"General Fukas's residence..." Long Yuehong asked, puzzled, "Why do you say that? Did you encounter anything strange at the time?"

Jiang Baimian shook her head:

"I just listed all the things related to Zhao's Manor and went through them in my mind. Throughout the process, we didn't directly contact many people. There were Zhao's informants, the owner of the Harvest Bathhouse, Lanster, the steward of Zhao's Manor, Zhao Shouren, the 'Anti-Intellectualism' member Shen Kui, General Fukas and some servants and guards in his residence.

"And when we faced them, Shang Jianyao and I maintained enough vigilance and didn't let our guard down, so we shouldn't have been monitored, tracked, or had a residence locked down without noticing it at all."

"Yes, then why do you think the problem was at General Fukas's residence?" Long Yuehong pressed.

Jiang Baimian further explained:

"The most likely place for a slip-up is there.

"Being in the General's residence, isn't being secretly monitored normal? It's a kind of security measure without any problems.

"So, Shang Jianyao and I weren't that vigilant in this aspect, and we cooperated with their work very well. Perhaps, during this process, we were unconsciously given some hints, and on the way back, we relaxed our self-discipline and didn't take counter-tracking so seriously, leading to our whereabouts being exposed. Well, perhaps because it was just a hint, we returned to normal after a night's sleep, and we completely ignored this aspect afterward.

"And that time, we didn't bring Old Ge, no artificial intelligence to counter this kind of thing.

"Well, I remember that after we left General Fukas's residence that time, we first went to the hotel to inquire about the 'Heartless Disease' epidemic, and then went directly back to that rented house on Iron Medal Street.

"This time our separate actions started from there."

Long Yuehong was horrified as he listened:

"Isn't this too exaggerated? The two of you could be unconsciously hinted..."

This 'Anti-Intellectualism' is too terrifying, isn't it?

Bai Chen nodded, seeming to also think that this was not something humans could do.

Jiang Baimian exhaled and turned her head to look at Shang Jianyao beside her:

"Use the 'Destiny Pearl' to review that memory and see if there's anything wrong with our words and actions."

The 'Destiny Pearl' is one of the 'Old Task Force's' greatest backhands against 'Anti-Intellectualism.'

--The other is Genaver.

Every time she encountered something similar, Jiang Baimian was especially grateful to DiMarco.

Shang Jianyao had been listening quietly, as if he had entered a state of serious thought.

He quickly took out the luminous pearl that emitted a cyan-green light and held it in his palm.

Compared to the past, the light of this 'Destiny Pearl' was noticeably dimmer.

It then lit up.

............

Within the 'Origin Sea,' Shang Jianyao sat cross-legged in mid-air, dividing into nine.

The huge waves rushed upward, and the countless micro-lights contained within expanded and magnified, solidifying into various images.

The Shang Jianyaos each took charge of a piece of area, using the method of narrowing the scope to screen out the memory from the beginning of the visit to General Fukas to the return to Iron Medal Street.

They watched frame by frame, as if considering how to cut these scenes into a movie.

Before long, they completed the review, combined nine into one, and returned to the real world.

While putting away the 'Destiny Pearl,' Shang Jianyao said:

"After leaving Fukas's residence, Mianmian, Da Bai, and I did slack off on counter-tracking; we weren't so diligent."

Hearing these words, Long Yuehong's pupils instantly dilated.

It really was at General Fukas's residence that they were hinted! It really was that problems arose unconsciously!

At this time, Shang Jianyao added:

"But I'm not sure if it was our own relaxation due to the change in the situation or if we were affected by external forces."

Jiang Baimian withdrew the glare she was giving this guy and asked:

"Didn't you find out when we were affected?"

Shang Jianyao shook his head:

"We only contacted a few people in the General's residence. The conversations were normal, and there was no dazedness or anything like that appearing with eye contact."

This is the scariest thing! Long Yuehong glanced at Bai Chen, finding her expression equally solemn.

Jiang Baimian said thoughtfully:

"So, the problem is among those few people? A simple hint, very likely not needing to be as complex as 'hypnosis.' Maybe it's just a gesture, an exchange of glances, an ordinary-sounding sentence that can make us unconsciously affected... Well, if the 'Anti-Intellectualism' wants to ignite the internal contradictions of 'First City,' it may indeed send people to infiltrate General Fukas's residence and control the development of things."

