Dual wielding volcanoes, killing through the west

Behind him hung a quiver, a wooden bow, a rifle, and a roll of ammunition on his back. A row of gleaming throwing knives slung across his waist. His overall weaponry style evoked a beauty that juxtaposed modern civilization with a barbaric era.

“Wow, this big guy…” Calaway, who was traveling with Zhang Renfeng, whistled and laughed, “He’s really amazing, isn’t he? Your team really has all sorts of people.”

"I tried to persuade him, but..." Xiaomei hesitated.

“I insisted on coming,” the chief said in a deep voice. “You saved my life, Zhang, and besides…”

He touched the bandage on his forehead and emphasized, "I also have a score to settle with that Italian."

"Are you going to use a bow and arrow?" Calaway asked curiously. "No offense, big guy, but we're not going hunting, we're going to kill."

“Then, perfect.” The chief lowered his head slightly, looking directly into Calaway’s eyes. “You can witness for yourself just how powerful the ranged weapon that has taken the most lives since the beginning of human history truly is.”

“Wait a minute, Mr. Callaway, are you coming with us too?” Mei was applying gun oil to her gun. “Chief Inspector, isn’t it a bit…”

“Don’t mistake him for some gentleman, little girl. He’s an assassin. Once he puts on a police uniform, he’s an assassin in a police uniform.” Mike continued, glancing at Calaway with his calm, lifeless eyes, “He won’t miss an opportunity to go on a killing spree with a legitimate reason.”

"Ha, ha... You really know me, Ilan."

Calaway took a swig of his drink, wiped his goatee, and laughed with unrestrained abandon, as if he weren't going to kill someone but rather a child about to go on a spring outing. "This city has always been well-governed, so people like me have no place to use their talents. Like a sheepdog trapped in a cage, haha... Nothing could be more exhilarating than tonight."

"How could we miss such a great opportunity?"

This was also a deal between Mason and Zhang Renfeng—Angelo's foundation in the city can be mainly divided into two parts: connections and military force.

Regarding connections, Mason has already sent a very strong signal through tonight's dinner. But this isn't something that can be achieved overnight. Fortunately, the joint letter delivered to him has already listed Angelo's connections. When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter; once the Italian falls, there's plenty of time to slowly purge those on the list. A swift victory, a quick settlement, might even win over a large group of fence-sitters to his side.

But here's the question: how do you bring down a gang that has a large number of people and guns and has been operating in the local area for ten years?

Mason reluctantly offered an answer: Leave the professional matters to the professionals.

A night of slaughter, no further action taken.

Throughout the entire night, Zhang Renfeng and his team, no matter how many people they killed, as long as they could wipe the Italian gang out of San Quintac, would not face any legal consequences afterward. This was the promise Mason made, granting these outsiders a power of judgment beyond the reach of the law. Although it only lasted one night, it was enough for Zhang Renfeng.

There is only one condition: the operation can only be carried out in Angelo's own home.

After all, on the surface, this dinner was hosted by the mayor, and everyone present was invited by him. They couldn't let others think that they would die at the banquet or on the way there. They were all civilized people; no matter what, they still had some sense of propriety.

"Boom——"

The front of the wooden boat was pushed into the water with a dull thud.

Xiao Mei, Theon, Mike, Chief, and Calaway all boarded the boat, thanks to Zhang Renfeng's incredible strength. With the five of them in the wooden boat, he single-handedly pushed the boat and its occupants into the water, then leaped aboard, used the oars, and propelled the boat away from the shore.

With him and Theon at the helm, the small wooden boat drifted downstream, heading straight for Angelo's large villa on the riverbank.

“Speaking of which, Mr. Mike, did you and Mr. Calaway know each other before?” It was Xiaomei’s first time riding in water transportation, and the splashes of water hitting her face made her feel novel, so she unconsciously put on a smile. “He’s not like Sheriff Gordon, he’s a mounted policeman you met in Granite State, is he?”

"Ha! Hahaha... Mounted police..." Calaway leaned against the edge of the wooden boat, clearly in a half-drunk state, waving his hands haphazardly, "Did you hear that, Elan? I look like a good guy."

“Unfortunately, I’ve known him even longer than that.” Mike glared at him. “Before I retired from gangster life, I was also in a gang. Unfortunately, this guy and I were in the same gang.”

Theon grumbled, "I'll be grateful if you don't hit me when you fire the gun."

"You can rest assured about that. As a gunman, he's quite good; he's just a terrible person." Although it was a sarcastic remark, Mike was also giving Callaway a guarantee from another perspective. "He's a famous quick-draw gunman; when it comes to drawing his gun, few in the world can surpass him."

“Ha, not entirely. Just a few days ago, I was overtaken.” Speaking of the gun incident, Caloway’s tone suddenly became clearer, his eyes narrowing and gleaming. “That Eastern magician drew his gun right in front of me, but I didn’t even see his movement clearly. It wasn’t like he ‘drew’ the gun; he just waved his hand, and it was out of thin air…”

“In ancient magic, speed is everything,” Zhang Renfeng said casually. “My senior brother was orphaned at a young age and started performing on the streets at the age of six, making a living by performing magic tricks he had secretly learned. He has dedicated his entire life to studying this art.”

