The First Order

Chapter 559 Attack of the Experimentals

The plainclothes guard spoke with logic and reason. What he was trying to say was that they did not have to listen to Ren Xiaosu.

Moreover, he really convinced the others as well. Fang Zhi pulled Zhou Yingxue over and said, “I think they’re right. We don’t actually have to leave at all. If the Qing Consortium attacks, the Wang Consortium’s officer can handle them. Everything will be fine since there’s absolutely no reason for the Qing Consortium to declare war on the entire Central Plains.”

Fang Zhi did not say this to Ren Xiaosu. Instead, he spoke to Zhou Yingxue because Ren Xiaosu was her assistant, so he would definitely have to listen to her.

But when Ren Xiaosu heard that, he could not help but get angry.

If it were really the Qing Consortium coming to attack, it would be fine. He was just afraid that the enemy was not the Qing Consortium!

If it were the Qing Consortium invading Stronghold 74, why would Ren Xiaosu run away? He could walk brazenly in the stronghold at that time, alright? When the time came, there wouldn’t even be a need for the Wang Consortium officers to liaise with them. After all, he was still an active officer in the Qing Consortium’s army!

Back at Position 313, Ren Xiaosu gave the defensive deployment map to Qing Zhen and helped Luo Lan on many occasions. Luo Lan even said he could make Ren Xiaosu a general, but Ren Xiaosu turned down his offer. He did not want any official positions; just money would do.

Luo Lan said he would keep the post for him anyway, and he could take the position as and when he felt like it.

Ren Xiaosu looked at the few plainclothes officers who were speaking so confidently as if they had the authority to negotiate with the Qing Consortium. Right now, Ren Xiaosu was most afraid the enemy was not the Qing Consortium.

After all, Luo Lan had only recently become friends with the Zhou Consortium. He also understood that Qing Zhen was not someone who liked starting wars. Since the Zhou Consortium did not declare war on the Qing Consortium, why would Qing Zhen have his soldiers travel 500 kilometers over mountain paths to the Central Plains for no reason? Did he think it would be fun?

All of a sudden, a bell rang out in Stronghold 74. Ren Xiaosu was stunned. He asked Zhou Yingxue, “Do the bells in the Central Plains have the same meaning as the ones in the Southwest and Northwest?”

Zhou Yingxue whispered, “Yes, they mean the same thing. It’s signaling that the stronghold is in danger.”

A patrol squad drove past outside with a loudspeaker blaring, “All stronghold residents are to stay at home. You will not be allowed to come outside without permission. If you encounter any unknown creatures, please inform the Zhou Consortium’s troops by telephone as soon as possible. The landline number is 077.”

All residents of the stronghold had a landline telephone in their homes. Ren Xiaosu and the others had also used one when they were running the clinic.

When Ren Xiaosu heard that, his expression immediately sank. He looked at Li Ran and the plainclothes guards and said, “There’s no need to leave. We can’t escape anymore.”

Ren Xiaosu could roughly guess who was coming to attack Stronghold 74. Other than terrifying creatures like the Experimentals, there was probably nothing else that could make a consortium fear they were facing a formidable foe.

If there were really Experimentals outside the stronghold, the wilderness would be the most dangerous place to be right now.

As for what the plainclothes guard had said about no stronghold residents coming to harm no matter who attacked the stronghold, that was even more ridiculous. The Experimentals were absolutely the kind that would massacre everyone.

When Zhou Yingxue noticed Ren Xiaosu’s serious expression, she quickly asked, “Just what on earth is coming to attack?”

Ren Xiaosu looked at Zhou Yingxue. “Since you’re also from the Southwest, you must’ve heard of the Experimentals…”

Zhou Yingxue also blanched. After all, the Experimentals had already destroyed several strongholds in the Southwest.

Immediately, Zhou Yingxue said to Li Ran, “The mission only requires us to protect you, so you have to leave with us now. If you want to live, don’t worry about the others.”

Li Ran turned a little panicky and looked at Ren Xiaosu, who was standing off to the side. However, Ren Xiaosu did not say anything. He was frowning while thinking about something.

Next to them, one of the plainclothes guards said unhappily when he heard Zhou Yingxue’s words, “You were only hired to boost the image of our client. Do you really think Ms. Ranran needs your protection? She’ll stay with us and no one will be able to hurt her, because we’re active military personnel!”

Zhou Yingxue gave that plainclothes guard a cold stare. “How’re you going to protect Li Ran when your guns have been confiscated by the Zhou Consortium? Besides, it’s still a question whether you’ve been on a real battlefield before!”

Then Li Ran asked Zhou Yingxue, “Is the situation really that terrible? I can pay you more, so please just protect all of us?”

The plainclothes guard stopped her and said, “Why do you want to pay them more? She’s only a superhuman! Besides, we haven’t even seen her use her power, so who knows if her reputation precedes her?”

Li Ran did not listen to him and continued asking Zhou Yingxue, “I can pay more. Will you agree?”

To Li Ran’s surprise, Zhou Yingxue turned her head and looked at Ren Xiaosu. It was as if she were asking for his opinion.

Li Ran suddenly realized Ren Xiaosu was not her assistant at all. Why else would Zhou Yingxue need to consult her assistant on what to do next?

But thinking of this, Li Ran felt that everything made sense now. Even Zhou Yingxue could not stop Ren Xiaosu from acting on his own throughout the tour. If he were just a lowly assistant, how could he possibly act so recklessly?

As he spoke, Mu Wan’ge stepped out of the hotel elevator. He only ran down from his hotel room when he heard the commotion outside. As such, he wanted to meet up with the rest of the group to decide on what to do next.

Sensing the tense atmosphere in the hotel lobby, Mu Wan’ge asked what was going on. In the end, a crew member told him the stronghold might get attacked by some unknown creatures that were extremely strong. And right now, Li Ran was requesting that Zhou Yingxue and Ren Xiaosu protect everyone, but the plainclothes guards did not allow it.

When Mu Wan’ge heard this, he immediately turned to Ren Xiaosu and nearly grabbed his hands. He said sincerely, “I have money, please protect me. My life is dedicated to art, not to be sacrificed to monsters.”

Everyone in the lobby was stunned. When Li Ran saw Mu Wan’ge approaching Ren Xiaosu directly instead of Zhou Yingxue, she was not surprised at all. This made more sense now.

If not, why would Mu Wan’ge keep insisting on having Ren Xiaosu appear in his movie? And even chased him all the way to Stronghold 74?

Only this could explain everything!

This time, Mu Wan’ge had only brought two crew members along with him, with most of those in the group being Li Ran’s people. All in all, there were 30 of them.

Ren Xiaosu was not interested in saving so many people. Furthermore, if the Experimentals were to invade into the stronghold, 90% of the people in this city would die. Why would he care about others at a time like this? With such a large group of people, shouldn’t they be more afraid the Experimentals would find them more easily?

In actual fact, Ren Xiaosu had also realized the Experimentals were not so thorough in their search of a stronghold. So, even though the strongholds in the Southwest had been invaded by the Experimentals before, a few survivors still managed to escape. Ren Xiaosu thought that if the Experimentals were to really breach the stronghold, he could make use of Zhou Yingxue’s power to create a small underground refuge to take shelter in. The Zhou Consortium could not possibly give up Stronghold 74 entirely. Once the Zhou Consortium’s troops drove the Experimentals away, they could come out of the underground refuge.

But was it really that simple?