The First Order

Yang Xiaojin tilted her head and looked at Ren Xiaosu. For the past two days, she had been thinking about what kind of house she should build for herself here.

She couldn’t squeeze in with the other bandits, right? Could they build a bigger one then? For example, they could have a kitchen and maybe a small front yard as well, and Ren Xiaosu could go into the wilderness to hunt some pigs and wild chickens to domesticate them. Perhaps they could even rear a cow or two.

Thinking of this, Yang Xiaojin was also starting to look forward to tomorrow when the new bricks were ready.

However, she reckoned she would have to wait a while longer for her house to be built. After all, not everyone in the settlement had a brick house. Since Ren Xiaosu wanted to set an example for the others, she didn’t mind suffering with him.

However, she was curious as to what target Ren Xiaosu would set for them next to hold them together now that the guns had been issued.

Then she heard Ren Xiaosu say, “Starting tomorrow, we’ll keep making bricks. For the next batch of bricks from the kiln, we’ll build our defenses with them.”

Jin Lan muttered, “And I thought we wouldn’t have to work anymore.”

Although Ren Xiaosu was working hard to change their thinking, old habits die hard. To Jin Lan and the others, they felt they should be going on a killing and pillaging spree if they had guns. Even if they were no longer keen on killing and pillaging, they shouldn’t need to keep working.

Ren Xiaosu spoke up, “From tomorrow onwards, every 200 bullets earned will allow you to trade for a motorcycle.”

Jin Lan, Zhang Yiheng, and the others looked at the brand-new motorcycles with a sparkle in their eyes. They had not touched the motorcycles since they arrived at this settlement.

All men loved things that exuded strength, and vehicles were one of those things. Be it a two-wheeled motorcycle or a four-wheeled car, the purring of the engines were just like a roar from their hearts. It was an enjoyable and pleasurable feeling.

Xu Jinyuan was a little hesitant. Should he also quickly get more work done so he could trade his bullets for a motorcycle? He was a skilled worker too, so he could definitely trade for one much faster than the others.

The next morning, Ren Xiaosu walked along the river after waking up. The spring floods would last for quite a while, and the hotter the weather, the wider the river would get.

By summer, the river that seemed to flow for forever would become a lifeline for humanity’s survival as it stretched across the wastelands.

Ren Xiaosu continued walking straight towards the settlement. Today was the day the bricks would be taken out of the kiln. The bandits felt that the progress of using only one brick kiln to fire the bricks was a little slow, so they decided to construct a new and even bigger one.

Someone asked Jin Lan why they needed to make so many bricks. The houses would be finished sooner or later, and afterwards, would the brick kilns be of any use?

Jin Lan said mysteriously, “What if a Stronghold 179 suddenly gets built here?”

The question of why Ren Xiaosu and Yang Xiaojin had come here had been on the bandits’ minds for a while now. After analyzing it for some time, everyone wondered if Stronghold 178 was planning to extend its influence inland. Wasn’t this vast and empty valley a very good choice to start?

No consortiums had built a stronghold here because this unincorporated zone was just too sensitive an area. No one would agree to the construction of a stronghold here by any of the other factions.

But if a powerful organization like Stronghold 178 were to take action, the Yang Consortium, which was currently engaged in war, might not be able to stop them. Meanwhile, the Northern Waste’s Zong Consortium was no match for Stronghold 178. Although the location was not exactly ideal, the opportunity was!

Furthermore, if Stronghold 178 wanted to export their mine reserves inland, the valley was an unavoidable region that they needed to pass through!

When they thought of this, Jin Lan and the others felt like they understood what was going on.

Throughout this, everyone would greet each other warmly as “brothers” whenever they saw one another. It was as though they had really become family after Ren Xiaosu’s speech.

Some people really believed it, while others were still skeptical. But in light of the overall situation, those who did not believe it could not say much either.

At the moment, the bandits who came here with Xu Jinyuan were just watching in silence.They did not believe anything that was said.

Someone counted the days and estimated there wasn’t much time left until the window their leader had set for them. At the agreed time, they were to secretly head out into the wilderness tonight and report back to their leader about the attack plan. Afterwards, they would launch a surprise attack on the settlement the following night.

“Brother Xu, let’s prepare to leave.” Someone said to Xu Jinyuan, “Tonight…”

Xu Jinyuan gave him a look and said, “What are you talking about? How can I leave my family?”

The bandits under him were confused. ‘What fucking family! Are you fucking crazy?!’

At first, everyone thought Xu Jinyuan was just kidding. But when they got serious again, they realized Xu Jinyuan was absolutely not kidding!

Hurt, one of the bandits said, “Brother Xu, didn’t you say that you didn’t buy their antics out here?”

Xu Jinyuan sighed and said, “Will we come to a good end by being bandits? Have you heard of any bandits who get to enjoy their later

years?”

Everyone carefully considered this and realized it was true.

Xu Jinyuan continued, “Y’all’ve interacted with Ren Xiaosu and Yang Xiaojin as well. Let’s ignore whether they might really be from Stronghold 178. What do you think of them when compared to our previous leader?”

“On strength, there’s supernatural beings on both sides,” the bandit analyzed. “But there’s two of them here.”

“On conduct, it’s way more comfortable here.” Someone said, “At our previous place, the atmosphere could get quite oppressive. Usually, we don’t even dare to sigh too loudly.”

Xu Jinyuan nodded. “What about here?”

“It’s just like being around family here. We can joke, we can work together…”

“So let’s not talk about anything else for now. Which side do y’all like better?” Xu Jinyuan said, “Do you really think that I’ve been taken in by them? No, it’s just that Ren Xiaosu and Yang Xiaojin have let me seen a glimmer of hope.”

Xu Jinyuan looked at Jin Lan and Zhang Yiheng, who were moving bricks in the distance. Did these bandits choose to stay here because they were brainwashed? No, it was because they saw something called hope, so they willingly believed in the razzle-dazzle.

If this razzle-dazzle could bring everyone a good life in the future, then would it still be considered a lie?

Xu Jinyuan had lost much sleep over this before finally arriving at his decision.

“Then are we not gonna make a plan with the others to attack this settlement?” someone probed.

“Mhm.” Xu Jinyuan nodded. “I’ll find an opportunity to tell Boss about this later and warn him to be on guard against any sneak attacks.”

Someone asked, “But if he learns that we came here as spies, will he start shunning

US?”

Xu Jinyuan was taken aback. He took a deep breath and said, “I believe that he won’t.”

Then Xu Jinyuan walked to where Ren Xiaosu was. He thought he could convince all his brothers to stay behind, but someone still ran away in secret. Before leaving, that bandit even said, “Although I also think this place is great, just look at how everyone else doesn’t even know how to use a gun. When the leader gets here, this place will be blown to dust overnight. I don’t wanna die!”

The others looked at one another, unable to come to a decision themselves.

When Xu Jinyuan walked up to Ren Xiaosu and was hesitating to speak, Ren Xiaosu turned his head to him and asked with a smile, “When are those bandits attacking

US?”