The First Order

1214 Eliminating potential threats

The news of the Qing Consortium’s military base being invaded was embargoed. After an entire day, no further dangerous incidents occurred.

Based on Qing Yi’s thinking, the other party had taken out the Qing Consortium’s important missile troops in preparation for the subsequent battle.

If the Wang Consortium were to declare war at this moment, it would be equivalent to the Qing Consortium getting into a fight with others with a crippled leg.

Therefore, Qing Yi had been in a state of anxiety for the entire day. In his opinion, it was his dereliction of duty that caused the Qing Consortium to suffer a reduction in its strength. As the current highest-ranking military commander of the Qing Consortium, he should take full responsibility.

If the Qing Consortium were to be defeated in the subsequent attacks, he, Qing Yi, would have to apologize with his life.

However, the Wang Consortium did not follow up with a full-scale attack. It was as though they purely wanted to destroy Military Base 12 without any subsequent plans.

This left Qing Yi feeling empty. He felt there was still something amiss.

Qing Zhen brought him to Ginkgo Manor, halfway up the mountain, and had someone prepare some warm food and drink for him.

Qing Yi had no appetite. “Second Bro, aren’t you even a little worried?”

“Of course I’m worried.” Qing Zhen took a seat cushion and placed it on the dark gray marble floor of the villa’s main hall. He sat on it as though he were taking a seat in the middle of a black lake.

For some reason, Qing Zhen did not have any feelings for this Ginkgo Manor that symbolized the authority of the Qing Consortium. However, he seemed to have a special fondness for the “black lake” in the villa’s main hall.

He even got his men to remove the unnecessary items from the hall: potted plants, rockeries, calligraphy paintings, sofas, and so on. Only a grand piano and a gray seat cushion were left behind.

Qing Yi sat down on the cold floor next to Qing Zhen and said, “Second Bro, please criticize me a little. You can even hit me. I’ve made such a huge mistake but you didn’t even say a word to me. It’s making me a little flustered.”

There was always a saying in this society: “The leader criticizes you because he regards you highly. But once he doesn’t have any criticism left for you, it’s over for you.”

Actually, there was some truth to this statement. So Qing Yi kept getting the feeling that he was beyond saving when faced with the calm Qing Zhen.

However, Qing Zhen did not answer him. Instead, he brought up a different topic. “Qing Yi, how many times did you go to this Ginkgo Manor when you were young?”

“Once.” Qing Yi replied, “My father brought me here when I was 18 to meet that elder who used to be in charge of the Qing Consortium. Later, that old man remarked that I wasn’t a great talent, so my father rarely bothered with me again after we returned home. When my father fell seriously ill sometime later, he didn’t even let me visit him when he was in the hospital.”

Such estranged kinship among the rich and powerful of the consortiums would shock any of the common folk.

Perhaps if many of the refugees were to find out about these matters, they would secretly think it was better to stay as refugees. But if they were given a chance to form a new consortium, most of them would just brush it off to the back of their minds.

Qing Yi’s father was very strict with him. When he was young, he urged him to study, socialize, and even start reading up on military knowledge early.

If Qing Yi did not do well, his father would beat and scold him.

In the past, Qing Yi thought it was because his father loved him that he set such high standards for him.

Later, he realized his father had only regarded him as a tool to gain access to wealth and glory. Once he realized this tool was not useful, he cast it aside.

Qing Yi said, “In the eyes of every member of the Qing Consortium, Ginkgo Manor seemed like a place where their fate was decided. It’s just like how children from normal families take the college entrance exams that decide their futures at the age of 18. But what was even more depressing was that even if you failed the college entrance exam, others would not kick you while you were down. Moreover, there’d still be other opportunities around. But if you walked out of here with the assessment that you were useless, you’d be targeted by the ‘hyenas and jackals’ outside. Within just a few years, the authority held by your faction would be completely handed out.”

