The First Order

Translator: Legge

When Ren Xiaosu saw this platoon, he realized the internal situation of the Kong Consortium was far tenser than he had imagined. These people had reached an unusual level of vigilance.

Therefore, it would probably be a little difficult to assassinate Kong Erdong later. Ren Xiaosu and Yang Xiaojin had discussed it earlier and decided to focus on saving Wang Yun first. Whether they could kill Kong Erdong would have to depend on luck.

The Great Hoodwinker was walking down the streets of Stronghold 31. Although he was no longer carrying his white banner around, he was still dressed shabbily like an old vagrant.

The Great Hoodwinker made many turns on the long street and headed east along Lishan North Road.

Along the way, the Great Hoodwinker even bought two roasted flatbread pastries and ate them as he walked. While walking, he scrutinized the streets and buildings of Stronghold 31 as though he were on a tour.

After two kilometers, the Great Hoodwinker suddenly turned into a small alley on the left. He only stopped when he came across a small hair salon.

The hair salon looked extremely out of place in this dilapidated alley, and there was even a flickering LED signboard with the word “Massages” hanging on the entrance.

The hair salon on the ground floor was a remodeled unit in a residential building that was five stories high.

The Great Hoodwinker looked up to confirm there was a natal lily flowerpot out on the second-floor balcony. Only then did he dare to enter the alley without worry.

Upon reaching the second floor, the Great Hoodwinker took out a key to unlock the door of Unit 201. The layout of the house was no different from that of a normal household.

After the Great Hoodwinker entered the room, he immediately looked around to confirm no one was in the house. Then he went into the kitchen and found a rolling pin that he used to tap on the floor.

Dong, dong, dong. A hollow sound came from one of the ceramic tiles in the living room. The Great Hoodwinker used his fingernail to gently lift up the entire tile.

But something unexpected happened at this moment. A flying needle suddenly shot out from underneath the tile. The Great Hoodwinker could not dodge in time and was hit squarely. He immediately raised his head, but he looked extremely comical with the steel needle dangling from his cheek.

The Great Hoodwinker said angrily, “If you want to arrest me, just arrest me. Why did you have to disfigure my face?!”

As soon as he finished speaking, the Great Hoodwinker could hear the sound of windows breaking upstairs, followed by the sound of clothing rubbing against ropes. Eight heavily armed combatants had rappelled down from the top of the building and crashed through different windows on the second floor one after another!

“Don’t move! Get down! Put your hands behind your head!” the combatants roared.

But the Great Hoodwinker utterly ignored them. Even though he was being held at gunpoint, he dashed towards the balcony in a ghostly blur. The combatant on the balcony started firing at him decisively. But to their surprise, not a bullet hit the Great Hoodwinker.

The Great Hoodwinker’s footsteps were heavy. As he charged onto the balcony, the floor tiles in the house were all shattered.

The combatant on the balcony did not have time to think. The Great Hoodwinker had already collided into him in this narrow space. In an instant, the combatant felt his organs get crushed and his throat get compressed. He felt like he was about to vomit out all of his organs from the unbearable pressure!

A moment later, the collision sent the combatant and the Great Hoodwinker flying off the balcony. The two of them landed in the alley outside!

The Great Hoodwinker heaved a sigh of relief. “You’re hoping to apprehend me with that bit of skill?”

He looked coldly at the troops who had surrounded him from both ends of the alley. The muscles on his body were bulging, but before he could make a move to break out of the encirclement, the Great Hoodwinker’s expression changed drastically. He pulled out the steel needle from his face and slowly fell to the ground in disbelief.

Before he closed his eyes, he could hear the combatants shouting around him, “The target has passed out, the target has passed out. Mission accomplished. Tell the secret prison to get ready to receive a B-rank target!”

These people grabbed the Great Hoodwinker and loaded him into a black vehicle. As the person in charge of escorting him was still worried, he administered a dose of anesthetics to the Great Hoodwinker before heaving a sigh of relief.

The vehicle drove all the way east. Their destination was the secret prison at the easternmost side of Stronghold 31. It was a multipurpose training hall before The Cataclysm, but it was later dug up and transformed into the most sinister and terrifying place in the Kong Consortium.

In the words of the Kong Consortium’s own people, none of the criminals who entered the secret prison were ever seen again.

When the convoy arrived at the secret prison, the prison gate slowly opened and allowed the convoy to pass through it quickly.

Although the surface of this secret prison resembled a huge stadium, there was a sloping road in the middle of it leading downwards into darkness, making it look like there was no end in sight.

The person in charge of escorting the Great Hoodwinker met with the secret prison’s warden at the venue and quickly handled the handover procedures. “This person’s identity is unknown, but he should be a core member of the other intelligence organizations. We already caught his informant. It’s that young man we sent here previously. This time, we waited at his informant’s house and managed to apprehend him. During the arrest, that guy was way too unflinching. Our 1st Military Intelligence Division assesses him as a B-rank threat, so make sure to watch over him carefully. The director will come and interrogate him personally soon.”

The warden nodded. “Don’t worry, prisoners who get sent here don’t have a chance of escaping even if they have wings. Outlaws and superhumans can only behave obediently like lab rats.”

With that, the warden gestured for someone to carry the Great Hoodwinker down into the basement.

As they walked through the long passageway of the prison, the inmates on both sides of the corridor got up and leaned against the metal bars to have a look at who was so unfortunate as to end up here.

It started getting rowdy in the prison, and the warden frowned slightly. The prison guard next to him raised his baton and swung. An inmate who was holding the cell’s metal bars had his fingers broken by the baton.

Wang Yun was standing quietly in his individual cell and looking at the warden and his subordinates as they passed through the corridor.

When he got a clear look at the person they were bringing in, Wang Yun became so agitated the veins on his neck started bulging. ‘Karma, this is fucking karma! Hahahahaha! Let me tell you this: You were way too fucking horrible!‘

Wang Yun stomped furiously in his cell and started laughing hysterically without saying a word.

The warden said to the prison guard next to him, “Record that Wang Yun might know this prisoner. Have the 1st Military Intelligence Division conduct a surprise interrogation on Wang Yun. They might uncover some new clues very quickly!”

Wang Yun was violently slapping the door of his cell. He wanted to tell the warden he knew the Great Hoodwinker and could share information about this man to redeem himself!

But then Wang Yun froze.

The Great Hoodwinker, who had his hands and feet shackled by tailormade cuffs, was initially unconscious. But the moment he heard Wang Yun’s voice, he opened his eyes and winked at Wang Yun.

When Wang Yun looked at him again, the Great Hoodwinker was already back to his unconscious state. It was as though Wang Yun had just hallucinated it.

Wang Yun no longer gloated or raged anymore.

He was an extremely smart person. So he immediately understood the Great Hoodwinker was here to rescue him.

Wang Yun looked outside and did not say a word. Was his future really in the Prosperous Northwest?

So the other party’s purpose for setting him up was so they could burn all his bridges.