Jitish recalled and said:
"I've heard of them."
As Shang Jianyao's eyes lit up, Jitish continued:
"Every summer, they send convoys over, using grain and meat to exchange for coal, steel, and other things, hauling them away truckload after truckload."
"Then do you know where Suimo City is?" Shang Jianyao eagerly pressed.
Jitish shook her head:
"Even in internal communications, they never mentioned anything about that."
Clearly, she had used "Heavenly Ear Penetration" to eavesdrop on the Suimo City convoy's activities.
"They're very careful..." Jiang Baimian sighed with emotion.
She wasn't surprised at all by this.
Mid- to small-sized forces like Suimo City either sought refuge with organizations like "First City" and "Pangu Biology" or relied on their geographical advantages to prevent attacks.
Although Suimo City was located in the icefields, a considerable distance from major powers, as long as they revealed their precise location, they would inevitably become a tempting target in the eyes of many come summer.
Jitish glanced at the members of the "Old Task Force" and said:
"If you want to find people from Suimo City, you can stay in Gestaltburg until summer."
"Mm." Jiang Baimian remained noncommittal.
If their "staking out" plan failed, Jitish's suggestion was an option.
Leaving the hotel, Shang Jianyao took a deep breath, genuinely impressed:
"Today's air quality is three hundred and sixty-seven point five five percent better than yesterday."
"How did you calculate that?" Genawe was surprised that Shang Jianyao had used such a precise number.
Shang Jianyao smiled triumphantly:
"I'm imitating you, Old Ge!
"As for the specific number, I made it up on the spot. What do you think? Want me to make up another one?"
As an artificial intelligence, Genawe was temporarily speechless.
Jiang Baimian looked up at the sky, helping to defuse the awkwardness:
"The weather is indeed good today."
A strong wind blew in from the icefield, clearing away the gloomy haze that had enveloped Gestaltburg.
"It's blowing so hard I'm a bit cold." Long Yuehong tightened his gray camouflage jacket.
Even though summer was not far off, Gestaltburg, near the icefield, remained cool.
Simply put, in Gestaltburg, it was relatively hot in places exposed to the sun, and relatively cold standing in the shade with the wind blowing.
"Mm-hm." Bai Chen also pulled up the scarf around her neck.
She no longer had a slave number, and her psychological knot had been untied. She wore the scarf purely because the wind was a little cold on her neck.
Jiang Baimian then looked around:
"Let's go, drive to replenish supplies."
…………
In the evening, the well-fed "Old Task Force" gathered together to discuss the matter of "Room 503."
Except for Shang Jianyao, the opinions of the others were very consistent, which was:
Don't go in for the time being.
"You don't currently have a way to resist infection from 'Heartless Disease.' Exploring Jiang Xiaoyue's room is equivalent to throwing meat buns at a dog—a one-way trip." Jiang Baimian said seriously to Shang Jianyao.
In a sense, "503" was more dangerous than "205," which represented the Kalpa "Dawn's" dreamscape. After all, dreams weren't necessarily dangerous, or the corresponding dangers weren't necessarily impossible to avoid. But "503," which could infect explorers with "Heartless Disease," seemed almost impossible to deal with at the moment.
"Then when will we be able to explore it?" Shang Jianyao asked aggrievedly, "I've been spiritually connected with Jiang Xiaoyue for a long time. We can be considered friends, so it shouldn't be that dangerous, uh, one-sided friends."
Jiang Baimian rolled her eyes and said:
"Based on the information we have, only 'New World' powerhouses can resist infection from 'Heartless Disease' with their individual strength."
"If we're already in the 'New World,' then how can we explore '503'?" Shang Jianyao was always clear-headed in this regard.
Hearing this, Bai Chen raised a question:
"Can 'New World' powerhouses enter the 'Mind Corridor' in reverse?"
After a brief silence, Shang Jianyao clapped his hands:
"That's a good question."
"What we can say for sure now is that the Kalpas all have corresponding rooms on the 'Mind Corridor.'" Jiang Baimian pondered.
There were concrete examples of this, such as "Dawn" and "205," and "Zhuang Sheng's" "102."
"In that case, the mind rooms of 'New World' powerhouses are still preserved." Genawe made a deduction based on the facts, "What we don't know yet is whether their mind rooms can be opened from the inside out as they could before entering the 'New World.'"
