The nights in Initial City were unlike those in Wildgrass City, where only one or two specific areas would be noisy. Here, sounds could be heard from various places from time to time.

It wasn't until after midnight that the city truly quieted down.

After encountering the fourth "Heartless Disease" patient, the "Old Task Force" lost the mood for "strolling" around. They hastily made a circle and returned to the Ugo Inn for rest.

The next morning, after completing their restorative training and having a simple breakfast of energy bars and compressed biscuits, they decided to split up to save time:

Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao would find the Zhao family's contact in Initial City to find out if there had been any changes in the suburban manors recently. Then, depending on the situation, they would decide whether to launch a preliminary, peripheral investigation; Bai Chen, Long Yuehong, and Genava would go to the Hunter's Guild in Initial City to sell the intelligence related to the White Giant Wolf's abilities. At the same time, they would inquire about Han Wanghuo's whereabouts.

With two sets of military exoskeletons and Genava, Jiang Baimian was quite confident in the strength of Long Yuehong and Bai Chen.

Moreover, the "Old Task Force" wouldn't be investigating the situation of the two Olay descendants today, and the things they had to do were almost without any danger.

As for the company's contact, Jiang Baimian had already arranged a time and place to meet him that night via encrypted telegram.

Thus, Jiang Baimian drove the military-green jeep, carrying Shang Jianyao, towards the Golden Wheat District south of the Red Giant Wolf District.

Bai Chen, Long Yuehong, and Genava's team would find a way to get another car to facilitate the transportation of the two sets of military exoskeletons, just in case.

Golden Wheat District, Ol'o Street, Harvest Bathhouse.

Jiang Baimian observed the surrounding environment and parked in the parking lot that seemed to be attached to the bathhouse.

It wasn't large, because the urban area east and south of the Red Giant Wolf District was not a place most ruin hunters could afford to live, and the security situation was relatively good, so there was not much need to ask ruin hunters for help. On the Ashlands, the top producer of cars had always been the various ruins, but those vehicles often couldn't be used directly and had to be repaired or modified. At the same time, the professional nature of ruin hunters required them to have transportation, so the areas where ruin hunters were not active had low car ownership.

The residents living in similar areas might live better than ruin hunters, or rather, more safely, but they didn't have enough motivation to obtain vehicles, lacked channels to buy the few new cars, and didn't quite trust the repaired vehicles that ruin hunters dragged back from the ruins, always suspecting that they would break down completely soon.

Of course, there were always exceptions, otherwise, who would the ruin hunters sell the extra vehicles they worked so hard to bring back to?

The Harvest Bathhouse was only three stories high, with a white stone pillar supporting the porch, which was decorated with not-so-exquisite reliefs.

At this time, the bathhouse was not yet open for business, but after Jiang Baimian reported the name "Partner Mr. Zhao," she successfully met the owner, Lanster.

Lanster was a relatively tall Red River man, only slightly shorter than Shang Jianyao. He was in his thirties, with fuzzy brown hair and bright, piercing blue eyes.

Wearing a black jacket, he led Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao to his office while introducing the situation of the Harvest Bathhouse in the tone of discussing business with a partner:

"We have four steam rooms, eight hot pools, and four cold pools, all separated for men and women… We have dedicated attendants to provide relaxation services…"

Just as Bai Chen had introduced before, bathhouses in Initial City often doubled as brothels.

As they spoke, the three entered the office.

Lanster sat down in the leather-backed chair and asked with a cordial and enthusiastic attitude:

"Did Councilor Zhao send you?"

"Yes." Jiang Baimian nodded.

The Zhao family had two contacts in Initial City, one public and one secret. The public one was Laun, the owner of Laun's Bakery across from the Harvest Bathhouse, and the secret one was Lanster, a person known only to the family head, the future family head, and the specific executor.

Of course, this was just what Zhao Zhengqi said. Jiang Baimian suspected that the Zhao family had more than two contacts in Initial City.

The reason they visited Lanster instead of Laun was that two weeks ago, Laun reported that there were no problems with the manor.

Lanster was about to exchange a few pleasantries with a smile when Shang Jianyao suddenly asked:

"Are you a follower of the Furnace Church?"

His expression was unusually serious.

At that moment, Jiang Baimian's subconscious reaction was to raise her right hand and cover her face.

Because she had completely figured out Shang Jianyao's "logic":

There are "steam rooms" here, the core of the Furnace Church's Mass is the steam bath, so the owner here is a follower of the Furnace Church.

And according to this logic, most bathhouse owners in Initial City are considered followers of the Furnace Church.

Just as Jiang Baimian's right hand was about to rise, she saw Lanster's face change.

The smiling bathhouse owner's expression completely sank.

Uh… Jiang Baimian's right hand paused in mid-air.

Lanster sized them up a few times and asked in a low voice:

"What exactly are you trying to do?"

Stand up, leave the seat, begin… Without responding, Jiang Baimian "indifferently" counted down in her heart.