Qing Zhen said, lost in thought, “That’s right, those old fogeys nearly sealed your fate with just a few words. That’s the reason I used to detest this place. After they met me just once, they gleefully said I was suitable to become the Qing Consortium’s Shadow. As a result, I had to work as the Qing Consortium’s Shadow for them.”

Qing Yi looked at his cousin. To be honest, he had always been a little curious about what Qing Zhen had said here to get chosen by those old fogeys as the new Shadow of the Qing Consortium.

However, Qing Zhen didn’t intend to explain anything. “I’ve been here more times than you because I still had to report to those old fogeys about my work and take their criticisms after becoming the Shadow. Every time I came here, I felt that the ornaments adorning this hall were really unnecessary. It was like they were trying to cover up the fact they were stupid by decorating this place with a lot of pretentious things.”

In Qing Zhen’s opinion, the taxidermied specimens of ferocious beasts’ heads in the manor, the landscape paintings, and the exquisite weapons on display were all just useless embellishments.

They were hypocritical and impetuous.

In fact, those old fogeys did not have the strength to even go hunting, nor were they passionate about painting. No one had even touched the grand piano in the hall before.

Why would a truly powerful person need all this to prove themselves?

Ginkgo Manor could not represent the Qing Consortium. Wherever Qing Zhen was seated, that place would be the center of the Qing Consortium.

Therefore, he got his subordinates to empty out the villa, leaving only the piano and a cushion behind.

Qing Zhen said to Qing Yi with a smile, “Back then, my father was criticized by the Board for being too bookish and becoming stupid from excessive studying. In the end, he became depressed for the rest of his life and even got ostracized by his relatives. You also know how poor Luo Lan and I were when we were young. Those relatives took away all the assets and businesses my grandfather had left for us. Actually, my family used to own a piano too, but Luo Lan nearly died when he was born, so my father sold it to treat his disease. Later, I kept thinking of buying another one for him, but unfortunately, I wasn’t able to before he passed away.”

Qing Zhen’s glorious life started at the age of 18. After he became the candidate for the Qing Consortium’s Shadow, all of his relatives who used to mock him reversed their attitudes and tried to please him instead.

However, when most people later saw his glamorous appearance, they forgot about the embarrassment this Shadow was put through in the past.

This was the Qing Consortium. This was reality.

In this clan, it only took a word from those old fogeys to decide whether one led a life of wealth or marginalization.

Unfortunately, his father had already passed away when Qing Zhen was finally able to bask in his glory.

Qing Zhen continued recalling, “When I was little, my father carved piano keys into the tabletop to teach me how to play the piano. At that time, my fingers ached so much from practicing that I kept begging him not to make me learn the piano anymore. I also wanted to head out and play every day like Luo Lan did. But my father said that someone like my brother could make a livelihood no matter the times. Because he’s capable and willing to endure humiliation and bow down to others. It was only me he was a little worried about. My father said that should he pass on, I would have some skills to fend for myself. Who knows? I might be able to earn some money by dabbling in the performing arts.”

“No wonder you learned to play the piano, Second Bro,” Qing Yi said.

“Mhm.” Qing Zhen said, “Father would definitely be very happy if he could play on such a good piano when he was still alive. A good piano like that should be played by someone like him.”

Qing Yi nodded. “I understand the piano now. This is the first time I’ve heard you mention it, Second Bro. But why did you leave a cushion behind as well?”

Qing Zhen looked at Qing Yi. “Because your butt will hurt if you sit on the floor for too long. Doesn’t yours hurt?”

Qing Yi was speechless. At this point, Qing Yi also went into a room and found a cushion to place under his butt.

To be honest, he did not dare to complain just now when he sat down on the floor with Qing Zhen. But now, he thought it really did feel quite uncomfortable.

For some reason, Qing Yi suddenly felt much calmer. Perhaps it was Qing Zhen’s soothing tone that affected him, or perhaps it was the calmness of the “black lake” that brought him peace.

