The First Order

Chapter 981: Taking over Luoyang City

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Translator: Legge

Having normal life functions was not the only thing that determined whether someone was still alive. If someone continued to live in the memories of others, their will would never actually be dead.

When Ren Xiaosu realized he could not summon Jiang Xu back with the help of the Martyr’s Palace, he knew this matter was beyond him.

However, he did not find it regrettable. Perhaps Jiang Xu was also unwilling to continue “living” on as a martyred spirit.

Because at that time, Jiang Xu would just become Ren Xiaosu’s vassal. How could an untainted person like Jiang Xu possibly accept such an outcome?

At some point after Ren Xiaosu said those words, Luo Lan even felt that the golden silhouette of Jiang Xu’s spirit would gradually appear.

Fortunately, nothing happened. Therefore, Luo Lan was still unaware Ren Xiaosu had copied his power of the Martyr’s Palace.

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Ren Xiaosu sighed and looked at Yang Xiaojin. “Does your shoulder hurt?”

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“Yes.” Yang Xiaojin said, “But I can still bear it and fight.”

“Alright, let’s make a trip to Hope Media first,” Ren Xiaosu said. He looked at Luo Lan. “How about y’all? Are you gonna remain in Luoyang City or you gonna leave?”

“Of course we’ll stay. Someone has to be held accountable for Mr. Jiang Xu’s death no matter what.” Luo Lan narrowed his eyes and said, “Leave the hitman in your hands for us. I’ll take charge of interrogating him.”

“There’s no need for that.” Ren Xiaosu picked up the hitman by the neck and broke it easily at the spot where Jiang Xu had died. “There’s a type of bug wrapped around their hearts that makes them unable to be interrogated. I brought him here so he could be offered as a tribute.”

Zhou Qi looked at Ren Xiaosu’s calm face and felt a chill run down his spine.

Other people used pig heads, apples, and stuff like that as offerings to commemorate their deceased family and friends, but Ren Xiaosu used human lives.

Suddenly, a window on the fifth floor of a residential building across from the intersection was opened. A child shouted loudly, “Guardian, please avenge Mr. Jiang Xu!”

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Ren Xiaosu was stunned when he saw the child who looked like he was only eight or nine years old. His eyes were red and his expression sincere.

The adults in that household hurriedly covered the child’s mouth and pulled him into the house. They were afraid the child would provoke someone he shouldn’t.

The things happening in Luoyang City were no longer something ordinary folks could involve themselves in.

In their panic, the adults wanted to apologize to Ren Xiaosu. Although they did not know what they were apologizing for, they were really afraid their child might have somehow offended Ren Xiaosu.

However, Ren Xiaosu replied, “You’re so young. Do you know who Jiang Xu is?”

The child broke free from his parents’ grips and leaned against the window sill and shouted, “I know Grandpa Jiang Xu used to be an investigative journalist, but he’s now the chief editor of Hope Media. While eating, the adults always say Grandpa Jiang Xu is the only one who dares to speak the truth now.”

Ren Xiaosu laughed. “Do you admire him?”

“Yes, I wanna be an investigative journalist when I grow up too!” the child declared loudly.

Ren Xiaosu nodded and said, “Remember your dream. If you still want to be an investigative journalist when you grow up but are worried that someone will threaten your well-being, you can come to the Northwest to look for me. My name is Ren Xiaosu.”

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After that, Ren Xiaosu led Yang Xiaojin and the others towards Hope Media.

The streets were still empty, with only drooping flowers drenched by the rain and corpses that were flowing with blood remaining.

However, Ren Xiaosu suddenly felt a little better.

‘Did you see that? Since you died, none of those who claimed to hate murderers dared to step forward to avenge you when the hitmen attacked.

‘This is what the real world we live in is like.

‘But none of that is important. What’s important is that a little of that glow around you has remained behind with us.

‘It’s just like inheritance and reincarnation. Only time will provide us with an answer.‘

…

Hope Media’s building was already dilapidated in the first place, so it looked even more desolate in the rain.

When Ren Xiaosu walked in, the reporters and editors in the building got up and looked over silently.

He looked around at these people who were panicking and feeling sad. Everyone’s eyes were red, and he wondered how long they had been crying for.

