Shang Jianyao tightened his grip on Lopes' neck, preventing him from finishing his sentence.
At that moment, he used Lopes' body to shield himself from the three guns on the left side of the ATV, leaving his back to Jiang Baimian.
As he rushed forward, Jiang Baimian, with a mix of helplessness and understanding, drew her "Joint 202" and aimed at one of Lopes' subordinates.
She believed that even if the other one didn't care about accidentally hitting Lopes, they wouldn't be able to pull the trigger at such a crucial moment.
They were both within the range of "missing hand actions."
Lopes tried to struggle, but Shang Jianyao drew his "Ice Moss" with his other hand, pressing the muzzle against Lopes' chest.
Looking at the lively monkey mask, Lopes couldn't read any emotion in Shang Jianyao's eyes. He could only raise his hands to surrender.
Shang Jianyao pulled him down from the ATV's hood, released his grip on his neck, and then smoothed his disheveled collar, patted the dust off his chest and abdomen, and said with a friendly smile:
"Isn't this much better?"
After doing all this, he maintained his aiming posture and retreated step by step to Jiang Baimian's side.
This change left the battle-hardened Lopes extremely bewildered, unable to grasp Shang Jianyao's true intentions or figure out what he wanted to do.
He could only sense some inexplicable madness.
Seeing that the other party had voluntarily given up the opportunity to control him, Lopes narrowed his eyes slightly, preparing to get his own back.
He wasn't the kind of person who would swallow his anger after suffering a loss. His position in An Hebas's gang was all earned through fighting, never relying on his height and physique to inflate his status through bluster.
If he were inexplicably beaten today and didn't kill the guy on the spot, or fight back, he believed that he would definitely become a laughingstock in the eyes of the Redstone Town residents and fugitive desperados under An Hebas. He would no longer be the iron-blooded, ruthless, fearsome, and worthy-of-following "Giant" Lopes.
Just then, Jiang Baimian raised her left hand and held up three fingers.
With a poof, dirt and mud splattered beside the tan ATV, revealing a bullet crater.
Someone fired a shot from a distance!
Lopes and his subordinates reflexively made evasive maneuvers, either shrinking behind the tires or rolling and diving into a pile of concrete blocks.
It was clear that they were quite experienced.
Jiang Baimian, holding the "Joint 202", smiled with an easygoing expression while remaining inwardly vigilant:
"You should know that there are four people on our team."
On the rooftop of a high-rise building monitoring the surrounding area, Bai Chen had her eyes glued to the scope, her expression unusually focused.
She could fire another shot at any moment, and this time it wouldn't be a warning; it would directly take a life.
Long Yuehong was quite envious of this. He also wanted to play this kind of enemy-deterrent role.
Unfortunately, he also knew that his sniping skills were still quite a bit behind Bai Chen's.
Moreover, he was holding the "Death" man-portable rocket launcher, which had significantly more expensive ammunition and was also prone to collateral damage.
Seeing Lopes and his men hiding while trying to aim in their direction, creating a standoff, Jiang Baimian smiled:
"Wouldn't it be nice for everyone to put down their guns and have a friendly chat?"
"Yes, yes," Shang Jianyao agreed.
*Who was the one who just beat someone up?* Jiang Baimian grumbled inwardly.
She was the first to put away her "Joint 202" to show her sincerity.
Of course, she didn't make any gestures to Bai Chen or Long Yuehong, instructing them to maintain their current state.
Lopes weighed the situation and felt that hiding so timidly didn't fit his image and would make his subordinates look down on him even more. So, he slowly stood up and walked back to the front of the ATV.
He held a "Joint 202", letting the muzzle point towards the ground:
"What exactly do you want to do?"
"Weren't you the one who invited us here?" Jiang Baimian countered.
Lopes was silent for a few seconds, then said with a slightly gritted tone:
"I was providing you with clues.
"Didn't you take over the mission to retrieve the firearms and the case of Hervig's murder?"
"Yes," Jiang Baimian asked with a smile. "Currently, there are two possibilities: one is that Buzz is telling the truth, and the firearms are in An Hebas's hands. In that case, Buzz and Hervig's other confidants would lack sufficient motive to kill Hervig because even if Hervig died, they would gain nothing and would only benefit An Hebas. The second is that the firearms actually fell into their hands and have nothing to do with An Hebas. In this case, they would be the most suspicious. Which possibility do you think is more likely?"
Because Shang Jianyao had already made "friends" with Buzz, she believed that the firearms were in An Hebas's possession. She was asking this question only to observe Lopes' reaction.
After listening quietly, Lopes suddenly smiled:
"There's another possibility:
"Neither our boss nor Buzz and his men did it. Hervig's death has nothing to do with the firearms; it was done by his other enemies."
*Lopes is implying that they know Buzz and the others are innocent? At the same time, An Hebas never intended for Hervig to die?* Jiang Baimian tried to interpret the other party's meaning.
