
"You're clearly very happy." Honest Shang Jianyao always said what was on his mind.
The smile on Jiang Baimian's face froze for a second, and she resisted the urge to raise her left hand.
She looked at Bai Chen and said:
"My report mentioned that your portable computer was lost in Initial City, so the reward this time also includes the latest model of portable computer..."
"Ah..." Long Yuehong made a sound.
Jiang Baimian nodded to him:
"We didn't submit any materials this time, so there are no extra Contribution Points issued. The rewards are mainly in the form of objects and opportunities.
"In addition to the portable computer, we can apply to replace the Chameleon-series bionic intelligent armor with other models or the latest model of the same series. We can also apply for another one before the next mission. In addition, there is also an opportunity for genetic modification, an opportunity to transfer away from the Security Department's front-line team, and an opportunity for a free transplant of a better bionic limb.
"These are all tailor-made for our team. The higher-ups have seen our contributions.
"Xiao Bai, I'll chat with you later. Some genetic modifications are very dangerous, while others are relatively safe. I have some experience and knowledge in this area and can give you guidance. I don't want to lose any non-combat personnel.
"Xiao Hong, if you are satisfied with the mechanical arm, give the opportunity to transplant a bionic limb to Xiao Bai and let her add Contribution Points to exchange for the best one. Uh, you can submit your transfer application today."
Long Yuehong paused for a moment and said:
"Okay, okay."