Dual wielding volcanoes, killing through the west

"Ah...ah..."

He didn't know how long he rolled around, but under the dual stimulation of adrenaline and pain, Wendigo barely managed to stay awake.

The mud and bruises were indistinguishable; the fall had added several more scars to his already battered body. But he couldn't care less. With all his might, he limped to his feet and ran deeper into the grassland.

Under the moonlight, his shadow in the sea of ​​grass looked as tiny as a frightened weasel fleeing in panic.

Chapter 190: When I say it's over, it's truly over! (Part 61)

Zhang Renfeng also jumped off the train. There was no better speed bump than a lawn. After a skillful roll, he dissipated all the impact.

He didn't attack Wendigo, but instead followed him at a leisurely pace, ensuring that they were at a distance where they wouldn't immediately encounter each other, but could clearly sense one another.

Wendigo stumbled ahead, while he leisurely chased after him, the two maintaining a certain tacit understanding.

It seems less like a long-distance manhunt and more like a little game under the moon.

The moonlight shone directly on the grassland, casting a soft, bright silver glow upon them.

The night breeze soothed their bodies, making them feel quite cool. At least Zhang Renfeng felt that this was a pleasant and relaxing activity.

……

"Ha ha……"

Wendigo was gradually losing strength. A knife was already embedded deep in the back of his right shoulder, the blade severing the muscle completely. Falling out of the train and rolling around had further injured his spine with the dagger, leaving his right arm essentially paralyzed. Add to that the countless punches and kicks he'd endured, and the injuries from the train fall—the fact that he could still move was a miracle of adrenaline.

It's a miracle, but sooner or later it will all be squandered.

It's about now.

"What's wrong?" Zhang Renfeng strolled over as if he were taking a walk in his own backyard, stopping in front of him. "You can't run anymore already? Weren't you supposed to be a fast runner?"

“…I had to.” Wendigo’s voice was softer than before, and his lips were chapped. “I had a sister, whom I lost during the war. It was on a night like this that we escaped from Gettysburg…”

"Stop," Zhang Renfeng said coldly. "I don't want to hear it. I'm not interested in how you became like this. Maybe God will be interested in you. I can send you to see him."

“You shouldn’t have killed me, Hongzhong… It was a mistake…”

Wendigo's stamina seemed to be failing him, and he could no longer stand.

He clutched his injured right shoulder and slowly sat down, like a wounded deer licking its wounds on the grassland. "In their eyes, the Red-eared Shrike... and the Australian Shrike are essentially no different. In fact... they fear you far more than they fear me."

“In just a few weeks, you have killed more people in that town than I have.”

"Heh." Zhang Renfeng's laughter was full of sarcasm. "It's my fault for delaying your selection of ingredients."

"In this world... wolves eat people, tigers eat people, jaguars, crocodiles, wild boars in the mountains, lions in the circus, they all eat people, yet they have never been blamed by anyone."

After spouting a string of fallacies, Wendigo abruptly changed the subject, "In the eyes of those social elites, the 'Oakland Shrike' is something like that—a predator lurking in the town. As long as you don't provoke them, they just pretend they don't see you. Over the years, we... have gotten along very well..."

"But you're different, Hongzhong. You pulled out the tongues of those 25 people. That was a declaration of war... You provoked them!"

"If I remember correctly, you ate one too, right?" Zhang Renfeng said teasingly, arms crossed. "Was it steamed or braised?"

“You…you’re here for my case…They won’t agree to let an Asian become a White Torch police officer. Gordon likes you a lot, but without me, he doesn’t have that much power, and it’s even hard to say whether he can keep his position as sheriff.”

“Bruce Zhang, or whatever your name may be… you’re just the ‘Interim Sheriff of the Australian Shrike Case’.”

"Think it through, Red Center!"

Wendigo's tone suddenly changed, as if in a final burst of energy, like a demon from hell using its last strength to offer one last temptation before being defeated.

"Without the Australian shrike, what are you in their eyes?"

……

The mocking smile on Zhang Renfeng's face gradually faded, and all warmth was exhausted in his black pupils, as cold and desolate as the crescent moon immersed in the night.

"We'll see."

Without another word, he walked over slowly, grabbed Wendigo by the collar, and tried to lift him up and tie him up with a rope.

----

All his remaining energy was for this moment; this was his final escape plan.

Wendigo's eyes suddenly widened. He slid out the pen that had been hidden in his sleeve, gripped it with his left hand, and with all his might, stabbed it toward Zhang Renfeng's temple! The knife couldn't cut through, perhaps because the cut was too long, but the pen tip was more like a needle. If he used a needle to pierce, could he leave a wound on Zhang Renfeng's body?

