The First Order

While Wang Fugui was talking to them, they suddenly heard a commotion come from town. Wang Fugui curiously walked out of the school and said, “What’s the uproar this time?”

All of a sudden, he felt that something was wrong. Then he saw the sky was turning gloomy.

That gray smog in the air did not change from light to dark. It turned into a strange dull yellow instead, and the wind was getting stronger as well.

All of the refugees in town were carrying their valuables and running out onto the streets. Some of them were even holding onto their shacks and trying to stabilize them in case the wind blew them down.

At this moment, someone from outside the town ran in shouting, “I think a volcano in the Jing Mountains has erupted. The entire sky above the Jing Mountains is filled with smoke!”

The town administrator stared at him and said, “What are you panicking for? What has the volcano in the Jing Mountains got anything to do with us? We’re so far away from it! Where did you come back from?”

“I just came back from the coal mine.” That person said, “The factory manager made me come back to report to the stronghold about what is happening at the Jing Mountains. I’m a safety officer at the mine.”

“Alright, go and do what you need to do,” the town administrator snapped. “Everyone else, be careful and pay attention. Get back into your shacks after the earthquake is over.”

Only Yan Liuyuan thought there was something wrong with those words. That was because the birds in the sky were all flying south, and the bugs in the ground had all crawled out as well. Could a volcano so far away have so much power? Yan Liuyuan felt something even more terrifying would happen after this.

There was a river running through Stronghold 113, but no one had ever delved into where this river’s source was and where it ended.

The important people in the stronghold had set up several iron fences at the river to prevent any refugees from sneaking into the stronghold. In fact, refugees did so in the past.

But at this moment, the people in the stronghold were also panicking due to the earthquake. As a result, no one noticed that the fences at the river had been knocked down by something in the river. That strange thing kept swimming towards the city, and the fish in the river were all alarmed as they swam in the opposite direction of it. It was as though they were exhibiting an instinctive fear.

At this time, many people from outside of town came running back. Everyone was wondering, “Weren’t y’all working at the coal mine? Why did y’all come back?”

The people who came back shouted, “The entrance to the mine has collapsed. There are also many strange bugs running from the Jing Mountains with faces of people on their back shells. They even eat people!”

Everyone was stunned. There was once a bug epidemic that happened in this world, but that was put to a stop very quickly by humans. But for the people of this era, they had only heard of the bug epidemic but did not see it for themselves.

Was history going to repeat itself?

Suddenly, Yan Liuyuan heard someone jump into the yard behind them. He turned around and was surprised to see Ren Xiaosu. Ren Xiaosu signaled for them not to speak and whispered, “Quick, pack up our belongings!”

Although Yan Liuyuan and Xiaoyu did not know what was going on, they did as they were told by Ren Xiaosu.

Yan Liuyuan decided that something must’ve happened that made Ren Xiaosu come back here to bring them out of Stronghold 113.

After living here for so many years, were they finally going to leave this place? However, Yan Liuyuan was not really bothered by this. Wherever Ren Xiaosu was, that was home for him.

It was just that Ren Xiaosu had returned too suddenly, so he felt undecided between joy and urgency.

When Wang Fugui came back into the school, he saw Ren Xiaosu holding a gun in his hand that was pointed at him. Ren Xiaosu said, “Old Wang, stay here until we leave, I’m sorry.”

Wang Fugui gave a bitter smile and said, “Are y’all leaving? There’s a lot of people outside keeping watch over this yard. Perhaps you could walk out without any trouble, but what about Yan Liuyuan and Li Xiaoyu?”

“They won’t be able to stop me,” Ren Xiaosu said.

After returning to the town, he did not rush over to the school immediately. Instead, he went to check on the spot where he had buried the gun. When he found that it was gone, he went to check on the cave he had prepared for Yan Liuyuan. When he realized that Yan Liuyuan had not gone there, he finally returned to town.

But before he could make it to the school, he discovered people outside the school keeping watch. Moreover, several of them gave him a familiar feeling. They were from the Qing Consortium’s combat troops!

It was very easy to tell the difference between the stronghold’s private troops and the consortium’s combat troops. The soldiers from the private army were like ruffians without any proper bearing. Meanwhile, the soldiers of the combat troops under the Qing Consortium were always standing with their backs straight. It clearly showed they had gone through a lot of training.

Because of these people keeping watch, Ren Xiaosu chose to sneak into the school. Now that it was getting chaotic in town, it was the best opportunity for him to bring Yan Liuyuan and Xiaoyu away.

Wang Fugui said curiously, “Actually, with Mr. Zhang around, the Qing Consortium wouldn’t dare do anything to you, right?”

Ren Xiaosu was startled. “Mr. Zhang?” At this time, Ren Xiaosu realized Zhang Jinglin wasn’t around the school anymore. He still didn’t know what had happened at the school.

But there wasn’t any time to talk about this now. Ren Xiaosu said, “I’m not leaving because of the Qing Consortium. It’s just that demons and monsters have started appearing in the Jing Mountains, and they’re heading here now!”

When Ren Xiaosu was passing through the canyon, he heard the sound of the wild animals running behind him. The wild animals, Experimentals, and face bugs were all probably being forced southwards by that sea of fire.

At that time, it wouldn’t be him alone who would be in danger. Everyone in town would end up in danger as well.

But Ren Xiaosu didn’t have any time to explain. He said to Wang Fugui, “You heard them talking about those bugs, right? The number of bugs is terrifying, but they’re just a small part of the danger.”

Wang Fugui said in surprise, “Just what did y’all encounter in the Jing Mountains…No, Ren Xiaosu, you have to let me go. I have to go back and get my son. We’ll leave together with you!”

“Leave with us?” Ren Xiaosu said doubtfully, “Your family business is here, but you want to leave with me?”

He never considered the possibility of bringing Wang Fugui with them. Normally, even if Ren Xiaosu were to try and persuade Wang Fugui to leave together, he should be unwilling to believe Ren Xiaosu’s words.

But as it turned out, it was the complete opposite. Ren Xiaosu didn’t even have to persuade Wang Fugui and he made the decision instantly.

Wang Fugui thought about it and said, “I don’t know about other things, but I know that we can survive as long as we follow you!”

When Luo Xinyu and Yang Xiaojin came out of the stronghold for the first time, Wang Fugui had said to them that no one but Ren Xiaosu would make a good guide for their expedition into the Jing Mountains.

Of course, this did not mean that Old Wang believed Ren Xiaosu was really good at what he did, but that he felt Ren Xiaosu was tough enough.

A child who survived an attack by a pack of wolves and also brought another child with him to grow up and survive together, that was not something a normal person could do.

Right now, there was something Wang Fugui understood: Only Ren Xiaosu knew what had happened in the Jing Mountains. He was someone who had witnessed the changes in the Jing Mountains personally. If he did not believe him, who else could he believe?