"It's also possible that the one secretly monitoring us was an Awakened at the 'Mind Corridor' level, such as the 'Shepherd' Bu Yong. And we were exposed to his ability range for a long time, and because we thought the monitoring was normal, we were slowly remotely hinted." Shang Jianyao raised another possibility.

Long Yuehong was horrified and blurted out:

"Should we notify General Fukas?"

Jiang Baimian suddenly smiled:

"What if the one with the problem is General Fukas himself?

"That day in the General's residence, he was the one who spoke to us the most."

Long Yuehong was stunned.

"So, the water is very deep. We can't grasp it, so let's get involved less and just cut off the true 'Father's' hand that is reaching towards us." Jiang Baimian turned her gaze to Genaver, "Old Ge, don't just listen; cook the noodles."

"We don't have soy sauce," Genaver said, stating his difficulty.

Most of First City is inhabited by Red River people, who are not accustomed to using soy sauce.

And if they were to go to the streets inhabited by Ashlanders to buy it, the 'Old Task Force' wouldn't need to make handmade noodles themselves at all.

Fortunately, the Red Wolf Zone is considered a place with a relatively high standard of living on the Ashlands. Jiang Baimian and the others managed to get other seasonings, barely managing to eat the noodles.

............

The next morning, Jiang Baimian telegraphed Zhao Zhengqi at the agreed time, roughly talking about the development of the matter.

She believed that the other party definitely already knew the specific details, knew that the people of 'Anti-Intellectualism' had been preliminarily "eliminated," and knew that Zhao Yixue was being held in General Fukas's residence. But as an ideal and moralistic ruins hunter team, what should be reported must be reported. Moreover, regarding the attack on themselves by the true 'Father,' it should be reported in rich detail.

Before long, the Zhao family telegraphed back.

"Let us contact Lanster and find Zhao Shouyi, the general manager of the Zhao family here, to complete the ownership transfer of the Left Bank Manor." Jiang Baimian decoded the message and smiled. "Let us not continue investigating, and leave everything to General Fukas to handle. Hehe, Old Zhao is too timid. 'Anti-Intellectualism' is bullying him, but he's not willing to completely tear face, wanting to stop at the point. Uh, he didn't mention a celebration banquet. It seems that General Fukas didn't mention it, so it will be a long time before the celebration."

"At least they gave us a manor as compensation," Bai Chen said with a hint of satisfaction, even though her expression didn't change much.

As a ruins hunter who came from the wilderness, she was always happy with significant gains.

In stark contrast to her was Shang Jianyao, who was slightly disappointed.

Jiang Baimian first nodded and then sighed:

"With only one manor, we can only choose one: a military exoskeleton device or a mechanical arm."

Even with Lehman giving a 30% discount, they could only choose one.

These kinds of controlled items are often in short supply. If the 'Old Task Force' hadn't established a relationship with Lehman, this 'United Industries' arms dealer, and shocked him by helping him understand the truth he craved, it would have been impossible to buy them.

"A mechanical arm is cooler!" Shang Jianyao immediately expressed his opinion.

"But a military exoskeleton device is easier to use and can be used immediately," Long Yuehong slightly objected.

"You already have one," Shang Jianyao pointed out.

"But the team leader doesn't have one, and you don't need it, but the team leader needs it," Long Yuehong argued reasonably.

Shang Jianyao fell silent, seeming very troubled.

Seeing this, Jiang Baimian smiled and said:

"We'll talk about it then. Maybe our problem isn't which one to choose, but which one we can afford."

Ending this argument, Jiang Baimian raised her hands high and slowly stretched her body:

"Three things today. One is to get the manor and secure it, two is to meet with the company's intelligence officer and give him the items that need to be tested, and three is to go to the hotel and find the boss."

"What are we doing looking for Boss Hugo?" Long Yuehong asked, puzzled.

Bai Chen frowned slightly, equally not understanding the team leader's thoughts.

She tentatively asked:

"To see if the 'Heartless Disease' epidemic is over, and see if we should move back?"

Jiang Baimian looked around and said with a smile:

"That's one aspect. The other aspect is to ask him if anyone was following us when we went to the hotel to ask about the 'Heartless Disease' situation that day.

"He's not a simple hotel owner; he may have noticed."

That day referred to the day Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao visited General Fukas.