The First Order

At the Three Mountains defensive line.

Under the precise command of the artificial intelligence, the Qing Consortium's troops started retreating in defeat.

The Qing Consortium's soldiers had a sense of honor. They had never fought such a distressing war before.

Their every move could be seen by the enemy, yet they were not able to figure out the enemy's movements at all.

The Qing Consortium clearly had Mountain Obliterators at the defensive position, as well as various large caliber artillery, but they just could not do anything about the enemy.

The enemy advanced gradually, not giving the Qing Consortium's troops a sliver of a chance.

When the 1st Military Corps abandoned Position 171, they buried a large number of explosives at the position. They attempted to lure the artificial intelligence to occupy the position and use the buried explosives to deal heavy damage to the troops it controlled.

But after they retreated, the artificial intelligence's troops did not carry out a large-scale occupation of Position 171. Instead, they only sent in one person to disarm all the explosives. This lone person knew where the explosives were buried and was extremely proficient at disarming them.

Later, the Qing Consortium's troops set up a minefield in the path of the artificial intelligence to stop it from advancing.

Minefields were one of the most commonly used tactics in war. Land mines were not expensive and were even cheaper to produce than artillery ordnance.

If deployed against human troops, these highly explosive land mines laid out across a huge minefield would probably delay their advance by several months.

After all, if the land mines were not cleared, further advance would only lead to death.

However, what surprised the Qing Consortium's troops was that the artificial intelligence troops passed right through the minefield without even clearing the area!

When the soldiers controlled by the artificial intelligence passed through the minefield, they seemed to know beforehand where the mines were laid and simply went around them.

The troops in charge of ranged reconnaissance realized that some of the enemy troops would suddenly turn around just before they stepped onto a land mine.

Such acute awareness was simply unbelievable.

It would have been okay if only one person managed to avoid stepping on the land mines this way, but all of the enemy's troops were similarly able to totally disregard the existence of the mines.

If it were not a big deal that they were able to discover the land mines' locations, knowing where they were concealed but not wasting any time to clear them would definitely be even more shocking.

To the artificial intelligence's troops, the identified land mine positions were like marked coordinates that all combat units would automatically avoid when passing through the minefield.

It was just like running a perfect program.

Faced with such an enemy, one wouldn't even know how to deal with it.

All the Qing Consortium's troops could do was fill the gaps in their defensive line with one life after another.

But every time the gaps were filled, the enemy would mercilessly tear them apart again.

Qing Yi put in everything that he had, but it was just a fruitless effort.

However, Qing Yi still felt very satisfied. Although he was about to be defeated by the enemy, he had witnessed a real battle before his failure. It seemed that this fight was not in vain after all.

Since he started studying military affairs in elementary school, he would always get fascinated by the famous battles recorded in the textbooks.

It was as though Qing Yi had spent his entire life pursuing a philosophy. Now that he had seen this philosophy and understood it, he was satisfied.

There were three mountains that made up the Three Mountains defensive line, but two of them had already fallen.

Qing Yi stood in the command center of the remaining defensive position and quietly reviewed the situation. Next to him, his trusted aide said in a low voice, "Sir, based on Mr. Qing Zhen's plan, it's time for you to leave."

Qing Yi glanced at his trusted aide. "I cannot leave."

His trusted aide said, "Sir, you've already done enough and tried your best. Leave the rest to me. Please retreat to the Northwest with Mr. Qing Zhen."

What the Qing Consortium's soldiers did not know was that this was actually a battle that was destined to fail. Even Qing Zhen, Luo Lan, and Qing Yi were already prepared to retreat.

The significance of this battle was to let Zero defeat the Qing Consortium, or to let it think that it had defeated them.

Very few people knew about the retreat plan, but Qing Yi's trusted aide was one of them.

Qing Yi looked at the other party's serious expression and said with a smile, "Two Alpha Corps and one Bravo Corps armies will perish here. As the highest-ranking commander, how can I order everyone to sacrifice themselves at one moment and retreat by myself the next?"

Before coming to the Three Mountains defensive line, Qing Zhen had instructed Qing Yi to retreat according to the plan. Qing Yi readily agreed, but in truth, he had no intention of leaving right from the start.

He was well aware of Qing Zhen's intentions, but could Qing Yi leave? If he were to leave, the Qing Consortium's soldiers on these three mountain ranges would probably be very disappointed.

Qing Yi had only agreed to Qing Zhen's request because he was afraid Qing Zhen would not let him come to the front line.

Qing Yi smiled at his trusted aide and said, "Tell my second brother that I won't be leaving with them. This is where I'll die."

When Qing Yi made this decision, he returned in a trance to his youth that was filled with longing and passion.

He was brought into the military camp behind Mt. Ginkgo by his uncle, and one day, he met two other youths.

Then he started on a life journey that had no regrets.

Just like Mt. Ginkgo in autumn, the entire mountain was covered in gilded leaves that glittered brilliantly.

…

In the wilderness, a steam locomotive was speeding south.

Meanwhile, on Mt. Ginkgo, Qing Zhen was deep in thought as he sat in the "black lake."

