Embers Ad Infinitum

Chapter 842: The Wise

Spant stood there frozen, momentarily unsure if he should get into the car and escape or get the other armed personnel present.

After a brief daze, his mind told him that with the road conditions in the mountains, it was unlikely that he could run faster than military exoskeleton-wearing humans unless he was willing to take the huge risk of jumping down the cliff.

Furthermore, the other party didn’t necessarily have to chase after him. Just by standing where they were, they could use the military exoskeletons’ aiming functions, grenade launchers, laser weapons, and other powerful equipment to deal a devastating blow to his vehicle.

As for the option of calling out to the armed personnel present, Spant glanced at Genava—who had transformed into a large chameleon—and silently ruled it out.

This smart bot wore the equipment too quickly. It completed its preparations in the few seconds he was stunned and hesitant!

Facing such a fully-armed smart bot, it was probably difficult for all the armed personnel present to break through its defense in a short period of time. They might even be pushed back by it.

As long as it lasted for 30 to 40 seconds, its companions seemed capable of donning their equipment. When the time came, the mere dozens on their side wouldn’t be a problem.

Spant’s thoughts raced as he couldn’t make up his mind.

The Old Task Force didn’t wait for him to make a choice. They put on the military exoskeletons and the Blackmarsh Iron Snake bionic artificial intelligence armor.

Upon seeing the team’s gazes turn to him, Spant forced a smile and tried his best to appear friendly. “W-why did you want to take on this mission?”

“Didn’t you get our help?” The honest Shang Jianyao was very surprised.

Spant was speechless, and his eyes stung. He stammered, “No, that’s not what I meant. I wanted to ask, how did two Grand Knight gold coins catch your eye?”

“Two is quite a lot. If we’re frugal, it can last us a month.” Jiang Baimian deliberately feigned bewilderment at Spant’s question.

Their high-performance batteries were fully charged. In the future, they only needed to charge whatever Genava and the jeep needed every day. As a result, the electricity bill would be greatly reduced.

Spant—who was holding a double-barrel hunting rifle—forced a smile and said, “I just don’t understand why you would take a fancy to such a small mission with y-your strength.”

“What’s wrong with a small mission? It’s simple, convenient, fast, and the payment isn’t especially low. Why not take it?” retorted the honest Shang Jianyao.

Jiang Baimian cleared her throat and consoled Spant. “Don’t think of us as a team that likes to do large deals. We have always adhered to the laws or rules of the various settlements. We are honest, hard-working people. What we earn is all hard-earned money.”

“…” Long Yuehong wanted to criticize inwardly, but he was momentarily at a loss for words.

It’s impossible to exchange for three military exoskeletons, two sets of bionic artificial intelligence armor, and a smart bot with hard-earned money… That’s too extravagant. Even their team’s robot can equip bionic artificial intelligence armor!?Spant didn’t dare voice his thoughts.

He smiled obsequiously. “I understand. With you guys around, I’ll definitely be able to easily earn the bounty this time.”

Hold your tongue… That’s called raising a flag…?Long Yuehong muttered inwardly.

In this regard, he knew himself well. He knew that with his team’s glorious history of causing trouble for no reason, taking on this mission might not be a good thing for everyone.

Jiang Baimian smiled and said, “There’s no need to praise us. Spant, you and the others are in charge of leading the way. See if there are any known dangerous figures in the approaching cars.”

“No problem.” Spant quickly agreed.

Jiang Baimian turned to look at Genava. “Old Ge, take Spant’s car later.”

“Alright.” Genava understood that he had to shoulder the responsibility of monitoring and reconnaissance.

Although Spant was unwilling, he still smiled and said, “Alright.”

The four carbon-based Old Task Force members then got into their jeep. Bai Chen was in charge of driving, and Jiang Baimian sat in the passenger seat. Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong sat in the backseat.

As Genava opened the door to Spant’s passenger seat, he activated the Chameleon bionic artificial intelligence armor’s stealth function.

Spant watched helplessly as a tall and terrifying robot disappeared in front of him, and his forehead couldn’t help but twitch.

Having crossed the Rubicon, he could only force himself to remain calm. He returned to the driver’s seat and placed the canvas backpack over the armrest compartment.

He subconsciously moved his double-barrel hunting rifle toward the passenger seat, wanting to leave it there like before.