However, even after Jiang Xu left, they still stuck to their posts. Jiang Xu left behind a total of four letters, one of which was for Ren Xiaosu, and one that was addressed to everyone in Hope Media.

Jiang Xu did not make a solemn speech in the letter. He just calmly told them to focus on their work and not let the truth go unreported because of the chaos that followed his death.

He also reminded them to water the natal lily on the window sill of his office. He did not want it to wither and suffer an undeserved death.

In addition, he even congratulated a female reporter in advance on her upcoming wedding. Unfortunately, he could not attend it personally.

The message in the letter was very trivial. The words conveyed were just like an old man holding a cup of hot tea by the stove and speaking to his juniors warmly.

When Zhang Chentong read the letter out loud in the building, everyone was in tears after hearing it.

They now knew about the things Ren Xiaosu had done in Luoyang City, so they were deeply grateful to him for standing up for Hope Media and Jiang Xu again.

Meanwhile, Ren Xiaosu quietly took in everything happening at Hope Media until he saw the wall filled with those people’s names. Then he walked forward and carved two words on it seriously with the black saber: Jiang Xu.

Sobbing could be heard in the building as Ren Xiaosu walked silently upstairs to Jiang Xu’s office.

In front of the office, Zhang Chentong stuffed a letter into Ren Xiaosu’s hands. “The chief editor wrote this to you before he died.”

“Thank you.” Ren Xiaosu nodded and went into Jiang Xu’s office. The natal lily flowerpot on the window sill looked like it had just been cleaned.

Ren Xiaosu took a deep breath and opened the envelope. He stood by the window and quietly read the contents of the letter.

So it turned out Jiang Xu had foreseen his death.

Ren Xiaosu suddenly felt a great sadness when he saw the lines of farewell.

He did not cry when he found out about Jiang Xu’s bad news.

On the way here, he did not cry even though it was raining hard.

He did not cry when he failed to summon Jiang Xu back on Luoyang City’s streets.

But as he read the seemingly casual words, he suddenly started tearing up.

He had told Yan Liuyuan not to cry, that this world did not believe in tears. But he could not suppress his sadness.

Ren Xiaosu put the letter he was holding into the palace and placed it in the most conspicuous position in the palace’s display cabinets. This was to remind himself of Jiang Xu’s hope for him to be another ray of light in the world before his demise.

He turned around and walked out. As he left, he asked Luo Lan, “How many people does the Qing Consortium have in Luoyang City?”

Luo Lan answered calmly, “71. We can deploy them anytime.”

Actually, it was taboo to ask something like that, but Luo Lan was very happy to answer. That was because by asking, it meant Ren Xiaosu trusted the Qing Consortium.

Ren Xiaosu said, “Have the Qing Consortium’s people retrieve the surveillance footage of the entire city for the past month or so. After that, send it to the Northwest for me and hand it over to Wang Yun.”

“That’ll be a little difficult. These 71 people aren’t really armed with that many weapons. The Qing Consortium did not prioritize Luoyang City as an important location to keep watch over,” Luo Lan said matter-of-factly.

There was no need for him to fake their strength and act like he had an impressive force stationed at this place. If he wanted to gain access to all the surveillance cameras in the city, he would have to take over many locations to get them. Moreover, this was the Qinghe Group’s territory they were talking about.

Ren Xiaosu did not say anything and just walked straight out of Hope Media’s building.

Luo Lan was stunned. He saw Wang Yuchi, Ren Xiaosu’s maid, and the others standing outside the entrance. Ren Xiaosu said to Zhou Yingxue, “The Qing Consortium’s people will report to you. Can you lead them and take control of Luoyang City?”

Wang Yuchi laughed. “Brother Xiaosu, don’t worry. Even without Big Sister Yingxue, the eight of us can do it.”

With that, all eight of the students activated their armor. The eight armors looked extremely forbidding. It seemed they had made further modifications to its structure while they were attending school.

Back then, Ren Xiaosu had left behind a lot of nanomachines for them, and later on, Luo Lan sent over another batch of nanomachines. While Ren Xiaosu, Wang Fugui, and the others were working hard for their “family,” these students did not idle around either.

And now, they had grown up.