Dual wielding volcanoes, killing through the west

"If it's just applied topically, it really doesn't pose much harm to the human body. Mineral oil, or liquid paraffin, is a mixture of liquid hydrocarbons refined from petroleum. When applied to the skin in appropriate amounts, it can lock in moisture and has a moisturizing effect. As for the remaining ingredients... they might cause some irritation to the skin. In terms of sensation, it's meant to mimic the effects of real snake oil."

At the crucial moment, Zhang Tito slowly spoke up, clearing his name, "But it was just 'imitation,' without omega-3 fatty acids, just a pure placebo."

In other words, they sell counterfeit goods.

In Zhang Renfeng's hometown, there were also drug vendors on the streets selling all sorts of miracle pills, multi-purpose ointments, and safflower oil. In the underworld, these people were collectively known as "tiao" (调).

Peddlers and laborers are bound to get injured or broken while doing manual labor. They don't have much money and can't afford the good medicines in pharmacies, so they have to downgrade their consumption and get by with these counterfeit goods.

Anyway, I've applied something to the wound, so it will definitely get better—this is the kind of psychological suggestion that the working class gives themselves in their helplessness.

Knowing that his snake oil wouldn't kill anyone, Zhang Renfeng's attitude towards him softened somewhat.

“Um… if you don’t mind, please accept this. That being said, I don’t have anything else to give you…” He rummaged through the tattered backpack for a while and finally pulled out a rather peculiar bottle—it had an eye-shaped pattern drawn on its surface. “This bottle is…”

Kraken hesitated for a moment before telling the truth, "This bottle is made by the Tricolor Spearhead Viper, and it's genuine."

Zhang Renfeng took the bottle of snake oil from his hand, held it up to the light, and examined it from all angles, but couldn't see anything different. It was still a pure, amber-colored liquid, indistinguishable from his counterfeit hot pot base.

"One thing at a time." He placed the bottle of genuine snake oil on the table. "How much?"

“Uh, no, no need… I’m already grateful for your mercy…” Kraken stammered.

"How much?" Zhang Renfeng looked into his eyes and asked again.

“$5!” Kraken gritted his teeth and quoted the market price.

Zhang Renfeng immediately reached for his satchel, only to be stunned – it contained $1, which, as Igor had said, were "chips" to bet on the next new era. It was all large denomination bills; there wasn't a single $5 coin to be found.

In desperation, he could only look at the girl beside him with pleading eyes.

"..." Zhang Tito rolled his eyes, took out five dollars from his pocket, put it on the table, and asked, "By the way, the three-colored spearhead viper is a super venomous snake, right?"

"Yes, some locals call it 'sunlight-killer.' This snake is quite large, and it injects a much larger amount of venom than ordinary venomous snakes. If you get bitten, you're basically doomed. I caught one in Mexico... ah, but don't worry, I already removed the venomous parts."

Kraken assumed she was worried about the quality of the snake oil and quickly explained.

Now, Zhang Renfeng was also somewhat surprised and began to look at the ragged snake oil vendor in front of him again. "You really know how to catch snakes?"

“My father and grandfather were both snake hunters. Snake skin can be processed into belts, holsters, knife sheaths and the like. Some people are fond of this and it is very useful. It seems that some people also buy snake internal organs, such as snake gallbladders. We have a few regular customers who will regularly ask us to buy snake gallbladders.”

"A few years ago, a product called snake oil suddenly became popular. Cowboys, gunmen, bounty hunters, gangsters, sheriffs... anyone with a gun on their belt would spend money to buy snake oil. For them, this stuff was like food, a necessity."

“My wife persuaded me, saying that this was such a great opportunity to make money, and it would be a shame to miss it. Many people have already made a fortune from snake oil and are set for life. If others can do it, so can I. If I make a lot of money, I can give my children a better life. I... I couldn't resist..."

Chapter 413: Bad Money, Good Money

There is nothing shameful about seeking a good life.

However, judging from his current attire and makeup, and the fact that he's going to sell his products row by row on the train, this good intention has not yielded a good result.

“Since you have the ability to make the real thing, why make the fake?” Zhang Renfeng thought to himself, and asked, “Why not use better quality to carve out a niche in the market? Once you have a good reputation, more people will come to buy your goods.”

