Chapter 1003 - Cheers

The armored being dropped from the bridge like a rock and landed precisely on top of the bulletproof car Zhou Shiji was riding in. Everything appeared to be executed with extreme precision under Ren Xiaosu's control.

In the vehicles at the rear that were responsible for escorting Zhou Shiji, the soldiers raised their guns and got ready to shoot when they saw the armored being dropping down from above.

But it was too late to do anything. Ren Xiaosu raised the black saber in his hand high. The moment he swung it down, he channeled his strength from his hips, abdomen, and arm at the same time, gathering all of it at the tip of the saber.

With a screech, the sound of metal being cut could be heard. Many of the soldiers could not help but clap their hands over their ears. The screeching sounded as though it could pierce everyone's hearts.

The driver's terrified screams could be heard coming from the bulletproof car. After the black saber pierced the roof, it immediately stabbed into Zhou Shiji's chest.

However, Ren Xiaosu still could not put his mind at ease. He forcefully cut open the top of the bulletproof car and confirmed that Zhou Shiji was really dead through the hole in the roof.

Ren Xiaosu looked at Zhou Shiji, who was lying in the vehicle with his heart pierced. Zhou Shiji's blood flowed out from his chest and stained his spotless white shirt red, dirtying his neat suit as well.

"The target is dead. Let's pull back. Xiaojin, retreat towards Zone 28. I'll pick you up on the way." After saying that over the radio, Ren Xiaosu sheathed his saber and turned around.

The entire highway was surrounded by the garrison troops, and a dense hail of bullets formed a huge net of firepower around Ren Xiaosu. However, Ren Xiaosu did not intend to continue pestering them. Instead, he turned around and ran towards a residential building near the road.

His tough, armored fingers of his armor dug deep into the walls as he climbed up towards the roof with his bare hands before disappearing.

This assassination attempt started and ended quickly. Ren Xiaosu did not waste time debating Zhou Shiji, nor did he even give him a chance to scream before he ended his life.

This left the garrison troops who had wanted to engage in an intense battle with Ren Xiaosu's armored being a little dumbfounded. They looked in the direction where Ren Xiaosu had disappeared and thought, 'You're leaving just like that?'

Before this, many of them thought the other party would surely not be so bold as to assassinate the head of a consortium.

But it was only now that they realized that in this era of "individual" power, it was no longer a myth that a general's head could be taken despite being protected by 10,000 soldiers.

It was no wonder Qing Zhen had concealed his own whereabouts. That move could only be attributed to his foresight.

Currently, there were also a lot of people who wanted to assassinate Qing Zhen. Unfortunately, they could no longer track where he was. Some of these people who wanted to kill him were even members of the Qing Consortium.

The garrison troops started chasing in the direction Ren Xiaosu and the Yang Xiaojin had disappeared off to. Some of them even surrounded the building where the Riders were hiding in an attempt to capture them.

But the Riders scattered and escaped even faster than rabbits ran. They were just like monkeys returning back to nature as they disappeared from the sight of the garrison troops.

The garrison troops could not understand what they were seeing. Why did one of the Riders have a bandage wrapped around his arm? How was someone with a broken arm able to run so quickly?! What kind of training did these people go through in normal times?!

Within a day, all of the Zhou Consortium's top three figureheads had died. When the Hope Media reporter at Stronghold 73 found out about this, he was so elated he nearly cried. He quickly relayed this news back to Luoyang City.

In Stronghold 73, a grand sting operation began. This was a disgrace to the Zhou Consortium. No matter who would take over at the Zhou Consortium next, they would have to capture the perpetrators to convince the masses to win their support.

A spokesperson of the Zhou Consortium started denouncing the Northwest and insisted that this was done by one of their key figures. They called for the Northwest to take responsibility for it.

The media quickly turned their attention to the Northwest. The reporters at Stronghold 144 swarmed over to the garrison base and hoped the Fortress 178 troops would come out and give a statement.

After waiting for nearly three hours, Zhang Xiaoman slowly walked out of the military base.

A reporter held a microphone to Zhang Xiaoman's mouth. "The Zhou Consortium claims this operation was likely carried out by the Northwest Army. We'd like to know if it's true that the Stronghold Destroyer has really become the candidate for the next commander of the Northwest?"

Before Zhang Xiaoman came out here, he had already communicated with Zhang Jinglin to see how he should answer the media's questions. However, Zhang Jinglin did not give him any explicit instructions other than telling him to just answer them truthfully.

Zhang Xiaoman decided he would just tell the truth then. If anyone wanted to pursue the matter, they could just go and look for Commander Zhang for answers. He would take no responsibility.

Zhang Xiaoman replied, "Yes, he's indeed in the running to become the future commander of Fortress 178's military corps. However, he still needs to be assessed over a longer period and undergo more training."

