Chapter 1000: Sign of the times

When Zhou Shous.h.i.+ realized he was going to die today regardless of what he said, he gradually calmed down.

Zhou Shous.h.i.+ adjusted his gold-rimmed gla.s.ses and even combed his hair with his hand before saying, “Do you know the w.a.n.g Consortium is annexing the Pyro Company and the Kong Consortium?”

Ren Xiaosu sat down across from him. “I know, but what does that have anything to do with what we’re talking about now? Are you saying that everything that y’all did was to target the w.a.n.g Consortium?”

“That’s right.” Zhou Shous.h.i.+ said, “Several years ago, the w.a.n.g Consortium revealed their ambitions when they kept using trade to try to weaken the consortiums around them. Moreover, they’ve implemented mandatory conscription of their citizens for so many years, so everyone knows they’ve been wanting to start a war in the Central Plains.”

“So?” Ren Xiaosu asked.

“So our Zhou Consortium was just seeking self-preservation.” Zhou Shous.h.i.+ said coldly, “If the w.a.n.g Consortium can resort to unscrupulous means, why can’t our Zhou Consortium do the same? Did you not notice that they just recalled all men under the age of 30 who had served in the military? Actually, they didn’t even use their full strength during the war with the expeditionary army. Otherwise, the Pyro Company wouldn’t have ended up losing so badly, and your Northwest Army wouldn’t have had to fight so hard at Mt. Zuoyun! Don’t you think your fellow Northwest Army soldiers at Mt. Zuoyun who died there suffered wrongful deaths?”

Ren Xiaosu shook his head. “That’s your reason for killing Jiang Xu?”

“Only by doing so would the entire Alliance of Strongholds share a common enemy. It would also make the Qing Consortium and the Zhou Consortium join forces to resist the w.a.n.g Consortium together! If the plan was successful, you would also have taken revenge for Jiang Xu, right? Therefore, the Northwest would’ve become part of the plan as well.” Zhou Shous.h.i.+ said, “This was supposed to be the best strategy for the Zhou Consortium.”

Ren Xiaosu had to admit that if w.a.n.g Yun and the others had not worked together to find the real culprit, the Zhou Consortium’s plan would have indeed succeeded. At that point, the w.a.n.g Consortium would become the enemy of the entire world, and there would be no chance for them to slowly annex the various consortiums.

If Zhou s.h.i.+ji hadn’t encountered Ren Xiaosu, he could’ve been hailed as a cunning strategist, a great man, or something on that level.

“But y’all weren’t affected by the war with the expeditionary army. If you’re envious of the w.a.n.g Consortium’s mandatory conscription policy, you could’ve done the same. You could’ve come up with various strategies to counter them, but you shouldn’t’ve used Jiang Xu’s life in exchange for your victory. Perhaps to you, killing Jiang Xu was the best choice for the Zhou Consortium. But in my opinion, he was the most innocent one.” Ren Xiaosu sighed and said, “Besides, what did Jiang Xu do to deserve this?”

Ren Xiaosu stood up and unfurled the curtains a little.

When the afternoon sun shone into the gloomy room, Zhou Shous.h.i.+ could not help s.h.i.+elding his own face from the sunlight. It was a little blinding.

Ren Xiaosu said, “Tell me, what’s Zhou s.h.i.+ji’s itinerary?”

Zhou Shous.h.i.+ said with a dark expression, “Why should I tell you? Can I live if I tell you?”

“Well, no.” Ren Xiaosu grinned. “But won’t you feel a little lonely if you had to die alone? Wouldn’t it be great to have someone accompany you? Think about it. He’s clearly the one who came up with the plans, yet you’re the one dying for it instead. Don’t you find that unfair?”

Ten minutes later, Ren Xiaosu walked out of the intelligence agency’s headquarters. He had obtained the specific details of Zhou s.h.i.+ji’s itinerary, as well as the contingency plans of his team if he encountered danger in the stronghold.

It was as though Zhou Shous.h.i.+ was particularly worried Zhou s.h.i.+ji would not die, so he explained everything very clearly.

Honestly, Ren Xiaosu felt the interrogation process had gone too smoothly. Perhaps Zhou Shous.h.i.+ was really afraid of loneliness.

This was the bunch of sunlight fearing, spineless cowards who had orchestrated Jiang Xu’s death while hiding behind a thick curtain of conspiracy.

