Hearing Jiang Baimian's words, Long Yuehong's mouth opened slightly, unable to hide his shock.
So there's that angle...
Isn't that too treacherous?
Don't mention it, it's actually possible!
"The essence is infighting?" After a while, Long Yuehong raised the question again.
Shang Jianyao expressed a different opinion:
"Maybe it's just another form of hide-and-seek."
Hiding the arms and letting everyone find them.
"How is that possible?" Long Yuehong blurted out, then suddenly froze.
He pondered for a few seconds and said in disbelief:
"Could it be that the arms weren't robbed at all, but were hidden by Hervig and his people, and the purpose was to frame the Ashlanders of Redstone Town?"
"That possibility is not ruled out." Jiang Baimian looked at the ruins flashing by in the rearview mirror and replied with a smile, "Look, uh, think about it, Hervig had quite a few subordinates, Teresa told us about four or five confidants, and that's just the core members of a team. So, why did he choose to publish the task at the Guild during his lifetime? Isn't it more useful, convenient, and efficient to organize people to find it himself than to entrust it to wasteland wanderers?"
Bai Chen, who was driving, chimed in:
"Normally, merchants who can do arms trading aren't weak, at least they can be worth four or five ordinary wasteland wanderer teams."
This was from the perspectives of the number of subordinates and the firepower they possessed.
Although the Old Task Force was definitely not included in the ranks of ordinary wasteland wanderer teams, others didn't know. On the surface, they were just a Mid-Rank Hunter and three of the most common Formal Hunters, let alone a High-Rank Hunter, not even a Seasoned Hunter.
Their most impressive achievement was the "solved the Liu Dazhuang shooting case" in their badge resume.
"That's right, why?" After being said by Jiang Baimian, Long Yuehong also noticed the illogical nature of the matter.
Jiang Baimian had just revealed a smile, and before she could speak, Shang Jianyao interjected:
"Because we represent justice!"
Jiang Baimian gritted her teeth:
"This task was definitely not prepared specifically for us, nor was it provided to those wasteland wanderers who belong to Redstone Town—for believers of the Vigilance Church, forming a larger wasteland wanderer team is a very dangerous thing; guarding against companions may be harder than guarding against enemies. And without a larger team, the townspeople who know Hervig's strength shouldn't take this task.
"In other words, this is a task that is open to outsiders and has no special restrictions.
"So, what advantages do outsiders have compared to local residents?"
Long Yuehong answered carefully:
"More objective, no inclination, the investigation results are trustworthy, and easier to control..."
As he said the latter half of the sentence, he vaguely grasped something.
Jiang Baimian smiled and continued:
"Actually, the situation is now initially clear. Regardless of whether the 'robbers' are Ashlanders or Red River people, this matter is deepening the internal contradictions of Redstone Town.
"And if our investigation results point to the Ashlanders, the Red River people will have an excuse to attack."
Long Yuehong suddenly understood:
"So that's how it is...
"Then what should we do? Getting involved in this kind of thing is definitely very dangerous..."
Although he felt that the Old Task Force could average one against three or one against four, and could deal with a bandit group of a dozen people, this kind of storm that could involve hundreds of armed personnel couldn't even stir up much of a wave with four people who weren't made of steel.
--Because they believe in the Vigilance Church, the townspeople of Redstone Town have all hidden themselves, making it impossible for Long Yuehong to judge the specific number, but judging from the scale of the town, he believes that there must be two or three hundred adults.
Jiang Baimian smiled:
"Of course, we must first find an ally."
"Ally?" Long Yuehong was completely confused.
"Think about it, which force least wants Redstone Town to be in chaos, leaving only Red River people or Ashlanders?" Jiang Baimian induced step by step.
Long Yuehong carefully thought about it and eliminated them one by one before saying:
"Vigilance Church?"
"That's right." Jiang Baimian nodded with satisfaction, "As far as the Vigilance Church is concerned, it's best if there's constant small-scale chaos here, but no major chaos, with each being vigilant and guarding against each other. This is the best situation, which can best reflect and abide by their doctrine. Once Redstone Town only has a single group, the 'need' to hide will be much smaller. Otherwise, why do you think Hervig looked for outsiders to investigate? Without a sufficiently legitimate reason for declaring war, they cannot break through the restraints of the Vigilance Church."
With such a connection from beginning to end, Long Yuehong no longer had any doubts.
He looked back at the Low-Rise Area and said:
"Then are we going back to the church now?"
He inexplicably felt that Bishop Renato entrusting their team to find Vielle was likely a thing done in passing—solving his own difficulties while establishing contact with the personnel responsible for investigating the arms case, demonstrating the existence of the Vigilance Church.
"Don't rush, this is just analysis, it doesn't represent the facts." Jiang Baimian said with a smile, "Let's dawdle for two days and see who can't help but jump out first."
As she spoke, she raised her hands and stretched.
Long Yuehong was speechless.
Shang Jianyao sighed:
"Really, they don't understand the importance of peace.
