Hearing Shang Jianyao's question, Jiang Baimian “uhm”ed:
“I don’t know about that.
“He is somewhat different from the subjects you used ‘Reasoning Clown’ on before.
“I think it was a pleasant surprise that it worked and broke the illusion just now.”
Illusion Interaction is more like a conscious artificial intelligence mechanism. Shang Jianyao had no experience and Jiang Baimian couldn't deduce what specific effect it could achieve.
“It’s enough if we don’t have to become friends, as long as he doesn’t target us,” Long Yuehong couldn't help but say.
What would happen if Shang Jianyao became friends with such a powerful ‘Advanced Mindless’? Wouldn’t he be able to walk sideways in Tarnan, bullying whoever he wanted and playing pranks on whoever he wanted?
Urinating his pants in front of the other members of the group just now left a certain psychological shadow on Long Yuehong.
“Hopefully,” Jiang Baimian looked around at the dark night and the scattered lights and said, “Continue guarding.”
Hearing this, Shang Jianyao leaned against the jeep with a hint of disappointment.
Time passed by, and Bai Chen suddenly said:
“Look over there.”
Adhering to the pre-set plan, Jiang Baimian and the others looked towards the area Bai Chen was monitoring with a ‘think twice before acting’ attitude.
At some point, a few not-too-tall buildings had appeared there.
These buildings formed what the Old World called ‘residential areas,’ ‘communities,’ or ‘neighborhoods,’ nestled among the surrounding greenery.
At this time, the night made everything there look unclear, only the lights from behind the glass windows brought a sense of security and warmth.
“This, is probably an illusion, right?” Long Yuehong muttered hesitantly.
“Apart from illusions, no one can build such a residential area in a matter of seconds,” Jiang Baimian gave a definite answer.
“And dreams,” Shang Jianyao ‘helped’ her refine her statement.
They were all absolutely certain that the residential area in front of them did not belong to Tarnan.
It appeared out of thin air.
“What would that ‘Advanced Mindless’ do by creating an illusion that we can see through at a glance?” Jiang Baimian looked at the peaceful and quiet residential area and expressed the doubts in her heart.
Shang Jianyao nodded ‘thoughtfully’:
“Saying hello to us?
“Does he think I’m already a friend?”
Jiang Baimian wanted to retort, but swallowed the words back.
“It’s possible,” Bai Chen actually supported Shang Jianyao’s statement.
After all, she had also witnessed the magic of the ‘Reasoning Clown.’
“Then how should I respond?” Shang Jianyao was troubled.
“Let’s wait and see,” Jiang Baimian decided to take a steady approach.
As soon as she finished speaking, all the lights in the residential area went out simultaneously.
No, there was still one light on, like a lone boat on a vast lake.
It quietly bloomed with a yellowish light, becoming the most eye-catching focus in the dark night.
“Does that ‘Advanced Mindless’ want us to enter that room?” Jiang Baimian speculated on the meaning of this change.
She was referring to the room corresponding to the remaining light.
“Oh…” Shang Jianyao suddenly understood, “He wants to invite us to his house as guests.”
“Don’t move,” Jiang Baimian stopped Shang Jianyao from making a move, “If you are affected by such a simple illusion and step on a landmine yourself, I will definitely write ‘This person died from stupidity’ on your epitaph.”
The ‘Old Task Force’ had placed a lot of landmines and traps around them, and in the illusion, who knew if there were any errors in direction and distance.
“I feel like he doesn’t have any ill intentions,” Shang Jianyao said sincerely.
After speaking, he looked at Long Yuehong sideways.
“If you want to be a scout, go yourself!” Long Yuehong responded vigilantly.
“Okay!” Shang Jianyao seemed to be waiting for this answer, and then Jiang Baimian grabbed him.
There’s such a trick? Long Yuehong was a little dumbfounded.
Just then, the residential area deep in the night zoomed in on them, and the distance between them shortened in an instant.
In just a few seconds, Jiang Baimian, Shang Jianyao, and the others found themselves in the residential area, at the bottom of the building with the only light on.
“How enthusiastic…” Shang Jianyao sincerely praised.
Saying that, he sighed:
“It’s a pity that he wants to eat people and has eaten a lot of people. Otherwise, I could really be friends with him.”
You still have a bottom line… Jiang Baimian grumbled in her heart, and then reminded:
“Don’t move yet. If he wants us to enter, he will take the initiative to let us in. If he wants us to see something, he will take the initiative to let us see it.”
“Yeah,” Long Yuehong felt that this was exactly what he wanted.
Jiang Baimian’s statement was soon confirmed. The four members of the ‘Old Task Force’ were directly ‘transferred’ into that building.
In this process, it was as if they were climbing the stairs and taking the elevator themselves.
Before long, they arrived at the top floor, which was the 11th floor.
There was only one household here. The door was wide and long, and it was vermilion.
The faint light from the window high in the corridor shone in, highlighting a series of figures.
They were all humans, men and women, old and young, dressed differently, but all reflecting the style of the Old World.
At this time, they were squeezed at the door, peering inside through various cracks like madmen.
