Chapter 784 - An era of farewells (1/2)

Translator: Legge

Ren Xiaosu had encountered similar situations like this before. After knocking people unconscious, their nanomachines would no longer be controlled by a consciousness and thus be in a state where they could be reset.

He realized that if the other party with the nanomachines was still conscious, not even the palace could take control of their nanomachines.

But he could not understand why he would encounter the presence of nanomachines here.

It was no wonder the three attackers had put on masks after getting out of the vehicle. It looked like they were trying to hide the silvery glow of their blood vessels when the nanomachines were activated.

He initially thought these three attackers were sent by the Wang Consortium to capture Jiang Xu, but he was kind of unsure now.

That was because the Qing Consortium was seemingly the only organization in the world that was still in possession of nanotech. Previously, Ren Xiaosu had entrusted Luo Lan with the task of sending a batch of nanomachines to Wang Yuchi and the others in Luoyang City. That way, Wang Yuchi’s group would at least have a certain level of self-protection.

Fatty Luo had promised him it would be delivered within a month and that he would make sure his subordinates handled it well.

Furthermore, Luo Lan even promised he would not only prepare the nanomachines for Wang Yuchi and the rest, but he would also prepare some for him. He was told he could retrieve it from Luoyang City at any time.

Back then, Ren Xiaosu had asked Luo Lan if any other organizations had mastered nanotech as well. He was thinking that if there were, Jiang Xu might not have to continue limping around just so he could avoid accusations that he had been bribed.

However, Luo Lan’s reply back then was, “Definitely not. Nanotech is now a secret of the Qing Consortium. After those scientists in charge of the nanomachine research signed a confidentiality agreement, they can’t even return home by themselves anymore. They have to be constantly under the watch of the Qing Consortium.”

Ren Xiaosu stared silently at the three attackers on the ground. So were these people from the Qing Consortium? But why would the Qing Consortium want to capture Jiang Xu? There was no reason to do that!

Moreover, could the Qing Consortium plant these spies inside the Wang Consortium? Ren Xiaosu felt that with the artificial intelligence governing the stronghold, the Qing Consortium would probably not be able to do that. He had seen those people exiting the stronghold with their IDs with his own eyes, and it even seemed like their identities were very special.

Although Ren Xiaosu could not figure out what was going on, he felt that something must have gone wrong somewhere. The people in front of him were definitely not from the Qing Consortium.

But… at the end of the day, it would be a waste if he did not take these nanomachines delivered right to his doorstep!

Ren Xiaosu looked at Jiang Xu. “Wait a sec, let me handle these three first.” He then pulled the three attackers aside and reset the nanomachines in them before pairing them with his own consciousness.

However, Ren Xiaosu still felt like it was not enough. There were hardly any nanomachines in these three. At most, it was only enough to form armor around half his arm.

Ren Xiaosu wanted to wake the three up to question them about their identities. However, he was surprised to discover their hearts had already stopped.

“Strange,” Ren Xiaosu muttered. He could not even tell how they had died!

This time, Ren Xiaosu was even more certain they were not from the Qing Consortium. That was because the Qing Consortium would never resort to such means on their own subordinates.

Honestly, Ren Xiaosu was still hoping to ask if they had any accomplices nearby. If there were, it would mean he could get his hands on even more nanomachines.

Ren Xiaosu sighed and went back to join up with Jiang Xu. He looked at Jiang Xu and hesitated for a moment before saying, “Why don’t y’all head back to Stronghold 61 and stay there for a few days?”

In just this short encounter, Ren Xiaosu was already thinking of resuming his old ways to fish for more enemies.

“Head back?” Jiang Xu was really stunned this time. He did not understand why Ren Xiaosu would say that. “Why would we want to go back there?”

Ren Xiaosu was stumped. He really could not come up with a valid reason to persuade Jiang Xu to go back to Stronghold 61. “I just can’t bear to part with you. Besides, I still want to play chess with you for a few more days.”

When Jiang Xu heard this, he immediately turned around and got into the car. Chess? Hah! That would make it even more impossible for him to go back!

Ren Xiaosu hurriedly shouted, “Let’s not play chess then! We can discuss this!”

Jiang Xu stopped in his tracks. “You must have some ulterior motive for asking me to go back, right? Let me guess, you want to lure the others out as well?”