The gemstone-blue jeep turned onto another street, the "Ring of Blindness" on Shang Jianyao's left wrist remaining aglow, in its activated state.

From the moment he got into the car, he had been sensing changes in human consciousness within a hundred-meter radius.

Those who were "frozen" were in a state of low "vitality," almost solidified. Once someone recovered slightly, their thoughts becoming active, it would be exceptionally noticeable in contrast.

It would be like a firefly in the night, so distinct, so outstanding.

This could help the "Old Task Force" find the "Mind Corridor" level Awakened from the "Dawn" domain.

Of course, if the opponent completed the manipulation of matter from beyond a hundred meters, Jiang Baimian and the others would have no way to lock onto them.

Suddenly, within the multitude of human consciousnesses resembling stars, Shang Jianyao detected a tremor, as if a spiritual entity was shaking off frost.

"Found them!" Shang Jianyao excitedly leaned over, pointing to the third floor of an apartment building several dozen meters away.

Jiang Baimian, on his side, followed his gaze and saw a row of glass windows.

Based on her understanding of Shang Jianyao, the suspected target he had found should be behind one of them.

"The one on the far end," Shang Jianyao added quickly.

Uh… Jiang Baimian's hand, which was trying to take the "Orange" rifle from Bai Chen, froze.

From their current position and angle, they couldn't see what was behind the corresponding window at all.

In other words, she couldn't directly snipe the "Mind Corridor" level Awakened.

Jiang Baimian subconsciously turned her gaze to the "Death" individual rocket launcher lying across her lap, considering a parabolic trajectory for a saturated bombardment of the room behind the glass window.

But her retracting left hand hesitated.

Based on normal logic, the "Mind Corridor" level Awakened couldn't possibly live nearby; they either rented a room in advance for an ambush or temporarily "requisitioned" an apartment.

Judging from the abilities the other party had demonstrated, Jiang Baimian was more inclined towards the latter.

This was not only because "forced sleep" could help the "Mind Corridor" level Awakened go wherever they wanted and use whichever room they pleased, but also because this method was more secretive, preventing accidental exposure of their plans during the rental process.

Following this line of reasoning, besides the target, there was likely the original owner of the room, the sleeping homeowner.

If a rocket was launched in such a situation, without being able to lock onto the target, it might not kill the "Mind Corridor" level Awakened who could manipulate matter, but it would definitely affect the original homeowner. Unless they were incredibly lucky, their immediate death was foreseeable.

Faced with this situation, Jiang Baimian, who usually tried not to affect innocent people, naturally hesitated.

What she was thinking, Bai Chen was also thinking, calmly commenting:

"You're too soft-hearted."

"I think Da Bai did the right thing," Shang Jianyao retorted helpfully.

Jiang Baimian said to Bai Chen, amused and exasperated:

"How about you do it?"

Bai Chen fell silent, not responding, unsure whether she was admitting to being somewhat soft-hearted herself or felt that doing so might create a rift with her "Old Task Force" teammates.

"Drive back a bit, adjust the angle, and try to snipe," Jiang Baimian had already thought of a backup plan.

Just then, Shang Jianyao said with a regretful expression:

"The target has left the window area, in a strange way."

He didn't say how strange it was.

"Can't snipe them from a distance… We have to get to that apartment to confront the target directly? That would delay us a lot of time, and the target would definitely recover a lot more…

"They should already know that Shang Jianyao has abilities similar to 'Reasoning Clown,' so they won't talk to us…

"'Loss of manual dexterity' will hardly affect them at all, unless their ability requires gestures to activate…

"It's unknown how much 'Affected Sentiments' will work against a 'Mind Corridor' level Awakened. Putting our chips on that is unwise…

"There's not much point in using 'Ring of Blindness' to blind them either. With the surrounding crowd gradually recovering from the 'frozen' state, our human consciousness is too special, too distinct…

"If we really go over there, we can only gamble that they haven't recovered enough, and with the help of our military exoskeletons, overwhelm them, making it impossible for them to cope…

"That's too big of a gamble, the risk factor is too high…

"It's a pity, they've been hiding in the distance all along, we can't observe their every move, and can't figure out what price they're paying…" While Jiang Baimian's mind was racing, she forced herself to look away.

She said to Bai Chen:

"No need to turn around, continue to the Qing Olive District, and get as far away from that apartment as possible as soon as possible."

