The First Order

1216 Never changed

Early in the morning, the officials of Stronghold 111 were already waiting nervously at the city gates.

It was drizzling, but this group of officials did not even dare to open their umbrellas and just stood waiting in the rain.

News of Luo Lan’s massacre of political opponents had reached Stronghold 111 last night.

Although the officials knew they were not the targets, the problem was that anyone would feel a little scared when faced with someone who cleaned up the Qing Consortium’s threats in just three days.

This was even if they knew he would not kill them, nor that they mattered in his eyes at all.

An hour later, the special forces convoy Luo Lan was with finally arrived. As usual, the convoy drove past the entrance with a roar.

When the muddy water from the wheels splashed onto the officials’ bodies and faces, it was as though Luo Lan had slapped their faces.

When the convoy arrived at the foot of Mt. Ginkgo, the special forces battalion came to a stop. Only Luo Lan’s vehicle was allowed to continue driving up the mountain.

On the mountain path, Luo Lan suddenly asked, “Were you the one who accompanied my younger brother up this mountain back then? It was snowing heavily that day.”

Zhou Qi recalled, “Mhm, at that time, he already knew those old fogeys of the Qing Consortium were going to move against him, so he deliberately sent you to the Yang Consortium’s Stronghold 88 as a hostage. Regardless of whether he would succeed or not, at least he could ensure your survival.”

Sometimes, Zhou Qi felt very emotional about this. In such an era, these two brothers still considered each other’s interests even if they had to sacrifice their own gains. Such a relationship was really enviable.

Zhou Qi said, “After he became the head of the Qing Consortium, he immediately came up with a plan to rescue you from Stronghold 88. At that time, many officials were waiting to pledge their allegiance to him. In the end, he stayed in the manor and refused to see any of them. He was only focused on getting updates about you.”

Luo Lan asked, “What, are you moved?”

Zhou Qi curled his lips. “What’s there to be moved by? I’m an emotionless killer who only cares for money. Such emotions are of no use to me at all. It’ll hurt my profits.”

Luo Lan did not say anything more.

The mountain path stretched for more than 20 kilometers. Actually, it could be reached in the blink of an eye by car. In the past, Luo Lan always felt that this path was quite short. But when he thought about how Qing Zhen had to trek up the mountain barefoot in heavy snow, he felt that it was very long.

It must have been very tough for him that day. Every step he took was probably extremely difficult as well.

Mt. Ginkgo used to be the highest barrier for Qing Zhen to overcome. But once he stepped up to it, he was able to surmount it.

From then on, Qing Zhen was no longer the Qing Zhen who liked gardening and listening to opera.

…

When they arrived at the gate of Ginkgo Manor, Xu Man was already waiting there. “Boss Luo, Mr. Qing Zhen is waiting for you.”

Luo Lan looked at Xu Man. “It’s been hard on you, having to protect him around the clock.”

“It’s my duty,” Xu Man replied softly.

The soldiers outside the Ginkgo Manor secretly glanced at Xu Man. Some of the newbies who had just been transferred under his command thought to themselves, ‘Even Luo Lan is speaking so politely to our superior….’

Over the years, Xu Man’s status in the Qing Consortium had gradually risen.

Although Xu Man was only a major general, Qing Zhen was the only one who could order him around. Not even Luo Lan could do so.

In the early days, Xu Man was in charge of the nuclear test site. Later, Xu Man was also the one who amalgamated the bandit groups in the northern valley. Nowadays, whenever there were any troublesome matters or dangerous missions, Xu Man was basically the one who handled them.

As matters stood, the Qing Consortium’s intelligence agency was split into two commands. Luo Lan was in charge of internal affairs while Xu Man oversaw external affairs.

When Qing Zhen ventured into the Jing Mountains back then, he had also brought Xu Man along with him.

In the early years, many people tried to bribe Xu Man, but they all failed.

For someone like Luo Lan, he felt it was very reassuring to have Xu Man protect Qing Zhen. At the very least, he would never have to worry about anyone stabbing Qing Zhen in the back.

