Long Yuehong and Bai Chen hid the gray off-road vehicle in the roadside forest on a road that was a necessary route to several of the Zhao family's estates.
Seeing the military green jeep arrive, they both breathed a sigh of relief.
Shang Jianyao lowered the car window and waved to his two companions:
"Mission accomplished!"
"You caught the people from the 'Anti-Intellectualism Church'?" Bai Chen asked, not too surprised.
She and Long Yuehong had both heard an explosion coming from a certain estate by the Taiwei River, but that was not in the same direction as the Zhao family's estates.
Shang Jianyao sighed affectedly:
"We didn't win, and they didn't lose."
So, it was a draw… Long Yuehong subconsciously had this thought.
But after thinking about it carefully, he realized that Shang Jianyao's real meaning was another one.
"'Anti-Intellectualism Church' succeeded?" Long Yuehong asked as he walked towards the stopped jeep.
Jiang Baimian opened the door and got out of the car, nodding slightly:
"In a sense, yes."
Seeing Bai Chen and Long Yuehong getting closer and closer, she suddenly stretched out her right hand and made a "stop" gesture.
Jiang Baimian then smiled:
"We later encountered the real 'Father.' If that ability is very rare, it should be him.
"So, Shang Jianyao and I extracted information from Old Ge along the way, compared memories, and confirmed that nothing had been quietly tampered with.
"To be on the safe side, you guys compare as well."
--Bai Chen and Long Yuehong also stored their key memories in Genaeva's body for emergencies.
Bai Chen had no objection, took out a portable computer from her tactical backpack, and connected it to Genaeva with a data cable.
Jiang Baimian threw her own to Long Yuehong, so that he and Bai Chen could proceed synchronously. Anyway, Genaeva had many interfaces.
After downloading the backed-up memories, Long Yuehong used a password to complete the decompression and slowly browsed through the contents.
"Shang Jianyao is a classmate and friend who grew up with me. Although he always likes to laugh at me and provoke me, making me want to beat him up, he has a good heart. Those jokes are mostly made with good intentions…" After Long Yuehong scanned this memory, his expression suddenly became strange.
His face gradually twisted, presenting a gloomy temperament.
"No, that's not right…" Long Yuehong said with difficulty as if fighting against someone, "Clearly, he's an annoying guy, a bastard who never considers other people's feelings and face. I wish I could, wish I could kill him…"
Speaking of which, he finally figured out which one to follow, bent over, propped his knees with his hands, and gasped for breath:
"I, I was 'hypnotized,' huh, or some of the details of my memories were tampered with!"
Over there, Bai Chen's expression also gradually turned cold. Looking at Jiang Baimian, she said slowly:
"Why, why am I jealous of you, jealous that you're tall, jealous that you're beautiful, jealous that you're capable, jealous that you're good at taking care of different people's emotions, and can get along well with everyone…
"I should, I should clearly be…"
"Should be what?" Shang Jianyao asked curiously.
As soon as he finished speaking, Jiang Baimian pulled him, signaling him not to ask indiscriminately.
Bai Chen didn't answer Shang Jianyao. Her expression slowly returned to normal, but her speaking speed was still not fast enough:
"Some of the emotions in my memory have been tampered with."
"And you and Xiao Hong didn't notice?" Jiang Baimian asked with a serious expression.
Bai Chen recalled and said:
"We were waiting here to meet you, and we could see vehicles passing by from time to time…
"Later, a hunter chasing a rabbit came to us from the other side of the forest…
"He didn't talk to us, and didn't get too close. The distance was about ten meters, or even further…
"Long Yuehong and I were both wary of him. I don't remember if we made eye contact…"
Jiang Baimian asked bluntly:
"Do you still remember what he looks like?"
Long Yuehong and Bai Chen carefully recalled for more than ten seconds, both saying with some fear, but to varying degrees:
"I don't remember!"
"His appearance is very blurry."
Jiang Baimian nodded slightly and said:
"It seems that the real 'Father' personally took action. If he is a little stronger than 'Wildgrass City,' that distance should be able to use 'Hypnosis,' or 'Memory Tampering,' which we don't know the range of influence of."
Regarding the matter of dealing with Xu Liyan in Wildgrass City, the real "Father" exposed the problem that "Hypnosis" must be at close range. The mechanical monk Jing Nian analyzed and came to the approximate conclusion of four to six meters.
Without waiting for Bai Chen and Long Yuehong to respond, Jiang Baimian revealed a thoughtful expression:
"I think it's more likely 'Hypnosis.' 'Memory Tampering' is obviously stronger, and the restrictions should be greater, and it won't produce effects so easily.
"Your memories of the distance at that time may have some errors."
Hearing this, Long Yuehong said thankfully:
"Luckily we made the corresponding preparations, otherwise it would have been troublesome."
Shang Jianyao looked around and made a shushing gesture:
"Don't talk, the real 'Father' may still be nearby."
While Long Yuehong was horrified, Jiang Baimian scolded Shang Jianyao:
"Don't scare Xiao Hong, be careful that one day he really shoots you in the back!