"...Ha, ha, maybe..." Kraken laughed weakly, his tone completely devoid of emotion, as if he had been thoroughly beaten down by society and was too lazy to argue.

“Isn’t catching snakes a cost?” Zhang Tituo suddenly said. “Even for an experienced person, it takes at least several hours from searching to finding a decent snake, not to mention the risk of being bitten by it.”

"That's not all. After catching them, you have to extract snake oil, boil it down, filter it, and remove impurities. Each step takes a lot of time and effort, especially boiling the snake oil. You have to keep stirring the solid body fluids extracted from the snake over a fire until they become liquid."

"During this process, it is also necessary to remove oil film, fascia, blood streaks and other impurities... Subsequent filtration of impurities requires the use of filter screens and cotton."

"Conservatively speaking, it would probably take a whole day to take it down, right?"

Kraken was somewhat surprised that this tall, seemingly unassuming girl knew how to make snake oil. Truly, the world is full of wonders.

“Yes, that’s right, madam… Moreover, the snake oil extracted from one snake isn’t enough; we have to catch as many snakes as possible while capturing them. Then, we need to begin these operations before their bodies decompose…”

"At the same time, snake oil vendors who use hot pot base or even inferior raw materials have already produced countless bottles of snake oil."

"You spent more than three times as much time as others to make an 'excellent' product, but what about your pricing? Can you price it more than three times as much as theirs?"

impossible.

"In the end, while you're painstakingly making a bottle of authentic snake oil, this inferior product, produced at ten times the speed, dominates the entire market. They price it at 3.5 yuan a bottle, you price it at 5 yuan a bottle, and by relying on price and production speed, they will soon squeeze the real snake oil out of the market. As for these small individual workshops, trying to compete with them is simply overestimating their abilities."

"This is called Gresham's Law, which is one of the laws of the market."

"Capital only cares about profits. They don't care whether applying inferior snake oil to the body will cause any harm. As long as no major problems are exposed, they'll just keep selling it. Making money is the primary goal. By the time the scandal breaks, they'll have already made their money and run away."

"..." Zhang Renfeng fell silent, his brows furrowed, as if he were thinking about something.

“Sigh…” Kraken sighed deeply. “You see things very clearly. If I had understood this sooner, I should have stayed in my hometown and lived a peaceful life, skinning snakes, extracting their gallbladders, and serving my old customers well. At least I would have been able to make a living.”

"It shouldn't have come to this, where I've wandered around outside, spent all my money, and haven't even gotten a penny."

If you act impulsively and rashly step out of your comfort zone, what awaits you may not be an oasis, but a desert that has already been cultivated.

"Why not just raise snakes directly?" After a long silence, an idea suddenly popped into Zhang Renfeng's mind. "Extract snake oil from farmed snakes. That would reduce the time and risk of catching them, right?"

Zhang Tito stared at him in astonishment, seemingly unable to believe that such words could come out of his mouth.

"Raising...snakes? You mean, artificially breeding snakes?" Kraken was clearly surprised, his eyes wide open. "Theoretically speaking, snakes are animals, so of course they can be raised. But I've only ever heard of ranches raising cattle, sheep, and pigs. I don't think anyone has ever tried raising snakes before. It must be quite difficult; snakes have much more demanding living conditions than these poultry!"

"First of all, there's the food. Snakes are carnivorous, you understand? Rabbits, mice, and the like. They're not like cattle or sheep, which can survive on grass. Just preparing snake feed is a huge expense!"

Zhang Renfeng looked at him calmly, nodded slightly, signaling him to continue, as if he didn't consider it a problem at all.

"And then there's the environment. Snakes prefer a relatively humid environment, and the temperature, light, and humidity are all very important. To put it simply, this is an animal that needs to be cared for by humans. If it's even slightly off-center, snakes may not reproduce."

"Take humidity for example. If it's too humid, the mother snake's back might rot... In short, you can't raise snakes by yourself. You have to hire a group of people to take care of them, just like cowboys take care of livestock on a ranch. Ordinary people can't afford to take care of these things."

Zhang Renfeng looked at the unassuming snake oil vendor again and nodded. "It sounds like I have an expert standing in front of me."

