Dual wielding volcanoes, killing through the west

"Boom!"

……

Five consecutive kicks, stomping in an arc, followed by a series of crisp cracking sounds of breaking bones. The force was so great, it felt as if a thousand-pound hammer had struck the instep, severing the toes. Zhang Renfeng's kicks were clean and swift, instantly dismantling the fighting power of five men. Watching them clutch their feet, their faces contorted, rolling on the ground and howling in pain, a pleased smile spread across his face.

“What the…”

Just as the masked man was about to draw his gun, Zhang Renfeng quickly turned his head, capturing the terrifying smile in his eyes from a perfect angle.

That kind of pure laughter, without any ulterior motive, naturally leaves outsiders with only pure fear.

Overwhelmed by fear, even the speed at which he drew his gun increased.

But as soon as he pulled out his revolver, a large hand covered it. Zhang Renfeng used his index finger to hold down the firing pin and his thumb to press on the cylinder, seemingly without much force, just a light push.

"when---!"

He pushed the entire magazine out and slammed it to the ground, scattering the bullets inside with a clatter.

Chapter 121: Is the masked man the Red Center? (Bounty 34)

"Ah...ah..."

The mask was ripped off, and the bandit was struck by those dark, hollow eyes at close range. For the first time, his legs went weak, and he almost couldn't stand up.

"Interesting, so you're Red Center?" Zhang Renfeng patted his face, a sinister smile spreading across his face. "Your head is worth $7000, you know that?"

"No! No, no, no... I... I'm not Hong Zhong... I'm just an imposter, a fake!" The burly man shook his head repeatedly, realizing he had messed with a tough opponent, and all his previous enthusiasm vanished. "Our gang leader told me to impersonate Hong Zhong, and said... since it's all robbery anyway, and he's already robbed the train, it's no big deal to put the remaining debt on him, so I impersonated Hong Zhong."

"My bounty is only a few dozen dollars; I'm just a nobody. Even if you kidnap me, it won't do you any good..."

"Is that so?" Zhang Renfeng said with amusement. "Anyway, no one has ever seen what Hongzhong looks like. Doesn't everyone say he's a monster? Your costume is quite accurate."

"No, no, that's not how it is!" The bandit was so frightened that his legs trembled, and he blurted out all the information he knew. "You're a bounty hunter, right? Do you want to catch the real Hong Zhong? Perfect, I'll tell you his information and spare my life."

"..." Zhang Renfeng just smiled and looked at him without saying a word.

The bandit shuddered, no longer daring to negotiate. His lips seemed to fly, as if he wanted to reveal the names of his own parents. "He doesn't actually wear a mask. That guy is Japanese. The pattern on this mask is actually a character from Japan, meaning 'middle,' which means the same skin color as you."

“Our boss told me that the reason no one could catch him was because he killed all the witnesses. He’s a man who’s always angry!”

"He also killed all the members of the Wolf Shepherd Gang, because of... the Mini couple! He wanted to avenge the Mini couple... About two or three years ago, Red Center and the Yellow-Clad Man robbed a bank... The boss speculated that they hid the money somewhere, and their route might have some connection with Sparrow Mountain."

"He killed Nordlin, killed Cheddar, and slaughtered Scarface Village; it was all to vent his anger!"

“A person like that, once he makes a grudge, will not let it go easily. So, he... he... will definitely be active near White Torch Town. Since Ryan Childer is still in White Torch Town, Red Center's next target will inevitably be him. So, let me pretend to be Red Center and pin this on him.”

……

After a few dozen seconds, the pain from having my toe smashed gradually subsided and I became numb.

One of the bandits endured the pain, wiped the cold sweat pouring from his forehead, gritted his teeth, and with trembling hands, barely managed to touch the handle of the gun in the holster.

"boom--!!"

Before he could even draw his gun, a bullet had already entered his skull, freezing his expression in that moment forever.

"what……"

"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Before the shouts could even spread, Xiao Mei, who had rushed over from the passenger compartment, calmly fired four shots in quick succession. The bullets entered the back of the head, killing the victim instantly and nipping all potential threats in the bud.

……

"Are you alright?" Seeing that Zhang Renfeng's condition was not right, Xiaomei pointed the gun barrel at the bandit leader's head and said coldly, "Do you need me to kill him?"

Zhang Renfeng shook his head slightly, his expression serious. "Who is your boss?"

"I can't say, this... I really can't say." He shook his head, his face contorted with grief. "My wife and children are in his hands. If I betray him, and he finds out later, he'll make sure my wife and children die a horrible death... a really, really horrible death!"

