After Jiang Baimian inserted her left index finger into the hole in Jingfa's neck, the mechanical monk's metal body seemed to lose power, stiffening next to the passenger seat.
At the same time, Bai Chen released her right foot from the accelerator, leaning sideways to try and grab the grenade launcher Jiāng Báimián had placed on her lap as quickly as possible.
Seeing this, Long Yuehong and Shang Jianyao reacted almost simultaneously:
Long Yuehong quickly raised the "Berserker" assault rifle slung over his shoulder, aiming at the back of Jingfa's head;
Shang Jianyao leaned forward slightly, his eyes suddenly turning dark:
"Zen Master, look..."
He had only uttered these four words when he saw Jiāng Báimián's body suddenly slump onto the passenger seat.
Her left hand drooped limply, detaching from Jingfa's neck, her eyes filled with confusion, muttering strange words:
"Who am I... what am I doing here..."
*Clack!*
The mechanical monk Jingfa's body returned to normal. He pressed down, reaching forward with his left hand and forcefully grabbing Bai Chen's neck, preventing her from picking up the grenade launcher.
*Clang! Clang!*
The bullets fired by Long Yuehong accurately hit the back of Jingfa's head, but only scattered sparks, leaving two small dents.
Not only that, but the ricocheting bullets almost struck Long Yuehong's face, scraping the C-pillar of the jeep and flying out the window.
Witnessing all this, Shang Jianyao's pupils dilated slightly, but he still smoothly and quickly spoke the prepared words:
"You have human consciousness, and I also have human consciousness."
Jingfa, with one knee propped on the center console, pinched Bai Chen's neck as he turned his head to look at Shang Jianyao.
Perhaps because Shang Jianyao had been friendly in his questions and exchanges, or perhaps because Shang Jianyao was not female, the mechanical monk did not immediately stop him, but only stared at him with eyes that glowed brightly red.
Shang Jianyao continued to speak very quickly:
"You are an Awakened,
"I am also an Awakened.
"So..."
Upon hearing this, Long Yuehong turned his head in astonishment, while the confusion in Jiāng Báimián's eyes lessened slightly.
The red light emanating from Jingfa's eyes flickered rapidly for a moment, then quickly returned to calm.
His cold, emotionless voice rang out hesitantly:
"So, we, should get along, friendly?"
"Yes!" Shang Jianyao nodded emphatically.
Jingfa hesitated for two seconds, finally releasing Bai Chen's neck with his left hand.
At this moment, Jiāng Báimián seemed to have shaken off the strange state she was in earlier, and looked back and forth between Shang Jianyao and Jingfa in bewilderment.
Just as she was about to quietly pick up the grenade launcher, regardless of whether the explosion would affect them, she saw Shang Jianyao shake his head twice in succession.
Jiāng Báimián seemed to understand, and removed her hands from the grenade launcher.
At the same time, she tightly closed her mouth, not making a sound, so as not to divert Jingfa's attention.
During this process, she held her right index finger vertically to her lips, signaling to Bai Chen not to make any movements either.
Shang Jianyao kept looking at Jingfa, speaking with exceptional sincerity:
"Zen Master, we appreciate your kindness.
"Parting is such sweet sorrow; why don't we say our goodbyes here?"
Jingfa thought for a moment, then nodded his head up and down:
"Alright."
Shang Jianyao immediately turned sideways, opened the car door, and stepped out first, making way for him.
Jingfa didn't linger either, exiting the jeep nimbly.
Long Yuehong had been watching from the beginning, and his mouth remained agape, feeling like he was dreaming.
It was all too bizarre and absurd!
As Jingfa was about to press his palms together, Shang Jianyao preemptively extended his right hand.
Jingfa hesitated for a second, then also extended his right palm.
A fleshy human hand, a huge hand made of a black metal skeleton, clasped together.
Shang Jianyao shook his hand gently twice, then withdrew it.
He then sat back in the back seat of the jeep and closed the door.
Seeing that the mechanical monk Jingfa was still standing there, not moving, Shang Jianyao raised his right hand again and waved it from side to side through the open car window.
"Goodbye!" he shouted sincerely.
Jingfa, dressed in a monk's robe and draped in a kasaya, quickly responded, waving his hand:
"Goodbye."
Without needing Shang Jianyao to remind her, Bai Chen, who had already returned to the driver's seat, stepped on the gas and sent the jeep speeding away.
Jiāng Báimián did not speak, nor did she allow Bai Chen to make a sound, but only watched in the rearview mirror as the mechanical monk in the yellow robe and red kasaya grew smaller and smaller, further and further away.
When she could no longer see this extremely terrifying member of the monk order, Jiāng Báimián silently calculated the distance and asked in a suppressed voice:
"How long can this effect last?"
Shang Jianyao didn't need to worry about anything and answered frankly:
"If the people, examples, and environment around him constantly instill the same answer, then he will never be able to detect it, until he discovers contradictory arguments or results.
