Chapter 360: Self-Reflection

Long Yuehong and Bai Chen hid the gray SUV in the forest beside a necessary road to the Zhao familys manor.

They heaved a sigh of relief when they saw the military-green jeep drive over.

Shang Jianyao rolled down the window and waved at his two companions. Done!

Where are the people who captured the Anti-intellectualism Church members? Bai Chen asked in surprise.

She and Long Yuehong had heard explosions from the manor by the Taiwei River, but it was in a different direction from the Zhao family manor.

Shang Jianyao sighed pretentiously. We didnt win, nor did they lose.

So its a draw

This thought subconsciously flashed across Long Yuehongs mind, but after careful thought, he realized that Shang Jianyao meant something else.

Did the Anti-intellectualism Church succeed? Long Yuehong asked as he walked to the halted jeep.

Jiang Baimian pushed open the door and alighted. She nodded slightly. In a sense, yes.

Upon seeing Bai Chen and Long Yuehong approaching, she suddenly stretched out her right hand and made a stop gesture.

Jiang Baimian then smiled. We later encountered the real Father. If thats a rare ability, it should be him. Therefore, Shang Jianyao and I extracted information from Old Ge on the way and compared our memories to make sure that nothing had been secretly tampered with. To be safe, you guys should also compare.

Bai Chen and Long Yuehong also stored their key memories in Genavas body in case of emergencies.

Bai Chen had no objections. She took out a portable computer from her tactical backpack and connected it to Genava with a data cable.

Jiang Baimian threw her computer to Long Yuehong so that he and Bai Chen could proceed in parallel. After all, Genava still had many ports.

After downloading the backup memories, Long Yuehong completed the decompression with his password and slowly browsed through the content.

Shang Jianyao is a classmate and friend who grew up with me. Although he always likes to mock me and agitate me, making me want to beat him up, hes still quite nice. Most of the time, those jokes are filled with kindness Long Yuehongs expression suddenly turned strange when he scanned the memories.

His face gradually warped, revealing a gloomy bearing.

No, thats not right Long Yuehong said with difficulty as if he were fighting someone. Hes clearly an annoying bastard whos insensitive to other peoples feelings and dignity. I cant wait to kill him

Toward the end, he finally figured out what to use as a benchmark. He bent down, propped his hands on his knees, and panted heavily. I-Ive been hypnotized. HuffOr some of my memories have been tampered with!

Bai Chens expression gradually turned cold as she looked at Jiang Baimian and slowly said, W-why would I be jealous of you? Im jealous of your height, your beauty, your abilities, and your ability to consider everyones emotions and get along well with everyone I-I clearly should

Should what? Shang Jianyao asked curiously.

Just as he said that, Jiang Baimian pulled him back, indicating that he shouldnt ask random questions.

Bai Chen didnt answer Shang Jianyao. Her expression slowly returned to normal, but she still didnt speak quickly. Some of the emotions in my memories have been tampered with.

And you and Little Red didnt sense it? Jiang Baimian asked seriously.

Bai Chen recalled and said, We were waiting here to receive you. From time to time, wed see cars passing by Later, a hunter who was chasing a rabbit from the other side of the forest came close to us He didnt speak to us, nor did he get too close. He was about ten meters away or a little further Long Yuehong and I were wary of him. I dont remember us looking at each other

Jiang Baimian directly asked, Do you still remember what he looks like?

Long Yuehong and Bai Chen carefully recalled for more than ten seconds before they said in horrorto varying degrees, I dont remember!

His looks were very blurry.

Jiang Baimian nodded slightly and said, From the looks of it, the real Father has indeed taken action personally. If hes a little stronger than back in Weed City, he should be able to use Hypnosis from that distance or memory tampering, which has a range that we arent aware of.

During his machinations against Xu Liyan in Weed City, the real Father had exposed the fact that Hypnosis had to be done at close range. Jingnianthe mechanical monkcame to a conclusion that its range was approximately four to six meters.

Without waiting for Bai Chen and Long Yuehongs response, Jiang Baimian revealed a thoughtful expression. I think its more likely to be Hypnosis. Memory tampering is clearly stronger, so the restrictions should be greater. Its effects shouldnt happen so easily. Your memories of the distance back then might be a little off.

Long Yuehong rejoiced when he heard that. Fortunately, we made the necessary preparations. Otherwise, it wouldve been troublesome.

Shang Jianyao looked around and made a shushing gesture. Hush. The real Father might still be nearby.

While Long Yuehong was shocked, Jiang Baimian cursed Shang Jianyao. Dont scare Little Red. He might really shoot you in the back one day! Look, werent the things you did in the past used?