“What, what are they doing?” Long Yuehong looked puzzled.
“Is this a manifestation of the crazy instinct in the subconscious of that ‘Advanced Mindless’?” Jiang Baimian tried to explain from a psychological perspective.
Shang Jianyao shook his head and said seriously:
“This shows that something is happening inside…”
Before he could finish speaking, the four members of the ‘Old Task Force’ ‘passed’ through the insubstantial vermilion door and entered the room.
Subconsciously, Long Yuehong glanced back.
There seemed to be pairs of eyes watching inside from the cracks in the door.
Hiss… Long Yuehong inexplicably had a creepy feeling.
At this time, Jiang Baimian and the others looked past the spacious living room that was amazing to a floor-to-ceiling window.
The floor-to-ceiling window was immersed in darkness, and tightly attached to it were human faces.
Their expressions were distorted, and unknown lights flickered in their eyes.
It was as if there was a platform outside the window, and these people were squeezed there, peering into the house through the window.
On the other side, at an open glass window, a figure was sitting on the railing.
She was a slender woman with messy black hair, her face was covered by darkness, and it was not clear.
At this time, the woman was repeating a sentence with a crying voice:
“Are you trying to force me to death… Are you trying to force me to death…”
“No,” Shang Jianyao replied.
But the woman turned a deaf ear, and suddenly supported her body and jumped out of the window.
Shang Jianyao brushed out his hand, but he couldn’t reach it because the distance was too far.
At this time, Jiang Baimian, knowing that this was an illusion, was looking around.
She saw a tablet computer thrown on the ground not far away.
The computer was turned on, flashing with light, and there were photos and texts on it.
The photos seemed to be a woman wearing a hat getting into a car, and the text was:
“Popular Idol Jiang Xiaoyue Travels with Middle-Aged Tycoon”
Pa!
The woman who jumped out of the window fell heavily to the ground.
The entire illusion was instantly distorted, and Long Yuehong, Jiang Baimian, Shang Jianyao, Bai Chen, and others all had a feeling that their thoughts were being sucked away by a vortex, and their souls seemed to be leaving their bodies.
They had an uncontrollable fear in their hearts, as if they were facing darkness that could devour their lives.
Gradually, their consciousness began to blur.
Huff… Jiang Baimian struggled to ‘wake up’ and found herself still beside the jeep, surrounded by darkness, with only the light bulb illuminating the mirror and wooden sign on.
She subconsciously looked at Shang Jianyao and found that this guy seemed to be preparing to push her.
“Did you escape the illusion?” Jiang Baimian asked while walking two steps, trying to wake up Bai Chen not far away.
“Yes,” Shang Jianyao turned his body and shook Long Yuehong.
Long Yuehong quickly woke up, only feeling very dizzy in his head.
After a few seconds, he suddenly realized:
“Stop!
“Don’t shake me!”
“You’re awake?” Shang Jianyao asked with regret, as if he had reserved multiple plans that were not used.
Long Yuehong hurriedly replied dizzyly:
“Yes.”
Seeing that all the members of the group were okay, Jiang Baimian breathed a sigh of relief and said to herself:
“What exactly did that illusion represent?”
“That should be a scene from the Old World,” Bai Chen said thoughtfully, “Does that ‘Advanced Mindless’ have a relationship with some popular idol Jiang Xiaoyue?”
“Did you also see the news on the computer?” Jiang Baimian asked back as if to confirm, “But that ‘Advanced Mindless’ is eighty or ninety years old? Doesn’t seem like it… Well, there is no precedent to show that ‘Advanced Mindless’ can live long, at most they live a little longer than ordinary ‘Mindless,’ uhm, except for Xiao Chong.”
After humans become ‘Mindless,’ due to changes in their living environment, physical condition, and other aspects, their life expectancy undoubtedly decreases significantly.
After Jiang Baimian described what she had seen, Shang Jianyao nodded and said:
“He may be Jiang Xiaoyue’s son.”
“…” Jiang Baimian asked, “Then what is he so persistent about doing in Tarnan?”
“This is Jiang Xiaoyue’s hometown, the place where he grew up,” Shang Jianyao suddenly sighed.
“…I almost believed it,” Jiang Baimian said amusedly, “Did you get the inspiration from the examples of the Fish Men, Mountain Monsters, and those ‘Mindless’ in the No. 1 Ruin of the Swamp?”
“It’s not impossible,” Long Yuehong supported Shang Jianyao this time.
Jiang Baimian shook her head:
“But it’s too coincidental. It’s impossible for most of the things we encounter to be based on the same reason, right?”
Without enough clues, Long Yuehong and Bai Chen couldn’t answer this question.
After an intense discussion, the ‘Old Task Force’ finally decided to report this matter to see what the major sects and ‘Mechanical Paradise’ thought.
Maybe Zhou Yue, the Abbot of the Nanke Temple, could analyze something.
After a long time, the sky gradually brightened, and the morning came.
Ten minutes later, a member of the Robot Guard and two humans came with multiple auxiliary robots from the direction of Tarnan, ready for handover.
When they approached, Jiang Baimian looked at Shang Jianyao:
“Go.”