The First Order

“Old Li, I’ve always been curious about the relationship between the Riders and the Qinghe Group.” Ren Xiaosu asked as they were leaving Stronghold 73, “The world says that the Riders are part of the Qinghe Group, but I feel that y’all are more like free agents?”

After the Zhou Consortium troops took in the escapees, Ren Xiaosu, Zhou Yingxue, Li Yingyun, and Qin Sheng left the group together. All of them did not really want to have any interaction with the Zhou Consortium troops, let alone be put through radiation tests.

Since Ren Xiaosu still had some matters to attend to at Hope Media in Luoyang City, the four of them decided to travel together.

Old Li replied to Ren Xiaosu’s question, “Actually, it isn’t really a secret, so it doesn’t matter even if I tell you about it. Before The Cataclysm, the Riders and the Qinghe Group were only working under the same boss. Both parties did not have any relation to the other and they were more like two peer institutions. Later on, when The Cataclysm happened, the Riders helped the founder of the organization save the Qinghe Group. As such, the relationship between the two organizations became very close. Before that, both parties rarely interacted with each other.”

“I see.” Ren Xiaosu nodded.

Then Old Li sighed and said, “Back then, our predecessors died and got wounded just so they could protect the foundation of the Qinghe Group. Now that the Qing Consortium has achieved nuclear capability again, who knows when an apocalypse will once again befall humanity.”

However, Ren Xiaosu shook his head. “I don’t see it that way. I still feel that it depends on who uses the weapons. Based on my understanding of Qing Zhen and Luo Lan, they wouldn’t abuse such weapons.”

“Oh?” Old Li looked at Ren Xiaosu in surprise. “Brother Xiaosu, are you very familiar with the heroic duo of the Qing Consortium?”

Ren Xiaosu did not know whether to laugh or cry. What the hell was with that corny nickname?! The heroic duo of the Qing Consortium? He said, “I used to live in the Southwest but was forced to come to the Central Plains because of the Experimental invasion. I’ve interacted with Qing Zhen and Luo Lan before. While I don’t think that they’re good people, they’re definitely not bad people either, so I ask that the Riders please not judge them with any bias.”

Ren Xiaosu’s relationship with Luo Lan could be considered quite good. So he was very willing to speak up for the Qing Consortium so they could have fewer enemies.

However, as Old Li was listening to him, he suddenly realized something else. He already knew that Ren Xiaosu’s name only had a character’s difference from Ren Xiaobei. Moreover, the young man beside him was also a supernatural being and looked very powerful as well.

Previously, Old Li did not think too deeply into it. This was because he felt that even if that Rider’s heir had managed to live a long life, he should now be very old. At the least, he would appear as a middle-aged man, so he did not put too much thought into Ren Xiaosu.

But now, when he heard that Ren Xiaosu was also from the Southwest, he could not help having second thoughts about his identity. Old Li discreetly sized up Ren Xiaosu and thought, ‘Hmm, he’s rather handsome too…’

Could this be the person the Riders and the Experimentals were looking for?!

However, Old Li did not really say much and just kept the matter to himself. They would be seeing each other at Luoyang City anyway, so Old Li would have to ponder over the details first.

Ren Xiaosu casually asked, “I heard that the Qinghe Group is now under the control of the Xu clan. The Xu clan also said that they’re only managing the organization on behalf of the major shareholder. Could the Xu clan really be so impartial and have no selfish motives?”

“I don’t know about others,” Old Li’s thoughts got interrupted as he replied, “but in the Xu clan, Xu Ke’s family is a very honorable one. They’ve never hankered for something that doesn’t belong to them. However, it’s harder to speak for the other members of the Xu clan. Although the organization’s caretaker role has been passed down through Xu Ke’s family for three generations, he still has other relatives who aren’t satisfied with the status quo. Never mind, why am I telling you all this?”

Ren Xiaosu realized there were also conflicts at play within the Qinghe Group.

When they arrived at Luoyang City, Ren Xiaosu and Zhou Yingxue got registered at the gate before they were allowed into the stronghold. Due to the Riders accompanying them, everything proceeded very smoothly.

But when Ren Xiaosu saw a lot of people going in and out of Luoyang City, he asked Old Li, “These people look like refugees. Are they allowed to enter and exit as they please?”

“Oh, about that,” Old Li smiled and said, “Many of them hold work or trader visas in the stronghold, so they can go in and out of the stronghold at any time as long as their papers are valid. Of course, they still have to leave before the gate closes at 10 PM nightly. Only those with student passes can stay in the stronghold until they complete their studies. After they graduate successfully, they can directly apply for residential ID cards and settle down in the stronghold.”

Ren Xiaosu thought this was a rather novel practice. “How many young people from the other strongholds come here to take the college entrance exam? Can refugees take the exam as well?”

“Of course they can. The refugees are also allowed to attend university. Besides, Qinghe University has also specifically set aside some enrollment spots for the refugees. This is to encourage them to make use of their knowledge so they may change their fate. As long as they can get into the university, they have a chance of becoming stronghold residents,” Qin Sheng explained. “Thus, supplementary classes are held outside Luoyang City as well. Some of the teachers in the stronghold love going into town to earn the extra income. This can also be considered a unique industry that can only be found in Luoyang City.”

Ren Xiaosu nodded. So the refugees were also given a chance to improve their lives. Although it was a difficult path to take, it was still enough to give the refugees some hope.

Qin Sheng looked at Ren Xiaosu and continued, “We wanted to open up the stronghold in the past, but you also know that this’ll only make us enemies of the other consortiums. As such, we can only do it this way.”

“I understand.” Ren Xiaosu nodded. In this era, anyone who dared to stand out from others would definitely need the courage to do so. It was already difficult for the Qinghe Group to want to create a path for the refugees to climb, so what more could others ask of them?

Qin Sheng continued, “But even so, a lot of consortiums are still unhappy about it. They often send representatives to come and hold discussions with the Qinghe Group. They hope we can be like the other consortiums and forbid refugees from entering the stronghold.”

As they spoke, they stepped into the stronghold. The Qinghe Group’s vehicles were already waiting on the other side of the gate. Old Li had a car deliver Ren Xiaosu and Zhou Yingxue to the building of Hope Media’s headquarters. Meanwhile, they rushed off to join up with the other Riders for a meeting.

This was an internal meeting for the Riders. Too many things had happened recently, and some of them were related to their own group, so they had to quickly hold a meeting to reach a conclusion.

After bidding each other farewell, their journey together ended as they parted ways.

Upon arriving at Hope Media’s headquarters, Ren Xiaosu got out of the car and had a look. The building was a little run-down and far from the grand appearances of the other buildings in the stronghold.

It was hard to imagine this was actually the headquarters of the famous Hope Media.

Ren Xiaosu explained to the security guard at the door that he was here to place an advertisement in the newspaper. Almost immediately, an employee from the business department came out to receive him.

This staff member was not old and was probably around the same age as Zhou Yingxue. The person smiled and said, “Which company are you two from? What is it that you’d like to advertise with us? And what ad size are you looking to place?”