Dual wielding volcanoes, killing through the west

A look of shock, like a thunderclap in summer, flashed across Zhang Renfeng's eyes.

"Don't go move it!"

She shook her head, her tone very serious, and said softly, "It's not just arsenic, but also lead and sulfur, all of which are heavy metals that have a great impact on the human body and will ruin your health! You may be much stronger than the average person, but heavy metals will always lurk in your body, gradually damaging your nerves. These are all carcinogens, and in severe cases, they can even cause auditory and visual hallucinations."

"You don't want to be bedridden in your seventies or eighties, unable to move, with your skin all over your body rotting away, and eventually die from festering sores, do you?"

Chapter 342: Natural Disaster? Man-Made Catastrophe!

It must be said that when knowledgeable people say such things, it has a very strong deterrent effect.

The girl vividly depicted her tragic future, leaving him no room for disbelief. But the thought of himself lying in bed in his old age, his body rotting and drooling, a picture of utter misery, quickly calmed him down.

Zhang Renfeng frowned deeply, looking at the several large boxes of slag that had sunk in the middle of the river, filtering the water into a "toxic flow," and sighed, "Then... is there really nothing we can do about them?"

Unable to touch the box, Zhang Renfeng could only follow Logan's plan, taking out two empty bottles and carefully approaching the riverbank to fill them with the polluted river water.

With his assistant's warning, he was extremely cautious throughout, holding the bottle with only two fingers to ensure that not a single drop of river water touched his skin.

Once the two small bottles were filled and held up to a light source, they appeared even more turbid than yellow sand and muddy water.

After seeing this, anyone who can still shamelessly say the water is fine is either stupid, or extremely wicked and blinded by greed.

"Our current protective measures are insufficient to deal with these substandard coal mines."

After finishing these tasks, Zhang Renfeng shook the water droplets off the bottle, then kicked the wooden crate on the shore with a loud bang, shattering it. "Since it's a man-made disaster, there must be some vested interests involved. Why would the mining company pollute the water source here? What benefits would they gain from affecting the health of the entire Numa Town and even the downstream villages?"

“…The factory,” Zhang Tito murmured. “When you came in, you saw it too, right? This mine isn’t exactly abandoned; there are still many unmined coal deposits, enough for them to make a fortune.”

"Such a large coal mine must be paired with a refining plant to remove impurities from the coal. To save on transportation costs, the factory should ideally be built near the mining site; in other words, they need land."

"But people are already living on the most suitable land."

“So…” Zhang Renfeng gradually followed her train of thought, “They did this to drive the local hunters away from that land?”

"Of course, you can also buy it with money. A mining company shouldn't be unable to afford this amount. At most, $500 would be enough to completely buy out this land from the Zolael family."

"But even if the company pays, it still has to negotiate with the local residents of the village. After all, it's about moving people away from their land. They are hunters, and they all have guns. If things really get out of hand, it's hard to say how it will end."

With Ryan Childer as a prime example, Zhang Renfeng was all too familiar with the way these big bosses thought.

Why spend $500 when a problem can be solved with a few boxes of slag?

As for whether the nearby flora and fauna will be affected after the water source is polluted, and whether the villagers' illnesses can be cured... these things are not even in their considerations!

“Let’s walk a little further.” Zhang Tito pointed his lantern at the other end of the river. “At the other end of this river, there are tributaries flowing in different directions.”

“…Are you sure?” Zhang Renfeng looked back and hesitated.

Back in Numa Town, Logan and Blackpaw were still waiting for his news to determine their next steps. He simply didn't have the time to indulge her research spirit. For him, the most urgent task was to quickly provide them with evidence of the river's pollution.

But Zhang Tito's considerations went much further: "Heavy metal pollution has already seeped into the river system and cannot be eradicated in a short time. But the need for drinking water will not stop; everyone must drink 1,000 milliliters of clean water every day."

"If we follow the underground river a little further, we might find a reliable water source."

"...Okay, it's up to you."

Zhang Renfeng sighed, took out his own water bottle, which appeared so clear compared to the murky, poisonous water.

The first sip was incredibly refreshing, so cool and invigorating. He never imagined that one day he would find water so delicious.

----

"Factory...?" Kale scratched his head; it was a word he had never encountered in his life before.

“I know!” The dwarf held up a finger, excited at the opportunity to show off his knowledge. “My father told me he’d been to Saint Quintak, where there are lots of factories. It’s a symbol of modern civilization. Finally, our Numa Town will become a civilized town too!”

"So, building a factory here is a good thing?" Kale asked, looking puzzled.

“Of course.” The dwarf nodded vigorously, convinced of this, and said confidently, “All the money here is concentrated in the Zolael family. Why? Because they don’t have factories! In Saint Quintac, every household is very rich because they have factories.”

Kalai pouted, clearly dissatisfied with this statement. "If it's a good thing, why hasn't it been built yet, and the village has already turned into this awful state?"

"This..." The dwarf was speechless for a moment.

