The First Order

Ren Xiaosu had encountered similar situations like this before. After knocking people unconscious, their nanomachines would no longer be controlled by a consciousness and thus be in a state where they could be reset.

He realized that if the other party with the nanomachines was still conscious, not even the palace could take control of their nanomachines.

But he could not understand why he would encounter the presence of nanomachines here.

It was no wonder the three attackers had put on masks after getting out of the vehicle. It looked like they were trying to hide the silvery glow of their blood vessels when the nanomachines were activated.

He initially thought these three attackers were sent by the Wang Consortium to capture Jiang Xu, but he was kind of unsure now.

That was because the Qing Consortium was seemingly the only organization in the world that was still in possession of nanotech. Previously, Ren Xiaosu had entrusted Luo Lan with the task of sending a batch of nanomachines to Wang Yuchi and the others in Luoyang City. That way, Wang Yuchi’s group would at least have a certain level of self-protection.

Fatty Luo had promised him it would be delivered within a month and that he would make sure his subordinates handled it well.

Furthermore, Luo Lan even promised he would not only prepare the nanomachines for Wang Yuchi and the rest, but he would also prepare some for him. He was told he could retrieve it from Luoyang City at any time.

Back then, Ren Xiaosu had asked Luo Lan if any other organizations had mastered nanotech as well. He was thinking that if there were, Jiang Xu might not have to continue limping around just so he could avoid accusations that he had been bribed.

However, Luo Lan’s reply back then was, “Definitely not. Nanotech is now a secret of the Qing Consortium. After those scientists in charge of the nanomachine research signed a confidentiality agreement, they can’t even return home by themselves anymore. They have to be constantly under the watch of the Qing Consortium.”

Ren Xiaosu stared silently at the three attackers on the ground. So were these people from the Qing Consortium? But why would the Qing Consortium want to capture Jiang Xu? There was no reason to do that!

Moreover, could the Qing Consortium plant these spies inside the Wang Consortium? Ren Xiaosu felt that with the artificial intelligence governing the stronghold, the Qing Consortium would probably not be able to do that. He had seen those people exiting the stronghold with their IDs with his own eyes, and it even seemed like their identities were very special.

Although Ren Xiaosu could not figure out what was going on, he felt that something must have gone wrong somewhere. The people in front of him were definitely not from the Qing Consortium.

But… at the end of the day, it would be a waste if he did not take these nanomachines delivered right to his doorstep!

Ren Xiaosu looked at Jiang Xu. “Wait a sec, let me handle these three first.” He then pulled the three attackers aside and reset the nanomachines in them before pairing them with his own consciousness.

However, Ren Xiaosu still felt like it was not enough. There were hardly any nanomachines in these three. At most, it was only enough to form armor around half his arm.

Ren Xiaosu wanted to wake the three up to question them about their identities. However, he was surprised to discover their hearts had already stopped.

“Strange,” Ren Xiaosu muttered. He could not even tell how they had died!

This time, Ren Xiaosu was even more certain they were not from the Qing Consortium. That was because the Qing Consortium would never resort to such means on their own subordinates.

Honestly, Ren Xiaosu was still hoping to ask if they had any accomplices nearby. If there were, it would mean he could get his hands on even more nanomachines.

Ren Xiaosu sighed and went back to join up with Jiang Xu. He looked at Jiang Xu and hesitated for a moment before saying, “Why don’t y’all head back to Stronghold 61 and stay there for a few days?”

In just this short encounter, Ren Xiaosu was already thinking of resuming his old ways to fish for more enemies.

“Head back?” Jiang Xu was really stunned this time. He did not understand why Ren Xiaosu would say that. “Why would we want to go back there?”

Ren Xiaosu was stumped. He really could not come up with a valid reason to persuade Jiang Xu to go back to Stronghold 61. “I just can’t bear to part with you. Besides, I still want to play chess with you for a few more days.”

