The First Order

Ren Xiaosu recalled his shadow clone and climbed back up onto the roof. Xu Xianchu was sitting up there and gasping violently for breath. His opponent was already dead, his neck snapped like a pastry twist. ¹

Ren Xiaosu looked at a tall building in the distance and waved at it. Then he said to Xu Xianchu, “Let’s go to where I live first so that you can take a bath and change clothes. If you wanna get to Stronghold 178, you’ll have to fill your belly before you set off.”

Xu Xianchu said emotionally, “Thank you!”

“Gratitude received from Xu Xianchu, +1!”

Ren Xiaosu was seriously considering if he should persuade Xu Xianchu to stay behind just so he could say “thank you” to him every day.

However, Xu Xianchu continued, “But I can’t stay around any longer. After tonight’s battle, they might lock down the entire stronghold even more securely. It’ll be impossible for me to leave when that happens, so now is the best opportunity to ;leave.”

Ren Xiaosu said with some regret, “Aren’t you gonna wait a bit more?”

“I’ll only implicate you if I stay any longer.” Xu Xianchu said sincerely, “Ren Xiaosu, if we’re fated to meet, we’ll meet again!”

Ren Xiaosu thought for a while and nodded. “We’ll probably see each other again at Stronghold 178, so take care!”

After this exchange, Xu Xianchu left without even looking back. As for how he was planning to leave, it didn’t seem like it was going to pose a problem to Xu Xianchu since he was a former private army officer.

At this moment, Ren Xiaosu could hear shuffling footsteps on the streets in the distance. It seemed that the troops from the stronghold were almost here. Ren Xiaosu was really hoping all of the other major powers in the stronghold would fight among themselves. Then no one would have the energy to worry about him once everyone started fighting for their lives.

After Ren Xiaosu and Xu Xianchu left, a security team from the stronghold’s Public Order Division finally arrived. They quickly sealed off the scene and sent their men to inform the Li Consortium.

They could tell something was wrong just by looking at the battle that had taken place here. This was not a fight between normal people; it was a clash involving supernatural beings. Furthermore, the people from the Public Order Division realized that this was not something they could interfere with when they saw the Pyro Company’s logo on the clothes of the dead victims.

In reality, the Public Order Division also knew something was stirring in the stronghold. There was the massacre at No. 4 Psychiatric Hospital, and the explosion set off by the Pyro Company when they were attempting to capture some supernatural beings. With these cases put together, even a fool would know it was better not to get embroiled in whatever was going on if they wanted to live.

As a matter of fact, the Public Order Division was made up of average people, and they were only equipped with small-caliber firearms that could be used to deal with run-of-the-mill thieves. But if they encountered a supernatural being, they would definitely end up getting slaughtered.

On the rooftop of a high-rise building in the distance, Yang Xiaojin had just stowed her gun. Beside her, Luo Xinyu was holding the railing and wondering, “Don’t you find it strange? Although that wasn’t the main force of the Midnight task force, that kid still killed them too easily. Did we underestimate him too much?”

“Mhm.” Yang Xiaojin was thinking about something as she looked out at the battlefield in the distance. “True, it was a little unexpected. I used to think his combat strength was not that high, so I didn’t expect him to take on three opponents at the same time. Although I didn’t exactly see what happened in the alley, Ren Xiaosu must’ve faced three opponents if Xu Xianchu only took on one of them.”

“It’s standard for Midnight to have five members per team when conducting missions. They’ve always liked outnumbering their opponents, after all,” Luo Xinyu said in a bored voice. “Somehow, they managed to screw it up this time. After this incident, I reckon they’ll finally understand the principle that numbers mean nothing in the face of absolute power when dealing with a supernatural being.”

“I had wanted to carve out an escape path for him.” Yang Xiaojin was also quite surprised. “But I never imagined he’d end up massacring all of the Midnight members.”

“That lad’s really bloodthirsty.” Luo Xinyu said, “It was so apparent in his eyes when we were making our way into the Jing Mountains. Once there are any signs of a threat, he tries to rid the problem. A supernatural being born of the wilderness has always been more ruthless than those who had their powers awakened in a stronghold.”

Yang Xiaojin said, “It was probably caused by the environment he lived in. He’s only trying to survive, that’s all.”

“Why are you so eager to explain him on his behalf?” Luo Xinyu said in amusement, “This lad’s already powerful enough by himself, and he even has that Chen Wudi, whose combat strength is unknown, on his side too. That already makes their small group quite powerful. Should we draw both the Li Consortium and your Yang Consortium’s attention onto them so the focus won’t be on us?”

“They just want to live a stable life in the stronghold. Don’t give them any unnecessary trouble,” Yang Xiaojin said calmly.

“Hahahahaha,” Luo Xinyu burst out laughing. In reality, she didn’t intend to do anything and just wanted to see Yang Xiaojin’s reaction.

Yang Xiaojin said calmly, “It’s a little strange. Even now, no one’s discovered what kind of superpower he has.”

Luo Xinyu asked in surprise, “Don’t you know what his superpower is?”

“And why would I know it?” Yang Xiaojin glanced at Luo Xinyu.

“You two have such a good relationship, so I thought he would tell you about it.” Luo Xinyu chuckled. “You two are deskmates, with one being the student councilor and the other the class monitor…”

Yang Xiaojin looked at her. “The Li Consortium’s combat troops will get here soon. Let’s go.”

“Alright, alright.” Luo Xinyu activated Shadow Door and led Yang Xiaojin away from the rooftop in a flash.

Tonight, Yang Xiaojin and Luo Xinyu had both updated their understanding of Ren Xiaosu. They had guessed he was a supernatural being, but they never expected him to be so strong.

Something kept bugging Ren Xiaosu during his battle with Midnight. He felt that Midnight’s effectiveness had been exaggerated as they were obviously not that strong, yet they acted as though they were the best.

But in fact, there was a misunderstanding since Midnight was quite well-known. As a matter of fact, this fighting force had successfully captured three supernatural beings in the past.

On most days, this unit would be considered the second echelon ¹ to the Pyro Company’s main force.

…

On the same night, the Li Consortium acted out of the norm and imposed martial law across the entire stronghold. During this critical period, they even ordered a curfew on all residents. Those who went out after 10 PM would be treated as criminals and arrested!

At first, the Li Consortium did not want to split up their forces as they wanted to focus all their manpower on protecting the research results. After all, that was their utmost priority right now.

But the frequency of incidents happening in the stronghold was increasing. No matter how good they were at enduring it, they couldn’t sit idle this time.

In fact, the reason Luo Lan’s group kept causing trouble everywhere was so the Li Consortium would be busy up to their ears. Finally, it would get to the point where they would have no choice but to split up their manpower.

And after Ren Xiaosu’s battle with Midnight tonight, the Li Consortium simply could not hold back anymore.

Even before the sun came up, a regiment of soldiers were patrolling the streets. When they discovered any suspicious persons, they would go up and interrogate them.

The private troops and Public Order Division had cut short their leave, with one-third of the Li Consortium’s ORBAT also mobilized for this operation. All of a sudden, it felt like a war was about to break out in the stronghold. The loose strings had all tightened.

Ren Xiaosu could feel the tension outside the shop as a storm brewed in the stronghold.