Dual wielding volcanoes, killing through the west

……

This statement shocked the three of them just as much as the series of actions that followed.

Mules and...

Red Center?!

The deterrent power of this combination is enough to terrify some sneaky and treacherous individuals.

"When it comes to voting, I don't need to tell you who to vote for, right?"

Chapter 196: Dragon and Phoenix

"Don't make that face. People have to go back to normal life eventually. It's a good thing that a theater troupe is willing to recruit you."

When Zhang Renfeng gently lifted Evelyn off the horse, he said this, as if the two had returned to daily life after a one-night stand, and it was the man's line when he was taking the woman home.

Of course, given what the girl has experienced these past few days, the profound memories it has left her with far surpass what a fleeting romance could possibly have; the "suspension bridge effect" is about to explode...

Now that the Australian shrike is dead, no one is watching Evelyn's life anymore, so she no longer needs to live in the camp every day.

This extraordinary adventure, so different from the trajectory of her life, has finally come to an end.

Who knows where or what the next meeting will be like? Thinking of this, the girl felt a pang of bitterness in her heart and couldn't help but sigh.

In the story, after defeating the demon, the hero and the princess will live happily ever after.

Unfortunately, in this story, she is not a princess, and Mr. Red is not a "hero" in the conventional sense.

I had originally planned to rest in town for a few days. But then, some completely new news came from the Emerald Theatre.

It was said that a theater troupe from overseas had come, generous in their spending, large in scale, and with considerable influence. Apparently, they had spotted the author during their exhibition at the Outer Light House. After that, they specifically invited the author, saying they were touring around towns in New Austin and particularly hoped to recruit outstanding local actors for this collaborative performance, which was essentially an international exchange.

It sounds like a great opportunity.

The farewell had already been said last night. Mr. Igor threw her an extremely lavish farewell party, which also served as a victory celebration for their official defeat of the Australian Shrike. Everyone gathered together, making a lively scene until midnight.

This was probably the happiest night Evelyn had ever had.

But even a long shed built over a thousand miles must come to an end.

“Well then, Mr. Zhang…” Evelyn straightened her skirt and bit her lip slightly.

"Don't be so sad." Zhang Renfeng gently patted her shoulder and smiled. "We'll see each other again in the future. Take care of yourself first, eat more, okay?"

……

He is a gang leader, a reliable partner trusted by many, and the infamous Red Center who is about to take control of the town.

She was just an ordinary girl who would be knocked over by the recoil if she fired a gun.

For everyone's sake, Evelyn kept her feelings to herself, simply smiling and nodding goodbye to him like an elegant lady.

----

"Ah, Ms. Dietersdorf, welcome, welcome!" Upon seeing Marion again, this fellow had completely changed his tune. In front of Evelyn, he didn't even dare to straighten his back, bowing and scraping, his face full of fawning smiles.

This guy was really unlucky. His previous confidence basically came from Dr. Chilton. Now, he's nowhere to be found... He goes to church every day to pray, thankful that Zhang Renfeng only broke someone's arm that day and didn't go on a rampage and kill everyone present. Judging from what happened afterward, he definitely had the ability to do so.

Evelyn didn't care much. Others had fallen on hard times, but she had lost her home altogether. From the mountainside to the valley floor, she had witnessed the coldness and warmth of human relationships and learned a lesson: once you succeed, you'll be surrounded by good people.

Although she can't be considered truly successful right now, she has at least regained some of her former prestige compared to before.

Astute observers have already sensed that a formidable force is looming behind her. It could be the Thunder Fury Gang, or even more dangerously, the Red Center, or perhaps both.

……

"What's that theater troupe like?" Although she really wanted to say something like, "I prefer your rebellious side, please come back to your old self," Evelyn maintained the poise of a noblewoman and didn't dwell too much on what had happened before. She immediately started talking about work. "If they're all foreigners, won't it be difficult to communicate?"

“There’s absolutely no need to worry about that, Ms. Dietersdorf.” Marion addressed her as “Ms.” in a very friendly manner. “Their leader speaks English, though not fluently, but he can understand most of what we’re saying. Communication won’t be a problem.”

"What they performed... to be honest, I've never seen anything like it before, and I don't know if it's good or bad. Maybe this is what foreign art is like? They need to paint their faces in weird ways, and there are a dozen or so people on stage, but most of them are just background figures. The only ones actually performing are one or two people, and I couldn't understand a single word of what they were singing..."