When Jiang Xu heard this, he immediately turned around and got into the car. Chess? Hah! That would make it even more impossible for him to go back!

Ren Xiaosu hurriedly shouted, “Let’s not play chess then! We can discuss this!”

Jiang Xu stopped in his tracks. “You must have some ulterior motive for asking me to go back, right? Let me guess, you want to lure the others out as well?”

Judging from Jiang Xu’s expression, it looked like he was considering risking his life to put on an act with Ren Xiaosu.

However, Ren Xiaosu said with a laugh, “I was just kidding you. We can’t risk your life no matter how grand the plan is, right? Hurry up and return to Luoyang City. There’s still people waiting for you there.”

Jiang Xu smiled and nodded. “Alright, an old man like me shan’t play along with you on something so crazy then. When I said farewell to you this morning, I was wondering when we would meet again. But I wasn’t expecting to see you so soon.”

With that, Jiang Xu walked up to Ren Xiaosu with his walking stick and gave him a gentle hug. “Take care.”

“Mhm.” Ren Xiaosu looked as Jiang Xu got into the vehicle. He suddenly felt a little sad for some reason.

After the vehicle started moving, one of the reporters sighed and said, “This really is an era where our farewells could be for the last time.”

Another reporter echoed, “That’s right. Moreover, many of these farewells aren’t even verbal. I was away for over a year to do an investigative write-up for an article. In the end, I didn’t even realize my girlfriend had gotten married in Luoyang City….”

Jiang Xu was speechless.

There was a sudden burst of laughter in the car that went on for a long time.

…

Ren Xiaosu scaled the wall and returned to Stronghold 61. When he was back to walking on the streets again, he felt like he was being watched. But when he turned around, he saw nothing.

Compared to when he was staying in the other strongholds, Ren Xiaosu always felt a little nervous in Stronghold 61. His nerves could not help but tense up as though danger could descend at any moment.

When he returned to the courtyard house, Yang Xiaojin’s voice came from next door. “Where have you been?”

“Teacher Jiang Xu just left, so I went to send him off.” Ren Xiaosu leaned close to the wall and said softly, “As they left early in the morning, I didn’t wake you up. But something strange happened. I intercepted three people along the way just now, and they turned out to be nanosoldiers.”

“Nanosoldiers?” Yang Xiaojin wondered, “Are they from the Qing Consortium?”

Ren Xiaosu was not the only one whose first reaction was to link this to the Qing Consortium. Perhaps anyone in the world who saw the nanosoldiers would also assume they were from the Qing Consortium. After all, it was true the other organizations had not mastered nanotech yet.

This description might not be entirely accurate. Actually, some organizations had also started their research on nanomachines. However, they did not have the technology to interface them with humans yet, so they were unable to create nanosoldiers.

Ren Xiaosu answered, “I somehow feel that they aren’t from the Qing Consortium. I’ll ask Luo Lan about it the next time I see him. If they really wanted to kill Jiang Xu, I’ll have to have a good talk with them. I feel that any organization in this era can be destroyed, but for these people who only want to report the truth, they should not have anything bad happen to them.”

Back then, wasn’t this the reason he protected the Hope Media headquarters? Those people who were busy reporting the truth were the most valuable assets in this era.

Ren Xiaosu said to Yang Xiaojin, “I heard from Jiang Xu that there’s very few places to eat in Stronghold 61. Why don’t we go out and do some grocery shopping? I still have some meat in my storage space, but there’s no vegetables left.”

Yang Xiaojin was silent for a moment before saying, “My tummy hurts a little today, so I don’t feel like going out.”

When she said that, Ren Xiaosu’s mind started spinning. Should he tell Yang Xiaojin to drink hot water? It didn’t seem appropriate. Should he say he would help her rub her tummy? She might not necessarily let him do so either. So what should he say?

Ren Xiaosu was silent for a moment before saying, “You’re so slim. How can you possibly have a tummy!”

Yang Xiaojin was speechless.