Koninmis, under that perpetually dim sky.

Genaeva and Shang Jianyao, clad in military exoskeletal devices, were heading towards the "outpost" where the Eighth Research Institute's guard squad had been stationed last time.

Jiang Baimian, Long Yuehong, and Bai Chen hid in the nearby mountains, observing their actions with binoculars.

So far, the "Old Task Force" could only confirm that the "Angel of Life" necklace could help the wearer avoid the "Heartless Disease" virus permeating Koninmis, but they didn't know if the Small Jade Buddha and the "Six Senses Beads" could.

There was no way to eliminate incorrect answers through experimentation, because if it didn't work, it meant that a member would become a "Heartless."

Therefore, they still had Shang Jianyao, wearing the "Angel of Life" necklace, enter Koninmis with the intelligent Genaeva to complete the exploration mission, just like last time.

Before delving into the main urban area, the "Old Task Force" planned to first confirm the current situation of the Eighth Research Institute members they had encountered before, to avoid another sudden attack.

After arriving at the abandoned building that served as the outpost, Shang Jianyao stood "idly" at the door, allowing Genaeva to walk around and inspect.

"There are no traces of human activity during this period." After a while, Genaeva concluded, "Those people and the large feline creature should not have returned."

Shang Jianyao lamented:

"Aren't they coming back to check the situation?

"Too unprofessional!"

He seemed even more indignant than if his own people had made a mistake.

"That needs to be asked of them," Genaeva replied truthfully.

"Maybe they encountered something in the main urban area, or maybe they directly withdrew to the Eighth Research Institute..." Shang Jianyao muttered to himself.

He wanted to raise his left hand to stroke his chin, but the "Angel of Life" necklace was wrapped there, causing his entire arm to lose strength.

They didn't linger and walked along the buildings covered in bluish-green, at a normal pace on the cracked roads, towards the main urban area of Koninmis.

Shang Jianyao occasionally "woofed," and Genaeva pretended not to hear it.

"Old Ge, what do you say, what exactly is hidden deep within the Eighth Research Institute?" Shang Jianyao always made the topic jump around without logic.

Genaeva, wearing the "Chameleon" bionic intelligent armor, moved his metal neck:

"Don't know."

"Isn't this asking you to boldly hypothesize and carefully verify?" Shang Jianyao persevered.

He always had patience and perseverance.

Regarding this question, the "Old Task Force" had actually discussed it for several rounds, proposing multiple guesses, none of which could be falsified at present.

They currently leaned towards three answers:

First, the real reason why the Eighth Research Institute had such a high success rate of awakening;

Second, the secret of "Darkness" – this was inferred from the statement that the Eighth Research Institute became the lackey of Darkness after the destruction of the Old World;

Third, something related to the "New World," but as to what aspect of the relationship, there were currently no clues to judge.

Genaeva didn't want to discuss topics unrelated to this mission with Shang Jianyao near the main urban area of Koninmis, and besides, before obtaining new information, this would be no different from the previous internal brainstorms.

He pulled up Jiang Baimian's behavior database, simulated the team leader's response to this situation, and then, from the "violent threats" and other options, he chose the one that suited him best, slightly tilted his head, and pointed in one direction:

"What's that?"

"What?" Shang Jianyao excitedly followed his gaze.

The next second, the eyebrows behind his mask furrowed:

"Why didn't I discover anything?"

"I made a misjudgment," Genaeva quickly apologized.

Shang Jianyao disappointedly retracted his gaze.

He continued towards the main urban area of Koninmis, remaining silent for several minutes.

Seeing the increasingly dim sky and the increasingly towering buildings of the silent land in sight, Shang Jianyao suddenly said again:

"I always feel like I overlooked some important information in Professor Qin's 'Sea of Origin'."

"It's normal, 'Destiny Connection' only helps you mobilize all memories, screening and viewing still have to be done by yourself, but human power is sometimes limited," Genaeva thought there was no problem with this.

"But you intelligent beings don't," Shang Jianyao said with envy.

He then said:

"But this feeling of overlooking important information didn't exist in the past few days, I only suddenly woke up when I entered Koninmis just now."

He described it strangely, but Genaeva could understand what he meant:

"You think you suffered some kind of hidden interference at the time, causing you to overlook some important information?"

"Yes," Shang Jianyao speculated with great interest, "Maybe it's a kind of suggestion, a suggestion that allows me to directly skip the corresponding memory."

