“The management of ‘Initial City’ is quite a bit worse than a company’s…” Jiang Baimian nodded slightly after listening to Jia Di's answer, and asked another question:

“Has anything major happened in the city recently?”

Jia Di shook his head like a rattle:

“No, it's the same as usual.”

“Are you all citizens?” Jiang Baimian asked instead.

Jia Di glanced at his companions who were holding up their hands:

“Yes, but in recent years, the lower-level citizens have been living worse and worse, even worse than when the emperor was alive.

“We have a good relationship with some captains and company commanders of the city defense army, and we rely on them to earn some hard-earned money here at the Red River Bridge entrance.”

Hard-earned money… Jiang Baimian almost burst out laughing.

Extorting with guns deserves to be called hard work?

Jiang Baimian asked some more questions about the current situation of Initial City, and finally nodded:

“Then please help us smooth things over with the soldiers guarding the bridge. Money is not a problem.”

Jia Di controlled the change in his expression, showing a flattering look:

“No problem.

“I'll pay the money, you don't have to.”

Jiang Baimian responded indifferently:

“That's fine too, just consider it your apology for offending us.”

Jia Di slowly turned his body, posing as if to lead the way.

With his back to the "Old Task Force," a smile gradually appeared on his face.

As long as he can talk to those soldiers guarding the bridge, he can let this team of unknown origin know what the consequences are of offending him.

Carrying heavy weapons, following robots, are you thinking of causing damage to Initial City?

When the time comes, the supplies will be divided equally, the men will be sent to the mines, the women will be sold to the bathhouses, and the robots will be transferred to other homes!

Jia Di had just taken a step when he heard the man who was sometimes kind and sometimes fierce say to his companion:

“Look:

“You speak Red River language, and I also speak Red River language;

“You have weapons, and I also have weapons;

“So…”

What does this mean? Jia Di was a little puzzled.

In the next second, one of his companions shouted in a suddenly enlightened tone:

“Quick! Jia Di is trying to betray you, no, us, by finding the guards!”

Jia Di's mind buzzed, and he didn't know whether to curse the treachery of people's hearts or kneel on the spot to beg for mercy.

He slowly turned his body, only to see Jiang Baimian, Long Yuehong, and others smiling or calm, not at all surprised.

Shang Jianyao walked step by step towards Jia Di, and said with a smile:

“Don’t you think about it, I just massaged your shoulders, and you also answered my questions, what kind of relationship can we have?”

After passing through the third Mind Corridor, his "Reasoning Clown" language form became more flexible. As long as the structure of the syllogism is satisfied, he can use rhetorical questions to replace "therefore".

Jia Di's expression changed a few times, and he beat his chest while crying:

“I betrayed my brothers, I deserve to die!”

“Don't do it again.” Shang Jianyao grabbed Jia Di's hands and said sincerely.

He's overdoing it again… Jiang Baimian glanced at Long Yuehong, Bai Chen, and Genaava.

She didn't actually mind sinking Jia Di and his group into the Red River.

They said they only robbed and didn't harm people, but in reality, Jiang Baimian could guess with her toes that if they encountered someone who tried to resist, would they just let them go?

The reason she didn't take action was because it was too close to the Red River Bridge, and those soldiers guarding the bridge were in cahoots with Jia Di and the others. Any disturbance would affect her and the others' ability to complete the mission later.

Jia Di, who had made up his mind to correct his mistakes, wiped away his tears and led the way in front of the military green jeep, while his companions shrank back to the hidden places in the riverside ruins.

Seeing the bridgehead in sight, the vehicles moved slowly, and Jiang Baimian signaled Genaava to "switch" eye colors, changing some features to make himself look like an ordinary robot.

At the same time, Shang Jianyao rolled down the car window and handed Jia Di the 20 ore that Jiang Baimian had given him.

“No need! No need!” Jia Di waved his hands repeatedly.

Shang Jianyao's expression turned serious:

“Are you looking down on me?”

“No, no.” Jia Di had no choice but to accept the 20 ore.

After Shang Jianyao retracted his hand and straightened his body, Long Yuehong lowered his voice and asked:

“Why did you still give him money?”

How can this kind of villain not shed some blood to relieve the anger in your heart?

Shang Jianyao glanced at Long Yuehong and said with a smile:

“This way, he won't find out that he's missing money when he gets back.”

What kind of answer is this? Uh… if he was missing money, Jia Di would be able to find out something was wrong on the spot when his family and companions asked about it, causing the "Reasoning Clown" to fail? But if no one else mentioned this matter, he and the few people just now could form a circular argument, and they wouldn't realize there was a problem for a long time… Long Yuehong was stunned at first, then figured out Shang Jianyao's meaning on his own.

Jiang Baimian, who was driving, asked casually:

“How long can it last?”

“If there are no accidents, at least a month.” Shang Jianyao glanced at Jia Di in the side front of the vehicle.

“That's no problem.” Jiang Baimian nodded slightly.

This would not affect the "Old Task Force's" actions in Initial City.

Moreover, they might still need to rely on these local snakes in the middle.

