Chapter 783: Hasty attack

Translator: Legge

Outside Stronghold 61, the reporter who was driving said to Jiang Xu, “Chief Editor, you seem to have forgotten something.”

Jiang Xu wondered, “What did I forget?”

“You forgot to get his autograph for us!” The reporters who were in the vehicle wanted to thump their chests and stamp their feet in frustration. “How could you forget something so important!”

Jiang Xu chuckled. “You guys met him just now too, so why didn’t you ask for it yourselves? He’s quite a nice person, so if you asked, he would definitely have obliged.”

“We were a little shy to see our idol, weren’t we?” The reporter in the front passenger seat said, “Chief Editor, you might not know this, but I’ve admired Chen Nian for a long time. It’s her birthday soon. If I can get that person’s autograph and give it to her, she’ll definitely be overjoyed.”

“Then you might stand a chance after that, right?” Jiang Xu said with a laugh, “Don’t worry, you’ll definitely still have a chance to get his autograph.”

“Who knows when we will get another opportunity?” the reporter in the front passenger seat muttered.

As a matter of fact, Ren Xiaosu was currently very popular among the Hope Media employees. The female editors at the newspaper firm were always talking about him every day. One of the female editors even bugged the field reporters daily to see if there was any news of their hero.

But then the reporter who was driving suddenly said, “Chief Editor, there’s a vehicle following us. There’s no logo on it, so it’s not from the Wang Consortium.”

Jiang Xu thought for a moment. “Can you shake them off?”

The reporter who was driving said calmly, “Stronghold 61 is actually quite close to Luoyang City. I can make a call to the black market to get them to pick us up directly. That way, we can reach the safe zone faster. I filled the gas tank yesterday, so it’s definitely enough to get us there.”

“Then let’s try to shake them off,” Jiang Xu said as he leaned back in the backseat.

“Chief Editor, is the Wang Consortium taking action against us? Because of today’s newspaper?” a reporter asked.

“I doubt this is an official stance.” Jiang Xu shook his head. Afterwards, he took out a few pistols from a hidden compartment under the seat. “All of you, arm yourselves. If a battle really breaks out, we still have to preserve our dignity. Don’t end up dying without even firing a shot.”

The chief editor hardened up from his usual cultured and refined self.

Meanwhile, the reporters beside him started to skillfully check their magazines and loaded their guns.

After all, it was very difficult to ensure the safety of a reporter if they wanted to investigate something in this day and age. Especially for investigative reporters like them, their lives were constantly put in danger by carrying out investigations against the consortiums.

On one of the walls on the top floor of the Hope Media headquarters was a series of investigative reporters’ names engraved. These were the people Jiang Xu hoped everyone would remember and treasure their efforts in seeking the truth.

Yin Xinsheng, Gao Qinrong, Yang Wei, Zhu Wenna, Jing Jianfeng, Jian Guangzhou…

These names were the most dazzling badges of honor in the history of the news industry.

Actually, it was still very difficult for investigative reporters to guarantee their own safety even if they had guns. After all, the enemies they had to face were far more terrifying than guns.

But just as Jiang Xu had said, this was about the dignity of an investigative reporter in the era of the wastelands.

A reporter laughed and said, “Chief Editor, have you killed anyone before?”

Jiang Xu was amused. “No.”

“Then do you feel nervous?”

“Truth is, I’m really a little nervous,” Jiang Xu laughed and said frankly.

The off-road vehicle was getting closer and closer. But when the two vehicles were about 50 meters apart, a figure suddenly rushed out from behind a mound off to the side and launched the off-road vehicle behind them into the sky!

“It’s White Mask!” A reporter shouted excitedly when he saw the situation unfolding behind them, “White Mask, our idol is here to save us!”

When everyone else found out White Mask was only a materialization power, the reporters from Hope Media immediately understood.

After all, Ren Xiaosu and White Mask had guarded the building together on that night. Even if one were to use their toes to think, they should be able to understand what was going on. White Mask was clearly Ren Xiaosu’s superpower.

Initially, there was a small group of female editors in Hope Media who were fans of White Mask. This led to them and Ren Xiaosu’s fans quarreling with each other, and it made the atmosphere in the entire office building extremely tense.

When the news got out, both sides immediately hugged each other and made up. It turned out they were all fans of the same person!

Jiang Xu smiled wryly at the thought. He did not expect it would be that young man saving them again. It was really as those female editors had put it. Ren Xiaosu was their guardian angel.

“Stop the vehicle.” Jiang Xu said, “The crisis has been averted.”

Although he was unsure of what had happened to the people in the off-road vehicle, Jiang Xu felt they were safe now that Ren Xiaosu had made his move.

Ren Xiaosu slowly walked out from behind the mound while “Old Xu” quickly approached that still rolling off-road vehicle. When the vehicle came to a stop, the three people in the vehicle crawled out of the window as though nothing had happened. They put on black masks and charged at Old Xu together.

But these people were too weak in Old Xu’s presence. Ren Xiaosu was a little puzzled. Were they supernatural beings? Why did it feel like something was off?

While he was pondering, one of them rushed in front of Old Xu. He took out a dagger from his waist and slashed at Old Xu. But in the blur of the action, Old Xu had already grabbed ahold of that person’s arm. With a snap, he broke it.

When the other two attackers saw this, they tried to flee into the wilderness. But how could Ren Xiaosu let them escape like that? He controlled Old Xu to knock out the person who had just been apprehended before making Old Xu run over to knock out the other two and carrying them back.

Old Xu carried them like they were two little chicks.

When the reporters saw this, they cheered, “He’s invincible, he absolutely crushed them!”

As they cheered, one of them tried to take a photo of the sight. However, Jiang Xu stopped him. “Don’t leave any imagery of him behind. We have to protect his true identity.”

That reporter quickly put away his camera. “I forgot, I forgot. I was so excited to see my idol fighting again. He’s so cool!” The reporter began to speak incoherently.

Jiang Xu looked at Ren Xiaosu. “I’ll skip the pleasantries with you. However, I’m a little curious. How did you know someone would come and attack us?”

“On my way back, I saw this off-road vehicle driving out of the stronghold. Moreover, their IDs seemed to suggest that they were really important people since the garrison troops at the gate did not subject them to any further checks. So I wondered if they were some extremely high-level fighting force who were on some kind of special mission,” Ren Xiaosu explained. “I didn’t expect them to really be targeting y’all.”

“It looks like the report today has really ruffled some feathers.” Jiang Xu sighed and said, “But it didn’t look like they were going to make an attempt on our lives either. Otherwise, they would’ve opened fire at us. They probably wanted to capture us alive.”

But Jiang Xu suddenly realized Ren Xiaosu was not listening to him at all. He was just standing there in a daze.

The voice of the palace intoned in Ren Xiaosu’s mind, “Detected nanomachines that are not paired to a consciousness. Would you like to reset them?”

4