In this era, there are very few people who truly know how to deal with snakes. Naturally, even fewer who understand their habits.

There are practically no people who can meet both of the above requirements and still have spare money to try raising snakes.

In a sense, while Kraken stepped out of his comfort zone, he also chose the wrong track, plunging headlong into a red ocean market that had already been completely divided up.

After rolling around in there a few times, they finally saw the truth and started setting things up. Since they couldn't compete with the big manufacturers anyway, why bother putting in the effort to make real snake oil? They could just make do with whatever they could find.

Since he was going to Dovchu anyway, and he was just idling in the car, he might as well promote his snake oil.

Perhaps it's because he's so depressed; a depressed person's expression and demeanor have a very strong negative impact. So far, he hasn't sold a single bottle.

Just when he was in despair, he met Zhang Renfeng and Zhang Titto. This snake oil dealer would remember this day and this moment for the rest of his life.

"You...you wouldn't be thinking of..."

"Tito, do you have paper and pen with you?" Zhang Renfeng waved his hand slightly, indicating that he didn't need to say anything more, and then turned to the girl beside him and said, "I can't write."

"Are you always so impulsive? You have so much money to burn, huh?" Zhang Tito sighed helplessly, expertly pulling out paper and pen from his backpack, muttering, "Why am I destined to be someone else's assistant wherever I go..."

Even so, the girl still carefully wrote down everything Zhang Renfeng dictated on the letter paper.

----

Kraken listened in the whole time, his face turning even paler than before, and large beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, dripping down.

"Do you want to work with me?" Zhang Renfeng sealed the envelope and asked solemnly, "Don't do this kind of trash that you yourself look down on. If we're going to work together, let's do something real."

Kraken nodded almost instinctively.

"Alright, then get ready and see if you need to bring anything... Once you're ready, go to Rongma Town and find a dwarf named Igor Zolael. If he's not there, go find a man named Logan and show him this letter; he'll understand."

“Rongma Town!?” Kraken trembled in fright, shaking his head repeatedly. “No, no, no… let’s not go. This… that’s bandit territory. If someone like me goes in, they’ll eat me alive!”

“No, not anymore.” Zhang Renfeng pushed the envelope in front of him, a smile of encouragement on his face, and patted his shoulder. “Now, that place is under my control. Everything will be done according to the rules. With my letters, no one will touch you.”

"Under...your jurisdiction?" Kraken thought he had misheard, and for a brief moment, a dazed expression appeared on his face.

But then, the daze turned into fear, then into shock, and he hurriedly tried to stand up again.

"You! You are..."

“Yes.” Zhang Renfeng pressed down on his shoulder and said calmly, “I am Hongzhong.”

"Don't be so loud. I'm here with a 7000 bounty on my head."

----

The train calmly entered New Elizabeth.

The lights disappeared into the falling snowflakes.

Chapter 414: Then I'll kill him again!

"What the hell? Is this year's late spring cold snap really that bad? March is almost over, and there's still so much snow..."

Zhang Renfeng's eyes were fogged up by a snowflake the size of a goose feather, and he couldn't help but complain.

The train's final stop was halfway up the mountain, and many people were cursing as they faced the snow-covered mountain road. Kraken, however, didn't go up the mountain with them; instead, he took a different route. He said it was closer to his home. Judging from his expression, he couldn't wait to go home, pack his belongings, and head off to a new world.

The remaining two had to brave the wind and snow, trudging through the deep and shallow waters to carve a path through the mountain trail.

Zhang Renfeng had a kerosene lamp clipped to his waist, while Zhang Tito held an electric lamp developed by Tao in his hand.

"Woo——! Wu——!"

The wind howled.

The two lights, one in front and one behind, appeared rather small in the heavy snow. There were no horses to ride, so they had to walk up the mountain. The footprints they left in the snow were quickly wiped clean by their next footsteps.

It was four in the afternoon, not quite night yet, but the sky was already rapidly darkening. The snowstorm continued unabated and seemed poised to intensify, leaving them no time to leisurely admire the snowscape. They had to reach their next suitable campsite before it became completely dark.

This mountain range spans the states of New Orleans and New Elizabeth, and its generally high altitude results in lower temperatures.

