The First Order

Just over 20 bandits were enough to threaten the hundreds of refugees. Furthermore, Ren Xiaosu did not see the refugees putting up any resistance.

The bandit leader, Jin Lan, was still chattering nonstop. “Don’t y’all worry. I, Jin Lan, also studied for two years in the town’s school. I’m not an oaf who kills without batting an eyelid, and I won’t do anything bad to y’all.”

Someone nearby buttered up to him. “That’s right, our boss is very knowledgeable. Those bandits from the other gangs can’t compare to him.”

Jin Lan smiled humbly. “Don’t exaggerate. Speaking of which, I’m bringing y’all back to the mountains so that I can provide everyone here a better life. Look at how skinny y’all are, especially you!” He pointed at Ren Xiaosu. “Look at how skinny you are. Your face is so bony and pale. It’s like you don’t even have any strength left.”

Ren Xiaosu was stunned for a while. He looked at his own body and realized that since his Strength and Dexterity had reached equilibrium, it did make him look like he had lost some weight.

Next to him, Yang Xiaojin was laughing like she had heard something really funny.

Jin Lan did not care about Ren Xiaosu’s reaction and continued to ramble, “Y’all don’t know how intense the fighting to the north is. I don’t know where all these forces came from either, but the fighting is getting more and more intense. Y’all can only survive by following me, understand?”

Ren Xiaosu looked at Yang Xiaojin speechlessly. They had walked for more than ten kilometers under the escort of the 20-odd bandits before they finally arrived at their camp.

The camp was extremely simple and crude. It was just an empty area surrounded by wooden fences up in the mountains. There were some mud huts in the camp, and the roofs even had large holes in them. Apart from the new firearms, everything else was junk!

Ren Xiaosu could imagine how miserable these people were before they started receiving support from the Qing Consortium.

But it was different now. There were even dozens of brand-new motorcycles parked in the clearing of their campsite. Next to the motorcycles were dozens of green jerrycans used for storing fuel, and entire boxes of ammunition laid beside them. There were grenades and bullets piled up beside the jerrycans, and if anything blew up there, the explosion would probably swallow the entire ridge in an instant.

Seeing this, Ren Xiaosu had some misgivings. He didn’t want to die due to the stupidity of these bandits. That would be such the injustice. And right after that, he saw the bandits who had just returned to the camp start a cooking fire ten meters away from the jerrycans.

Ren Xiaosu’s hair stood on end. He muttered to Yang Xiaojin, “If the other groups attack, these people won’t even know how they died, right? The Zong Consortium can’t even beat bandits this stupid?!”

But despite saying that, he looked at how miserable Jin Lan’s gang of bandits were and realized they were probably the weakest bandit gang in the entire valley. They didn’t even know if they would survive until their next meal.

Jin Lan suddenly said, “If you’re willing to fight alongside me, go and collect guns from over there. This is your only chance to make a choice!”

Ren Xiaosu was shocked. How did this fellow conquer this part of the mountains? Wasn’t he afraid these refugees would kill him with the guns they picked up?

However, something else shocked Ren Xiaosu even more. More than 30 male refugees went to collect guns in the end, but after they took their guns, they just sat woodenly on the ground and let Jin Lan continue to lecture them.

They had no intention of resisting!

The sight unfolding before his eyes was just like the fantasy novels he had read back at Stronghold 88’s library. But it was even stranger than fiction.

These refugees had been told to submit since they were young and to obey orders. If they were disobedient, they would get beaten up. They did not have the courage to resist the organizations. They would choose to pledge allegiance to whichever mountain place they settled down at. This was a habit forced upon them by their difficult living conditions.

At this moment, one of Jin Lan’s subordinates came up to Ren Xiaosu. When he saw Yang Xiaojin, he was stunned. Although Yang Xiaojin had deliberately dirtied her face, it was still difficult to conceal her good looks.

The bandit said excitedly, “This chick is a looker. If she washes her face clean, she’ll definitely be very pretty. She’s mine now.”

Ren Xiaosu sighed at the words. Bandits were still bandits. He said, “Sorry, but lemme break into this.”

All of a sudden, Ren Xiaosu flew into a rage. He punched the right side of the bandit’s ribs while he was off guard, caving in the bandit’s chest.

The people around him were shocked. He really meant it when he said that he wanted to break in! He broke his bones just like that? He literally broke him?!

Jin Lan and the others were building a fire, and they were shocked by what they saw. They wanted to pick up the guns beside them to defend themselves.

However, Ren Xiaosu did not stop moving. Before Jin Lan could get his hand near his gun, Ren Xiaosu had already come up to him and kicked him in the face!

Jin Lan instinctively leaned backwards, and it was precisely this reaction that saved his life. However, he could feel his entire head buzzing.

Gunfire rang out. Yang Xiaojin was holding a decorated pistol and covering Ren Xiaosu. The bandits who had picked up their guns suddenly felt their hands go numb. The wrists of their gun-toting hand were bleeding profusely.

The refugees around them were all dumbfounded. Who was this couple who had just joined them?

A clever bandit had already thudded onto his knees. “Superhumans! Please spare my life!”

The speed and strength Ren Xiaosu displayed were definitely beyond that of a normal human. The bandits were not stupid either. They knew what they were facing right now.

As for Yang Xiaojin’s marksmanship, it was so shocking it could be seen.

Jin Lan dizzily knelt on the ground with his nose bleeding profusely. “Sir, please spare my life. It was all a misunderstanding! We haven’t been bandits for long and have never killed anyone before!”

Ren Xiaosu looked around and realized these useless things were all kneeling on the ground. They had even consciously thrown their guns far away from themselves. What kind of fucking bandits were they? Why were they not the least bit bloodthirsty?

Ren Xiaosu looked at Jin Lan and frowned. “How did you even become a bandit?”

Jin Lan was nearly crying as he wiped the blood from his nose. “We used to be farmers from Mt. Tangwang to the north. But someone came around and told us to become bandits and even handed out guns, motorcycles, and food, so we decided to head into the mountains to become bandits. We’ve only been bandits for two months now.”

Ren Xiaosu was speechless for a long time. What on earth was the Qing Consortium trying to achieve?

Jin Lan looked at Ren Xiaosu and said, “Boss, you’ll be the leader of this mountain from now on. I hope you can lead us to be strong!”

“No, wait.” Ren Xiaosu facepalmed. “What the hell are you talking about?”

Jin Lan flattered with a smile, “You don’t know, right? There’s a gang of bandits to the north who are especially fearsome because their leader is a supernatural being. Since you’re also a supernatural being, you’ll definitely do better than him and be more powerful than him!”