"But now, there is no one and nothing around him telling him that we are friendly, so it is impossible to form a circular proof. In five minutes or less, he should be able to detect the anomaly. After all, he must remember that there are two women in our team, and he knows very well what his attitude is towards women."
Long Yuehong's mouth still hadn't closed, and listening to Shang Jianyao's explanation was like listening to a radio host telling a story.
Jiāng Báimián didn't waste any time and immediately turned her head, saying:
"Bai Chen, stop the car, let's switch positions."
"Team Leader, I'm more familiar with the Black Marsh Wastelands." Bai Chen argued reasonably, while also gently stepping on the brakes without resistance.
Jiāng Báimián didn't rush to explain, but first opened the car door, walked around to the driver's seat, and switched places with Bai Chen.
Once the jeep started moving again, she looked ahead and said:
"I've undergone genetic modification and gained some unique abilities."
Upon hearing this, Bai Chen, Long Yuehong, and Shang Jianyao were all quite astonished.
Even within "Pangu Biology," genetic modification technology was far from mature, with a high failure rate. No volunteer would be willing to try it unless there was really no other way.
"This was done to save my life, along with the transplantation of biological prosthetics." Jiāng Báimián quickly explained, "I have a special type of cell in my body that can sense electrical signals within a certain range. When humans and beasts are active, muscle contractions and certain reactions generate weak electrical signals, so as long as the enemy enters a certain range, whether they are hidden or not, I can easily discover their position and their state."
"No wonder you noticed the relic hunter wearing the exoskeleton device earlier than me..." Bai Chen suddenly realized.
Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong also immediately understood a previous doubt:
When they first camped out, Shang Jianyao clearly detected traces of humans, but Jiāng Báimián was not curious at all and did not mobilize everyone to search the surroundings—she should have already grasped the characteristics and state of that human and made a judgment.
Jiāng Báimián drove while quickly adding:
"The Black Marsh Iron Serpent was in a dormant state at the time, its electrical signal was very weak, and I thought it was just an ordinary animal, so I failed to detect it in advance. But Jingfa is a mechanical monk, and his body activities rely on a very strong electrical signal. I could detect it from a greater distance and judge what he probably wanted to do.
"Before he attacked just now, I was actually prepared. I deliberately asked Bai Chen to slow down the car to induce him to attack, hoping to seize the opportunity to destroy him or seriously injure him.
"I didn't tell you before that Jingfa has always been a persistent mechanical monk. If he targets us, we will definitely be chased all the way, which would be too dangerous. The best way is to hurt him so that he loses the ability to chase us for a short time. Unfortunately, I didn't expect that he was also an Awakened, a mechanical monk who was also an Awakened. It almost killed us all.
"For this, I need to apologize.
"When Jingfa chases after us later, he will definitely try a ranged attack. Only I can detect it in advance here, allowing the vehicle to take evasive actions in time. Well, guiding him through words will definitely be too late."
Bai Chen nodded, indicating understanding:
"I will pay attention to the road conditions ahead and to the left and right, and tell you in advance which direction you can't go.
"How about using time to refer to it?"
Five blood-colored fingerprints remained on the back of her neck, looking quite frightening.
"Okay." Jiāng Báimián reduced the car's speed a bit, allowing the jeep to smoothly bypass an obstacle.
At the same time, she looked in the rearview mirror and said:
"Shang Jianyao, Long Yuehong, you guys quickly decide who will wear the exoskeleton device. Next, the person wearing the exoskeleton device will be the main force against Jingfa."
Before Long Yuehong could speak, Shang Jianyao said firmly:
"I will."
He looked at Long Yuehong, who was trying to argue, and explained simply:
"Jingfa is also an Awakened, and you can't balance him in this regard, while I need the exoskeleton device to help me close the distance."
"...Okay." Long Yuehong got up, bent over, and together with Shang Jianyao, dragged the exoskeleton device from the trunk to the seat.
Then, he helped Shang Jianyao put it on.
"Remember to replace it with the backup high-performance battery." Jiāng Báimián reminded him.
Because very few powerful forces can produce truly high-performance batteries, only "Orange Company" and "Future Intelligence," others can at most get some fake and shoddy products, which are only suitable for civilian use outside of their own power's sphere of influence. Therefore, the high-performance batteries of many military equipment are interchangeable—50% chance. The Old Task Force was lucky this time. The high-performance battery required for the jeep and the high-performance battery for the military exoskeleton device were both standard products produced by "Future Intelligence."
"Okay." Shang Jianyao dared not be careless in this regard.
After replacing the battery, Shang Jianyao, while carrying the energy backpack and the metal frame, bent down to fasten the buckles at the auxiliary joints, and asked:
"Team Leader, why did you suddenly fail when you previously invaded Jingfa's internal system?"
He suspected that it was one of Jingfa's Awakened abilities.
And he currently knew of two:
"Hungry Ghost Path" and "Telepathy."
ps: Requesting recommendation tickets~