166 The price of freedom

When Ren Xiaosu saw the Pyro Company's logo emblazoned on their chests, he was startled.

During this recent period, Ren Xiaosu had gotten a rough idea of the type of organization the Pyro Company was. Their lust for the blood of supernatural beings had placed them way high on Ren Xiaosu's to-be-wary-of list. Ren Xiaosu was relieved when he heard the Li Consortium had expelled the members of the Pyro Company from the stronghold, because he was worried Chen Wudi would attract their attention after his identity was exposed.

Later, both Luo Lan and Yang Xiaojin mentioned there were still some of the Pyro Company's members hiding in the stronghold. And tonight, they had targeted him and Xu Xianchu.

Xu Xianchu asked in a whisper, "They're from the Pyro Company?"

Xu Xianchu was obviously not as knowledgeable as Ren Xiaosu about the outside world. Ren Xiaosu made a sound of affirmation. "Be careful, they're not good people. They specialize in catching supernatural beings."

Taken aback, Xu Xianchu said, "Oh, I see." Xu Xianchu then unholstered the gun he had brought from Stronghold 113. On his journey thus far, he had not used it much at all.

Although firing the gun might attract more trouble, they couldn't worry about that at this time.

Ren Xiaosu observed the layout of their surroundings and noticed the roofs were mostly even in height. The four members of the Pyro Company were each standing in the north, south, east, and west and looked like they were going to beleaguer Ren Xiaosu and Xu Xianchu. It didn't look like they were planning on letting either of them off. They might have to fight to the death tonight. However, Ren Xiaosu did not want to show that he had the power to summon a shadow clone in Xu Xianchu's presence.

One of the young men laughed and said, "We have never failed when 'Midnight' strikes. Why don't the two of you just surrender and save us the trouble?"

Xu Xianchu hesitated before saying, "Midnight? But dawn's breaking. Something might be wrong with your watch."

The young man from Midnight was visibly taken aback. He suddenly realized Xu Xianchu might not even have heard of the team called Midnight before.

Ren Xiaosu wondered where this dumb person hailed from. 'If you want to fight, just fight! What are you being all cocky about?'

But at this moment, Xu Xianchu and Ren Xiaosu suddenly raised their guns and fired. It was as though they had discussed this beforehand and did so without any hesitation!

The loud and clear gunshots cracked through the night, as if trying to scare awake the sleeping stronghold.

Being in a battle meant fighting to the death without the need for superfluous words. You didn't need to attach any meaning to it or consider the consequences. The moment you placed yourself in a battle, the only consideration was to win!

But the moment Ren Xiaosu and Xu Xianchu raised their guns and fired, their respective targets dodged the bullets by tilting their heads to the side at the same time. They had calculated the trajectory of Ren Xiaosu's and Xu Xianchu's shots in an instant, and their reactions were so fast they could move at will.

They barely budged, only tilting their heads to the side to dodge the incoming bullets.

Ren Xiaosu's heart slowly sank. No wonder they were blabbering on and on. They were actually this formidable?

In fact, he could also judge the short-range trajectory of a shot based on the angle the shooter was aiming at. But if their opponents were all at this level, he realized he and Xu Xianchu might not be able to defeat them.

Although Xu Xianchu had Shadow Clone, his current strength was quite weak and would probably end up becoming a hindrance between the two of them.

Ren Xiaosu looked at the Midnight members and remembered what Yang Xiaojin had mentioned to him about how the Pyro Company's plans had only been messed up by Luo Lan because Midnight was not there. It seemed like she was serious about that.

He silently examined his options on how to deal with this tough situation before him in his mind. But the four Pyro Company members around him seemed very calm and not in a rush. This put a tremendous amount of pressure on Ren Xiaosu.

If they tried to run away, it might work out for Ren Xiaosu. However, it would be rather difficult for Xu Xianchu to get out of here safely.

Moreover, since he had been targeted by them, could he really avoid future trouble?

They likely targeted Xu Xianchu due to Luo Lan's pursuit. However, it looked like they had now made a spontaneous decision to capture Xu Xianchu. If Ren Xiaosu departed now, the Pyro Company would probably start searching all over the stronghold for him.

Ren Xiaosu said calmly, "What are y'all planning to do by taking us away?"

"Contribute to the survival of mankind." The young man who was the leader of the group smiled and said, "Just think about it. How glorious will it be for your genes to be the last common ancestor of mankind as it survives in the population with the breakthrough of genetic modification. All of humanity will remember you."

Ren Xiaosu smiled and said, "So are y'all also the beneficiaries of genetic modification?"

"That's right." The young man smiled and said, "It will be such a great achievement to go down in the annals of history, and the price for that is nothing more than the loss of freedom."

"What if I choose freedom instead?" Ren Xiaosu asked. Then he tore off a piece of cloth from the bottom of his shirt. He was thinking of tying it around his hand to let it flutter in the wind.

The young man looked at Ren Xiaosu and said, "If you choose freedom, I'm afraid you'll have to pay a price you can't afford."

The nearby residents seemed to have been awoken by the gunshots. In the dark of the night, many of the households suddenly turned on their lights. Ren Xiaosu believed the Li Consortium or other major powers would start arriving soon.

Ren Xiaosu calmed down completely. He looked at the young man and said, "The price of freedom is what makes freedom even nobler."

The cloth that had been fluttering stopped moving. The atmosphere seemed to solidify as the wind stopped.

Ren Xiaosu muttered silently in his mind, 'Now!'

In that instant, killing intent struck like lightning from afar.

The young man who was speaking suddenly saw his chest burst apart as his blood sprayed out in a fan shape and splattered onto the roof.

A bullet had rifled in from several hundred meters away. It wasn't until Ren Xiaosu saw the blood spraying into the air that he heard the gunshot.

The crimson blood contrasted starkly with the dark of the night.

'Thanks.' Ren Xiaosu gave a brilliant grin. He said to Xu Xianchu, "Go and handle the left side."

As soon as he finished speaking, Ren Xiaosu jumped to the roof on his right. An opening had appeared in the perimeter formed by the four people. This was the way out created by Yang Xiaojin!

There would not be another shot from the sniper. Ren Xiaosu knew that even with Perfect Firearms Proficiency, it would be impossible to hit a fast-moving supernatural being over several hundred meters. Unless, of course, Yang Xiaojin was a god! As such, Ren Xiaosu could only rely on himself.

Because of Ren Xiaosu's actions, the battlefield was suddenly split into two. Of the three remaining Midnight members, one stayed behind to deal with Xu Xianchu while the other two chased after Ren Xiaosu.

Ren Xiaosu did not stay put on the roof because he was planning to go all out. He needed to find a place where he would not be seen by others. It was his trump card in this battle!

When Ren Xiaosu jumped down into a small alley, the two members of Midnight following and jumping down as well. But just as they were about to pursue him, they discovered that Ren Xiaosu did not continue running. He stood there alone and trapped them in the alley!

They looked at each other and wondered where this young man's confidence came from. He dared to challenge the two of them all by himself?!