Regarding Shang Jianyao's response, Long Yuehong couldn't find a starting point for his criticism and could only say with a touch of disbelief:
“Don't you think your description is scary?”
“So what? They are still people.” Shang Jianyao began to give examples, “Would you find someone scary just because they have no nose, no ears, no eyelids?”
Long Yuehong imagined it and nodded emphatically:
“Yes.”
Shang Jianyao seemed to only then realize the generation gap between him and his friend, so he had to change his example:
“Would you find someone scary just because they are only one meter seventy-five tall, average-looking, and have average grades?”
Long Yuehong couldn't tell if Shang Jianyao was being serious or just teasing him as usual, and said, both annoyed and amused:
“How can that be the same?”
“Stop!” Jiang Baimian stopped their "debate," and yawned, “It's late at night, let's get back to sleep.”
“Team Leader, aren't you worried that the subhuman from earlier will return with his companions?” Long Yuehong felt it was necessary to stay up until dawn.
Jiang Baimian smiled:
“Not bad, you're getting more cautious.
“Although this is the core area of Redstone Collection, it's unlikely that we'll encounter a terrible attack without any warning, but given that the situation here is more complex than I imagined, Gray Men, Red River people, foreign smugglers, relic hunters, subhumans, the Vigilance Church, ‘Underground Ark’... ha, it's practically become a melting pot like the ‘Rootless’ Merchant Group, so it's indeed necessary to take turns on night watch.
“But, there's no need to be too tense, just a single person on watch will do. Just pay attention to any big movements.”
“Yes, Team Leader!” Long Yuehong responded immediately.
…………
The next morning, the "Old Task Force" four entered Redstone Collection with high spirits as usual, and before visiting the butler of the DiMarco family, they came to the Security Office once again.
“It seems you encountered something last night?” Han Wanghuo asked candidly.
He didn't hide the fact that Redstone Collection was monitoring the hotel camp.
Jiang Baimian, wearing a delicate monk mask, smiled upon hearing this:
“I was just thinking about how to start a conversation, asking where those fish-like subhumans came from without revealing our intentions.”
“Do they sing lullabies at night?” Shang Jianyao added a question with great interest.
Long Yuehong initially thought the question was a bit strange, but after a little thought, he understood:
Shang Jianyao was connecting the monster with a human head and fish body that sang beautiful songs in the radio story with the fish-like mutated subhumans.
As for why lullabies, Long Yuehong couldn't understand.
Han Wanghuo was even more puzzled and ignored Shang Jianyao's question directly, and said, “Um”:
“They are subhumans who live on some islands in Lake of Fury, we generally call them Fish People.”
Bai Chen thought of the subhumans in Black Rat Town and had no doubts about the naming of Redstone Collection.
Han Wanghuo continued:
“These subhumans originally came from fishermen in some places by the lake. During the destruction of the Old World, due to the pollution of some areas and corresponding water sources, they mutated and slowly became what they are now.”
Hearing this, Long Yuehong suddenly became a little confused:
“Why is their mutation direction so uniform?”
This is unscientific!
This isn't a qualitative and quantitative mutation induction experiment.
Han Wanghuo glanced at Jiang Baimian, and seeing that she didn't speak, casually explained:
“There were many kinds of mutations at the time, most of them died within a few days or months.
“Among the survivors, Fish People were the most adapted to the Lake of Fury environment. They can reproduce, dive very deep, find unpolluted undercurrents, and get enough food from the lake. Gradually, they became one of the two major forces in this area. The others, except for the Mountain Ogres, went extinct at some point.”
“Mountain Ogres?” Jiang Baimian keenly caught another word.
Han Wanghuo pointed to the north:
“Haven't you been to the church?
“Further north, there is a mountain range, where there is also a group of subhumans. They look much more normal than Fish People, except that their skin is a bit blue, their teeth are sharper, and climbing cliffs and precipices is as easy for them as walking on ruins for us.”
Jiang Baimian asked with great interest:
“Why weren't they eliminated by natural selection and became one of the mainstream forces in this area?”
Han Wanghuo was a bit confused:
“I'm not too sure.
“The people of Redstone Collection only told me what these subhumans are good at and how to deal with them, but didn't say anything else. But when I was a ‘relic hunter’, I protected a researcher from ‘Initial City’, who told me that Mountain Ogres have strong resistance to certain types of pollution...”
Jiang Baimian suddenly understood, took out the paper and pen from her pocket, and wrote it down quickly.
Han Wanghuo was stunned by this, and hesitated before saying:
“I've always felt that you don't look like pure relic hunters, but more like researchers and investigators.”
While speaking, he glanced at Shang Jianyao.
His subconscious was to exclude this guy.
Shang Jianyao immediately stated that Han Wanghuo's statement was unacceptable:
“What kind of purity are you talking about?
“If it's bricklaying, painting, being a teacher, or picking up trash, then we are indeed not pure.”