As there were no others in the villa on the mountainside, Luo Lan took on the responsibility of cooking.

He walked out of the kitchen with three servings of soy sauce fried rice and handed them to Zhou Qi and Qing Zhen respectively.

After Qing Zhen took it from him, he was not in a hurry to eat yet. Instead, it was Zhou Qi who wolfed down the food like a hungry ghost.

Luo Lan was a little unhappy. "Zhou Qi, I worked hard to whip up the fried rice for you all. I peeled the garlic and onions, washed the rice, and took all that time to prepare this meal. Eating this fragrant fried rice with soy sauce, don't you think you should say something to me?"

Zhou Qi was silent for a moment before asking, "Is there more?"

Luo Lan was surprised.

Amid the conversation, Xu Man came rushing in. Then he said to Qing Zhen, "Sir, the outpost east of Stronghold 111 has discovered the monster that previously escaped from the Jing Mountains. It's approaching Stronghold 111 at full speed as we speak!"

Qing Zhen asked, "How long will it take for it to arrive at Stronghold 111?"

"At most half a day," Xu Man said.

Qing Zhen stood up and turned around to say to Luo Lan and Zhou Qi, "It's time to go. The sudden appearance of this monster indicates our ride from the Northwest is almost here. If I'm not wrong, Ren Xiaosu must have come personally to pick us up."

There was no longer any line of communication between the Southwest and the Northwest. However, Qing Zhen had his own way of determining the situation.

A true visionary was adept at seeing past the superficial.

It seemed that Ren Xiaosu was the only person who could force the artificial intelligence to send out such a monster.

Zhou Qi sighed and said, "Ren Xiaosu has already become the future commander of the Northwest Army, yet he's still willing to take the risk to save us. You're really quite influential, huh?"

Qing Zhen shook his head. "It has nothing to do with being influential. It's just that this war needs me to stay alive, or at least one of us to get to the Northwest alive. I'll share with you all the final part of the plan on the way there. No matter which of us eventually gets to the Northwest, they will definitely be of decisive help to this war."

Luo Lan suddenly asked, "What do you reckon our chances of winning are now?"

Qing Zhen thought for a moment and said, "Still 30%, but that's enough."

With that, Xu Man opened up a secret passageway in the Ginkgo Manor. Luo Lan asked, "Is this the secret tunnel that you and Third Bro used to head into to switch identities?"

"Mhm." Qing Zhen nodded. "It's been hard on him."

This secret tunnel was built by the former head of the Qing Consortium and had already been in use for decades.

However, the secret tunnel was a place for carrying out shady activities in the past. There were also secret chambers and prisons below. After Qing Zhen took over the Ginkgo Manor, he even found more than a 100 female skeletons inside.

Qing Zhen knew that the ugliest deeds in the world must have taken place inside there.

The four of them filed through the secret tunnel. But just as they entered, Luo Lan was stunned when he saw the walls of the secret tunnel.

The secret tunnel was inlaid with wall sconces, and a soft yellow glow illuminated two newly carved words on the wall: "loneliness."

Qing Zhen stood still. "Third Bro carved that."

Suddenly, Luo Lan could even imagine the number of times Qing Shen stood in here as he waited for his turn to play Qing Zhen.

Qing Shen must have waited quietly under the wall lamp, only hoping to be accepted into their group so that he would not be so lonely anymore.

Every time Luo Lan thought of how he had previously doubted and suspected Qing Shen, it felt like his heart was being wrung tight.

He had suspected Qing Shen and questioned his motives. He probed and mocked him again and again, but Qing Shen never showed any signs of anger.

However, Qing Shen must have felt very sad at the time.

"Bro, let's go." Qing Zhen said, "We can't let Third Bro's death be in vain."

"Mhm, we can't let Third Bro die in vain," Luo Lan echoed with a nod.

The four of them walked into the darkness of the secret tunnel. There was already a vehicle parked at the end of it. The four of them, in one vehicle, would head to the rendezvous point on the route as planned.

To the east of Stronghold 111, Dusk was crawling at a very fast speed. Meanwhile, a flock of birds were circling above its head like a dark cloud.

After Luo Lan and company drove away from Stronghold 111, Dusk immediately changed directions and chased after the vehicle.

…

In the military-controlled zone of Stronghold 144, tens of thousands of the elderly, women, and children were lining up to step through the enchanted doorway.

The expected panic did not occur. Most of the evacuees just waited in the rest area for their turn.

There was water and food provided in the rest area, and everyone held a piece of paper in their hands, which marked their number in line. Every once in a while, a soldier from the Northwest Army would come and call out the numbers. Those whose numbers were called would line up outside and be led to the enchanted doorway.

However, there was every kind of person in this chaotic world.

It was not only the elderly, women, and children who were lining up, but also the prominent merchants and their families.

Wang Fugui had conscripted several hundred of their trucks for military use, so he naturally had to give them some preferential treatment as well. As such, he allowed them to leave straight through the enchanted doorway without needing to suffer a harsh evacuation journey.

