The First Order

Ren Xiaosu was not standing guard in the lot of Hope Media’s headquarters for no reason. If the aim of those people with ulterior motives in the stronghold were to cause chaos in Luoyang City, it would be impossible to achieve that by just holding some insignificant residents hostage at some insignificant locations.

Just like right now, the Riders were no longer hesitating and had chosen to fight back with force.

Putting aside the hostages they were holding, the hostage takers were absolutely not a match against the professional troops and superhumans.

So would the enemy not have thought of that if Ren Xiaosu and the others could think of it?

So if they really wanted to keep the garrison troops and Riders at bay, they would have to capture the most important people.

Who were the most important? To the Qinghe Group, Xu Ke was the most important, and so was this group of people behind Ren Xiaosu at this moment.

The Riders were the toughest cadres of the Qinghe Group. If anyone were scheming to take on the Qinghe Group, they would surely use their toughest fists to crush the enemy to pieces.

Meanwhile, Hope Media was the essence, energy, and spirit of the Qinghe Group.

Previously, when Ren Xiaosu was chatting with Jiang Xu, he found out Hope Media was jointly established by him and Xu Ke after a discussion. This busy group of people were still holding the fort down amid the chaos, not for meager salary or fame, but for their ideals.

As the sky darkened, the lights in the building lit up. Under the illumination of the lights, hundreds of people were fighting for their dreams.

Were they not afraid? How could that be? Fear was a basic human instinct. It was just that they could not abandon their ideals.

Today’s Hope Media newspaper was a little special. There were three editions published in just one day. The first edition was the usual publication, while the other two editions were relatively thinner and only reported about the incidents happening in Luoyang City.

Once the draft was approved, it would be immediately transmitted to the Hope Media branches across the Alliance of Strongholds via satellite and published locally in those territories.

Jiang Xu was doing this because he wanted to use the power he had to shout to the world for them to see what was happening in Luoyang City.

However, Hope Media’s branches across the various territories also met with some resistance. The Kong Consortium’s printing factories suddenly started to reject the publication of Hope Media’s newspapers.

The Kong Consortium did not firmly reject it either. Instead, the printing factory indicated they had run out of their stockpile of paper and were really sorry they could not continue printing today. They could only continue tomorrow.

It was obvious they were only looking to get through the day. No one knew whether Hope Media would still be around by tomorrow.

Of all the organizations in the Central Plains, only the Pyro Company remained silent. It was as though they were not involved at all.

In the past, everyone thought the Pyro Company and the Qinghe Group would always look out for each other. However, they did not expect the Pyro Company would choose to stand by and do nothing at a critical moment like this.

No one knew what the Pyro Company was up to, nor did anyone have the energy to pay attention to them. Everything would have to wait until the night was over!

Jiang Xu was up on the top floor of the building. As he had to go through too many drafts, he was unusually fatigued.

The deputy chief editor stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window in Jiang Xu’s office and looked at Ren Xiaosu, who was sitting in the lot downstairs. The clothes the young man was wearing were not expensive at all. In the eyes of many stronghold residents, he might even look a little down and out. The chair he was seated in was just an old wooden chair and did not give him an imposing look.

But for some reason, when the deputy chief editor, Ji Yi, saw the figure of this young man, it looked like he was shouldering a responsibility that was as heavy as a mountain.

“Chief Editor, who’s that young man?” Ji Yi asked.

“It’s the person whose lines appeared on the fifth page of our newspaper.” Jiang Xu also stood up and went to the window.

“He was the one who said that?” Ji Yi was stunned. “Then what’s he doing? Why’s he sitting in our front yard?”

“He’s protecting us.” Jiang Xu looked at Ren Xiaosu’s figure and said with a smile, “Tell everyone not to be afraid. No one will be able to take a step into our Hope Media headquarters tonight.”

“You trust him that much?” Ji Yi asked doubtfully.

“At first, I thought he might have said those words because he heard them from somewhere else. So I only thought highly of the phrase itself but not him. I somehow felt the line was something this era sorely lacked.” Jiang Xu suddenly changed the subject. “Later on, I slowly understood it wasn’t a coincidence that those words came out of his mouth. Enough already, let’s continue working. We still have a lot to do.”

The employees moving about in Hope Media’s headquarters could all see Ren Xiaosu at the entrance. The employees sitting at the windows would also occasionally turn to look at Ren Xiaosu’s back whenever they felt tired.

For some reason, their anxiety would lessen a little.

A female editor who had learned how to draw even sketched Ren Xiaosu’s back while she was taking a break.

There was a sense of stability, calm, and confidence.

It was as though no matter who came, they could not rattle that young man.

When night fell, Old Li and Zhang Qingxi finally completed their sweep of all the thugs. Many of the hostages were either dead or injured. Fortunately, members of the Qinghe Group’s staff immediately came to get the situation under control. This allowed Li Yingyun and the others to escape the questioning of the hostages’ families.

At this moment, Ren Xiaosu heard gunshots ringing out again. The cracks tore apart the night sky that had just calmed down.

He turned to look at the bright crescent moon hanging high in the sky.

At the same time, the Hope Media staff upstairs saw Ren Xiaosu stand up. Everyone was a little puzzled. That female editor who drew a sketch of Ren Xiaosu’s figure earlier said to her colleague nearby, “He’s getting up. Is something about to happen?”

As soon as she finished speaking, they saw a group of thugs appear out of nowhere and rush into the yard with loaded weapons.

And behind them, there was another person dressed in a combat uniform walking over alone. It was as though he was taking a stroll in the park.

Just as Ren Xiaosu had expected, the other party would definitely make a move on Hope Media if they wanted to truly create chaos. Moreover, the world of superhumans would only begin after night fell!

The thugs came rushing towards the Hope Media headquarters like they were a group of wild animals. But when they rushed into the yard, they were stunned. A young man was standing calmly in front of them.

Ren Xiaosu said, “This is the worst place that y’all could’ve chosen to attack.”

All of a sudden, the thugs opened fire on Ren Xiaosu. When the editors upstairs saw the gunfire, they screamed.

But in the blink of an eye, they saw the young man who had been sitting in the lot for a long time suddenly leap into the air. In an instant, he turned into a steel beast and smashed right into the group of thugs!

When the cold metallic armor clashed with a human, there could only be one outcome, the shattering of bone.

Everyone in the Hope Media headquarters stopped everything they were doing and stood at the windows to watch Ren Xiaosu.

A male reporter picked up a chair and shouted, “All of you men, follow me downstairs! We’ve got to help him!”

But as soon as he finished speaking, Jiang Xu arrived at their office. He said coldly, “Why are you all standing there and watching the fighting? Isn’t it chaotic enough already? Hurry up and get back to whatever you were busy with. Do you think that young man is here to protect us? No, he’s here to protect what we’re doing, fighting for the truth! Put away your unnecessary hotbloodedness and continue with the only thing you are worthy of right now. Even if you die, you have to die in pursuit of the truth.”

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