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nJiang Baimian quietly listened and sincerely suggested, “You should mark out your experts and form a team to scout the area.”

nShe didn’t volunteer because this wasn’t within the Old Task Force’s scope of work. It was already a little risky for them to take the initiative to be ‘hired’ and deliver the supplies over. However, she could at least exchange for a military exoskeleton and train the team. Furthermore, the danger level was acceptable.

nAs for forming a reconnaissance team and heading to a clearly strange place while risking their lives for a settlement that had just arrived, it was clearly not something the Old Task Force should do.

nA mercenary had to have a mercenary’s ‘professional ethics.’

nIf Jiang Baimian were alone, she might’ve taken on the reconnaissance mission out of interest. However, she was now a team leader. Any order from her would affect the team members’ personal safety.

nShe couldn’t be willful.

nWhen she gave the suggestion, Jiang Baimian quietly turned her head and glared at Shang Jianyao, preventing him from volunteering.

nEven though Shang Jianyao was wearing a mask, she could sense his eagerness.

nAfter hearing Jiang Baimian’s words, Han Wanghuo sighed helplessly. “I’ve long raised this matter, but they were too vigilant and couldn’t make up their minds. They kept arguing over whether to send a reconnaissance team or not and who to send.”

nIt’s really difficult to reach a consensus when there’s a lack of trust between parties. Without a figure with authority, it might drag on until danger slaps them in the face… Jiang Baimian replied inwardly but didn’t say anything.

nShe knew that Han Wanghuo knew this.

nAs expected, Han Wanghuo asked them to hide the jeep and the all-terrain vehicle before saying worriedly, “When we previously encountered such a situation, it was always Bishop Renato who made the decisions. Both parties still listened to him, but he had to be summoned back to headquarters of all times. Nobody else—no matter which Harbinger it is—can replace him. The weight of his words is just different!”

nUpon mentioning this, Han Wanghuo was clearly not satisfied with the Vigilance Church.

nUh, is this how the Vigilance Church is temporarily explaining Bishop Renato’s Heartless disease? Jiang Baimian revealed a thoughtful expression, but it was obvious that Han Wanghuo couldn’t sense her reaction because she was wearing a mask.

nThey had spent the afternoon and night watching the lakeside villa. They didn’t come into contact with any Redstone Collection townsfolk and didn’t know the corresponding situation well.

nAt this moment, Shang Jianyao interrupted. “Harbinger Song is almost here.”

nWhen they set off from the Vigilance Church, Song He was already organizing the Church’s armed forces and preparing to rush over.

nHan Wanghuo nodded. “I hope they won’t go head-to-head against Harbinger Song.”

n‘They’ referred to the Red River people.

n“You can also gather them. I’ll persuade them.” Shang Jianyao gave another solution.

nHan Wanghuo glanced at the fellow suspiciously, not finding his eloquence outstanding at all. Of course, he didn’t say it directly. Instead, he smiled bitterly. “With their vigilance, no one can gather them for such matters.”

n“Then, where are they hiding? I’ll visit them one by one.” Shang Jianyao wasn’t afraid of suffering any hardships.

nHan Wanghuo immediately became vigilant and smiled patronizingly. “Let’s see if Harbinger Song can persuade them first.”

nAs he spoke, Han Wanghuo had already led the four members of the Qian Bai Team to the defense zone he was in charge of.

nThis was a relatively intact building, but the building in front of it had completely collapsed. It blocked the few floors below it, forming a natural fortification—a fortification made of concrete.

nStanding on the sixth floor of this building, one could see the southeast corner of the city ruin from the window. Once the other party counterattacked, they could crouch down and be virtually impossible to hit.

n“You guys are in charge of the left.” Han Wanghuo reassigned the positions and gave Jiang Baimian and the others orders, treating them all as equals.

nHe and his subordinates quickly moved to the right window and set up two machine guns.

nShang Jianyao put on the night-vision goggles and squatted down excitedly. He switched the Berserker assault rifle to an Orange rifle. He mimicked Bai Chen and assumed the posture of a senior sniper.

nLong Yuehong glanced at him and squatted on his left. He was assigned the Tyrant grenade launcher.

nOn Shang Jianyao’s right were Jiang Baimian and Bai Chen. One was holding a Death rocket launcher, and the other was using the Orange rifle she was most familiar with.

nIt was late at night. The moonlight flickered, making the entire city ruin seem like it had sunk into an abyss.

nAs time passed, Han Wanghuo frequently picked up the walkie-talkie and communicated with the town guards in charge of different defense zones. This included a temporary meeting that Harbinger Song He presided over.

nFinally, the Redstone townsfolk came to a consensus: They would send out a five-person team composed of Tan Jie, Hamil, and other experts to investigate the situation in the southeast corner of the city ruin.

nAt this moment, Bai Chen—who had been monitoring the area ahead—saw a blurry figure quietly approaching through the night-vision goggles.

nHis grayish-black scales flickered in the moonlight.

nA murloc… Bai Chen adjusted the muzzle’s position and was about to pull the trigger with her finger.

nBang!

nThe murloc’s head exploded, and he fell face up.

nBai Chen turned her head in surprise and looked at Han Wanghuo—who wasn’t far away.

nShe didn’t fire that shot just now.

nSheriff Han Wanghuo had reacted faster than her. Furthermore, he accurately hit the murloc’s head from that distance.

nHan Wanghuo sensed Bai Chen’s gaze, glanced at her, and nodded slightly.

