The top floor of the building where "Afu Gun Shop" was located.

Bai Chen rested the "Orange" rifle on the edge of the rooftop, using a rather awkward posture to shoot downwards.

Bang!

In the group of wasteland wanderers trying to break through the barrier at the entrance to the courtyard, one person fell backward, blood flowing freely.

Bai Chen didn't get greedy for credit. He immediately retracted his body, dodging the group's subconscious counterattack.

After a wave of random shooting, this group of wasteland wanderers, having lost their leader and command, could only retreat in a rather chaotic manner, scattering in different directions because the firepower inside the courtyard was still relatively sufficient.

Long Yuehong saw this scene, slightly relieved. He quickly checked the condition of his gun and reloaded it.

This was a rifle he borrowed from the owner of "Afu Gun Shop," who was also Nan Yi's younger brother. It could be used as a sniper rifle.

He and Bai Chen used this to occupy the high ground, cooperating with the neighbors behind the barricades to deal with scattered wasteland wanderers and a small number of city defense troops who had lost order.

During training, Long Yuehong had also mastered sniper skills, but he usually didn't have the opportunity to practice them. After wasting a dozen bullets, he gradually got on track, managing to take down an enemy with two or three shots.

Compared to him, Bai Chen not only hit every shot but was also good at observation, always able to find the leaders of the enemy groups and call them out by name.

As a result, after a few shots, those disorganized enemies would often collapse on their own.

"I wonder when this will end..." Long Yuehong sighed, looking down from the rooftop.

Although these few defenses had been successful and easy, as long as the city continued to be in chaos, no one knew what awaited them next.

"Soon," Bai Chen said, looking back in the direction of North Street. "As long as the upper echelons of Wildgrass City haven't been completely wiped out, once they recover and reorganize their forces, these wasteland wanderers won't be a match."

The simplest fact was that, up until now, they hadn't seen any counterattacks from the city defense troops.

No matter how bad they were, they were still well-trained regular troops who often engaged in real combat in the wilderness. It was impossible for them to collapse at the first touch. Moreover, each of the nobles' residences on North Street could launch multiple cannons and pull out several machine guns at any time, organizing a private army with considerable combat power.

In addition, Bai Chen had also heard that the City Lord's Mansion had close cooperation with "Mechanical Paradise" through the Hunter's Guild, and might be hiding some secret weapons.

As soon as he finished speaking, Bai Chen heard a series of slightly low-pitched rumbles.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Cannons fired continuously from the direction of North Street, causing the ground to shake slightly.

Long Yuehong felt the buildings tremble and didn't know if the city defense troops had finally launched a counterattack, or if the wasteland wanderers had seized enough cannons and started bombarding the barricades.

After this round of shelling, there was a dense sound of gunfire like popping beans.

Before long, the noise surged from the direction of North Street towards the south, as if a large number of people were running frantically towards the city gate.

Immediately afterward, a grand voice from a loudspeaker resounded through the sky:

"Lay down your weapons and put your hands on your heads.

"As long as you surrender, you will receive relief and can enter the manor as slaves."

The message was repeated over and over in the city, mixed with the gradually subsiding noise and gunfire.

Given any chance of survival, few people would resist to the end.

Long Yuehong and Bai Chen looked at each other and sighed.

"It's finally coming to an end..."

...

City Lord's Mansion, inside the Noble Council Hall.

Sitting at the lower end of the long table, Shang Jianyao stroked the small blue and black speaker, saying to everyone with satisfaction:

"Isn't it good for everyone to be so harmonious and sincerely united against external threats?

"If there are any conflicts, we can have a dance-off, an arm wrestle, or see who can keep their eyes open the longest."

Xu Liyan took a breath and deeply agreed:

"Yes, everyone is brothers and sisters, what hurdle can't we overcome?"

"No, no," Morridge, who spoke slowly, retorted. "We have to address each other according to seniority. You still have to call us uncles and elders."

Just as Xu Liyan was about to respond, a guard came over at the door, reporting with a smile:

"City Lord, the first wave of counterattacks has scattered those wasteland wanderers!

"Because of the promise of relief, many of them have given up resisting, and order in the city is gradually being restored.

"The city defense troops who lost contact earlier have also been found and reorganized."

Xu Liyan breathed a sigh of relief and smiled:

"Sure enough, we still have to use a two-pronged approach. We can't be stingy at this time.

"Kindness isn't necessarily worse than selfishness. We have to use different tactics in different situations."

Through this battle, he felt that his authority had been established to some extent. However, everyone was already brothers, and they could discuss things amicably, so there was no need to force it.

After he issued further orders for the aftermath one by one, he saw another guard rush to the door.

"City Lord, the wasteland哨所 of 'First City' reports:

"A regular army from 'First City' has appeared and joined forces with several slave-catching teams."

Xu Liyan narrowed his eyes:

"As expected..."

Jiang Baimian was not surprised at all.

After confirming the "Priest's" true purpose, she suspected that behind the matter was a certain force from "First City" or, directly, the will of the "First City" Senate.