Upon entering Ginkgo Manor, Luo Lan immediately saw Qing Zhen looking at him with a smile.

Qing Zhen said, “You must be tired, right?”

“Yes, a little.” Luo Lan was not fussy either. He had Qing Yi stand up and snatched the cushion under him before sitting down on it himself.

If Qing Yi addressed Qing Zhen as Second Bro, he would naturally address Luo Lan as Big Bro.

Back when they were fighting on the streets of Stronghold 111, Luo Lan was the big brother of the group. Even though Qing Yi had become the Qing Consortium’s highest-ranking military commander, he still felt a lot of reverence for this big brother figure.

If it were anyone else who snatched the cushion, Qing Yi would have raged at them.

But since it was Luo Lan who snatched it from him, he could only obediently go into the room to get another one. At the same time, he also brought one out for Zhou Qi to sit on.

Luo Lan casually said, “What’s your decision on Wang Shengzhi’s invitation for you to go to Stronghold 61?”

Qing Zhen laughed and said, “Since he wants me to go, I’ll make a trip there.”

“Is there really a need for that?” Luo Lan wondered. “No matter how powerful the Wang Consortium and the AI are, can they attack our Qing Consortium directly? Without the missile troops, we can still take them head-on with our automatic rifles. I don’t believe they’re that ferocious!”

Qing Zhen shook his head. “Things are a little worse than we thought. As of today, not only has Base 12 been invaded, but Base 2 and Base 4 have not been spared either.”

Luo Lan was stunned. “All of the military bases holding the missile troops are gone?”

“Fortunately, I’ve already gotten Qing Yi to separate the missiles from the vehicles, and there aren’t any missiles loaded in the silos either.” Qing Zhen said, “If the enemy is not only capable of destroying and invading our bases, but also taking direct control of our military systems, those missiles would probably have landed in Stronghold 111.”

Luo Lan frowned. “But—”

“No buts.” Qing Zhen said calmly, “I’ve also made some contingency plans for this trip to the Central Plains. I won’t be heading there personally. Have you forgotten that I have a double?”

At this point, Luo Lan subconsciously looked at the other party’s hand but did not notice any scars.

This was the real Qing Zhen.

Luo Lan thought for a moment and said, “Are you planning to have that clone go in your place? That doesn’t seem like a bad idea either. It’s relatively safer. Besides, Wang Shengzhi definitely does not know about the existence of the double.”

Ever since the clone came back to the Qing Consortium from the Pyro Company’s Sacred Mountains, Qing Zhen had been paying a lot of attention to his own whereabouts. What he was sure of was that there were no flaws whenever he switched roles with his double.

Even the artificial intelligence could not analyze any clues from his itinerary.

Luo Lan suddenly heaved a sigh of relief. He had thought Qing Zhen was really going to the Central Plains by himself.

But Qing Zhen suddenly said, “But I have something to discuss with you, Big Bro. You and Zhou Qi will have to go on this trip to the Central Plains as well. Because I have something more important that I need you all to handle. We can only succeed in our plan, not fail.”

Luo Lan was stunned. “What’s the matter?”

Qing Zhen had Xu Man, who was at the door, retrieve an envelope and hand it to Luo Lan.

Luo Lan took a document out of it and read it. He looked up in shock. “Is this feasible?”

“Yes,” Qing Zhen said with a nod.

Luo Lan finally understood why Zhou Qi and he had to make this trip personally. It turned out Qing Zhen’s plan was not to just go to the Central Plains to negotiate with Wang Shengzhi.

Without someone trustworthy to carry out such a plan, it would definitely not work.

On the vast Go board, the artificial intelligence and Qing Zhen had both been plotting for a long time. Now that the board was revealed to them, Qing Zhen had allowed the other party to play the first move as Black. It was now time for Qing Zhen to play the next move.

