The First Order

Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

The other refugees in town were still unaware of what was going on. The outer wall of the school was not high. It was just an earthen wall measuring about 1.7 meters tall. So some people could see into the school by standing on their tiptoes and looking over the wall. What they saw gave them a fright. There were two bodies lying in the backyard of the school, while blood was still flowing out of the house.

It had been many years, and this was the first time someone had been killed at the school!

Of course, it was also because this event was so odd that it made Yan Liuyuan worry even more about Ren Xiaosu.

Wang Congyang ran back into the stronghold. Along the way, he pored over the documentation for himself. He saw the words “Stronghold 178, Zhang Jinglin” written on the inside.

Wang Congyang gasped. He had never come across any identification like this before. Shouldn’t such papers only indicate one’s identity and the jobs they did? It might also include the date of birth, a photo, and any other relevant details to easily verify someone’s identity.

But this identification was different. Anyone who saw it would immediately know who it belonged to. And at this moment, when Wang Congyang thought about the person from Stronghold 178 who had been rumored to be missing for over a decade, he picked up the pace.

However, Wang Congyang wasn’t high-ranking enough, so he wasn’t sure if his guess was correct.

Wang Congyang did not go to the stronghold’s overseers but drove straight to Luo Lan’s residence. In truth, everyone knew that Luo Lan was just a businessman. But whenever something major happened in the stronghold, they would all go and look for him. The overseers of the stronghold had already accepted this as fact.

Luo Lan’s residence was located in the dead center of the stronghold. From the time Wang Congyang entered the stronghold, he drove nearly an hour before he reached it, and this was even in the dead of the night when there were no pedestrians or traffic on the roads.

He arrived outside Luo Lan’s residence, or rather, a large military base.

At the entrance of the base stood a stone monument, red words carved on it: Military Zone.

The consortium’s combat brigade, dressed in black uniforms, handled the security at the entrance. Every one of them was issued with live ammunition and was ready to fight at any time. Before Wang Congyang’s vehicle could get close, he could already see spotlights shining down on him from the military base’s tall walls.

Wang Congyang flashed his identification at the entrance and said, “I’m Wang Congyang from the private army. There’s something I have urgently need Boss Luo for. It’s a matter regarding Stronghold 178.”

At this moment, Wang Congyang could feel no less than 10 rifles pointing at him. Someone from the consortium’s military walked over and said indifferently, “Identification!”

In the face of the consortium’s military, the private army’s troops were inferior. Therefore, even though Wang Congyang was being aimed at with rifles, he did not dare to say anything about it.

Wang Congyang handed both his and Zhang Jinglin’s identification papers over. The soldier responsible for checking them returned inside and came out again after more than ten minutes. “Your identity has been verified. You’re free to enter.”

The main entrance of the military base was finally opened to Wang Congyang.

The Qing Consortium’s military might had always been considered the best, and they were also very disciplined and had an extremely strong combat capability. However, martial law wasn’t implemented in the past. It was only after the appearance of a supernatural being who tried to kill a stronghold overseer that the various corporations raised the level of martial law around the strongholds.

In the end, the entire military base illuminated not long after Wang Congyang came in. The sound of sharp marching could be clearly heard, and the stronghold residents living near the base woke up in alarm. They still did not know what had happened at the military base, but the sound of the marching was clearly from the assembly of the combat brigade.

A black off-road vehicle sped out from the stronghold, and it was even followed by three military trucks. The trucks were carrying three squads.

“Are they going to war?” someone said when they saw this scene from their house’s window.

“Who is the Qing Consortium going to war with? But if they’re really going to war, surely they can’t just be mobilizing such a small force, right?” someone said in doubt. “I think it was Boss Luo sitting in the off-road vehicle just now? That guy hasn’t left the base in two years, so what could’ve alarmed him this time?”

But the person most shocked was still Wang Congyang. This was because he saw Luo Lan jump in panic when he received Zhang Jinglin’s identification from him.

Shortly after, the entire military base seemingly entered a wartime state as sophisticated machines of war were deployed in an instant.

It was at this moment that Wang Congyang could confirm that Zhang Jinglin might be the person he guessed he was!

If he really was that person, what made him appear in this place?!

The Qing Consortium’s convoy headed straight for the stronghold gate. Yan Liuyuan and the others were still waiting in the schoolyard. He suddenly turned his head to Zhang Jinglin and asked, “Teacher, what did you do before you became a teacher?”

Yan Liuyuan also understood that Mr. Zhang’s identity was scarily important.

Zhang Jinglin smiled and said, “I was a soldier.”

Yan Liuyuan was stunned. It didn’t occur to him that Mr. Zhang Jinglin would be any kind of soldier he knew. Curious, Yan Liuyuan asked, “Then why didn’t you continue being a soldier?”

Zhang Jinglin went silent for a long while at the question. He was apparently perplexed as well. Zhang Jinglin finally answered after thinking about it for a long time, “Because war will not save humanity.”

“Are you leaving?” Yan Liuyuan asked.

“That’s right.” Zhang Jinglin nodded. “There are still people waiting for me in the Northern Frontier.”

All of a sudden, Yan Liuyuan realized Zhang Jinglin had chosen Ren Xiaosu to be the substitute teacher as he had really wanted him to become the school’s new teacher, because Zhang Jinglin had planned on leaving. Even without tonight’s incident, Zhang Jinglin would probably not have stayed much longer.

“Why do you want to go back to the Northern Frontier?” Yan Liuyuan asked.

“Because this world… is starting to get a little different. I need to be with those who are waiting for me,” Zhang Jinglin explained.

“What’s in the Northern Frontier?” Yan Liuyuan kept asking questions. He and Ren Xiaosu had never been to the place before, and it was said to be far off in the northwest.

Yan Liuyuan recalled the time Mr. Zhang got distracted in class. On that day, Mr. Zhang was looking out of the window at the sky and saying, “The spring snow and ice in the Northern Frontier has yet to melt, so there isn’t any greenery, only sandstorms and yellow earth. The snow in the Northern Frontier is vast and white, and humanity is very lonely.”

At that time, although Mr. Zhang had described the Northern Frontier as a bleak and desolate place, Yan Liuyuan could sense his yearning and nostalgia for it. It was only upon recalling this that Yan Liuyuan understood those feelings. So it was because Zhang Jinglin came from there.

“What’s in the Northern Frontier? There’s cigarettes to smoke?” Zhang Jinglin said with a smile. “Don’t be afraid. They wouldn’t dare do anything to me. They won’t be able to try anything funny and will only send me back to Stronghold 178 in the end.”

“Mhm.” Yan Liuyuan nodded. He thought to himself how Ren Xiaosu would not be able to nag him to do his homework in the future. The town wouldn’t even have a teacher anymore.

However, Yan Liuyuan didn’t feel as happy as before when he thought about not having to do any more homework in the future.