Dual wielding volcanoes, killing through the west

"Ah I?"

Elijah wanted to ask that question back, but what could he do when he was the last to arrive? A junior is a junior; he was always the one who did the dirty and hard work. Reluctantly, he could only nod, dismount, and follow the hunting dogs into the depths of the dense forest.

"Anyway, some kind of animal must have died inside," he guessed, pushing aside the bushes.

----

"quack!"

The cawing of crows.

A large flock of crows sensed the commotion, flapped their wings, and flew away, like a dark, heavy cloud.

"..."

Elijah gradually sensed something was wrong, because he smelled the stench of decaying corpses and the pungent stench of blood. He drew his revolver, assumed a firing stance, and strode deeper into the woods.

"Woof! Woof woof woof—!!"

The uneasy barking grew louder and louder.

“What the f…”

The shock is beyond words.

Before him stood a massive antler, but upon closer inspection, it was clear that the antler was not real, but rather carved from a piece of wood. A man was impaled on it, like a figure in an ancient tale being impaled and executed; the antler pierced his flesh from his back, hollowing out his internal organs, some held in his hands, others scattered on the ground.

The blood had long since congealed; he had been dead for some time.

His face was so badly pecked by crows that it was unrecognizable; all that could be seen was that he had suffered immense pain before his death.

……

"I heard there's a hitman in White Torch Town who specializes in these kinds of cases—killing people and then nailing them to deer antlers." The captain, seemingly knowledgeable, only frowned slightly upon seeing this corpse. "His name is... 'Ocean Shrike,' maybe he's the one who did it?"

For bounty hunters, money is the most important thing; anything that can't be exchanged for money is not worth discussing.

The body, with its face scratched and mangled, naturally didn't interest them, but it left a very deep impression on Elijah.

After they left, the place returned to its original silence and tranquility.

----

A shrike landed on its forehead, pecked out its eyeball, and flew to a branch somewhere.

Chapter 192: Here's a White Hat for You to Wear (Part 63)

One cigarette after another, in the blink of an eye, there were countless cigarette butts around Mike, but they brought him no comfort whatsoever.

"He hasn't slept at all?!" Upon returning from Baiju Town and seeing his condition, Zhang Renfeng quickly inquired with his companions, "He hasn't slept since then?!"

“I haven’t slept since then.” Theon nodded in affirmation. “Not only that, he also borrowed all the cigarettes available in the camp.”

Last night, after Zhang Renfeng, under the cover of darkness, bound the spoils tightly, gagged them with a cloth (to prevent them from biting their tongues and committing suicide), and brought them back, Mike, despite the bruises on his back, went out with him. The two of them worked for almost four hours in the middle of the night, returning to camp in the dead of night, covered in blood, looking as if they had just slaughtered large animals like cattle or sheep.

Mike eventually learned the truth about cannibalism, but he said nothing, burying his hatred and anger deep in his heart and not venting it on his companions.

Everyone tacitly agreed not to ask where they went or what they did, and the matter passed by silently, like flowing water.

Since then, Mike hasn't slept. He just leans against his tent, smoking one cigarette after another, and no one tries to persuade him to stop. Everyone seems to assume that he needs some time to process what has happened.

“Nothing to be surprised about.” Igor was unfazed. “Hatred itself is a very strong driving force. I’ve seen many people who live on hatred.”

Long-suppressed emotions had filled his heart to the brim, but as he exacted his revenge on the Australian shrike, all those emotions were released in that moment, leaving a huge void inside him. After avenging a great grudge, a person often feels incredibly empty, unsure of what to do next, and this was exactly the situation Mike was in right now.

As I said before, let time tell; time will provide the answer.

Right now, this emerging Red China Gang has other things to discuss.

----

"He really said that?" Igor asked doubtfully at first, then sighed. "He really considers you one of his own."

"No...why?!" Alana was furious. "We did all the dirty work, Old Zhang caught the Australian Shrike, and we dealt with those gunmen from the Cold Cicada Gang. These guys were hiding behind the scenes, doing nothing. And now that everything's settled, they want to get rid of us?"

"Besides, shouldn't that mental hospital director die? I don't think he's much better than the town mayor. Executing him a hundred or a thousand times wouldn't be an injustice."

"That's one of the reasons," Igor said calmly. "The five of you are so strong that you can wipe out more than twenty well-equipped bandits. Who wouldn't be scared?"

“There is no vacuum of power. Wendigo is dead, and someone will inevitably take his place and become the new mayor.”

"Once the new mayor takes office, in order to maximize his own interests, he will inevitably have to clean up everything left behind by the previous mayor, including Gordon. The position of sheriff is too important, and it is impossible to keep a former mayor, especially since... given that the former mayor's reputation is already ruined, he certainly won't be the sheriff for long. Considering all the realities, it is also a kind of political wisdom to retire while he is still at the peak of his career."