"I can also make sure you die a horrible death," Zhang Renfeng threatened expressionlessly, adding an adjective, "a particularly, particularly, particularly horrible death."

Whether to die yourself or take your whole family with you, it seems like no matter which option you choose, it's the wrong one.

"Please spare me... Master... I've told you everything I know. Didn't you want to capture Hongzhong? This should be enough!"

The bandit pleaded with a mournful face, "Please, I have family, I don't want to die..."

“I don’t want your boss’s real name,” Zhang Renfeng continued to pressure. “Give me a name, or a nickname, or the gang’s name, is that alright?”

……

"..."

After a long silence, the bandit finally gave in and said, "Our gang... strictly speaking, doesn't exist at all."

"does not exist?"

“Sometimes, when we go out, we tie blue cloth to the horse’s legs; sometimes, we howl like wolves when we rob; sometimes, we wear this red mask like this. We have no organization of our own, nor do we have a meeting place.”

"The stolen money would be regularly placed somewhere in White Torch Town... The only place I know is under the clock tower. Every time, it would be buried in the ground under the cover of night, and it would be dug up the next day. The money distributed to us was also done in the same way. When we weren't working, we had no other dealings with each other."

"Aside from the fact that he is a man like me, I really know nothing about him!"

Zhang Renfeng and Xiaomei exchanged a glance, both finding it somewhat novel.

It is not an official gang.

When you're out in the world, your reputation is something you earn yourself, but this gang has taken a completely new approach—directly stealing other people's reputations.

Does wearing a mask mean you're part of the Red Center? We also have masks; we can be part of the Red Center too!

Similarly, the blue ribbons of the Thunder Fury Gang and the howls of the Wolf Shepherd Gang are easy to imitate. Zhang Renfeng even suspected that since he had taken down the two local gangs, this group had turned to imitating the Red Central Gang.

"Alright, since that's the case, I won't make things difficult for you... Your boss's calculations are very accurate, but there's still one small error."

Zhang Renfeng unfolded and smoothed out his red mask, blew off the dust, and put it on his face.

The large Chinese character "中" (zhong, meaning "middle" or "center") reflected in his pupils was like the call of death.

“Recently, I’ve also started to think that wearing a mask is a pretty good option, as it can save me a lot of trouble.”

The bandits' expressions first turned blank, then filled with terror.

The mask felt too tight on his face, but for some reason, it fit the other person perfectly, as if made for them. It covered the face completely, leaving only the extremely imposing text, as if he were no longer facing a person, but some unknown, indescribable, and unfathomable thing hidden behind the face.

"I see..." The bandit's voice trembled. He knew he had already revealed so much information about the Red Army, and logically and emotionally, there was no way he could leave here alive. "From the very beginning, there was no pocket watch..."

“Yes, there’s no pocket watch,” Zhang Renfeng said coldly. “From the very beginning, there was no Red Center.”

"I'm nothing but a ghost that keeps them up at night!"

Clench one hand into a fist, with the middle finger sticking out.

"Boom!"

The Phoenix Eye Fist struck his temple, its force penetrating his skull and reaching his brainstem! In an instant, the bandit collapsed to the ground, groaned twice, and died.

Chapter 122: Hong Zhong has been arrested! Hong Zhong has been arrested! (Bounty still up - 35)

The magnificent police station lobby made Mike feel somewhat uncomfortable; it was much more luxurious than the police stations he remembered, as if it had been renovated.

Several young sheriffs walked past him, nodding slightly in acknowledgment, their eyes shining with an almost untapped potential. He had never felt this way in all the years he had lived in White Torch Town.

After Nordlin's death, the atmosphere in officialdom changed significantly.

"Captain, sorry to keep you waiting!" Gordon, carrying a stack of case files, hurried down the stairs, shook hands with him, and addressed him with the same respect he showed to Mike. "We just had a meeting. As you know, that bank is opening soon, and there are a whole bunch of security issues, this problem and that problem. Mayor Wendigo has insisted that there absolutely cannot be any mishaps, so it's been a long time coming."

Mike grasped Gordon's hand and found him to be much the same as he remembered. Only the coffee stains on his mustache were thicker, but his physique remained unchanged. It seemed that he hadn't been promoted and was now sitting in the office all day, which gave Mike a sense of relief.

If he had to face an office bureaucrat, even one of his former students, he would rather turn around and walk away right now.

“Thank you for taking the time to see me, Sheriff Gordon.” Mike glanced at the file in his hand, “especially given how busy you are.”

