432 Forced by circumstance (1/2)
The old man looked at the Razor Sharp Company not knowing how to react. Instead, it was the little girl who started laughing when she saw Zhang Xiaoman and Jiao Xiaochen bickering with each other.
A child's world was a simple one. They still did not understand how terrifying this world was.
Ren Xiaosu asked the old man, ”What's the stronghold closest to here?”
”That would be Stronghold 144,” the old man replied truthfully. ”It's about 60 kilometers to the west.”
Ren Xiaosu looked at Zhang Xiaoman. ”So can you confirm our location now?”
”Yes.” Zhang Xiaoman nodded. ”Stronghold 144 is the Zong Consortium's granary, as 70% of the farming settlements are located near it. You could say it's a stronghold that was specially built for handling food stores, just like what Stronghold 114 is to the Qing Consortium.”
”Oh, I see.” Ren Xiaosu nodded and said, ”Then let's start by attacking the areas around Stronghold 144 first.”
Jiao Xiaochen suddenly asked, ”What should we do with this old man and the little girl? Are we just gonna let them go? What if they report us to the Zong Consortium?”
The old man immediately turned anxious. ”Sir, don't you worry. We definitely won't report y'all to the Zong Consortium. Y'all're from Fortress 178, right? To be honest, we were all hoping that you would come here as well.”
The Zong Consortium had oppressed the refugees too much. As a result, they had lost the support of the refugees.
Ren Xiaosu said, ”If all the young and able adults weren't already conscripted by the Zong Consortium, we might've been able to organize the refugees into an armed force behind enemy lines and encircle the stronghold. When I attended Mr. Zhang's lessons, he once mentioned that such a division won…”
These words startled Zhang Xiaoman and the others quite a bit. However, they did not have the conditions to recreate something like that right now.
From the company, someone asked, ”Grandpa, is there any food here?”
They were asking this because their rations were running out. Although there was the food that Ren Xiaosu had brought, Xiaoyu only prepared enough for him alone.
Based on Xiaoyu's plan, the provisions would be enough to last Ren Xiaosu three months in the wilderness without needing him to constantly look for something to eat.
Although there was plenty of food, it was not sufficient for the entire Razor Sharp Company. Three months' worth of food for a single person would only last two days for 184 people. Therefore, it was extremely urgent that they find food first.
Although Ren Xiaosu could plant some of the Potato Shooters, he would only use a method that would consume his gratitude tokens as a last resort.
The old man said, ”How could we still have food? It's all been seized by the Zong Consortium. They even found and took the food that we stashed away.”
Ren Xiaosu glanced at the basket the old man was carrying and saw it was filled with wild vegetables. It seemed like he had taken the little girl out earlier to dig for them. The old man was not lying.
”Then what should we do?” Jiao Xiaochen asked.
Zhang Xiaoman gave a wave of his hand. ”Don't worry, we can go and blow up the factories. There's so many workers in the factories, so how can they not have food there?”
When everyone heard this, they immediately headed west. They were going to seek uniforms and food at the same time.
It went better than they expected. It didn't take them long before they came across a factory that had a continuous trail of white smoke gushing out of its chimney.
The Razor Sharp Company had meticulously planned to attack it from two different directions. However, they did not even encounter any presence of a decent garrison around it, with only two private troops guarding the place. When they saw Ren Xiaosu and company, they instantly knelt on the ground and begged for mercy without any resistance.
Furthermore, all of the refugees in the factory also came outside promptly and lined up.