"As for us... we were never part of White Torch Town to begin with. To them, we were always unreliable 'outsiders,' destined to be opposed and hostile to each other. In addition, with Old Zhang's killing spree in the mental hospital, they had long regarded our group as potential enemies."

"So the most suitable ending is to leave. Anyway, the world is so big, it doesn't matter where you live. Go to a new place, set up a new camp, wander and drift, and make the world your home. Why bother with them?"

“Or…” Zhang Renfeng’s voice became solemn, and his tone and expression changed abruptly, “we can stay and play with them.”

Igor nodded with satisfaction, feeling as if his child had finally grown up.

He doesn't object to living the cowboy life, but one should always have a backup plan.

"Play around... what exactly do you mean?" Theon asked, somewhat confused. "You're not going to kill them all, are you?"

“I’ll consider it if it’s absolutely necessary,” Zhang Renfeng said calmly. “I just don’t like the feeling of working hard for nothing and then having to sweep them away like trash. They want me to leave, but I’m not going to leave.”

"Besides, what exactly did we come to Baiju Town for? We came to make money, right? Now we haven't made a single penny, and we've just slunk away like this. Don't we feel like idiots? Where are we going to find this kind of gang of thugs?"

After he said that, everyone suddenly realized what he meant.

Yeah, where's the money?!

The original plan was to come to White Torch Town and thoroughly humiliate Cheder, and maybe even rob the newly opened bank. What kind of dramatic turn of events led to this?

Wendigo was one of Cheddar's business partners. With his death, whether the business could continue depended on the next mayor's strategy. In a sense, his death ruined Cheddar's business and successfully annoyed him—a consolation prize, perhaps.

The $10,000 they earned from robbing Cheder's train gave the Red Center gang members, who weren't particularly extravagant spenders, the illusion that they had already made their money. In reality, they had been busy with the Australian shrike for almost three or four weeks without any income.

During last night's chase scene, Wendigo's words truly awakened Zhang Renfeng.

This $10,000 is just the tip of the iceberg; he has yet to encounter anything truly valuable.

Leaving the scene with his tail between his legs, looking pathetic and humiliated, is not his style!

"It's definitely impossible to rob a bank now. In fact, this kind of thing might even affect the bank's operations..."

However, he hasn't yet figured out exactly what to do or how to do it.

……

"Can you trust me?" Igor suddenly asked.

"Listen to that nonsense," Zhang Renfeng said irritably. "You, Mike, Jimmy, you are all my strategists."

“Generally speaking, there’s only one strategist, but never mind…” Igor was rather speechless at his position, sighed, and shook his enormous head. “If you trust me, leave this to me. I might need you to show up at the right time to support me, after it’s all over…”

"I will make White Torch Town your domain, Red Center."

Chapter 193: My Name is Hongzhong (Return · 64)

"If you're going to treat us, then treat us. Why choose such a shabby place..."

David looked at the dilapidated Pearl Shell Restaurant and complained, "If you ask me, there's no need to give her this face. We could have just said we didn't have time to come. Eating in a place like this is simply tarnishing the reputation of Mesvid."

McCain smiled as he looked at this person who, in theory, was related to him by blood.

The father's eyes always had that strange look, never easily revealing his true feelings even to his own son, always that squinty, half-smiling expression. David felt uneasy under his gaze, so he looked away, no longer wanting to provoke him.

“Mesvid… ‘family,’ is that it?” McCain said with a smile. “When I was your age, I was just a porter in Freeport, and you already consider yourself an aristocrat. As if this surname has been passed down for hundreds or thousands of years.”

“So what? We have money now. Aren’t the rich the nobles?” David retorted without much conviction. “Are you going to say that Dietersdorf was the real nobles? Some were burned to death, some jumped into the river, and all that’s left is an empty shell.”

"Did you go see the exhibition at the Outer Light House the other day?" McCann suddenly asked.

"...Who's going to look at that stuff?" David turned his head to the side irritably. "It's a waste of time."

“If you could take a look, you might understand.” Despite being his own son, McCain remained patient and instructed, “The exhibition is almost full of people, mostly old nobles from both the north and south. According to you, the Dietersdorf family only has this poor little girl left, and they certainly can’t offer them any benefits anymore. Why would they waste their time attending this grand event?”

David was speechless.

"The relationship of interests between people cannot be judged by a single moment. Everyone has their glorious moments, and naturally, there will be days when their luck runs out. In my opinion, as long as a certain noble family still exists in this world, it is far from being eliminated, and there may be a day when it can make a comeback."

"You mean... she's still hiding something? Like a large sum of money or something?" David scratched his head, puzzled.