At the same time, Shang Jianyao stood up abruptly, took two steps to the side, and twitched as if burned.

After finishing this strange dance, Shang Jianyao solemnly blessed:

"May the breath of the gods bathe you."

Lanster subconsciously stood up as well, following along with the dance that seemed to be burned by the scorching aura.

After a few movements, he exclaimed in surprise:

"Are you also a follower of the New World Gate?"

Shang Jianyao nodded emphatically and explained earnestly:

"Only a little bit away.

"When I was in Tarnan, I had already set the date for my baptism, but I encountered something and had to leave early."

He looked regretful.

"Yes." Jiang Baimian nodded in agreement.

She didn't say whether she was prepared to join the church or not.

"So you're a church friend." Lanster breathed a sigh of relief, "No wonder you knew I was worshiping a Pillar."

No, a blind cat just happened to catch a dead mouse… Jiang Baimian muttered, and asked curiously:

"Did the church ask you to serve Councilor Zhao?"

Lanster laughed and said:

"No.

"This is just a job. While worshiping a Pillar, I still have to support myself and my family."

"I see…" Jiang Baimian expressed understanding.

Shang Jianyao then asked:

"Is there communion here?"

Lanster sat back down and shook his head:

"I'm afraid of being exposed, so I don't offer this service, but the followers in this district will secretly gather together every week to share communion."

"I wonder if I, can we participate?" Shang Jianyao hesitated for a moment, but still brought Long Yuehong and the others along.

Lanster smiled:

"You can after the 'Devotee' baptizes you."

Jiang Baimian no longer gave Shang Jianyao a chance to change the subject and turned to the main topic:

"What exactly happened to Councilor Zhao's manor?"

Lanster hesitated for a moment and said:

"The ruin hunters I hired reported that strangers were entering and leaving the manor every day.

"They were afraid of exposing themselves, so they didn't dare use a camera, uh, they didn't have a camera either, so they could only rely on their memories to draw the appearances of those strangers."

As he spoke, he opened a drawer and took out a stack of paper.

Shang Jianyao excitedly took it, flipped through a few pages, and said happily:

"They draw even worse than me!"

Jiang Baimian didn't think it was a question of drawing poorly, but rather that the portraits lacked any characteristics, and it was impossible to recognize anyone from them.

Lanster didn't dwell on the issue and continued:

"And the managers of the manors that I contacted all said that there were no strangers.

"This is as far as the investigation has gone so far."

It seems Zhao Zhengqi is having people investigate the manor through the public line, Laun… Jiang Baimian pondered and said:

"Can you create an opportunity for us to directly contact a manager of one of those manors? Without entering the manor."

"That's easy." Lanster smiled, "There's a manager named Zhao Shouren who likes steam baths very much and comes every few days. Calculating the time, he should be coming today."

"Is that so?" Jiang Baimian subconsciously asked.

"You can wait here for a while, maybe you'll see him by noon." Lanster pointed to the ceiling and said, "There are rooms on the second floor where you can rest."

By noon, the Harvest Bathhouse officially opened, but only two steam rooms, two hot pools, and two cold pools were in use.

Not long after, Lanster knocked on the door of the room where Shang Jianyao and Jiang Baimian were resting:

"Zhao Shouren is here, in the steam room."

"I'm going to pay him a visit." Shang Jianyao smiled.

Lanster then glanced at Jiang Baimian:

"Why don't you go into the women's bathhouse and steam too? It's right next door."

Jiang Baimian was also a curious person and pondered for a moment before saying:

"Okay."

At this moment, Shang Jianyao suddenly said:

"Be careful not to short-circuit."

This sarcasm… Jiang Baimian clenched her left fist, wishing she could strike Shang Jianyao's abdomen.

But she controlled herself, because after thinking about it, she felt that Shang Jianyao's words were a form of concern.

But bio-prosthetics don't short-circuit when exposed to steam.

Back on the first floor, Shang Jianyao went into the men's bathhouse, took off his clothes, rinsed his body, and then wrapped a large white towel around his waist.

He then pushed open the door to the steam room, only to see it filled with white mist and steaming heat.

Vaguely, he saw a person in the corner, also naked to the waist and wrapped in a large towel.

Shang Jianyao walked over, sat down next to the person, looked at the water vapor spreading from the red-hot stones, and said with a smile:

"What a coincidence, you're naked to the waist, and I'm naked to the waist, you're taking a steam bath, and I'm taking a steam bath, so…"

The person was stunned for a moment, then turned to look at Shang Jianyao and asked with surprise and joy:

"You're here too?"

He looked as if they had known each other for a long time.

Seeing this, Shang Jianyao seized the opportunity, exchanged a few pleasantries, confirmed that the other person was Zhao Shouren, and escalated their relationship to the level of sworn brothers.

"I heard that a lot of strangers have come to your manor?" Shang Jianyao finally asked.

Zhao Shouren was stunned for a moment and replied with great confusion:

"No, I haven't."