Sikaro Temple.

Having finished dinner, the members of the "Old Task Force" either sat or lay down, waiting for the time to communicate with the company via telegram.

Shang Jianyao leaned against the headboard, raised his hand to pinch his temples, and slowly closed his eyes.

…

Inside the "Sea of Origins," on that island with the golden elevator.

Shang Jianyao watched the version of himself wearing gray camouflage uniform, dividing into nine, surrounding him in the middle.

One of the Shang Jianyaos raised his head, looked at the crack rolling with sunlight in mid-air, and said with excitement:

"How about greeting the one on the other side, inviting him to invade?

"I've thought about it, the biggest common ground between us is that we both value this body and want to dominate it.

"Since the differences in other aspects are too great to reconcile, let's create a scene where life is threatened and can be lost at any time, so that everyone can abandon their prejudices, unite against the enemy, form a strategic alliance, and complete the initial accommodation."

"Are you crazy?" The one who refuted this Shang Jianyao was not the one sitting cross-legged in front of the golden elevator blocking the exit, but one of the nine divided Shang Jianyaos.

Obviously, he did not agree with this radical and adventurous strategy:

"The one on the other side is an Awakened at the 'Mind Corridor' level, maybe even the kind who has explored deep into it. Once he descends, we have a one in ten chance of survival, no, a one in ninety-nine chance of survival. This is not an adventure, this is suicide!"

Another Shang Jianyao nodded in agreement:

"Moreover, not everyone will choose to cooperate in dangerous situations. Some people, with heavy thoughts, will seize every opportunity to eliminate dissidents.

"They always have wishful thinking, believing that the resulting problems are bearable, but the opposite is true."

When saying these words, he was looking at the "villain" Shang Jianyao.

The nine Shang Jianyaos argued endlessly and failed to reach an agreement, so they could only temporarily abandon that radical method.

So, they returned to the state of staring at each other with the "villain" Shang Jianyao.

…

After Shang Jianyao returned from the "Sea of Origins," he waited for a while, and "Pangu Biology" sent a telegram to the "Old Task Force."

The telegram didn't contain much, only two sentences.

The first sentence was:

"'Holm' consider the Holm Reproductive Medical Center within the Wasteland 13 Ruins."

"It seems that the company has information about the Five Great Sacred Grounds, at least knowing about the Holm Reproductive Medical Center." Jiang Baimian said with a strange tone.

Although this could not directly deduce that "Pangu Biology" knew the anomaly of the Steel Plant Ruins, it still made the emotions of several members of the "Old Task Force" become complicated.

"Maybe the company doesn't have information about the Five Great Sacred Grounds." Bai Chen said thoughtfully, expressing her own thoughts, "The Holm Reproductive Medical Center may have other anomalies, having a considerable reputation in other aspects."

Jiang Baimian nodded slightly:

"It is possible.

"When the Old World hadn't been destroyed, the Holm Reproductive Medical Center might also have been doing research on gene screening, modification, and treatment. The company's corresponding technology can advance by leaps and bounds, perhaps due to their contribution."

So "Pangu Biology" knew about this place.

Jiang Baimian then read out the second sentence of the telegram:

"If there is a chance, consider conducting an exploration of the Holm Reproductive Medical Center, and pay attention to any usable electrical appliances along the way."

"Ah..." Long Yuehong was a little frightened.

The company didn't say that before. Facing the secret laboratory in the Wasteland 13 Ruins, "Pangu Biology" didn't order the "Old Task Force" to explore.

"Sure enough, the company is more interested in reproductive medicine." Shang Jianyao's thoughts went astray.

Jiang Baimian smiled:

"Maybe the company thinks that the degree of danger in the two places is completely different:

"Facing that secret laboratory, even if ten more 'Old Task Forces' come, they will definitely be wiped out without any gain, while at the Holm Reproductive Medical Center, if we are cautious, we still have hope of completing the exploration."

At least, it is a regular event for the monks of the "Crystal Consciousness Church" to go to the Holm Reproductive Medical Center to hold ceremonies.

This means that if nothing is triggered, there will not be too much danger.

Moreover, the roads that the monks of the "Crystal Consciousness Church" have traveled are definitely relatively safe, with few usable electrical appliances left.

"Maybe." Long Yuehong undoubtedly agreed more with the leader's speculation.

He tentatively asked:

"Are we going?"

"We'll see." Jiang Baimian pointed to the door, "We're still locked up, can we decide where to go?"

"Well, that's true. Anyway, the Holm Reproductive Medical Center is there, it won't grow legs and run away. It should be the same whenever we go." Long Yuehong wanted to say wait until Shang Jianyao enters the "Mind Corridor" before going.

Hearing Long Yuehong's words, Shang Jianyao showed a horrified expression:

"Crap, the clues are going to grow legs and run away."

Isn't that a good thing? Clues often equal danger! Long Yuehong muttered to himself twice.

At this time, the broadcasts on multiple streets sounded simultaneously:

"Emergency notification, emergency notification:

"Please all citizens participate in an important gathering at Hope Square at nine o'clock tomorrow morning."

Hope Square is located in the Red Giant Wolf District. It was transformed from a square in the Old World when the "First City" was established and was given the name "Hope."