“True assets are often things that are not visible to the naked eye; they are connections, relationships, circles, and information,” McCain said in a deep voice. “Remember my words, David, money that does not conform to your level of understanding will never stay in your hands.”

"Bankers, in the end, don't deal with banks, they deal with people. We don't create any valuable physical goods; instead, we profit from the physical goods created by others. As for how to profit, it requires all sorts of information asymmetry... Perhaps it's too early to tell you all this."

McCay sighed inwardly when he saw that McCay only half understood what he was saying.

Some people are born with certain talents, while others are not meant to be. You can't force their heads into a bowl and it won't help.

After all that, David finally understood one thing: he had no choice but to go today. So he stopped complaining about the somewhat shabby restaurant and went straight in, only to find that the private room he had booked was already occupied by someone else.

“Becky?” David exclaimed. “What are you doing here?”

After addressing him by his name, the tall, bear-like man sitting next to the girl turned around and glared at him with a gloomy expression, which frightened him so much that his legs went weak and he almost lost his footing against the wall.

“Good evening, Mr. Hargunda. This is my son, David Mesvid, and your daughter; they must be old friends.” McCain stepped forward, smiling as he smoothed things over. “Did you also receive an invitation from Miss Dietersdorf?”

Dunn Halganda squinted, scrutinized him for a while, and said in a muffled voice, "You too?"

“It seems so.” After taking his seat, McCann took out an invitation letter, gently placed it on the table, and pushed it toward him. “The letter was sent directly to my home.”

"She certainly has a lot of leisure time," Dunn scoffed. "With such a big incident in town, she still has the mind to curry favor with us."

"Fawning?" McCann asked noncommittally.

"Otherwise what?" Dunn rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Now look what's happened, the mayor's been removed, and we have to elect someone new. All our previous efforts have been for nothing..."

McCann's eyes turned cold, as if reminding him not to talk about these things in front of the children.

Especially when this deal involves the EU.

"Sorry, I've been feeling a bit feverish lately, so just pretend I didn't say anything." Dunn wiped his face. "To be honest, I haven't slept well for almost two or three days."

“Yes, thinking about it carefully, it’s terrifying. When I was discussing business with him before, he was sitting across from me… about the same distance as you are now. He was such a gentle and refined person, such an elegant and classy man, practically a born aristocrat.”

"But in reality? He's a completely different person."

……

The sound of footsteps approached from afar, and David turned his head, only to see a face he least wanted to see in his life.

Becky saw who it was and immediately turned pale with fright. She jumped up, unsure whether she should run away.

"What are you doing here?" He was immediately filled with disgust and shouted, "What are you doing here?"

"You know them?" McCain sensed something was amiss and asked in a low voice.

"Hmph... It's nothing. We just ran into this guy on the way up the snow mountain. His horse somehow died in the middle of the road, so we gave him a ride."

At least from David's perspective, that was the whole story, but his disgust for Zhang Renfeng was palpable. This was always the case for people of other skin colors and social classes, so it wasn't anything unusual.

The question is, what is the deeper meaning behind appearing here at this moment?

"The gatekeeper? Where's the gatekeeper?! How could we let him in..."

“Enough, David,” McCain said in a low voice, narrowing his eyes. “Sit down.”

"But he..."

"I told you to sit down!" The usually calm and collected banker suddenly widened his eyes, exuding an unimaginable sense of authority.

David initially looked incredulous, as if to say, "Even my dad has never yelled at me." Then, realizing that this man was indeed his father, he reluctantly sat down.

Dunn realized the newcomer meant trouble, touched the handle of his gun on his belt, and suddenly drew his weapon. Just as he pressed the hammer on his revolver, Becky suddenly stood up, her face filled with terror, and spread her arms, standing directly in front of him to block his trajectory.

"Don't do this, Dad...no!"

"Becky, what are you doing?!" Dunn gritted his teeth and shouted angrily, "Get out of the way!"

"Please, please... don't do this!" Becky quickly turned around and explained, "I didn't say anything, I didn't tell anyone!"

"I can see that," Zhang Renfeng teased. "If I had told you, you probably wouldn't have dared to point a gun at me."

“I recognize you. Aren’t you the temporary sheriff Gordon recruited?” Dunn, true to his arms dealer background, showed no fear. “What do you want from luring us here?”

“Strictly speaking, it’s not a ‘deception.’ The letter was indeed written by Evelyn. She was just the matchmaker; the one who actually had something to discuss with you was me.”

"Talk to us?" Dunn sneered, as if he had heard something utterly ridiculous. "Who do you think you are, talking to us?"

"Let me introduce myself. Bruce Zhang is an alias. My real name is Zhang Renfeng."