477 First come, first served
Ren Xiaosu’s lifestyle did not change because of the attention he was getting from the escapees. When you got hungry, you would just have to work and find ways to survive. This was the worldview he had been inculcated with since childhood. No one owed you a living, and you had to rely on yourself for everything.
Although life in town was very cruel, as long as you were willing to work, there would always be a way to survive.
In the end, the beautiful woman did not manage to get anything from Ren Xiaosu. However, she seemed to be filled with humiliation and anger as she presented herself to a provisions store owner in town.
The boss had a mouth full of yellow teeth and did not wash his hair and feet. If this were the past, the woman would not even have looked at him.
But surprisingly, even though she had presented herself to someone, she still secretly gave the food she had received to her husband who scolded her earlier. This puzzled Ren Xiaosu a little.
But there were too many strange things in this world that Ren Xiaosu did not have the time to waste on.
This woman was not the only one. There were also many other escapees who tried to seek help from Ren Xiaosu. They all hoped Ren Xiaosu would offer them a bite on account of them being fellow former Zong Consortium residents.
The escapees even discussed with each other to see who used to be from the same stronghold as Ren Xiaosu, and whether they had seen this young man around before. This way, they might just be able to get closer to him if there was an acquaintance who could link them up.
But slowly, the escapees realized none of them knew Ren Xiaosu at all...
Not in their wildest dream would they have expected that Ren Xiaosu was not from the Zong Consortium at all. Rather, it turned out he was actually the supernatural being who destroyed Stronghold 146 all by himself in the deep of night.
When the escapees finally stopped pestering Ren Xiaosu, he received a new text on his cell phone. “Stronghold 62, D-rank. Any takers, please reply.”
He had finally received a D-rank mission. Ren Xiaosu suddenly felt a little touched. He immediately replied, “Accept mission.”
The moment he sent it out, the other party replied with a new text. “The target is Ma Dewei, a manager at the sand plant outside of Stronghold 62. He once killed nine refugee workers. Reward: 20,000 yuan.”
The text was simple, and there were two pictures attached as well. One was Ma Dewei’s picture, and the other was a blueprint of the plant.
As for how to use this information to kill Ma Dewei, that would be up to the hitmen themselves.
Ren Xiaosu realized the organization behind this cell phone was probably also trying to protect the hitmen by assigning them specific ranked missions. It was to prevent the weaker hitmen from foolishly sending themselves to their deaths.
The missions that D-ranks could receive would not even require them to enter the strongholds, and the targets were just factory managers.
Legend had it that it would be extremely costly for the Anjing House to undertake a mission. However, this referred to the missions that were undertaken by the actual members of the Anjing House. But according to the storyteller, people like Ren Xiaosu were extras who would not even pass the trials to join the Anjing House.
Ren Xiaosu immediately set off for Stronghold 62. His current location was about 190 kilometers away from the target, so it would probably take around three to four hours to get there if he were to use the steam locomotive to travel in the wilderness.
Even now, Ren Xiaosu had to be a little cautious when driving the steam locomotive. As such, it would be better to travel there on foot in case he were seen by others along the way.
In the tavern, the guests were all puzzled when that youth who usually sat by the window did not appear today.
The storyteller’s granddaughter asked the waiter curiously, “Did he come by today?”
“I didn’t see him.” The waiter shook his head and teased, “Why, Xiaolu, you miss him?”
The girl named Xiaolu rolled her eyes and kicked the man in the ass. “Go and get the steamed buns for me. My grandpa’s making me go out to get more stories.”
“Alright!”
The customers in the shop were starting to get used to the young man sitting in the tavern every day. Now that the young man had suddenly disappeared, they found it a little difficult to adjust to.
Some people even wondered if he had spent all his money already. After all, not even an esquire living in town could handle coming to the tavern every day.
Speaking of which, that esquire dressed really poorly too.
Xiaolu was bored stiff as she stood by the window where Ren Xiaosu often sat. She was leaning her arms on the windowsill and waiting for the waiter to bring the steamed buns to her.
In this town, only she and her grandpa knew that Ren Xiaosu was not an ordinary person. In fact, he was even the most extraordinary kind there was.
...
Ren Xiaosu slowly walked into the town at Stronghold 62. He smiled and asked around if there was any place near Stronghold 62 that he could get some work to do. He told the people he approached that he had been starving for several days and wanted to look for a factory where he could do some manual labor.
The people in town were used to this. There were many refugees like Ren Xiaosu who wanted to look for a factory to work at.
Someone told him that if he wanted to fire bricks at the brick kiln, he could go north; if he wanted to carry ore from the mines, go west; and if he wanted to scoop out sand, go south. Any of the other factories required people with craftsmanship and would only take those who were skilled, so it would not be feasible to head to those places to earn money.
Ren Xiaosu nodded and thanked the person. Then he walked south. He looked up at the sky. It was only noon now, so there was no need for him to rush. It would be better if he carried out the assassination at night.
He had once killed a factory manager. Wang Congyang’s elder brother, Wang Dongyang, had died to his hand.
It was really easy to kill a factory manager. Although they were armed with guns, Ren Xiaosu could even ignore it if it were just a pistol...
But this did not mean that Ren Xiaosu would rush over recklessly and kill the target. He still hoped he could do it safely by always staying undercover.
In the wee hours of the night, Ren Xiaosu, who had been resting in a patch of bushes in the wilderness, suddenly opened his eyes.
He walked toward the factory with cautious footsteps. When he reached the outer wall of the factory, he leaped over it and went inside.
In the dead of night, no one noticed an uninvited guest had broken into the factory.
Ren Xiaosu hid in the shadows and calmly watched the patrolling refugee workers pass him by. They did not even seem to have realized Ren Xiaosu’s presence at all.
After they left, Ren Xiaosu quietly climbed up the building. But when he reached the fourth floor, he was stunned. This was because he saw through the window that Ma Dewei was already lying in a pool of blood.
What the fuck!
Ren Xiaosu was dumbfounded. He had come all the way here and had been hiding in the bushes all night, but the mission target had already died?
Wait. Ren Xiaosu suddenly realized he might have missed out on something very important. He recalled the process of accepting the mission. Since the text for the mission was sent out as a group message, it meant a lot of people could receive the message. So a lot of people could accept it!
Ren Xiaosu sent a text. “Has someone completed the Ma Dewei mission? Wasn’t I the one who accepted the mission?”
In the end, the other party replied, “First come, first served.”
Ren Xiaosu felt a throbbing pain in the back of his head. He would actually have to steal away the mission from others?!
Then why the fuck did he go through all that effort to stay low? Wasn’t that just troubling himself for nothing?!