It was no wonder his cousin liked sitting here so much. Qing Zhen seemed to have too many things on his mind, so he needed a quieter environment to sort out his emotions, and this was just the right place to do so.

The emptiness and the single-tone color scheme made it seem like he was meditating in the middle of a lake.

Qing Zhen said to Qing Yi, “Don’t worry too much. We have to acknowledge the strength of the enemy first before we can have the courage to face them. It was expected that the military base would get destroyed, so there’s no need to blame yourself too much. Even if the enemy did not destroy Military Base 12, they’d still go and take out the other bases. We’re totally unable to defend against them right now.”

“Second Bro, what do you think they’re up to now?” Qing Yi asked.

Qing Zhen smiled and said, “We should know the answer soon.”

Just as he finished speaking, Xu Man ran in from outside with a satellite phone in his hand.

Xu Man said to Qing Zhen, “Sir, they really called.”

Qing Zhen took the phone and put it up to his ear. Wang Shengzhi’s weak voice could be heard on the other end.

The other party chuckled and said, “You didn’t come when I invited you the previous time. This time, I’ll wait for you at Stronghold 61.”

After saying that, he hung up.

Qing Zhen handed the phone to Xu Man. Both Qing Yi and Xu Man heard what Wang Shengzhi said as well.

So it turned out the other party had only destroyed Military Base 12 to send the Qing Consortium the message that he could shatter the aces up their sleeves.

The last time the Wang Consortium invited Qing Zhen to the Central Plains, he did not go.

This time, the Wang Consortium had given Qing Zhen a reason why he could not turn down the invitation. If a war were to start between the Wang Consortium and the Qing Consortium, the Qing Consortium would definitely lose. But now that there was an opportunity to negotiate, would they want it?

Qing Yi looked at Qing Zhen and said in seriousness, “Second Bro, you can’t go!”

Qing Zhen asked, “Why not?”

“You’re the leader of the Qing Consortium. If anything happens to you, the Qing Consortium will collapse.” Qing Yi said, “They’ve only destroyed one of our military bases, not all of them. The Qing Consortium still has a fighting chance! If the Wang Consortium wants to attack, they’ll have to build a huge supply line first. It’s a 500-kilometer journey. I’m confident I can show them the difference between the Qing Consortium and the Kong and Zhou Consortiums.”

Qing Zhen said with a smile, “If it can destroy one of our military bases, it can also destroy a second one. I think that something might have already happened at the other military bases, but they haven’t activated their full sabotage plan yet. Qing Yi, you can’t take any chances when playing Go against the AI.”

“But, Second Bro, it’s very dangerous for you to go there. Will the Wang Consortium treat you with hospitality? Will they let you return to the Southwest?” Qing Yi said anxiously.

Xu Man, who had stayed silent all this while, also said, “Sir, you mustn’t go.”

Qing Zhen said with a smile, “Have the kitchen prepare some food. I’m a little hungry. As for these important issues, let’s wait until my brother gets back to talk about it.”

The opponent had placed their stone, so it was time for the Qing Consortium to play next.

Qing Zhen sat in the “black lake” and looked out of the main hall’s entrance. He happened to see the ginkgo trees growing on the face of the mountain.

At this moment, the leaves of the ginkgo trees had not turned yellow yet. October would have to come before they really started turning yellow. At that time, Mt. Ginkgo would be at its most beautiful. The bountiful harvest season also carried more of Qing Zhen’s memories.

Qing Zhen remembered that his father had told him that these ginkgo trees were planted by the Qing Consortium’s forebears. At first, no one could have expected this place to become filled with ginkgo trees.

The ginkgo tree was also known as the Gongsun1 Tree. This was because it took more than 20 years for a ginkgo tree to bear fruit, so while it was planted by the grandfather, the fruits were to be enjoyed by the grandchild.

When they were young, Luo Lan and he would secretly come to Mt. Ginkgo to pluck the ginkgo nuts from the trees when they were hungry. At first, they did not know the ginkgo nuts were poisonous. It was their father who told them they had to be cooked before they could be eaten.