For a moment, Ren Xiaosu also considered another potential problem. If he really managed to kill Zhou s.h.i.+ji on his visit to the Zhou Consortium this time, a civil war would definitely break out within the Zhou Consortium instantly.

According to Luo Lan, there was no one in the Zhou Consortium who was capable of taking charge other than Zhou s.h.i.+ji.

In this fas.h.i.+on, the w.a.n.g Consortium would no longer have any opponents in the Central Plains.

This was probably why Qing Zhen had urgently summoned Luo Lan back. Could Qing Zhen have seen the day when the w.a.n.g Consortium would unify the Central Plains?

And then, would the w.a.n.g Consortium go on to attack the Northwest and the Southwest after that? Ren Xiaosu felt that they would.

At that time, the w.a.n.g Consortium would turn into a behemoth.

But how could he not take revenge for Jiang Xu? Ren Xiaosu wanted everyone to know there was a price for killing a person like Jiang Xu.

The people from Hope Media had already packed up their belongings and were heading to the Northwest.

Those with families and children would remain in Luoyang City, while the others would head northwards to set up a new headquarters there. After that, the Hope Media that remained in Luoyang City would become a branch office.

This was the decision Zhang Chentong had undertaken after a long deliberation because the Central Plains was no longer peaceful. Everyone could sense the impending danger.

While pondering, Ren Xiaosu had already made his way past two street junctions. The intelligence agency had deployed almost all of its forces to capture the criminal who had set off the explosion at the city gate, so it was exceptionally easy for Ren Xiaosu to infiltrate the intelligence agency after getting into the stronghold. Perhaps no one was even aware that Zhou Shous.h.i.+ was dead.

As Ren Xiaosu looked around the streets of Stronghold 73, chatter broke out among the residents over the explosion that went off. No one expected that Ren Xiaosu, the chief culprit, would just casually walk past them like that.

The residents were innocent, so Ren Xiaosu did not wish to start a ma.s.sacre right inside the stronghold. If a lot of innocent people got dragged in, Jiang Xu would probably be very disappointed.

But it did not matter. He would make Zhou s.h.i.+ji himself walk into the trap.

As the Zhou Consortium’s main forces were still two days away from Stronghold 73, Ren Xiaosu felt it was absolutely enough time for him to kill Zhou s.h.i.+ji.

Another explosion rang out in the north of the stronghold where the garrison troops’ base was located. If even that place was successfully attacked, it meant there was no longer a safe location in the stronghold for Zhou s.h.i.+ji.

But before Ren Xiaosu could safely retreat, he suddenly noticed he was being followed.

Ren Xiaosu turned around and disappeared into a small alley. The people following him quickened their pursuit and ran into the alley.

But when the two of them went in, they realized it was actually a dead end. Meanwhile, Ren Xiaosu was nowhere to be seen.

“Looking for me? There’s been quite a lot of people looking for me over the past two days.” Ren Xiaosu started sizing up the other party. Actually, they did not look like they were the Zhou Consortium’s people. Their clothes made them look more like refugees who lived in the wilderness.

The two men looked at each other and slowly moved their hands towards their waists.

Ren Xiaosu suddenly asked, “Which department of the Zhou Consortium are you two from?”

“We ain’t their people. We’re just looking to earn some reward money,” one of them said.

Ren Xiaosu nodded. “So you’re intelligence brokers working for the mob? Who’s your boss?”

“As if we’d tell you something like that! Even though we’re not as strong as you, we still have our pride. If you want to kill us, do it quickly. We won’t involve others,” one of them said.

Ren Xiaosu smiled. “Forget it, I’ve killed too many people over the past few days. I don’t wish to kill any more people who have nothing to do with this case.”

Ren Xiaosu turned around and walked out of the alley.

But as soon as he turned around, one of the men quickly drew his gun and tried to kill Ren Xiaosu. Before he could raise his arm, a sniper bullet pierced the man’s chest.

When the other guy saw the situation had turned unfavorable, he attempted to escape by climbing over the wall. But how could Yang Xiaojin possibly give him a chance?

Ren Xiaosu stood quietly at the entrance of the alley and sighed. “Is this a sign of the times? Xiaojin, your position has been revealed. Head over to Alpha Seven. I’ll pick you up on the way.”

Yang Xiaojin replied over the earpiece, “Roger.”