Gu Bo was a thin, small old man with thinning, grizzled hair, but his deep brown eyes were still bright.

He was wearing a black woolen jacket and holding a silver metal thermos. He pointed to the opposite side of the desk and said, "Sit, sit."

Long Yuehong and Bai Chen nodded politely, pulled out chairs, and sat down.

"What do you guys need?" Gu Bo's Ashtown language had a bit of an accent, completely different from the local dialect.

Based on this, Long Yuehong and Bai Chen judged that this local president of the Hunter's Guild was a first- or second-generation Tarnan resident from another area.

"President Gu, we have some things we'd like to ask you," Long Yuehong replied politely.

Gu Bo smiled.

"Shouldn't you first post a mission and let me decide whether or not to accept it based on the reward?

"News or information is valuable."

"..." Long Yuehong was speechless for a moment and could only sigh inwardly that he deserved to be a veteran hunter and local president, loving his job.

Bai Chen replied calmly, "You can listen to our questions first and then decide how much reward to ask for. This can be done without going through the guild."

Gu Bo unscrewed the lid of his thermos and took a sip of water.

"These old arms and legs of mine are just afraid you'll go back on your word and not give me the reward.

"Then, I might not get any mutton and instead stir up trouble, or get beaten up instead of getting a reward."

Seeing Gu Bo getting more and more outrageous, Long Yuehong suddenly missed Shang Jianyao a little.

At a time like this, he would definitely be able to steer the topic off into the stratosphere.

"A local 'Chief Hunter' is afraid of this?" Bai Chen looked at Gu Bo and asked in return.

Long Yuehong had inquired about Gu Bo's affairs last night and knew that he was originally a "Veteran Hunter" and was awarded the honorary title of "Chief Hunter" after becoming the president.

"Heroes don't dwell on past achievements," Gu Bo said self-deprecatingly. "People, once they get old, their bodies aren't very agile anymore."

After joking around, he restrained his expression.

"Speak, I'll see what the problem is and then decide what to do."

Long Yuehong took out a fountain pen and a palm-sized notebook, and while pretending to record the contents, he opened his mouth and asked, "President Gu, do you still remember a person named Maximillian?"

"Ah?" Gu Bo looked blank.

Long Yuehong quickly picked out the key points and prompted, "In the early New Calendar, the one that 'Mechanical Paradise' put a bounty on."

Gu Bo fell into recollection, and after a long while, he said, "Him? It's been decades. What are you asking about him for?

"Could it be that you have clues about him or are his descendants?"

Your imagination is quite rich... Long Yuehong slandered in his heart and explained simply, "We want to meet 'Source Brain' and hope to offer something that 'Mechanical Paradise' is interested in."

"Then you might as well accumulate metal minerals and do large transactions with 'Mechanical Paradise'. That might give you a chance," Gu Bo felt that the young people's whims were completely unrealistic. "The search for Maximillian has been going on for decades. Maybe he's already dead."

"We're only responsible for this direction." Bai Chen blocked Gu Bo's persuasion with one sentence.

Gu Bo unscrewed the lid of his thermos again, took a sip of water, and moistened his throat.

"Then I'll just say it directly. I don't need any reward from you. Back then, I didn't find any clues. This person is definitely not in the Qilaer Mountains anymore. Even if he is, he's probably in the belly of some beast or some 'Heartless'."

"What kind of person is he? What did the 'Mechanical Paradise' bounty notice say?" Long Yuehong asked further while recording Gu Bo's answers.

"What kind of person is he?" Gu Bo recalled and said, "There was a photo at the time, and some descriptions... This person was over 1.8 meters tall, very strong, with blond hair, light blue eyes, a large nose, and pretty good-looking. It was said that he had undergone genetic optimization..."

In some places, gene modification is also known as gene optimization, which was a technology that made breakthrough progress before the destruction of the Old World. However, it was later discontinued in most human forces. Only "Pangu Biology" and the "White Knights" continued to advance and improve it, making it mature enough.

Long Yuehong recorded quickly, and Gu Bo continued, "I think he was more like a warrior than a scientist, but the 'Mechanical Paradise' bounty notice specifically emphasized his identity.

"Besides that, that notice didn't have anything valuable. It only said that if you found this person, 'Mechanical Paradise' could satisfy one request, any request that didn't involve the life and death of 'Mechanical Paradise' and that they were capable of fulfilling."

Give me a robot army, I want to save the world... Hearing about any request, Long Yuehong couldn't help but simulate Shang Jianyao's train of thought.

However, after thinking about it, he felt that this idea was too ordinary and didn't have enough Shang Jianyao-ness.

At this time, Bai Chen asked, "It only said to find this person. Didn't mention why?"

"No," Gu Bo shook his head.

"Then, did they emphasize protecting certain things or tracking down certain information?" Bai Chen pressed.

"No, they just said to try to ensure the target's survival." Gu Bo still had some memory of this.