Mt. Ginkgo was an enclosed area. Although there were no troops stationed here, very few residents were willing to take the risk to enter the mountains because this was the Qing Consortium’s “backyard.”

Initially, Qing Zhen did not dare to steal the ginkgo nuts either, but Luo Lan was way too bold. He said they were starving to death, so why would he still care about the fucking rules?

Later, the two brothers even brought other people here to pluck the nuts and secretly sold them to the restaurants in the stronghold. If they had enough to sell, the boss would even make them each a bowl of ginkgo pig trotter soup to drink.

If they were lucky, they might even get some side dishes to eat. Those were rare treats of meat for the two brothers.

Eventually, someone in the Qing Consortium found out they had stolen the ginkgo nuts and waited on Mt. Ginkgo to catch them in the act.

Fortunately, Qing Zhen was a member of the Qing Consortium, so they were spared from punishment.

Later, garrison troops started being stationed on Mt. Ginkgo. However, the infantry battalion commander was kind-hearted. When he saw that Qing Zhen and Luo Lan were in dire straits, he turned a blind eye to the matter of them stealing ginkgo nuts.

That battalion commander was Qing Yi’s uncle, so Qing Zhen and Luo Lan got to know Qing Yi later.

After they became familiar with each other, Qing Zhen once asked Qing Yi’s uncle, “Why didn’t you arrest us and continued letting us steal the ginkgo nuts instead?”

Qing Yi’s uncle said with a smile, “Do you know the ginkgo tree is also known as the Gongsun Tree?”

“I know, my father told me about it before,” Qing Zhen answered.

“Then have you ever heard, when the Qing Consortium’s forebears planted these ginkgo trees, they said to their descendants that if there comes a day when the Qing Consortium’s descendants found it hard to survive, they could come and pluck the ginkgo nuts to cook and eat? Perhaps that would help them tide through the crisis,” Qing Yi’s uncle said.

“Never heard of it.” Qing Zhen shook his head.

Qing Yi’s uncle laughed. “Your ancestors planted the trees so the future of the clan could be preserved. So what if you, as a descendant of the Qing Consortium, pluck some of these ginkgo nuts? Who knows? These ginkgo trees might have been planted just for you.”

Qing Zhen looked at the ginkgo forest and suddenly thought it was his turn to protect the Qing Consortium.

…

The news of the Wang Consortium inviting Qing Zhen to Stronghold 61 was relayed to Luo Lan by Xu Man.

Luo Lan, who was supposedly rushing back to Stronghold 111, suddenly detoured to Stronghold 114, taking the special forces battalion with him.

The sudden change of destination to Stronghold 114 by Luo Lan, who was already carrying out an inspection tour of the Qing Consortium’s strongholds and had just killed a group of people in the northern strongholds, really left the officials there breaking out in cold sweat.

When the officials found out Luo Lan was about to arrive, they all gathered together to discuss how to handle him. They could not figure out if they had done something wrong that caused that bastard to suddenly change his schedule.

But after carefully thinking, the officials found it a little baffling. Their Stronghold 114 did not have any shortage in their arms inventory and food reserves. Their conduct was different from the strongholds that had to temporarily replenish their granaries. The officials here were really conscientious and did not try any tricks.

Everyone thought that since they did not make any mistakes in their work, they should first see what this second-in-command of the Qing Consortium might be up to.

When Luo Lan was about to arrive, all of the officials ran to the stronghold entrance to welcome him.

They had all heard that Luo Lan showed no respect to the officials when he visited the various strongholds. He did not even get out of his vehicle when he passed through the city gates.

But even if Luo Lan could choose not to get out of his vehicle, they still had to go and welcome him.

Just as expected, Luo Lan sped past with his convoy without any intention of stopping at the stronghold entrance.

But after Luo Lan’s convoy entered Stronghold 114, they did not drive to the administrative center. Instead, they headed straight for the official residence of a Qing Consortium member.

