In order to avoid being caught up in the potential turmoil in Initial City before obtaining a radio transceiver, the "Old Task Force" left early in the morning, staggering their departure by a full hour from the scheduled citizen assembly time.
In the Red Wolf District in the early morning, the number of pedestrians was not high, and the traffic was similar.
Most of the residents here were still enjoying breakfast at home, waiting to attend the assembly called by Gaius—with this legitimate reason, they didn't need to work in the morning.
The remaining people were either selecting food in bakeries that had opened early, or entering semi-open-air cafes, finding a seat, and waiting for the waiters to bring breakfast.
Everything was so peaceful and serene that if the air quality were a bit better, Long Yuehong would definitely feel refreshed and find life beautiful.
After turning into the Green Olive District, the sky became much narrower due to the encroachment of illegal buildings on both sides, and the environment darkened accordingly.
There were also few pedestrians here, most of whom had already gone to the factory district to start their busy day.
Long lines stretched out in front of several stores selling expiring bread, making the already narrow roads even more constricted.
The "Old Task Force's" jeep drove northwest on the road scattered with various garbage, neither too slowly nor too quickly.
Their destination was Antenna Street.
As the largest and most famous black market in Initial City, it was the easiest place to get a radio transceiver.
However, when the "Old Task Force" arrived at Antenna Street, they saw that the shops on both sides were tightly closed, and there were almost no pedestrians, presenting a very desolate state.
"Did it close down?" Shang Jianyao struck his left palm with his right fist.
Jiang Baimian always suspected that he would say the following second: "Antenna Street, Antenna Street is closed down. Bastard, the bastard boss owed a ton of debt and ran away with his sister-in-law..."
Long Yuehong had a similar premonition and quickly voiced his speculation:
"After that previous conflict, was this place cracked down on by the 'Hands of Order'?"
He was referring to the incident where the "Old Task Force" forcibly snatched Han Wanghuo and Zeng Duo from the area around Antenna Street.
"We'll know if we ask." Bai Chen parked the jeep on the side of the road, put on a baseball cap, and then got out of the car.
The near absence of pedestrians here did not mean a complete absence.
Well-disguised, Bai Chen pushed open the half-closed door of a shop and said to the owner, who was hiding inside and peeking out through the cracks:
"Taking a day off today?"
She deliberately used a mocking tone.
The Red River owner chuckled:
"Isn't there a citizen assembly today?
"The situation has been a bit tense lately, and everyone unanimously felt that it was better to rest for a few days and observe, to avoid being used as targets by either side for strafing.
"Hey, those with money and resources have taken their goods to the manor outside the city."
Hearing the owner's explanation, an old-world ancient poem spontaneously emerged in Jiang Baimian's mind:
"The ducks are the first to know when the spring river warms..."
Those doing gray or even illegal business in Antenna Street had a keen sense of changes in the situation.
Of course, this was also because one of the illegal things sold in Antenna Street was called intelligence.
Bai Chen nodded slightly, indicating understanding.
Then, she went straight to the point:
"Which one has any spare radio transceivers?"
The Red River owner shook his head:
"The few who do this kind of business have either taken their people and goods to the southern manor, or hid in the nearest few Northern Wasteland city ruins, and are not on the street.
"If you really want one, post a task at the Hunter's Guild. Many hunter teams are quite well-off in this regard."
Bai Chen listened calmly, maintaining that slightly sarcastic tone:
"This is the first time I've seen someone from Antenna Street pushing business to the Hunter's Guild."
"Safety first, safety first." The Red River owner smiled and closed the shop door.
"Where do we go next to find one?" Bai Chen returned to the driver's seat and asked, turning her head.
She didn't even consider the owner's suggestion, because for the "Old Task Force," issuing a task and waiting for someone to complete it was too dependent on luck and might not be quick enough.
"Find my good brother Terence?" Shang Jianyao proactively offered a suggestion.
After speaking, he swallowed, seeming to miss the taste of ice cola.
As the second boss of the "Black Shirts," Terence likely had a radio transceiver there.
Wow, this guy actually came up with such a reasonable, serious, and feasible idea... Long Yuehong was momentarily tempted to echo Shang Jianyao.
Of course, the ideas Shang Jianyao came up with were mostly feasible, just not that serious, not that reasonable.