Han Wanghuo's intuition told him that he couldn't argue with this guy, or the situation might get out of control. So he turned his gaze to Jiang Baimian and Bai Chen.
Jiang Baimian laughed:
“Relic hunters take on any task that comes their way, so they naturally know a lot and understand the importance of recording information.”
After dismissing him casually, she turned to ask:
“The relationship between Fish People, Mountain Ogres, and your Redstone Collection doesn't seem to be very harmonious?”
“Do you think they voluntarily live in harsh environments such as lake islands and deep mountains?” Han Wanghuo sighed, “Since the ‘Underground Ark’ opened, the pollution in most parts of this city has basically subsided, and they have been driven out of their homes.”
Jiang Baimian nodded slightly:
“You seem to have some sympathy for them?”
“That's just my personality.” Han Wanghuo explained simply, “But that doesn't stop me from organizing teams to protect Redstone Collection. I don't know how many Fish People and Mountain Ogres have died under my gun.”
Speaking of this, he muttered to himself thoughtfully:
“Fish People sneaking into the hotel camp... they're getting restless again...”
After muttering to himself, Han Wanghuo reminded the "Old Task Force":
“Fish People have scales on their bodies, and small-caliber guns can hardly cause them much damage. You need to be careful.
“Even with ordinary guns, unless you directly blow their heads off, it's best to fire another shot.”
“Thank you.” Jiang Baimian responded on behalf of the whole group.
Leaving the Security Office, it was exactly nine o'clock, they went straight to the "Visa Trading Company" located on the fifth floor of Redstone Collection.
Unlike other places, not everyone here was hiding. A lady was left behind, sitting behind a wooden counter near the door.
She wore a fierce-looking Green Ogre mask, seemingly trying to soothe the fear in her heart.
“We are looking for Mr. Karl, we made an appointment yesterday.” Jiang Baimian walked over and said with a smile.
The lady was extremely tense, as if the slightest movement would make her hide.
She said reluctantly:
“Mr. Karl said, you can go directly to the innermost office.”
Jiang Baimian grabbed Shang Jianyao, stopping him from adding fuel to the fire. Bai Chen nodded to the lady, indicating that she didn't need to be so vigilant.
Karl's office was simply furnished, but it made Long Yuehong and others feel unusually familiar.
It was very similar to the middle-level offices in many departments of "Pangu Biology":
A shelf for folders and books, a desk, a set of sofas, a pot of green plants, and a few chairs with backrests.
The only difference was that there was an iron-black safe here.
Karl was not wearing a mask as he was yesterday, and his slightly graying hair was neatly combed back.
At this moment, he was sitting there, his back straight, as if he was always like this.
“You're not a believer of the Vigilance Church?” Shang Jianyao asked curiously before Jiang Baimian could speak.
Without a doubt, he used the Red River language.
Karl said calmly:
“I am vigilant about Mr.'s affairs.”
Therefore, he could not care about his own vigilance.
Jiang Baimian then stepped forward, smiled and said:
“I won't waste your time, I'll be direct.
“Do you have military exoskeletons? We want to buy one.”
Karl pondered for a few seconds and said:
“For such materials, unless a large customer pre-orders them, we will definitely keep them for our own use.
“Mr. DiMarco is very concerned about his own safety and very vigilant, and doesn't mind paying a premium for something similar.”
He politely refused the request of the four people opposite him.
“I see…” Jiang Baimian wasn't in a hurry for the time being, and turned to ask, “Mr. Karl, what do you know about the theft of Hervig's batch of weapons?”
Karl shook his head:
“I don't know.
“I was inside the ‘Underground Ark’ at the time, and only found out about it the next day.”
Jiang Baimian said "Um":
“Then who do you think is related to his death?”
“Too many.” Karl's expression sank, “He was a greedy, brutal villain who would even sell weapons to Fish People and Mountain Ogres, causing countless unnecessary deaths and injuries. Those who hate him and resent him are all over Redstone Collection.”
Speaking of this, Karl's voice became cold:
“Moreover, in order to monopolize the arms business, he incited the townspeople to be hostile to the ‘Underground Ark’.
“His death must be a gift from the Year Star to us.”
Having said that, Jiang Baimian didn't ask any more questions, bid farewell politely, and took Shang Jianyao and others out of Redstone Collection.
For the rest of the morning, they drove the jeep leisurely through the city ruins, recording the terrain features of many areas.
Near lunchtime, they returned towards the entrance of Redstone Collection.
As the vehicle was driving, Jiang Baimian's gaze in the passenger seat suddenly froze.
Having been habitually observing the outside situation, she saw a familiar flash of fire in the middle of a building in the distance!
“Left!” Jiang Baimian only had time to shout this one word.
Bai Chen had a great understanding and immediately turned the steering wheel all the way to the left.
A shell flew out of the rocket launcher, heading straight for the jeep.
The attack came suddenly.