“Don’t overthink it. We three kids wouldn’t understand these things.” Leo patted the dwarf on the shoulder, half comforting, half encouraging. “We’ve done a great job. All that’s left is to bring these things back to Numa Town for Logan and the others…”

"Boss!" The tall, thin boy who had been keeping watch outside suddenly waved his hands frantically and exclaimed, "Run! Someone's coming!"

……

"This lousy place again. I really don't want to come here. It smells like something's rotting." The leader of the Thunder Gang yawned, his brow furrowed, looking impatient. "What are they up to this time? I'm warning you, if they make us hang that stupid wooden sign on the tree branch again..."

“Not this time, Mr. Milo.” The master gave a fawning smile. “It’s just catching two troublemakers; we’ll be done in no time. I’ll always remember your help, next time…”

"Pah, save your breath, red-skinned bastard. I'm not helping you because of you. You've failed time and time again, angering Mr. Rancho. If we both fail, we're both dead." Milo spat on the ground and said sternly, "Just two old men, huh?"

“That’s right, they arrived a day ago. As soon as they entered the village, they started asking all sorts of questions, which was very inappropriate. I could tell that those two were looking for trouble, they…”

Halfway through his speech, the master suddenly caught a glimpse of a shadow flashing past the side of his "sanctuary".

No matter how much he tried to deceive, he was still a Native American who grew up on the prairie. At least before being swallowed up by civilization, he spent the first half of his life in such an environment. When it came to observation and tracking, the gang members around him, numbed by alcohol and tobacco, were naturally no match for him.

"Someone's in! Someone's entered my sanctuary!" In a split second, the master accurately determined the direction Leo and his group had fled. "They're heading towards the village, Mr. Milo, we must catch them! There are important business documents in my house!"

This one sentence is more effective than anything else.

The members of the Thunder Angry Gang, who had been watching him make a fool of himself, suddenly came to their senses, immediately dispersed, spread out a large net, and began to surround the village.

Chapter 343: Ancient Hatred and Modern Feud

It was discovered!

For a fleeting moment, Leo considered using Logan's identity to intimidate them. These were probably just low-level members of the Thunderfury Gang, and perhaps somewhat wary of Logan's presence, afraid to harm him. That way, at least he could save his life and return to Numa Town alive.

But soon, she was filled with shame for having such a selfish thought. She might be able to save her own life with this trick, but what about the other three? As accomplices who had sabotaged the Zolael family's business, how would they and their families be treated?

A leader who can't even take responsibility for his subordinates is a complete failure!

"Don't let your guard down, keep running!" Leo slowed his pace slightly and roared at the dwarves who had fallen behind, "Do you want to get caught by the Thunder Gang? Take bigger strides!"

"Eldest...eldest, but..." The shorty was the weakest of the four children; he was already panting after only a few steps. "Where are we going to run to?"

Sometimes she really wanted to kick the short man. Why was he always able to ask such precise questions that she couldn't answer, yet were also very important? Before today, they only knew that such a village existed, seemingly a settlement built by hunters from Numa Town to facilitate hunting in the forest. As more and more people settled there, it gradually became a village independent of the town, nothing more.

The incident happened so suddenly that there was no time to scout the surroundings. Leo and his companions were completely lost, running around between the houses like headless flies.

How long can the impact last?

Returning to the main road would certainly mean certain death; the enemy had guns, and she wasn't confident she could outrun bullets. But continuing to run aimlessly between houses like this wasn't a solution either. They were just children; their strength would eventually run out, and then the hunting dogs behind them would pounce and tear them to shreds.

"……what!"

Kalai, who was running in the lead, suddenly cried out in surprise.

Standing around the corner was an incredibly terrifying figure, like a cotton ball that had absorbed water and swelled up. For a moment, it was impossible to tell whether this was its outer skin or a wrinkled garment; once it was identified as the former, it became even more frightening.

Everyone else in the village tried to minimize their outings, as if doing so would allow them to escape the gaze of a demon. Only Baum scoffed at this notion. Even if a demon truly existed, he was already beyond redemption; what was there to fear?

The children fled in panic.

Gang members relentlessly pursued them.

There was also a large stack of contracts in Leo's hand.

Baum quickly figured out what had happened and made a decision almost without thinking.

"Quick, hide in the barn!" He waved his bloated arm, pointed to a wooden building not far away, and said in as fast as he could, "Quick!"

----

"Good heavens..." Zhang Renfeng gasped, tilted his head back, looked at the inscriptions on the rock wall, and exclaimed, "What are all these things?"

The path leading to the water source opened up further and further, evoking the feeling of a sudden, breathtaking view reminiscent of the idyllic Peach Blossom Spring. There were absolutely no traces of human intervention along this path, not even a cigarette butt. This clearly showed that the fuel company's mining team hadn't yet ventured this far; the path was naturally formed, and Zhang Renfeng and his assistant were among the first to discover it.

At least, that's what Zhang Renfeng thought when he saw what was on the rock face.