This Qing Consortium member had quite a reputation within the organization, but he was not in the same faction as Qing Zhen.

Logically, Qing Zhen should have gotten rid of this potential threat after taking over the Qing Consortium. However, the other party’s reputation in Stronghold 114 was relatively high, and Qing Zhen had other more important things to attend to. Seeing that the other party was keeping a low profile, it could be said they decided to coexist peacefully.

This time, Luo Lan led his troops right over. When they arrived at the other party’s official residence, they immediately carried out a full lockdown and rushed in with the elites of the special forces.

The middle-aged man named Qing Huan stood in the middle of his home’s courtyard and looked at Luo Lan coldly. “What brings you here?”

Luo Lan chuckled as he strode towards the other party with long strides. Then he suddenly took out his pistol and killed the other party on the spot without giving him a chance to say another word.

This turn of events happened so suddenly many of the security detail in the official residence could not react in time.

By the time they had the thought to resist, the soldiers of the special forces battalion had already begun to neutralize the entire official residence’s security personnel with automatic rifles fitted with silencers.

The security personnel here were all veterans of the Qing Consortium’s troops. They were considered Qing Huan’s former subordinates and were also elites.

Under normal circumstances, they were fully capable of dealing with a surprise attack.

But in their day-to-day work, they were only equipped with pistols and were not even wearing bulletproof vests, so how could they possibly be a match for the elites of the special forces?

Luo Lan took in the sight of Qing Huan’s official residence covered in blood before returning to his vehicle without any hesitation.

Zhou Qi sighed and said, “You’ve overdone it, surely?”

Luo Lan said nonchalantly, “This guy looked like he was staying in Stronghold 114 obediently but had actually been secretly controlling the officials of Stronghold 114. He even tried to collude with the other members of the Qing Consortium. In the past, I would’ve allowed him to live to show my brother’s benevolence. But now that the Wang Consortium is about to start a war, how can I continue to let him live?”

The reason Luo Lan suddenly changed his itinerary this time and became so ruthless was entirely due to the Wang Consortium’s invitation.

At this moment, Luo Lan was extremely clearheaded. A great change was coming. What he needed to do was definitely not to hurry back to Stronghold 111 but to get rid of all the unstable elements around Qing Zhen first.

He wanted to help Qing Zhen eliminate all potential threats in the Southwest within three days.

Only then could Qing Zhen focus his attention on other matters.

Zhou Qi said, “Then what crime did you execute him for? How will strangers judge you for killing someone without any evidence?”

“Hehe.” Luo Lan realized a drop of blood had splattered onto his face earlier. As he wiped off the blood with a tissue, he said with a smile, “Since when did I have to frame others to kill them? Since I’ve already killed him, so be it. Whoever wants to criticize me can criticize me all they want. I don’t need to have a good reputation.”

In times like these, extraordinary people would do extraordinary things.

These were Zhou Qi’s thoughts on the matter at this moment.

The special forces battalion started thoroughly cleaning up the entire residence of Qing Huan. Before they were done, the officials of Stronghold 114 arrived and saw the courtyard full of blood. However, they could only keep quiet out of fear. It was as though they did not even dare to breathe too loudly.

Luo Lan sat in the vehicle and looked at them coldly. He said, “There’s a reason for today’s incident. You people should just focus on your own work. The internal affairs of the Qing Consortium have nothing to do with you all. I’m very satisfied with the arms inventory and food reserve levels at Stronghold 114.”

After that, the convoy set off once again and headed for Stronghold 115. In Luo Lan’s plan, there were still several people he needed to kill.

The officials stood dumbfounded at the entrance of Qing Huan’s official residence behind the convoy and looked at each other. When they turned around and saw the corpses here, they suddenly heaved a sigh of relief.

An official said to his subordinates, “Get someone to come over and finish cleaning up the place. Remember, gag the news. If anyone asks about this matter, tell them you don’t know anything.”