The First Order

The member of the Riders organization with a red scarf on his face passing by with a group of students following him was just a simple interlude. Whenever they passed by a particular building, the Rider member would point out to the others what the place was. He would even explain to the students behind him what people did here.Actually, this field trip felt more like a fall tour. Or rather, it was a kind of social learning class for the college students to see what the outside world was really like.

Ren Xiaosu believed this Rider must have brought these stronghold students to look at the refugees’ living conditions before bringing them here to the black market.

After the group of students passed by, Zhou Yingxue said, “It’s getting late, so let’s head to the hotel we reserved and rest up. I’ll show you around the place tomorrow. There’s nothing much to see in the black market at night since no one’s selling anything at this time. The rich have all gone to waste their money in the vice establishments. As for the poor, they’ll be waiting outside to run errands for the bosses inside.”

Ren Xiaosu nodded. “Let’s go.”

But as they made their way to the hotel, they suddenly realized the Rider was also taking the students in the same direction as them.

On the way there, Ren Xiaosu saw a brightly lit hotel up front and asked, “Is that the hotel we’re staying in?”

“Yes.” Zhou Yingxue nodded. “It looks like these people from the Qinghe Group are also staying there.”

The hotel appeared quite elegant, and there were parking lots outside and waiters in white uniforms welcoming guests. The white marble flooring at the hotel entrance looked spotlessly clean. Ren Xiaosu found it very difficult to believe that a place like this could be hidden in such a remote area. It was even more luxurious than what could be found in the strongholds.

Zhou Yingxue said softly, “The other black markets have to worry about extremely high commissions and being cracked down on by the consortiums, but the security and stability of this place have gradually become the first choice of many mob bosses. In recent years, many mob bosses have settled down here and are treating this place as their headquarters.”

When the two of them stepped into the lobby, the waiter first brought them some warm white towels, then indicated with a smile that they were complimentary. Ren Xiaosu saw the member of the Riders calmly instructing the students from the Qinghe Group as they were checking in, “It’s good for you all to come out here to see the world, but don’t let this good thing turn into a bad thing. If I find anyone sneaking into the brothels or the casino, they’ll be expelled once we return to Luoyang City.”

During the conversation, the Rider looked up and saw Ren Xiaosu looking at him. He nodded courteously with a smile. However, there was a certain feeling to that polite smile that would keep people at arm’s length.

Zhou Yingxue whispered, “The Riders are extremely proud and have always been quite antisocial.”

“I can see that.” Ren Xiaosu nodded.

After the Rider led his group away, the pretty receptionist said to Zhou Yingxue with an apologetic face, “Hi, Ms. Zhou. I’m sorry, but only one of the two rooms you reserved is left. It’s Room 1005.”

Zhou Yingxue was stunned. “This is the first time I’ve encountered something like this. How can there be a problem when we reserved the rooms in advance?”

The pretty receptionist said guiltily, “I’m really very sorry. The main reason is we suddenly had over 20 guests that arrived from the Qinghe Group. They didn’t make a prior reservation, so… You should also know that members of the Qinghe Group are priority customers at our hotel.”

Before Zhou Yingxue could argue with her, someone suddenly walked into the lobby. When he saw Zhou Yingxue, he said with a smile, “Well, if it’s isn’t Zhou Yingxue! I heard the previous mission went very smoothly? But it seems like you were the only A-rank hitman in your team who made it back alive. You’re truly a powerful superhuman!”

Ren Xiaosu looked at the person who spoke. His hair was combed back and he was dressed in a tight suit. He was wearing a pair of leather shoes but did not have any socks on. Ren Xiaosu asked, “Who is this? He can’t even afford to buy socks?”

The man standing across from him got so angry he laughed. “What’s with the lame joke!”

However, Zhou Yingxue frowned and said, “Assistant, don’t let him come near me. But don’t get into a fight either. Fighting isn’t allowed in this hotel. I’m gonna head upstairs to get some rest first.”

Ren Xiaosu looked at Zhou Yingxue in astonishment. After getting her room key, she turned around and walked into the elevator. Ren Xiaosu just stood quietly outside the elevator while the man attempted several times to get past him to grab ahold of Zhou Yingxue’s arm. However, Ren Xiaosu kept standing in front of him like a competent bodyguard…

After Zhou Yingxue went upstairs, the man left angrily. “To think that she’s already keeping a gigolo after completing just one A-rank mission.”

Ren Xiaosu’s eyes twitched as he headed upstairs as well. If Zhou Yingxue had not explicitly said that fighting was not allowed in the hotel, the guy in front of him would probably have been killed on the spot.

After knocking on the door and entering the room, Ren Xiaosu swaggered towards the sofa and sat down. Zhou Yingxue went over meekly and squatted as she began to massage Ren Xiaosu’s legs. “I was just trying to act realistically. I didn’t really mean to order you around. Besides, he’s really annoying….”

Ren Xiaosu grunted in acknowledgement. “Who is he?”

Zhou Yingxue explained as she massaged Ren Xiaosu’s legs, “His name is Zhao Haocheng, and he’s also an A-rank hitma. I’m not sure if he has any superpowers, though. He was supposed to be part of the group that performed the mission at Stronghold 61, but after I appeared, someone else invited me and kicked him out of their team. I heard he’s double-crossed his teammates before.”

“Oh, so you mean you took over his spot in the group? No wonder he was so sarcastic.” Ren Xiaosu nodded. Actually, he did not mind helping Zhou Yingxue a little. He also understood why she had deliberately told him that this was a gathering place for hitmen to team up to complete missions and even conceded to him that he was stronger. This was actually because Zhou Yingxue knew that her superpower was too weak and that she couldn’t complete an A-rank mission on her own.

Therefore, Zhou Yingxue’s main purpose in bringing Ren Xiaosu here was to let him form a team with her to perform the missions. To put it bluntly, she wanted to ride on his coattails to complete the missions.

“Alright, you can stop massaging. You’re a supernatural being, after all,” Ren Xiaosu snapped.

Zhou Yingxue cursed in her head. So what if she was a supernatural being? She had already been knocked out by him a few times, so what dignity of a supernatural being did she still have left! She was close to becoming his maidservant already!

Ren Xiaosu suddenly asked, “What else do you know about the Qinghe Group? Why does this hotel treat them with such esteem? Are they extremely strong in combat?”

“The combat strength of the Qinghe Group has always been a mystery. Many people said the founder of the Qinghe Group was already a supernatural being before The Cataclysm, but that has not been verified.” Zhou Yingxue gingerly sat next to him and said, “But what is known is that of the 12 satellites that the Alliance of Strongholds still have, the Qinghe Group controls seven of them. Moreover, the electricity in the black market is actually also provided for by the Qinghe Group.”

“So, the Qinghe Group is the big boss behind the black market?”