The First Order

During this period, too many things had happened in the territory of the Alliance of Strongholds. The war in the Southwest, the war in the Northwest, and the nuclear strike on Stronghold 74.

All of these events left everyone in a panic. While walking the streets of Luoyang City, the chief editor had heard the populace discussing these conflicts. This era was gradually crumbling, as was the order that humanity had recently reestablished.

He had reprimanded that reporter just now for fabricating news in an attempt to make a name for himself. Alright, rather than saying that he fabricated news, it was more of just listening to one side of the story and writing a draft without validating the facts. The headline was also very sensational.

That reporter said the other newspapers were also doing the same as it would help their newspapers to sell better, while the reporters who wrote such articles became well-known quickly.

But just because that was what everyone was doing, should they go with the flow as well? The chief editor would very much prefer to go against the flow!

The chief editor looked at Ren Xiaosu and said, “Alright, this phrase will be published in the papers starting tomorrow. My name is Jiang Xu, pleased to meet you. Or to be precise, I’m pleased I was able to come across a sentence like that.”

Ren Xiaosu did not know whether to laugh or cry. What the other party was trying to say was that he was actually not that interested in Ren Xiaosu.

Ren Xiaosu stood up and got Zhou Yingxue to pay the 400,000 yuan. This sum had already been laundered by Zhou Yingxue, so it would not be traceable by anyone. As for the rest of the money, they would have to make a trip back to the black market before they could spend it, and it just so happened the black market was right next to Luoyang City.

After exiting the headquarters of Hope Media, Zhou Yingxue said excitedly by his side, “Master, that Jiang Xu is a legendary figure. He actually waived 1.6 million yuan in fees because of a statement you made. Master, you’re amazing!”

“That’s enough, there should be a limit to your flattery,” Ren Xiaosu said.

“Alright!”

It was getting late. Ren Xiaosu was leading Zhou Yingxue straight to the hotel in Luoyang City when he suddenly felt some interest in this stronghold city. He decided he would go sightseeing for a day before leaving since it wouldn’t affect his schedule.

They got two rooms, each for one person. The hotel in Luoyang City was as hospitable as the hotel back at the black market. Ren Xiaosu sat by the floor-to-ceiling window in his room and read the newspaper he had swiped from Hope Media’s headquarters earlier. It was today’s newspaper, and Ren Xiaosu thought that since he had already taken out a 400,000 yuan ad placement, taking a copy of their newspaper should not be asking too much, right? He had only taken it as a gift anyway.

The newspaper was still filled with analysis articles about Zhou Consortium’s Stronghold 74. The Zhou Consortium had formed a new rescue team to head to Stronghold 74 to assess the possibility of rebuilding it. If that were not possible, they would have to find a new location to rebuild Stronghold 74.

Other than that, it was the usual articles criticizing the Pyro Company.

The other newspapers had basically forgotten about the Pyro Company. After all, nuclear bombs were the trending topic. However, Hope Media was different. In their articles, they were still hoping the Pyro Company could disclose their research and prove that their current studies did not violate scientific ethics.

The third page covered the Qing Consortium and Luo Lan. The journalist even praised Luo Lan for being bold and daring. But when Ren Xiaosu saw Luo Lan thanking the person who fired the nuclear bomb with tears in his eyes, he nearly laughed out loud. That fatso was way too shameless.

Eventually, Ren Xiaosu flipped to the entertainment section of the newspaper. The biggest news was that Li Ran had returned to Stronghold 61. The fans streamed onto the streets to welcome and greet their idol.

When night fell, Zhou Yingxue suddenly knocked on his door and said she wanted to eat out. Ren Xiaosu put down the newspaper and went out with her.

After Ren Xiaosu walked out of the hotel’s main entrance, Old Li and Qin Sheng suddenly came out of the hotel’s kitchen and went to the hotel’s front desk to ask for Ren Xiaosu’s room key.

The two of them were very cautious. Before they entered the room, they checked if there were any traps left behind by Ren Xiaosu. However, they found nothing.

“Search every corner and see if he left behind any hairs,” Old Li said.

Hair loss was not an exclusive condition suffered by middle-aged men. If Ren Xiaosu had taken a shower in his room, some of his hair would definitely be on the floor.

The two of them put on gloves and searched through the entire room. Unfortunately, they could not find anything at all. Old Li wondered, “He took a shower after checking into the hotel this afternoon, but there isn’t a single strand of hair on the floor of the bathroom. Could he have purposely picked up all his hair?”

Qin Sheng scratched his head. “Or maybe it’s just that the quality of his hair is better? So, what should we do now?”

“What else can we do?” Old Li snapped at him. “We can only come back tomorrow and search again.”

“What if he isn’t the person we’re looking for?” Qin Sheng asked.

“We have nothing to lose anyway.” Old Li said, “We’re just looking for his hair to get it tested so we can make sure.”

“What if he’s the one?” Qin Sheng asked.

“In that case…” Old Li frowned. They still did not know much about that young man, so it was difficult to say if they could accept such an outcome. Old Li sighed and said, “At least he’s still a normal human being. Furthermore, he doesn’t look like a bad person. Although it doesn’t seem like he can fight well, this outcome isn’t too far from what we were expecting.”

On their way here to Luoyang City, even though Old Li and Qin Sheng had chatted a lot with Ren Xiaosu, he looked really skinny and weak to them, and they felt he could not fight well either. Those in the Riders were all powerful superhumans, after all, so would a young man like that really be able to helm the organization? Old Li had some doubts.

As a matter of fact, although the Riders believed in Ren He, they did not necessarily have to acknowledge Ren He’s descendants as their overlords. They still had to see what kind of person Ren He’s descendant was.

For example, Riders like Zhang Qingxi and Wu Dingyuan might look kind, but each of them was more arrogant than the other.

However, Old Li and Qin Sheng did not know what Ren Xiaosu had done in the Northwest and Southwest. There was also the role Ren Xiaosu played in the farce between the Anjing House and the Pyro Company a while ago.

If they knew about all this, they would probably not think that Ren Xiaosu could not fight.

At this moment, Ren Xiaosu did not know what was going on in his room. Two of the famed Riders had sneaked into his room to search for his hair.

The nightlife in Luoyang City was bustling, much more flourishing than Ren Xiaosu had imagined. Not even Stronghold 73, which was built based on the framework of a consortium, could compare to it.

Perhaps, because free trade was allowed in Luoyang City, the industries here were more developed.

Moreover, the Qinghe Group’s ethos was this as well. They encouraged innovation, creative thinking, and were business friendly.

The university here was also allowed much more freedom. It was unlike the other consortiums where all their students had to devote themselves to the organization’s own research. Qinghe University was currently the only university in the entire Alliance of Strongholds that had always offered art subjects.

When Ren Xiaosu arrived at the town square, he even saw some people singing while playing the guitar. He also saw some people putting on a performance arts showcase and painting themselves with extravagant colors all over.

“Master, there’s someone doing magic over there,” Zhou Yingxue suddenly shouted joyfully.

But when Ren Xiaosu turned around and saw the performer, he immediately turned around and left.

The young magician smiled through the crowd and said, “Shouldn’t old friends greet each other when they meet again?”