265 Previously kept secre (1/2)
The pedestrians in Stronghold 108 were all rapidly walking down the street. There were no signs of prosperity in this place anymore. Instead, a depressing atmosphere had set in.
Some noodle shops on the sides of the streets were already closed for the night. A lot of people were lining up in jewelry shops to purchase gold bars. However, the price of gold in the stronghold was already skyrocketing.
Military vehicles often drove past on the roads, as if the atmosphere of war was still not distinct enough.
A curfew had already been implemented in the stronghold. After 10 PM, any pedestrians found on the street would get sent to the Public Order Division to be detained without room for negotiation.
In peacetime, the stronghold residents liked relying on ”connections” to get things done. If someone committed a misdemeanor, everything would be alright if they could find an acquaintance to sort out the matter.
But it was different now. It would be tough for those who got sent the Public Order Division to get out until after the war was over.
Connections had suddenly become useless.
Before the curfew time, a thin girl wearing a cap went into a hardware shop. As her hair was short, her long and beautiful neck could glimpsed under her shoulder-length hair that covered it. She was dressed in well-fitting athletic wear. When she raised her arm, the attire emphasized the outline of her slim waist.
She gently knocked on the roller shutter door six times in a row, then paused for two seconds before rapping harder once more.
Someone immediately raised the roller shutter, and the girl bent down to get into the shop.
The owner of the shop was balding. He smiled and said, ”You came from the north?”
”Mhm.” The girl said, ”Update me on the current situation.”
”Nothing special has happened. It's rumored that the Divine Arms Battalion suffered a disaster while retreating from the Qing Consortium's territory. They were attacked by a mysterious sniper on their way back—”
”Next piece of news, I already know about this incident,” interrupted the girl before the shop owner finished.
The shop owner was surprised to hear that but did not probe further. ”There's something else. A battalion of private troops wiped out the Qing Special Forces at Mt. Tantou's front line yesterday. That was quite sensational news. After all, everyone knows what the private army is capable of. Who would have expected them to defeat the Qing Special Forces? And there's something else. I haven't gotten my hands on the Li Consortium's defensive deployment map yet. Once I have it, I'll send it in to the higher-ups immediately.”
Half of the girl's face was hidden under the shadow of her cap. She replied, ”There's no need to update me about things like the defensive deployment map, I won't be participating in this war. Right now, I need you to help me look for a young man called Ren Xiaosu.”
”OK, I'll keep it in mind.” The owner said softly, ”Do you have any clues on where to start looking?”
The girl thought for a moment before answering, ”You can start with wherever something unusual has happened.”
”Unusual?” The owner said, ”Nothing unusual has happened recently.”
”That can't be.” The girl seemed to remember something and said, ”Bring me the list for that group of private soldiers.”
The shop owner was stunned. Did this girl suspect that the young man named Ren Xiaosu was among these private soldiers? Because it was somewhat unusual that these private troops were able to defeat the Qing Special Forces? Who was that young man? Why was this girl placing such a great deal of importance on him?
Concurrently, in the Li Consortium's Research Facility 613, a middle-aged man in a white coat came out of a research laboratory. He said, ”Bring in the next batch of samples.”
With those words, the pretty secretary immediately called the sample storage room to inform them. Then the manager of the sample storage room checked on the time the samples were delivered here. He counted out a 100 bottles of nanomachine samples before sending them over to the lab.