The First Order

Han Yang was escaping. The floods had stopped his enemies on the other side of the river, but there was still someone chasing after him relentlessly. If not for his past experience in the army, he would have already died at the hands of his pursuer.

Earlier, Zong Cheng had escaped back to the Zong Consortium in advance because Yan Liuyuan had displayed a power that was too shocking.

As such, Han Yang had been left behind by others. He was just a sacrificial pawn now.

Upon reaching the outlying area of Mt. Guan, Han Yang carefully made his way into a small stream flowing out of the valley. This was an area he was familiar with. The bandits controlled by the Zong Consortium used to be stationed inside of Mt. Guan.

The outside world thought the bandits in the valley had gone out of control. However, as the main party in this matter, how could the Zong Consortium have completely lost control of this place? All of the bandits at Mt. Guan still remained under the control of the Zong Consortium.

When he arrived here, Han Yang heaved a sigh of relief. He knew he was almost safe.

However, the most dangerous moment when walking a tightrope was the last three steps. Han Yang heaved a sigh of relief before resuming his alertness.

The ghostly opponent behind him was definitely still tracking him. He couldn’t afford to be careless.

But all of a sudden, Han Yang felt like his heart and lungs had been torn apart. A great force of inertia hit from his right and sent him right into the stream. He could not resist this force.

A bullet spinning at high speed passed through the gap between his ribs. The massive tearing force ripped his muscles apart like they were wadding while his heart was pulverized.

Only now did the sound of the sniper rifle reach his ears. Han Yang fell into the stream with his blood flowing from his wound, dyeing the water red. He laid on his back and watched the sky appear to darken before his life faded away.

In the distance, Yang Xiaojin got off the ground. In order to hunt down Han Yang, she had spent the past two days and two nights awake.

Yang Xiaojin’s eyes were bloodshot, but it wasn’t clear if it was due to crying or a lack of sleep.

She had a chance to finish off Han Yang earlier, but she held back so Han Yang would experience the same pain as Ren Xiaosu.

No, she wanted Han Yang to experience even more intense pain.

At this moment, Yang Xiaojin was feeling a little lost. The other day, she had sprinted in a frenzy to the river to search for Ren Xiaosu. Even if he had really died, she needed to see his body first.

But the river was moving too fast. She could not keep up even after running with all her might for several kilometers. All she could do was helplessly watch as the river took Ren Xiaosu further away.

Even supernatural beings had limited endurance when running at full speed.

Seeing that she could not keep up with the floodwaters, she forded the river at a narrow point to chase Han Yang down all the way to Mt. Guan.

But what to do after killing Han Yang? Would she go after Zong Cheng next?

However, just killing Zong Cheng would not quench her hatred for him.

Suddenly, a white paper crane flew onto her shoulder. Yang Xiaojin was stunned for a moment before opening up the paper crane. She saw a line of beautifully written words on it: “Come to the Central Plains. After the matter here is handled, Auntie will help you to finish off the Zong Consortium.”

When Ren Xiaosu opened his eyes, he felt as though he had lost all his strength. And he heard someone say in surprise, “He’s awake.”

The voice belonged to a girl. Ren Xiaosu looked over in silence and saw a girl who was around the same age as him looking at him from the passenger seat.

He was lying in the back of an off-road vehicle with the backseat laid out flat like a bed.

The girl picked up the vehicle’s walkie-talkie and said, “Big Bro, the injured boy has regained consciousness.”

The vehicle slowly came to a stop. Ren Xiaosu had not said a single word since he came around. He had not figured out what had happened yet, but he could feel a sharp pain in the right side of his abdomen throughout all this.

The door opened and he saw a middle-aged man in a wheelchair being pushed over.

The middle-aged man smiled and said, “Hello, my name is Wang Shengzhi. We had found you by the river unconscious and severely injured, so we made the decision to bring you with us. I hope you don’t mind.”

Ren Xiaosu stayed silent for a moment before saying, “Are my injuries serious?”

“I have to congratulate you on that,” Wang Shengzhi said with a smile.

Ren Xiaosu was a little puzzled. What was there to congratulate?

Sensing the doubt in Ren Xiaosu, Wang Shengzhi kept his smile and said, “The wound you suffered happened to be right at your appendix. Whatever penetrated you actually cut it off for you, so you don’t have to worry about getting appendicitis anymore.”

Ren Xiaosu was speechless.

The young girl smiled. “My name is Wang Shengyin. How did you get injured?”

Ren Xiaosu replied without any hesitation, “We were farming, but when the floods arrived, our settlement was wiped out. I was carried away by the floodwaters and hit into a tree where a branch went right through my abdomen.”

“I see.” Wang Shengzhi nodded with a smile. He did not seem like he had any intention of getting to the bottom of how this wound was inflicted.

But Ren Xiaosu had some hesitations of where these people were from. Where were they going?

In this era, anyone who had an off-road vehicle was no ordinary person. But even though Wang Shengzhi sat in a wheelchair, Ren Xiaosu could vaguely sense that he was the person in charge of this convoy.

Ren Xiaosu did not wish to tell the truth. He no longer trusted anyone.

There was a time when he wanted to believe in something, but that brought about a disaster. Since he experienced that, he definitely had to remember the pain.

Wang Shengzhi asked, “It’s not convenient for you to move about. Why don’t you follow us and wait until your injuries are healed before making any plans?”

Ren Xiaosu asked in return, “Where are y’all headed?”

“Stronghold 178.” Wang Shengzhi smiled and said, “We’re from the Central Plains and are heading to Stronghold 178. Do you know about Stronghold 178?”.

“I do.” Ren Xiaosu nodded. “But I’ve never been there before.”

Only at this time did Ren Xiaosu realize these people were actually from the Central Plains to the east. So these were… Central Plainsmen?

He had been swept along by the flood to the east. But in the end, he was brought back to the Northwest by these people. It was in the exact opposite direction.

But why were these people going to Stronghold 178? Ren Xiaosu noticed that everyone in the vehicle was dressed in casual attire, and there weren’t any special symbols in the vehicle either.

“OK.” Wang Shengzhi nodded and said, “Since your home has been washed away by the floods, come with us to Stronghold 178. Who knows, you might be able to find a place there and settle down.”

When he heard the word “home,” Ren Xiaosu felt a sharp pain in his heart. Wang Shengzhi saw Ren Xiaosu’s expression and said, “Apologies for reminding you of your painful memories.”

Ren Xiaosu did not try to hide it. After all, he should be like a distressed refugee right now. He paused before saying, “Stronghold 178 doesn’t accept outsiders.”

Wang Shengzhi smiled and said, “I have some connections with Commander Zhang over there. Perhaps we can help put in a word for you. Even if that doesn’t work, we can’t just leave you out here in this wilderness.”

Ren Xiaosu thought for a while. “Alright, thank you then.”

Ren Xiaosu’s injuries were indeed very serious. A sense of helplessness permeated throughout his entire being and into his bones, and he did not even have the ability to think properly.

He was too seriously injured this time, so he needed to find an opportunity to apply the black medicine on himself as soon as possible.

When the convoy got back on the road, Ren Xiaosu asked to make conversation, “Very few people from the Central Plains come to the Northwest. Why have y’all come to such a poor place?”

The girl answered as though she did not have any reservations, “We’re here to open up the trade routes in the Northwest.”

Ren Xiaosu pondered this for a moment. Open up the trade routes? Would the Zong Consortium, spread across the trade routes, agree to that?