The First Order

The factory manager, Wang Dongyang, felt a sense of despair growing as it grasped at his heart like a creeper vine. He didn’t think he would get seen through by an unexpected development. He couldn’t understand why this youth facing him knew about guns.

A second later, he suddenly took a step back as he wanted to use this opportunity to disengage the safety. But Ren Xiaosu would never give him the chance to do so. He charged at Wang Dongyang like a cannonball, crushing Wang Dongyang’s ribs. Even his gun was sent flying out of his hand.

Wang Dongyang had nothing to rely on now. He laid on the ground, coughing up blood, and said, “Let me go. I’ll tell you where I kept all my belongings.”

“Tell me first and I’ll let you go,” Ren Xiaosu said calmly.

“Do you think I’m stupid?” Wang Dongyang actually knew this was just a futile attempt to be let off. How could this teen possibly let him go? If Ren Xiaosu allowed him to leave, could he still survive in the vicinity of Stronghold 113? And when Wang Dongyang first learned of the existence of Ren Xiaosu, he was even referred to as… Ruthless Ren Xiaosu.

“Your lungs have already been pierced by your broken ribs, so it’s too late for you even if you go back to town now.” Ren Xiaosu laughed. Although he was eager to get Wang Dongyang’s belongings, it was clear that he would not tell him where he kept them.

Ren Xiaosu wasted no time here. He did not know when the battle between the private army and the wolves would end. But if he dragged his feet around here any longer, it would not end well for him no matter which side arrived at the factory.

The sound of a sharp weapon cutting through leather tore the air. Ren Xiaosu used the bone knife to imitate a wolf’s claws slashing across Wang Dongyang’s chest, creating fake wounds. He waited until he was certain Wang Dongyang’s vital signs had stopped before he picked up the pistol and headed out. Ren Xiaosu also took the two magazines Wang Dongyang carried on him.

There were a total of 36 bullets.

By the time Ren Xiaosu left the factory, no one remained alive. Ren Xiaosu turned around and gazed at the building where a bloodbath had taken place. Behind him was the darkness of night. This was the world he lived in.

…

“Bro, are you alright?” Yan Liuyuan said eagerly when he saw Ren Xiaosu lift the curtain door and walk in. He circled around Ren Xiaosu to check if there were any bloodstains on him before he felt at ease.

“I’m fine.” While tying the bone knife back around his calf, Ren Xiaosu asked, “Did anything happen in town while I was away? Is the private army back yet?”

“Some of them have returned. They brought some wounded soldiers back with them, as well as the dead bodies of their fellow soldiers and carcasses of the wolves. I heard that the rest of the troops continued on to the factory,” Yan Liuyuan said.

Ren Xiaosu didn’t think that this was unusual. No matter how strong the wild wolves might be, it would be impossible for them to win when faced with a private army that was several times greater than them in number. Moreover, the soldiers were even carrying weapons with them.

“How many wolf carcasses did they bring back?” Ren Xiaosu asked.

“Over thirty of them.” Yan Liuyuan said, “Bro, those wild wolves are enormous!”

When Yan Liuyuan had asked Ren Xiaosu what size the wolves were, Ren Xiaosu just described them as very big. As for what “very big” truly meant, Yan Liuyuan found out today.

Ren Xiaosu frowned. He was glad that he hadn’t stayed at the factory for too long. Otherwise, he would likely have run into the private army that arrived at the factory shortly after. It seemed that the wolves withdrew once they felt that their ambush had failed. So the battle with them did not delay the private army for too long.

It was no wonder he didn’t hear any gunshots in the wilderness when he came back via an alternate route.

However, the wolves were getting stronger and smarter. If they let them go this time, the people in town might have to face an even stronger attack from them the next time.

Suddenly, a commotion brewed outside. Ren Xiaosu lifted the curtain door and watched what was happening. It turned out that a group of ten soldiers from the private army had driven back in advance in an off-road vehicle.

An officer in the vehicle said, “Anyone who volunteers any information on those who went out of town tonight will be handsomely rewarded!”

Ren Xiaosu was taken aback because he knew they were clearly looking for him!