Theoretically, it is still part of the Falling Snow Mountains, but in New Elizabeth, it is called by a different name.

Similar to the Mini Traveler's Shop, there was also a place on this mountain specifically for people to rest. However, it was unmanned, without supplies, without a warm campfire, only an empty, dilapidated mansion, and ruins buried deep in the snow, now just broken walls and rubble.

But then I thought, when you're traveling, if you're short on stirrups and have no roof over your head, you're lucky to have a place to stay. So it naturally became a place for travelers to stay when they were passing through.

"Dover Doolin, ever heard of him?"

“No.” Zhang Renfeng wiped the snow water from his face, shook his head, and subconsciously narrowed his eyes. “But I guess the name ‘Dover Hill’ comes from him, right?”

“That was almost 20 years ago. Back then, people called him ‘Blackheart Dover.’”

Like Zhang Renfeng, she was dressed in spring clothes, which were no longer very thick. Despite the sudden heavy snow, she seemed unfazed by the cold and walked naturally through the snow, still having the energy to explain, "That guy made his fortune through loan sharking, and later his business grew bigger and bigger, making him a local tyrant."

"Back then, this place was still a wasteland. He held all the positions of sheriff, mayor, and judge all by himself. He used every means to make money. He disdained living among ordinary people and used the money he plundered to build an incredibly luxurious palace on this mountain."

“Note that I did not use the word 'mansion' to describe it. Compared to him, Hector seems stingy.”

"And then?" Zhang Renfeng's curiosity was piqued.

"Later, Jack's gang came."

"Ah..." Zhang Renfeng had a sense of déjà vu. The story that followed was strangely familiar, and he could already guess the general outline.

Perhaps, twenty years from now, someone will speak in this tone about the once-powerful and unparalleled Thunder Gang, and about the wealthy Zorael family. First, a long introduction, then a sudden shift in tone: Later, the Red Center Gang arrived.

It feels so good to think about it!

"When Dover was killed, his mansion was burned to the ground. Because it was so far from the town, people only saw the flames and didn't know what had happened. The fire burned all night, and when they looked again the next morning, the palace-like mansion was mostly burned to the ground."

"Only one house, which was located far from the main building and was used to provide lodging for distinguished guests, was spared from the fire and survived the blaze."

"In the pitch-black wreckage, they dug out molten gold and silver fragments, as well as some valuable jewelry, but there was no trace of Dover's body."

"Therefore, some strange legends have been passed down... such as Dover not dying, but being resurrected as a vampire."

“Deep in the dilapidated corridor, a hoarse voice could occasionally be heard chanting the names of Jack’s gang members. The once-powerful Jack’s gang disappeared quickly after that, as if cursed. Everyone said it was cursed by the black-hearted Dover.”

"Having taken revenge on Jack's gang, he still wasn't satisfied. As the sun set and all was quiet, he hid in the darkness of this dilapidated mansion, his blood-red eyes wide open, plotting his revenge against the civilians of Dover Hill."

"Tao told me this story, and it's very popular locally. All the kids listen to it. I've been to that manor on the mountain once or twice, and it is indeed quite eerie. Nobody wants to stay there unless absolutely necessary, for fear of being targeted by the petty and wicked Dover."

"So that's how it is. The vampire story originated from this guy." Zhang Renfeng finally connected everything, and a slight smile appeared on his lips. "That's pretty exciting."

“You don’t seem scared at all,” Zhang Tito said teasingly, observing his expression from the side. “We’re about to spend the night in that cursed house.”

Zhang Renfeng suddenly asked, "Do you believe this story?"

"Huh?" Tito was taken aback, but before she could speak, Zhang Renfeng continued talking to himself.

"I hope it's true, that he's not dead, that he's survived as a vampire... or some other form." Zhang Renfeng looked up at the silhouette of the pointed building, barely visible in the snow, and a bright smile appeared on his face. "If that's the case, then I will kill him again with my own hands!"

----

“This is it,” Zhang Tito instructed. “There might already be people inside. We’re just here for the night, so it’s better to keep a low profile.”

"Understood, keep a low profile." Zhang Renfeng readily agreed, a smile on his face.