The First Order

Seeing that the atmosphere in the team was getting stranger, Xu Xianchu said coldly, “Look at your behaviors. The most important thing for us now is to find food and then get out of here. Unless you all wish to die here?”

Liu Bu laughed loudly and said, “That’s right, we should focus on working together now.”

Just a moment ago, a wicked thought entered Liu Bu’s mind. But he realized that he didn’t have many teammates left on his side. If anything shameful happened here, and all of them somehow made it out of this place alive, these soldiers would definitely silence those who were not with the private army.

“Where are we going to look for food?” Someone complained, “Do you guys still wanna enter this forest? I’m not going in!”

Xu Xianchu looked at Ren Xiaosu. “Since you’re the most knowledgeable in wilderness survival, you can help us look for food.”

All of a sudden, the voice from the palace in Ren Xiaosu’s mind said, “Quest: Help the team look for food.”

Look for food?

Ren Xiaosu pondered it for a moment before pointing at a soldier next to Xu Xianchu and said, “I saw him taking food from the pickup before we entered the canyon. There should be some food in his backpack.”

That soldier was dumbfounded. ‘You were told to look for food from the wilderness. What’s with pointing out that I have food on me?!’

“Quest complete. Awarded Basic Skill Duplication Scroll.”

Ren Xiaosu was amused. After all, the palace had only said to help the team look for food. It did not say where he had to look for it. Even if the food was someone else’s, it was still considered food!

He was really beginning to like the way the palace passed its judgment.

Xu Xianchu looked at the soldier next to him. “Take the food out.”

“Why should I take my food out?” The soldier turned hostile and said, “What were all of you doing when I went to get the food? Some of you went to take your clothes, tents, and that celebrity even went to get her makeup bag. Why should I share the food with you?”

Ren Xiaosu said, “That sounds pretty reasonable.”

Everyone turned to look at him in silence.

Honestly, Ren Xiaosu supported this person’s argument. On one hand, he felt that the others had not behaved properly during the chaos. None of them rushed to grab any of the provisions, yet they wanted him to share his food with everyone else? This was moral coercion. But on the other hand, Ren Xiaosu was having so much fun watching this that he didn’t see the need to take a side. He was not a good person to begin with anyway.

At this moment, everyone ignored Ren Xiaosu. When Luo Xinyu went to sit down next to Ren Xiaosu, he pushed her away.

So Luo Xinyu went to sit beside Yang Xiaojin. But Yang Xiaojin and Luo Xinyu’s relationship seemed to be only that of an employer and employee. In this moment, Yang Xiaojin no longer cared to put on an act and ate the rat meat, ignoring Luo Xinyu.

She was still holding the handgun but acted as though it had nothing to do with her.

Xu Xianchu looked at the soldier who had kept his food hidden and said, “Hand the food over. Since we’re working together to get through these difficult times, we can’t be so selfish. When day breaks, we’ll naturally be able to find food. You won’t starve to death.”

“Who knows if we’ll still be alive tomorrow?” The soldier said, “Besides, I was not the only person that went to grab provisions. Li Maoxian and Jiang Yang also took some as well. Why should I be the only one to contribute my share of the food?”

Ren Xiaosu was stunned when he heard the name Li Maoxian. So there were people with such crude names living in the stronghold as well!?

But more importantly, the atmosphere within the group had reached a freezing point. It was surprising that the teammates who had just survived a calamity together would immediately start quarreling over a little bit of food.

Xu Xianchu tactfully advised, “I’m doing this for the good of the whole team.”

The soldier next to him sneered and said, “Are you still trying to assert your authority? You have a gun, but so do I!”

After he said that, he tried to pull his gun from his waist, but Xu Xianchu suddenly raised his leg and made his move. He kicked the soldier in his chest and sent him flying several meters.

No one had expected that Xu Xianchu would suddenly get physical and almost cripple someone with a single kick!

Ren Xiaosu roughly gauged that he should be able to do the same as well with his current physical fitness. In fact, he might even have greater strength than Xu Xianchu. Thinking of this, he felt a little more at ease.

The soldier who got kicked could end up not being able to walk out of the forest alive. Xu Xianchu’s kick was so heavy that it must have inflicted an internal injury to him.

Starting from now, he would have to carry this internal injury while moving around in the forest. Eventually, he would start getting more and more fatigued before he finally collapsed in the forest.

It looked like Xu Xianchu intended to use him as a warning to the others. Even if the team were to lose another member, he would not hesitate to do it.

But before Xu Xianchu could withdraw his leg, a soldier behind him launched an attack. The soldier pulled out a bayonet from his waist and stabbed it towards Xu Xianchu. It seemed that he intended to stab Xu Xianchu to death while he was dealing with the others!

This time, even Yang Xiaojin stopped chewing her food. If this stab went in successfully, Xu Xianchu would die for sure.

Wait!

Ren Xiaosu was suddenly surprised to see an identical “shadow” separating from Xu Xianchu’s body. That gray shadow was just like a duplicate of Xu Xianchu.

At first, Ren Xiaosu thought that he was just seeing things, but he then understood. A supernatural being!

Xu Xianchu turned out to be a supernatural being!

It was no wonder Xu Xianchu insisted on advancing even after he witnessed those strange occurrences. So it was because he had something to rely on!

Ren Xiaosu had long felt that something was amiss. No matter how badly Xu Xianchu wanted to complete the mission, and how worried he was about getting expelled from the stronghold, surely he couldn’t have such disregard for his life, right?

So it was not because Xu Xianchu was unafraid of dying; it was because he had a secret.

When faced with the sneak attack by the bayonet, the gray shadow spun around. It behaved just like a real person as it firmly grabbed the incoming bayonet. This gray shadow was even faster and more powerful than Xu Xianchu!

Moreover, it seemed that the gray shadow was unafraid of sharp weapons since it grabbed hold of the bayonet with its bare hands. In the blink of an eye, the soldier holding the bayonet was left in a state of confusion. He did not expect that he would be confronted with a supernatural being, nor did he expect that the opponent would dare to grab hold of the bayonet with its bare hands!

While the soldier was distracted, the gray shadow grabbed the bayonet from him and ruthlessly stabbed it into his abdomen.

Everyone at the campsite fell silent. Only the sound of their nervous panting could be heard. The soldier slowly fell to the ground, and the blood that appeared purple in the moonlight seeped into the soil, turning it black.

But the soldier did not die on the spot from his injury. He was still breathing as he lay on the ground.

The soldier who had been kicked to the ground earlier struggled to pull out his pistol before raising it and shooting. However, a shocking scene happened. That gray shadow actually stood in front of Xu Xianchu and completely shielded him from the bullets!

There was a rippling effect on the gray shadow as the bullets it blocked fell onto the ground one by one.

Some of them had wanted to accuse Xu Xianchu of killing their compatriots, but they no longer dared to speak out now!

Everyone looked at Xu Xianchu in shock. Was his power to create an identical shadow of himself? But the shadow was obviously a little stronger than Xu Xianchu himself.

Moreover, even gunfire could not penetrate the gray shadow!

So this was what a real supernatural being was like?

While Ren Xiaosu was pondering things, he realized Xu Xianchu’s face had turned a little pale. Did this mean that there was an effect on the wielder’s body when the gray shadow shielded him against the bullets?

The two instances of Xu Xianchu then looked around and surveyed the situation. Afterwards, the gray shadow slowly moved towards the original Xu Xianchu and merged right back into him from behind.