"Look, aren't those things you did in the past being used?"
Shang Jianyao didn't mind and said with a smile:
"The real 'Father' seems to hate us very much."
"Maybe it's just by the way." Long Yuehong subconsciously retorted.
Then, he saw Genaeva shake her head.
"No." Jiang Baimian immediately said, "He is indeed targeting us. I suspect he haunted near Iron Badge Street and observed us in secret, knowing that we were acting separately, one team going to the estate and one team picking up. Otherwise, it would be impossible for him to carry out his actions so orderly.
"He first found a chance to 'Hypnotize' you, tampered with some memories, and then, taking advantage of the fact that we had to come over to meet up, ambushed us in advance by the roadside, trying to deal with us in his most skilled way.
"If this had succeeded, we might have died at that time, or become his 'servants' to help him do things. Fortunately, we have Old Ge, who doesn't fall for his tricks at all.
"In his plan, attacking us was not guaranteed, so he 'Hypnotized' you in advance to make you his contingency plan.
"Think about it, if we survived the attack and thought nothing happened, becoming numb and careless, then during the return trip and subsequent interactions, me and Shang Jianyao could inadvertently say a word or make a gesture that would make you want to kill.
"The most difficult to guard against are not only yourself, but also your companions."
Bai Chen nodded slightly and said:
"When dealing with enemies like the real 'Father,' we're not afraid of him coming ostentatiously, but we're worried about passing him by without knowing it and falling into his trap unknowingly."
"If he dares to come ostentatiously, I can beat him down five times!" Shang Jianyao said loudly, as if stimulating the real "Father" who might still be hidden in the surrounding area--anyway, he didn't sense him.
Then, his voice returned to normal:
"Old Ge can beat him down fifty times."
Robots don't fall for "Hypnosis" and "Memory Tampering."
Jiang Baimian smiled and sighed:
"The real 'Father' probably knew that we ruined his plans in Wildgrass City and found out that we were involved in the Zhao family estate, so he conveniently set a trap for us."
"Yes." Long Yuehong was still scared by this.
After experiencing the various events in Wildgrass City, Redstone Town, and Tarnan, and obtaining multiple exoskeleton devices and the smart human companion Genaeva, he originally thought that the "Old Task Force" could walk sideways in most parts of the graylands. As long as they didn't provoke the regular army or the core forces of the major sects, there wouldn't be any major problems. Gangster groups and black organizations were not a big threat at all.
But now, it seems that just the real "Father" alone almost caused the "Old Task Force" to suffer a disaster.
"We can't just let it go like this." Shang Jianyao, not seeing any frustration, expressed his determination.
"Yes." Jiang Baimian thought for a while and looked at Long Yuehong and Bai Chen, "Are there still any problems with your emotions now? Don't be afraid, speak frankly. We still have the 'Destiny Bead' as a backup plan. At that time, we'll let Shang Jianyao go to your spiritual world to do a 'cleanup.'"
"Okay, okay." Shang Jianyao looked at Long Yuehong with shining eyes.
Long Yuehong panicked a little and hurriedly compared the data again, carefully examining himself.
After a few minutes, he breathed a sigh of relief and said:
"There are no problems."
"After knowing what is real and what is fake, the 'Hypnosis' effect has been completely lifted." Bai Chen also said her examination results.
Jiang Baimian nodded and laughed:
"Before leaving Initial City, it seems that we have to compare our memories often, lest we become the real 'Father's' knife without knowing it.
"Hehe, we are truly examining ourselves three times a day!"
After saying that, she said to Genaeva:
"Old Ge, you stay here and watch the car with Xiao Bai and them. Me and Wei will go into the forest to take a look."
"What are you going to do in the forest?" Long Yuehong asked in confusion.
Jiang Baimian revealed a smile and said:
"Look for clues.
"People like the real 'Father' must be full of superiority. Relying on being able to make others not remember their appearance, they will probably not pay much attention to the realm of ordinary people.
"Wherever you go, you will leave traces. Since he has passed through the forest, it is very likely that he has left footprints and other clues."
Speaking of this, Jiang Baimian summarized with a serious expression:
"The more awakened ones think that they have surpassed ordinary people, the more likely they are to fall in the realm of ordinary people. They are only powerful in one aspect, not all."
Long Yuehong listened in a daze, feeling that this was thought-provoking and ashamed that he had only been thinking about leaving here as soon as possible.
"Team Leader, you are so handsome!" Shang Jianyao praised.
Seeing Jiang Baimian looking over, he revealed a sunny smile:
"I said it for Xiao Hong."
I didn't… Long Yuehong subconsciously wanted to deny, but he felt that he did have similar thoughts at the time, so he chose to default.
Jiang Baimian smiled and beckoned to Shang Jianyao with a slightly smug look:
"Why aren't you leaving yet! Later, we will take turns monitoring the surroundings to prevent the real 'Father' from making a comeback."
"He doesn't understand that word." Shang Jianyao explained seriously.
While speaking, he had already followed Jiang Baimian's side and entered the lush forest.