The First Order

The nanomachines were damaged?

Li Dingding frowned and asked, “What’s going on? That person with the 0% synchronization rate couldn’t be found?”

“No, there were a lot of people who did the synchronization test that day. Many of them were even refugees—that’s why the lab staff didn’t record everyone’s test results other than those who scored above 80%.” The subordinate said softly, “However, we have the roster of the troops who did the test that day. Here it is…”

Li Dingding got so angry he almost laughed. Looking at the thick roster in his hand, he said, “What a fucking bunch of slackers! How can they be so lazy about such matters? But why did a case like that get transferred to me? Can’t you all handle it yourselves?”

“It’s not like that.” The subordinate lowered his head and said, “The Board has specifically instructed for you to handle the case. They said the nanomachines have had their installed protocols removed.”

Li Dingding was stunned by the words.

He knew all about these nanomachines because he mainly dealt with matters related to them in his usual work. But as far as he knew, it was impossible for an installed protocol on the nanomachines to be removed. This kind of operation could only be done after the nanomachines were reclaimed at the factory for confidential processing, and that even required authorization from the board to grant access to the C1 remote access protocol.

It was no wonder the Board was entrusting this matter to him. It was a case that involved the Li Consortium’s top secrets!

Li Dingding said, “Alright, you may leave.”

He then browsed through the files alone. He had not expected he would need to handle another case when the previous case was still not finished.

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After he was read through a file, Li Dingding started getting a headache. Other than the thick roster, there was nothing here that could provide him with any useful clues.

Li Dingding picked up another file and read through it quickly. But about 10 minutes after he started, he was stunned. ‘No, that’s not right! Something is fishy here!’

He promptly picked up the previous file and read it quickly and thoroughly. Within two minutes, Li Dingding broke into a smile.

He had noticed something unusual while looking through the roster: repeated names.

Li Qingzheng, Ren Xiaosu, Chen Wudi, and Wang Yuchi…

The names of those people in this platoon had appeared three times in these two sets of documents!

The first instance was in the roster of the outpost.

The second instance was in the roster of the private troops that switched uniforms with the Divine Arms Battalion.

The third instance was in the roster of the physical examination that day.

Li Dingding always believed frequent coincidences could turn out to be the answer.

Something was fishy about this platoon. Or at least, there was something off about those who belonged to this platoon.

Li Dingding picked up the phone and said, “Arrest Ren Xiaosu and Li Qingzheng’s Eighth Platoon from the private army’s Iron Second Battalion.”

But the person on the other end of the line said, “Are… you sure you want to arrest them?”

Li Dingding frowned and said, “Do my words not hold authority anymore?”

“It’s not that.” The person on the other end of the line said, “I know those people. Ren Xiaosu is now the role model for the entire military. The Iron Second Battalion has also been renamed to the Heroes Battalion, and Ren Xiaosu is even its battalion commander….”

Li Dingding was dumbfounded. What kind of a fucking twist was this?!

The person in the call continued, “If you’re sure he’s guilty, we’ll arrest him right away. But if you only suspect him, we have to keep a low profile. Currently, they’re the only ones in the military who have won a battle and wiped out the Qing Special Forces. Furthermore, they’re fighting in the battle at Position 313.”

In fact, being hailed as an example for the military had created a really good protective umbrella around those in the Heroes Battalion. Normal people would not dare to lay a finger on role models like them so easily. Besides, they were engaged in battle as well. If something happened to these role models, who would be responsible for the morale of the troops?

Even Li Dingding wouldn’t say he could bear the consequences.

Li Dingding laughed. “I’ll personally make a trip to Position 313 and handle this matter in secret.”

By nightfall, the battle at Position 313 stopped. After the arrival of the Li Consortium’s reinforcements, they immediately recaptured the positions on the high ground they lost earlier. It was almost as though they were doing whatever it took to push back the Qing Consortium’s troops.

In the evening, a wave of cheers reverberated across Position 313. However, Ren Xiaosu felt that the Li Consortium was celebrating their victory too early.

Although he did not know why Qing Zhen wanted to attract all of the Li Consortium’s frontline troops here, the Qing Consortium’s temporary retreat was not proof of who had won.

War had never been this simple.

In the night, a convoy of off-road vehicles suddenly drove to Position 313. After a brief interaction with the highest-ranking general at Position 313, they headed straight for the defensive position where Ren Xiaosu and his men were.

Ren Xiaosu had been constantly observing the rear with his binoculars. As such, his attention was already on these noteworthy vehicles when they drove in earlier. Ren Xiaosu got an ominous feeling about this. He even had the feeling that they were specifically here for him.

When the convoy got to the high ground, none of their people mentioned what they were here for. Instead, an officer holding a list of names called out, “Ren Xiaosu, Li Qingzheng, Chen Wudi… all 16 of you, get in the vehicles and follow us back Position 313’s camp!”

Ren Xiaosu and Li Qingzheng looked at each other. He was startled as he realized the names the officer called out were all the members of their platoon.

Before they assembled for the war, the outpost’s platoon strength was at 30 soldiers. One of the soldiers was even forcibly taken from another platoon.

But now, there were only 16 members left in their platoon after fighting two battles.

Ren Xiaosu was tempted to force his way out of this situation. But since they had already named him explicitly, it would be too easy for them to locate Yan Liuyuan and the others in the stronghold by following the clues. If Yan Liuyuan got caught, the situation might turn out even worse than it already was.

Right now, the soldiers around them were lowkey aiming their guns at them. If Ren Xiaosu ran away at this time, all eight of Jiang Wu’s students would probably perish here.

Moreover, Ren Xiaosu realized that the 30 soldiers who tried to surround them all looked like nanosoldiers.

Li Qingzheng whispered, “Xiaosu, what’s going on?”

“Don’t worry, let’s go with them for now.” Ren Xiaosu decided to follow these people back to the camp at Position 313 first. He needed to wait for an opportunity, but he could not tell the others about his plan yet!

Back at Position 313’s camp, two military tents had been specially vacated. It seemed like those who had just arrived were very high-ranking officials of the organization. Even Position 313’s recently assigned general behaved very politely to them.

After these people arranged for Ren Xiaosu and his men to sit in a tent, a middle-aged man smiled and introduced himself. “Good evening, everyone. My name is Li Dingding. I’m just here to investigate some matters, so please don’t panic too much. After all, you’re our Li Consortium’s war heroes. If there are any misunderstandings during this period, please forgive me.”

Even though Li Dingding spoke in a polite manner, Ren Xiaosu felt that his intentions were not good. Furthermore, he had singled out their platoon for the investigation, so there was a high chance they had already found out something. It was just that Ren Xiaosu did not know how much information had already been revealed.

But that didn’t matter to him. Ren Xiaosu was just waiting for an opportunity.