Ren Xiaosu and Zhou Yingxue quickly disappeared from everyone’s sight. After the chaotic battle started, no pedestrians could be seen loitering on the streets anymore.
“Why did you come here?” Ren Xiaosu asked.
“I was about to cook for Wang Yuchi and the others at home, but I heard an explosion go off.” Zhou Yingxue explained, “At first, I wasn’t really bothered by it. After all, it had nothing to do with me. But later on, the neighbors ran out from their houses anxiously. Some of them said that there was an incident at Qinghe University and they wanted to go look for their children. That was when I thought if you would be OK.”
For the past few days, with nothing much to do at home, Zhou Yingxue had turned nanny to Wang Yuchi and the others and would cook for them every day to replenish their nutrition so they could focus on their entrance exam.
As a result, Zhou Yingxue’s status shot up in the eyes of Wang Yuchi and the students.
Putting all else aside, Zhou Yingxue was indeed very good at cooking. In the past, she was purely lazy and did not want to cook. But now something seemed to have gone wrong with her head. She actually got down to preparing their meals every day and would even tell Ren Xiaosu to gain his approval.
Ren Xiaosu thought for a moment and said, “The battle today was unavoidable, but this is still just the prelude. Night is when it’ll probably be the most critical moment. Go back and keep an eye on Wang Yuchi and the others. We were only doing the Qinghe Group a favor to begin with. If we end up letting Wang Yuchi and the others get hurt because of helping others, that would really not be worth it.”
Although Wang Yuchi and the others also had nanomachines, the problem was they did not have a lot. They did not even have enough to construct armor.
Meanwhile, the superhumans involved in this chaotic battle had yet to make their moves, so there must still be a greater conspiracy abound. If Wang Yuchi and the others got dragged in by these people, they could very well die.
Ren Xiaosu thought that since Wang Yuchi and the other students’ synchronization rate had improved, could he maybe get some nanomachines from Luo Lan to equip them with? After all, Wang Yuchi and the rest would still need to further their studies at Qinghe University in the coming days.
But of course, nanomachines were very precious, and the Qing Consortium’s production rate was not that high yet. The amount of nanomachines needed to construct armor would be enough to equip several dozen standard nanosoldiers.
However, Ren Xiaosu felt Luo Lan would probably not reject his request.
“Alright, hurry back.” Ren Xiaosu said, “And be careful on the way.”
“Master, are you worried about my safety?” Zhou Yingxue was overjoyed.
Ren Xiaosu raised an eyebrow. “Why do you have so many questions?”
“Alright, I’ll go back right away.” Zhou Yingxue happily headed off in the direction of the courtyard house.
After just two steps, she thought of something and turned around to say, “The soup I made is still sitting on the gas stove. Master, come back earlier and have some soup after you’ve dealt with those people tonight.”
Ren Xiaosu thought it sounded really weird. How did dealing with supernatural beings suddenly feel like it was something that he did every day? She actually made it sound that simple?
It was not easy at all, alright? With so many organizations gathered here this time, no matter how powerful an individual was, they could still easily fail tonight.
Ren Xiaosu called Qin Sheng and said, “The situation at Qinghe University has been resolved. How are things on your side?”
Qin Sheng answered, “The other party’s rounded up several dozen hostages and taken cover inside a building, so it won’t be easy to attack them. The situation is a little tricky at the moment.”
“Mhm.” Ren Xiaosu acknowledged that he understood. The reason he was able to eliminate the thugs without harming the hostages was entirely because he had taken them out from the inside. If he were to attack from the outside, he could still have taken them out. However, it would definitely be unavoidable that the enemy would kill some of the hostages. “Then what do y’all plan to do?”
The young Qin Sheng said ruthlessly, “Before it gets dark, and if we don’t have a better plan, we’ll have no choice but to force our way in. It’s better to have dozens of hostages dead than letting the enemy lead us by the nose like that. What they’re attempting right now is probably to keep the garrison troops busy by threatening to harm the hostages. We can’t let them have their way.”
Ren Xiaosu heaved a sigh of relief. It was good that the Riders were willing to make an assault. He was most worried that the righteous Riders would suddenly soften up and not bear to let the hostages come to harm.
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But the truth was that even if the Riders had agreed to the thugs’ conditions, would they really let the hostages go? The thugs were all ready to give their lives for their cause. Since they dared to take so many people hostage in someone else’s territory, they probably did not intend to get out alive. In that case, it was only natural they would drag some of the hostages down with them before they died.
If the Riders did not force their way in, they would lose a lot more by trying to save the few.
The Riders were not bound by virtue, and this was the main reason Ren Xiaosu was willing to be friends with them.
Ren Xiaosu asked, “Do you need my help with the assault?”
“No.” Qin Sheng said calmly, “If they weren’t holding any hostages, just these people alone wouldn’t be a match for me.”
“Alright then, keep me updated.” Ren Xiaosu hung up.
Qin Sheng looked at the building in front of him quietly. He had also just heard that Ren Xiaosu had resolved the hostage crisis at Qinghe University. Zhang Qingxi sighed next to him and said, “Our outsider friend that came to our aid has successfully resolved a crisis without a single hostage dying. Meanwhile, we can only choose to sacrifice the hostages held in there. The difference between him and us is obvious.”
Even the aloof Zhang Qingxi was starting to admire Ren Xiaosu a little.
There were still three hours until nightfall. At almost the same time, Old Li and Qin Sheng launched a simultaneous attack at both locations while the garrison troops charged in. Against the strong fire support, the thugs who were holding the hostages in the building attempted to organize a resistance but to no avail.
The garrison troops did not resort to using any artillery. Instead, they used heavy machine guns to penetrate the walls of the building!
Perhaps the Qinghe Group would have to face the questioning of the hostages’ family members after the chaotic battle was over, but they would have to get through the night before they could discuss what came after.
Today, the Qinghe Group suddenly shed their usual gentle nature and revealed their courage.
Every Rider had to go through a near-death experience before they could leave their names at the top of that cliff. Qin Sheng and the others were thrilled as they faced the hail of bullets.
What were the Riders? A lot of people’s definition for them was “justice,” but only they themselves knew that Riders were born from faith. Be it wingsuiting or free soloing, everything they did was to challenge death over and over again.
As the Riders started attacking, Ren Xiaosu arrived at the entrance of Hope Media’s headquarters.
After the chaotic battle had broken out at the school, Jiang Xu immediately rushed back to Hope Media to take charge of the situation. When Ren Xiaosu arrived, Jiang Xu put down everything on hand and went downstairs to welcome him. “How are things at Qinghe University?”
Ren Xiaosu grinned and said, “None of the hostages died, and the crisis has been resolved.”
Jiang Xu also smiled. “Admirable.”
The Hope Media staff were watching from afar as Jiang Xu conversed with Ren Xiaosu. They were all wondering who this young man was since he got welcomed personally by the chief editor himself.
Jiang Xu asked, “Why are you here at Hope Media now?”
“Qin Sheng, Old Li, and the others don’t require my help for the time being.” Ren Xiaosu explained, “I thought about it and decided to come here to ensure that y’all’ll be safe.”
“Alright.” Jiang Xu did not decline. “I’ll continue with my work then. There’s too many things I need to organize and report about today.”
“Mhm, just get me a chair.”
Inside the headquarters of Hope Media, everyone was busy with reporting the truth of this day. They rushed to do the typesetting for an additional print run of their newspaper.
Meanwhile, the young man sat down in a chair at the entrance of the building and waited for any uninvited guests to come and seek death.