The First Order

Chapter 978: You’re still in it for the money

The neighborhood of National Treasure Garden on Peony Avenue had turned into a huge battlefield. Although the rainwater had washed the blood flowing out into the soil, there was still the metallic taste of blood in the air.

Ren Xiaosu stored all the nanomachines he had just obtained in his body and waited for Zhou Yingxue to take out the remaining hitmen.

No one dared to head out of their houses at this moment, so it made it easier for the creeper vines to kill people.

However, Ren Xiaosu still made a trip down to the estate office. The staff and security guards here had already fled, but he came here to take away the main server that stored the surveillance footage.

After all, the creeper vine incident had a great impact on the entire Alliance of Strongholds, so Ren Xiaosu did not want Zhou Yingxue to get embroiled in public scrutiny over something like that.

No matter what, she was still his maidservant.

Before leaving, he even placed a gold bar on the table as compensation for taking the main server away.

When he returned with the main server, Zhou Yingxue confirmed, “Master, I’ve already killed all of them.”

Zhou Yingxue was actually a little puzzled as to why Ren Xiaosu was always unwilling for her to reveal her creeper vine power. After all, she was so powerful, so why should she be afraid of others?

But later, she understood that people’s words could sometimes be hurtful. Her master was only protecting her because he did not want her to feel angry when others criticized her.

Ren Xiaosu took out his black rain poncho and put it on again. “Alright, the matter here has already been settled. Go and check on Wang Yuchi and the others while I go look for Luo Lan.”

“OK.” Zhou Yingxue nodded in agreement. She had gotten enough satisfaction from today’s battle. When she thought about how her master acted as the bait to lure the enemy out for her to finish off, she felt like a reclusive expert who had gotten back in the business to fight alongside her master. Simply thinking about it, she felt amazing.

Speaking of which, Zhou Yingxue also kind of missed Wang Yuchi and her other little brothers. Those eight young men who had risked their lives with Ren Xiaosu were still studying at Qinghe University. Back when the eight of them were revising for their admissions exam, Zhou Yingxue was the one who took care of them.

Subconsciously, Zhou Yingxue regarded them as her younger brothers.

But Zhou Yingxue was wondering if she should get them some gifts since she had not seen them in so long, like jade thumb rings or something?

Before leaving, Ren Xiaosu shot a glance at Zhou Yingxue and said, “Have you ever lorded over people in my name after you got to the Northwest?”

Zhou Yingxue panicked a little. “No… I didn’t!”

“That’s good then. After we’re done here, we’ll return to the Northwest together. At that time, I’ll ask around and find out what you’ve been up to there.” After that, Ren Xiaosu turned around and walked off into the rain.

Zhou Yingxue curled her lips and said angrily, “I’ve clearly done so much for him, so why does he keep finding trouble with me? What kind of a master is that?! What’s wrong with me enjoying myself a little in the Northwest? Do superiors restrict their subordinates from eating?”

…

At this moment, Luo Lan and Zhou Qi were still standing at the crossroads outside Qinghe University as they waited quietly for Ren Xiaosu to return.

Earlier, Ren Xiaosu had lured away all the black-clothed hitmen. When Luo Lan saw there were so many enemies, he was really taken aback. If Ren Xiaosu had not come to Luoyang City, he would probably have died here.

But when he thought about it again, he felt it was a good thing. That was because it was definitely not easy for so many spies to sneak into Luoyang City quietly, so they would definitely leave behind some clues.

The more spies that had infiltrated the city, the happier Luo Lan was. No matter how hard the other party tried to suppress it, there was no such thing as an absolute secret.

Luo Lan preliminarily judged that the Qinghe Group had been infiltrated by spies.

However, who could be so bold that they even dared to try and kill him?

It was not that Luo Lan regarded himself to be that influential, but surely the people who attempted to have him killed should have considered the consequences, right?

Wait a minute! This was the same scenario as Jiang Xu’s death. If everyone thought the Wang Consortium was behind it, and if Luo Lan really died, his death would likely lead to a showdown between the Qing Consortium and the Wang Consortium. If they still could not find the mastermind after some time, it was very possible the Qing Consortium would launch a full-scale war against the Wang Consortium based on Qing Zhen’s character.

In that case, who would hope most to see the Qing Consortium declare war on the Wang Consortium? Who was it that wanted to see everyone in the world become enemies with the Wang Consortium?

Luo Lan could roughly guess at a few possibilities, but he was still a little unsure.

Zhou Qi, who had been taking shelter from the rain, suddenly straightened up and looked towards the end of a street. There was a black-clothed person walking slowly towards them.

Zhou Qi turned around and looked in the other direction and saw another person similarly standing in the empty street.

All of a sudden, people in black were slowly approaching from all four directions of the intersection. It was as though they already had Luo Lan surrounded.

The residents of Luoyang City were so frightened by the gunfire they hid at home. Only some of the braver ones dared to look out through their house windows.

As such, the people who had appeared were here to kill Luo Lan.

Luo Lan grinned and said, “I was wondering why everyone went after Ren Xiaosu as soon as he appeared. They didn’t even care about me anymore. So they were just cannon fodder to force Ren Xiaosu away from here before sending in their aces to handle me. Well done, great strategy. An opponent like this really makes things more interesting.”

Zhou Qi stood quietly in front of Luo Lan. “Stop mumbling. When the fight breaks out, stay within three meters of me.”

Luo Lan looked at Zhou Qi’s back and chuckled. “Moneyface, you’re actually acting like a hero for once? But I didn’t bring any money with me this time.”

Zhou Qi rolled his eyes. “Your brother paid me yesterday.”

“Ptui.” Luo Lan said disdainfully, “To think I thought you changed. So you’re still in it for the money.”

In the heavy rain, Luo Lan and Zhou Qi nearly got into an argument.

But when the four hitmen came within a 100 meters of them, Zhou Qi’s expression suddenly turned serious. This was a lethal trap the other party had meticulously set for Luo Lan, so the people who came must be very strong.

In an instant, the drizzle falling from the sky became a little different. As the raindrops fell, they were stretched by an invisible force that slowly turned from water droplets into long and narrow silver needles.

When the fine raindrops hit the ground, they actually tinkled. It was like several hundred thousand needles had fallen from the sky.

Rainy days were basically Zhou Qi’s home field.

Luo Lan praised, “Zhou Qi, your power has grown even stronger!”

Zhou Qi did not say anything. He was prepared to make his move.

However, before the two sides could unleash their killing intent, Zhou Qi was suddenly taken aback. He was surprised to see Ren Xiaosu’s figure standing on the street on the southern side.

A black-clothed hitman was walking over slowly while Ren Xiaosu lurked close behind.

The silhouette of the young man in the black rain poncho appeared mysterious and calm, as if slowly emerging out of a misty waterfall.

This time, no one expected Ren Xiaosu to finish off all the hitmen so quickly.

It was like a magician had casually performed a disappearing act. Several hundred people truly vanished and never came back again.