Marion shook her head.

Art standards vary from country to country, and evaluation criteria also differ. You can only know the truth by seeing it for yourself.

"But the one who's in charge, the one who can speak a little English, his performance style is very straightforward, it's just magic."

"Magic?" Evelyn was a little surprised. Generally speaking, magicians perform solo. How could there be magicians who perform with a group?

"That's right, I saw one of his magic shows, it was absolutely amazing... It's something no human could do! I heard that on the other side of the ocean, he's a court magician who performs exclusively for royalty. To be honest, I've had quite a few magicians come to my theater, but I've never seen anyone like him before."

"You could even say that people would tolerate the gongs, drums, and incomprehensible theater performances that preceded his magic show just to see him perform a magic trick. It's that exaggerated."

"Is it really that amazing?" Evelyn asked, her heart filled with longing.

From a young age, her parents instilled in her the concept that "magic is just a low-class performance," and that only plays, operas, and stage plays were the art forms they recognized. She always wanted to see a real magic show, but unfortunately, she never had the chance.

Now, everything that bound her has vanished.

Thinking of this, a bright smile appeared on the girl's lips, and her steps became lighter. She wanted to meet this magician from a foreign country as soon as possible.

"However, there is one thing you must remember. In their country, the surname comes first, followed by the given name, so please don't mispronounce it."

Surname...first?

Are there people like Zhang Renfeng?

After figuring this out, Evelyn was once again overwhelmed with surprise.

----

With a click, the wooden door opened.

The troupe members were busy touching up their makeup inside, bustling about, and for a moment no one noticed him.

“Mr. Zhu? Mr. Zhu?” Marion shouted at the top of her lungs, “I’ve brought him!”

A middle-aged man in his thirties or forties slowly walked out from the crowd.

This person was described as having a crane-like physique, moving with the speed of the wind, and slightly open phoenix eyes, his expression restrained yet focused. He wore a long, dark robe, tied at the waist with a silk sash, and cloud-patterned socks and shoes. A bright red, cloud-patterned, gold-edged blanket draped over his shoulders, exuding an indescribable air of mystery.

A long braid was tied behind her head, hanging down to her lower back, and it was very neatly styled.

……

As those eyes swept over her, Evelyn felt a strange sense of familiarity for some reason.

"Zhu Kuilong".

He didn't even ask Evelyn if she wanted to join the troupe. Instead, he simply clasped his hands in a fist and said in a deep voice, "Please take care of me for the next twenty days or so."

Volume 1: Phoenix Dance and Dragon Soar

Chapter 197: Do you know who I am?

"Click!"

"What bad luck, I caught nothing again."

Bobby scooped the shrimp traps out of the swamp, the sound of the metal opening and closing mingling with his curses.

"Ah, mine too."

"Not a single one was caught."

"Me too... It's like a ghost. Usually there are two or three, but this time when I scattered them, I didn't see a single one."

The group pulled out the shrimp traps and began to complain. Strangely enough, no matter what they did before, they always managed to catch a few. Although it wasn't enough to fill their stomachs, after cleaning them, they could skewer them on branches and roast them, making a decent snack with their drinks. This was one of the few sources of enjoyment they found in this desolate swamp.

Today, however, everyone has gained nothing.

"You damn lazybones, stop messing around with those shrimp traps! If you keep standing barefoot in Blackwater Lake, the crocodiles might bite your legs off!"

The boss's shouts came from above, "All of you, get back here and check if this batch of brewed wine is packed yet. Don't blame me for not warning you... The new boss may be young, but he's not easy to get along with. If these two wagons of goods don't reach Saint Quintak City by tomorrow morning, we're all in deep trouble!"

The "young new leader" he mentioned still held some sway over this group.

Even at this moment, he was not in this warm, humid, and remote swampy forest far from human civilization.

They grumbled and cursed, but obediently turned around and walked towards the temporary camp.

Bobby stood by the lake, not leaving for a long time, fiddling with his shrimp traps. His already somewhat comical thick eyebrows were furrowed tightly, making his face look even more ridiculous.

"Still fiddling with these broken cages, do you think they'll produce any money?" A thin, slovenly-looking man walked up to him, grinned, revealing a mouthful of fine, sharp teeth that looked like those of a wild beast, and forced out a terrifying smile. "Didn't you hear the boss shouting?"

