The First Order

Xu Xianchu explained, “The environment he grew up in is a little different. He was always plotting against the refugees in town since childhood, so it’s normal that he hides his thoughts deep inside. But don’t underestimate him. Just think, how many people can escape unscathed on so many occasions after a stronghold collapses…”

Everyone looked at one another. It was still too early to say for now. If he were the real deal, he could definitely stand up to their scrutiny. The war was going to happen no matter what, so the Razor Sharp Company would definitely be deployed at the forefront of the other fighting forces. At that time, it would be clear to all whether Ren Xiaosu was a hero or a zero.

Regarding the matter of a young man named Ren Xiaosu being shoved into the Razor Sharp Company, everyone in the military of Fortress 178 found out overnight. This made everyone quite curious about what Ren Xiaosu was like.

To the burly men of Fortress 178, this was clearly an important matter as it involved someone Zhang Jinglin regarded as his successor.

When Xu Xianchu was fast-tracked for promotion, everyone thought Xu Xianchu stood a chance of being considered and wondered if the tradition of the fortress commander emerging from the Razor Sharp Company would finally be broken.

But from the looks of it, it seemed like Xu Xianchu had not been chosen by Commander Zhang as a candidate to be his successor. It seemed that tradition would still remain tradition.

Rumor had it that Ren Xiaosu was a supernatural being. However, it did not seem like he would be very good at fighting with that weak and frail body. Everyone was a little curious as to whether Ren Xiaosu could even survive the war.

The next morning, when Ren Xiaosu walked out of the building where his group was staying, he saw a group of burly men squatting on the sidewalk.

The moment he appeared, the group of men lowered their voices and whisper-shouted, “He’s out! That’s him!”

“Why’s he so skinny?!”

“Can he even take a few punches?”

“He’s not gonna get killed the moment he steps onto the battlefield, right?”

Ren Xiaosu immediately put his guard up. Were they here to find trouble with him? Was this group of burly men blocking the way to seek a fight with him?

Although his injuries had not fully healed yet, he was not afraid if anyone tried to find trouble with him.

But once these burly men saw Ren Xiaosu, they retreated. Ren Xiaosu was left standing there in a daze, not understanding what was going on.

Zhang Jinglin had not discussed anything with him prior. In fact, Zhang Jinglin’s arrangements might not be a good thing for Ren Xiaosu at all.

That was because once Ren Xiaosu joined the Razor Sharp Company, everyone would watch his every move, and any mistakes he made would be scrutinized even harder. The moment he showed any signs of cowardice, everyone would think he was not qualified enough.

Everyone would look at him through a magnifying glass to see if he deserved to be so highly regarded by the commander.

And what made him so highly regarded?

But Zhang Jinglin did not care about that. He only told Ren Xiaosu that if he wanted to take revenge and personally bring down the Zong Consortium, he would have to first join Fortress 178’s military.

Ren Xiaosu agreed to it, of course.

Then Zhang Jinglin asked him what kinds of troops he was planning to join and offered him the chance to choose for himself.

Ren Xiaosu answered he would like to go wherever it was the most dangerous. Whichever unit could kill the most enemies, he would go there.

Zhang Jinglin asked him if he wanted to reconsider it, but Ren Xiaosu said he had already made his decision and would not go back on his word.

Revenge was the only motivation that pushed Ren Xiaosu to go to Fortress 178.

Zhang Jinglin smiled and said: “Alright, I’ll arrange for you to be posted where it’s the most dangerous then.”

At the time, Ren Xiaosu felt that something was going to happen, but he did not know what exactly was going on.

In the afternoon, Xu Xianchu came over and told him to report to the Razor Sharp Company. This company was going to be under the command of Zhou Yinglong, the commander of the Forward Strike Battalion.

When Ren Xiaosu was told, he did not think much of it since it was his own request.

But Xu Xianchu reminded him repeatedly, “Xiaosu, it’s said that the Razor Sharp Company comes back with less than 10% of its troops after every war, and it’s not even uncommon for everyone to get wiped out, so you must be careful when you’re there. After you return safely, my future in Fortress 178 will be in your hands.”

These words absolutely confused Ren Xiaosu.

Xu Xianchu drove Ren Xiaosu to the west side of Fortress 178 where the Razor Sharp Company was garrisoned. As they drove in, Ren Xiaosu realized that all the soldiers in the military base stopped whatever they were doing and turned to look at him.

Zhou Yinglong was already waiting inside. He glanced at Xu Xianchu before chuckling and saying, “Old Xu, go on back now. It’ll be fine to leave him here with us.”

Xu Xianchu raised an eyebrow. “We don’t even know if you’ll survive this war or not.”

Zhou Yinglong spat and said angrily, “Stop jinxing me. I won’t die even after you’ve died.”

Xu Xianchu sneered and said, “Do you have a cauldron like I do?”

Zhou Yinglong did not say anything else. Just as Ren Xiaosu had guessed, Zhou Yinglong was a supernatural being as well. Otherwise, he would not be in such a dangerous place like the Forward Strike Battalion.

After all, it wasn’t like there were a lot of supernatural beings in Fortress 178 either.

But Zhou Yinglong knew his own power was not strong as Xu Xianchu’s. Everyone had witnessed the might of Xu Xianchu’s cauldron before.

At this moment, Ren Xiaosu realized the soldiers in Fortress 178 were really casual when talking about death. It was as common as eating. There was not much fear in their eyes. He wondered what kind of environment created such a group of soldiers.

Even in spring, Fortress 178 was very cold. Sometimes, it would even start snowing by August or September out here, as more than half the year would be spent in wintry conditions.

After bidding farewell to Xu Xianchu, Zhou Yinglong led Ren Xiaosu inside the military base. As they walked, he said, “Our Forward Strike Battalion has always been a place where we fight the tough battles. You might not know it since you came from outside the fortress, nor do I know if you’ve ever experienced war before, but I just want to warn you so you don’t go onto the battlefield and get caught off guard.”

Ren Xiaosu said calmly, “Don’t worry, Battalion Commander, I won’t.”

Since he had been posted to this unit, he was someone’s subordinate. Naturally, he would have to obey his orders. Ren Xiaosu was not surprised that Zhou Yinglong would say that either, so there was no need for him to deliberately talk back.

Zhou Yinglong glanced at him and continued, “I heard Old Xu mention you before. I know you’ve killed people before and that you’re a supernatural being. However, bullets have no eyes on the battlefield. Even supernatural beings aren’t that lucky. There’s still a difference between war and killing people.”

Zhou Yinglong was very clear. Although Ren Xiaosu was very powerful, war was a totally different matter.

War was like an avalanche, and even supernatural beings could not defy the force of nature. It was good to not be scared, but one couldn’t be overconfident either.

In the makeup of troops at Fortress 178, there were 30 people in each platoon. Each company consisted of four platoons, so a normal company would generally have about 120 soldiers each.

But the Razor Sharp Company was a reinforced company. They also had their own cooks, quartermasters, radio operators, and medics. The company commander was a captain who was assisted by a non-commissioned officer.

The reason the Razor Sharp Company was so well-equipped was so they would have the ability to fight as an independent force.

Ren Xiaosu suddenly asked, “Battalion Commander Zhou, is the Razor Sharp Company really that strong?”

Zhou Yinglong gave it some thought. “They aren’t necessarily as strong as you might imagine. They’re just a bunch of drifters who’ve gathered together. Normally, they’re real slackers in their daily lives, but they’ve never lost once in a military exercise. They’re well-versed in digging up electrical cables and can fight for a position on the battlefield as well. They’re really as shameless as you can get.”