The truth of the matter was the rich and powerful indeed enjoyed some privileges in the world.

Although Wang Fugui could exercise control over them at any moment, he still had to give them some leeway due to their reputation.

After these merchants arrived at the military-controlled zone, they still had to line up like the common folk and wait for their number to be called.

But naturally, they were unwilling to wait. As such, they bought the more advanced queue numbers with their gold and headed earlier to Fortress 178 through the enchanted doorway.

These prominent merchants had even purchased some properties at Fortress 178, so they could instantly separate from the group and move into their own place in the city after they arrived.

The Northwest Army knew about all this, but they did not interfere too much.

This was how the real world worked.

The old man Ren Xiaosu had ordered the soldiers to carry here had become some sort of a celebrity in the rest area.

He related to the new evacuees over and over again how he had been forcefully brought here by the future commander. Then he described how benevolent the future commander was since he even cared about someone unimportant like him.

Based on his description, it was no longer the soldiers who had brought him here. Instead, it was Ren Xiaosu who had personally carried him to the military-controlled zone.

Right now, what the old man felt most emotional about was how fast the world had changed. The Northwest Army actually had such a method to transport people thousands of kilometers in just an instant.

But all of a sudden, a sparrow flew into the military-controlled zone with a wooden pipe in its mouth.

The sentinels placed on high ground had already received orders to kill every bird they saw on sight.

Bang! Bang! Two gunshots rang out. The sparrow with the wooden pipe in its mouth was shot so violently it exploded into a ball of feathers and dropped straight to the ground.

When the Great Hoodwinker heard the gunshots, he immediately brought his men over to check. He ignored the sparrow and picked up the wooden pipe from the ground. When he opened it, he was surprised to see a note inside. "In three minutes, there will be a missile attack on the entrance of the portal. Please evacuate the crowd. Don't attempt to move the portal, or the entirety of Stronghold 144 will be destroyed."

The Great Hoodwinker was stunned for a moment. There was no doubt this was a note from Zero.

Zero seemed to have already found out how they were retreating, so it wanted to directly destroy their enchanted doorway.

But the Great Hoodwinker could not figure something out. Since Zero wanted to send a missile here, why did it still issue a warning?

So, what the artificial intelligence wanted to destroy wasn't the humans here but that portal?

What was the purpose of this?

This portal itself could be moved. After all, with the way Ren Xiaosu used his own enchanted doorway, everyone understood that a movable enchanted doorway was actually more reliable.

But now, Zero even wanted to block this evacuation method of theirs in advance.

There was no time to think about all that. The Great Hoodwinker roared, "Hurry up and get everyone out of here! Quick! The further away from the enchanted doorway everyone gets, the better!"

The soldiers did not know what was going on either, but obeying orders was something that was ingrained in their bones. The Northwest Army quickly got down to leading the evacuees away. Everyone retreated as far away from the enchanted doorway as they could.

The Wang Consortium had its own missile troops. Although their missile troops were far inferior to the Qing Consortium's, they were still terrifying enough.

Currently, the four strongholds at the front line were probably within the range of the enemy's missiles. In other words, the artificial intelligence's army was not far away anymore.

In the vast military-controlled zone, everyone was fleeing.

The Great Hoodwinker did not dare take a gamble on whether the warning on the note was for real. His only option was to lead everyone away from here!

Someone suddenly ran in the direction of the enchanted doorway.

The Great Hoodwinker turned around and was surprised to see Zhang Hao, the person who had activated that enchanted doorway.

The Great Hoodwinker roared, "Where are you going? The missiles are about to hit! Why are you still running back in at a time like this? Do you want to die?"

However, Zhang Hao turned around and said, "Commander P5092 instructed me that if the enchanted doorway is in danger of being destroyed, it has to be deactivated. Otherwise, everyone who has passed through the enchanted doorway in the past two days will also tumble out!"

The Great Hoodwinker fell silent. Tens of thousands of people had passed through the enchanted doorway in the past two days. If all of those evacuees were to fall back out into Stronghold 144, he would not know how to answer Ren Xiaosu.

But the problem was that if Zhang Hao went to close the enchanted doorway now, there would not be enough time for him to make it back.

The choice of saving one person or tens of thousands of people was presented in front of everyone again.

This was a difficult choice to make. Even someone like the Great Hoodwinker who was greatly experienced would find it difficult to come to a decision immediately.

However, the choice did not seem difficult for Zhang Hao. Zhang Hao saluted the Great Hoodwinker from afar and said with a smile, "Commander Zhang Husheng, I'm a soldier of the Northwest."

After that, he turned around and ran towards the building where the enchanted doorway was located like an agile cheetah.

In the distant sky, three slender missiles with long tails flew over at a speed that could break the sound barrier.

More than 20 seconds later, the missiles hit the enchanted doorway at the same time like a thunderclap. The area within a radius of several dozen meters was instantly reduced to ash. However, what the Great Hoodwinker was worried about did not happen. The people who had arrived at Fortress 178 through the enchanted doorway did not fall back out of the portal.

Translated by: Legge

Edited by: /book/the-first-order_14219251705674005