The First Order

Xiaoyu kept looking at Yang Xiaojin. The more she looked at her, the more she liked her. Yang Xiaojin looked very cultured and was beautiful as well. At the same time, it did not feel like she was a delicate girl who could not fend for herself.

Where else could she find a sister-in-law like her?

Xiaoyu was already thinking about the dowry for Ren Xiaosu before the relationship had even started taking shape. She even wanted to ask Ren Xiaosu what he would name his child. How many children would Ren Xiaosu and Yang Xiaojin have? If they only had two, she could help take care of them. But any more than that and it would be really tough for her to handle.

When everyone went back to work, Xiaoyu secretly asked Ren Xiaosu, “Did you use the tent that Big Sis prepared for you?”

The first thing that Xiaoyu thought about the moment they arrived here was this. When she saw that there was not even a proper place for them to live, she knew the tent would definitely come in handy!

But as Xiaoyu joyfully waited for his reply, Ren Xiaosu stammered, “She sleeps inside the tent while I sleep outside.”

Xiaoyu pinched Ren Xiaosu hard. “How could you let such a good opportunity slip?!” He had wasted all her efforts! Everything she’d done had been for nothing!

To avoid further questioning, Ren Xiaosu quickly went over to the refugees and gathered everyone together. “I believe everyone already knows that the Zong Consortium in the north probably knows that we’re here. Now that the South is in chaos, we might be in danger if we continue living here.”

At this moment, Jin Lan took the lead and shouted, “Boss, we’ll follow you wherever you go!”

Ren Xiaosu paused for half a minute before suddenly saying, “Actually, I’m not from Stronghold 178.”

He felt that a wonderful hope should not be mixed with deception. If that dream were really worth it, there should be no impurities. So he had to be honest with them.

After the bandits gradually quieted down, Ren Xiaosu continued, “I know both Xu Xianchu and Zhang Jinglin, and we even have a good relationship, but I’m not actually from Stronghold 178. If any of you wish to leave, I can write you a recommendation letter. As for whether you’ll be allowed to join Stronghold 178, I can’t guarantee that.”

Ren Xiaosu waited for everyone to make their decision. He was not pinning much hope on most of them choosing to remain with him. He had spoken the truth as he did not wish to deceive this group of people anymore.

Sure enough, most of the bandits started looking at one another after hearing what Ren Xiaosu said.

Regardless of whether the method that Ren Xiaosu had previously used to fool them was effective or not, even though everyone enjoyed the process of earning the bullets, they only chose to stay around because they ultimately were looking to join Stronghold 178. So the moment the truth was revealed, everyone instinctively hesitated.

Someone stepped forward and said, “Boss, to be honest, I only chose to stay behind because I really wanted to go to Stronghold 178. So…”

Ren Xiaosu nodded. He beckoned for Yan Liuyuan to get pen and paper, then wrote a letter to Xu Xianchu and Zhang Jinglin on the spot. However, he could not guarantee that Stronghold 178 would take them in as a favor to him.

Once someone got the ball rolling, the next bandit stepped forward and asked for a recommendation letter as well. Even though they were very happy here, their future was much more important. It was Stronghold 178 they were talking about.

Within half an hour, roughly one-third of the 300-odd bandits had left.

Ren Xiaosu was not unhappy. Rather, he appeared unusually calm.

There was no point in forcing them to stay if they wanted to leave. He was no longer willing to resort to lies in order to keep these people around.

Ren Xiaosu looked at Jin Lan. “Why aren’t you going?”

Jin Lan replied with a smile, “I already guessed that was the case.”

Ren Xiaosu was stunned. “You guessed it?”

“Boss, I’m not stupid.” Jin Lan said with a smile, “If Stronghold 178 really wanted to unify the valley, they wouldn’t have to act so cautiously and only send two people here. With just a word from them, 99% of the bandits in the valley would take up the offer immediately.”

“Then you…” Ren Xiaosu was startled. He wanted to ask Jin Lan and the others why they did not leave if that were the case.

Jin Lan said with a smile, “I’m in that 1%. When you and Boss Lady jumped into the muddy river and dug for silt together with us, I decided that I would follow you and explore the opportunities in the valley. Even if it wasn’t the valley, we’d still have followed you wherever.”