Opening from the outside in should be no problem, as Shang Jianyao had entered "Zhuang Sheng's" "102," but hadn't done any substantial exploration.
At this moment, Shang Jianyao's mind jumped, and he clapped and laughed:
"If 'New World' powerhouses can freely enter and exit the 'Mind Corridor,' and the enemy knows my room number, then I could die at any moment."
"Don't worry, you have the aura of a Kalpa lingering in your 'Sea of Origins.'" Long Yuehong felt that this guy wasn't worried about such things at all.
The "Old Task Force" now tentatively determined that Xiao Chong was equal to Du Shaochong's childhood, which was part of "Zhuang Sheng's" descent body.
"Yes, yes." Shang Jianyao said with sparkling eyes, "I'm just waiting for them to visit my room. I, uh, Xiao Chong and I will treat them well and play games!"
His attention diverted, he had already forgotten about exploring "Room 503."
…………
Late at night, inside the "Mind Corridor," Shang Jianyao stood opposite his own room, sighing:
"Why can't I find the mind room of a Suimo City Awakened?
"It's one thing if I can't find it, but why hasn't a single Suimo City 'Mind Corridor' level Awakened had the chance to explore my room?"
After thinking it over, they decided they couldn't just wait for something to happen; they had to take the initiative.
Since each room only had a number, and the order was also chaotic, the Shang Jianyaos couldn't tell which one would correspond to a person from Suimo City, making it difficult to conduct an active search.
He believed that it would be easier to manipulate his own room than someone else's.
"Mm, I have to increase the probability of a Suimo City Awakened exploring my room..." Shang Jianyao rubbed his chin, talking to himself, "Express goodwill to them? How do I express it?"
"That's simple." The Shang Jianyao who sought novelty and uniqueness detached from the main body and said with great interest, "Watch me!"
He quickly materialized a blank sheet of paper and a pen, and wrote something on it.
After writing it, he pasted the paper under the number plate of his mind room, with the following words written in both Ashlands and Red River languages:
"Home of Suimo City Awakened"
Clap, clap, clap, the honest Shang Jianyao applauded him.
He "praised":
"Very much in the style of 'I'm hiding the silver right here!'"
"Are you sure this can be kept here?" The calm and rational Shang Jianyao reminded him, "We couldn't even modify the number plate before."
The Shang Jianyao who sought novelty and uniqueness didn't care at all:
"It won't kill us to try.
"Besides, last time we wanted to change something original. Without the permission of the 'Mind Corridor's' master, we definitely couldn't succeed. But now, we're just pasting a note, which doesn't involve the inherent structure of the 'Mind Corridor.'"
Thinking that it was just a test anyway, the other Shang Jianyaos didn't object.
They merged into one, wandered around other rooms for a while, and then returned to the door of "131."
The paper with "Home of Suimo City Awakened" written on it was still there!
"It seems to work..." Shang Jianyao's eyes lit up.
He opened the door and went inside, waiting a few minutes before coming out to check again.
The paper was still there.
…………
Elder Rodon of Suimo City once again entered the "Mind Corridor," heading toward the place he could find with his eyes closed.
The door to the "New World" he had been desperately seeking was very likely inside that room numbered "131."
But the problem was that Rodon had not only experienced all sorts of bizarre and outlandish things there, but had also felt the gaze of a Kalpa.
This made him believe that the owner of "131" had once come into contact with certain Kalpas and received some favor.
--If it wasn't favor, but malice, the room would have been replaced long ago.
As a person of faith, Rodon had great reverence for the Kalpas. Without sufficient confidence, he didn't dare to explore "131" again. He could only occasionally walk to that door, gaze at it for a while, and ease his emotions.
Over this period, he had prayed to the Kalpa he believed in, asking for blessings, but received no response.
Walking along, Rodon again saw that familiar vermilion door and the golden number "131" etched in his mind.
In the next second, his gaze froze.
He discovered that a piece of white paper was pasted on the door of "131," with the following words written in both Ashlands and Red River languages:
"Home of Suimo City Awakened"
Rodon, who could be considered experienced at this level of the "Mind Corridor," was immediately at a loss, wondering if he was too eager to explore that room and find the door to the "New World," leading to hallucinations.
He even analyzed the possibility of being ambushed and trapped in a fantasy world.
After several minutes of confirmation, Rodon finally believed that there was an extra "sign" on the door of "131."
This was unprecedented in the "Mind Corridor!"