Luo Lan ran out of the house swearing. He was really angry from being suppressed by the enemy forces just now. “Dammit, someone is actually trying to kill me. Luckily, I didn’t let my guard down.”
However, Luo Lan was also a little surprised. Although he had guessed Ren Xiaosu was a supernatural being, he did not think he was that powerful.
Thinking about this, Luo Lan asked his subordinate who had been hiding behind the tree earlier in a whisper, “Did you see how he killed those people?”
That soldier shook his head. “I didn’t see it clearly.”
“Who are these people?” Ren Xiaosu looked at Luo Lan and said, “You better not tell outsiders that I helped you. I don’t want to get into trouble for it.”
“Alright, that’s for sure.” Luo Lan looked at the corpses and said, “Search them and see if there are any clues. However, it should be quite meaningless to do so. Suicide agents won’t carry anything that might offer a clue to them.”
As expected, they discovered nothing else on these people except for guns and magazines after searching through their bodies.
Luo Lan squatted and thought for a moment. “Let me think about this. If I were to die, who would benefit?”
Ren Xiaosu sat on a stone stool beside him and let him think about it slowly.
“Could it be the Zong Consortium?” Luo Lan asked doubtfully. “If they had me killed, then the Yang Consortium and Qing Consortium will immediately descend into war. The natural environment in the north around the Zong Consortium is not as good as the south. They’ve been plotting to get this region for a long time now but aren’t a match for us. So they tried to infiltrate Stronghold 178 and use them as leverage. If the Yang Consortium and Qing Consortium were to start fighting, they could just sit back and reap the benefits.”
However, Luo Lan changed his mind and said, “But the Zong Consortium’s people are still in the stronghold. If they kill me, Qing Zhen would probably think in that direction as well and might then focus his anger onto the Zong Consortium instead. So it could also be possible that the Yang Consortium is trying to kill me while the Zong Consortium’s people are in Stronghold 88, making it difficult to discern what really happened. That way, they can force the Zong Consortium to face Qing Zhen together with them since the Zong Consortium couldn’t prove it wasn’t they who assassinated me.”
Ren Xiaosu snapped, “Your analysis is as good as useless.”
“What else can I do?” Luo Lan stared at him. “Since there’s no fucking clues here, I can only make some wild guesses.”
“Alright, take your time to guess.” Ren Xiaosu said, “Remember not to tell anyone that I was the one who saved you. I’ll be leaving the stronghold the day after tomorrow, so don’t create unnecessary trouble for me.”
Luo Lan’s expression immediately changed. “What am I to do if you leave? What if someone tries to kill me again?”
“Don’t worry, Liuyuan is staying just next door.” Ren Xiaosu said nonchalantly, “Besides, that guy from the Zong Consortium is going with me too. You’ll probably be safe after he leaves.”
“Eh, where are you all off to?” Luo Lan wondered.
“We’re going to exterminate the bandits.” Ren Xiaosu jumped back over to his yard.
He heard Luo Lan lower his voice and shout, “Wait, you said that Liuyuan will protect me? Can he really…”
By now, Ren Xiaosu was really treating Luo Lan as a friend. It was the same for Luo Lan, so Ren Xiaosu did not mind helping Luo Lan out.
It was just that tonight’s incident was really strange. The Yang Consortium and Qing Consortium seemed to be getting along peacefully with both their armies still working together to fight the Li Consortium at the front lines. It was as though Luo Lan were not under house arrest in Stronghold 88.
But underneath the surface of this seemingly calm sea, turbulent waves were rolling.
Right now, the Li Consortium’s front line at Mt. Guangying was in grave danger. Many of the Li Consortium’s military forces were forced to resort to guerrilla warfare against the Yang Consortium and Qing Consortium inside the mountains in an attempt to destroy the supply lines and marching routes of both parties. After all, they were no match for the Yang Consortium’s armored brigade on the front lines. The Qing Consortium’s artillery troops were especially brutal, so the Li Consortium could only use this method to delay their impending defeat.
When their defeat finally arrived, the Yang Consortium and Qing Consortium would probably start fighting each other immediately. This was what a lot of people speculated.
Luo Lan and Ren Xiaosu both knew Qing Zhen would send someone to save him, but no one knew what method Qing Zhen would use to conduct the rescue operation. Launch a frontal assault? In that case, it would definitely be over for Luo Lan as well.
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Ren Xiaosu felt that based on his level of understanding, he probably couldn’t guess what Qing Zhen was planning.
…
With the imminent departure to exterminate the bandits, Xiaoyu got busy again. She rushed everywhere to buy all sorts of supplies for Ren Xiaosu as she was afraid he would suffer when he went outside.
And now, Ren Xiaosu’s storage space was equipped with a vacuum preservation zone, so the food would not go bad when stored inside.
“This is a new tent, a waterproof cushion, a blanket, and a mattress,” Xiaoyu said. Although she did not know how Ren Xiaosu would take them with him, she knew Ren Xiaosu had the ability to carry a lot of things with him.
After all, she was one of the closest people to Ren Xiaosu. How could she not have noticed anything after living together every day?
“I just bought these stainless steel bowls and chopsticks. Take them with you as well.”
Ren Xiaosu suddenly asked, “Wait, why are there two sets of bowls and chopsticks?”
“Aren’t you going with Ms. Xiaojin?” Xiaoyu paused. “Since you can bring more things with you, you should bring an extra set for her just in case.”
“Then why is there only one tent?” Ren Xiaosu was dumbfounded.
Xiaoyu started laughing. “Why are you being so shy? I only packed one tent because it’s for your own good. It’s fine if you don’t get to use it, but if you do, you’ll thank me for it later.”
These words startled Ren Xiaosu quite a bit. He did not know how to respond.
Then at this moment, a car stopped outside the house. Someone knocked on the door after getting out and asked, “Hello, is anyone around?”
Ren Xiaosu raised his eyebrows. This voice was a complete stranger, for he had never heard it before.
He walked over to open the door and found a young man he had never seen before standing there.
“Hello, my name is Zong Cheng. Nice to meet you.” Zong Cheng was the same height as Ren Xiaosu. He was standing there holding some gifts with both hands.
Zong Cheng’s subordinates who were standing behind him wanted to help him carry the gifts, but Zong Cheng smiled and said, “It’s alright, I can handle it myself. Wait for me outside. Don’t come in and dirty their front yard.”
Ren Xiaosu had to admit that Zong Cheng looked quite friendly when he smiled. He had the cleansing presence of a spring breeze and was completely different from what Ren Xiaosu had imagined. He had originally thought Zong Cheng was here to find trouble with him, but in the end, it seemed like he was here to give him some gifts?
Then Zong Cheng said, “You must be Ren Xiaosu. I brought you some gifts from up north. They’re our hometown’s specialty fruit, wolfberries.[1] These gifts are very cheap, so I hope you won’t mind it.”
Ren Xiaosu thought Wang Fugui might have some use for these items, so he decided to accept them.
Zong Cheng said happily, “I won’t be going inside. As we’ll be going to exterminate the bandits together, there’s still some supplies I have to purchase at the market. Is there anything you need to buy? I can get them for you.”
Ren Xiaosu gave him a look. “Nah, I’m good.”
“Please do take care of me on our expedition to exterminate the bandits,” Zong Cheng said politely.
“Sure, I’ll take care of you,” Ren Xiaosu said nonchalantly.
“Thank you so much,” Zong Cheng said.
Ren Xiaosu was waiting for this moment. He did not receive any gratitude tokens from Zong Cheng.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goji