The escapees were a group scarred by their recent experiences. Some of them would even get nightmares and wake up with night terrors.
So when the explosions went off, someone among the escapees thought that war was breaking out again and cried out for everyone to quickly run. As such, all of the other escapees mindlessly followed suit.
They could not even tell where the explosions were coming from!
Truly, the Shadow Door and Explosive Poker was a really stealthy combination that could catch people by surprise. No one knew where the next explosion was going to happen.
Actually, Ren Xiaosu could have used this method to cause chaos long ago. It was just that he had always felt a little unwilling to part with his gratitude tokens and could not bear to use them like this.
His gratitude tokens had reached more than 900 coins and he was so close to unlocking the new weapon.
But now his gratitude tokens slipped back down to slightly over 800 coins.
Ren Xiaosu threw out the Explosive Poker cards consisting of more than ten sets of \"quad threes\" in one go. As for the more powerful sets, he kept them on hand.
While he was preparing to throw them out, he planned to throw them at random places to cause some casualties. That way, more chaos could be created. But Ren Xiaosu suddenly thought of Chen Wudi for some reason and decided to throw the \"bombs\" into the uninhabited areas and near the Yang Consortium's guard post as well.
If it were the past, would Ren Xiaosu have hesitated for even half a second?
At the end of the day, that beam of light still shone.
Ren Xiaosu's group blended into the crowd and tried to head westward. Meanwhile, the Yang Consortium's soldiers were all rushing back to their tents to save their own people and did not have time to care about where the escapees were fleeing.
When the escapees rushed out of the refugee camp, the soldiers on guard duty only fired a warning shot or two before giving up. They knew they wouldn't be able to stop the escapees who had already lost all control due to their fear of death.
Yan Liuyuan stayed by Ren Xiaosu's side throughout as Ren Xiaosu was still very weak. He had to make sure that no one would knock him down accidentally.
It was not easy for Ren Xiaosu to fix his bones. If they were to get broken again, it would be much more painful to have to set them again. So whenever anyone came near to Ren Xiaosu, Yan Liuyuan would push them away.
\"Bro, where are we going?\" Yan Liuyuan asked.
\"The forested mountains in the west.\" Ren Xiaosu said, \"We will hide in the forest.\"
But at this moment, engines roared from the south. Ren Xiaosu stopped in his tracks and looked in that direction to see dozens of military transport trucks returning from the front lines.
This convoy was definitely not here for them. Although the soldiers had called for reinforcements after the explosions went off at the refugee camp, they couldn't have arrived this quickly no matter how well-trained they were by the Yang Consortium. Hence, this was the Yang Consortium troops that were returning from the front lines of the battlefield!
\"How damn unlucky!\" Ren Xiaosu sighed.
He had wasted so many gratitude tokens just to create a chance for them to leave. But unfortunately, the plan did not go according to his wishes and he had to encounter the Yang Consortium troops who happened to be returning from the front lines!
Ren Xiaosu turned around and led his group back since it would be impossible for them to go head-to-head against the Yang Consortium's combat troops.
They noticed the convoy had discovered the chaos going on in the refugee camp, and their troops immediately split up into several groups to intercept the escapees from fleeing by stopping them in their tracks.
These escapees were just like docile lambs that had been tamed. When they saw the shepherd arriving, they subconsciously obeyed him.
The soldiers who jumped out of the vehicles forced the escapees back into their barracks with their guns. \"Go back to your own barracks! Those who disobey orders will be executed!\"
The escapees turned back. At this moment, they realized the explosions had stopped.
An officer wearing the rank of lieutenant colonel said loudly, \"Who's the one in charge of the refugee camp? Why was there a riot happening?!\"
A soldier from the reinforced company ran out and reported, \"Sir, I don't know what happened, but explosions suddenly went off everywhere in the refugee camp. The escapees were fleeing only because they got frightened. Our commander died in the line of duty.\"
The lieutenant colonel was stunned. \"Didn't you all make sure to seize all of their weapons? You should know that you'll have to be careful of spies mixed among these people, right?\"
\"We made sure we seized all of their weapons, but we don't know where the bombs came from.\" The soldier replied, \"I think there's something fishy about this. There was also an explosion I suspect has something to do with this matter.\"
\"Tell me what happened,\" the lieutenant colonel said.
The escapees stood in a trance outside the barracks and listened to the exchange. There was dust everywhere in the refugee camp, and some of the barracks had caught fire. Fortunately, the distance between the barracks was not too close, so there wasn't too big of a fire.
The soldier looked around and said, \"There was a group of escapees who were suddenly blown up inside their barracks, so we were investigating their murderer. But in the end, even we got blown up as well. Although we don't know how they managed to do it, I can't help but feel that the two incidents are related.\"
\"Have you all identified any suspects?\" the lieutenant colonel asked.
\"Yes.\" The soldier said, \"We only got targeted after we started investigating this group of suspects.\"
At this moment, Ren Xiaosu's nanomachines were buzzing in his body as he quickly prepared himself for a fight.
If the situation really got out of hand, he would have to kill his way out. His life was saved by someone who gave up his, so no one was going to just take it away like that!
Ren Xiaosu said, \"Actually, this was my fault.\"
Ren Xiaosu was good at self-reflection. From when he first killed the refugees to the chaos he had just created, even though it might look like he had been very cautious and well-prepared, it was not actually the case upon further consideration.
Even if the refugees wanted to kill Yan Liuyuan and threatened the safety of the women in their group, or the fact that Yan Liuyuan might get ambushed at the construction site a day later, Ren Xiaosu should still have used a more stealthy method to resolve the matter instead of resorting to using the Explosive Poker cards.
But of course, he had only chosen to do so due to the inconvenience of his immobility. If he had been able to go to work at the construction site, he would have a 1,001 ways to make sure the refugees died outside in the wilderness. That way, they wouldn't be in such a tight spot right now.
He would have to be more careful in the future. Ren Xiaosu was not thinking about whether or not he should kill anyone, but rather, how to be more cautious when killing them.
\"Bro,\" Yan Liuyuan asked, \"what should we do?\"
\"Return to the barracks and stay put there. Don't go out!\" Ren Xiaosu said calmly.
Wang Fugui and the others looked at Ren Xiaosu's back. When the critical moment arrived, it was still Ren Xiaosu who had to bear the pressure for everyone.
\"Bro…\" Yan Liuyuan said anxiously. He knew well that with Ren Xiaosu's injuries, he would not be able to sustain himself in such an intense battle.
\"Liuyuan,\" Ren Xiaosu said firmly, \"curse me—\"
But before he could finish speaking, an off-road vehicle drove in from outside the refugee camp. It looked like that vehicle was driven here from the north.
The vehicle came to a stop in front of the crowd. A girl wearing a cap jumped out of it and said, \"Where is the person-in-charge? Have him come and see me.\"
That lieutenant colonel frowned and walked over. \"What's your name?\"
The lieutenant colonel had already seen the license plate of the other party's vehicle. It was black with red lettering, and such license plates were only used by the core members of the Yang Consortium. Thus, his tone became more polite.
The girl flashed her ID, and the lieutenant colonel said respectfully, \"So it's you. I've only heard about you but never had the chance to meet you until now.\"
\"Mhm.\" The girl nodded calmly. \"Have you all seen a young man named Ren Xiaosu around here? I'm looking for him.\"