The First Order

Ren Xiaosu had a long dream.

In his dream, the Potato Shooters Yang Xiaojin and he had planted in their backyard at Anning East Road had actually bloomed.

In that instant, the entire world seemed to have become filled with birdsong and fragrant flowers. Even their roof was blooming with white flowers.

But suddenly, a huge flame ignited and everything was incinerated.

The entire world was now filled with a strong stench. It smelled of burnt leather, and there was even a whiff of aged vinegar.

Ren Xiaosu slowly opened his eyes and saw the Great Hoodwinker sitting next to his bed and scratching his feet.

Outside the barracks window, it was early in the morning. The sunlight was creeping in through the window bit by bit.

Ren Xiaosu said with a deadpan expression, "Take your smelly feet and get lost!"

"Future Commander, you're awake!" The Great Hoodwinker put on his shoes in surprise. "You've slept for a really long time. I thought there was something wrong with your body!"

"How long did I sleep for?" Ren Xiaosu asked. He looked up and saw P5092, Wang Yun, Ji Zi'ang, Xun Yeyu, and the others all squeezed inside the barracks at the outpost.

"16 hours." The Great Hoodwinker said, "We rushed over as soon as we received Commander Zhang's notice. Ms. Xiaojin and Ms. Yingxue are standing guard outside while us men guard the inside."

"Why did Mr. Zhang call you all over?" Ren Xiaosu wondered.

"He said you might not have had any rest in a long time, so you'll be more vulnerable when you're asleep. He got us to stand guard here in case anything happens to you," the Great Hoodwinker said.

Ren Xiaosu suddenly understood. He had not slept for more than 40 hours and had also been in a high-intensity chase by Dusk to keep him away from the Central Plains. Indeed, he really could not take much more anymore.

With his alertness, he did not even notice the presence of the Great Hoodwinker and the others around him.

However, Ren Xiaosu suddenly felt that it might be because he subconsciously trusted the Great Hoodwinker and company, so he was not awoken by their arrival.

When he used to live in town, Yan Liuyuan's presence would also not wake him up when he went near him.

"Does Mr. Zhang have any orders?" Ren Xiaosu asked.

"The entire command headquarters think we might have to evacuate," the Great Hoodwinker said.

Currently, communications between the Central Plains and the entire Northwest had been cut.

Even Ren Xiaosu, who had personally gone to the Central Plains, could not confirm whether the entirety of the Central Plains had really fallen under Zero's control.

But when it came to war, those who liked taking their chances would always lose badly. Therefore, the Northwest Army immediately decided to formulate its battle strategy based on the worst-case scenario as the situation was unclear.

The strongholds to the east of Fortress 178, such as Stronghold 143, Stronghold 144, Stronghold 145, and Stronghold 146, were all located in the plains.

The areas controlled by these strongholds were not suitable for fighting large-scale wars at all. If they insisted on defending those places, the Northwest Army's losses would probably increase by an additional 30%.

This 30% was not simply just a statistic. It signified tens of thousands of lives!

Zhang Jinglin would not risk the lives of tens of thousands of people just to figure out how many enemies there were.

Therefore, their best choice was to evacuate to the west of Stronghold 143.

The terrain there was more suitable for mounting a defense.

The Great Hoodwinker said, "If the entirety of the Central Plains has already fallen under the control of the artificial intelligence, Stronghold 143 will not be our final destination. We'll need to have a backup plan for our evacuation."

"Where does the backup plan say we retreat to?" Ren Xiaosu asked calmly.

"To Fortress 178," the Great Hoodwinker answered.

Ren Xiaosu frowned. If the situation was really this bad, it would mean the Northwest was facing the largest migration since the era of the wastelands started.

It was not only the troops that had to retreat but the civilians here as well.

That was millions of residents and refugees. Could they retreat just like that?

Disregarding whether it would violate the Northwest Army's mission if they did not bring the residents to retreat with them, just leaving so many people behind for Zero would probably put human civilization more at risk.

"Where's Mr. Zhang?" Ren Xiaosu asked.

"He will arrive in Stronghold 144 this afternoon." The Great Hoodwinker said, "The plan to migrate everyone westwards and retreat will have to begin today."

From this moment on, all of human civilization was in a race against time.

Ren Xiaosu got up. "Everyone, follow me back to Stronghold 144. Tell Zhou Yinglong to evacuate the outposts at the front line as well. Get them to report back to their own units. There's no need to stay here and increase our casualties."

At this moment, everyone realized Ren Xiaosu had already stepped into his role as the future commander.

Zhou Yinglong was the commander of the 3rd Field Division. If Ren Xiaosu commanded him based on his status as the commander of the 6th Field Division, it would not be enough. He would have to use his status as the future commander of Fortress 178.

However, the Great Hoodwinker was stunned. "That won't do. Future Commander, these outposts were originally built for the sake of war. Every outpost has worked hard to set up telephone lines so they can scout the enemy's situation and buy time for the troops at the rear. Although no one wishes to sacrifice themselves, we will really be left blind if they retreat as well. At that time, no one will know where the enemy has reached and when they will arrive at our cities."

Ren Xiaosu shook his head and shouted out of the window, "Zhou Yingxue!"

"Yes!" The maidservant outside the window responded, "Master, what are you calling me for?"

Ren Xiaosu said, "After we leave, you'll stay behind at this outpost. If you discover any signs of the enemy, report it to the rear immediately. You may evacuate on your own after that."

"OK," Zhou Yingxue answered reluctantly.

With Zhou Yingxue around, no one could stop her even if the enemy arrived.

The Great Hoodwinker and P5092 looked at each other. Everyone wondered if it was appropriate to place such a powerful superhuman like Zhou Yingxue here as a sentry.