Shang Jianyao didnt mind and smiled. It seems like the real Father truly hates us.

It might just be in passing, Long Yuehong subconsciously retorted.

He then saw Genava shake his head.

No. Jiang Baimian then said, Hes indeed targeting us. I suspect that he appeared near Iron Medallion Street and was secretly observing us. He knew that we split up. One team headed for the manor, and the other provided support. Otherwise, its impossible for him to take action in such an orderly manner.

He first found an opportunity to hypnotize you and tamper with a portion of your memories. Then, he used the fact that we had to come over to rendezvous with you and hid by the side of the road in advance to attempt to deal with us using his best techniques. If he had succeeded, we mightve died back then or become his servants. We mightve helped him do things. Fortunately, we have Old Ge and wont fall for his tricks.

He didnt have absolute confidence in his offensive plan. Therefore, he hypnotized you in advance and made you his contingency. Think about it. If we feel that nothing had happened because we survived the attack and became careless, a few words from Shang Jianyao and I might incite your killing intent on the way back. Apart from defending against ourselves, the hardest to guard against are our companions.

Bai Chen nodded slightly. When fighting an enemy like the real Father, Im not afraid that he will come with great fanfare. Im just worried that we might brush past him and unknowingly fall into his trap.

If he dares to come with great fanfare, I can knock him down five times! Shang Jianyao shouted as if he were agitating the real Fatherwho might still be hiding in the surrounding areasince he couldnt sense anything.

His voice then returned to normal. Old Ge can knock him down 50 times.

Robots didnt suffer from tricks like Hypnosis or memory tampering.

Jiang Baimian smiled and sighed. The real Father probably knew that we spoiled his plans in Weed City. After discovering that we were involved with the Zhao familys manor, he conveniently planted a trap for us.

Thats right. Long Yuehong felt a lingering fear.

After experiencing everything in Weed City, Redstone Collection, and Tarnan and obtaining many exoskeleton devices and Genavaa smart bot companionhe originally felt that the Old Task Force could do whatever they wanted in most of the Ashlands. As long as they didnt provoke a proper army or the various religions core forces, it wouldnt be a problem. Bandits or gangs didnt pose a threat.

Now, it seemed like just the real Father had almost wiped out the Old Task Force.

We cant just let it pass. Shang Jianyao didnt appear depressed and expressed his determination.

Yes. Jiang Baimian thought for a moment and looked at Long Yuehong and Bai Chen. Are there any problems with your current emotions? Dont be afraid. Frankly speaking, we still have the Destiny Pearl as a backup. When the time comes, we can just get Shang Jianyao to do some clean-sweeping in your mind world.

Sure, sure. Shang Jianyaos eyes lit up as he looked at Long Yuehong.

Long Yuehong panicked a little. He quickly compared the information and carefully examined himself.

After a few minutes, he heaved a sigh of relief and said, There are no other problems.

After learning whats real and whats fake, the hypnosis effects are completely removed. Bai Chen also voiced her judgment.

Jiang Baimian nodded and laughed. Before we leave First City, it seems like we have to compare our memories often to prevent ourselves from becoming the real Fathers weapon. Heh heh, we are truly self-reflecting on ourselves three times a day like the sayings go!

With that said, she said to Genava, Old Ge, stay here and watch the car with Little White and the others. Hey and I will take a walk in the woods.

Why are you going into the forest? Long Yuehong asked in confusion.

Jiang Baimian smiled and said, To search for clues. A person like the real Father definitely has a sense of superiority, so he probably wont pay attention to the domains of ordinary people because he can make others forget his looks. Anyone who walks past will leave behind traces. Since he passed through the forest, its very likely that he left behind footprints and other clues.

At this point, Jiang Baimian concluded with a serious expression, The more an Awakened thinks that they have transcended ordinary people, the more likely they are to be defeated by ordinary people. Their strength is only one aspect, not everything.

Long Yuehong was stunned. He found it profound, but he also felt ashamed that he had only wanted to leave this place as soon as possible.

Team Leader, youre so cool! Shang Jianyao praised.

Upon seeing Jiang Baimian look over, he smiled brightly. I helped Little Red say it.

I didnt

Long Yuehong subconsciously wanted to deny it, but he felt that he indeed had such thoughts back then, so he chose to agree tacitly.

Jiang Baimian smiled and called out to Shang Jianyao, a little pleased with herself. What are you waiting for!? Well take turns monitoring the surroundings later to prevent the real Father from boomeranging.

He doesnt know this term, Shang Jianyao explained seriously. As he spoke, he had already followed Jiang Baimian into the lush forest.