Long Yuehong, after hearing the conversation between Bai Chen and the team leader, pondered and said:

“Perhaps this is a common creature on the ice plains, shedding its fur with the seasons.”

Covering itself in white fur when it's cold and snowy, to hide in the environment and avoid danger, and shedding the white fur and growing black fur more suitable for the current conditions when the ice and snow melt and the climate warms up.

Similar creatures, the "Old Task Force" had encountered several times in other places.

Jiang Baimian nodded slightly:

"Maybe.

"But there's a saying, 'prepare for the worst.' When making conjectures, you need to think as broadly as possible, covering as many possibilities as possible, to avoid omissions and capsizing in a gutter.

"Um, what else do the ice ruins and Koninmis have in common, besides both having giant feline creatures?"

She believed that if seeing similar giant feline creatures was not a coincidence, then the reason must be hidden in some connection that existed secretly between the two places.

Bai Chen recalled and said:

"Both are on the ice plains, both are dead, and there's normally no human activity."

"The former residents were mainly Red River people." Long Yuehong added.

Jiang Baimian nodded, her thoughts racing:

"And, and..."

She paused, her expression gradually becoming serious:

"Also, both have a certain relationship with the Eighth Research Institute, except the ice ruins are suspected, here it is certain."

The "Old Task Force" currently suspects that it was the Eighth Research Institute that caused the "Rootless" team's goods to "evaporate into thin air" in the ice ruins. And the Eighth Research Institute's special envoy explicitly stated that they not only did some kind of isolation in the area around Koninmis to prevent the spread of "Heartless Disease," but also entered the city to search for Shang Jianyao's father's old task force.

"Team Leader, are you saying that the giant feline creature is related to the Eighth Research Institute?" Long Yuehong was startled.

Jiang Baimian "hmmed" and said:

"Xiao Chong can command aberrant creatures, maybe the Eighth Research Institute can also command certain animals."

What she meant was that the Eighth Research Institute might have an Awakened person similar to a certain aspect of Xiao Chong, who could exert influence on other creatures.

Of course, Xiao Chong currently appears to be a personality of "Zhuang Sheng." Creating and commanding Nightmare Horses and Sleeping Cats, these aberrant creatures, is not difficult for him. And the Eighth Research Institute obviously cannot be compared with a fragment of a Calamity Grade's personality. Therefore, as a second-best option, they can only look for ordinary animals.

Immediately after, Jiang Baimian added:

"The Eighth Research Institute specializes in research on Awakening. Maybe they can create creatures similar to Nightmare Horses and Sleeping Cats."

That is, aberrant creatures with quasi-Awakening abilities.

"That feline creature is the Eighth Research Institute's ice plains 'scout'?" Bai Chen roughly understood the team leader's meaning.

Jiang Baimian nodded:

"This is just one possibility. Most of the details are my speculation.

"But we need to pay attention to this."

"Right, we can't be careless!" Long Yuehong was always cautious.

Jiang Baimian immediately put on her military exoskeleton and used the built-in communication system to contact Shang Jianyao and Genaava:

"Hey, Lao Ge, can you hear me?"

According to her estimation, Shang Jianyao and Genaava were already out of the effective range of ordinary walkie-talkies. After all, the closer they got to the main city, the denser the buildings and the more complex the environment. Therefore, she switched to a more powerful airborne communication system.

"Can hear! Not very clear!" Shang Jianyao's voice came back with a rustling "special effect."

Jiang Baimian immediately urged:

"Watch out for animals! Especially felines!"

…………

Koninmis's main city, the sky was dark as if it were dusk, or about to have a rainstorm.

"Watch out, animals?" Genaava struggled to restore Jiang Baimian's words from the noise.

"Why be careful of animals?" Shang Jianyao was not convinced. "Shouldn't they be careful of me?"

The honest Genaava replied:

"Maybe she's telling you to be careful and not bully animals."

"Okay!" Shang Jianyao was complacent.

Genaava added:

"We can't ignore the possibility of aberrant animals here. There might be some clues found by Da Bai. Anyway, it's always better to be careful."

"No problem." Shang Jianyao said so, but looked eager to see it for himself.

Genaava, wearing the "Chameleon" biomimetic smart armor, looked around:

"I've calculated the distance from here to Da Bai and them, and I've also analyzed the surrounding building layout. I don't think the airborne communication system's effect would be so bad.

"So, the preliminary judgment is that there is relatively strong electromagnetic interference in this area, and it's very special. I couldn't detect it immediately."

Shang Jianyao smiled:

"Electromagnetic disorder in city ruins after the apocalypse is normal.

"Moreover, 'New World' nodes can be destroyed by high-voltage currents. Its very form of existence may be related to electromagnetism."

