Previously, Jiang Baimian had always felt that there was a lack of necessary connection between the events that had occurred – Lei Yunsong, Lin Feifei, and the "Anti-intellectualism Church" had no obvious intersection on the surface. They seemed like two completely unrelated parties, yet they were strangely combined together.
And now, she finally found the missing point, the point located in the middle connecting the two sides:
Xu Liyan, the city lord of Wildgrass City and president of the local Hunter's Guild!
While walking and thinking, Jiang Baimian said to Odick in front of her:
"Were you invited by the city lord?"
Odick did not answer.
Jiang Baimian thoughtfully "muttered to herself":
"I want to meet with the city lord, perhaps that way I can figure out a lot of things."
Odick still did not speak, and walked straight into the guild hall.
...
At the gate of Wildgrass City, Bai Chen drove the jeep with Long Yuehong, slowly driving out.
In the process of searching for the "temporary teachers," they discovered something noteworthy:
A "temporary teacher" named Huang Mingtang, who was supposed to end his vacation yesterday and return to teach the children, had not appeared.
--He could rest for one day every ten days.
According to several parents, Teacher Huang had been teaching their children for almost a year, with reasonable fees and a responsible attitude. He had never encountered such a situation before, and often allowed some families to defer tuition payments for a period of time when they were temporarily in trouble.
These parents originally planned to wait two more days. If Teacher Huang Mingtang still didn't return, they would post a mission at the guild to look for him. Although they couldn't offer much reward, it could at least allow the ruin hunters to accumulate some credit points.
--In Wildgrass City, some affairs that should have been undertaken by the city hall and the city defense force had gradually been transferred to the Hunter's Guild in the form of posting and completing missions.
Just as Bai Chen and Long Yuehong's group came to investigate as ruin hunters, the parents simply entrusted them and specially posted a mission at the guild hall for them to take on.
The reward was 2 Ore and 10 credit points.
Bai Chen and Long Yuehong quickly found Huang Mingtang's rented residence based on the clues provided by the parents, and learned from the doorman there that this "temporary teacher" went to his home outside the city on the evening before his official vacation and didn't seem to have returned since then.
Huang Mingtang's parents worked as servants on a manor outside the city. He grew up there, and thanks to the kindness of the manor owner, he learned to read and write and read books.
Later, he accompanied the young master as a ruin hunter for a period of time, made some contributions, and was graciously allowed to become a free citizen.
He didn't like fighting and killing too much, and didn't want to venture into the wilderness, so he ultimately chose to be a "temporary teacher" to support himself.
Without further ado, Bai Chen decided to go to the manor outside the city to ask about it before dark.
After being stuck at the city gate for a few minutes, the military-green jeep drove out of Wildgrass City.
Long Yuehong, in the passenger seat, subconsciously looked outside and was stunned by the scene in front of him.
So many people.
There were so many people outside the city.
They knelt or sat on both sides of the road, spreading out far away, difficult to count.
Further away, there were dugouts, temporary makeshift tents, as if they had become different gathering points for wilderness wanderers.
These people looked ahead with pale faces and numb expressions, shivering in the cold wind, but no one spoke.
From time to time, a few children's cries rang out, sounding so weak.
Whenever someone with fully armed bodyguards walked among them, picking back and forth, a little hope would appear on their faces.
When a few lucky ones were bought, the remaining people simultaneously revealed expressions of disappointment, and then returned to their numb expressions.
"Do they all have infectious diseases? It doesn't seem like it..." Long Yuehong whispered to himself.
He remembered that on the day they came to Wildgrass City, the wanderers who gathered here could be put into the city and find opportunities as long as they were checked and found to be free of infectious diseases.
Bai Chen made the vehicle speed up a bit:
"There are too many.
"If so many people flood into the city, they will be countless bombs that can explode at any time."
Long Yuehong thought about it carefully and understood:
"So, we can only let them stay outside and let those who want to buy them come out and pick them themselves?"
Bai Chen nodded:
"Wildgrass City can't accommodate so many slaves. We can only see if the 'First City' can send people over in time to collect them.
"Eugen's slave-catching team could originally handle a batch, but now it's unclear."
Hearing this, Long Yuehong suddenly felt a little surprised:
"Do you mean that the leader and Shang Jianyao killed a villain like Eugen, but it will cause the deaths of a batch of innocent people instead?"
Bai Chen said in a senior's tone:
"You have to get used to this kind of thing.
"Although Eugen is a scoundrel who deserves to be cut into pieces, his purpose is only to make money. But in the current environment, he can indeed bring vitality to many people."
Not all the people who are bought will be sent to the mines and die in a few years.
Long Yuehong fell silent, and only after a long while did he say:
"This damn world!"
"Eugen's slave-catching team may soon have a new leader. They shouldn't let go of the opportunity to make money." Bai Chen also glanced at the side. "There are so many people, and new wanderers come every day. If it is not resolved in a few days, there may be a major riot..."
She had seen similar things.
At that time, it was truly a human tragedy.
While speaking, the jeep finally drove out of this area and turned towards the Turbid River.
