The First Order

The next morning, when Luo Lan and Zhou Qi appeared again, each of them had a black eye.

Honestly, Ren Xiaosu had witnessed many battles between supernatural beings before, but this was the first time he had witnessed two supernatural beings swinging their fists at each other.

"Come on, let's go and eat," Ren Xiaosu said, stifling his laughter.

After crying his heart out at Hope Media, Ren Xiaosu's mood improved. He no longer felt as gloomy as before.

The deceased were no longer around, but those who were still living would have to search for light and hope again. There was no need to wallow in sorrow, and life would still have to go on.

When Luo Lan heard Ren Xiaosu's greeting, he grumbled, "We don't have to go out to eat. We can just get a group of chefs to come and cook at the villa."

Ren Xiaosu laughed and said, "Forget that. There's no need to mobilize so many people just for a meal. It just so happens that I want to walk the streets too."

"Sure," Luo Lan agreed.

Dawn had just broken as Luo Lan, Zhou Qi, Ren Xiaosu, and Yang Xiaojin walked out of the neighborhood. The rain had stopped, so the air smelled much fresher now.

After what happened in Luoyang City over the past few days, fewer and fewer pedestrians were out on the streets. A lot of them did not even dare to go to work anymore, and many of the factories also informed their workers to go on vacation.

As such, the streets were rather quiet.

Since yesterday afternoon, a rumor started spreading in Luoyang City. Apparently, Luoyang City was no longer under the Qinghe Group's control, and that there had been a change in leadership.

This news alarmed a lot of people. As a result, Ren Xiaosu and company saw many vehicles parked at the entrance just as they stepped out of the neighborhood. Every one of the vehicles looked more impressive than the last.

Ren Xiaosu took a look at those vehicles. "Those sedans look pretty nice."

"Mhm, they're high-end cars produced by the Zhou Consortium's factories. In recent years, it's become the exclusive vehicle for the upper class," Luo Lan replied.

"Why're they all parked at the entrance?" Ren Xiaosu looked at the vehicles in confusion. "Do they belong to the residents of the neighborhood? Why didn't they park their cars inside?"

Luo Lan laughed. "It looks like you haven't experienced something like this before. These people aren't residents of the neighborhood. They're here to look for you."

"Why're they looking for me?" Ren Xiaosu could not understand.

"Since you've taken over Luoyang City, they're here to call on you, of course." Luo Lan said calmly, "Look, the show's about to begin."

As soon as he finished speaking, it was as though Luo Lan had seen what would happen next. When the people in the vehicles saw Ren Xiaosu and company walking out, they hurriedly got out of their vehicles and broke into a trot towards them.

Although they did not know what Ren Xiaosu looked like, they knew about Luo Lan and Zhou Qi.

The person who could have Luo Lan and Zhou Qi accompanying him would definitely be that person from the Northwest.

When the residents nearby saw the sight of so many of Luoyang City's big shots gathering together, they understood what was going on.

But nobody thought much of it. Actually, Ren Xiaosu had already earned a very high standing among the people of Luoyang City after two major battles. Therefore, everyone did not feel too flustered about Ren Xiaosu taking charge of the city.

Rumor had it that Ren Xiaosu was also a friend of the Riders. In the past year, the Riders had left Luoyang City one by one, so everyone felt a little insecure without their protection. Now that a new overseer had arrived, everyone felt it was actually a rather good thing.

They just did not know what would become of the Qinghe Group.

When the well-known figures of Luoyang City came over, Ren Xiaosu looked at them calmly. "Alright, y'all don't have to come here to call on me. I'll leave after I've taken revenge, so I'm not really going to take charge of Luoyang City."

When everyone heard that, they realized the Northwest had no intention of taking over their city.

Ren Xiaosu waved them off. "Don't be an eyesore here. Go on to wherever you need to be."

"OK, OK, we shan't keep you occupied then." When the group saw that Ren Xiaosu did not seem too happy, they quickly bowed and ran off.