Sadly, he would never have the chance to verify this small research project. Before the pen even touched Zhang Renfeng, his iron-like hand had already gripped Wendigo's left wrist. Twisting it 180 degrees in the direction of the thrust, a snap was heard, and his left arm was broken by the reverse joint. This excruciating pain, combined with other pains throughout his body, flooded his brain with agonizing signals, rendering him unable to scream.

"You bastard..."

Provoked repeatedly, Zhang Renfeng was furious and threw a punch!

"Bang---!!"

The first punch pierced the center line, striking Wendigo squarely on the bridge of his nose. Wendigo's nose was completely broken, and blood gushed from his nostrils instantly. He tried to raise his hand to cover his nose, but found that neither of his hands obeyed his commands; only his left shoulder was twitching meaninglessly, and his body leaned backward.

"Bang---!!"

The second hook punch landed squarely on the corner of his eye, instantly severing his brow. Blood gushed out, obscuring his vision; all he could see was red, then black, followed by an overwhelming, excruciating pain. But Wendigo laughed, a very strange laugh.

"Thump—!!"

The third punch landed squarely on his temple. His head buzzed, and his bodily signals seemed to detach uncontrollably, traveling to a distant place. He clearly saw his body limply collapsing to the ground, his perspective fixed, and everything gradually blurred.

……

"Ha... I succeeded..." In the darkness, only Wendigo's inner voice echoed.

In the middle of nowhere, even if the bullet hits him, what difference would it make? At most, it would only cause him a minor injury. He still has two guns on his waist, and his body is already injured like this. No matter what, there's no way he can escape from him.

Wendigo's final escape plan was to use death as an emergency exit to escape this world. Through his final attack, he intended to enrage Red, thus provoking him to attack. Having considerable knowledge of human medicine, how could he not know that his own body was already in a state of flux, like a candle flickering in the wind, easily extinguished with a single breath?

ended.

No matter how strong Hongzhong is, what can he do to a dead person?

Thinking this, he sank into the darkness, as if returning to the womb, peaceful and serene...

……

……

……

----

"boom----!!!"

The intense and powerful vibrations woke him from his near-sleep state.

"What...no..." The familiar pain signal came again, and Wendigo felt a pull. This was perhaps one of the few times he showed a mixture of fear and terror. "No—!!"

"boom----!!!"

The next moment, he was captured by gravity again and forcibly pulled back into the Wheel of Life, into this body that was almost overwhelmed by pain.

The pain made his eyes widen, and he screamed silently.

"Trying to run again? You're really good at running, aren't you? I think you shouldn't be called the Australian Shrike anymore, you should be called the Australian Running Man."

"Unfortunately, I can't this time. I promised someone I would bring you back."

Zhang Renfeng struck his Guanyuan acupoint (lower abdomen, 3 inches below the navel, on the anterior midline of the body), locking his consciousness back into this body, and grinned maliciously, "Between you and me, if you ask me, it's over, then it's truly over!"

Chapter 191: THE END (Part 62)

So...the person is really dead?

Zhang Renfeng nodded.

Gordon flipped through the notes in the notebook, his brow furrowed and his expression grim. "How did he die?"

“I vaguely remember that I’ve been answering this question nonstop since eight o’clock in the morning.” Zhang Renfeng took out his pocket watch and couldn’t help but squint. “For three whole hours, I’ve explained everything I could think of to you, haven’t I?”

“I’ll say it again, this is no small matter.” Gordon’s expression was very serious. “It all started when you caught the train.”

"call……"

Zhang Renfeng let out a long breath and said listlessly, "I caught up with the train and jumped onto the freight car. He fired four shots at the top of the car, which I dodged, and then rushed in from the side. We fought inside the car. I broke his knife, and then he took out a pen, which I broke as well."

“During the fight, the entire train door was ripped off. The train was traveling through the mountains, and right outside the door was a deep ravine. He just fell down there. That ravine must have been dozens of meters high, barren and devoid of vegetation. I watched him fall several times before he disappeared. Falling from such a height, even if he was still breathing, he would have been stiffened overnight.”

In short, it can be summed up in eight words: neither alive nor dead.

Gordon looked somewhat serious. After all, he had been a mounted police officer for so long, and he still had some basic intuition about the case itself.

He was almost certain that Zhang Renfeng was not telling the truth.

Unfortunately, this fellow was no ordinary person; he possessed exceptional mental fortitude. He tried asking directly, indirectly, and through subtle probing, but to no avail. Wendigo Lecter was dead, and the identity of the Australian Shrike would cease to exist—that was the whole truth he told himself.

