402 As long as we're still around

Actually, Zhang Xiaoman and the others' suspicions were correct. Ren Xiaosu's shadow clone was the one that had taken out the heavy machine gun position. Right after they had set off, he had been using his shadow clone to scout ahead in case they were ambushed.

After experiencing some setbacks, Ren Xiaosu learned how to be more careful and cautious.

However, this was not something to be happy about because he had learned to be this way through someone's suffering.

The level of enlightenment for every individual was equivalent to the depth of their anguish.

Second Company and Third Company's positions were some distance away, with the gap between each of the three companies maintained at around two kilometers. Meanwhile, Ren Xiaosu's shadow clone was only effective within a one-kilometer radius, so he could not send it out to help them.

Suddenly, Zhang Xiaoman said, "Continue marching. We're still a day away from Shichuan Village. Don't let up. We might encounter another ambush at any time."

The Zong Consortium had placed the refugees and private troops at the front lines. With just a single heavy machine gun, they could make Fortress 178's front line troops suffer heavy losses. This was a kind of bizarreness that only happened in the era of firearms and explosives.

As they marched, Zhang Xiaoman asked Ren Xiaosu, "I've actually been quite curious for a while, but you're not very interested in getting promoted, are you?"

"Mhm." Ren Xiaosu said, "After the war, I might be heading to the Central Plains."

"Wait!" Zhang Xiaoman suddenly felt that something was not right. "You're saying you'll leave Fortress 178 after the war?"

"That's right." Ren Xiaosu said, "I have to go find my family. The day before yesterday when y'all were writing your wills, everyone had loved ones that they could write to. But when I wanted to write mine, I realized that there was no one for me to write to."

"Is the Zong Consortium the cause of this?" Zhang Xiaoman asked.

"Yes," Ren Xiaosu said calmly.

Zhang Xiaoman realized it was no wonder Ren Xiaosu was so ruthless towards the Zong Consortium. He even volunteered to lead the main attack for their mission. So it turned out that he actually had a grudge against them.

Although Ren Xiaosu did not usually show any anguish, everyone could clearly feel the loneliness emanating from him. For example, when everyone gathered around the campfire, Ren Xiaosu would sit by himself and look up into the starry sky. Or when everyone was laughing and chatting after a meal, Ren Xiaosu would lean against a big tree and look out into the distance. No one knew what was on his mind.

When Ren Xiaosu came down from Mt. Guan drenched in blood, Zhang Xiaoman had clearly sensed his rage dissipating.

"Did you kill the bandits on Mt. Guan?" Zhang Xiaoman was referring to the main forces who had disappeared from Mt. Guan.

"No." Ren Xiaosu shook his head. "My little bro killed them."

Zhang Xiaoman choked a little. Ren Xiaosu was already this ferocious, yet he had a younger brother who could wipe out an entire mountain of bandits? What kind of a family was this?

Of course, Ren Xiaosu did not explain much.

"But if you leave, wouldn't the commander have placed you in the Razor Sharp Company for nothing?" Zhang Xiaoman asked.

"Does the commander have other intentions by putting me in the Razor Sharp Company? I was the one who asked to be posted to the most dangerous unit," Ren Xiaosu wondered.

"Um, it's nothing, it's nothing," Zhang Xiaoman said. He felt that everyone might have misunderstood the entire situation. How could someone who was going to leave Fortress 178 after the war become the commander of the fortress? Or did Commander Zhang have other ideas?

Throughout their journey, there were a total of three ambush points. Without exception, the heavy machine guns were all taken out by someone.

Ren Xiaosu suddenly asked, "It's not like Zhang Jinglin has any combat skills, so why do all y'all listen to him?"

This doubt had always been on Ren Xiaosu's mind. This group of gruff men from the Northwest respected strong people the most. Although Zhang Jinglin was very capable and had saved many people in the past, that should not be enough to give him command over this forlorn hope, right?

Zhang Xiaoman shook his head. "I don't know, but someone said the commander should never be made to bear arms. Killing others is our job. All the commander has to do is to say who he wants us to kill and how to kill them."

When Zhang Xiaoman used the radio to report to Zhou Yinglong that they had arrived at the rendezvous point, Zhou Yinglong was shocked. "Second Company and Third Company are still on their way. How'd you get there so quickly? Did you encounter any ambushes on the way?"

"The ambushes we encountered were all taken out by a mysterious supernatural being," Zhang Xiaoman said honestly. "We don't know who did it either."

"It wasn't Ren Xiaosu?" Zhou Yinglong asked.

"We also suspected it could have been him, but he was with us the whole time." Zhang Xiaoman said, "Battalion Commander, should we go and provide support to Second Company and Third Company?"

"Negative. The companies have their own routes to take. We can't mess up the plan." Zhou Yinglong said, "They're not under a lot of pressure either, so they'll only be delayed by a bit. The enemies who ambushed them aren't experienced."

"Then what should we do now?" Zhang Xiaoman asked.

"Familiarize yourselves with the terrain first, and make preparations to capture Shichuan Village while waiting to rendezvous with Second Company and Third Company. The other fighting forces of the Forward Strike Battalion will be arriving the day after tomorrow." Then Zhou Yinglong ended their conversation.

Zhang Xiaoman ordered, "1st, 2nd, and 3rd Platoons, you get a short break. 4th, 5th, and 6th Platoons, follow me and start building some simple fortifications to prevent our enemies from coming out of Shichuan Village and ambushing us."

As a matter of fact, even though Zhang Xiaoman was always seen scrounging at the forward operating base and constantly requesting more armaments, he became a fully qualified company commander once he got onto the battlefield. He would unequivocally handle whatever needed to be done during battle.

Through the dense forest, Ren Xiaosu was looking at Shichuan Village in the distance. The abandoned town's high-rise buildings had long collapsed, and all that remained were the tattered two-story buildings.

Zhang Xiaoman said from next to him, "Even the concrete and metal that humans relied on for survival is no match for the effects of time. As long as there's maintenance done on them, those tall buildings will all collapse in a matter of 200 years. In another 500 years, there won't be any buildings left standing here. The cities of humans are not as sturdy as we imagined them to be."

"As long as we're still around, that's good enough," Ren Xiaosu remarked.

Zhang Xiaoman was stunned before smiling and saying, "That's absolutely right. It's fine as long as we're still around."

As they were quite close to Shichuan Village, they could not start a campfire. Otherwise, they would end up becoming targets for artillery fire from the town.

Ren Xiaosu expressed his understanding when he heard this reason. Then, as he had nothing better to do in the middle of the night, he ran far away and started a few campfires out there. As expected, just as the fire burned bright, the artillery from Shichuan Village locked on to the locations where the fires were burning and commenced a heavy bombardment.

Zhang Xiaoman and the others who were sitting behind some sandbags were confused when they heard the artillery fire. They were wondering who the enemies in town were attacking.

When Ren Xiaosu came back after a while, Zhang Xiaoman asked, "Where'd you go?"

"Oh." Ren Xiaosu explained, "Didn't you say that campfires would attract the artillery? I went out to start some campfires. I thought that it'd be good if I could make them waste their shells. The troops in this Shichuan Village are an isolated force, so they definitely can't restock their ammo. Who knows? We might be able to reduce the number of casualties on our side this way."

Ren Xiaosu was just giving it a try and did not really think he would succeed.

Meanwhile, Zhang Xiaoman was thinking about what he had just done. He wondered how Ren Xiaosu's mind even worked in the first place.