Walking more than ten meters, Jiang Bai Mian smiled without looking back:
"Judging from her reaction, she should have broken free from the influence."
Before Shang Jian Yao could speak, Jiang Bai Mian changed the subject:
"They are so sloppy in their work. I thought they would 'inquire' about Xiao Hong, but it ended just like that. All the preparations were for nothing."
"Isn't that a good thing?" Shang Jian Yao asked back in a very cooperative manner.
"Of course it's a good thing." Jiang Bai Mian smiled, "I just want to tell you, don't be overconfident in your abilities like Audick. The necessary procedures and steps are still required. This can help you identify and fix any oversights. Well... Whether it's 'Reasoning Clown' or the other two abilities, with prior preparation, they can be restrained to some extent, or not be affected much."
Shang Jian Yao turned his head to look at his team leader, and replied seriously:
"I still have companions to rely on, to protect my flanks and back, and to charge together."
"...Do you have to have such a good memory? Saying that suddenly is very awkward, okay?" Jiang Bai Mian tasted what it's like to be hoist with one's own petard.
As they spoke, they walked into the Hunter's Guild, intending to grasp the changes in the situation brought about by Eugene's death from the mission postings, and find new clues related to Fei Fei of the Thundercloud Pine Forest.
Before they had time to browse the contents on the big screen, Jiang Bai Mian saw Audick coming down from the second floor, walking towards them.
She smiled and took the initiative to greet him:
"Good morning, any new clues?"
Audick shook his head:
"Didn't find any.
"What about you guys?"
Jiang Bai Mian said frankly:
"We asked around in the bar area last night, and no one has seen anyone resembling Lin Fei Fei."
Audick glanced at the two people in front of him and suddenly asked:
"Eugene's matter, wouldn't it be you guys who did it?"
It just so happened to be a combination of a man and a woman, and they were in Wolf Alley.
Jiang Bai Mian laughed:
"Before I was asked yesterday, I didn't even know this person."
Audick's gaze swept over Shang Jian Yao and Jiang Bai Mian's faces, which were cleaner and more handsome than most wasteland hunters, and he nodded almost imperceptibly:
"You guys really don't have a motive."
Of course, Jiang Bai Mian didn't want to continue this topic. She smiled and said:
"I can give you a piece of information related to Lei Yun Song and Lin Fei Fei.
"But you have to promise to exchange it for news of equal value."
Audick didn't directly agree, but asked back:
"Is this information you obtained before?"
He didn't quite believe that the two people in front of him could find new clues faster than him.
He had absolute confidence in tracking the whereabouts of targets.
"Yes." Jiang Bai Mian nodded with a smile.
Jiang Bai Mian looked around, pretending to be very cautious, and said:
"Lei Yun Song and Lin Fei Fei visited a high-level member of the guild more than a month ago.
"I don't know who it is specifically."
Shang Jian Yao glanced at the left hand of team leader in her pocket and didn't expose the fact that she was actually using Audick to complete the investigation of this lead.
As a "Senior Hunter," Audick always had the opportunity to deal with the high-level members of the local Hunter's Guild.
"Visited a high-level member of the guild..." Audick repeated thoughtfully, his expression a little puzzled.
Then, he politely raised his hand and shook it slightly:
"Thank you, see you next time."
"What about the news for us?" Jiang Bai Mian wasn't surprised, but a little curious.
The corners of Audick's mouth twitched slightly, revealing a bit of a smile:
"I'll tell you after I figure out which high-level member it was and what they discussed.
"Isn't that the information you want most?"
"Deal!" Jiang Bai Mian's smile remained unchanged.
After Audick turned and left, she sighed to Shang Jian Yao beside her:
"He still has some brains..."
"Without a little bit of brains, relying only on ability, he would have died long ago." Shang Jian Yao replied.
"That's true..." Jiang Bai Mian nodded in agreement.
After browsing the missions scrolling on the big screen, Jiang Bai Mian turned her wrist to check the time, led Shang Jian Yao out of the Hunter's Guild, walked to the central square, and found a park bench to sit down.
After another quarter of an hour, she stood up and said:
"I'm going to the library."
"Are there toilets there?" Shang Jian Yao suddenly asked.
"Probably..." Jiang Bai Mian wasn't so sure.
Shang Jian Yao nodded slightly:
"Remember to observe later.
"People who like the library wouldn't be unclear about this issue."
Jiang Bai Mian originally wanted to scold him for such a strange theory, but after thinking about it carefully, she felt it made some sense.
Because the library was where she and Chen Xu Feng "connected" and exchanged information, she always felt that she couldn't stay there for too long. Both times, she left in a hurry, only paying attention to possible escape routes in case of an accident.
This would actually seem a bit suspicious.
Who goes into the library and comes out in less than ten minutes without borrowing a book?
"Not bad, your thinking has become more meticulous." Jiang Bai Mian didn't skimp on her praise, and then laughed, "During the conversation just now, I always felt like we had the scripts reversed."
Shang Jian Yao looked at her strangely:
"I just happened to want to go to the toilet, that's why I thought of this question."
As he spoke, he also stood up.
Before Jiang Bai Mian could start "scolding," he added:
"I've been trying to learn your way of thinking."
Jiang Bai Mian's eyebrows softened:
"Very good.