Before she could speak, Lopes added:
"Our boss still leans more towards the idea that Buzz and his men did it. With Hervig dead, one of them might be able to inherit his wife, his children, his power, and his resources."
"Are you saying that someone among them might have an affair with Mrs. Theresa?" Jiang Baimian pretended to be persuaded.
Anyway, it couldn't hurt to hear more information.
"I can't give you a definitive answer," Lopes said with restraint. "Our boss once heard Hervig mention that Theresa was very cold to him, always using vigilance as an excuse to reject his advances."
*With Redstone Town's customs, isn't that normal?* Jiang Baimian thought to herself.
She then asked:
"What clues were you going to give us?"
Lopes glanced at Shang Jianyao, who was wearing a monkey mask and standing motionless:
"Hervig's cause of death was excessive fright. Don't you find that strange?"
"It's precisely because it's strange that it seems suspicious," Jiang Baimian said, repeating herself.
Lopes gradually recovered from his previous state of shock and anger after being beaten, and smiled slightly:
"Perhaps it was caused by some Awakened ability.
"Our boss says it appears more often among groups that worship 'Lonely Lady'. Bishop Renato or some Warnders possess it, and Dimarco in the Underground Ark also keeps one."
Jiang Baimian nodded thoughtfully:
"Are you implying that Butler Carl murdered Hervig?"
The Vigilance Church had no motive to mess up Redstone Town; the current state was most in line with their thinking.
"That requires you to investigate. Our boss has no evidence," Lopes said with a smile.
Jiang Baimian hummed and smiled:
"One last question: do you know where the firearms are?"
"That also requires you to investigate yourselves," Lopes said, then suddenly laughed, a laugh that was slightly smug.
This… Jiang Baimian looked at Shang Jianyao with a slightly surprised expression.
Shang Jianyao nodded slightly, indicating that he had indeed added "seasoning."
*Is this a weakened application of "Fastidious"? Like what he did to the fake "Father" before, making him not do anything that would seriously violate his reason or cause him to regret it on the spot, but still unable to resist being a bit fastidious in some details, unconsciously showing off himself?* Jiang Baimian understood somewhat.
And Lopes' smile just now was enough to show that Buzz hadn't lied—Lopes knew where the firearms were, and may have even hidden them himself.
At this moment, Shang Jianyao said something slightly abruptly:
"Six people."
*Two against six? Subdue Lopes, forcibly become "friends," and then retrieve the firearms to complete the mission?* Jiang Baimian understood Shang Jianyao's meaning.
She thought for a moment and realized that the current situation wasn't two against six, but four against six, with Bai Chen and Long Yuehong in sniper positions.
The main problem was that capturing them alive was difficult, and once it started, it would definitely cause considerable casualties. For both sides, who didn't have any deep hatred, it wasn't necessary, nor was it in line with Jiang Baimian's moral bottom line.
"No need to rush," Jiang Baimian replied.
Listening to their slightly strange conversation, Lopes suddenly had a premonition of danger.
He said with a high degree of vigilance:
"I've said everything I need to say."
He wanted to distance himself from this aggressive and powerful group of Ruin Hunters as soon as possible.
"Goodbye," Jiang Baimian said, waving her left hand with a smile.
Lopes didn't get into the ATV immediately. Instead, he had two of his men drive the ATV behind a nearby high-rise building, while he and the others scattered around, following on foot with the help of obstacles, to avoid being wiped out because the target was too concentrated.
"Very vigilant," Shang Jianyao applauded to see them off.
After Lopes and his men disappeared from sight, Jiang Baimian picked up the walkie-talkie and told Bai Chen and the others to come down.
On the way back to the hotel camp, after listening to the retelling, Long Yuehong asked eagerly:
"Are we going to find an opportunity to capture Lopes alive next?"
"Yes," Jiang Baimian didn't object. "Let's report to the company first and see if we can get any useful information."
Shang Jianyao added with a smile:
"We can find a bait to lure Lopes out."
Long Yuehong immediately shrank back, looking at Shang Jianyao warily:
"What do you mean?"
Shang Jianyao said seriously:
"Buzz is a good bait."
"That's true…" Long Yuehong replied blankly.
…………
As the Old Task Force ate a late lunch, "Pangu Biology" returned the telegram.
After Jiang Baimian's translation, the content was revealed:
"Vigilance Church, believes in the October Directory Star 'Lonely Lady'. The highest leader is the Gloomy Pope, followed by the Fear Bishopric, Bishops, and Warnders.
"They call believers 'Awakened Ones'.
"A large portion of the Awakened in this church are skilled at influencing other people's emotions and states. Some are masters of 'Provocation', some are the embodiment of 'Fear', some are 'Friendly' people, some can make people asexual or enhance corresponding abilities…
"Currently, on the Greylands, the Vigilance Church mainly haunts the territories of the 'White Knights' and 'Orange Company', as well as some small and medium-sized settlements."
ps: Requesting monthly votes on the last day of February~