Because they had just enjoyed a "feast" at noon, the "Old Task Force" casually ate some canned food, energy bars, and compressed biscuits in the evening, without bothering to hunt or cook.

Besides, in the mountainous regions during winter, wild animals were not so easy to find.

"Do many people know about this place?" Jiang Baimian asked Jorgensen, who was diligently acting as a "puppet army," while sitting by the campfire.

Jorgensen glanced at his companions taking turns on guard duty around them and said with a flattering smile:

"This is the last clean water source when leaving the Kir爾ar Mountains in the southwest direction. If it weren't winter, there would definitely be various caravans and relic hunter teams camping here. You could easily run into other humans."

He paused for a moment and added:

"We like to ambush around here. If we encounter a large group with strong firepower, we pretend not to see them. But if it's a small team of four or five, uh, five or six people, we'll rush out and rob them."

"Without a fixed place to earn income, our boss wouldn't be able to support so many people."

At this moment, the bandit with a scar on his face interjected:

"Later, those small caravans and relic hunter teams became smarter. Whenever they wanted to get water, they would gather a large group of people.

"Hey, some even hired relic hunters to exterminate us. Sometimes, we were forced to avoid ambushing in these places. We had an uncertain income and could only barely survive on the fields we cultivated in the mountains."

Seeing that this guy seemed to be trying to steal his role and replace him, Jorgensen glared at him angrily and took the initiative to say:

"Don't listen to his nonsense. The Kir爾ar Mountains are the main trade route from the 'Rimsea Alliance' to Tarnan. The things we rob can easily be exchanged for food in Tarnan.

"Those rotten fields in the mountains are mainly for the women at home to pass the time."

Jiang Baimian had long been accustomed to bandits working part-time as farmers, or farmers working part-time as bandits. What she found amusing was that Jorgensen, a Red River man, was using words like "婆娘" and "鬼扯."

Bandits have partners too… Long Yuehong sighed silently beside her.

Shang Jianyao took the opportunity to ask:

"How's the harvest?"

"Huh?" Jorgensen didn't expect the other party to care about this question.

It gave him the feeling of two farmers squatting at the door chatting idly.

It would be even more like it if the other party had their hands in their sleeves.

Jiang Baimian didn't know where Shang Jianyao had learned that old farmer's tone. Amused, she skipped over the topic:

"Tonight, you two will take turns on night watch in pairs."

"We will too."

She didn't let Long Yuehong and the others abandon their long-established habits just because of the "puppet army's" presence.

Just then, Shang Jianyao and Bai Chen simultaneously turned their gazes toward the entrance of this water source.

—This was a relatively enclosed valley. Clear water flowed down from the rock wall and poured into a clear, secluded pool. There was only one road around that could allow a car to drive in.

Of course, if you weren't driving, there were still many small paths to leave by.

Before long, a deep blue mountain vehicle with steel plates installed drove in. It had a higher chassis, larger tires, and a sturdy build.

"Cool!" Shang Jianyao whistled.

This wasn't a beautiful woman, but a handsome guy.

—He was able to react before Jiang Baimian, not because his range of influence had increased, but because he had heard the engine roar.

As soon as the mountain vehicle entered the valley, it spotted the vehicles and newly pitched tents on the other side of the pool.

Its speed immediately slowed down, and the people inside seemed to pick up their weapons, adopting a defensive posture.

The mountain vehicle slowly drove to the place farthest from Shang Jianyao and the others, facing them across a not-so-small pool.

The people in the car got out, seemingly naturally and calmly, but actually cautiously. It was a group of three men and one woman.

One was responsible for fetching water, one for finding firewood, and two stood by the mountain vehicle, vigilantly watching the "Old Task Force" and their "puppet army."

—This could be distinguished at a glance from their appearance. The four bandits, Jorgensen, all looked crooked and had a bandit aura about them, appearing timid and hesitant in their movements.

Jiang Baimian and the others glanced over and were deeply impressed by one of them.

He stood by the hood of the car, taller than Jiang Baimian and only a little shorter than Shang Jianyao. Half of the right side of his head shimmered with a silvery-white metallic luster, as if it had been repaired with synthetic materials.

An irregular piece of shrapnel was also embedded in the left side of his forehead. It was unknown why it hadn't been removed, but the protruding part had been smoothed out.

This person was wearing a black coat, a straight knife slung across his back, and holding a streamlined pistol in his palm.