After Jin Lan spoke up, Zhang Yiheng added, “There’s nothing great about Stronghold 178 anyway. It gets so fucking cold there in the winter that we wouldn’t even know who we are, so it’s no loss even if we don’t go there.”

Xu Jinyuan said, “Bandits don’t meet with a good end. We’ve come across all kinds of bandit leaders before, but this is the first time I’ve encountered a leader like you. It doesn’t matter if we can’t go to Stronghold 178. We’ll just go wherever you say, Boss!”

Ren Xiaosu was speechless. Meanwhile, Yan Liuyuan, Yang Xiaojin, and the others were watching quietly from the side. Perhaps this was the reason why Ren Xiaosu liked it out here.

They had been wandering through the vast wastelands for about a year now. It seemed like they had just been going from stronghold to stronghold, one after another, yet they never managed to find one they could truly call home.

And now, it seemed like Ren Xiaosu had found it.

Yan Liuyuan whispered, “Sister-in-law, I like this place.”

Yang Xiaojin smiled and patted his head. “Me too.”

Ren Xiaosu took a deep breath and said, “Then let’s head northwest. I purposely checked the records in the library and know that there’s a Mt. Kushui located in the Northwest. Apparently, there’s a valley in that mountain where it’s spring all year ’round. The clear stream that passes through the valley does not freeze even in winter.”

The group of bandits looked at each other and started laughing. “Then let’s head to Mt. Kushui. We’ve also heard of that place before, and some of us thought about going there too. But it seems that an extremely fierce group of wild boars led by a king is active in that area, so no one’s dared to go there.”

Ren Xiaosu shouted, “Everyone, get on your motorcycles and take all your luggage! We’re setting off!”

“We can ride the motorcycles right now?” Xu Jinyuan’s eyes lit up.

“What else would we do with these hundreds of bikes?” Ren Xiaosu was incredulous. “You gonna push them or leave them right here?”

Jin Lan mumbled, “Then do we still need to earn bullets to trade them in after we get to Mt. Kushui?”

Ren Xiaosu answered seriously, “Of course you have to!”

Jin Lan was speechless.

The journey to Mt. Kushui in the north required them to go around the front lines at Mt. Daban, Mt. Tangwang, and Mt. Guan first, traveling about a 100 kilometers west to Mt. Kaolei. After that, they would turn and continue heading north.

It was not that Ren Xiaosu was deliberately trying to take a detour, but that he wanted to avoid all the bandits’ camps in case someone discovered their movements.

Now that the South was plunged into a state of chaos, the Zong Consortium had become an uncontrollable hyena in the wilderness. The Zong Consortium had become the most dangerous presence of all.

For this journey, each bandit gave one or two passengers a ride on their motorcycles. The female refugee riding pillion on Xu Jinyuan’s bike was so happy she could die. Xu Jinyuan had always been a little reserved towards her. But it was all good now. He was finally not shy about it anymore.

Jin Lan and the others even started teasing Xu Jinyuan. After they got to Mt. Kushui and finished building their houses there, they would hold a wedding for these two!

But on the third day of their journey, Ren Xiaosu was taken aback when they were close to arriving at Mt. Kaolei. “Stop! Stop! Stop!”

Someone asked, “Boss, what’s the matter?”

Ren Xiaosu frowned as he looked at their surroundings. He was looking for something.

Ren Xiaosu whispered to Yang Xiaojin, “Quick! Search for a vantage point! The rest of you, find a place to hide. We’re under attack!”

Jin Lan reacted and hurriedly gestured to the bandits. “Prepare for battle!”

No one knew where the enemy was, nor even what was going on. But if Ren Xiaosu said so, it definitely meant that danger was approaching.

Zong Cheng had performed a card trick for Ren Xiaosu after they left Stronghold 88 to head into the valley. At that time, Ren Xiaosu deliberately asked Zong Cheng if he could conjure up four “fours” for him. When he drew the cards and covered them in his hands, he switched them out and replaced the four cards with his Explosive Poker cards.

When the two of them parted ways, his mental connection to the Explosive Poker cards “snapped” due to the distance between them. It seemed his control over the Explosive Poker cards was also limited to a distance of around one to two kilometers. As for the specific range, Ren Xiaosu was not exactly sure.

The reason why he was nervous now was because his connection to those four cards had returned.

Zong Cheng was here!