When Ren Xiaosu saw Stronghold 178 from afar, he was in awe.
This stronghold was utterly different from any of the other strongholds he had seen. The towering and ancient stronghold was marred with “scars,” and there were even large areas of patched up scrapes. It looked like the stronghold had been through multiple collapses and reconstructions. Over and over again, bad luck came and went, but it remained standing nonetheless.
Even though the strongholds Ren Xiaosu came across in the past had shown signs of aging, their walls had never taken such serious damage before. Comparatively, they looked to be in really good condition.
But the walls of Stronghold 178 were different. At first sight, Ren Xiaosu got the feeling that this wall seemed to have tenacity built into it.
He suddenly understood why people referred to Stronghold 178 as a fortress.
This was a fortress-type stronghold that was truly built for war. There was far more attention put into the building of its defenses than any other strongholds that Ren Xiaosu had been to.
Zhou Yinglong said proudly, “We all call this Fortress 178. It’s totally different from those weak strongholds out there!”
Ren Xiaosu stood under the towering walls of Fortress 178, while the soldiers on the tall walls were on alert. But as they had arrived with Zhang Jinglin, the soldiers on the walls did not issue any warnings to stop them.
According to Xu Xianchu, a stranger would find it very difficult to get close to this stronghold. Without Ren Xiaosu’s recommendation letter, it would also have been impossible for him to get in.
Ren Xiaosu suddenly asked, “I wrote a few recommendation letters for others as well. Did they come to Fortress 178?”
Xu Xianchu shook his head. “No.”
“Something must’ve happened to them then.” Ren Xiaosu sighed.
Then Ren Xiaosu dug a bullet out of the wall. “Why’re there bullets lodged in the walls?”
Fortress 178 was naturally constructed to defend against enemies. But from what Ren Xiaosu remembered, everyone had said that Fortress 178 was built to defend against wild animals.
Everyone said there were fewer wild animals in the interior because humans had chased them to the outer perimeter of the stronghold ring. Meanwhile, Fortress 178 towered over the Northwest to prevent a large number of terrifying wild animals from invading inland.
But how could bullets lodged in the wall be explained? It was obviously left behind by an enemy who had fired at the walls. And only humans knew how to use firearms.
Xu Xianchu smiled and said, “You’ll understand in the future. In this era of firearms and explosives, the only true enemies of humans are humans themselves.”
These words sounded somewhat familiar to Ren Xiaosu. A librarian named An Yuqian had said something similar before.
However, An Yuqian was referring to how science was uncontrollable and that humans would create a power so massive they could not control it in the end.
But Xu Xianchu was more straightforward, stating the enemies of Fortress 178 were also humans.
The thick and heavy gate of Fortress 178 slowly lifted. The rumble sounded like an enormous dragon roaring.
As the group walked in, everyone was surprised to find that although Fortress 178 looked old, it was unusually clean and tidy.
Ren Xiaosu had thought this place where burly men from the Northwest lived would be very dirty and messy, but that was not the case.
After passing through the gate, they ended up on a very long street. At the end of the street, a gigantic copper bell hung high above in a tower.
Xu Xianchu described to Ren Xiaosu, “This bell is a little different from the one at our previous stronghold. While the ones at the other strongholds are used for telling the time, the bells here at Fortress 178 only ring in warning. When the bell rings, everyone in the military prepares to fight to their deaths.”
“When was the last time it rang?” Ren Xiaosu asked.
“Sixteen years ago.” Xu Xianchu lamented, “It sucks that I wasn’t here to see that sight. Many people in the interior don’t even know there was a war here. Fortress 178 is like a barrier that holds all of the dangers and darkness on the outside.”
There were many common folk on the streets, and they were all dressed in cloth clothing. Neon signs were rarely seen outside the shops, and there were barely any private cars driving on the road. Occasionally, the military would pass by in an off-road vehicle.
Curious, Wang Shengyin said, “This place looks really primitive.”
Xu Xianchu said, “We don’t have enough electricity. The new power plant at the outer perimeter is still being built. However, there isn’t enough manpower in Fortress 178, so the construction process is very slow. We used to have a very large power station, but that was destroyed in the war.”
“I don’t think there’s enough resources either.” Wang Shengyin said, “The Northwest is quite suitable for planting cotton. There’s a good amount of light, and water from the snow mountains and groundwater are also abundant. Why didn’t you all grow more cotton?”
Xu Xianchu looked at her and said, “We have to make sure we can fill our stomachs first.”
Ren Xiaosu looked at the sights around Fortress 178. To be honest, it was a little dingy. But for some reason, he found this place much more comfortable than any of the other strongholds.
When the pedestrians saw Zhang Jinglin’s convoy passing through the streets, they did not deliberately fawn upon him. Instead, they greeted him as though they were old friends before getting back to their own business.
Xu Xianchu gave Ren Xiaosu a look. “Xiaosu, can that black medicine of yours be mass produced? We have some people here who got frostbite during the winter and can’t seem to heal. Furthermore, we’ve always had a lack of medicine for our battles. If we had your black medicine, that would be great news for our Fortress 178.”
Xu Xianchu had heard about Ren Xiaosu being a doctor in town, and Zhang Jinglin also knew about this.
Ren Xiaosu shook his head. “There’s no way to mass produce it.”
Xu Xianchu was a little disappointed. “That’s alright. When the trade routes are opened, we can start buying medicine from the Central Plains.”
Fortress 178 lacked not only medicine, but also clothes, food, and so on. For Zhang Jinglin, who had just returned to Fortress 178, reopening the trade routes was an extremely urgent matter.
Zhang Jinglin had spent several months eliminating the turmoil in Fortress 178. Now it was time to consider the development of the fortress.
Xu Xianchu arranged for Ren Xiaosu and the others to stay in a small building. “This is where we entertain our guests. Please don’t mind if it’s a little bare.”
Ren Xiaosu shook his head. “It’s already quite nice.”
Wang Shengzhi, Wang Shengyin, and the others might not have stayed in such a dilapidated place before, but since Ren Xiaosu had even lived in a shack before, there was no way he would mind it.
A little embarrassed, Xu Xianchu replied, “Xiaosu, your wound hasn’t healed yet. I’ll go to the Supply Division to apply for some medicine for you. However, we’re missing a lot of drugs in the fortress, so I might not be able to get any….”
Ren Xiaosu smiled and said, “Don’t worry, I still have some black medicine with me.”
“That’s good, that’s good.” Xu Xianchu rubbed his hands together and said with a laugh, “Then would you have any to spare…”
Xu Xianchu was a little embarrassed to say this out loud. One of the soldiers under him had gotten injured during his training, and his wound still hadn’t healed. In fact, the Supply Division had run out of medicine, so he could only live with the injury. Now that Ren Xiaosu had come, rather than taking good care of him, he even ended up asking him for something. What the hell was he thinking?
But Ren Xiaosu stuffed a small porcelain bottle into Xu Xianchu’s hands. “Don’t mention it.”
In the past, even when Xu Xianchu was at his lowest, he was still willing to give away the remaining half of his cornbread to Ren Xiaosu. In that case, Ren Xiaosu could not be petty towards Xu Xianchu.