"Does the Northwest have any other candidates?" the reporter asked.

"No, he's the only one," Zhang Xiaoman replied.

"Commander Zhang is only 40 years old now, so why are you all considering the candidates so early?" the reporter asked.

"If there's a suitable candidate, we should just confirm him first so that he won't be able to run away," Zhang Xiaoman replied.

The reporters were confused. This answer stumped the reporters. They could never have expected to be given such an answer.

Most press conferences were held in a very official manner, so it was rare to see such honest answers being dished out like that.

At the side, the Great Hoodwinker could not bear to watch any further. He felt that if Zhang Xiaoman were to continue taking the questions, they might just end up with a press incident on their hands. So he quickly pushed Zhang Xiaoman aside and answered the reporters' questions himself. "Hahaha, I'll take everyone's questions instead."

A reporter asked, "Then based on the Zhou Consortium's claims, the events of their top three figureheads all being assassinated on the same day was indeed the Northwest's official stance, right? After all, the perpetrator is the candidate to become the Northwest's future commander, and it's most likely that he will take over as the fortress commander. So the Zhou Consortium is asking that the Northwest Army take responsibility for this matter. How do you plan on responding to the Zhou Consortium's statement? And how do you plan on responding to the Zhou Consortium?"

The Great Hoodwinker remained silent for two seconds before saying with a simple smile, "There's no need to stand on ceremony. It's what we should have done."

The reporters were speechless.

On the same day, the transcript of the Northwest's press conference was quickly relayed back to the Central Plains. When some of the Zhou Consortium's high-ranking officials saw it, they flew into a rage. "How arrogant! They're simply too cocky!"

But they suddenly realized that even though the other party was so cocky, there was nothing they could do about it.

If the Zhou Consortium wanted to attack the Northwest, there would still be the Wang Consortium standing between them.

The Northwest was too far away from the Zhou Consortium, so they couldn't declare war on them!

Ren Xiaosu, Yang Xiaojin, and the others had already safely left Stronghold 73 and entered the wilderness outside the stronghold.

A campfire was burning in the valley. Ren Xiaosu and the Riders caught some wild boars and wild rabbits in the mountains and roasted them over the fire. It was a delicious meal.

Ren Xiaosu handed a roast rabbit to Yang Xiaojin and then asked the Riders, "What plans do y'all have?"

Li Yingyun had a look at everyone before saying with a laugh, "When we did our research, we discovered that the world's highest mountain is further west of the Southwest. It's said the mountain is covered in snow all year round and stands at 8,848 meters tall. If we want to climb that mountain, we'll have to go through countless difficulties. A Rider ascended to the peak twice before and described the scenery at the top of the mountain as very magnificent. So we'd also like to make a trip there and see what the view looks like."

The Rider Li Yingyun was referring to was probably Ren He, the founder of the Riders organization.

Nearby, Zhang Qingxi added with a laugh, "But the Earth's crust has changed a lot since The Cataclysm, so we're not sure if that mountain is still around. If it is, we're gonna climb it. If it isn't, we'll just have to search for other mountains to climb. After that, we'd like to travel around the region. We believe there's still some survivors there."

"By the way, Xiaosu, we'd like to settle down in the Northwest after we finish our mountain climbing adventures. Would you all welcome us?" Li Yingyun asked.

Ren Xiaosu's eyes lit up. "Of course you're welcome! Come and join us in the Prosperous Northwest!"

Li Yingyun and the others looked at each other and smiled. It looked as though they had some sort of plan.

However, Ren Xiaosu was a little curious. "Weren't y'all searching for the Qinghe Group's heir? Are you not gonna look for him anymore after settling down in the Northwest? Have y'all given up?"

Li Yingyun smiled. "We've already found him. He's doing very well now and has not failed to live up to the reputation of the Riders, so there's no need for us to worry anymore."

Ren Xiaosu grunted in affirmation and asked, "How'd you find him?"

Off to the side, Wen Meng, who had been silent all this while, suddenly said, "We'll keep that a secret for now."

"Alright." Ren Xiaosu did not probe any further. He said to the Riders in seriousness, "I'll be returning to the Northwest with Xiaojin tomorrow. At that time, I'll be waiting for all y'all in the Northwest to contribute to our cause. Here, let's toast to the Prosperous Northwest!"

"Cheers!"

All of a sudden, the satellite phone in Ren Xiaosu's pocket rang. Ren Xiaosu glanced at the number and was surprised to see it was from Wang Shengzhi.

But after hesitating for a long while, he did not answer the call. Instead, he stuffed it back into his storage space.

…

End of Volume Six: Breached Walls

Next volume: The Prosperous Northwest