"In terms of speed, it's impossible to beat him. I've heard that he can decapitate someone with a single sword stroke, but the person won't even realize it until three breaths have passed before they feel something's wrong, and then, upon touching their neck, the head rolls off with a gurgling sound."

"That sounds really creepy..." Xiaomei imagined the eerie scene and couldn't help but get goosebumps all over her body, becoming increasingly worried. "It's just an exaggeration, it's not true, right?"

"Right?"

……

The light boat sailed with the current toward their destination.

The villa's silhouette was already faintly visible in the rising mist.

They moored the boat, brought it to the shore, and quietly crept ashore.

Chapter 257: Fire the hole—!

“Bang!!”

He didn't know how many bottles and jars were smashed to pieces and flew out of the room. As his subordinate, Guido could only watch from outside the door, his heart pounding with anxiety. He had never seen Angelo in such a disgraceful state.

It seems that no matter what, this boss can always maintain the dignity and composure expected of a "boss." Even now, Guido still believes it's just a minor incident that will eventually pass peacefully.

Even now, in his own home, Angelo has become hysterical, smashing everything in sight that he can break.

Clementa stood at the door, silent, a look of pity on his overweight face.

After a long while, things finally quieted down. The wooden door was pushed open with a bang, and Angelo, disheveled, with bloodshot eyes and a golf club in his hand, was breathing heavily. Under the bright light, his face looked even more ferocious.

Because of his intense anger, his face was flushed, and he staggered as he walked, like a drunkard, with many wood chips stuck to his clothes.

He smashed things up in his own house, which finally allowed him to vent some of his pent-up anger, but he was no longer the young man he once was.

After just a few casual swings of the club, a flurry of blows left him unable to straighten his back, only a pair of angry eyes that seemed ready to bite anyone in sight.

Upon receiving the gang's urgent mobilization order, many of his underlings gathered in the hall, but none dared to look him in the eye.

"when--!!"

He pounded on the stairs, disgruntled. "Is that all? Is this all the manpower we can muster right now? What about the police station? Where are those sheriffs who take bribes? Aren't they here?"

"Uh, well..." Guido wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, "I've already sent someone to notify them, but they all made excuses, saying they were busy."

“People bought with money are unreliable when it comes to life and death,” Clementza said calmly. “Turning a blind eye to our gang’s behavior in normal times is already the limit.”

Angelo glared at him fiercely, but in the end, he didn't say anything. He simply took two steps forward and looked down at the dark mass of people below.

There are about sixty people standing in the hall now. There are also about forty people patrolling the spacious garden and courtyard. All together, they are all the people who are willing to risk their lives for him after the emergency mobilization.

For a city gang, its ability to mobilize resources is actually quite terrifying. In the short term, it even surpasses that of the police.

This is why Mason had to cut him off.

"Gentlemen, gentlemen! I hate to admit it, but this is the biggest crisis the Italian Gang has faced since its inception. Many who should have been here are absent; they are cowards, wimps, traitors! But you are heroes among heroes! You chose me at the most crucial moment, and I will forever remember this kindness!"

“I’ve been in this city for ten years. In these ten years, I’ve worked diligently and never relaxed for a moment! You all call me the Italian, and I’m the boss of this gang. What does that mean? Every day, the moment I open my eyes, I have to take care of the food, drink, and toilet needs of hundreds of people. How many bites actually end up in my mouth?”

“I work from dawn till dusk every day, making money at all costs. Everyone thinks I'm a cruel and greedy bastard. But what's the truth? I'm just doing this to support my brothers and the families behind them. Tell me, when have I, the Italian, ever wronged you?”

"No—!!" The unified shout of about a hundred people was quite loud, causing the walls and glass to tremble slightly.

From this answer, Angelo finally regained some composure, wiped his face, and became more and more enthusiastic as he spoke, spitting everywhere.

"That damned Mason Lemieux thinks he can beat me down and kick me out with some yellow-skinned bastard? We'll show him, no way!"

“I’ve worked in this city for ten years. Where in this city haven’t I left my mark? The city hall, the police station, the port, and the development of the town—which investment didn’t include my name? Now that the city is built, they want to kick aside the heroes and live their own comfortable lives. No one with a conscience can tolerate this!”

He stood on the second floor, fists raised high, his eyes almost popping out of their sockets in his extreme excitement.

"Brothers, let's unite once again and drag Mason out of his cozy fireplace and mattress!"

"Oh!"

"We need to show everyone in this city that no one can kick us off the card table, no one..."

"when---"

The glass shattered with some hard object, and several round objects fell into the crowd. The sound of metal clashing was drowned out by the excited shouts of the people.

One of the balls followed an exceptionally high parabola, so high that it flew over the stairs, fell directly to the second floor, and rolled down in front of Angelo.

"..." He stared at the round metal object, still in the same position as a moment ago, as if he had crashed.

“Angelo!!” Clementine displayed an agility completely disproportionate to his size, lunging forward and shoving him to the ground. “Everyone, get down…”

"boom-----!!!"