Genaeva, with the chameleon head, had red lights flashing in his eyes:

"There were other Awakened ones present at the time, hiding in the dark, influencing you?"

This was not impossible.

That assassin might have been observing the scene for a while, even sitting in that deep red off-road vehicle with the Jitis male body.

Shang Jianyao shook his head:

"I think it's a problem with that part of the memory.

"They themselves have inherent suggestions."

"Just memory fragments of certain things can silently suggest you?" Genaeva's current model of Awakened ones did not support this situation.

"Yes," Shang Jianyao said with longing, "This is probably the power at the level of a Ruling Star."

"There are other explanations," Genaeva analyzed, "It may also be that Professor Qin was influenced beforehand, the corresponding memory fragments were disguised, escaping your screening, you noticed a little strangeness or incoordination at the time, but didn't pay attention, and only suddenly remembered it today."

Bang bang bang, Shang Jianyao patted the armor on his chest with his right palm covered in metal skeleton:

"So that's how it could be!"

He acted as if he wasn't the one who used "Destiny Connection" to recall all of Professor Qin's memories.

Without waiting for Genaeva to respond, he said with great interest:

"What will the hidden part of the memory be about?"

"Darkness or the dean," Genaeva quickly established a model and came to a conclusion, "The strength of the Eighth Research Institute is definitely more than those 'New World' powerhouses, and Professor Qin, as a quasi-senior executive, shouldn't have no understanding of the greatest reliance of his own forces, but when you used 'Destiny Connection' to check his memory, you didn't get any information in this regard."

Bang bang bang, Shang Jianyao once again clapped in the same way as before.

Honest, he was good at picking faults, and quickly raised another question:

"Then why wasn't the memory related to the specific location of the Eighth Research Institute hidden?"

"Maybe it was hidden so that Professor Qin wouldn't know how to go back," Shang Jianyao answered himself.

Genaeva enumerated more possibilities:

"Either only that part of the memory can have the power to hide itself with inherent suggestions, or the person who influenced Professor Qin beforehand wasn't from the Eighth Research Institute, he wanted us to find the Eighth Research Institute, but didn't want us to know certain things..."

In the course of their exchange, they officially entered the main urban area of Koninmis.

Looking at the vehicles piled haphazardly on the street ahead, Shang Jianyao suddenly exclaimed, "Oh no!"

"How can we discuss Professor Qin's memory?

"We have to focus on the mission itself!"

The red light in Genaeva's eyes froze for two seconds.

"It's all my fault," Shang Jianyao always had a spirit of self-criticism.

He looked left and right and said:

"Let's go to Esther's mistress and child's residence first."

This was something they had promised Jitis, and they had to do what they said.

When formulating the plan beforehand, Jiang Baimian placed the priority of this matter before exploring the secret of the "Son of the Ruling Star."

This was because, if they went to the luxurious apartment where the "Son of the Ruling Star" lived first, the subsequent developments would be difficult to predict, and perhaps Koninmis would disappear as a result, entering the "New World" as a whole, leaving the "Old Task Force" with no chance to fulfill Esther's last wish.

"Okay," Even if Shang Jianyao didn't take the initiative to bring it up, Genaeva would remind him.

As an outsider, Esther's residence in Koninmis was obviously not able to be close to the core area, but was located in the north of the main urban area.

It was also an apartment building, the dark blue building was very stylish, but the ubiquitous plants and broken glass made it look extremely dilapidated.

"It hasn't even reached the place where the 'New World' and Koninmis overlap, where projections appear..." Shang Jianyao said with some disappointment.

"This is a good thing, after quickly getting what Esther wants, we can concentrate on finding the residence of the 'Son of the Ruling Star'," Genaeva's eyes flashed red a few times and said, "If that disaster came very suddenly, that old task force might be scattered inside or around the 'Son of the Ruling Star's' residence."

Shang Jianyao was silent for a moment and said:

"It may also have become a 'Heartless' wandering elsewhere, dying in some corner of the city."

Hearing this, Genaeva looked around, turning his neck back and forth:

"Have you noticed anything wrong?"

"What?" Shang Jianyao asked excitedly.

Genaeva replied in a slightly synthesized, low voice:

"The last time we came to Koninmis, we could find some fresh traces of 'Heartless' activity along the way.

"This time, there's nothing at all."

They had even encountered "Heartless" with abnormally high levels of power before.