At Qing Consortium’s Stronghold 111, the manor that stood on Mt. Ginkgo had been empty for some time.
After the coup in the Qing Consortium, Qing Zhen did not choose to stay at that luxurious manor. Instead, he moved into the barracks of Stronghold 111’s garrison and lived alongside the soldiers. He ate his meals every day in the chow hall and rejected any special treatment that the kitchen police offered him.
At the beginning, the Qing Consortium’s soldiers who were his supporters were saying how it would be difficult to get to see him in the future. But to their surprise, they got to see him almost every day now.
In their private conversations, the generals even said that Qing Zhen was too compassionate towards his subordinates. They felt that a lot of people might learn they could win the support of their subordinates by living in the same conditions and not seeking to be treated with special privileges. But knowing so did not mean they would practice it as well.
But when Qing Zhen heard what was being said about him in private, he admitted frankly that he had moved into the barracks because he was afraid of getting assassinated. Living under the same roof with the troops and sharing the same meals was because he was worried about being poisoned.
When the generals heard this, they did not know how to respond. However, they were already used to hearing him speak hard truths in such a casual manner. When they were planning the coup, Qing Zhen told them they might die if they charged up Mt. Ginkgo. But didn’t they still do it in the end?
So after the generals learned about Qing Zhen’s worries, they all reassured him that the military base near Stronghold 111 was the safest place of all. No matter how powerful the supernatural being that broke in was, they would never walk out of the place alive.
Qing Zhen could only shake his head and smile, because he knew very well how difficult it was to deal with the supernatural beings these days. Moreover, the supernatural beings were still getting stronger.
At this moment, Qing Zhen was standing in front of a huge sand table. However, the terrain on the sand table was not the Southwest but the Northwestern battlefield between Fortress 178 and the Zong Consortium.
There was a clear and distinctive separation between the red and blue flags on the sand table. The blue flag represented the Zong Consortium in the north, while the red flag represented Fortress 178 in the south.
Suddenly, Qing Zhen picked up a tiny red flag and seemed like he wanted to place it somewhere in the north. But he didn’t know where to place it.
Next to him, Luo Lan, who was making eyes at the secretary, suddenly asked, “And which fighting force does this flag represent?”
“The Forward Strike Battalion’s Razor Sharp Company,” Qing Zhen replied calmly. “If you harass my secretary again, I’ll have Qing Yu throw you out.”
“Would that child, Qing Yu, dare to throw me out?” Luo Lan brushed it off. He slapped the secretary’s butt and said to Qing Zhen after harrying her out, “Since you don’t lust after women, why not let me have her rather than having others take advantage of her?”
“I bet you’re running out of the black medicine Ren Xiaosu gave you.” Qing Zhen glanced at Luo Lan. “Let’s see what you’re gonna do when it runs out.”
Luo Lan felt a pain in his chest. “I forgot to tell Tang Zhou to get some more black medicine from Ren Xiaosu when I sent him north. Dammit!”
“Ren Xiaosu and the Razor Sharp Company have already passed the Beiwan River and are continuing north.” Qing Zhen remarked, “If something happens to him, you’re gonna be out of black medicine for the rest of your life.”
“What? Why’s he heading further north? The Zong troops are all over the place there,” Luo Lan said in surprise. “When did this happen?”
“About two days ago. The news was relayed back a little late this time.” Qing Zhen thought for a moment before saying, “I wonder if he was forced to go there or if he chose to do it so he could kill the enemy himself. So don’t ever underestimate a supernatural being’s determination for vengeance. That’s also why I chose to move into the barracks.”
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News of Li Shentan’s revenge on the Li Consortium had already begun to spread, with several versions, either from the rumor mill or as told by those in the inner circle of the Li Consortium, going around. They were all about how that young man had buried the entire Li Consortium into the Underworld. Even people in the Central Plains probably knew about this.
“This is the era of ‘The Rise of Gods.’” Qing Zhen said with a sigh, “In the end, we have two supernatural beings around us, and one of them loves money too much.”
Nearby, Zhou Qi, who was lying in an armchair and pretending to be sleeping, opened his eyes and said, “Please don’t insinuate things in my presence. Is it wrong of me to love money?”
Qing Zhen glanced at Zhou Qi and continued, “At this point, I think that Ren Xiaosu’s superpower is still to be determined. I’m afraid that the Zong Consortium will have a problem on their hands now that he’s headed north into their territory.”
Luo Lan walked to the sand table. “Where do you think he’ll go?”
Qing Zhen thought for a moment before answering, “No matter where he goes, he’ll definitely appear in front of those Zong Consortium hyenas at the end.”
Then Qing Zhen placed the red flag down on the position of Stronghold 146. “Pass along my orders. If our planted spy at Stronghold 146 encounters him, I want him to do his best to assist Ren Xiaosu. In comparison, I’d rather be neighbors with that damn group from Fortress 178.”
As Stronghold 146 was the Zong Consortium’s headquarters, Luo Lan could not understand why Qing Zhen was so sure that Ren Xiaosu would go there.
“Who do you think will win between the Zong Consortium and Fortress 178?” Zhou Qi asked.
“It’s a smart move for the Zong Consortium to compact their defensive line. They know it’ll be difficult to fight Fortress 178 if their field army is scattered across the wilderness, so they might as well take the fight to the front line at Mt. Wuchuan,” Qing Zhen said with a smile. “Once the real war kicks off, it’ll be easy to lose sight of the important information in battles or have situations where orders are not conveyed properly even with the aid of modern comms. Also, the Zong Consortium will definitely have a contingency plan. After hiding in cowardice for decades, the hyena must have some kind of trump card for daring to bare their fangs all of a sudden.”
“A trump card?” Zhou Qi asked, “So you think the Zong Consortium will win?”
“No.” Qing Zhen shook his head and said, “We’ll be underestimating Zhang Jinglin if you put it that way. I’m guessing he’s waiting for the Zong Consortium to play their trump card first. Once the Zong Consortium initiates that plan, they’ll be presenting the entire Northwest on a platter to him.”
Although Luo Lan and Zhou Qi could not understand what Qing Zhen was trying to say, they knew he had already figured something out.
Zhou Qi muttered, “Why are you acting so mysterious? You should quickly think of a way to deal with the Yang Consortium instead of talking about the Zong Consortium all the time. Have you got nothing better to do?”“The Yang Consortium is no longer a threat to us,” Qing Zhen said calmly.
At this moment, an officer walked in and said, “The Yang Consortium’s envoy has been escorted here. Would you like him to come in?”
“Mhm, bring him in,” Qing Zhen said.
The Yang Consortium’s envoy was escorted into the command center. However, he looked very comical as he was all bound up. This was probably because the troops were worried that he would try and assassinate Qing Zhen.
But the Yang Consortium’s envoy was not angry. He put on a smile and said, “Dear Mr. Qing Zhen, patriarch of the Qing Consortium, I’m here to speak with you on behalf of Yang Lichen.”
“Don’t waste my time. If you have something to say, speak,” Qing Zhen said lightly.
The envoy looked at the people around him. He had planned on holding secret talks with Qing Zhen and had mentally imagined how to emulate the ancients and be a good lobbyist. However, he was tied up the moment he came in and had several guns pointed at him as well. In such a situation, he really couldn’t fake it any longer.
He said bluntly, “Yang Lichen wants to form an alliance with you. Currently, there are expectations for him to become the Yang Consortium’s CEO. If you help him out, he’s willing to gift you both Stronghold 97 and Stronghold 99 once the deed is done.”