The First Order

The 6th Division had fought an extremely tough battle. Or rather, it was tougher than Ren Xiaosu had imagined. Encountering the barbarians was a very terrifying thing even for close to 10,000 soldiers, especially when they were almost running out of ammunition.

When Ren Xiaosu got to the vicinity of the battlefield, it was too late. He saw the soldiers rushing fearlessly towards the barbarians with a sudden surge of courage.

With P5031 dead, the surviving 6th Division soldiers managed to buy the rest of the Pyro Company troops half an hour to retreat.

Importantly, the soldiers did not even have any ammunition left. When they faced the barbarians, they could only use their sabers to slash them, punch them with their fists, and bite them with their teeth.

To everyone in the 6th Division, this half an hour was extremely long. However, as Ren Xiaosu watched from the sidelines, he felt they no longer had any regrets.

Ren Xiaosu did not make a move because it was already too late. In the face of tens of thousands of expeditionary army troops, his strength was really too minute. Trying to save the 6th Division would be a fool's errand, so he had to face the reality of the situation.

Young people grew up by learning how to accept reality.

Life consisted of three stages. The first was understanding that the world did not revolve around their parents, and that parents were not almighty.

Parents also had times when they felt troubled and depressed. They would never tell you about their sufferings at work during the day.

They would also feel helpless at times, unable to do anything in the face of the world.

The second stage was understanding that the world did not revolve around themselves and learning how to accept reality.

No one was the protagonist of the world. Being told "may your dreams come true" would always remain as well wishes. Young people would have to start understanding that life was just a lonely journey of clearing obstacles and overcoming hardships.

They would have to experience countless ups and downs in the endless journey of life and face countless situations in which they were too powerless to make a choice. This was the reality of things.

The third stage was understanding that the world did not revolve around their own children.

Children could not take over in fulfilling their parents' regrets because they were also normal people.

At this moment, even Ren Xiaosu felt a little helpless against tens of thousands of barbarians. The expeditionary army covered the entire wilderness, and there seemed to be an endless stream of them. Hence, he chose to leave with Yang Xiaojin.

Perhaps there were some other things they could do within their power. But since 6th Division had already chosen to sacrifice themselves, Ren Xiaosu did not have to forcefully reverse the situation.

"The 6th Division is almost wiped out." Ren Xiaosu said on the radio,"They aren't trying to flee but have instead stayed behind to buy some time for the other divisions to retreat."

P5092's calm voice rang out over the radio, "This is the wisest choice as he knew he couldn't escape. Perhaps he can get out of there alive. But nearly all his soldiers will end up dead or injured. When he thinks of this for the remainder of his life, he'll wallow in sorrow in a living hell. If it were me, I would've made the same decision as well."

Ren Xiaosu grimaced. "Are you even human? Why are you suddenly analyzing everything so calmly at a time like this?"

"This has nothing to do with human nature." P5092 continued calmly, "He's paying the price for his wrong decision, and close to 10,000 Pyro Company soldiers will pay the price along with him. As a high-ranking Pyro Company commander, I always thought that if the Pyro Company got defeated in this war, he would have to bear the main responsibility for it. But as a human, I admire his choice in this moment. There's no contradiction."

"Alright then." Ren Xiaosu headed south. He sometimes felt the Pyro Company members were a little schizophrenic. These people could actually allow the personalities of a normal person and a brave war machine to coexist within their bodies.

P5092 said, "This is the education we received from youth. We attended the Pyro Company's preschool, elementary school, middle school, high school, and university. Everything we went through decided that we'll be fighting here today for the survival of mankind in the Central Plains. After that, those who qualify for genetic modification will enter the military while those who didn't will take up positions in other places."

Ren Xiaosu was taken aback. Did this mean they were indoctrinated from youth?

P5092 continued on the encrypted channel, "Do you understand how hypnotism works? Actually, this is the same as hypnotism."

Ren Xiaosu thought to himself, 'Of course I know about that. One of my friends is even the Demon Whisperer whose expertise is hypnotism.'

P5092 said, "We went through more than a decade of special education just so we can do battle today. Over a decade of our lives felt like the prelude to hypnotism. After we joined the military that day, we had to give up our names and go by serial numbers assigned to us. From then on, we became an unfeeling part of a war machine just like our emotionless serial numbers. The ceremony during which we gave up our names was like the snap of the finger to go into hypnosis. Everything officially started the moment we heard it."

"Don't y'all regret it?" Ren Xiaosu was stunned. Only then did he realize the Pyro Company soldiers also had names before they joined the organization.

In his opinion, giving up one's own name was really unbelievable.

"There's nothing to regret," P5092 said.

"Then what was your name before you joined the military?" Ren Xiaosu asked.

"Ling Han," P5092 said.

"How about I call you Ling Han from now on?" Ren Xiaosu asked.

But to Ren Xiaosu's surprise, P5092 said after a long pause, "Just call me by my serial number. I actually prefer the name P5092 more. It's an honor for me."

"Sure." Ren Xiaosu laughed. "What moves do you think the barbarians will make next? Where should I go?"

"Go to the south. The 7th and 5th Divisions are still in danger at the moment. Since the expeditionary army has painstakingly set a trap for us, they won't be held back so easily. They definitely still have a contingency plan since they don't actually want any of our Pyro Company soldiers to get out alive." P5092 said, "Please help to bring back the four remaining divisions. I've concluded that the Pyro Company will not get caught in a hopeless situation if at least half our forces make it back. Furthermore, nothing must happen to those four division commanders. If it becomes necessary to replace them, we'll have another big problem on our hands."

"Alright." Ren Xiaosu said in a serious tone, "I give you my promise."

"The 3rd Division has already set up a defensive line here. You just need to escort them back and leave the rest to me." P5092 said sincerely again, "I'll be depending on you."

Currently, the Pyro Company was beset with troubles both internally and externally. They were facing a shortage of supplies within the ranks and had been defeated by the enemy on the battlefield. Even if all the Pyro Company troops could retreat to the Great Wall, the next phase of the war would get exceptionally difficult.

That was because they had wasted too much of their firepower on the old barbarians, and it undoubtedly made their shortage of supplies even worse.

But to actually request Ren Xiaosu and Yang Xiaojin to escort tens of thousands of Pyro Company soldiers? This idea sounded a little too crazy. He wondered what P5092 was thinking.

Ren Xiaosu turned off the radio and said to Yang Xiaojin, "Let's go."

Yang Xiaojin asked, "Where are we going now?"

Ren Xiaosu laughed. "To fight for the survival of mankind in the Central Plains."

...