Qing Zhen said, “This time, we can’t use our people in the Central Plains. Xu Man will lead the garrison troops under his command and go with you.”

“Alright.” Luo Lan said solemnly, “With Xu Man working with me, it’ll be a huge plus for me. Don’t worry, we’ll definitely pull this plan off!”

Qing Zhen hesitated for a moment before saying, “You might be put in danger this time, but I have no other choice.”

“Mhm, I understand.” Luo Lan laughed and said, “There’s no need for such civility between us.”

At the side, Zhou Qi sighed when he saw this.

In the end, Qing Zhen still sent his elder brother to charge into enemy lines. He left the dangerous task to Luo Lan while staying safe in his position of power. Zhou Qi wanted to ask Luo Lan if it was worth it, but he could not bring himself to say that.

Zhou Qi was even thinking that although Luo Lan seemed carefree, he was actually very meticulous.

He did not believe that Luo Lan would not think of something even he could think of.

At this moment, Qing Zhen said loudly, “Come on out. I want you to make a trip with my brother.”

With that, Qing Zhen’s clone walked out from a secret sideroom and said to Luo Lan with a smile, “Pleasure to work with you, Big Bro.”

But just as Qing Zhen’s clone walked up to Luo Lan, he saw Luo Lan’s hand aiming for his neck like a knife. The clone was easily knocked unconscious.

Everyone present was dumbfounded by this turn of events. What was Luo Lan trying to do?

Qing Zhen sat on the cushion and frowned. “It’s fine if you don’t want to go to the Central Plains.”

Luo Lan sneered, “Shut up. You have no right to speak around here.”

Then Luo Lan pulled Qing Shen up and slowly laid him flat on the marble floor. Then he grabbed the left hand of “Qing Shen” and looked at it. The scar was there.

However, Luo Lan was not bothered. He rubbed the back of Qing Shen’s hand a few times and saw the extremely realistic-looking scar come off.

Luo Lan lifted Qing Zhen’s sleeves again and confirmed the four moles on his forearms before finally feeling relieved.

Although Third Brother Qing was a clone who resembled Qing Zhen in almost every way, moles were melanin deposits. It was something that formed randomly, so it wouldn’t be possible to forge them even if he wanted to.

Luo Lan had taken precautions beforehand. Even Qing Zhen did not know he had found an opportunity to memorize the locations of his moles.

Zhou Qi and Qing Yi were both stunned. Only at this moment did they realize the person who had been knocked unconscious on the ground was actually Qing Zhen!

They looked at the person who pretended to be Qing Zhen and saw Third Brother Qing smiling bitterly. He rubbed off the concealer on the back of his hand and said, “Big Bro, how did you recognize me? Did I not portray him well?”

“Yes, you behaved very similarly to him.” Luo Lan said, “I have to say that your acting was really good. Not even me as your elder brother was able to see the difference.”

Third Brother Qing was puzzled. “Then how did you realize who we were? Did we slip up?”

“The biggest mistake is that Qing Zhen would not let me take the risk alone.” Luo Lan sneered, “Was this his plan, or yours?”

“Of course it was his.” Third Brother Qing chuckled as he quickly shifted the blame and said, “I’m not as smart as him.”

Zhou Qi looked at Luo Lan in silence. He could not understand something. Qing Zhen’s and Qing Shen’s acting were clearly flawless, yet Luo Lan daringly concluded that the person sitting on the cushion was not Qing Zhen just because of such a simple reason. ‘Is it because you firmly believed Qing Zhen would never betray you?’

Zhou Qi was in emotional turmoil. He had thought people would always change because the world would change. But he just realized that no matter how the world changed, the brotherhood between Qing Zhen and Luo Lan stayed the same.

The head of the Qing Consortium gave up all his authority just so he could risk his life with his brother?

Zhou Qi thought to himself, ‘How childish.’

Luo Lan looked at the unconscious Qing Zhen and said, “He’s been like this since he was a child. I thought he would change after becoming the Qing Consortium’s leader, but he’s still the same in the end.”

