Stronghold 73 was in complete chaos now. The garrison base that was set on fire, and the assassination of the highest-ranking military commander, Zhou Yifei, had a much greater impact on the stronghold than the Riders had expected.
Suddenly, alarms went off everywhere inside the stronghold. The bell used to signal the time in the center of Stronghold 73 was struck 12 times to alert the Zhou Consortium’s troops.
The garrison troops who were scattered across the stronghold started mustering while a large number of staff members started burning documents in Zhou Shiji’s official residence.
They sent truckloads of documents to the incinerator at the official residence’s backyard, along with computers, flash drives, and paper documents. All confidential documents above Class C had to be destroyed.
Ren Xiaosu, Yang Xiaojin, and the 12 Riders, a total of 14 people, had come to Stronghold 73. No one expected them to arrive so quickly, nor did anyone expect that just the 14 of them could cause such a huge impact on a stronghold.
These were 14 supernatural beings, and everyone was finally reminded of Ren Xiaosu’s nickname as well.
They also remembered the threats made by the Riders when they left Luoyang City.
When the Riders left, they attacked some military facilities of the Zhou Consortium, the Kong Consortium, and the Wang Consortium before disappearing without a trace. The Riders knew full well that only by working behind the scenes would they be most threatening.
However, they still did not expect that someone would assassinate Jiang Xu in Luoyang City when they had already issued those threats. This made the Riders exceptionally furious.
Perhaps the Riders were not enough to destroy the entire Zhou Consortium. But after this incident, the Zhou Consortium would definitely decline under pressure from the Wang Consortium.
In the era of the “Rise of Gods,” a single person’s rage could cause blood to be spilled across hundreds of miles.
Before Xu Ke took over the Qinghe Group, Jiang Xu remained true to his belief in that old and run-down newspaper firm that the truth had to be reported. At that time, Xu Ke’s father had even brought young Xu Ke to the newspaper firm and said to him, “Greet uncle. This uncle is a really impressive man.”
At that time, Hope Media was still an impoverished newspaper firm. Jiang Xu and Ji Yi had to endure the extremes of winter and summer while working in their office. Although Xu Ke’s father wanted to help Jiang Xu, he did not have the courage to face the pressure from the various consortiums.
It was only after Xu Ke took over the reins of the Qinghe Group 14 years ago that the current Hope Media was established. He used the Qinghe Group’s seven satellites to help Jiang Xu deliver his manuscripts on time. Only then did Hope Media become widely known and was able to publish their newspapers to every stronghold.
As Xu Ke was a Rider, he was more courageous than his father.
Xu Ke still had feelings for Hope Media and Jiang Xu. If he knew that someone would assassinate Jiang Xu, he would definitely have remained behind at Luoyang City.
Unfortunately, there were no “ifs” to speak of in the world. At that time, there were too many escapees in the north who needed their help.
It was extremely tough for the women and children escapees during an evacuation, as their safety could not be ensured, and the Pyro Company troops might even be attacked by the expeditionary army’s guerrilla troops. Since the Riders were aware of all these matters, they had to go and help them.
There was already a garrison of over a 1,000 soldiers standing guard outside Zhou Shiji’s official residence.
Zhou Shiji was sitting in his office and brooding over something. He wore a tight-fitting suit and did not have a hair out of place.
His aide-de-camp knocked on the door and entered. “Sir, we should leave. The safe house in the official residence is no longer going to help us deal with the enemy this time. We must go now.”
There was a safe house in the basement of the official residence, and there was plenty of water and food inside to last Zhou Shiji until the main forces arrived.
However, everyone knew all about the enemy they were facing this time, so it was decided it would be too dangerous to remain here and defend from a fixed location.
Zhou Shiji stood up. He arranged all the papers and pens on the table neatly before walking out calmly.
As the highest-ranking official of the Zhou Consortium, how chaotically would the people under him react if he started panicking first?
The outside of the official residence was covered with loosely laid white pebbles and beautiful pine trees around it. The stone pebbles were washed on a fixed schedule weekly, so they always looked smooth and white.
Zhou Shiji walked out of the official residence and got into a bulletproof car. The long convoy of vehicles then advanced towards the south of the stronghold under the protection of the garrison troops.
Zhou Shiji asked, “Is Zhou Yifei confirmed dead?”
“Affirmative, sir.”
“And Zhou Shoushi as well?”
“Yes.”
Zhou Shiji thought for a moment before saying, “Then we can’t head to Safe House 7 anymore. This retreat route was personally drawn up by Zhou Shoushi. Right now, the enemy will definitely know that’s where we’re heading.”
Zhou Shiji’s secretary was taken aback. “You think that Zhou Shoushi will betray you?”
Zhou Shiji laughed. “You think he won’t? Let’s reroute. We’ll leave the stronghold in the opposite direction and join up with the main forces directly. I believe the enemies have already gathered at Safe House 7.”
The secretary picked up the walkie-talkie. “We’re shifting to Plan C. We’ll leave the stronghold via Mulan Avenue. Tell the main forces rushing over from the North to hurry up and ask them when they can pick us up!”
Zhou Shiji looked out the car window. He and Zhou Shoushi had worked together for nearly 20 years and would often second-guess one another’s intentions. They even sometimes plotted against each other. It wasn’t all united within the consortium.
In his opinion, Zhou Shoushi was a spineless man, so it would not be unusual if he betrayed his comrades in the face of danger.
Therefore, Zhou Shiji could not follow the contingency plan drafted by Zhou Shoushi to retreat now that real danger had arrived. This was especially so when the enemy had gotten to Zhou Shoushi first.
But at this moment, when the convoy of vehicles passed under the Sanjintan Interchange, a huge shadow suddenly leaped down from the bridge.
The garrison troops at the rear shouted over the convoy radio, “Vehicles in front, take avoidance measures! There’s an armored being attacking from the bridge above!”
The armored being they were referring to was naturally Ren Xiaosu in his nanomachine suit.
Not only was Ren Xiaosu already waiting here in his armor, he also had his black saber drawn. He was intending to pull Zhou Shiji out of the bulletproof car.
Although the car might be bulletproof, it would not stop the black saber from cutting through it.
Not only that, but the sound of a sniper rifle firing in the distance also rang out. The sniper who was stationed atop a tall building also started taking revenge.
The 12 Riders appeared on the periphery of the battlefield. Instead of engaging in close combat, they had hidden in a residential building and were shooting at the enemies through the windows.
Perhaps Zhou Shiji had not expected Ren Xiaosu to actually appear here.
Just as Zhou Shiji understood Zhou Shoushi, so did Zhou Shoushi.
Before dying, Zhou Shoushi specifically told Ren Xiaosu, “Remember, Zhou Shiji and I have worked together for over 20 years, but we’ve also fought for as long. If he knows you’ve already gotten to me, he definitely won’t head for the safe house in the south. Because I was the one who prepared that location for him.
“The main forces of the Zhou Consortium’s reinforcements currently on their way over from the North are an armored brigade, so they are definitely the ones closest to getting to Stronghold 73. Zhou Shiji will definitely head north and pass through the Sanjintan Interchange!
“I’ll leave you to wait for him on the bridge while I wait for him in hell.”
At the time, Ren Xiaosu felt those two people were probably a couple in their previous lives. They had such a love-hate relationship with each other that before Zhou Shoushi died, he even insisted on bringing Zhou Shiji down with him, even if that meant destroying the Zhou Consortium.