nRetracting her gaze from his slightly yellowish-white eyes, Bai Chen confirmed something—Han Wanghuo’s shot was definitely not a result of luck.

nHan Wanghuo was a true sniper. Be it his observation skills or shooting skills, he wasn’t inferior to her. In fact, he might even be slightly better.

nIt’s no wonder he became a Senior Hunter and was chosen by Redstone Collection to be a sheriff… Bai Chen came to a realization and stopped being distracted.

nAt this moment, Han Wanghuo picked up the walkie-talkie and reminded the town guards elsewhere. “The merfolk are here. There’s no need to send out the reconnaissance team.”

nIs it that simple? This thought suddenly flashed across Jiang Baimian’s mind.

nLong Yuehong’s body tensed up slightly. He held the grenade launcher and focused on the road ahead.

nGradually, he felt suffocated. This was something that usually happened when he was especially nervous.

nBut I’m not that nervous. Why… Long Yuehong was a little confused. After his experience in Weed City, he didn’t think the current situation could make him so nervous. Most importantly, his heartbeat didn’t accelerate much.

nHe examined his condition in confusion and realized that breathing had truly become a little difficult. He slowly felt like he was holding his breath.

n“Something’s not right!”

n“Are we competing in lung capacity?”

nJiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao’s voices sounded at the same time. They also realized that there was a problem with their respiratory system.

nThe air they were inhaling was decreasing!

nUpon hearing the reminder, Han Wanghuo and the others realized that something was amiss. They had previously thought that a war was imminent and subconsciously held their breaths.

nHuff, huff… They opened their mouths and panted heavily. But no matter what they tried, the feeling of impeded breathing couldn’t be relieved. It was even clearly getting worse.

nThis was like sinking into water. As long as one couldn’t float and didn’t carry an oxygen tank, it was impossible to obtain fresh air. The more one struggled and the more they tried to breathe, the worse the situation became.

n“It should be an Awakened,” Jiang Baimian said again. She had a strong ability to hold her breath, and she was the one suffering the least impact.

nAs she spoke, she looked at Shang Jianyao. The two of them shook their heads at the same time.

nThey sensed that there was no life in the southeast direction up to a certain range.

nEven if an Awakened could hide their consciousness and hide from their own kind, the corresponding electric signals couldn’t be removed as long as they still had a body unless they completely hid themselves in the metal cage.

nBut without knowing Jiang Baimian’s genetic modification abilities, nobody would make such a cumbersome and useless preparation.

nAfter eliminating all the possibilities, there were only two answers: The first was that the person who caused the asphyxiation was a traitor and was somewhere in the current defense line.

nSecond, the other party was already close to the Mind Corridor at the Awakened level. He had even entered it, and the range of his abilities had undergone a qualitative change.

nIn a relatively empty area, Jiang Baimian’s range for sensing electric signals wasn’t small. Dealing with the mechanical monk, Jingfa, back then was clear evidence of her capabilities. But now, she was affected by the other party’s abilities without discovering their existence!

nHan Wanghuo knew how powerful Awakened were and had his fair share of encounters, but he had never imagined that they would be this powerful.

nHe made a prompt decision and ordered, “Retreat! Engage in guerrilla warfare.”

nThey were going to split up and rely on their familiarity with the terrain and hiding abilities to engage in guerrilla warfare with the merfolk and mountain monsters.

nIf they gathered together, everyone might suffocate to death at the same time. No one would be spared.

n“That will just lead to a slow death.”

n“He’s better at finding people than you are.”

nJiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao warned him in unison. Their words were different, but the meaning was the same.

nAn Awakened with such a large ability range wouldn’t have a small detection range. He could completely lead a team to find the hiding ‘rats’ one by one or directly suffocate them to death in their hiding spots without having to do so.

nAt this moment, someone shouted through the loudspeaker, “Useless cowards only dare to hide in the distance and secretly harm others! Come over if you dare!”

nThis was spoken in the merfolk dialect.

nAlthough it was a Subhuman dialect, it had evolved from the Red River language. Jiang Baimian couldn’t speak it, but she could barely understand the general meaning.

n“Phew, Tan Jie…” Han Wanghuo said a name with some difficulty.

nTan Jie? His Provocation ability’s range can be enhanced with a loudspeaker? Jiang Baimian immediately had a guess.

nAs the loudspeaker wasn’t aimed in their direction, she didn’t feel any anger, nor could she verify this guess.

nAt this moment, Shang Jianyao sighed heavily and said, “It’s really useful to grasp an additional foreign language.”

nOtherwise, the merfolk and mountain monsters wouldn’t understand, even in the face of a provocation.

nTan Jie switched to ‘mountain monster language’ and cursed again. Everyone’s suffocation didn’t ease at all and became worse.

nTan Jie didn’t stop. He took turns cursing in the merfolk and mountain monster language. During this process, he constantly changed directions and changed the areas he could influence.

nWhen he shouted for the sixth time, everyone suddenly felt like they had crawled out of the water.

nThe air was so fresh, and the world was so beautiful.

n“In the parking lot behind the technology building!” Tan Jie’s voice sounded again.

nWith the help of the feedback, he roughly determined the terrifying Awakened’s location.

nThe map Jiang Baimian obtained from Harbinger Song He surfaced in her mind. The map quickly enlarged, revealing the layout of the area.

nThe parking lot behind the technology building was almost 100 meters away from her.

nJiang Baimian quickly adjusted the rocket launcher in front of her and fired at the spot Tan Jie had described.

nShang Jianyao hunched his body and stood up.

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