Actually, this plan was the least risky, but Zhou Yingxue would surely feel very unhappy, right?

Ren Xiaosu tidied up his clothes and walked out of the door. He looked at Zhou Yingxue and said, "Don't look so unhappy. After the war is over, I'll give control of the entire Alliance of Strongholds' black markets to you."

"Really?" Zhou Yingxue's eyes lit up. "The entire Alliance of Strongholds?"

"Mhm." Ren Xiaosu nodded.

"Thank you, Master." Zhou Yingxue beamed.

Zhou Yingxue had not fully realized the seriousness of the problem yet. To be honest, Ren Xiaosu was unsure if the Alliance of Strongholds would still exist after this war.

However, the Great Hoodwinker and the others discovered that even though Zhou Yingxue usually acted very domineeringly in the black market and at Stronghold 144, she was as obedient as a kitten in front of the future commander and Ms. Xiaojin.

On the way back, Ren Xiaosu even saw someone driving an excavator along the river to relieve some of the tributaries.

The Great Hoodwinker explained from the front passenger seat, "The irrigation works are already halfway complete, and the irrigated farmlands have already reached 50% coverage. It's really such a pity to have to retreat to Fortress 178 like that."

Ren Xiaosu looked out of the window in a daze and wondered if he was really cursed. Every time he was ready to settle down somewhere, unforeseen circumstances would destroy the home he had placed his hopes in.

Next to him, Yang Xiaojin seemed to have guessed what he was thinking. She suddenly held his hand tightly. "We aren't evacuating from here because of you. It's because there's no peace in the world to speak of. This chaotic world was not brought about or caused by you. On the contrary, with you protecting this land, I believe we can definitely win."

Ren Xiaosu nodded.

Actually, be it Luo Lan, Zhou Qi, or Qing Yi from the Qing Consortium, or Ren Xiaosu, the Great Hoodwinker, or Zhang Jinglin from Fortress 178, when they realized the kind of power the artificial intelligence, Zero, possessed, they would all feel a sense of powerlessness.

It was the feeling of despair when a 100-meter-tall tsunami came crashing down on you and you had nowhere to escape to.

However, Ren Xiaosu knew there was another way to resolve the crisis. Moreover, it seemed like this was the only way left.

Yang Xiaojin suddenly whispered, "It might sound a little selfish to say this, but no matter how bad the situation gets, I don't want you to sacrifice yourself to save others, not even me, understand? We'll definitely be able to find another way."

After the trip to Stronghold 88, there were no longer any secrets between Ren Xiaosu and Yang Xiaojin. Therefore, Yang Xiaojin also knew very well what Ren Xiaosu's last resort was.

But to her, if the price of saving this world was for Ren Xiaosu to sacrifice himself, she was absolutely unwilling to have it.

Ren Xiaosu smiled. "It won't come to that."

…

The group first returned to the garrison camp of the 6th Field Division. After all the core members gathered in the conference room, Ren Xiaosu stated the agenda. "Our discussion today will touch on how to arrange an orderly evacuation of the entire Northwest's residents. Everyone, remember, our motivation for organizing their evacuation is definitely not down to benevolence. We mustn't leave them behind for the AI's picking."

Zhang Xiaoman wondered, "Does the AI really have that many nanomachines? There are millions of residents in the Northwest. Can it really take control of so many people?"

"We can only plan for the worst." P5092 explained, "We don't know if it has the ability to do so, but we can only assume that it does. We have to prepare two plans of action now. One is to evacuate, and the other is to face the enemy."

There were too many things involved in the evacuation process. The destruction of confidential documents, the transfer of food reserves and the different kinds of supplies, personnel registration, and how to evacuate everyone in groups. This was actually a very large project to undertake.

It was definitely not as simple as announcing to the residents to quickly flee today and they would all escape together.

As for the other plan to face the enemy, it was even more difficult.

It would take a long time for more than a million people to evacuate. Based on Wang Yuexi's estimation, the entire evacuation plan would take a month to complete. But based on Ren Xiaosu's estimation, the human crowd from the Central Plains would arrive at Stronghold 144 in at most half a month.

They would have to fight for an additional half a month's time to fully evacuate everyone.

As Stronghold 144 was closest to the Central Plains, the 6th Field Division was duty-bound to garrison here.

Ren Xiaosu thought for a moment and looked at P5092. "Retreat with your former Pyro Company troops and participate in the construction of the defensive line at the rear. I'll inform Mr. Zhang about this. Zhou Yinglong's 3rd Field Division is on its way heading south. When the time comes, they'll take over the defensive duties."

Earlier, he had reached an agreement with P5092 that after the war in the Kingdom of Sorcerers, the former fighting forces of the Pyro Company would withdraw from taking part in battles and not be required to participate in the Alliance of Strongholds' civil war.

That was why Black Fox gave up his command duties and went to train the recruits during this period. The Pyro Company soldiers went to help with the irrigation works, while a small portion of them assisted the stronghold residents in farming.

At this moment, Black Fox should be leading the recruits in transporting fertilizer.

But after Ren Xiaosu said that, P5092 shook his head. "It's different. This is no longer an Alliance of Strongholds' civil war. It's a war that concerns the survival of humanity. The former Pyro Company troops will return to their posts. I've already told Black Fox to come back for the meeting."

As soon as his words trailed off, the conference room door was pushed open by Black Fox.

An intense odor of fertilizer filled the conference room. Black Fox looked at Ren Xiaosu and P5092 and asked, "Sir, what did you recall me for?"

P5092 said calmly, "I need you and your men to pick up your arms again."

Translated by: Legge

Edited by: weirdo