Da Bai could be willful occasionally, but the leader of the "Old Task Force," Jiang Baimian, could not.

Whew, the leader is wise! Long Yuehong praised Jiang Baimian in his heart.

Without Xiao Chong, he didn't want to confront a "Mind Corridor" level Awakened head-on at all.

Bai Chen also had no intention of taking this risk, stepping harder on the gas pedal, slightly increasing the vehicle's speed.

"What a pity…" Shang Jianyao kept the "Ring of Blindness" running, constantly monitoring the target's state, until the straight-line distance between the jeep and the apartment building increased to a hundred meters.

…………

On the third floor of the apartment, Kao, a middle-aged man with a growing belly, tried to save himself as soon as his thoughts recovered slightly.

He regretted underestimating the kid named Xiao Chong, never expecting the other party's level and strength to reach such a terrifying degree.

In their organization, there were not even enough people like that to fill one hand, and they were all in the predicament of only being able to move occasionally.

Kao's body suddenly became "light," as if pushed by an invisible hand, floating backward and landing next to the sofa.

Once the "can't cause trouble" state subsided significantly, he hurried towards the apartment's exit.

As for the person sleeping on the sofa, he ignored them, as they had never seen him anyway.

Kao wasn't a kind or soft-hearted person, but he felt that whether he used a gun, his hands, or "True Dream" to kill the other person, with the two of them so close, he would smell some unbearable smells.

And once he created some distance, wasting time on such a pedestrian who was simply not worth his attention did not fit his aesthetic.

Lifting his hand to press his nose, Kao opened the door, entered the stairwell, and disappeared into the dim light.

He temporarily abandoned his plans to continue tracking Xue Shiyue, Zhang Qubing, and the others, wanting to evacuate as quickly as possible.

On the one hand, the commotion just now would inevitably attract experts from "First City," and on the other hand, he was frightened by Xiao Chong's strength.

Leaving the apartment, Kao took out a pure black mask and put it on his face.

He hurried towards where his means of transportation was parked.

Suddenly, he saw a figure passing by from the intersection ahead.

The figure was wearing a black robe, had long hair, and looked chic and distinguished.

He… Kao's pupils dilated sharply.

In the next second, this "Mind Corridor" level Awakened shrank back, as if dodging a flood or a ferocious beast.

…………

After pulling enough distance away from the street where Xiao Chong was, and turning into the Qing Olive District, Bai Chen relied on her familiarity with the terrain to drive the gemstone-blue jeep into a deserted, quiet, and dark alley.

Jiang Baimian looked around, confirming that there were no cameras nearby and that there were many obstructions above, before opening the door and getting out of the car, saying:

"Let's get to work!"

Shang Jianyao excitedly took out the tools and materials for repainting the jeep from the trunk and asked:

"What color this time?"

"Army green," Jiang Baimian chose the most common jeep color.

If they didn't modify it immediately, "Order's Hand" might find them sooner or later.

At this moment, Long Yuehong squeezed his legs together and said:

"Can we, can we take care of that first?"

He was about to burst.

Jiang Baimian "uh" ed:

"Go ahead.

"Everyone take turns, hey, you and Little Hong, 'Garibaldi,' go first."

Shang Jianyao put down the tools and materials and, as he walked towards the depths of the alley, began to mock Long Yuehong:

"Your bladder isn't doing so well."

"If you're so good, try not peeing at all." Long Yuehong, who was holding it in, became physiologically irritable.

Shang Jianyao gave a thumbs-up:

"You're very brave today."

They stopped arguing and each found a mossy, damp place and unzipped their pants.

Long Yuehong shivered, feeling completely refreshed.

When it was over, he recalled the scene just now and said in a rather strange tone:

"Why do we have to end up in this situation of urinating everywhere…

"Those saviors in the Old World entertainment data never do this…"

Shang Jianyao thought for a moment and said:

"Not written, drawn, or filmed doesn't mean it didn't happen."

Because Jiang Baimian and Bai Chen were still waiting, they didn't delay and quickly returned to the jeep, getting busy—either repainting or doing preliminary work on the dents.

After Jiang Baimian came back, she glanced at "Garibaldi" Giuseppe and gave a kind smile:

"Do you still remember who we visited just now?"

It hadn't been that long, how could he not remember? "Garibaldi" Giuseppe wanted to answer that, but he inexplicably shivered.

Shang Jianyao approached.