“The murals…” Zhang Tito took a deep breath, his eyes gleaming with a strange light. At this moment, Zhang Renfeng could feel that the girl was truly overjoyed by this novel discovery. “They are paintings left by primitive humans, about… probably 2 years ago.”

"Twenty thousand years?" Zhang Renfeng's eyebrows twitched in surprise at this number. "Were there humans that long ago?"

"Painting and music are both long-standing human habits. The earliest wind instrument was a flute carved from the neck bone of a swan. And the earliest paintings... can be traced back to Chauvet Cave 3 years ago. Like this, they passed on events to future generations in the form of murals. This is a habitat of early Homo sapiens!"

Even across 20,000 years, the content of the paintings can still be conveyed to the viewer's heart. Zhang Renfeng couldn't help but wonder what they used as paint to leave their marks on the rock face.

A painting depicting several small figures surrounding a campfire.

There is a painting of a group of little people hunting. They work together to drive a furry animal into a corner full of stones.

There was a scene of a group of tiny people fleeing in disarray... It seems that primitive humans didn't mind recording their failures.

This picture intrigued Zhang Renfeng. Although the little figures had no faces, their actions perfectly conveyed that they were fleeing for their lives. Interestingly, one of the little figures didn't run, but instead charged towards something chasing them, as if sacrificing himself to buy time for his companions.

“He was very brave,” Zhang Tito exclaimed. “No matter the era, the definition of bravery is pretty much the same. Perhaps these murals record things that actually happened. His companions survived and carved what happened that day on the rock face, hoping that future generations would remember it forever.”

“Yes, but what I’m more curious about is…” Zhang Renfeng raised his finger and pointed to the thing chasing the little people.

It has a human-like torso, human-like limbs, and human-like head, but it is not a representation of "human" in the painting.

In the murals, people resembling matchsticks are used to represent the primitive humans in the cave, but the thing chasing them is something that is incredibly similar to humans yet completely different—a ferocious beast hidden beneath the twisted lines.

"What exactly is that thing chasing them?"

----

"You have nowhere to run, you brats. Get out here now, and I might consider letting you suffer less!"

Milo led a large group of men into the barn. This was normally where the village stored food for the winter, but due to disease, everyone was struggling that winter, and their food supplies were meager—just a few wooden crates. In other words, the space for these children to hide was extremely limited; running into this place was tantamount to suicide.

But soon, as his busy searchers shook their heads one by one, the expression on his face changed from a smile to fury.

"Hey, Redskin, what's going on now? Didn't you say you saw them run into the barn?" He grabbed the master by the collar and yelled, "Are you playing me again?"

"I saw it with my own eyes, I swear! Really... Oh, wait, I understand!" The master quickly scanned the inside of the barn and soon found a series of children's footprints on the ground. He immediately cried out as if in mourning, "It's a low window, a window so small that only a little devil could pass through. They, they slipped away from my blind spot!"

We need to get out of here right away!

In that brief moment of going in and out, they saw...

The barn door, which had been open, was pushed shut slowly and heavily before their eyes by a force.

"Boom!"

Total darkness.

……

"..." Just before turning to run away, Leo caught a glimpse of this astonishing scene out of the corner of his eye—the body, which had become enormous and bloated due to illness, was now using its bulky size as an advantage, firmly blocking the barn door.

Last night's story swirled in his mind like a seabird, and in the midst of tension and panic, Leo remembered his name again.

"Mr. Baum?"

"Go!" Baum was too exhausted to use any more strength; all his energy was being used to fend off the repeated impacts from inside the door. "Go back to the mayor, find Logan, let's go!"

This was no time for sentimentality. Leo gritted his teeth, turned around, and fled from this cursed land.

The village remained deathly silent, but some people began to open doors and windows, cautiously peering at everything happening outside.

"Boom!"

Unable to break down the door, the bullet whistled out from inside, shattering the thin wooden planks and embedding itself in Baum's body. Seeing the spurting blood, he paused for a moment, then burst into laughter.

"So...it's still red, huh...haha..." He looked down at the piano hanging around his neck and murmured, "Finally...finally, I've waited for this..."

The gang members inside roared, growing increasingly enraged, and more bullets rained down on him, crackling and spraying puffs of blood mist.

In his final moments, Baum used his unusually strong arm as a door bolt, inserting it horizontally into the gap of the bolt to firmly hold the wooden door shut.

He leaned against the door and soon stopped breathing.

But his posture... never fell down.

Chapter 344: Blood Debts Paying Off

"Damn...damn! Damn!"

Milo kept cursing as he fired several shots at the corpse on the ground. The bullets pierced the already cold bodies, splattering blood and fragments.

In the end, more than a dozen henchmen took turns ramming the door, but failed to break it open, and had no choice but to shoot at the wall next to it.

The "walls" of the barn, to be honest, were just a thin layer of wooden planks that could be penetrated by bullets. After they were almost completely through, they kicked one more time in, finally creating an exit on the side.