It wasn’t until afternoon that P5092 regained consciousness. He slowly opened his eyes and realized he was not at the military base at the Great Wall anymore. For a while, he was still in a daze and unsure of the situation.
Then he began to remember some things. Two words kept revolving in his mind.
A delighted voice called out from the side, “You’re awake?”
A bad feeling arose within P5092. He slowly turned around and looked at Ren Xiaosu and Yang Xiaojin, who were sitting nearby. “Where am I? What happened….”
“We’re on our way to the Prosperous Northwest!” Ren Xiaosu said happily.
Yes, it was precisely these two words. While he was dreaming just now, these two words kept echoing in his mind and could not be cast aside.
P5092 closed his eyes and attempted to “wake up” again. He felt like he might still be dreaming, and the dream was even a little bizarre.
But when he opened his eyes again, nothing changed, and Ren Xiaosu was still smiling as well.
Ren Xiaosu said patiently, “Didn’t we agree to go to the Prosperous Northwest together? Have you forgotten?”
At a certain moment, P5092 even felt like he was in a horror movie where he was being dragged into the basement by the serial killer. The other party’s tone sounded like he was some kind of psycho.
P5092 thought for a long time before saying, “When did I say I was going to the Prosperous Northwest?”
Ren Xiaosu was stunned. “You didn’t contradict me when I said that we were going to be one family soon.”
“That was because I wanted you to join the Pyro Company.” P5092 explained, “When you said we were going to be family soon, I thought you were thinking of joining the Pyro Company!”
“Oh.” Only at this moment did Ren Xiaosu realize the two of them had always been talking about different things.
However, it was not a big deal. Ren Xiaosu said, “In any case, we’re heading to the Prosperous Northwest.”
P5092 did not know whether to laugh or cry. “So you really are from Fortress 178? Why were you with the Wang Consortium’s medical team that went to the Kong Consortium then?”
“It’s a long story. I went to the Kong Consortium’s Stronghold 31 to save someone, but I got stopped by you just as I was about to leave. Now that I think about it, that was when your fate got intertwined with the Northwest,” Ren Xiaosu said with a smile.
P5092 shook his head. “I don’t wish to go to the Northwest.”
Ren Xiaosu said in seriousness, “No, you want to.”
P5092 was speechless.
“Wouldn’t it be great if we went to the Northwest?” Ren Xiaosu said, “If we went there, we wouldn’t have to face the troublesome matters that you experienced at the Pyro Company. No one will fight to achieve personal glory, nor will there be a need to gain fame or fortune. If it’s yours, it’s yours. If it’s not, it’s useless even if you fight for it.”
“How can there be such a place?” P5092 sneered and said, “There’s nowhere in the world where fame and fortune don’t exist. As long as there’s people, there’s politics. It’s the same everywhere. Although I don’t know much about the Northwest, I do know what people are like.”
Ren Xiaosu gave it some thought. “You’re right. There actually are a lot of such incidents even in the Northwest. But since you’re tired of all this and don’t even want to be the commander-in-chief of the Pyro Company’s military corps, you can just head to the Northwest and retire behind the scenes. If anything happens, I’ll take the blame.”
P5092 wondered, “What exactly do you want me to do in the Northwest?”
“Whatever you did previously. You can just continue doing the same thing.” Ren Xiaosu said, “I lack someone good at waging war.”
P5092 asked in seriousness, “Against who?”
Ren Xiaosu suddenly realized this question was very important to P5092. He said solemnly to P5092, “Fortress 178’s mission is to protect, and we will never initiate an invasion on others. This is highly consistent with your philosophy, but the only thing is that we don’t sacrifice our comrades like you did.”
P5092 shook his head. “It’s not that I want to sacrifice them. But to achieve the final victory, everything and anything can be sacrificed. If we get soft on the battlefield, a lot more people will get sacrificed later.”
Yang Xiaojin finally spoke up, “This is the reason why he needs you. He’s not suited to be a military commander. But if you plan to sacrifice him for the cause in the future, he might just end up surprising you. I feel that the two of you complement each other quite well.”
P5092 and Ren Xiaosu looked at Yang Xiaojin in silence. After a while, Ren Xiaosu said, “That’s true….”
P5092 finally asked, “What if I still don’t want to go after your persuasion? What will you do with me?”
Ren Xiaosu said with a smile, “I’ve never thought about that possibility before. You have to go no matter what.”
P5092 sighed and said, “Then why are you still talking so much….”
“To show you my respect.” Ren Xiaosu said with a smile, “The ancients have their three visits to the thatched cottage. Aren’t I just following the ancients’ way of expressing my sincerity to you?”
Yang Xiaojin glanced at Ren Xiaosu. The two of them had discussed in private how to convince P5092 to join the Prosperous Northwest. She had suggested that Ren Xiaosu follow the “three visits to the thatched cottage” so he could move P5092 with his sincerity.
However, what Ren Xiaosu said back then was different from what he was saying now.
At the time, Ren Xiaosu said it would be very troublesome to visit the thatched cottage thrice, so he should just burn it down and leave him with no place to stay. When that happened, wouldn’t he have no choice but to join the Prosperous Northwest? That was how everyone in the Northwest did it!
Yang Xiaojin was floored for a while. She thought it was no wonder everyone said the Northwest was full of those damned fucks. Perhaps it was because they did things like that too often.
And the reason why Ren Xiaosu could get along so well with those people from the Northwest was because their personalities were compatible.
Ren Xiaosu suddenly said to P5092, “Since you’re no longer part of the Pyro Company, how ’bout calling you by your given name, Ling Han? It’ll symbolize your new start.”
However, P5092 shook his head. “I prefer the name P5092 now. Just call me that.”
Ren Xiaosu was stunned. He suddenly realized that while he might find it inappropriate to use a serial number as a name, it symbolized all the youth and hard work P5092 had put into his ideals of protecting mankind in the Central Plains. It also symbolized the greatest glory of his life. Behind this number were the countless lives of the barbarians that had been killed. It was both a name and a badge of honor.
“Then I’ll continue calling you P5092,” Ren Xiaosu said with a chuckle. For some reason, he felt that he had gotten quite used to calling the other party by his serial number. It was as though it would feel a little odd if he did not call him by that.
Perhaps P5092 was using this as a way to tell Ren Xiaosu that even though he had temporarily agreed to go to the Northwest, his ambition remained the same and his priority was always to protect mankind in the Central Plains.
Therefore, if their ideologies clashed in the future, and Ren Xiaosu decided to rule the world by waging war in the Central Plains, P5092 would leave.
However, Ren Xiaosu was not worried about that at all. He was not an ambitious person.
“By the way,” Ren Xiaosu asked, “what’s your opinion of this war? Can the Pyro Company win? With so many barbarians coming to battle the Pyro Company, they must not have many troops left on the Wang Consortium’s side. If the Wang Consortium joins forces with the Pyro Company, would the chances of winning be higher?”
“It’s not that simple.” P5092 shook his head. “I previously thought there might not be many barbarians on the Wang Consortium’s side either, but now, I feel that I might’ve made a wrong judgment. This could be another trap.”