"But don't abandon your own characteristics either. Only in this way can we complement each other. Two Jiang Bai Mians are definitely not as good as one Jiang Bai Mian plus one Shang Jian Yao."
"You forgot Bai Chen and Long Yue Hong." Shang Jian Yao pointed out.
Jiang Bai Mian rolled her eyes, looked at the ceiling, and didn't bother to argue about this issue.
After entering the library, after Shang Jian Yao asked the librarian where the toilet was, Jiang Bai Mian leisurely strolled through the bookshelf area, occasionally picking up a book she hadn't read and flipping through it, fully enjoying the joy of swimming in the ocean of knowledge.
After a long time, she walked to a familiar place, in a familiar position, picked up the book *Domestic Revenue Code*, and took out the folded paper inside.
She quickly unfolded the paper and browsed through it:
"The company's feedback is as follows:
"'Anti-Intellectualism Church' is like 'Congregation of Idiotic Beings' and 'Church of Truth Nihilism', all religious organizations that believe in the End of the Third Month Cycle, but there are certain differences in specific ideas, and the main areas of propagation are also largely different, with some overlaps...
"This cult believes that the destruction of the Old World stemmed from human thinking and the pursuit of knowledge, hoping to solve this problem from the root...
"They have a certain number of Awakened ones within them, and the abilities they display are very mixed, but it can be seen that hypnosis and memory-related fields are the most common...
"Two years ago, this cult assassinated Sols, an elder of the Senate who presided over civic education in Initial City, and was hit hard. They disappeared for a long time...
"It is said that the cultist who led that assassination is still alive. He is a very dangerous and extreme person.
"He is male, appearance unknown, height unknown, and his nickname is 'Father'..."
"Father... hypnosis, memory..." Jiang Bai Mian repeated these words silently, her expression becoming quite serious.
At this moment, she had a new understanding of the abnormalities in Lei Yun Song and Lin Fei Fei.
After putting away the paper, she wandered around the library for a while, and then went out to meet Shang Jian Yao, who had already finished using the toilet.
She didn't mention the information she had just received, and directly took Shang Jian Yao back to the second floor of "A Fu Gun Shop."
After closing the door, she took out the paper and handed it to Shang Jian Yao:
"Take a look first."
The weather was overcast today, and the light in the room was insufficient. Shang Jian Yao walked all the way to the window before looking down at the contents of the paper.
"Any thoughts?" Seeing that he had almost finished reading, Jiang Bai Mian asked.
Shang Jian Yao said seriously:
"I want to beat up that person called 'Father'."
Jiang Bai Mian was no longer surprised by such words:
"It's not necessarily him who is in charge here."
"Let's just assume it is." Shang Jian Yao tried to persuade the team leader.
Jiang Bai Mian "followed good advice" and said "Mm-hmm" twice:
"In this case, Lei Yun Song and Lin Fei Fei were likely hypnotized, or their memories were tampered with.
"Therefore, they can obviously move freely, but they don't contact the company.
"The problem is, what about the remaining three team members? Why is there no trace of them at all?
"Why did the 'Anti-Intellectualism Church' hypnotize Lin Fei Fei and the others? It couldn't just be to find some gunmen, right?"
Shang Jian Yao disagreed:
"Judging from their intelligence, that's possible."
"This is troublesome. I can't deduce the thinking of this kind of person..." Jiang Bai Mian said with some difficulty, "But from the current point of view, the 'Anti-Intellectualism Church' is only letting ordinary believers give up thinking, and the chosen ones inside are responsible for guiding them. They shouldn't be stupid."
Speaking of this, she remembered something:
"Do you remember the incident where you were suspected of being attacked in the company?"
"I remember." Shang Jian Yao suddenly became interested, "Could he be a spy that the End of Cycle cult planted in the Order of Destiny?"
"Not necessarily... Now it seems that although most of the Awakened ones within each religious organization are in the domain of the corresponding Cycle, there are also many exceptions... I don't know if it's because Awakening can only be guided and can't be precisely controlled, or if the higher-ups are doing it deliberately to avoid the abilities being too pure and being restrained by hostile forces?" Jiang Bai Mian said thoughtfully, "In short, we have to remind Xiao Bai and Xiao Hong to prepare later to prevent the influence of hypnosis or memory."
Around noon, Bai Chen and Long Yue Hong returned, reporting all kinds of news they had inquired about in the morning:
"Regarding Eugene's disappearance, there are now three main suspects.
"One is Zhao Zheng Qi, the head of the Zhao Mansion in North Street. He is a member of the Wildgrass City Aristocratic Council, and he is also organizing slave hunts. He and Eugene's gang are competitors, and they have had many unpleasant encounters.
"The second is Sun Jing, the younger brother of Sun Fei, the leader of the underground trading market. He has a bar and a nightclub in Wolf Alley, and he supports a group of thugs. He is suspected because his most beloved daughter disappeared more than two years ago and is suspected of being kidnapped by Eugene.
"The third is some members of the Aristocratic Council. They deliberately made Eugene disappear, wanting to use this as an excuse to bring that slave hunting team and the Initial City army into the city to achieve ulterior motives."
After listening, Jiang Bai Mian said amusingly:
"It's really convincing. I almost believed it was one of these three, if we weren't the real culprits."