Hearing Bai Chen's reminder, Jiang Baimian, who was half-turned to communicate with Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong, turned her gaze forward.
On both sides of the soft, muddy road were sparse woods. The left side had some swampy characteristics: dark, muddy, and full of mosquitoes. On the right, weeds grew densely, and in an open area, a black car covered in mud spots was parked.
With Jiang Baimian's experience, it was not difficult to recognize that this was an off-road vehicle, and it had obviously undergone multiple modifications, whether active or passive. The tones and feel in many places were inconsistent.
Outside the off-road vehicle stood three people, some wearing old cotton-padded jackets, some wrapped in tanned fur, and some draped in a wrinkled, obviously too-short, black woolen coat.
They had roughly made cigarettes of brown tobacco leaves in their mouths, and held different types of weapons in their hands: "United 202" pistols, submachine guns nicknamed "Torrential Rain," and rifles originating from the Old World.
Beside these three people were two heavy motorcycles, black with red patterns, giving off a flamboyant and unrestrained feeling.
Two men were sitting on the motorcycles, wearing helmets with the visors still up, each with a micro submachine gun slung across their bodies.
"What can you see?" Jiang Baimian asked Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong, seizing the opportunity instead of panicking.
Shang Jianyao, who had already rolled down the car window and was looking ahead, immediately replied:
"They eat pretty well."
"..." Long Yuehong, looking at the windshield, had wanted to say his judgment, but was disrupted by Shang Jianyao's thoughts, and for a moment forgot what he was going to say.
Jiang Baimian did not criticize Shang Jianyao, but nodded instead:
"Good eyes."
The skin on the faces of the five people was very rough, but they did not look emaciated.
This indicated that they were at least able to ensure food and clothing on a regular basis.
This set them apart from ordinary wasteland wanderers!
At this moment, Long Yuehong finally regained his train of thought and quickly said:
"Good equipment!"
Whether it was the repeatedly modified off-road vehicle, the heavy motorcycles, or the clothes and weapons they carried, they all showed the difference between those people and ordinary wasteland wanderers.
Jiang Baimian nodded slightly and said:
"We can initially judge that they are a well-off relic hunter team, or a well-off wasteland bandit group. And between the two, there is sometimes no difference."
As soon as she finished speaking, Bai Chen added:
"The modification method of that off-road vehicle shows that it runs on gasoline.
"This means that those people are very familiar with this area, knowing where they can replenish gasoline, or have the confidence to leave the wasteland before the gasoline runs out."
Seeing the two sides getting closer and closer, Jiang Baimian said no more, picked up the grenade launcher and said:
"You guys pick up the 'Berserker' and put it in the window so they can see it at a glance."
Long Yuehong suddenly became a little nervous:
"Team Leader, is there going to be a fight?"
"Who knows?" Jiang Baimian smiled and said, "Oh right, remember one thing, in the wasteland, showing off your muscles is a sign of friendliness. Justice, fairness, and communication only exist at the end of a gun barrel."
Bai Chen echoed:
"We call it 'respect only exists between the strong'.
"Many wasteland wanderers once hoped that there would be strong people who were kind, compassionate, and full of love, who would pity the weak and be willing to help themselves, but unfortunately, this is closer to fantasy. Perhaps there are such people, but there are definitely not many, and it is difficult to encounter them. Compared to expecting them, relying on yourself is more useful."
"The former 'Salvation Army' could really be considered that, but now..." Jiang Baimian's voice gradually lowered.
"Showing that we are not easy to deal with, they will show a friendly side..." Long Yuehong nodded thoughtfully, understanding what the team leader and Bai Chen were saying.
He immediately had new doubts:
"Why do I have to do this too? They can only see Shang Jianyao's side."
Before Jiang Baimian could answer, Shang Jianyao laughed:
"Have you ever played hide-and-seek?
"Doesn't not being discovered mean that there is really no one hiding there?"
Jiang Baimian laughed along:
"That's a mismatched analogy.
"Long Yuehong, you pick up the 'Berserker' and prepare to deter the enemies that may be lurking near the swamp and protect Bai Chen, who is focused on driving.
"Also, if you don't do this, even if there are no enemies lurking near the swamp, the other party can guess that the people in the car lack sufficient experience and are prey that can be tried to be dealt with."
Long Yuehong suddenly understood:
"I get it!"
He immediately picked up his assault rifle and placed it on the window that was not fully raised.
On the other side, Shang Jianyao had already set up the "Berserker" and asked eagerly:
"Team Leader, can I independently judge the situation and fire?"
Jiang Baimian chuckled:
"You're quite bold. Those people in front are obviously not easy to deal with.
"Um... you can fire in three situations: one is if I order it, two is if they continue to approach us and stopping them is ineffective, and three is if they show signs of aiming."
As they spoke, the gray-green four-door jeep was less than ten meters away from the black off-road vehicle and heavy motorcycles in a straight line.
