Reborn in 1878: America's Number One Bandit

Chapter 24 Wolves and Hyenas

Those Irish assassins who made money at the railway construction site.

Four teams, more than thirty people.

Johnny cooperated with Johnny to get three votes.

It now seems that this quick way to make money has to be put on hold.

If this continues, sooner or later we'll be spotted by those Pinkerton bastards whose sense of smell is sharper than a hunting dog.

Lawson never fights a battle he is unprepared for.

A single thought was instantly transmitted to Johnny and the other assassins through an invisible network of consciousness.

Evacuate.

Now that my identity has been exposed and my face has been remembered, there's no need to return to civilized towns.

The vast California wilderness offers them plenty of places to hide.

In Lawson's mind, a new plan quickly took shape.

He wants to raise another gang of bandits.

Horses, guns, ammunition, supplies... he has everything he needs now.

He would have his assassins, lurking in various locations, secretly deliver the best equipment to them, like ants carrying food.

From today onwards, Lawson will have two fully-equipped professional robbery gangs under his command.

To make it easier to command them, he felt it necessary to give them a catchy name.

Led by Scarface Finnian, their more aggressive style and their specialization in taking on tough opponents are known as the "Wolf Pack."

The new team, led by Johnny, is more flexible and skilled in deception and infiltration; they are called "Hyenas."

Each team has expanded to thirty-six people.

In California in 1878, this was absolutely a top-tier gang of ruthless criminals.

Most so-called "gangs" are nothing more than a motley crew of a few or a dozen desperados.

A well-organized and well-equipped gang like his could easily sweep through any small town without an army stationed there.

Since the pig farming business is no longer viable, the next step in generating revenue will depend on these two teams.

Lawson assigned them new core tasks, mainly divided into three categories:

They robbed a caravan.

Especially the transport fleets traveling between San Francisco and the silver mines of Nevada, which were laden with wealth.

Kidnapping a wealthy businessman.

There are more rich people in California than he thought, and trading their fat for silver dollars is a worthwhile deal.

Finally, there's Lawson's favorite thing—double-crossing.

They robbed the robbers and stole the dirty money from drug dealers and human traffickers.

This kind of business is the one with the least psychological burden to do, and it can also help clean up California's crime environment.

As his henchmen, like dandelion seeds, continued to infiltrate every corner of California—

Dockworkers, stagecoach drivers, bartenders, even servants of councilors—his ability to gather intelligence also increased day by day.

A mature criminal industry chain is quietly taking shape.

The assassins formed an intelligence network to collect information.

Wolf packs and hyenas are responsible for precision strikes.

The spies scattered across various industries form a channel for selling stolen goods, responsible for laundering the stolen items.

Intelligence, operations, and disposal of stolen goods—a perfect closed loop.

Lawson was well aware of the historical period he lived in.

The United States in 1878 was far less glamorous than it appears to us today.

The wounds of the Civil War had not yet healed, and the authority of the federal government was more like a distant symbol in the vast West.

The main force of the army was either tasked with finishing up reconstruction in the south or sent to fight the Native Americans to the death.

The bandits who wreak havoc in various states and rob a few banks are nothing to the bigwigs in Washington.

More importantly, this year, Congress passed the Posse Comitatus Act.

This law severely restricts the federal military from carrying out non-military missions within the country.

To put it bluntly, unless you openly rebel, the army has no right to suppress "domestic criminals" like you.

Catching criminals is the job of local sheriffs and federal marshals.

Why should those sheriffs with only three or five police officers in a town be tasked with fighting against his two elite gangs?
That's incredibly difficult.

Therefore, as long as the federal army doesn't intervene, there aren't many forces that can threaten his development.

The Pinkerton Detective Agency is one example.

Now that we're here, we'll have to run into them sooner or later.

Lawson's presence so late suggests he has a more practical purpose.

He came to hunt.

The new house is great in every way, except that the refrigerator hasn't been invented yet.