"If I were the bishop, I would add a find-a-friend ritual to hide-and-seek every time I hold mass.
"Looking, looking, looking for friends..."
As he spoke, he began to sing.
That Shang Jianyao Brotherhood Redstone Town branch will be established... Long Yuehong slandered in his heart, interrupting:
"Then what was the reason for Hervig's death?
"They hid the arms and framed the Ashlanders, and then someone in the gang became greedy and found a chance to kill Hervig?"
Clap clap clap, Shang Jianyao applauded:
"You finally have the qualifications to be a radio drama screenwriter."
Jiang Baimian's eyes flickered slightly:
"The premise is that very few people know about hiding the arms, otherwise it's impossible to kill everyone.
"Next, let's see who else will die."
Speaking of this, she turned her head to look at Bai Chen and asked with a smile:
"If they've distributed all the arms, a few to each person, we won't be able to determine if they are the target goods, since there are no markings.
"How did you used to handle it?"
She had a piece of paper in her hand at some point, which was the arms list provided by the Hunter's Guild:
"200 United 202s, 200 Tronge assault rifles..."
Bai Chen replied calmly:
"The employer cares about whether they can get enough goods back, not where the goods came from or how they got them."
"Then it might be faster for us to just rob them directly, but if we're already robbing, why would I return them to the employer?" Jiang Baimian said with a smile.
Shang Jianyao immediately suggested with great interest:
"We can drag the goods in front of the employer and let him shout, and if he shouts yes, they belong to him."
Jiang Baimian shook her head with a tsk:
"You haven't seen those intelligent machines.
"They will not only respond to you, but also argue with you."
............
Near noon, the Old Task Force, after visiting several of Hervig's confidants, returned to Redstone Town.
They didn't rush to the Security Department to deal with Hervig's death case. Instead, they first followed the prompts on each floor and found a shop called Nontoxic Restaurant.
There were six or seven tables in the shop, some large and some small, each corresponding to some chairs and stools.
As expected, Jiang Baimian saw at a glance that there was no one inside, not even the chef or the boss.
"Ah..." She sighed amusingly.
At the same time, Shang Jianyao strode into the kitchen and squatted in front of the stove.
Dong dong dong, he knocked on the cabinet door below the stove.
Soon, the cabinet door opened outward, and a slightly fat man crawled out.
He was wearing a rather loose cotton coat, tied with a white apron, and wearing a mask from some Old World drama on his face, with a white background and thick eyebrows.
The man muttered in Grey Earth language as he came out:
"The vegetables are in the freezer, you can make them yourself, or you can let me make them."
Some of his black hair stood up, as if it was caused by sleeping without drying his hair after washing it.
"What needs to be exchanged?" Jiang Baimian interrupted Shang Jianyao's possible whims.
She switched to Grey Earth language.
The chef breathed a sigh of relief, thought for a while, and said:
"I don't lack food, just gold and silver coins from First City, or exchange them for weapons."
"Weapons." Among the supplies that Jiang Baimian exchanged for the bulletproof off-road vehicle were a batch of easy-to-carry firearms.
"You decide what to cook first." The chef walked to the large freezer and opened the lid.
There were many ingredients inside, but the types were not very rich. The meats were pork, beef, lamb, chicken, duck, and fish, and the vegetables were cabbage and radish.
"There's quite a lot." Jiang Baimian praised sincerely.
In Grey Earth, this was one of the manifestations of being superior.
Of course, restaurants definitely need to stock ingredients, but the amount of stock reflects the Strength.
The chef said with a slight smile:
"Our family mainly does food trading, running a restaurant is just a side business."
Well, still a smuggler of grain and meat... As expected of Redstone Town... Jiang Baimian muttered in her heart while starting to pick:
"A serving of ribs, braised in soy sauce; a chicken, similar to the way it's made with potatoes and chicken, put whatever you want for the side dishes..."
As she ordered, she saw Shang Jianyao touching his stomach, as if the names of the dishes alone made him drool.
After ordering this round, Jiang Baimian asked the chef:
"What are the specialties of your Redstone Town?
"By the way, what should I call you?"
"Just call me Lao Chen." The chef paused before saying, "Our specialty here is the fusion of some Red River cuisine practices. For example, we use beef steak for braising and stewing, but it takes too long. Also, we have improved pea stewed mutton, with more broth, which is suitable for situations where rice is plentiful..."
"Then give me a serving." Jiang Baimian said generously, "How much stuff do you need in total?"
"A United 202, other pistols are fine too, and thirty corresponding bullets." Lao Chen thought for a while and said.
"Okay." Jiang Baimian agreed and asked Bai Chen and Long Yuehong to return to the jeep to retrieve the firearms and ammunition.
As she watched Lao Chen start to get busy, she asked casually:
"Have you heard about Hervig's matter?"
Lao Chen's movements paused:
"I heard.
"Heh, what's it called? He who does many unrighteous deeds will surely destroy himself!"