The statues of the founders, Olei, Delasai, and Cass, stand there. It is a symbol of the citizen system of the "First City" and is often referred to together with the nearby Senate.

The broadcast repeated a full six times, leaving Long Yuehong and others looking at each other.

"Something must have happened." As half a First City expert, Bai Chen came to the window, her expression slightly solemn, and said, "Under normal circumstances, citizens would not be summoned so urgently to hold a gathering."

Jiang Baimian said thoughtfully:

"The balance of the situation in the First City has been broken, and a certain tilt has occurred?"

This was both something the "Old Task Force" was looking forward to and something they feared.

If turmoil occurred in the First City, although it would indeed give them a chance to fish in troubled waters, even an Awakened at the "Mind Corridor" level might not be able to guarantee that they would be okay in that environment.

Under the war, everyone is in danger.

Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong walked to Bai Chen's side and turned their gazes to the streets outside.

Under the night, the lights were unevenly distributed, with no obvious signs of turmoil.

Nearly a quarter of an hour passed, and everything was still normal.

"The gathering is tomorrow morning, indicating that it is not so urgent yet." Jiang Baimian stood behind her team members and calmly analyzed.

At this time, Bai Chen, looking below, suddenly said:

"Master Zannaga."

"Ah?" Jiang Baimian leaned over.

Then, she saw Zannaga, this monk who was so thin that he was almost emaciated, bending over on a dark motorcycle and riding it towards the southwest.

"Master Zannaga leaving at this time, in a direction that seems to be towards the Golden Apple District or certain important places in the Red Giant Wolf District, shows that there are indeed undercurrents..." Jiang Baimian nodded slightly.

Shang Jianyao immediately asked:

"Is our chance to escape here?"

He looked excited.

Since Zannaga had temporarily left Sikaro Temple, the "Old Task Force" who had been brought back by him seemed to be able to consider how to escape!

After looking at Bai Chen, who seemed a little expectant, and Long Yuehong, who had a mix of expectation and fear, Jiang Baimian "hmm"ed:

"This may not be a good time.

"Now the situation in the First City is turbulent, and the 'Crystal Consciousness Church' has obviously been notified and will definitely strengthen security and increase vigilance.

"This is their headquarters, and I don't know how many Awakened at the 'Mind Corridor' level there are. In a situation where things are loose outside but tight inside, our chances of escaping are very low, and we may even anger one of them."

In fact, after knowing that Sikaro Temple was the headquarters of the "Crystal Consciousness Church," Jiang Baimian didn't have much confidence in escaping, and thought that staying obediently for ten days was the best and safest option.

In the past few days, she had been indulging and even cooperating with Shang Jianyao and others in finding opportunities to escape, on the one hand to leave a way out and prevent accidents, and on the other hand to train the team members' "sense of smell" and judgment in similar environments.

As for why she didn't tell Zannaga and other "Enlightened Ones" about the strange encounters of the past few days, it was because the "Old Task Force" knew too much, and it was easy to have no secrets under "telepathy." At that time, Zannaga might just ask them to stay for a long time, and others might want to silence them.

After thinking carefully, Bai Chen agreed with the leader's statement:

"Yes, the real opportunity should be tomorrow or the day after tomorrow."

At that time, turmoil might occur in the First City, and Zannaga would also lose the legitimate reason to detain the "Old Task Force."

Shang Jianyao regretfully withdrew his gaze, walked back to the bed, and sat down.

After about another quarter of an hour, they heard a series of footsteps approaching.

Knock, knock, knock, the sound of knocking echoed in the room.

The visitor was Danluo, the young monk who was previously responsible for delivering meals and collecting utensils.

Danluo put his hands together and announced a Buddhist chant:

"Several benefactors, please follow me to the square in the back for a while.

"This is the joint decision of the 'Enlightened Ones.' Don't worry, most of the monks in the temple will also go to the square to wait."

"What happened?" Long Yuehong blurted out.

Is the turmoil about to begin?

Danluo shook his head:

"I'm not very clear, but there is such a time every year, several times."

Speaking of this, he lowered his voice:

"It is rumored that the power of the demon sealed on the seventh floor periodically returns to its peak, which will affect all the monks in the building. The 'Enlightened Ones' must cooperate with the 'Buddha's Incarnation' to suppress it, and cannot spare the time to take care of us, so they can only let us go to the square to take shelter temporarily."

"I see..." Jiang Baimian nodded.

This statement made her not dare to insist on staying in Sikaro Temple.

She glanced at Shang Jianyao, Bai Chen, and Long Yuehong respectively, signaling them to pay attention to the surrounding environment and not be taken to the seventh floor.

Then, Long Yuehong untied "Garibaldi" Giuseppe, helped him up, followed the young monk Danluo, and went all the way down to the square where the cremation tower stood.

At this moment, the night was deep, and the few streetlights on the square could not illuminate all places at all.

Jiang Baimian and others walked to the central area of ​​the square, turned around, and looked towards Sikaro Temple.

In this seven-story building, the lights in many rooms were still on, and they were a bit yellowish.

Suddenly, these lights shook at the same time.