Chapter 239: 239, Ren Xiaosu's method

As they descended the mountain, Ren Xiaosu noticed that Chen Wudi seemed rather downcast; in truth, each time such a betrayal occurred, Chen's inner world was struck by turmoil.

It was like an innocent child who, at first, delighted in helping others with genuine kindness, but gradually came to realize that his goodwill toward the world was like a triangle within his own heart—each time it turned, it wounded his heart and caused him a sharp, heart-wrenching pain.

Until the edges of that triangle were worn smooth into a circle.

Ren Xiaosu did not attempt to console Chen Wudi further—this was a demon of the heart that Chen had to face alone, and only by understanding it himself could he escape this predicament.

After the troop transport truck descended the mountain, they did not head directly to the market town; they had plenty of time, and the journey there would take no more than three hours—if they hurried, they could arrive in two and a half hours, leaving them with two hours to spare.

Ren Xiaosu led them onto another path, and Li Qingzheng asked in confusion, "What are we doing?"

Ren Xiaosu glanced at him and replied, "You'll see when we get there."

By the roadside, Ren Xiaosu had Li Qingzheng lie in ambush, even insisting he change into the uniform of the Li Clan's regular forces and carry the credentials of the Special Investigation Department.

At that moment, a troop transport truck approached from afar, and Ren Xiaosu calmly walked into the middle of the road, blocking its passage.

The men in the truck, seeing Ren's Li Clan military attire, halted immediately; the vehicle carried an entire combat squad from another outpost, and their squad leader jumped down, offering a flattering smile: "Sir, what's the matter?"

Ren Xiaosu flashed his credentials: "The Special Investigation Department is conducting an inquiry. I suspect there's a spy among you—have them all get out."

The squad leader froze, then quickly cried out in protest: "Sir, is there some misunderstanding? We're just private soldiers from a small unit."

"Enough of the nonsense," Ren Xiaosu said coldly, "Are you the spy?"

The squad leader fell silent at once, immediately barking orders for the other soldiers to disembark: "Hurry up and get out—cooperate with the investigation!"

Once the soldiers had exited, Ren Xiaosu asked, "Who among you still has family in the market town?"

A man weakly raised his hand: "Sir, my family is still there."

Ren Xiaosu turned to the squad leader and said, "It's him—come with me!"

With that, Li Qingzheng arrived with a group of soldiers and bound the man, dragging him directly to their own truck.

Only then did Li Qingzheng realize, with shock, that Ren Xiaosu's so-called method was to rob people!

In truth, the Li Clan merely feared deserters—if the number of people was sufficient, they would not object, but Li Qingzheng never imagined Ren Xiaosu would resort to such a tactic!

How ruthless!

Yet, in this world, survival was paramount; Li Qingzheng and his men cared little for the fate of other combat squads—if they could live, that was enough, regardless of the method's righteousness!

The squad leader, eyeing the soldiers beside Li Qingzheng, felt something amiss—why were there civilians and private soldiers among them?

The squad leader asked, "Sir, are those private soldiers?"

Ren Xiaosu paused: "Yes, I've been hiding within the private forces for a long time to investigate spies!"

The squad leader dared not speak further; after all, the Special Investigation Department's reputation was well-known, and without the Li Clan's bloodline, no one dared offend them.

Ren Xiaosu glanced at him and said to Li Qingzheng, "Let's go!"

With that, their troop transport truck turned around and headed toward the market town. On the vehicle, Ren Xiaosu watched the bound man and told Chen Wudi, "Untie him."

The man nearly wept with fear: "Sir, I'm not a spy!"

"Hmm," Ren Xiaosu nodded, "From today onward, you're part of this combat squad."

The man hesitated: "Sir, I'm not part of your combat squad."

A private soldier beside him pointed a gun at him, and Ren Xiaosu said, "You are now!"

It was at this moment that the squad leader, still standing dazed on the road behind, suddenly realized: "Damn it—this is kidnapping! What kind of Special Investigation Department nonsense is this? How shameless!"

The soldiers beside him panicked: "Squad leader, what do we do now?"

The squad leader gritted his teeth: "We probably can't catch up with them, and I'm not even sure if his Special Investigation Department credentials are real. Let's... let's raid another combat squad!"

There were dozens of outposts in this area, each with their own combat squads.

Unbeknownst to Ren Xiaosu, after setting this precedent, the other combat squads behind him would descend into chaos over the kidnapping.

Some squads were complete and had never considered such a thing.

Yet many more squads, like Ren Xiaosu's, were short-handed and had been worrying about how to resolve it—his actions seemed to open a new door for them...

After descending from dozens of outposts, the main road to the market town was only two or three paths wide, and this was likely what they meant by "the brave prevail on narrow roads."

When Ren Xiaosu and his group rushed toward the market town, dawn was breaking. At that moment, they were startled to see several Li Clan troop transport trucks approaching from the opposite direction.

The trucks halted upon spotting Ren Xiaosu and his men, and the driver rolled down his window to shout, "You're private soldiers from the outpost?"

Li Qingzheng paused: "Yes."

"Did you see any riots on your way here?" the driver asked.

"No, we left early," Li Qingzheng replied calmly.

The driver cursed and rolled up his window: "Damn it, I heard that place was already a mess! And now we have to go check it out this early morning!"

Ren Xiaosu and Li Qingzheng sat at the front of the truck, neither speaking, but both likely guessed what had happened...

Li Qingzheng whispered, "Nothing bad, is there?"

Ren Xiaosu felt a twinge of guilt: "Probably not..."

Ren Xiaosu first sent Yan Liuyuan and the others into the market town, giving them instructions before heading to the rendezvous point to report in.

At dawn, Hu Shuo had just convened a brief meeting at the Special Investigation Department when a deputy brought a satellite phone: "General, the commander of the private forces' combat sequence is looking for you."

Hu Shuo paused: "What does he want with me?"

As he answered the call, "This is Hu Shuo," a torrent of complaints poured forth—the private soldiers were refugees, but their commander was a direct descendant of the Li Clan. The caller grumbled for a long while, and Hu Shuo grew irritated: "Who the hell wants to touch your private forces? Your sorry excuse for a unit—I wouldn't want it even if it were free. Stop spreading filth my way!"

With that, Hu Shuo hung up.

Yet he immediately began to suffer a headache, for he knew full well—this was surely another mess stirred up by Ren Xiaosu!