Luo Lan said with a smile, "When you return to the Northwest in the future, you'll face a similar situation. All of a sudden, high-ranking officials, rich businessmen, and anyone who wants to earn a livelihood in your territory will start approaching you. That's because you'll be the future owner of the Northwest, and their livelihoods will be controlled by you. My younger brother, Qing Zhen, took refuge in the military base not only because he wanted to avoid assassination attempts, but also because he was afraid that such people would keep coming to call on him. It's way too annoying. He's a person who likes peace and quiet, so he can't stand it."

Ren Xiaosu watched vehicles depart and sighed, "This is the way of the world, I guess."

Luo Lan belly laughed and said, "This is politics."

With a laugh, the wound he sustained during the scuffle with Zhou Qi last night reopened.

Luo Lan said indignantly, "I had such a slim figure back in the day. But ever since I started stuffing myself with all kinds of tonics when I was 15, I ended up like this. When my father was still alive, he even despised me for eating too much. Now that the truth's out, if it were anyone else who pranked me like that, I would've shot them dead!"

Zhou Qi rolled his eyes. "It was just a joke, wasn't it? Is there a need to overreact like that?"

"I should've fucking known. No matter how frail I might be, my urine couldn't possibly have split into five streams!" Luo Lan was still angry.

At this moment, Ren Xiaosu and the others arrived at a breakfast diner across the street. It seemed like there were no customers in the restaurant because no one dared to leave their homes.

When the owner-manager saw that it was the four of them, he hurriedly welcomed them, "What would you all like to eat? We have rice vermicelli, hot pepper soup, millet porridge, and wontons."

"Give me a bowl of wontons," Luo Lan said.

Ren Xiaosu wanted the chicken vermicelli, Yang Xiaojin wanted millet porridge, and Zhou Qi also ordered a bowl of wontons.

After the four of them had a simple meal, they were surprised to find that the breakfast diner's dishes were quite tasty.

Luo Lan started chatting with the owner-manager as though they were friends. "Boss, Luoyang City has been such a mess for the past two days. You're still operating your business?"

The middle-aged owner smiled amiably. "No matter how chaotic it is, we still have to make a living."

Before leaving, Luo Lan took out his wallet and was about to pay up. But to everyone's surprise, the middle-aged owner rubbed his hands together and said with a smile, "Since it's the four of you who came to eat, you don't have to pay. Not only will you not have to pay today, but there won't be a need for you to pay when you come again in the future."

Ren Xiaosu was stunned. "Why not?"

The owner explained, "The news of the four of you avenging Chief Editor Jiang Xu in the city yesterday has spread throughout Luoyang City. Although we ordinary folks were also very angry, we didn't dare to step forward to take revenge for the chief editor. But the four of you taking revenge for him is equivalent to being the saviors of the people of Luoyang City. Many of the owners in the Food Business Union have said that no matter where the four of you choose to dine in the future, as long as you're in Luoyang City, you won't have to fork over a single cent to eat. This is something we ordinary folks can do, so I hope you all won't decline."

Ren Xiaosu was stunned.

Actually, when he left the intersection yesterday, he was still feeling a little resentful. Everyone clearly said they respected Jiang Xu very much, but no one came forward to help him when he died, and no one dared to step forward either when the hitmen appeared yesterday.

Now, Ren Xiaosu felt relieved. That was because the owner had said, "This is something we ordinary folks can do."

Ren Xiaosu smiled. That was right. The average people had their own way of living, so there was no need for him to force everyone to be like Jiang Xu.

Wasn't today's free breakfast also a ray of light left behind by Jiang Xu? Although that light was still faint, it was never truly extinguished.

Thinking of this, Ren Xiaosu thanked the owner with a smile before leaving the shop.

For the first time since he received the bad news, all of the dark emotions he had were swept away.. All there was left to do now was to wipe out the remaining enemies.