Jiang Baimian pondered for a moment:
"Let's treat this as the last option."
Seeing the team members looking a bit puzzled, she sighed and said:
"The Terence connection is linked to those poor people in 'Wolf Den.' Let's avoid using it as much as possible, to avoid affecting the innocent."
She then smiled and said:
"Anyway, we still have many avenues, such as Boss Ugo."
This boss had a secret organization behind him.
Moreover, he was also a friend of General Focas.
Clap, clap, clap, Shang Jianyao applauded.
"Okay." Bai Chen and Long Yuehong had no objections.
As for "Garibaldi" Giuseppe, because his previous intelligence channels had all been exposed, he couldn't provide effective advice.
...
Red Wolf District, 19 Rosta Street, "Hands of Order" headquarters.
Volk came to meet with colleagues who had investigated several explosions last night.
He was too early, and most people had not yet arrived, so he could only sit there by himself, pick up the materials placed in front of each seat, and carefully flip through them:
"In the armed conflict near the Sicaro Temple, people around heard a nursery rhyme, and then almost simultaneously wanted to urinate. This is basically the same as the situation in the arena..."
It really is them... They really sneaked back into Initial City! Was their whereabouts in the Northern Anheford area a false appearance or a trap? Volk thought angrily.
This was a disregard and insult to the "Hands of Order!"
Volk continued to flip through, and the latter part was another armed conflict that he had participated in investigating:
"Similar to the armed conflict near the Sicaro Temple, witnesses all saw a sapphire-blue jeep, and it is initially determined to be the same group of people...
"This group of people drove very slowly and strangely near the Sicaro Temple, but still crashed into a roadside power pole. And here, they encountered several rocket attacks, and the vehicle was overturned...
"They are suspected of possessing two sets of military exoskeletons...
"Based on this, it can be judged that they should have encountered an attack by a powerful Awakened and his entourage, which led to various irrational behaviors..."
Besides us, who else would attack them? Volk had gone to the scene last night and tried to track them. He wasn't surprised at all by this conclusion, but he wondered who it was.
At the same time, he was more concerned about another matter:
When he arrived at the scene last night, although everything seemed normal and consistent with all the characteristics of an armed conflict, the condition of the surrounding crowd always gave him an indescribable strangeness, making him feel that these people had not yet woken up and were gradually shaking off their drowsiness.
While Volk was looking through the materials, Travis, the Red Wolf District Order Officer, walked in.
As he sat down, he said to Volk:
"Focus on tracking that jeep, and don't contact the witnesses at the second site anymore."
"Why?" Volk was very surprised.
Travis spread out his palms:
"Ordered from above, it may involve some highly classified matters."
Highly classified matters... Volk closed his mouth.
Travis added, seemingly casually:
"If you really want to know, you can ask General Gaius. Oh, he will be attending a citizen assembly this morning. Do you want to take some people over to help maintain order?"
...
Green Olive District, Ugo Inn.
Shang Jianyao and the others entered the hall and went straight to the front desk.
The boss had already finished breakfast and was organizing things there.
"You, you actually came back?" Ugo looked up at them, taking several seconds to see through their disguises.
Jiang Baimian smiled:
"Because you still owe us a large reward, and we were afraid you would try to weasel on it after a while."
Ugo regained his composure:
"What do you want?"
"A radio transceiver." Jiang Baimian directly stated the need.
"One?" Ugo was a little surprised.
This was too simple and too cheap.
"This is a bonus." Jiang Baimian smiled. "The real 'reward' will have to be discussed when we meet General Focas."
"You want to see him now?" Ugo said after a moment of silence.
Uh... Jiang Baimian's heart stirred:
"Yes."
General Focas owed them a favor. It would definitely be a good thing to contact him as soon as possible.
"Coincidentally, he's nearby." Ugo pointed to the other side of the inn lobby. "Go wait for me outside that door."
Not long after, the "Old Task Force" members followed Ugo through an alley, entered an apartment building, and came to the innermost room on the first floor.
Knock, knock, knock.
Ugo knocked on the door.
"Come in." General Focas's voice was slightly tired and hoarse.
When Ugo pushed open the door, Jiang Baimian and the others were momentarily dumbfounded.
The old lion-like Focas stood there, naked from the waist up, constantly whipping himself with a leather whip.
Each whip left a bloody mark, looking quite hideous.