If there had been these requirements, he would have changed his investigation direction back then and wouldn't have gone down a dead end.

"Write this down," Bai Chen instructed Long Yuehong.

Based on her experience, this could initially determine that the focus of "Mechanical Paradise"'s bounty on Maximillian was this person, or what he had done, rather than the items or information that might exist on him.

She and Long Yuehong asked a few more questions, but because so many years had passed, Gu Bo couldn't remember very clearly and couldn't provide more information.

After saying goodbye politely and leaving the Hunter's Guild, Long Yuehong and Bai Chen walked in the direction of the "Furnace of the Holy Light" sect, preparing to meet up with Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao to discuss what to do next.

While walking, Long Yuehong was slightly surprised to find that there were still many stalls set up on the roadside, and the ground floors of the buildings on both sides, except for those with signs saying "So-and-so Chamber of Commerce" or "So-and-so Grocery Store," were all tightly closed and unattended.

He walked curiously to a stall and asked the stall owner, "Why don't you use the storefront along the street and instead stay here in the sun and rain?"

Because he had been to Weed City, he knew the concept of storefronts along the street.

And he remembered that there was such a rule in the information provided by Redstone Collection:

In Tarnan, ownerless houses can be occupied independently, and ownership cannot be applied for to the intelligent robot without long-term use.

The stall owner was a woman with rough skin, in her thirties, her face tanned black.

She said in rather awkward Ashtown language with a Redstone Collection accent, "I still have to repair it myself and clean it myself. Where would I get so many supplies to put in?

"Anyway, the robots don't care if I set up a stall by the road. When it rains, I just put up a big umbrella. And I can use the streetlights for free."

Speaking of the end, she pointed to the streetlight above her head.

Uh, once you occupy a shop and apply for electricity, you need to pay a fee? Long Yuehong nodded, understanding a little.

Because he had asked the other party, he was embarrassed to turn around and leave, so he squatted down and looked at the stall owner's goods.

There were books left over from the Old World, the paper already yellowed, as well as jade and diamond jewelry and scattered odds and ends from the Old World.

After thinking about it, Long Yuehong asked Bai Chen, who had squatted down with him, "If you wanted to give a gift to a female elder, which one do you think would be better to choose?"

"You, mother?" Bai Chen easily interpreted Long Yuehong's true meaning.

Because "you" and "mother" together would be a bit strange, she deliberately paused in the middle.

"Yes." This was not something to be ashamed of, and Long Yuehong admitted it frankly.

Just then, Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao, who had left the Furnace of the Holy Light Cathedral, saw their teammates on this side and quickly approached, finding places to squat down.

After clarifying Long Yuehong's requirements, Jiang Baimian laughed.

"I can specially approve some supplies for you to exchange for jewelry, and deduct it from your contribution points when we get back."

Bai Chen pointed to a greenish-blue jade bracelet.

"Given your mother's age, she might prefer this kind.

"Although it doesn't look so good now, it will become more and more lustrous as you wear it longer.

"Some female Ruin Hunters I used to know had to wear it themselves because they couldn't sell this stuff, and then they found that it was quite good-looking."

"Yes, yes, yes." The stall owner quickly echoed when she heard Bai Chen say this.

Jiang Baimian didn't have much research on this aspect and preferred shiny diamonds, so she didn't offer any opinions and turned her gaze to the books.

She found that Shang Jianyao had already picked up a book and was reading it intently.

What is he looking at? Jiang Baimian curiously lowered her head and glanced at the cover of the book in Shang Jianyao's hand.

Soon, the title of the book came into her eyes:

《Actor's Self-Cultivation》 (Note: This is a transliteration because the title is very famous.)

"..." Jiang Baimian had some things to say, but didn't know what to say.

After some bargaining, they exchanged a can of food for the jade bracelet and a can of food for four books—Jiang Baimian picked the remaining three.

After a simple and boring lunch, the "Old Task Force" had no other business to attend to, so all four members didn't go out. They took a nap and each occupied a chair (sofa), reading the books they had just bought.

Leisurely time always passes quickly. Seeing that evening was about to arrive, there was a sudden commotion in the distance.

"What happened?" Long Yuehong looked in the direction of the sound and muttered to himself in confusion.

"Let's go take a look." Jiang Baimian felt that it was time to move her body.

The group of four then left the "Sweet Dreams" Hotel and walked towards Binhe Avenue.

Before long, they discovered the source of the commotion:

The Hunter's Guild.

At this time, the commotion had subsided, but many people were still gathered there, their expressions a little solemn.

Jiang Baimian, Shang Jianyao, and the others stepped into the guild and immediately saw the mission frozen on the big screen:

"...Investigate the matter of the 'Higher Heartless' in the southwest mountains..."

Didn't Gna were send robot guards to solve it? Jiang Baimian moved her gaze down in confusion and quickly found a line of description:

"...Ten robot guard members have lost contact..."