The First Order

When Zhou Yingxue heard Xu Zhi say he wanted to trade their fruit for jujubes, she looked at his hands and was surprised to see grapes.“I’ll trade with you!” Zhou Yingxue decisively took some jujubes from the vehicle for Xu Zhi.

Xu Zhi suddenly saw the Potato Shooter next to Ren Xiaosu and Zhou Yingxue. “What plant is this? Why haven’t I seen it before?”

Zhou Yingxue explained, “We don’t know what it is either. It’s probably just some mutated plant in the wilderness.”

Xu Zhi did not ask any further questions.

After Zhou Yingxue sent Xu Zhi away, she started eating the grapes happily. After she was done eating, she somehow felt like something was amiss. She suddenly looked at Ren Xiaosu and asked, “Er… Master, would you like to have some grapes? If you want, I’ll go and trade some for you….”

“I don’t want to eat.” Ren Xiaosu shook his head. “You used to be a spy for the Yang Consortium, but look at…”

“I was only in charge of a small department that was responsible for monitoring Stronghold 88.” Zhou Yingxue finished.

“Speaking of, why did you join the Yang Consortium’s army?” Ren Xiaosu asked. He always had the feeling that Zhou Yingxue’s only interest was to make money as she did not really seem like a bellicose person.

Zhou Yingxue explained, “I just wanted to earn some money. The Yang Consortium had found out about my awakening after my neighbor learned about it, so they recruited me and even offered me a very high salary. After I became a supernatural being, my physical fitness was much better than that of the other female soldiers. I’m also quick-witted, so I got promoted at a relatively faster pace. When I was still a normal soldier, my salary was already ten times higher than the others’. Later on, because of my skill in tracking, and the fact that I was female, I got transferred to the Intelligence Department.”

“The Yang Consortium’s benefits are pretty good.” Ren Xiaosu nodded. “So in order to earn money, you started working diligently in the Intelligence Department?”

Zhou Yingxue changed the subject and asked, “When did you discover my identity?”

“I already knew when you first stepped into the library.” Ren Xiaosu closed his eyes and continued resting.

Zhou Yingxue felt her face burn with embarrassment. She had not expected that he would so easily see through her disguise. However, she seemed to think of something and asked, “Then, Master, why did you ask me to jump rope with you?!”

Ren Xiaosu did not say anything. Zhou Yingxue raised her voice and said, “Master, don’t pretend to sleep. Up until now, I still haven’t figured out why you did that!”

But Ren Xiaosu was determined not to answer this question.

He did not expect that Zhou Yingxue would still remember that.

…

Compared to the quiet atmosphere at Ren Xiaosu’s side, it was bustling over at the Qinghe University students’ side. This group of students had sneaked out of the stronghold, so everything felt more beautiful, and even the air was much fresher.

It seemed that this was not the first time they had come out. Just then, Ren Xiaosu heard the sound of a gun being cocked, followed by squeals of adoration from the girls in the group. A male student was deliberately showing off that he knew how to use guns in front of the girls and was thoroughly enjoying their admiration.

Since they knew to bring guns with them when going out into the wilderness, it meant these people also understood it was not very safe out.

However, Ren Xiaosu noticed these students probably did not have too many chances to practice firing a gun. This was because they did not have any obvious calluses on their hands.

Moreover, a person’s shoulders and chest stance would be different from that of the average pe if they frequently fired an automatic rifle.

Ren Xiaosu could probably be considered an expert in using firearms.

At this moment, the group of students were playing a game called “Truth or Dare.” This was Ren Xiaosu’s first time hearing of such a game. As many refugees were fond of gambling, a lot of gambling games such as poker would be played around town. The consortiums were also happy to see the refugees indulging in such activities that could make them lose their ambitions.

However, Ren Xiaosu had never come across something like Truth or Dare before. Although he had read a lot of books in Stronghold 88, none of them cared to describe a game like this.

The students had drunk a lot of the alcohol they’d brought with them from the stronghold. Seeing that Ren Xiaosu was ignoring her and pretending to be asleep, Zhou Yingxue sat by the campfire and looked at the students. Suddenly, she said to Ren Xiaosu, “Why don’t we also play Truth or Dare?”

Ren Xiaosu still ignored her.

At this moment, it looked like a female student had been picked, and she chose “dare.” As a result, the male student sitting across from her dared her to find a guy to kiss.

The content of the game involved all sorts of strange things. Some of them required the male students to dance like girls, and some required the girls to do the splits. But since all of them were just students, they did not go overboard.

The students were starting to drink more and more, but only Xu Zhi did not have any drinks. He also kept his automatic rifle close to his side.

At the beginning, the students were actually quite worried about drinking. After all, what if they got drunk while they were out in the wilderness?

However, the chubster boy next to Xu Zhi kept saying that it would be fine. He said he had been hanging out with his uncle in the wilderness for many years and claimed there was no danger at all.

Only then did the other students relent and drink some. At first, they only intended to have a little. But once they started drinking, they could not stop.

At this moment, another girl got picked and she decided to choose “dare.” However, maybe the girl who picked her had had a drink too many or was simply too excited with playing the game. She actually wanted her to go to Ren Xiaosu and kiss him!

When they usually played Truth or Dare, they would have the person who was picked go on the streets to look for a stranger to do the dare with. But right now, there weren’t really any other strangers around.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea. I don’t even know them,” the girl that had been picked said embarrassedly.

Someone jeered, “C’mon, it’s not like you knew those people on the streets when we were playing this in the stronghold.”

“Besides, you’re a girl.” A female student nudged her with her elbow. “He won’t be at a disadvantage, so what are you afraid of!”

That girl clenched her teeth. “Fine!”

After that, she walked over to Ren Xiaosu and Zhou Yingxue. But before she could get close to him, Ren Xiaosu had already opened his eyes and was looking at her calmly.

The calmness he exuded was like a silent rejection that made the girl playing the game subconsciously take a step back.

She wanted to tell Ren Xiaosu they were only playing a game and he only needed to let her kiss him, but she could not say it no matter what.

The girl turned around and left. When her companions saw her unsettled expression, they wondered, “What’s the matter? Why do you look so scared?”

A male student stood up. “Did they say something nasty to you?”

It looked like the students were all very loyal people.

The girl had to quickly say she was fine. She told them she was just timid and that the other party did not say anything to her.

At Ren Xiaosu’s side, after the girl turned around and went back to her campsite in a hurry, Zhou Yingxue said with a chuckle next to him, “Master, why didn’t you take advantage of her dare?”

Ren Xiaosu glanced at her. “I already have someone I like.”

Zhou Yingxue was stunned by his answer. He rejected all other people of the opposite sex just because he had someone he liked?

When Zhou Yingxue was still with the Yang Consortium, she had seen so many men who would take advantage of women whenever there was an opportunity. However, the young man in front of her was obviously very powerful, so powerful that she had to look up to him, yet why had his desires not grown in tandem with his strength?

That was how a normal person would be!

But true, Ren Xiaosu was not normal at all.

Ren Xiaosu suddenly said in a low voice, “If this group of people are on a trip to the Zhou Consortium, they’ll get into trouble sooner or later. Not everyone will respect the Qinghe Group and the Riders. They’ll be heading to their doom getting so drunk in the wilderness.”

“The Central Plains aren’t as dangerous as our Southwest and Northwest,” Zhou Yingxue said with a smile. “In general, the wilderness here is much safer than ours.”

But as though to confirm Ren Xiaosu’s assessment, the sound of someone stepping on a twig in the forest reverberated. The others might not think much of it if they even heard it.

But for Ren Xiaosu, he was already starting to inspect his rifle.