The First Order
chapter-193

“I have a question.” Ren Xiaosu suddenly asked, “Did y’all really discover Qing Zhen’s nuclear test site?”

Yang Xiaojin looked at him. “No, I was just bluffing Qing Zhen. His people had been in contact with several particle physicists. But soon after their meeting, those physicists all went missing, including their family members. However, the Qing Consortium has never made any foray into this field of research, so we suspect it’s Qing Zhen’s own private dealings. He must have his own private nuclear test site.”

“Isn’t he part of the Qing Consortium? Why does he have to defend against his own people in that case? He even set up an independent base of his own?” Ren Xiaosu did not understand.

Yang Xiaojin explained, “Because he knows very well that in the past hundred years or so, almost none of the Qing Consortium’s Shadows have come to a good end. A Shadow… will always remain as just a Shadow.”

“Oh.” Ren Xiaosu nodded. So Qing Zhen was probably doing this for self-preservation?

Yang Xiaojin said, “When we explain it to the others, we’d better say it was Xu Xianchu who saved us both. Otherwise, your superpower will get revealed very easily. I’m seriously advising you this time. You must not let anyone know you have the ability to copy someone else’s powers. It’d be too dangerous if anyone found out.”

Ren Xiaosu was taken aback. “Wait, but don’t the Saboteurs already know that Xu Xianchu isn’t at Stronghold 109 anymore? So how are we supposed to say it was him who saved us?”

Yang Xiaojin said, “Well, that was a bluff as well.”

“Ha, ha.” In reality, Ren Xiaosu had many unanswered questions on his mind and was slowly answering them with Yang Xiaojin. “Is Lu Yuan also a member of the Saboteurs? I saw you providing him with cover earlier.”

“He’s not a member of the Saboteurs.” Yang Xiaojin said, “He’s from the Yang Consortium. The Yang Consortium and the Li Consortium have been carrying out research and development on nanotech all this while, because they believe nanotech will provide a breakthrough in terms of individual combat prowess. Actually, Qing Zhen was right. The Yang Consortium is also planning to use nanotech to prepare for war.”

“Then how are the Saboteurs and the Yang Consortium related?” Ren Xiaosu wondered.

“The Saboteurs were created by the first supernatural being of the Yang Consortium.” Yang Xiaojin explained, “Actually, the Saboteurs have a complicated relationship with the Yang Consortium. Currently, the Saboteurs and the Yang Consortium do not agree on their ideals and have gradually started moving in their own directions. It’s just that the relationship between both parties is a little difficult to make clear. Actually, the Saboteurs were not called such in the beginning. But since that was what everyone called us, we just went with it and took up that role in this chaotic world.”

Ren Xiaosu did not probe too much into the current relationship between the Saboteurs and the Yang Consortium. After all, it seemed like that was Yang Xiaojin’s family affairs. However, Ren Xiaosu suddenly felt a little uncomfortable. After all, he was just a refugee.

Yang Xiaojin came to a stop in front of a rock that had a strange symbol etched into it. From her pocket, she took out a finger-length metal stick and activated one end of it, shooting a flare into the sky.

Ren Xiaosu quietly watched and thought that Yang Xiaojin must’ve discovered a sign that her fellow Saboteurs had left for her to send them a signal.

Suddenly, an off-road vehicle rushed out of a narrow pathway with Luo Xinyu waving out of the window from the backseat. “Xiaojin, I’m so glad you’re fine.”

The off-road vehicle, being driven by Lu Yuan, came to a stop in front of Ren Xiaosu and Yang Xiaojin. Lu Yuan got out of the vehicle and said to Yang Xiaojin, “Let’s go back home. This mission was a failure. The hard drive Xinyu managed to procure was taken from her by that Fatty Luo.”

Yang Xiaojin took the hard drive out of her pocket. “Qing Zhen’s giving it to the Yang Consortium, but I think he’s just trying to deepen the conflict between the Yang Consortium and the Li Consortium. Doesn’t really matter anyway. It’s not like our two families had a good relationship in the first place.”

Luo Xinyu cheered. However, they were both more concerned about how Yang Xiaojin had managed to get out of trouble. Yang Xiaojin explained, “Xu Xianchu and Ren Xiaosu teamed up and saved me. Xu Xianchu is very powerful now, so we had better keep a close eye on him.”

Luo Xinyu was startled. “I went to the site of the battle and looked around. How did the two of them combined manage to become such a lethal force?”

“It’s mainly Xu Xianchu’s credit. But he’s already heading to Stronghold 178,” Yang Xiaojin said calmly.

“Oh, we can return home then.” Luo Xinyu quipped at Ren Xiaosu, “Hey, Ren Xiaosu, do you want to come with us to Stronghold 88?”.

Ren Xiaosu was stunned before shaking his head and saying, “No, it’s fine. I still have to search for my brother.”

Yang Xiaojin looked at him. “I’ve got to go now.”

Ren Xiaosu made a noise in acknowledgment.

Yang Xiaojin said, “After you find Yan Liuyuan and the others, come to Stronghold 88. I’ll wait for you there.”

“Alright.”

Then Yang Xiaojin hopped into the off-road vehicle. Lu Yuan stepped on the accelerator and the off-road vehicle roared into the distance.

In fact, Ren Xiaosu knew the two of them would eventually have to bid each other farewell. But when adults parted ways, it was always an easy thing to do. Sorrowful goodbyes were only reserved for poets.

If they wanted to meet again, they’d definitely be able to.

Ren Xiaosu watched as the vehicle got further and further away. He suddenly remembered and shouted, “Hey, give me a ride if y’all’re going north!”

However, the off-road vehicle was too far away.

Snowflakes suddenly drifted down from the sky. This was the first snow of winter this year and it looked heavier than usual. The snowflakes fluttering down from the sky seemed almost like they were here to clean off the bloodstains from this wasteland.

…

There were already quite a few campfires burning at a campsite in the north. Thousands and thousands of people were shivering in the cold wilderness. The campfires in front of these people were the only thing that provided them some warmth.

Even though the Experimentals had broken into the city and gone on a killing spree, there were still only slightly over a 1,000 of them. Meanwhile, the number of residents living in the stronghold was in the hundreds of thousands, so there were quite a lot of people who managed to escape the siege.

Furthermore, the little girl next to Li Shentan had also participated in the battle and opened up a path of escape for a group of residents.

Li Shentan and that little girl named Si Liren had gone off to someplace unknown. The escapees had begged for the two to bring them along, so Li Shentan told them to head north and find a group of people who rode on bicycles so that their survival would be ensured.

From the sounds of it, Li Shentan was playing a little joke on Ren Xiaosu.

The escapees revered Li Shentan like a god who had saved them, but they didn’t know he was actually one of those who had brought this disaster upon them. After getting his revenge on the Li Consortium in Stronghold 109, Li Shentan did not make any further moves there. Instead, he headed off to the other stronghold cities that were under the control of the Li Consortium. He seemed to be planning on bringing down the entire Li Consortium all on his own.

Eventually, the escapees located the cycling group, who happened to be fixing their bicycles after heading north. Compared to Yan Liuyuan and the others who were riding on bicycles and carrying backpacks, the escapees appeared to be in a much more miserable state.

At this moment, Wang Fugui said mysteriously, “Liuyuan, I found something good that might be of great use.”

Yan Liuyuan looked at Wang Fugui and asked, “Uncle Fugui, what’d you find?”

Wang Fugui carefully took out a deck of cards. “See this? It’s a pack of explosives!”