Allen had said as much, so Bai Ye naturally didn't ask any further.
However, as they moved forward, Bai Ye paid particular attention to Ji Ruyue.
As expected, this woman seemed to possess a bit of precognitive ability, able to anticipate the movements of mutated creatures in advance, but only when within a certain proximity to them.
Secondly, this foresight-like reconnaissance ability required some time to perceive, so to accommodate Ji Ruyue's abilities, the group had to slow down their pace.
Meanwhile, although Ji Ruyue was reluctant to discuss her own affairs, others didn't mind.
It wasn't uncommon for androids like Ji Ruyue to have mutated genes; both Davis and Gonzalez were androids who had experienced genetic mutations.
Davis's mutation granted him super speed, while Gonzalez's mutation enhanced his strength.
Androids with such mutated abilities accounted for about 20% of the total android population, one in every five.
Ji Ruyue's rarity stemmed from her mutation occurring in the cerebral cortex, a very low probability event, around one in ten thousand. Furthermore, cerebral cortex mutations were extremely dangerous; of those one-in-ten-thousand androids with cerebral mutations, only about 10% managed to survive the mutation process.
This indeed surprised Bai Ye. He hadn't heard of this when he'd visited the Ruined City in his previous life.
But upon reflection, Bai Ye found it normal. During his previous visit, his contact for hidden quests was only Allen, who was not a mutated android.
Besides Allen, the majority of other androids Bai Ye had interacted with were not hunters.
After all, Bai Ye could handle himself, and there wasn't much need to interact with combat-type natives. Androids with mutated abilities were mostly hunters.
This made Bai Ye find the Ruined City quite interesting.
Apocalypse, futuristic technology, bio-genetic evolutionary civilization – it all seemed somewhat connected to a world of supernatural powers now.
However, overall, the general level of supernatural abilities among androids was relatively low. Ji Ruyue's cerebral cortex mutation could barely be considered high-level, and even then, it wasn't purely in the realm of supernatural abilities.
Lost in thought, the group had already returned to the highway.
Following the road towards the border, they were noticeably slower without vehicles and with Ji Ruyue in tow. However, before evening, the colossal ruined city appeared before their eyes.
"Someone's there!"
Ji Ruyue suddenly spoke, signaling the group to stop, and then looked ahead.
Ji Ruyue raised her gaze to the surrounding buildings, a faint blue light covering her eyes. The surrounding structures then seemed transparent to her.
Behind the walls, humanoid outlines appeared, entering Ji Ruyue's sight.
Ji Ruyue said, "They're humanoid, likely those crystal beings."
Allen asked, "Numbers?"
Ji Ruyue replied, "After entering the city, three on the left side of the main street, one on the right. In that large building, there are people on floors 4, 5, 6, 9, and 10, about twenty or so in total. The first and second buildings on the right also have about twenty, spread across all floors."
Allen frowned. "Are they guards? Or sentries?"
Davis commented, "But it feels chaotic."
Ji Ruyue nodded. "And, they seem to be wandering, but..."
Ji Ruyue tilted her head, considering, and continued, "Without any clear purpose?"
Bai Ye was starting to feel frustrated because he knew the reason but couldn't say it.
The crystal beings in the border area were all discarded rejects.
Bai Ye's description of the crystal beings as "zombies" wasn't without reason.
In terms of strength, crystal beings were generally much stronger than zombies, possessing swift movements, immense power, and the ability to use their own crystals as weapons or shields.
However, from the perspective of "life forms," both were essentially walking dead.
No thought, no consciousness, acting purely on instinct.
The behavior patterns of crystal beings and zombies were very similar.
Of course, this applied only to the not-fully-developed versions of crystal beings.
According to Rhein Corporation's crystal being project, the crystal beings were intended to be stronger, possessing considerable combat and tactical thinking, but no emotional thought, ensuring absolute loyalty.
The crystal beings on the outskirts of the border were the discarded rejects from the development process.
While these beings lacked emotional thought, they were a far cry from the super-soldiers Rhein Corporation envisioned, their behavior patterns being that of ordinary zombies.
They didn't even possess the basic requirement of "obedience."
This was something Rhein Corporation could not tolerate, so they decisively discarded these failed creations.
After being discarded, these crystal beings wandered the outskirts of the border, and Ji Ruyue's observation that they were aimless was indeed accurate.
With zombie-like behavior patterns, they naturally wandered around aimlessly.
Guards? Scouts?
Allen was overthinking things.
In reality, as long as they didn't provoke the crystal beings, they could simply walk past. But...
Bai Ye figured Allen wouldn't do that; he still treated the crystal beings as living entities.
Indeed, after a moment of thought, Allen said, "Those guys probably haven't discovered us. We can sneak in and eliminate them, or even better, try to capture some alive."
The others had no objections. Only Bai Ye knew it was a futile effort, but he couldn't say anything. It was agonizing...
Davis opened a box. "These are walkie-talkies. The old ones are no longer functional, and we've lost contact with the signal tower. In a way, this also proves we've entered another world."
As he spoke, Davis handed out the walkie-talkies.
Davis explained, "These walkie-talkies don't have a very strong signal and are susceptible to interference, and there's no signal tower. But for this distance, communication should be fine."
Allen nodded, then said, "Ruyue, you'll command from outside. Davis and Gonzalez, you'll go to that seven-story building. I'll go with Bai Ye..."
Bai Ye waved his hand. "I can go alone."
Allen asked, "Are you sure?"
"I'm sure," Bai Ye lied casually. "Actually, my strongest suit is infiltration and assassination, so don't worry about me."
Allen looked somewhat unconvinced but nodded. "Then you go solo. I'll head to the building behind you."
Bai Ye replied, "No problem."
Ji Ruyue stated, "If there are no issues, let's get moving. Inform me once you've infiltrated the buildings, and I'll guide you. For the crystal beings on the street, don't worry about them for now. We'll deal with them after we've handled those inside the buildings."
Allen nodded, then clapped his hands. "Remember to proceed with caution. Safety first!"
...