After breakfast, the five Old Task Force members did some simple disguise before heading out and getting into the gray SUV.
They planned on going to the rental outlet to swap a car so that it wouldn’t be on the Anti-intellectualism Church’s radar.
Long Yuehong—who was sitting left of the backseat—subconsciously looked out the window and realized that cars were coming and going on the road. The surrounding shops were all operating normally.
“I thought the military would take over today and that there would be armed soldiers patrolling everywhere.” He didn’t hide his perplexity.
“Have you watched too much of the Old World’s entertainment?” Shang Jianyao—who was sitting beside him—smiled.
Although Long Yuehong didn’t want to admit it, he had to admit that he had made that judgment based on Old World entertainment.
In the passenger seat, Jiang Baimian laughed. “Do you think Phocas will quickly take action after capturing members of the Anti-intellectualism Church and the Salvation Army in Varro’s manor? That he would contact other Elders, mobilize the army, and control Varro’s faction?”
“Shouldn’t such matters be done at lightning speed to prevent the other party from being prepared?” Long Yuehong voiced his thoughts.
Jiang Baimian smiled. “Every situation calls for its own analysis. It’s possible that Phocas hasn’t found sufficient support, and it’s possible that he doesn’t want to launch a coup. It’s also possible that he really has nothing to do with the Anti-intellectualism Church. He feels that he can’t do as the cult wants and chose a safer method that would be less prone to causing chaos.”
Bai Chen—who was driving—also said, “Without sufficient information, any judgment is inaccurate.”
“That’s true.” Long Yuehong admitted that he had indeed been led astray by some of the Old World’s entertainment.
At this moment, Genava suddenly asked, “Don’t you take umbrage at this? Everyone repeatedly denies your views.”
“Isn’t that normal...” Long Yuehong was suddenly at a loss for words. He then smiled and said, “Nobody can guarantee that their opinion is correct.”
“But you can...” Before Shang Jianyao could finish speaking, he saw Jiang Baimian cast her gaze over.
Genava moved his metal neck up and down. “I see.”
He seemed to be building a new sample for human behavior.
The car drove at a moderate speed, turning from a street the Old Task Force had never been to into the Green Olive Zone.
This time, they switched to a dark-red but tanky SUV.
Upon arriving at the hotel, Jiang Baimian immediately saw the blond-haired, slightly wrinkled boss, Ugo, sitting at the front desk. He was eating rye bread with clear water.
“Don’t you get sick of eating something similar every day?” Shang Jianyao asked curiously.
Ugo looked up at him and replied emotionlessly, “It’s pretty good if most people in the Ashlands have food.”
Shang Jianyao didn’t mind and said with a smile, “And you aren’t most people.”
Ugo’s gaze swept across Bai Chen and the others. “I was.”
He succinctly expressed his meaning—this was a habit formed from his previous suffering.
Jiang Baimian didn’t let Shang Jianyao continue the topic and asked casually, “Were there any Heartless cases in the past few days?”
“No, you can move back,” said Ugo calmly.
In other words, the Heartless outbreak stopped after nearly ten cases in just a few days... Jiang Baimian sighed and got to the point. “Mr. Ugo, do you remember when we last came back?”
“I remember.” Ugo didn’t say an additional word.
Jiang Baimian asked seriously, “Then, did you notice that someone was tailing us back then?”
“Yes,” Ugo tersely replied again.
Yes... Long Yuehong was immediately pleasantly surprised. We really found clues through Boss Ugo!
Bai Chen—who was most familiar with Ugo—asked, “Did you see what kind of person they were?”
Ugo glanced at the door. “The stalker didn’t get out of the car. He drove a modified, dark-green SUV. After you came in, he parked the car a distance away. Once you left and got in the car, he started the car again and followed behind.”
“A distance away... How did you discover it?” Long Yuehong asked curiously.
According to his team leader and Shang Jianyao, Boss Ugo had been at the hotel’s front desk back then. He could only see the area corresponding to the door.
Ugo glanced at him. “I installed surveillance cameras at the door.”
“...” Long Yuehong didn’t expect this answer.
“Technology changes lives.” Shang Jianyao praised as he clapped.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Genava strongly agreed with this and clapped.
Jiang Baimian resisted the urge to cover her face and made a request to the hotel owner. “Mr. Ugo, can we take a look at the surveillance footage?”
Ugo was just about to answer when his expression suddenly changed. The muscles on his face vaguely twisted.
“Let me use the bathroom first,” he said quickly. As he spoke, he had already stood up and rushed to the room behind the front desk. He didn’t wait for Jiang Baimian and the others to respond.
“Yes, when you gotta go, you gotta go.” Shang Jianyao expressed his understanding. He then asked loudly, “Do you need my help to watch the place?”
Bang!
Ugo opened the door and rushed in, and the only response was the heavy thud of the closing door.
Jiang Baimian, Bai Chen, and Long Yuehong looked at each other in confusion.
The next second, Jiang Baimian recalled the panting sounds she had heard from the room in front of her back then—the beast-like gasps.
“A recurring disease?” she muttered to herself.
Of course, her muttering was enough for Shang Jianyao and the others to hear her clearly.