The First Order Chapter 196 - Stealing bicycles

Chapter 196 Stealing bicycles
In current times, maps of the areas that were under the control of an organization were rarely made available to the public. As such, most people did not really have a clear concept of the geography. Usually, people would just describe the location of the next stronghold with terms like in front, behind, to the left, to the right, up north, or down south. As for the exact distance and where they were precisely located, no one really knew.
Ren Xiaosu thought about how all those strongholds were actually a huge alliance, yet no one came up with a complete map of the lands. The organizations were all guarding against each other as though they were thieves. Of course, he felt that the various organizations would probably have more detailed maps but kept them secret.
This led to… Ren Xiaosu feeling embarrassed when he discovered he did not know where Stronghold 88 was even though he suggested going there.
Ren Xiaosu thought for a while. “It’s not a big deal. It should be somewhere to the north. We should be able to get there with a bit of walking.”
“Bro, why do I feel like you’re also uncertain about what you said?” Yan Liuyuan said. He checked with Jiang Wu, who was beside him, but realized she also did not know where Stronghold 88 was.
According to Yang Xiaojin, there were two strongholds between Stronghold 88 and Stronghold 109. The entire distance of the journey should be between 500 to 1,000 kilometers, so it might be quite difficult to get there just by walking.
When normal people looked to travel to another stronghold, they tended to head to the nearby ones. It was impossible to get to those that were too far away. It was only the organizations that were capable of traveling across the wasteland.
So it wasn’t a surprise that Jiang Wu did not know where Stronghold 88 was.
“Bro, are we going to ride a 1,000 kilometers on our bikes?” Yan Liuyuan felt despair when he thought about it.
Ren Xiaosu thought for a while. “Why don’t we try to get our hands on a car after we get to the next stronghold? We can then drive to Stronghold 88!”
“Get our hands on a car? Bro, why don’t you just say we’re stealing one? You don’t need to mince your words.” Yan Liuyuan said, “Currently, the Qing Consortium’s Stronghold 111 is the closest to us. If you’ve already decided on stealing a car, I suggest that we go there to steal one.”
“Qing Zhen and Luo Lan should be on their way back to Stronghold 111.” Ren Xiaosu pondered and said, “I think it would be best to avoid going there. After all, those two are bellicose people, so it’s not good to be interacting with them too much.”
“Bro, seeing as you’re so insistent on going to Stronghold 88, that acquaintance you mentioned should be Yang Xiaojin, right?” Yan Liuyuan suddenly asked.
“You always have so much to say.” Ren Xiaosu glared at him. “Rest early. We’ll start pushing faster tomorrow and go north first. If we encounter a stronghold along the way, we can stop at the town outside of it for a while. Once we find out where Stronghold 88 is, we can continue there.”
Ren Xiaosu felt it was better to stay away from the Qing Consortium’s Stronghold 111, as well as the Li Consortium. Otherwise, they might just get involved in the wrath of Li Shentan’s vengeance. When he thought of Li Shentan, he sensed the only interest the young man had after getting out of the psychiatric hospital was revenge.
But then, the howling of wolves came from the distance. Following, more howling sounded in the quiet wilderness, scaring people.
Some of the escapees who had fallen asleep jolted awake. They looked around in a panic and wondered why they had to encounter the wolves so soon after escaping from the claws of the Experimentals. So it was actually that dangerous in the wilderness?!
Someone said softly, “Everyone, look at the hilltop over there!”
Everyone looked over and saw several hundred white wolves as large as bison standing atop a hill and staring at them quietly. The size of the white wolves was utterly different from what the stronghold residents had been taught. The wolves they learned about in the textbooks were not this big!
If these wolves attacked the escapees’ campsite, more than half of them would likely get killed or injured tonight. On top of that, the remaining survivors would find it hard to escape the pursuit of the wolves.
Ren Xiaosu did not say anything as he knew the wolves would not attack the escapees’ campsite. That was because if these wolves would’ve attacked a campsite, his group would have died during their last escape from Stronghold 113.
But he could not understand why these wolves kept following them everywhere. Ren Xiaosu’s intuition told him the wolves were here because of their small group, not because of other escapees. However, he was not a 100% sure of that.
But the escapees did not know this. When they saw wolves had arrived, they leapt up and continued fleeing north. When Ren Xiaosu saw the escapees were starting to move again, he said, “Let’s keep up with the bigger group for now!”
As Ren Xiaosu’s voice trailed off, Jiang Wu started waking up her students who were still asleep. They did not ask why and just followed wherever Ren Xiaosu went.
A group of people were riding bicycles and blending into the right side of the escapees’ group. As the road here was not that bumpy, it was much easier to escape on their bicycles than running on foot. The physical exertion between the two was completely on a different level.
“There’s no need to ride too fast. Just keep up with the pace of the crowd,” Ren Xiaosu instructed.
Yan Liuyuan happened to turn around at this moment and saw Ren Xiaosu sitting on the back of Chen Wudi’s bicycle and giving out instructions in high spirits.
“Bro, you still haven’t learned how to ride a bike?” Yan Liuyuan asked.
Ren Xiaosu kept a straight face and said, “I learned how to ride it, but I’ve lost my bike.”
“Bro, why don’t you take my bicycle while I get a ride from you instead?” Yan Liuyuan said.
Ren Xiaosu said matter-of-factly, “Liuyuan, you’re already an adult, so you should be riding your own bike.”
Yan Liuyuan lamented, “Bro, you’re the most shameless person I’ve ever met. No one else comes close.”
Jiang Wu and her students were cycling behind Ren Xiaosu’s group. As they rode along, they felt they really could survive longer just by following Ren Xiaosu.
Suddenly, two escapees who saw the students riding bicycles came over and tried to take them away from them!
Everyone knew they would escape faster with a proper mode of transportation. Besides, Jiang Wu’s students looked like clear pushovers, so some of these people started getting ideas about the bicycles!
The two escapees grabbed hold of a student’s shirt and shouted, “Get off!” They then proceeded to push the student off the bicycle.
Chen Wudi jumped off his bike and leaped in front of the two escapees in a single bound. “How dare the two of you behave so insolently in front of the Great Sage!”
Chen Wudi sent them flying backwards in an instant with a punch and a kick. One of them even had their leg twisted unnaturally!
Chen Wudi picked up the bicycle and handed it back to the student. “Keep your guard up. Shout for me if anyone else dares to come and steal your bicycle
again!”
That female student looked at Chen Wudi and said in a daze, “Th-Thank you!”
“There’s no need to thank me! You should thank my master instead!” Chen Wudi said as he waved it off.
At this moment, Ren Xiaosu was the one who felt most downcast.
Ren Xiaosu had only sat behind Chen Wudi on his bicycle as he thought he was stronger, so would not be burdened by his weight and get too tired. He could never have expected Chen Wudi to actually jump off the bicycle while it was still moving.
With a loud crash, Ren Xiaosu fell to the ground together with the bicycle!