After bypassing a forest with withered leaves and driving for another four or five minutes, Long Yuehong saw many fields.
In winter, they also looked desolate.
Soon, the jeep arrived at the entrance of the manor and was stopped by a team of armed guards.
Bai Chen took out her hunter badge and explained that she wanted to find Huang Mingtang's parents.
They were not allowed to enter the manor, but one of the guards helped them deliver a message and found the couple.
Huang Mingtang's parents looked to be in their fifties, and their hair had turned quite a bit white.
"A'tang didn't go back? He left the night before last!" After listening to Long Yuehong's narration, Huang Mingtang's mother immediately became a little anxious.
Bai Chen frowned slightly and said:
"Was there anything unusual before he left?"
"No." Huang Mingtang's mother repeatedly shook her head. "I just urged him to find a wife."
Huang Mingtang's father looked honest and simple, and the exposed skin was tanned a bit black. Many places were even chapped.
He recalled and said:
"A'tang was anxious to leave before 5 o'clock. From here to the city, relying on walking alone would take more than half an hour. After dark, there would also be some starving beasts..."
Speaking of this, Huang Mingtang's father said worriedly:
"Could he have encountered those beasts?"
Bai Chen and Long Yuehong exchanged glances and said:
"We'll look along the way."
In the hopeful eyes of the couple, they got into the car and returned the way they came.
This time, they drove much slower than before, paying close attention to the surrounding environment and getting out of the car from time to time to check.
After a while, the jeep returned to the outside of that forest.
Although the leaves had fallen almost entirely in winter, it was still difficult to see the deeper parts due to the obstruction of the trees.
Bai Chen stopped the jeep and said to Long Yuehong:
"Watch the car."
Long Yuehong was very familiar with this. He held the "Ice Moss" pistol and stood next to the jeep, vigilantly guarding his surroundings.
Bai Chen also drew her gun and walked into the forest very slowly.
After bypassing a thick tree, her pupils suddenly dilated a bit.
In the depths of the forest, a man wearing a dark red cotton-padded jacket was hanging there on a tree branch that wasn't too high but looked very sturdy, without any movement.
A brown-yellow leather belt was wrapped around his neck, and his pants seemed to be about to fall off at any moment.
The wuwu wind blew, and the man gently swayed.
...
Second floor of "A'Fu Gun Shop."
"Huang Mingtang hanged himself?" Jiang Baimian said with lingering fear after listening to Bai Chen's report. "Zeng Guangwang's luck is really good."
She immediately told about her progress as well.
"That 'Anti-intellectualism Church' is like crazy." Long Yuehong sincerely sighed.
Now, when he recalled the reaction of Huang Mingtang's parents after seeing their son's body, he felt a little sad.
Shang Jianyao glanced at him:
"When did you get the illusion that they aren't crazy?"
"I, I initially thought they were just an illiterate organization, just burning books for nothing." Long Yuehong admitted that he hadn't seen the world.
"Arson is already a serious crime." Jiang Baimian said, and then reminded, "You have to be careful recently. That 'priest' is very dangerous, very dangerous."
Long Yuehong's heart rose:
"What do we do next?"
"For the time being, we can only see what Odick can find out. I hope he can find at least one member of the 'Anti-intellectualism Church.'" Jiang Baimian was also waiting for Odick to reply whether the city lord was willing to meet them.
She turned to ask Bai Chen:
"Is there any progress on the radio transceiver?"
"I found someone who can assemble it himself. The price is very cheap. I'll talk to him tomorrow." Bai Chen nodded.
Jiang Baimian breathed a sigh of relief and smiled at Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong:
"Look, look, this is your professional matter. Learn from it."
"If there are enough parts, I can." Shang Jianyao immediately responded.
"What is enough?" Jiang Baimian keenly asked.
Shang Jianyao answered frankly:
"Give me a chance to practice."
Jiang Baimian didn't bother to pay attention to him anymore.
At this time, it was already dark. Because of the continuous deaths of Liu Dazhuang and Eugen, the number of patrolmen outside had increased a lot.
The "Old Task Force" ate dinner and returned to their rooms, maintaining their weapons and discussing the "Anti-intellectualism Church" without boundaries for a while.
When the power went out, they quickly washed up and went to bed, preparing to go to bed early and rise early.
In the middle of the night, Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao's door was suddenly knocked on.
As the dong dong dong sound echoed, Shang Jianyao brushed out of bed and ran to the door.
The hand behind his back was holding an "Ice Moss."
Jiang Baimian also silently got up and aimed at the door.
Outside the door was Gu Changle, the "A'Fu Gun Shop" shareholder who raised money to hire a "temporary teacher."
The lady was wearing a thick cotton-padded jacket and seemed to have gotten up in a hurry as well.
She didn't notice Shang Jianyao's anomaly and said somewhat urgently:
"Teacher An has come to find you.
"She seems to be injured and is downstairs!"
An Ruxiang? This name immediately popped up in Jiang Baimian's mind.
ps: Asking for monthly tickets at the beginning of the month~