“So many people are loading the truck, one more won’t make a difference. As for deliveries… it’s not far from St. Quintak, I’ve made countless deliveries, there can’t be any problems.” Bobby picked up the shrimp trap, turned it over and looked at it from all angles, a look of suspicion on his face. “I just don’t understand, how could this happen?”

"What do you mean?" Fang simply sat down cross-legged, took out a cigarette, lit it for himself, and handed one to Bobby.

"Before joining the Thunder Fury Gang, my family was in this business, so I have experience. Logically, with such fertile ground here, a dozen or so cages should be enough to catch at least twenty in one night. We've had good results the past few days, so why today..."

"Ha, isn't that simple?" Fang didn't seem to take it seriously and casually replied, "Big fish eat little fish, little fish eat shrimp, and then the shrimp will be eaten up. Isn't it said that there's a white-skinned prehistoric crocodile living in this Blackwater Lake? Maybe it's the one that ate them all."

"and……"

Bobby turned the shrimp trap over, examined it closely, and muttered, "It looks like it's been opened before."

"Are you kidding me?" Fang shrugged. "You mean, last night, someone dived into this Blackwater Lake, opened all our shrimp traps one by one, and took the shrimp out? Not to mention how they opened this metal thing... how did they do all that right under our noses without making a sound?"

Fang said half-jokingly, "If there really were such a monster lurking around the camp, we would have been wiped out long ago."

"boom----!"

The loud explosion came from the camp. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw several things fly into the air and then crash heavily into the lake. Upon closer inspection, I realized they were the mangled limbs of my companions! They fell down like a heavy rain, accompanied by screams from above.

The two stood frozen in place, not yet able to react, when the camp was suddenly attacked.

This hardly qualifies as a battle; it's more like a wolf charging into a flock of sheep and feasting on a buffet.

----

"boom--!"

"boom--!"

"boom--!"

……

After the explosion, the survivors were basically devoid of any fighting spirit. Their companions, who were just gathered together, were suddenly blown to pieces. The horrific visual impact was enough to drive anyone insane.

They really did scatter and flee like a flock of sheep, easily caught up by the bullets fired from the Volcano Pistol.

Zhang Renfeng stood on high ground, holding two pistols, and let the bullets accurately pierce their hearts, giving them a relatively quick death. At the same time, Xiao Mei and Alana were not idle either, searching for items in the camp, and soon dragged out several locked boxes from the tents.

Even without

The survivors fell to the ground one by one, leaving only the original leader, who dragged his half-blown leg as he crawled with difficulty on the ground.

"Got it, lock the box!" Almost as soon as she shouted that, Alana had already pried open the lock on the box, and the two money-grubbing girls exclaimed in unison.

Judging from their attitude, there must be a lot of money inside.

"How much?" Zhang Renfeng asked, turning around.

"Wait a minute, I'm still ordering..."

Alana licked her tongue and counted the banknotes one by one, one of the many skills she had learned in Scar Village.

Xiaomei looked at her expectantly, or rather, at the stack of money in her hand. Actually, she wasn't short of money, nor did she have any need to spend it. The camp had a common account; Igor was in charge of everything—food, clothing, etc.—and it was all accounted for, ensuring no one was ever shortchanged. The money she received from the train robbery hadn't been touched yet.

But somehow, just seeing large sums of money being distributed brings a simple kind of joy.

"$2582."

“No, there’s also this.” Theon patted the already loaded carriage body next to him, and the glass jar on it rattled as it vibrated.

When he threw the grenade, he deliberately avoided the two trucks carrying illicit liquor.

"Find a place to resell it, and you can make a considerable profit. Earning $3000 on this trip shouldn't be a problem."

Of course, it still can't compare to the profits from robbing a train.

Objectively speaking, it was much easier than stealing a train. The fighting ability of these guys was no match for that of the private soldiers kept by the Cheddar family.

"Damn it, you bunch of nameless cowards, how dare you lay a hand on us? Do you even know whose territory this is?" Seeing that escape was impossible, the leader with the broken leg struggled to his feet and shouted, "Do you even know who you've messed with?!"

……

He didn't speak, and no one paid him any attention. But as soon as he opened his mouth, Zhang Renfeng lowered his head and glanced at him.