Third Brother Qing took advantage of Qing Zhen’s coma and said to Luo Lan with a smile, “Big Bro, you’re really perceptive. I’ve always known you were out of the ordinary. You’ve been deliberately hiding your edge. But here’s the thing. You’ve also read the plan. If we want to pull it off, we’ll need to get Zhou Qi involved. But if you don’t go to the Central Plains, with Zhou Qi’s personality, he definitely won’t go either. In Qing Zhen’s plan, this mission has to be carried out and completed. Only by succeeding at this step will there be a glimmer of hope for the future. So you all must go.”

Third Brother Qing continued with a smile, “In order to ensure your safety, Qing Zhen has made a lot of plans. So Xu Man has to go as well. He doesn’t trust anyone else to protect you. But even so, he was still unwilling to let you bear the risk alone, especially because it was his orders. So he pretended to be me to go with you.”

“Then what about you?” Luo Lan frowned.

“Me?” Third Brother Qing thought for a moment and said, “He’s already shared all of his subsequent plans with me. Qing Zhen said that if neither of you returned, I’d be the one to carry out those plans. At that time, I’d become Qing Zhen to protect the Qing Consortium on his behalf.”

Luo Lan glanced at the unconscious Qing Zhen. In this era, the “Go board” was filled with supernatural beings. Perhaps only someone like Qing Zhen was able to influence this game as an ordinary person.

Third Brother Qing stood up from his cushion and said, “Since you’ve seen through our act, I’ll follow you to the Central Plains. I’ll negotiate with Wang Shengzhi as Qing Zhen. I feel that this is much more fun than staying at Ginkgo Manor.”

At the side, Zhou Qi suddenly protested, “Wait a minute, did I say that I was going?”

Luo Lan turned to Zhou Qi and asked in a serious tone, “Well, aren’t you going?”

When Zhou Qi saw how serious he was, his aggression was immediately suppressed a little. “I don’t mind, but you’ll have to pay more!”

“Yes.” Third Brother Qing said with a smile, “Qing Zhen has agreed that you’ll be paid a 100 years of the taxation of Stronghold 89 after you return. Although you won’t live for another 100 years, your descendants will.”

Zhou Qi was stunned. An entire stronghold’s 100 years of tax revenue?

Although he still would not have the authority to govern the stronghold, that was definitely enough to last him ten lifetimes. If he were to have children in the future, they would definitely become some of the richest people in the Qing Consortium.

“Alright, no risk, no reward. I’ll take the job!” Zhou Qi said through gritted teeth.

“Did Qing Zhen say anything else? Don’t miss any details,” Luo Lan asked Third Brother Qing.

Third Brother Qing said, “He doesn’t tell anyone anything now. I’m just an outsider, so why would he tell me?”

“Think back,” Luo Lan said, raising his eyebrows. As he spoke, a faint golden glow appeared behind him. It looked like he was about to summon his martyred spirits to attack someone.

“Haha.” Third Brother Qing laughed and said, “He did mention you to me before.”

“What about me?” Luo Lan wondered.

“He said that because of something that happened when you were young, you always felt that you owed him something.” Third Brother Qing said, “But actually, he felt that it was him who owes you instead. Without him, you might have had your own life to live.”

Luo Lan squatted down next to Qing Zhen and did not say anything for a long time. The others also remained silent and waited.

His clone, Qing Shen, suddenly asked in a serious tone, “I have a question. If it weren’t for that incident, would you still treat him like this?”

After a long time, Luo Lan laughed. “As the elder brother, I should be protecting my younger brother.”

He gave Qing Zhen one last look before saying to Qing Yi, “Take good care of your Second Bro. If anything happens to him, I’ll deal with you when I get back.”

After that, Luo Lan turned around and walked out of Ginkgo Manor. Qing Yi watched his burly and tough figure recede.

The silhouette that strode away on the dark gray marble floor felt like it was walking from the black lake towards the light beyond the door.