"Indeed." Genaava did not refute.

He looked at the messy street ahead and reminded Shang Jianyao:

"From the western pass to here, you haven't sensed the existence of a 'New World' node. That means the possibility of Koninmis's current situation stemming from a large number of small 'New World' nodes has been basically ruled out.

"In this way, the probability of us encountering a huge 'New World' node somewhere in the main city is increasing. Besides that, there are also the possibilities of 'New World' powerhouses with strange behavior and strength close to Calamity Grades, and the sleeping bodies of Calamity Grades."

The latter three situations were obviously more serious and dangerous than the first.

"We're already here." Shang Jianyao didn't care at all.

Wearing a military exoskeleton, he walked between abandoned vehicles, one hand hanging down and the other holding a "Berserker" assault rifle.

Compared to those cities that became ruins when the Old World was destroyed, there were far fewer vehicles on the streets of Koninmis, less than a tenth of the former.

Because Koninmis did not produce oil, and the electricity supplied by the surrounding power plants could only maintain the production of major supplies and basic livelihood needs, only a few could afford cars.

--One thing that makes it different from Wild Grass City and other places is that the surroundings are ice plains. This makes the exchange of supplies between Koninmis and the outside world relatively difficult, requiring the right season. At the same time, the residents of Koninmis cannot freely explore other city ruins in the nearby area and obtain gasoline from those places.

In this way, surplus vehicles were naturally recycled and reused as raw materials for other items.

Amidst the slight clanging sound, Shang Jianyao and Genaava walked towards the city.

Suddenly, a figure pounced out from the second floor of a tall building by the road, straight for Shang Jianyao.

His face was twisted, his age unrecognizable, his eyes exceptionally cloudy and bloodshot, his golden hair reaching his mid-back, obviously matted, and he wore a blackened, ragged cotton coat.

This was a "Heartless."

Shang Jianyao, who should have sensed it in advance and used his ability, stared blankly, as if he had spaced out at a critical moment.

Bang!

Genaava shot down the "Heartless" with one shot.

He was not only exceptionally accurate with his shots, but also able to make certain predictions. The "Heartless" had clearly completed an evasive maneuver, but still failed to dodge the bullet, which hit the center of his head and shattered it like a watermelon.

Thump, as the corpse fell, blood quickly soaked in.

"What's wrong?" Genaava asked Shang Jianyao with concern. "Why didn't you fight back?"

"I was hit by an ability." Shang Jianyao shared his experience with excitement. "That 'Heartless' should have initially concealed his human consciousness, and then used some kind of ability on me after I entered his range."

"Advanced 'Heartless'." Genaava gave his conclusion and asked, "The ability that made you sluggish?"

Shang Jianyao shook his head, which was covered by the helmet:

"No.

"I originally wanted to use 'Loss of Limb Movement,' but I found that I had forgotten how to use Awakened abilities. Uh, I still haven't remembered how to use them, but I feel like it's slowly coming back."

"Forgotten how to use your abilities?" Genaava looked down at the "Heartless" corpse. "The problem now is, why did he ignore my existence and attack you directly?"

"'Heartless,' after all, they don't have brains. They probably don't know how powerful a smart AI is." Shang Jianyao chuckled. "Besides, you're wearing the 'Chameleon' armor. Maybe he thought you were a large chameleon and planned to deal with you leisurely after he solved me."

Genaava's gaze shifted to the corpse's abdomen, and he moved his metal neck up and down:

"No chameleon carries and uses weapons.

"He must have been starving, hadn't found food for a long time, and was taking a risk, thinking he could dodge my attacks.

"In this case, the other 'Heartless' in Koninmis won't be weaker than him. Or rather, there's at least one in a small group who is about as strong as him."

Genaava didn't wait for Shang Jianyao's response, because this guy was already looking ahead:

"It looks like it's starting to fog over there!"

At the end of the current street, deep in the main city, a faint mist spread in the dimness, making the environment there closer to night.

"Could the root of the problem be in this area?" Shang Jianyao asked excitedly as he stepped into the mist.

The next second, he saw a dim, yellowish light suddenly appear in the distance.

A window lit up.

It seemed to be a roadside cafe, with two people sitting inside.

"Someone?" Shang Jianyao became even more excited. "I'll go say hello and make some friends!"

"Be careful!" Genaava could only remind him.

He had already clearly seen what the two figures sitting by that window looked like:

One was a woman, with her back to Shang Jianyao and Genaava, wearing a thin white dress, with golden hair cascading down in waves.

One was an elderly man, wearing a black suit, white shirt, and dark tie, over sixty years old, with obvious wrinkles on his face, yellow-brown eyes, and thin, white hair.

The two were drinking coffee and chatting calmly.