By the time he came to a realization that seated in the seemingly empty passenger seat was actually a robot, the double-barrel hunting rifle had already been taken by the air and slowly lowered.

“…” Spant couldn’t describe his feelings with words.

Before long, Sandro walked over and casually looked at Spant’s brownish-green sedan. He then shouted in a deep voice, “Are you ready?”

“Good to go!” Spant wasn’t sure if his smile had stiffened.

Sandro nodded. “Alright, let’s set off. You take point. I don’t have to repeat what I need you to do, right?”

“No, no.” Spant forced a smile and shook his head.

At this moment, the employer’s 20 to 30 men got onto the vehicles filled with goods and two individual cars inlaid with bulletproof armor. The other three Ruin Hunter teams were also prepared.

Spant perked up and drove his sedan out of the parking lot and back the way he came. The Old Task Force’s jeep followed closely behind.

Following them was another Ruin Hunter team. Further back were the cargo vehicles that started one after another. The dark cars that Sandro and the others were in were mixed in the convoy.

At the end of the team were two other Ruin Hunter teams.

Everyone was familiar with the route, but compared to before, not only did they have to be wary of enemies hiding in the forests, cliffs, and streams on both sides, but they also had to be careful of every car that approached them.

They didn’t have the ability to block the road and prevent any cars from passing by, nor did they have the madness of blowing up every car.

As a local Ruin Hunter, Spant carefully identified the drivers, the passengers in the car, an estimation of their strength, and their usual actions every time he saw a car drive over.

Genava used his installed binoculars, information gathering equipment, and the corresponding analysis module. He methodically determined if the person in the approaching cars had any ill intentions from their expressions, lips, and body language.

In the jeep behind, Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao sensed their surroundings without relaxing. In order to earn two Grand Knight gold coins, they could be said to be very professional.

The Ruin Hunter team behind their car was also very careful, not missing a single detail.

A few minutes later, the person in charge of driving suddenly smiled. “The team in front is very careful. I see that the two people sitting in the back have their helmets on.”

“Bulletproof?” his companion asked curiously.

“I’m not sure.” The Ruin Hunter shook his head; he could only see the back of Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong’s heads.

They didn’t pay much attention to this matter.

In a hidden spot in the distant forest, seven to eight people were lying in ambush.

There were two people in the lead. One was tall, with blond hair and a muscular build. His face was rugged with a hint of wild beauty. The other was thin and had long black hair. His wrinkles were abnormally deep. He was less than 1.75 meters tall, but his eyes were sharp. He wore dark, baggy pants and had one hand in his pocket.

At this moment, the rugged one—who seemed to be of Icefield heritage—held a pair of binoculars. With the terrain’s advantage, he watched the goods-transporting convoy.

He was the first to see Spant, so he grinned and laughed. “There’s only one person in the first car. This unlucky bastard is used as bait, right?”

“It’s meaningless. Our people can completely drive to the middle of the convoy before launching an attack,” said the long black-haired Red River man coldly. He then urged, “Wilde, quickly confirm the situation. The vehicle team is still waiting for us to give the signal for them to drive toward the target.”

Wilde grumbled silently and observed the subsequent cars.

The first thing he saw was a person driving with a military exoskeleton.

“Woah! Look, what am I seeing!?” Wilde moved away the binoculars and rubbed his eyes in disbelief. He then brought the binoculars back to his eyes.

The next second, he realized that not only was the driver wearing a military exoskeleton, but the passengers were also fully armed.

The people in the passenger seat and the backseats were also wearing military exoskeletons. The other person was wearing something suspected to be bionic artificial intelligence armor.

Wilde’s eyes almost popped out. “Kislin, the situation is bad. Very bad!”

Kislin frowned and took the binoculars, observing the convoy. Under Wilde’s guidance, he quickly found the problem and fell silent.

“Where did they find such helpers?” Wilde shouted uncontrollably.

Upon seeing his companions make a commotion, Kislin looked around and said, “Calm down. It’s just a well-equipped team. They are indeed very strong, but they won’t be able to stop us without Awakened.”

The boorish Wilde objected. “Do you think there won’t be Awakened in such a well-equipped team? A child with a treasure won’t live to return home!”

Nobody could be sure.

After a long silence, Kislin said in a deep voice, “Retreat!”

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