Gordon smiled and didn't say much. "Let's talk in my office."

……

His office was large, at least larger than the place Mike had once worked. Certificates and awards, even a letter of commendation from the mayor, hung on the walls as an incentive. Neatly organized documents were filed in categories for easy retrieval by officers.

Facing the information board on the wall, there are thirteen names posted in order, along with densely packed clues, analysis, time, location, and so on.

Mike's gaze lingered briefly on the last name.

Ned Robert Elan.

“He’s a good cop,” Gordon said in a deep voice. “I’ll make sure everyone who works for him knows that.”

“Um, thank you.” Mike paused for a moment, unsure what to say. “Listen, Gordon, I’m here because… my family, I mean, this child’s wife, she…”

For a veteran police officer, this whole situation was quite awkward.

Mike knew that rushing things wouldn't help, but he couldn't reason with Kelly about it. Because she was irrational, and in this matter, she had the right to be irrational.

“No need to say anything, Captain Gordon, I understand.” Gordon composed himself. “Ever since Ned’s incident, Ms. Kelly has been very concerned about the Australian Shrike case. As a police officer, I fully understand her feelings, but…”

"Boom!"

Halfway through the conversation, the door was suddenly flung open, and a brisk, red-haired young man burst in, speaking with a fluent English accent, "Inspector Yang Sen, a Pinkerton detective named Ross is here. He says he wants to talk to you about security for the bank's opening day."

Gordon rolled his eyes at him, then patiently said, word by word, "Newcomer, remember to knock before entering the office."

"Ah, sorry, sorry." The newcomer was quite outgoing, looking curiously at Mike's bald head. "And this is...?"

“Il Ilan is my captain of the Mounted Police in Granite State, and he’s also my mentor in this line of work,” Gordon said in a deep voice. “You’d better treat him with respect.”

“It’s my pleasure, Mr. Elan.” The newcomer, unfazed by Mike’s deadpan gaze, was the epitome of a sunny and cheerful young man, a smile still on his face. “So, how should I reply to them?”

Gordon waved his hand impatiently. "I have nothing to talk to mercenaries. Just tell them I'm not here and send them away."

"Ming~~bai!"

……

The door closed, and the newlyweds left in a flurry, leaving the two old men looking at each other, and then they both burst out laughing.

"You've taken on apprentices too?"

"Ha, this kid is giving me a real headache..." Gordon shook his head. "He's got plenty of guts but not enough brains. He's always at the forefront of missions. He's got an inexhaustible amount of energy."

“That’s good. These are the young people we should have. With them around, the police station will get better and better, and the world will become brighter.” Mike sighed, his gaze inadvertently sweeping over his son’s name on the information wall once again. His tone was somewhat heavy. “Seeing him makes me truly realize how old I am.”

……

The emotions he had painstakingly built up were disrupted once again, so Gordon simply stopped building up and went straight for the kill.

"Old Captain, how long are you going to stay this time?"

"What's wrong?" Mike squinted. "Let me make this clear first, I have my own work to do, so I can't help you with anything."

“We’re short of experienced veterans here. If you’d like, I can apply to Mayor Wendigo to have you join our special investigation team. This major case has remained unsolved for a long time. To be honest, with my skills, I might never catch this killer in my lifetime!”

Gordon's tone was very sincere, and you could tell that he genuinely hoped for it.

"Anyway, you're probably doing bounty hunting or something like that now, right? Instead of wasting time on that kind of thing, why not join us, catch that killer, and avenge all the victims, including Ned!"

"..."

Mike was silent for a while, then lit a cigarette, chuckled, and shook his head. "Thank you for your kindness, Gordon. It seems you haven't given up on this case. That's all I wanted to know on this trip, and that's enough."

“I’m no longer a mounted police officer. Let the police handle what they’re supposed to do. I need to earn money. My son is gone, and I have a granddaughter to raise.” He flicked his cigarette ash, speaking less to Gordon and more to himself. “Besides, you’ve tried for so many years and haven’t found a clue. He hasn’t committed a crime in a long time; you’ve practically worn out all the old files…”

……

……

……

Gordon stared at him without saying a word.

Often, language doesn't necessarily need to be spoken aloud to convey meaning.

Mike shuddered and stubbed out his cigarette in an instant. "Gordon...?!"

“The fourteenth victim has emerged,” Gordon said, emphasizing each word. “Just last night, I had the news kept under wraps, so not many people know about it yet.”

"The crime scene this time was very 'fresh' and very...clean."

"Well, old captain, want to take a look?"

----

"Boom!"