The First Order

When the Anjing House decided to attack the Pyro Company in the Sacred Mountains, their official members set off to the designated black markets to assemble the hitmen.

Cheng Yu was quite resistant to the idea of entering the Sacred Mountains to begin with. After all, it was a strategic location for the Pyro Company. Even though the Sacred Mountains spanned such a large area that their troops had to be scattered at different points, they must still have some contingency plans in place.

If they were to rashly enter the Sacred Mountains under such circumstances, they might just end up losing really badly.

But some things just could not be refused even if one did not want to do it.

Now that Cheng Yu realized there were actually amateurs who were C-rank hitmen on the team, his mood worsened.

Cheng Yu lifted the door curtain and walked into the room. He looked around at the dozen or so people sitting inside. “Is everyone here to take part in the mission?”

No one answered him. Yang Xiaojin leaned against the doorframe and started sizing up the people one by one. Meanwhile, Ren Xiaosu, who was half a head taller, was standing behind her. “Something about these people doesn’t feel right.”

Yang Xiaojin nodded but the two of them did not continue talking. This was not the right place for them to discuss any further speculations in detail.

Actually, the two of them could tell the people in this room were not simple at all. There might even be quite a few experts from the consortiums hiding among them.

Since Ren Xiaosu and Yang Xiaojin were willing to follow the Anjing House into the Sacred Mountains, the other organizations’ experts would be even more willing to take advantage of the situation by tagging onto a larger group.

Therefore, no one here could be trusted. Only the Great Hoodwinker, Yang Xiaojin, and Ren Xiaosu could trust one another.

At this moment, another dozen people walked in from outside. Ren Xiaosu turned around and was surprised to see the person who had scammed them earlier was here as well. When this person saw Ren Xiaosu and Yang Xiaojin, he looked a little embarrassed. However, Yang Xiaojin’s lips curled. Did this person think it would be so easy to get her money?

She even took back the dagger she had promised to Ren Xiaosu. This girl was never a generous person to begin with!

After everyone had entered the room, Cheng Yu said to them, “We’ll assemble in an hour, so take this time to prepare your logistics. We estimate we’ll need to survive in the Sacred Mountains for at least 15 days, so I don’t want anyone to say you’re not prepared once we’re on the road. I won’t be responsible for providing any logistics support to you. Later, the guide will lead us to the outer perimeter of the Sacred Mountains. After we enter the territory of the Sacred Mountains, I don’t care what ulterior motives you might have, but you must listen to my orders.”

When Ren Xiaosu heard this, he felt Cheng Yu must also know the identities of the members in the group were very complicated. That was why he emphasized he did not care what their motives were.

Only a few people in the room responded to what Cheng Yu said. Ren Xiaosu noticed three people. The first one was a middle-aged man who was sitting quietly in the corner. As he sat in the corner, his body was postured to constantly be on guard against the others. But what caught Ren Xiaosu’s attention was that the man did not even have any calluses on his hands. He did not look like a normal hitman at all, so he was quite likely a supernatural being.

The second person was a young man who kept glancing at Cheng Yu and the others. It was as though he were paying attention to where they kept their weapons.

The third person was a young woman. Ren Xiaosu was just about to make a more detailed inspection of her.

Ow! Ren Xiaosu grimaced in pain as he looked at Yang Xiaojin. Then Yang Xiaojin let go of her hand pinching Ren Xiaosu and whispered, “Where are you looking?”

Ren Xiaosu did not know whether to laugh or cry. But Yang Xiaojin continued, “You don’t have to look anymore. That woman is a superhuman.”

It was unknown just how many supernatural beings had gathered in this small little room in the black market. It was clear the Anjing House intended to lead the experts from the various forces into the Sacred Mountains so they could make things difficult for the Pyro Company.

As a matter of fact, Yang Anjing was also a very ruthless person.

Other people would recruit experts into their own ranks in order to achieve their goals. But Yang Anjing started the Anjing House and made all the other forces take the initiative to get ahold of the cell phones and help her with her missions. All she needed to do was dangle the carrot, and whoever was willing would take the bait.

Ren Xiaosu thought maybe Yang Anjing had already planned everything when she first established the Anjing House.

After agreeing on the assembly time, Ren Xiaosu, Yang Xiaojin, and the others went to walk around the black market. Other than information trading, assassination missions, money laundering, and casino gambling, firearms and ammunition were also sold here. There was even an amulet industry too!

The people selling the firearms and ammunition said that as long as the buyers had enough money, they could even get them an armored vehicle if they wanted. It was as though there was nothing these arms dealers could not get their hands on.

The person hawking amulets said his products would calm the wearer and cleanse their sins. It could also help them pursue good fortune and avoid disasters.

Ren Xiaosu wondered, “Do these things even have a market?”

Yang Xiaojin glanced at the stall and said, “The people who are here have done too many guilty things. Some of them can’t even get a good night’s rest because of their conscience. Not everyone can kill without batting an eyelid.”

Off to the side, the Great Hoodwinker said with a smile, “This lady our future commander fancies is very knowledgeable indeed. You’re absolutely right. There’s a lot of people in the black market who’re willing to buy these charms. Even if it may sound foolish, all they want is to have peace of mind.”

Yang Xiaojin looked at the Great Hoodwinker speechlessly. She kept getting the feeling this guy was just a random person Ren Xiaosu had hired with money to praise him in her presence, not someone who was in charge of intelligence and field operations for Fortress 178.

The Great Hoodwinker smiled until his face was all creased and said, “Miss, why don’t you let me read your fortune? Our future commander knows that I, Divine Foresight, am capable of seeing both the past and the future.”

Ren Xiaosu said with a dark expression, “Don’t you bring up the ‘Prosperous Northwest’ again!”

“Haha.” The Great Hoodwinker said awkwardly, “How did you guess?”

“Do you even know how to read fortunes?” Ren Xiaosu wondered.

If he said he did not, what about the time when he told the Lord of Wolves, Li Qingzheng, he was destined to meet a benefactor in this life?

But if he said he knew how to read fortunes, then why did he keep going on and on about the Prosperous Northwest to everyone? How did that make him someone who was in charge of intelligence and field operations? He was clearly the director of Fortress 178’s Recruitment Division overseeing their talent acquisition program.

The Great Hoodwinker sighed and said, “To be honest with you, Future Commander, I didn’t actually know how to read fortunes at the beginning. When I was younger, I hooked up with a woman and got intimate with her at her place when her husband happened to come home. To explain the situation, she told her husband I was a fortune teller. Then I randomly read his fortune and told him he would definitely get promoted within three days. I had only said that to get off the hook, but I didn’t expect that guy to really be promoted the very next day.”

Ren Xiaosu was dumbfounded. “Has your tongue received some kind of blessing?”

The Great Hoodwinker sighed and said, “Later, her husband even recommended a lot of people have their fortunes told by me. Gradually, more and more people started approaching me for my fortune telling services. Sometimes, I even wonder if I really know something about geomantic omens while lying in bed in the middle of the night.”

Ren Xiaosu looked at the Great Hoodwinker skeptically. He was trying to discern whether the other party was lying or not.

However, it was already approaching the time for them to assemble. The three of them packed up the supplies they had just bought and left. Ren Xiaosu wanted to carry Yang Xiaojin’s backpack for her, but Yang Xiaojin said she could handle it herself.

This girl had never pretended like she needed help from others.