The First Order

Translator: Legge  Editor: Legge

The items Ren Xiaosu needed Wang Fugui to prepare were actually not that difficult. Although a lot of them were everyday necessities, he would have to be careful if he bought them all at the same time. Because, by buying these items together, it might catch some people’s attention. After all, it was no secret that these items could be used to make a bomb.

The next morning, Wang Fugui went out. He did not ask Ren Xiaosu what he needed those items for. If Ren Xiaosu needed them, he had to go out and get them.

Currently, Wang Fugui saw himself as the shopkeeper of the group. All he needed to do was to perform his duty as required of him.

Ren Xiaosu had been afraid that Wang Fugui would mess up with this task. In the end, he realized Wang Fugui was even more careful than he had expected him to be.

Wang Fugui had spent the entire day taking the streetcar to the North, South, East, and West Districts, making four separate purchases in each of them in order to gather all of the items for Ren Xiaosu.

When he got home at night, Ren Xiaosu could see that he was wiped out.

Xiaoyu had already bought some new clothes for Ren Xiaosu and the others. Meanwhile, Yan Liuyuan, Ren Xiaosu, and Wang Dalong’s school admission procedures had been processed. Furthermore, Xiaoyu helped them find out the schools in the stronghold had two intersession breaks each year. It was winter now, so the first semester of school was coming to an end. Ren Xiaosu and the others would not have to attend school for long before the semester break began.

Of course, this was in line with what Ren Xiaosu wanted. The beginning should be an adaptation phase, so having a vacation break would certainly take the pressure off a little.

But in the end, they would still have to go back to school. Ren Xiaosu was suddenly looking forward to it. He wondered if the stronghold’s school taught similar things as what Mr. Zhang had taught them.

After dinner, Wang Fugui found Ren Xiaosu and said to him quietly, “When I was buying these items today, one of the shopkeepers mentioned something that’s scared me even until now.”

“What was it?” Ren Xiaosu asked.

“The shopkeeper let slip his wondering about why everyone was buying these things.” Wang Fugui said, “So I asked him who else was buying them? He then told me that a girl had gone to his shop yesterday to buy the same things, and that he had fortunately restocked the items today. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have had anything for me to buy.”

Ren Xiaosu frowned. Out of nowhere, he thought the girl might just be Yang Xiaojin!

Their two bomb-making skills were exactly the same. So when considering how to create a bomb, the items they would require were probably going to be the same as well.

Yang Xiaojin was probably not expecting Ren Xiaosu to be doing the same exact thing as her.

Just what was Yang Xiaojin planning? Surely this girl wouldn’t be thinking of blowing up the stronghold, right?

Of course, it wasn’t practical to blow up the stronghold with just a bomb of this magnitude. Ren Xiaosu felt that Yang Xiaojin’s target might just turn out to be the Pyro Company’s branch office in Stronghold 109. After all, he already felt Yang Xiaojin had some kind of feud with the Pyro Company.

The next morning, Ren Xiaosu and the others took the streetcar and hurried on their way to 13th High School. When they were on the streetcar, they noticed some other students on it as well. It was easy to recognize who were the students since they all wore blue and white uniforms.

When Tang Zhou handed over the application procedures to them, they were told the school uniforms would only be issued when they reached school since it was given out based on their measurements. Jiang Wu’s students had already been issued theirs, so only Ren Xiaosu, Yan Liuyuan, and Wang Dalong were not wearing it.

Currently, Jiang Wu was living in the faculty dormitory with her students. From now on, these students had to work hard and depend on themselves since their parents were no longer around.

But what Ren Xiaosu didn’t expect was that these students were exceptionally united. Having nearly died, and without any more family around, they instinctively started treating each other as family.

At this moment, Ren Xiaosu heard the students at the front of the streetcar discussing, “Did anyone tell you guys yet? There are some refugees who came into the stronghold recently. I heard someone fell sick the moment they got home after taking the same streetcar as them. My mother said it’s because refugees carry germs from the outside.”

Another student said, “My dad told me to stay away from the refugees if I encounter them.”

“It doesn’t feel that serious to me,” a female student said softly.

“Who knows? My mum said the germs brought in by the refugees to the stronghold several years ago infected a lot of people and killed dozens more. Why else do you think everyone does not want them inside the stronghold?”

When Ren Xiaosu heard that, he frowned. Why had the news spread so far in just one night? Honestly speaking, Ren Xiaosu had really not thought refugees would be ostracized so badly before coming into the stronghold. Besides, even if they had been ostracized before, it was more for reasons such as being poor.

He wouldn’t have expected it to be over something like them being carriers of “germs.”

It was not like the town was considered a quarantine zone. Ren Xiaosu was very disdainful of any talk of the refugees being germ carriers. He had been in contact with a lot of people from strongholds, such as Luo Lan, Tang Zhou, Yang Xiaojin, Luo Xinyu, Liu Bu, and the private troops who had gone on the expedition.

It wasn’t like any of those people had died of an illness, right?

Who could have purposely said the refugees were spreading diseases in the stronghold? This was making Ren Xiaosu and the others seem like they were some kind of terrible disease carriers.

Wang Dalong was transfixed on a girl in the streetcar. It was as though the conversation the others were having was none of his business.

However, Yan Liuyuan was a tad more sensitive. He frowned and whispered, “Bro, are we really carrying germs on us?”

“No.” Ren Xiaosu shook his head.

“Then why are they saying that? Shouldn’t we be refuting them?” Yan Liuyuan’s previously good mood after getting into the stronghold was spoiled by what was going on around them.

“It’s no use refuting them,” Ren Xiaosu answered.

“Why? They’re vilifying us.” Yan Liuyuan could not understand.

“Liuyuan, if ten people say we’re in the wrong, does that count as vilifying us?”

“Yes, why not?” Yan Liuyuan answered.

“Then if a 100 people say that we’re at fault, does that count as vilifying us?” Ren Xiaosu continued to ask.

“…I guess so.” Yan Liuyuan gave it some thought before answering.

“Then what if 10,000 people are saying something bad about us?” Ren Xiaosu said calmly, “That wouldn’t be vilification but justice.”

“Bro,” Yan Liuyuan said softly, “although I’m not as philosophical as you, if 10,000 people vilified us, I wouldn’t call it justice as long as I think it’s wrong.”

Ren Xiaosu smiled. “You’re right.”

These students on the streetcar had all been influenced by their parents. They’d been told not to foolishly stand up for others and to be more “street smart” when they were outside. Their parents would also tell them not to mix with certain people.

In reality, the students’ mindsets were basically an extension of their parents’ wills. Therefore, Ren Xiaosu understood that the majority of the stronghold’s residents did not welcome their arrival. But he wasn’t really sure whether this situation would get worse.

However, Ren Xiaosu had no time to care about this right now. When he learned Yang Xiaojin might also be purchasing large quantities of bomb-making material, he got even more curious about what she was planning to do.

Moreover, Ren Xiaosu felt that if he had a chance, it would be best to find out exactly where Yang Xiaojin was going to plant the bomb. That would save him the trouble of getting bombed himself….