How did Zhou Shiji die? Could the Zhou Consortium’s soldiers possibly not know? Everyone in the Alliance of Strongholds knew how he had died, and it was at the hands of none other than the owner of the armor.
Ren Xiaosu said with a smile, “Looks like y’all know who I am.”
Abducting the refugees would surely cause a huge uproar. Moreover, Ren Xiaosu still had to make many more trips back here, so he felt he would have to reach some sort of consensus with the new head of the Zhou Consortium.
If he could not reach a consensus with him, he would beat a consensus out of him.
It was not that Ren Xiaosu wanted to be this attention-seeking on purpose, but he knew the current situation. What did these refugees mean to the Zhou Consortium? In normal times, they were a population that provided the labor force. But now they were a ticking time bomb that was a potential security risk.
So while the Wang Consortium did not want to see the refugees join the Prosperous Northwest, the Zhou Consortium hoped enough of them would leave.
Under such circumstances, the appearance of Ren Xiaosu and the Great Hoodwinker was basically helping the Zhou Consortium solve their issues!
On the surface, the Zhou Consortium would definitely not admit Ren Xiaosu was helping them. But privately, they had to be heaving a sigh of relief. Therefore, they would definitely not stand in Ren Xiaosu’s way.
As for the feud between the future commander of the Northwest and the Zhou Consortium, it had blown over.
After Zhou Shiji was assassinated by Ren Xiaosu, the Zhou Consortium’s spokesperson often proclaimed they would retaliate against such behavior by the Northwest. But as time passed, the Zhou Consortium still did not take any action, because the Zhou Consortium was headed by someone who used to be constantly oppressed by Zhou Shiji.
When the garrison officer mentioned Zhou Shiji and Zhou Shoushi, he addressed them as “old bastards” without any respect at all.
Superiors always set an example for their subordinates to follow. Whatever stance the higher-ups had, the subordinates would display the corresponding attitude.
Would they want the new head of the Zhou Consortium to avenge Zhou Shiji and take it up with the Northwest? No way!
Moreover, the most critical problem was Ren Xiaosu’s ability to take the head of an enemy general who was protected by 10,000 soldiers. He was really that terrifying. The new head of the Zhou Consortium was willing to offend anyone but Ren Xiaosu.
Otherwise, some lucky bastard would take over for him before he had even warmed the seat as the head of the Zhou Consortium yet.
At this moment, the garrison troops at the campfire looked at Ren Xiaosu’s armor. Although they did not recognize Ren Xiaosu, the armor was highly distinguishable. As such, everyone cocked their weapons and retreated a dozen steps back, but no one dared open fire.
Ren Xiaosu said, “I’m here to help the Zhou Consortium this time. Aren’t y’all annoyed over handling these refugees? I’ll bring some of them back to the Northwest so that they won’t starve to death and you don’t have to be tied down by these security risks anymore. Wouldn’t that be a win-win scenario? I think you definitely can’t make the decision, so you’d better report back to your superior.”
That garrison officer was looking uncertain as he signaled to a soldier beside him to hurry back and inform their superiors about this.
Soon after, Zhou Qingyang, the new head of the Zhou Consortium, received a call and learned that Ren Xiaosu wanted to take some refugees away. His subordinates were asking him how to handle this.
After pondering it for a long time, he replied, “Convey our thanks to the Northwest for extending a helping hand to our Zhou Consortium during this time of crisis.”
This man was also a coward. Otherwise, he would not have been oppressed by Zhou Shiji for so many years. It could be said that no one was really capable enough to take charge of the Zhou Consortium after Zhou Shiji’s death.
After Zhou Qingyang hung up, the secretary in the official residence thought for a moment before saying, “Sir, although the refugees are a burden to us now, population is the foundation once we start rebuilding the Zhou Consortium. If we just let them take the refugees away like this, aren’t we being too easily pushed around? We’re importing grains from the South, so not all of these refugees will have to die from starvation.”
Zhou Qingyang’s expression darkened. “Do I need you to teach me?”
Even if Zhou Qingyang were stupid, he could still understand his secretary’s point. But it was Ren Xiaosu they were facing. Surely they did not want to anger and provoke him into slaughtering his way here again when it had only been a short while since Zhou Shiji’s mourning period had passed, right?
So what could he do? He was also very much in despair!
Based on their strength, the Zhou Consortium did not actually have any reason to be afraid of superhumans. However, Ren Xiaosu’s antics at Stronghold 73 had really induced fear into them.
Moreover, Ren Xiaosu was not a lone wolf. The destructive power of the 12 Riders was extremely shocking as well.
Zhou Qingyang softened his tone and said, “Our current enemy is the Wang Consortium, so we shouldn’t offend another strong opponent like the Northwest. You have to understand that no matter how important the population is, we still have to survive this calamity first. Just let that Ren Xiaosu take the refugees away. They’re only two people, so how many can they take with them?”
The secretary thought about it and felt it made sense. After all, how many refugees could they take away with only the two of them?
Thinking of this, the secretary felt more at ease. But Zhou Qingyang continued, “Besides, won’t they have to pass through the Wang Consortium with the refugees? How could the Wang Consortium agree to let them pass through so freely? Wang Shengzhi will definitely think of a way to intercept them. That way, won’t the Wang Consortium and the Northwest become enemies?”
The secretary started smiling. “So you’ve already thought everything out, Boss. I was much too shortsighted.”
When Zhou Qingyang saw his secretary turning humble, he immediately felt much better.
At this moment, the phone in the official residence rang again. Zhou Qingyang picked it right up and answered, “How’d things go?”
“Sir, Ren Xiaosu has left with the refugees,” the person on the line said.
“Mhm, how many people did he take with him?” Zhou Qingyang smiled and asked, “Dozens? Hundreds?”
“6,000! Boss, they took 6,000 people away!”
Zhou Qingyang was confused.
Zhou Qingyang was shocked on the spot. Were they fucking professional human traffickers or what? How did they manage to take so many refugees at once?
“How did they leave?” Zhou Qingyang asked.
“Ren Xiaosu shouted ‘Wang Congyang, summon the train,’ and a steam locomotive appeared out of thin air.” The person on the line said, “The steam locomotive didn’t travel towards the Wang Consortium but headed straight into the wilderness.”
“The refugees left with him just like that?” Zhou Qingyang asked with a gulp.
The person on the line said, “After the refugees found out he was the future commander of the Northwest, all of them wanted to leave with him. If not for the fact that the train was full, I’m afraid he would’ve taken all of them away.”
If everyone there were taken away, it would be close to a 100,000 people.
News of the Northwest’s future commander avenging Jiang Xu had spread everywhere. A lot of people admired Ren Xiaosu’s character from the bottom of their hearts, so the refugees no longer had any doubts about him.
Previously, they were worried they would get abducted. But now they were worried they would not be able to get on the train fast enough.
Zhou Qingyang kneaded his brow and said, “We have hundreds of thousands of refugees here. Taking 6,000 people with him wouldn’t make a dent in the numbers. It’s only 6,000, so it’s nothing to worry about.”
The secretary nodded at the side. 6,000 people was indeed no big deal to the big picture, and it might even help relieve the Zhou Consortium’s burden a little.
Then Zhou Qingyang asked, “Did he say anything else before leaving?”
“Yes,” the person on the line said, “he said he would be back again in two days….”