149 A brewing storm

Explosions kept reverberating throughout the stronghold from time to time. However, it did not sound as intense as the first one. While hurrying there, Ren Xiaosu saw several stronghold residents coming out of their homes. Everyone started gathering and were apparently discussing what had just happened.

Someone suggested that one of the factories might have caught fire, and the explosions were caused by the flammable substances within.

But Ren Xiaosu did not think it was as simple as that, especially not during a tense period like this. As a matter of fact, Stronghold 109 was currently a gathering place for a large number of dangerous people.

When Ren Xiaosu arrived at the foot of the high-rise building, he saw the logo of the Li Consortium's bank slapped on it. But he wasn't worried about that right now. He headed straight for the top by climbing up the façade of the building.

But when he got to the edge of the rooftop and was about to clamber over, the dark muzzle of a gun pressed against his forehead. Ren Xiaosu froze. He never expected someone else would be up here! He looked up and saw the familiar figure of someone wearing a cap.

Yang Xiaojin also looked surprised to see Ren Xiaosu up here. It had to be said she felt the two of them really seemed to have some sort of a strange unspoken understanding. The things they did and choice in locating a commanding position coincided with each other.

However, Yang Xiaojin had the absolute high ground at this moment. She smiled and said, "What are you doing here at this hour?"

"Didn't both of us get attracted by the sound of the explosion?" Ren Xiaosu said calmly. He could be sure now that the explosion wasn't set off by Yang Xiaojin. After all, it was still quite a distance from here to where the explosion had occurred.

Ren Xiaosu tried to dodge away from the barrel of Yang Xiaojin's gun. But he was sure that based on her marksmanship, he would absolutely have no chance of avoiding it.

Yang Xiaojin said with a smile, "Let me ask you again: Is the dagger yours or mine?"

Ren Xiaosu answered in seriousness, "It's mine."

Yang Xiaojin was speechless.

Honestly, Ren Xiaosu hadn't expected Yang Xiaojin to still be thinking about the dagger at this time. Likewise, Yang Xiaojin never thought Ren Xiaosu would still claim ownership over the dagger in such circumstances!

"Come on up then." Yang Xiaojin holstered her gun away with a cold expression. She did not know how to deal with Ren Xiaosu anymore. She had only pointed her gun at him to scare him, but she wouldn't have pulled the trigger for real.

Ren Xiaosu climbed onto the rooftop and patted the dust off himself. "What happened? Why was there such a loud noise?"

"The Pyro Company is playing with fire." Yang Xiaojin explained, "An awakened supernatural being approached them to sell his blood. He thought the Pyro Company was really some kind of a charity organization, but they made a move on him on the spot. They tried to capture him but didn't succeed."

"So the Pyro Company is really using the 1,000,000 yuan reward as bait?" Ren Xiaosu was really glad he had not gone to sell his blood and had even stopped Chen Wudi from doing so. He sighed and said, "But how did the Pyro Company fail in their attempt to capture that person?"

For a company as powerful as them, would they really have attempted to catch a supernatural being without extreme preparation?

"Well, they succeeded at first. They injected a large dose of anesthetics into the supernatural being, but they never thought he would have a companion with him." Yang Xiaojin explained, "Those two supernatural beings must've known each other beforehand and made a plan to rescue the other person in case one of them got into trouble with the Pyro Company. You can call it a simple alliance of sorts."

This time, Ren Xiaosu understood. So even the supernatural being who went to sell his blood was prepared. He chuckled and said, "Then the Pyro Company has fucked up. Isn't this a good opportunity to pull a heist on them?"

"Don't look down on the Pyro Company." Yang Xiaojin shook her head. "The fighting force known as 'Dawn' that operates under the company is extremely strong even if only five of their men show up in the stronghold. Those two supernatural beings have survived until now only because Fatty Luo from the Qing Consortium is also messing around out there."

"Luo Lan?" Ren Xiaosu said in surprise, "What does he have against the Pyro Company?"

"Qing Zhen set up an ambush and captured over a 100 members of the Pyro Company last year." Yang Xiaojin said, "The Pyro Company and the Qing Consortium are actually adversaries, the type that will take it to the bitter end with each other."

This puzzled Ren Xiaosu a little. "What has Qing Zhen got against them?"

"The Pyro Company used this method to bait one of Qing Zhen's soldiers who had been on leave. The operation was successful, and it was so covert that Qing Zhen only discovered it after the Pyro Company had withdrawn their presence," Yang Xiaojin explained. "However, Qing Zhen managed to rescue that soldier during the ambush he conducted."

Ren Xiaosu was speechless. What kind of a timeline was that? It was way too messy. Were the struggles between the corporations really that intense?

Ren Xiaosu couldn't help but ask, "Then why did y'all target Qing Zhen? You're obviously against the Pyro Company, so wouldn't that make the enemy of your enemy your friend?"

Yang Xiaojin gave him a look. "Enemies are enemies. We don't form alliances."

It was at this moment Ren Xiaosu realized that Yang Xiaojin's organization had very clear goals or principles. Whoever encroached on their interests would probably get added to their hit list.

"You're getting curious, aren't ya?" A big sniper rifle appeared in Yang Xiaojin's hands. Her cheek stuck to the side of the menacing rifle in her hands as she looked into the distance through a telescopic scope nearly as thick as her arms. "The Pyro Company and Qing Zhen are both trying to control something they're absolutely incapable of controlling. Whether they succeed or fail, it'll still be disastrous."

Ren Xiaosu finally understood. So the mission statement of Yang Xiaojin's organization was to spread love and peace.

What nonsense! Ren Xiaosu absolutely did not believe anyone would be that selfless in this world!

At this very moment, Ren Xiaosu saw countless combat troops from the Li Consortium arrive at the battle site. They quickly closed off all the intersections and set up barricades and pillboxes around the area. Then, heavily armed platoons infiltrated into the middle of the battlefield in an unusually cautious manner.

Meanwhile, the location Yang Xiaojin had chosen happened to fall just outside of the lockdown perimeter. Ren Xiaosu knew he had been lucky in choosing this place to watch the battle from, but Yang Xiaojin probably did not depend on her luck for this. Instead, she must have known about the standard operating procedures of the Li Consortium's troops before deciding on this spot.

Ren Xiaosu asked, "The Li Consortium seems to have arrived a little late. Isn't this supposed to be their home field?"

"They have something more important to protect right now." Yang Xiaojin said calmly, "Anything that does not constitute a threat isn't going to bother them. Quiet now!"

Yang Xiaojin's breathing then became shallow.

Ren Xiaosu looked where her rifle was pointing and was surprised to see that a manhole cover outside the Li Consortium's perimeter had been pushed open from underneath. The first person who climbed out of it happened to be Luo Lan!

He saw Fatty Luo panting as he climbed out of the sewers, followed by Tang Zhou and the rest of their men. Tang Zhou was even carrying an unconscious person on his shoulder. They were running towards a vehicle that was parked nearby, and it looked like they were planning to use it to escape.