The next moment, a violent explosion swept everything away without warning.

Angelo felt as if someone had swung a large stick and struck him hard on the temple, causing his ears to ring and his head to buzz. The magnificent mansion, shimmering in his vision and accompanied by patches of white or yellow light, became increasingly repulsive.

He would rather not regain his hearing, because what was hitting his ears was no longer the sound of an explosion.

Worse still, there was endless wailing.

Inside those small metal spheres were terrifying explosives. Angelo didn't witness the moment they exploded, but he felt the sound, light, and heat. Through the stairs, he saw a living hell—the men who had sworn allegiance to him and vowed to capture Mayor Mason alive had endured the terrible explosion with their own flesh and blood.

Mutilated limbs and blood smeared the walls.

The first floor had a wooden floor, and after the explosion, flying splinters caused secondary injuries to the crowd. Many people were impaled, lying on the ground, convulsing and writhing in pain.

His morale had collapsed. Not to mention others, even he himself had lost the courage to fight back.

"Run...run, Angelo..."

Clementa's face was mostly blown to pieces, leaving only his eyebrows and eyes, which could move slightly.

"You can't beat him, that guy... he's probably..."

----

"boom!"

The tightly closed door was kicked open, revealing an extremely bizarre mask.

It is square, with a bloody "中" (zhong) character printed on a white background.

Just like the blood smeared all over the ground and walls!

Although wearing a mask is meaningless at this point and cannot conceal one's identity, Zhang Renfeng is pursuing this sense of ritual.

Those who survived will embellish the events of tonight a hundredfold, and that's exactly the effect he wanted.

This symbol has become a nightmare for some.

"Red Center is here!" He raised his black and white Volcano pistol high, fired a warning into the air, and said, "Those who surrender their weapons will not be killed!"

……

"what……"

This was probably the only time Angelo didn't refute Clementa's words.

He gasped, shoved Clementa, who had taken the bomb for him, aside, and scrambled and crawled toward his own room.

Chapter 258: Rats in the Sewers (Part 5)

"..."

"Are you alright?" Mike asked, seeing that Mei's complexion wasn't good. "It's not your fault. I've never seen anything like this before."

Both he and Calaway were old-school Western cowboys. They were the kind of sharpshooters who relied on marksmanship, movement, cover, and rapid reloading skills to take on multiple opponents. The moment they raised their guns and aimed, a bullet hole would appear. This feeling of holding others' lives in their hands made them, for a brief moment, agents of death.

But now, in terms of results, Theon's hand-crafted round bombs can quickly bridge these skill gaps. He only needs two things—great strength and accuracy. Fortunately, there are two brave bomb throwers in the team; once they throw them through the window, they explode in large numbers.

The flesh was mangled and bloody, utterly devoid of beauty.

However, it must be said that it is much safer than close-quarters gunfights.

It's not fair to blame Angelo's decision-making; pre-battle mobilization is an essential step before undertaking any major undertaking. If all goes well, the next step is to have the brothers storm Mason's mansion—a situation where success means everything is fine, but failure means certain death. If an attack occurs, these sixty-odd brothers can rally together, grab their guns, and become a fighting force.

He never imagined that Zhang Renfeng's team included a monster like Theon. And this monster possessed a weapon unlike any he had ever seen before.

Such brutal lethality, displayed directly before their eyes, immediately shattered the survivors' will to fight. Coupled with Zhang Renfeng's shock, those who could throw away their guns did so. Theon dismantled their weapons one by one, turning them into a pile of parts, ensuring they were unusable. These prisoners of war were then ordered to hunch on the ground with their hands behind their heads, facing the corner of the wall.

"Such a densely packed formation, they must be giving some kind of rousing speech. That old Shar-Pee guy always gives me a headache whenever he opens his mouth." Calaway drew his revolver, spun it around, and pressed it against the back of a surrendered man's head, demanding sharply, "Tell me, where are the Angelos? At this point, you all know the consequences of hiding things, right?"

The unfortunate fellow still had splinters stuck in his arm, but compared to the corpses lying on the ground, he was lucky. He shook his head repeatedly in fright, "I...I don't know, I don't know..."

“Save your breath, Lu.” Mike patted him on the shoulder and sighed. “They’re just cannon fodder to buy time. How could they possibly know?”

“This one is definitely not cannon fodder.” Zhang Renfeng leaped up the stairs like lightning and noticed Clementa lying on the ground, barely clinging to life. He turned him over, placed him against the wall, and used his strength to support his blood-soaked body.

"Sorry, I... ugh..."

Xiaomei, leaning against the wall, couldn't help but gag. She thought the Australian Shrike's art performances were the limit, but each one was more extreme than the last. She patted her chest, forcing herself to calm down, and fled up the stairs as if escaping from this bloody hell.

When she saw Clementa's gruesome state, she couldn't help but gasp.

"Heh...I knew it..."

Clementa's eye was half-closed, revealing a bitter smile. "Red Center, besides you, who else could have such ability..."

"Who are you?" Zhang Renfeng asked, gesturing to Xiao Mei and the chief who were walking up the stairs, signaling them to search the second floor.