The First Order

Xu Man was very cautious. He first pretended not to have found anything and walked past the shopping mall. When he confirmed that he was far away from it, he immediately called for support to try to surround the mall.

The platoon carefully made their way back, while the other five platoons were closing in as well. The wireless communications equipment they had in their helmets was far more convenient than they could imagine.

Xu Man slowly led the soldiers towards the main entrance as though they had come back after a normal patrol of the area and there was nothing unusual about their movements. Their combat boots were hard bottomed, so it was impossible for them to stay completely silent while walking on the concrete surfaces. So it was better to pretend they were on a normal patrol.

However, when Ren Xiaosu heard these footsteps again, he let out a sigh in his head. He knew that anyone in this world who depended on luck would not live for long. If he were still thinking the other party hadn’t discovered him yet, that would be too stupid of him.

For the Qing Consortium’s troops to suddenly return, it didn’t matter how unconcerned they were trying to act. Ren Xiaosu immediately understood there must be a reason for it. In that instant, Ren Xiaosu felt his heart ache. He slowly laid down the jacket he had used to wrap up the gold with onto the floor. He decided to abandon it.

Now that he had to run for his life, he couldn’t risk his life for the gold.

Even if he had great strength, carrying a bundle of gold would affect his speed, or worse, his sense of balance.

Ren Xiaosu had always treated money as just a tool. He liked it, but he would never indulge in it. It had always been so for him.

Not only was he abandoning the gold, Ren Xiaosu was even planning on discarding the jacket. If he slowly took out the gold jewelry from inside the jacket, it would make too much noise.

He turned around and ran lightly into the depths of the shopping mall. This mall was huge and spanned several stories as well.

The outside of the building was probably surrounded already. Ren Xiaosu wouldn’t use his life to test whether anyone standing behind the doors. What if a hail of gunfire swept over him the moment he opened one? That would be the end for him. Therefore, Ren Xiaosu had to run upstairs.

From his memory, there was another building next to this shopping mall that was similar in height. This mall had been located in the most prosperous business center of the city, so it wasn’t the only building around the area.

Ren Xiaosu was not a reckless person. Xu Man might pick up that someone was hiding in the mall from his keen observation, but Ren Xiaosu had similarly picked out his getaway route beforehand.

The gap between the two buildings was around 20 meters, and Ren Xiaosu was confident that he could leap over based on his current strength and dexterity.

Xu Man slowly led the troops into the mall. They had their tactical flashlights on as they slowly infiltrated into the darkness within.

But not long after entering the building, Xu Man noticed the jacket and gold Ren Xiaosu had abandoned on the ground.

He said on the communications channel, “We’ve got confirmation on the target’s trail. The target has noticed we’re after him and is currently on the run in another direction! Target is extremely cautious!”

Qing Zhen’s voice sounded on the communications channel. “Have you discovered who it is yet?”

Xu Man hesitated for a moment before saying, “It might be that refugee, Ren Xiaosu. I’ve not set eyes on the target yet, so I can’t confirm.”

“How did you guess it’s Ren Xiaosu without seeing him?” Qing Zhen asked, “Did you find some clues?”

Xu Man hesitated and said, “We discovered a stash of gold here…. I’m guessing only that kid would be so interested in gold.”

Qing Zhen started laughing. He agreed with Xu Man’s judgment. Xu Xianchu and Yang Xiaojin were obviously after the secret of the Jing Mountains. The two of them would definitely not be interested in something like gold. At least, it wouldn’t be their immediate goal.

Who would run this far out here and experience so much danger and terror all for the sake of making off with a bag of gold?

If Ren Xiaosu were to hear this, he would be the first to object. Gold was so adorable, so why couldn’t he hope to make off with some?!

Luo Lan and Liu Bu had mentioned that Ren Xiaosu was just a refugee, but Qing Zhen did not entirely believe them.

He was a suspicious person, so even if everyone said Ren Xiaosu was just a refugee, he would still not underestimate Ren Xiaosu. Ren Xiaosu could have been pretending all this while and might not have been the ordinary refugee they claimed he was.

Everyone who appeared here could possibly be here for the secret of the Jing Mountains. They could all have another identity.

However, Qing Zhen laughed. He suddenly felt that Ren Xiaosu really might not be interested in the secret of the Jing Mountains. At least to him, gold ranked above the secret of this place.

Qing Zhen said, “This Ren Xiaosu is pretty interesting. Capture and bring him to me.”

“Roger.”

A moment later, the Qing Consortium’s troops stormed into the shopping mall like black vipers!

“Target is escaping to the second floor.”

“Target is escaping to the third floor.”

Xu Man was listening in on the comms to receive updates on the operations. By this time, the troops had discovered Ren Xiaosu’s footprints. Inside the building, the floor was covered with layers of dust accumulated over the years, and anyone who stepped on it would leave behind their footprints.

It was a good thing to have discovered Ren Xiaosu’s whereabouts. But Xu Man was considering something. This building had six floors, and the total height was probably between 30 and 40 meters. If Ren Xiaosu kept escaping upwards, he might end up having nowhere to go once he reached the top!

Was Ren Xiaosu an idiot? Why would he escape up to a dead end?

As Xu Man led the combat troops up, he recalled the details of his encounter with Ren Xiaosu. When this young man discovered he and the soldiers had returned to this building, he gave up on the gold without any hesitation and even started fleeing as quickly as possible.

This person loved money, but he was not greedy. When he realized he was in danger, he did not take any chances and abandoned the gold.

Based on the logic of most people, they might bring the gold along with them as they made their escape for a while. They would only make the decision to discard the gold when they realized it was a hindrance to their escape. This was human nature.

However, Ren Xiaosu wasn’t like this. The way he had abandoned the gold was decisive.

Xu Man understood this young man he encountered was not simple. The target had a very strong survival instinct, as well as a no-nonsense and sober reasoning process.

Besides, even if their target of capture were really an idiot, he would still treat that person as the smartest person around. This was the kind of mindset to approach any combat situation!

So since Ren Xiaosu was escaping upstairs, did that mean there was a route of escape up there?

This was clearly a separate building by itself, so where could Ren Xiaosu run to?

That wasn’t right!

Xu Man suddenly remembered there was a building beside the mall, and it was just over a dozen meters away and slightly shorter than the one they were in. Could Ren Xiaosu escape by jumping over?!

Xu Man did not think of this before because he had believed Ren Xiaosu could not leap across to the nearby building since he himself couldn’t do so.

The misconception here was that humans tended to judge other people based on their own abilities. If they could not do something, they would think others couldn’t do it either.

But while Xu Man could not do it, that did not mean Ren Xiaosu couldn’t do it either!

Xu Man said loudly in the comms channel, “Outside platoons, go and lock down the adjacent building!”