His black hair was very short, and his right eye seemed to have been modified, with the iris reflecting a strange purple-red color. There was an inconspicuous beauty mark below his left eye.

"A cyborg?" Long Yuehong asked Shang Jianyao in a low voice.

Shang Jianyao hummed and replied solemnly:

"I can only see the modification for now, I haven't discovered any machinery."

Not all metal can be called machinery.

The woman responsible for fetching water was twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, with long, straight black hair and a gentle, intellectual temperament, not like a relic hunter who had been adventuring outside for a long time.

An antiquarian? A historical researcher? A natural scientist? She hired a relatively strong relic hunter team to protect herself and ventured deep into the Kir爾ar Mountains? When Jiang Baimian retracted her gaze, various guesses flashed through her mind.

The relic hunter team over there didn't seem to have any intention of coming over to communicate. Jiang Baimian didn't send Shang Jianyao over to provoke them either. Both sides guarded against each other, maintaining a state of peace.

This was the norm when caravans and relic hunter teams met at water sources. Everyone was unrelated, had no common language, and didn't need to communicate at all, unless they were all gathered for the same reason, or someone was in a hurry to ask for directions or inquire about news.

After the opposite side made a fire and had dinner, Jiang Baimian arranged for Long Yuehong and Bai Chen to take the first watch, while she and Shang Jianyao were responsible for the most dangerous and easily lax period.

Shang Jianyao got into the jeep without saying much, pinched his temples, and fell asleep.

…

Having just become familiar with his abilities and before leaving Redstone Town, he once again roamed within the "Sea of Origins," heading toward the next island.

Within the shimmering, illusory ocean, Shang Jianyao changed various poses, adjusting his monotonous "journey" in a self-amusing way.

He did freestyle swimming, then backstroke, then dog paddling, then swam in an S-shape, heading forward aimlessly.

After an unknown amount of time, an island appeared in front of him.

This island had mountains and water, trees and grass. Compared to the previous two, it was like paradise.

As soon as Shang Jianyao climbed up, he adopted a posture to deal with an attack, but after a while, he didn't wait for anything to happen.

He looked around and didn't find any monsters evolved from fear.

After thinking about it, Shang Jianyao sat down cross-legged, deciding to see who was more patient.

The warm sunshine shone, and the gentle breeze blew, making him feel a little drowsy, but not to the point where he couldn't control himself.

This state of no abnormality continued until he began to feel tired.

Therefore, Shang Jianyao naturally left the "Sea of Origins" and returned to the real world.

He suddenly opened his eyes, looked at the front seat of the jeep, and opened his mouth halfway.

After hesitating for a moment, Shang Jianyao closed his mouth again and closed his eyes again.

This time, he truly fell asleep.

…

After keeping watch until dawn, Jiang Baimian instructed her team members and the "puppet army" to pack up their belongings and prepare to leave.

As they slowly drove their vehicles toward the entrance and exit of the valley, the man opposite them who seemed to have undergone mechanical modification hesitated for a few seconds and called out:

"Are you heading in the southwest direction?"

"Yes!" Shang Jianyao lowered the window, answering every question.

The man raised his hand and touched his cold, metallic right face, saying loudly:

"Then it's best to take a detour.

"A 'High-Level Heartless' has appeared in the southwestern mountains."

"High-Level Heartless?" Jiang Baimian opened the car window in the passenger seat and asked in confusion:

"When did this happen?"

Mins and the others had just come out of Tarnan and were returning to the "Rimsea Alliance" through that area.

The man with half of his skull replaced with silver-white metal replied:

"Just recently.

"He wasn't originally there, he just entered that mountainous area yesterday."

Jiang Baimian suddenly understood and asked:

"Did a 'Heartless' become distorted, or did an Awakened contract 'Heartless Disease'?"

"I don't know. This is information that several relic hunter teams exchanged for with tragic deaths and injuries," the other side responded.

They didn't seem to want to say more.

Jiang Baimian let out a breath and didn't press further, saying loudly:

"Thank you!"

"Thank you!" Shang Jianyao also expressed his gratitude.

After exiting the valley, before Jiang Baimian had time to call a stop to Jorgensen's and others' vehicles to ask about the detour route, Shang Jianyao suddenly said:

"I discovered the third island last night.

"But it's very strange."

Why didn't you say so earlier? Jiang Baimian first subconsciously flashed this thought, then asked gently:

"What's strange about it?"