The three of the five people there who were holding roughly rolled cigarettes had raised the guns in their hands, while the remaining two were lying on the heavy motorcycles, one hand holding the throttle and the other holding a micro submachine gun.
If it weren't for the muzzles of the grenade launcher and assault rifle protruding from the windows here, they might have already changed positions and launched an attack.
Since the location where the black off-road vehicle and heavy motorcycles were parked was not on the "main road" but in an open area of sparse woods, the two sides were getting closer and closer, but there was no danger of colliding.
During this process, Bai Chen slowed down, letting the jeep move little by little to avoid provoking an overreaction from the other party.
Suddenly, Jiang Baimian shouted loudly:
"Do you know what happened to the anomaly in the depths of the swamp last night?"
A burly man in his thirties, wearing a wrinkled black woolen coat and holding a "Torrential Rain" submachine gun, spat out the roughly rolled cigarette in his mouth and replied loudly:
"Too far away, no idea!"
Jiang Baimian shouted again:
"What are you doing here?"
"Winter is coming soon, we need to hunt more wild animals to prepare!" The burly man had messy eyebrows and an old scar at the corner of his right eye.
His entire temperament was fierce, like a brown bear wearing human clothes.
Before Jiang Baimian could shout again, the burly man asked:
"What are you doing here?"
Jiang Baimian responded:
"We are relic hunters!"
"Relic hunters..." The burly man muttered, then suddenly smiled, "A few months ago, news came from the depths of the swamp that a previously unrecorded city ruin had been discovered there. Ah, maybe the anomaly in the depths of the swamp last night was related to this! Although the two things are several months apart, who can deny it? Hunters, would you like to know the approximate location of that city ruin? You can exchange it for food!"
He shouted very loudly so that everyone in the jeep could hear clearly and plainly.
Shang Jianyao aimed intently outside, seemingly ready for a short burst at any time.
Suddenly, he asked:
"Team Leader, he is shouting too loudly, causing damage to our ears. Do we need to open fire to suppress him?"
"...No need." Jiang Baimian first replied to Shang Jianyao, then raised her voice, "We have military canned food, energy bars, and compressed biscuits. Name your price!"
The burly man's eyes flickered slightly and said:
"Sixty military canned foods!"
"Then forget it!" Jiang Baimian didn't seem to have thought about bargaining at all, just perfunctorily dealing with the other party.
At this time, the jeep had passed the location of the black off-road vehicle, and the distance between the two sides was gradually increasing.
The burly man didn't insist either, and replied loudly:
"Hope there will be an opportunity for trade next time!"
After speaking, he maintained a defensive posture, watching the jeep drive farther and farther away, out of shooting range.
"Boss, why didn't you shoot?" At this time, the skinny young man next to him, wearing an old cotton-padded jacket and holding a "United 202" pistol, asked anxiously, a roughly rolled cigarette stuck between his fingers.
"Yeah, Boss, although their firepower isn't weak, we have that thing!" The man lying on a heavy motorcycle, with a stubbly face, straightened up and pointed to the trunk of the black off-road vehicle, "They must have a lot of supplies!"
The burly man shook his head:
"No matter what, our losses won't be small.
"Not worth it, not worth it."
The young man wearing the old cotton-padded jacket and holding the "United 202" pistol said in confusion:
"Boss, people die for wealth, birds die for food!
"Besides, in the wasteland, it's all about who is ruthless and fierce enough! Anyway, you might die inexplicably tomorrow, might as well take a gamble today!"
The burly man glanced at him coldly:
"Those who only talk about ruthlessness and fierceness in the wasteland don't live long.
"There are not many pure prey here. Most of them are both hunters and prey. If we are recklessly unafraid of damage, we will quickly become too weak to become someone else's prey.
"Look at those wild beasts. When they are full, when they encounter a roughly powerful beast, they will not forcibly attack. They know that once they are injured, they may become someone else's prey, so they must reduce unnecessary hunting.
"Are you not even as good as wild beasts?"
The slightly older man wrapped in animal skins, holding an Old World rifle, and smoking a roughly rolled cigarette echoed:
"The Boss is right. And, didn't you notice? The food of those people just now was only military canned food, energy bars, and compressed biscuits!
"Don't you know what this means?
"Normal relic hunters are only in this state when they have just set off from a city or border town of a large faction. And there doesn't seem to be any large faction settlements or cities that we know of nearby."
Another man sitting on a motorcycle muttered:
"Maybe, they just found an Old World military warehouse?"
The burly man in the lead exhaled:
"Alright, everyone, don't argue."
He immediately showed a smile:
"Didn't you realize that they are likely to pass by that place? There are not many routes in this area that vehicles can travel on, and even fewer people know what happened to the anomaly there.
"Get in the car. This distance is about right. We will quietly follow them. When they encounter that big trouble and fight to the limit, we will clean them up together!"
The other men immediately showed surprise:
"Yes, Boss!"
They got into the off-road vehicle and started the heavy motorcycles very actively.
ps: Asking for recommendation tickets~