At this time, Jia Di walked back to the slowly moving jeep and said to Jiang Baimian, who had rolled down the car window:

“You should still change someone to drive. You're so beautiful and have such a good figure, it's easy to cause trouble.

“If you were Red River people, those guards would definitely not dare to deal with you, worried that you were the children of some noble or official, but you are Ashlanders…”

“Hmph.” Jiang Baimian didn't know whether to be complacent or annoyed for a moment.

She always had a sense of the overall situation, and followed the good advice, saying to Long Yuehong in the back row:

“Xiao Long, you drive.

“Xiao Bai, you should also put on your sunglasses.”

As she spoke, she also put on her sunglasses.

Then, she saw Shang Jianyao also take out sunglasses and put them on the bridge of his nose.

“Why are you wearing them?” Jiang Baimian asked amusedly while stopping the car and switching seats with Long Yuehong.

Shang Jianyao replied seriously:

“What if they like men?

“Boys should also be careful when going out.”

Jiang Baimian controlled the urge to grab her hair, and once again regretted why she had indulged him in taking Old World entertainment materials.

At this time, Genaava also asked:

“Do I need to wear sunglasses?

“Wei previously said that many people want to capture a robot.”

Jiang Baimian glanced at Bai Chen, who seemed to be holding back a smile, opened the car door, and sighed:

“Whether you wear sunglasses or not, you can't hide your heroic appearance…”

Shang Jianyao, who had been squeezed into the middle position in the back row by Jiang Baimian, quickly suggested:

“You can wear a cloak!”

Genaava ignored him.

Because the "Old Task Force" didn't have cloaks, only sacks.

Wearing a sack would be even more suspicious.

After a while, the "Old Task Force's" jeep finally drove to the gap.

Jia Di stepped forward, skillfully greeted them, and gave the bridge-guarding soldiers a hug.

During this process, he stuffed the 20 ore to the other party.

The bridge-guarding soldiers looked at each other, then asked the driver, Long Yuehong, to roll down the car window and open the trunk.

They casually glanced into the car, rummaged through the items in the back, and ended the inspection without even opening the wooden box containing the military exoskeleton device.

As for the conspicuous individual combat rocket launcher, they tacitly pretended not to see it.

To this end, they took a few cans as compensation.

“You can pass.” These bridge-guarding soldiers satisfiedly made way.

The jeep slowly drove onto the Red River Bridge. Shang Jianyao relied on his abdominal strength to forcibly cross his body from the empty space in front of Jiang Baimian, leaned his face out of the window, and waved to Jia Di.

Jia Di was so moved that tears filled his eyes, feeling that his brother had indeed forgiven him.

“Isn't it crowded?” Jiang Baimian complained.

Of course, she believed that this behavior was necessary, as it could effectively strengthen the effect of the "Reasoning Clown".

It's just that she wasn't sure whether Shang Jianyao was doing this with that purpose in mind, or whether he had already gotten into the role and really considered himself a brother to Jia Di's gang.

After the jeep passed through the second checkpoint and drove out of the bridge, the appearance of Initial City became clearer and clearer in the eyes of the five members of the "Old Task Force".

It's really similar to the large cities of the Old World, except that there aren't as many tall buildings, there are piles of low-rise buildings, and the styles are different.

Just within their line of sight, some buildings in certain areas seriously encroached on the streets, making the originally wide roads narrow.

“The west is the Qing Olive District, where the lower-level citizens live.” Bai Chen gave a brief introduction, asking Long Yuehong to stop the car and switch places with her.

She was the only one in the "Old Task Force" who had been to Initial City and knew the roads.

Genaava regretted this very much. He once had the opportunity to download the Initial City map secretly drawn by "Mechanical Paradise," but thinking that it would be useless for him guarding Tarnan, he did not do the corresponding academic research.

And now, he has left the internal network of "Mechanical Paradise."

As the jeep drove into the city, there were many people with tattered clothes on both sides of the road.

They were mainly Red River people and Red Bank people. Some were holding paper signs with words like "Guide" written on them. Some were very young, covered in dirt, with rather numb expressions, but their eyes kept turning with the traffic.

Bai Chen did not stop, but drove directly through this area and turned into a street in front.

The houses here were not tall, and seemed to belong to the Qing Olive District.

Jiang Baimian turned her head to the car window and looked at the street houses with different styles.

“There are so many bathhouses here…” she said with interest.

Bai Chen said while driving:

“When ‘Initial City’ was first established, the citizens here believed that ‘Heartless Disease’ and plagues came from uncleanliness, and developed the habit of building public bathhouses to take showers.

“Later, as there were more people here, water resources became scarce, and the water purification system couldn't handle it, so a large number of bathhouses were closed.

“Many of the bathhouses that still exist now also work as brothels, receiving both men and women.

“…”

During Bai Chen's introduction, the other four members of the "Old Task Force" either listened, looked, or asked questions, showing sufficient interest.

After driving like this for more than ten minutes, the jeep stopped in front of an earth-yellow building that was only three stories high.

There was a sign hanging at its entrance, with the Red River word written on it:

“Ugo Hotel”

ps: Tomorrow, I will resume the normal two chapters update. The number of words will be a little less, but it will be adjusted back soon.