The long-running manhunt has finally come to a conclusion, which can be considered a good ending. And all of this was accomplished by Zhang Renfeng and his group of mysterious bounty hunters, through their hard work and skill.

Gordon rubbed his temples, closed the notebook, and decided to accept this "good ending."

"Mr. Zhang."

Just as he was about to open the office door, Gordon called him back.

"I know this might sound a bit harsh, but... you and your friends shouldn't stay in this town for too long."

Because of their previous experiences, Gordon had earned Zhang Renfeng a lot of goodwill towards him, so even so, Zhang Renfeng wasn't angry. He simply placed his hand lightly on the doorknob, turned around, and listened attentively as Gordon continued.

"Objectively speaking, my current position was also promoted by Wendigo. There were already many voices against him in White Torch. Now that he's dead, these voices will inevitably make a big fuss about it... It's uncertain how many more days I can serve as sheriff."

“In this situation, Zhang, your predicament is even more dangerous. Don’t forget, you’ve also committed crimes in this town. The people you killed have intricate networks of interests behind them… they’ve just been suppressed by Wendigo for the time being.”

“With Wendigo dead, a huge structural vacuum has emerged in power. During this period, someone new mayor may come to power. Once the new mayor takes office, I plan to submit my resignation... Hah…” Gordon chuckled self-deprecatingly and shook his head. “It’s just going back to my hometown. I’m starting to miss Granite State, that barren desert.”

"Why did you go to such lengths?" Zhang Renfeng turned around, his tone full of incomprehension. "You haven't done anything wrong, you haven't taken a single penny of bribes. Everything you've done has been upright and honest, so why resign?"

“They won’t care.” Gordon seemed to have gotten used to all of this. “The fact that Wendigo is the Shrike of Australia is already well-documented and an ironclad case. Since he is a murderer, then everyone he appointed and promoted is also a suspect.”

"Once this busy period is over, the investigation against me will begin immediately... Heh..."

"After the new mayor takes office, will he tolerate someone as annoying as me occupying the position of police chief?"

The saying "personnel matters are politics" accurately summarizes the behavior in officialdom, both in ancient and modern times, and in different countries.

Zhang Renfeng was speechless for a moment. Gordon was one of the few good policemen he had ever met, yet he was forced to resign due to unfounded suspicions and infighting. It sounded absurd, but based on his experience, it was very likely to become a reality.

This wasn't the first time he'd witnessed the power struggles in officialdom.

"Regardless, leave while you still have time. They won't allow a yellow-skinned person to stay in this town and become one of the sheriffs. Besides, you have such formidable fighting power... they'll only see you as a monster."

After giving his final piece of advice, Gordon extended his right hand to him. Zhang Renfeng hesitated for a moment, but still shook hands with him.

"Thank you for your hard work during this time, Zhang. Don't blame me for being suspicious, but I still have to ask one more question..."

This statement was not recorded; it seems to have been a private conversation between two individuals.

"The Australian shrike, will it never appear again?"

……

"Yes, don't worry." Zhang Renfeng nodded and assured him, "I will never see him again."

----

"Brothers, hang in there a little longer, we'll be at White Torch Town soon!" the captain shouted. "That town seems pretty big. Once we get there, we can eat and have some fun, rest a bit, and then we can start our operation."

"Oh—!!" The companions responded in unison.

"Sigh..." Sitting on horseback, Elijah looked at the few thin US dollars in his wallet and sighed.

“Look again, it won’t increase.” His companion said with a hint of sarcasm, “If you’re going to be a bounty hunter, you should have a clear understanding of yourself: most of the time, we’re doing a losing business. We pay for our own guns and ammunition. In our group, we’re already doing a good job if we can even provide you with a set of clothes.”

In the mountains, a large procession, dressed entirely in black suits, red ties, and bowler hats, slowly made its way through the landscape.

"No job is easy, really. The Blinking Dutchman is already one of the top bounty hunter groups..."

Elijah was just a lowly, wandering gunslinger. He was desperate for food and nearly starving, which is why he joined this largest bounty hunter group. He didn't aspire to greatness; he just wanted to survive and have something to eat, but even that proved incredibly difficult.

Right now, the higher-ups have received information that Hong Zhong, a wanted criminal worth $7000, has appeared in White Torch Town, so they have been sent here as an advance team to gather information.

Earning little money and having to travel so far for business trips, his mood plummeted.

Just then, the hunting dogs in the group suddenly started barking wildly, their cries urgent, as if they had smelled something.

"Woof! Woof woof woof woof woof—!!!"

The captain immediately stopped and pondered for a moment, then said, "Elija, go and take a look!"