They had long wanted to completely swallow Wildgrass City, a piece of fat with great autonomy.

Xu Liyan then looked around and said with a smile:

"If we hadn't been able to quickly resolve the unrest, they would have had enough reason to station themselves here and stabilize the situation for their subordinate forces."

After speaking, he turned to look at Uncle Liu:

"Send out the drone squadron to bomb the wasteland in front of that army. Just say we're clearing out the rioters and ask them to be sure not to approach, lest they get accidentally injured.

"Hehe, this grand fireworks display should please both host and guest."

"Yes, City Lord!" Uncle Liu replied first, then reminded, "We still have to prioritize harmony afterward."

"I understand," Xu Liyan said, furious but not losing his mind.

For them, staying in "First City" was the best choice, whether considering the resources they could obtain, the trade they could participate in, the protection they could receive, or the degree of autonomy.

Seeing that the situation had been reversed and various affairs were back on track, Jiang Baimian winked at Shang Jianyao.

Shang Jianyao quickly stood up, putting the small speaker back into his tactical backpack as he said:

"We have something to do, so we have to leave first."

"Be sure to come to the dance party after things have completely calmed down!" Zhao Zhengqi's eldest son invited reluctantly.

"If I have time," Shang Jianyao replied with shining eyes.

Xu Liyan looked left and right:

"Aren't you still carrying three people? It's not convenient without a car.

"Someone, drive my specially modified bulletproof off-road vehicle to the door."

After instructing, he looked at Shang Jianyao and said sincerely:

"Don't be disgusted."

"Then I won't stand on ceremony," Shang Jianyao replied with a smile.

...

The military green bulletproof off-road vehicle drove out of the City Lord's Mansion, slowly heading towards the City Hall along North Street.

Jiang Baimian glanced at Wei Yu and the other two in the back seat and asked Shang Jianyao, who was driving:

"How long can you maintain this wave of 'Reasoning Clown'?"

This would determine the time they had to escape Wildgrass City.

Earlier, during the search, they had unexpectedly discovered Wei Yu and other members of the Lei Yunsong team.

Originally, a fierce battle was inevitable, which could likely result in casualties, but fortunately, Oudick was involved. Taking advantage of the suppressive firepower, he found an opportunity to put Wei Yu and the others into a deep sleep.

Because there were many guards nearby at the time, Jiang Baimian didn't have Shang Jianyao use "Reasoning Clown" to handle the aftermath, nor did she directly awaken Wei Yu and the others to try to break the "hypnosis" and greet them as relatives.

She chose to perform shallow anesthesia and take them back for further processing.

Shang Jianyao drove while swaying his body slightly, saying:

"It has already formed a circular argument. Barring accidents, it can be maintained for at least ten and a half days.

"Even if we encounter things in daily life that contradict the 'reasoning result,' as long as they aren't particularly intense and completely opposite, they will be covered up by the circular argument, becoming accumulation until the threshold is reached."

"That's good," Jiang Baimian said, nodding first, then asking curiously, "You just made them believe you were brothers, and they were moved by your spirit to help. This has little to do with many things in real life, and the possibility of a counter-example is quite low. If, if there are no counter-examples, what will happen?"

"Then the Noble Council Hall will become a brotherhood association," Shang Jianyao guessed seriously.

Jiang Baimian chuckled:

"That's unlikely. There are real conflicts between them. As time goes on, they will eventually realize that something is wrong."

Speaking of this, Jiang Baimian turned her body, looked at Shang Jianyao, and asked seriously:

"In this matter just now, what do you think you did wrong?"

Shang Jianyao thought for a while and said:

"I should have sent you away first!"

Jiang Baimian rolled her eyes:

"That's the wrong choice!"

She sighed and said helplessly:

"At least give me a signal before you do it. Don't launch a sudden attack.

"If I had reacted a little slower just now, people would have died!"

"Okay," Shang Jianyao agreed.

When they returned to the alley where "Afu Gun Shop" was located, order in the city had been initially restored, and the obstacles blocking the entrance to the courtyard had been cleared away.

After settling Wei Yu and the others, they didn't go out again, staying in the room and listening to the sporadic gunfire.

At five o'clock in the afternoon, the sky gradually darkened, and Wildgrass City finally returned to stability.

Shang Jianyao and the others split into two groups, left the alley, and came to South Street to assess the current situation.

At this time, many people were sitting in front of the battered and tattered shops. They were either bent over, looking at the ground, sobbing softly, or staring at the street ahead, silently shedding tears.

The streets were full of patrolling city defense troops, and many citizens and wanderers were helping to collect corpses in order to obtain more food.

One dead person after another was dragged away, leaving behind trails of blood red marks on the ground.

Long Yuehong suddenly felt a chill on his face and subconsciously looked up at the sky.

Low-hanging clouds were like lead, and grains of crystal ice were falling down, more and more.

Long Yuehong stared blankly at this scene, extending his right hand to catch the ice while saying softly:

"It's snowing..."