Chapter 86: 86, Northern frontier

The other refugees in the town were unaware of what had transpired, and the school’s walls were not high—perhaps around one and a half meters of earthen structure.

So someone could peer inside by tiptoeing, and when they did, they were startled: two corpses lay in the school’s backyard, with blood still flowing from the building.

It had been over a decade, and this was the first time anyone had committed murder within the school!

Of course, it was precisely this peculiar incident that made Yan Liuyuan even more anxious about Ren Xiaosu’s safety.

Wang Chengyang hurried toward the stronghold, carefully flipping open his ID along the way to glance at it, only to see the words: "Zhang Jinglin, 178 Refuge Stronghold."

At that moment, Wang Chengyang inhaled sharply—he had never seen such an ID before. Normal IDs should indicate one’s position and identity, even with birth dates and photos for recognition.

But this one was different, as if anyone seeing it would immediately know its owner. Now, recalling the legend of the person who had vanished from the 178 Refuge Stronghold over a decade ago, Wang Chengyang quickened his pace.

Yet his rank was too low, and he wasn’t certain his guess was correct.

Instead of seeking the stronghold’s administrator, Wang Chengyang drove straight to Luo Lan’s residence. In truth, everyone knew that though Luo Lan’s identity was merely that of a merchant, when the stronghold faced grave danger, they turned to Luo Lan, and the administrators had tacitly accepted this.

Luo Lan’s residence lay at the heart of the stronghold. After entering, Wang Chengyang spent nearly an hour driving, only because the streets were deserted at night.

Upon arriving, he found it was less a dwelling than a vast military camp.

A stone tablet stood at the entrance, its red engravings reading: "Military Control Zone!"

At the gate, stern soldiers from the Qingshi Consortium’s combat brigade wore black tactical uniforms, each armed and ready for battle. Before Wang Chengyang’s vehicle even neared, searchlights on the camp’s high walls had swung toward him.

At the entrance, Wang Chengyang flashed his ID and said, "I am Wang Chengyang of the private forces. There’s urgent business with Boss Luo regarding the 178 Refuge Stronghold."

At that moment, he felt no fewer than ten gun barrels trained on him. A soldier approached from the gate, his expression unflinching: "ID!"

When facing the Qingshi Consortium’s combat forces, the private troops were naturally inferior, so even with guns pointed at him, Wang Chengyang dared not speak.

He handed over both his and Zhang Jinglin’s IDs. The soldier who inspected them returned inside, and only after over ten minutes did he reappear: "Identity confirmed. Permission granted."

Only then did the massive gates of the camp finally swing open!

The Qingshi Consortium’s armed forces had always been among the elite in the consortium—strict discipline and formidable combat prowess. Yet such stringent security had never existed before, not until the Extraordinary Assassin’s murder of the stronghold’s administrator had prompted all major consortiums to raise their alert levels.

Before long, the camp blazed with light, and the rhythmic footsteps within echoed like thunder. The stronghold’s residents nearby were roused from their sleep. They knew not what transpired within, but the footsteps were unmistakably the combat brigade assembling.

A black off-road vehicle sped out of the stronghold, followed by three military trucks, each carrying a combat squad.

"Is this war?" someone peered out from their window, puzzled.

"Who is the Qingshi Consortium going to war with? If they’re really waging war, wouldn’t they deploy more forces?" another wondered. "The one in the off-road vehicle looked like Boss Luo. He hasn’t left the camp in two years—what could possibly alarm him?"

Yet the most stunned was Wang Chengyang, for upon seeing Luo Lan and Zhang Jinglin’s ID, he had leapt up as if his rear were ablaze.

Soon after, the entire camp seemed to enter a wartime state, its intricate war machine springing into motion.

Only then did Wang Chengyang confirm: Zhang Jinglin might truly be the person he suspected!

If it were him, why had he appeared here?!

The Qingshi Consortium’s convoy raced toward the stronghold’s gate, where Yan Liuyuan and the others waited in the schoolyard. Suddenly, he turned curiously to Zhang Jinglin: "Sir, what did you do before teaching?"

Yan Liuyuan understood; Zhang’s identity was likely staggering.

Zhang Jinglin smiled and replied, "I was a soldier."

Yan Liuyuan froze. This Zhang Jinglin bore little resemblance to the soldiers he had imagined. "Why did you stop being a soldier?"

The question left Zhang Jinglin silent for a long while, as though he too wrestled with inner turmoil. After a pause, he answered, "Because war cannot save humanity."

"Are you leaving?" Yan Liuyuan asked.

"Yes," Zhang Jinglin nodded. "There are people waiting for me in Sai Bei."

At that moment, Yan Liuyuan realized that Zhang Jinglin’s earlier appointment of Ren Xiaosu as a substitute teacher was genuine—he truly intended for Ren Xiaosu to become the school’s new teacher, for Zhang Jinglin had long planned to depart.

Even without tonight’s events, Zhang Jinglin would not have lingered here much longer.

"Why return to Sai Bei so suddenly?" Yan Liuyuan inquired.

"Because this world… has begun to change. I must be with those who await me," Zhang Jinglin explained.

"What’s in Sai Bei?" Yan Liuyuan pressed, for he and Ren Xiaosu had never ventured to such a place—rumor had it located far to the northwest.

Yan Liuyuan recalled once when Zhang had drifted off during class, gazing out the window at the sky and murmuring, "Sai Bei’s spring remains locked in ice and snow, no trace of green in sight, only wind and dust. Sai Bei’s snow blankets all in white, and humanity is so lonely."

In that instant, though Zhang painted Sai Bei as bleak, Yan Liuyuan sensed his longing and nostalgia. Now, reflecting back, he understood—Zhang Jinglin hailed from that very place.

"What’s in Sai Bei… tobacco to smoke?" Zhang Jinglin chuckled. "Don’t fear. They won’t harm me. In the end, they’ll have no choice but to send me back to the 178 Refuge Stronghold."

"Mhm," Yan Liuyuan nodded. He thought to himself that Ren Xiaosu would no longer be able to nag him about his homework. The town would soon have no teacher left.

Yet this time, the thought of skipping class brought him no joy as before.

…

Today’s update is early.