They must have already gone to the factory and looked around the place. Ren Xiaosu had thought that it would be impossible for a normal person to discover the phoniness of Wang Dongyang’s wounds. However, there was still a crucial problem that could not be reconciled—Wang Dongyang’s pistol had gone missing!

If someone worked backwards upon discovering this problem, it would be easy to get clues on what had happened. This was something that Ren Xiaosu could not prevent.

“Bro.” Yan Liuyuan got worried as he looked at Ren Xiaosu.

“I’ll be fine.” Ren Xiaosu pushed Yan Liuyuan’s head back into the shack.

Ren Xiaosu carefully recalled that he did not take the main road when he left town. If he remembered it accurately, no one should have any idea that he had gone out other than Yan Liuyuan.

The soldiers were standing guard at the entrance of the town. Soon after, all of the other soldiers returned as well. The people in town watched. Right afterwards, the private troops began going door to door and rummaged through every household’s storage chests and cabinets.

They were… searching for that gun.

Suddenly, a familiar voice shouted, “I know who went out in the middle of the night.”

Ren Xiaosu turned around and saw that it was the clinic’s doctor, Yu Tong. He was looking at Ren Xiaosu with a smile on his face and standing very far away from him, as he was afraid that Ren Xiaosu would try to kill him.

The private army’s officer strolled over and asked, “Who?”

“It’s him, Ren Xiaosu. I saw him go out of town with my very own eyes,” Yu Tong said with an arrogant smile.

Ren Xiaosu did not deny this. He admitted, “At that time, the town’s common privy was occupied by He Zong, so I had to go outside to relieve myself.”

“Who is He Zong? Is he telling the truth?” the officer shouted.

He Zong, who was standing nearby, had a dumbfounded look on his face as he did not know how he suddenly got implicated in this. He said meekly, “Indeed, I had diarrhea tonight. Many people can testify….”

The officer turned around and looked at Ren Xiaosu as he sneered, “Search.”

After he said that, Wang Fugui darted out before his soldiers could rush into the shack. “Wait a minute, he’s someone who has been singled out by one of the aristocrats in the stronghold to be taken care of. You can’t treat him like this.”

The officer was stunned. “What do you mean?”

“In the afternoon, Boss Luo Lan from the stronghold specially ordered for him to be taken care of. Even Ren Xiaosu himself doesn’t know about this yet! But as for why he is doing this, you’ll have to ask Boss Luo yourself. It’s not convenient for us to reveal it to you,” Wang Fugui explained quickly.

“Boss Luo?” The officer was a little surprised. Everyone could tell from his reaction that he clearly knew the boss who went by the name of Luo Lan. In fact, it even seemed like he was a big shot in the stronghold.

The officer thought for a moment and said, “Even if he is Boss Luo’s guy, we must still search him. This is a very serious matter. I’ll personally apologize and explain it to Boss Luo tonight.”

After saying that, the soldiers rushed into Ren Xiaosu’s shack and rummaged through their belongings. Another two soldiers carried out a body search on Ren Xiaosu.

Two minutes later, the soldiers were all shaking their heads when the search did not turn up anything.

The officer looked at Ren Xiaosu. “Bring me to the place where you took a dump.”

Ren Xiaosu frowned as he made his way out of town. He didn’t expect the officer to be so rigorous with the checks in order not to miss any details! Yan Liuyuan, who was behind him, was about to run over. However, Ren Xiaosu turned around and snapped, “Get back inside!”

Yan Liuyuan’s eyes reddened.

Ren Xiaosu led the officer and soldiers out of town. He pointed to a pool of feces and said, “There, it’s still hot and fresh.”

The officer had a look at it and then ordered the soldiers to continue searching the other households. They did not bother with Ren Xiaosu anymore.

Ren Xiaosu could finally heave a sigh of relief. Fortunately, he was well-prepared. Before he left town, he observed the surroundings and thought of a reason before he came back. Not only did he bury the gun outside of town, he also laid the last of the situational evidence to cover his lie… by taking a dump right outside of town.

He turned his gaze to Yu Tong, who had been following them. Yu Tong pissed his pants when he saw the daggers in Ren Xiaosu’s eyes.