While meat can be smoked and cured, Lawson prefers it fresh.

I've been eating a lot of venison these past few days. Even though Marlene is a good cook, I can't stand eating it every day.

Around dusk, San Gou spotted a large creature near the treeline north of the farm.

A fully grown California black bear. Lawson wanted a change of pace.

He could clearly feel that every muscle in his body had been reforged.

After more than half a month of rest, adequate nutrition, and systemic transformation, his physical condition has improved from 7 points when he first transmigrated to 13 points.

Don't underestimate these points of growth.

Physical fitness is a combination of attributes, meaning that Lawson now has faster nerve responses, sharper vision and hearing, and stronger bones and muscles.

And a digestive system as efficient as a furnace.

All of these combined produce a multiplicative effect, not an additive one.

I'm quite confident I can hunt down a bear.

By the moonlight, the three of them found the big guy behind a pile of rocks at the edge of the woods.

It was an adult black bear.

Sitting on a fallen giant tree.

He struggled to tear apart the honeycomb with his claws and stuffed large chunks of honey into his mouth.

Judging from his physique, this guy weighs over 300 pounds.

"What a fat beast."

Lawson licked his lips.

Be careful when dealing with this ferocious beast, or it will escape.

He lowered his body to observe the terrain and wind direction.

"Three dogs,"

"Go around from downwind to the bushes behind its left, but don't get too close. Make some noise and lure it to the open space to its right."

The three dogs instantly understood Lawson's intention and nodded.
It lowered its body, blending into the night like a raccoon dog.

"Two dogs."

Lawson then turned to the other side. "Stay twenty yards behind me, gun loaded. If I miss, or if that beast goes berserk and charges at me, take it down as fast as you can, understand?"

"Understood, boss."

Lawson then took down his Winchester rifle, found a rock to use as a support, and steadily placed the barrel on it.

He adjusted his breathing.

To deal with such a thick-skinned behemoth, unless you use an elephant gun, it's very difficult to kill it with a single shot to the torso.

If it gets injured and goes berserk, it will either fight desperately or run for its life, which will greatly affect the taste.

The only crucial point is the brain.

This requires extreme precision and patience.

Time passed slowly, and the forest became so quiet that only the sound of the wind and the black bear chewing honey could be heard.

Suddenly, a faint clicking sound came from the bushes to the left rear of the black bear.

The black bear, which had been enjoying its meal, paused, turned its huge head, and its small, beady eyes flashed with wariness.

Immediately afterwards, another small stone was thrown out, hitting the tree trunk on the other side with a soft "thud".

"Roar……"

The black bear growled, put down the beehive, stood up, and moved a few steps toward the open space to its right.

Perfect positioning.

It had its side completely exposed to Lawson's view.

The moonlight illuminated its glossy fur and its head.

Lawson's breathing almost stopped at that moment.

It's now!

Lawson pulled the trigger.

"boom!"

A gunshot shattered the tranquility of the wilderness.

The black bear's body jolted violently, and a bloody hole instantly exploded in the area where its left eye was.

The bullet pierced through precisely, turning its brain into a complete mess.

The black bear, weighing over 300 pounds, fell straight down.

Its heavy body crashed to the ground with a loud thud.

Kill with one blow.

Er Gou and San Gou, who were in the distance, hurriedly ran over.

Lawson exhaled a breath of stale air and stood up from behind the rock.

After confirming that the black bear was dead, the two men worked together to carry the prey towards the farm.

"Great, we can have roasted bear paws tomorrow." Lawson was in high spirits.

Just then, a stream of information rushed into his mind.

It was urgent intelligence relayed by assassins lurking in Sonoma County.

"Boss, the Southern Pacific Railroad's payroll train has changed its route. Tonight it will stop in Santa Rosa, Sonoma County for supplies, for an hour, before continuing north to deliver payroll to the construction sites along the line."

(End of this chapter)