Dual wielding volcanoes, killing through the west

"Oh, I see. My name is Ning... Nina!" The girl blurted out, then quickly swallowed the syllable, clapped her hands, and said somewhat guiltily, "As a return gift, I'll treat you to lemon cake. I just tasted it, and the lemon cake over there is delicious, it melts in your mouth, it must have been made by a professional pastry chef."

……

Zhang Renfeng could understand her reluctance to reveal her real name, after all, she had said that she had run away from home and was a young lady from a wealthy family.

What if revealing my name causes trouble?

But as she searched, the girl's smile gradually froze on her face, and she became very panicked.

"what happened?"

"My...my wallet..." Nina's groping in her pockets became more and more frantic, her voice trembling with a hint of a sob, "It's gone—!!"

Chapter 484: A Young Girl's Tears

"Stop touching me, girl. Your hands are sticking out of your pockets." Zhang Renfeng couldn't bear to look and couldn't help but complain, "Why are you dressed so flashy? This outfit... even if I cut you a couple more times on that puffy skirt, you wouldn't be able to tell."

Nina didn't answer him, she just stared blankly at the pile of chips on the table, biting her lip slightly.

Have you used your wallet today?

“When I was exchanging chips just now… I used them… After coming in, I went to the bar first and bought a few lemon cupcakes…” Nina’s tone was very aggrieved. This was the real world, different from the one in books and scrolls, and it was a heavy blow to the girl.

Zhang Renfeng sighed inwardly. The prices in the casino were exorbitant; a small glass of wine cost a dollar, and who knew how expensive a lemon cake would be. This girl was truly audacious, taking money directly from her wallet without using chips, as if announcing to the world—"I'm rich, I can squander it as I please."

Judging from her age, she's about the same age as Xiaomei and Alana. But with experienced people around to protect his two daughters, Zhang Renfeng doesn't need to worry about them.

"And then? Before you sat down at this table, did you have any contact with anyone else?"

“Hmm…it’s him…it’s him.” Nina pointed to the seat where Zhang Renfeng was sitting.

"Him? This kid trying to scam you out of your money?"

Nina nodded silently.

Zhang Renfeng frowned and asked patiently, "He and you, didn't you meet at the card table?"

“No.” Nina shook her head, her shoulders slightly hunched, and she honestly explained, “I met him at the bar. He said he wanted to buy me something to drink. He was going to drink alcohol, but I said I didn’t, so he ordered me lemon iced water. After that, he asked if I wanted to play cards, and I thought, since I’m already here, I just…”

"Hiss..." Zhang Renfeng raised his hand to his forehead, gritting his teeth. "In other words, he was the one who hit on you, right?"

"Is this what 'flirting' is?" Nina said, still a little confused. "Maybe."

"What distance was he maintaining from you during this process?"

“He… was standing right next to me.” Nina had probably guessed what was going on, and her voice grew even lower. “When we were ordering, it seemed like he was standing on my right, and it seemed like he was standing on my left. I don’t remember the specifics.”

……

Zhang Renfeng sighed deeply, flicked the chips in his hand onto the table, and his face turned ashen.

Zhang Renfeng hadn't suspected Ali because he'd been watching him closely the entire time Ali left. After putting away the chair, Ali simply walked away without making any further moves. Little did he know, Ali had already succeeded before the betting even began. His scheming at the card table was merely to maximize his profits and squeeze every last penny out of Nina!

Thinking about this, he couldn't help but compare himself to the girls in the gang and reflect on the impact of one's living environment on a person.

At the same age, Alana and Mei would never fall for such a clumsy trick.

"What are you thinking! Why would a stranger in the world offer you food for no reason?" Zhang Renfeng said helplessly. "You're lucky this time. They're just after your money. Believe me, compared to those monsters outside, you're not bad at all."

"You're so beautiful, and you're from a wealthy family. If someone had other ideas about you, and they put anesthesia in your lemonade, would you drink it all in one gulp?"

"..."

Nina stopped talking and bit her lip tightly, but soon her eyes filled with tears.

Tears welled up and streamed down her face. She didn't raise her hand to wipe them away, just sat there in the chair, as if punishing herself in this way.

Zhang Renfeng was initially stunned, because he had rarely seen girls shed tears since he arrived here. In his memory, neither Xiaomei nor Alana had ever cried in front of him.

Upon learning of her father's death, Xiaomei was completely numb; during that time, she couldn't even cry. Alana was even worse off. Growing up in that kind of environment, she wasn't allowed to show weakness. She even made a domineering statement like, "You cry from day to night, and from night to day, can you cry yourselves to death?"

Upon closer reflection, perhaps it was because the past of his two daughters was too heavy.

Nina's reaction is typical of girls her age when they experience setbacks.

“Sigh…” Zhang Renfeng took out his pocket watch, checked the time, and saw it was 5:57.

There were still about two hours until the agreed time with Igor at eight o'clock.

"Stop crying, what's the use of crying? Will it solve anything?" Zhang Renfeng immediately stood up. "Let's go!"

"Where did he go?" Nina sniffed, looked up at Zhang Renfeng with a tear-streaked face, and asked in a muffled voice, "He left a long time ago."

"Who knows, maybe he grabbed some chips when he left, right?"

"The chips here need to be exchanged for cash at the front door. It's peak season for customers now, so the line is bound to be long. He might still be in line."

With his external brain gone, Zhang Renfeng had to rely on his rarely used brain to quickly sort things out and urged, "If you keep dawdling, it might really be too late."

……

In this emergency, Nina's pocket was leaking again, so Zhang Renfeng had no choice but to grab all the chips on the table into his handbag and run out quickly.

As he said, this is the peak time for customer traffic, with customers coming in in batches.

"Give me your hand!"

"Huh?" Nina hesitated for a moment. "Well, Mr. Zhang, my family's upbringing is such that you can't just... ah!"

She hadn't expected that Zhang Renfeng's words weren't a question. Whether she liked it or not, his strong hand had already gripped her wrist and dragged her into the surging crowd. Relying on his robust physique, he didn't flinch or dodge in the crowd, using his shoulders and forehead to force a straight line through.

Pushing through the crowd and arriving in the hall, Zhang Renfeng quickly looked around but didn't see him in any of the lines.

"Wh...how is it..." Nina was probably navigating through such a crowded place for the first time. She was panting heavily, her left hand clutching her chest. "Did you find it?"

Just as Zhang Renfeng was hesitating about how to answer, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a figure riding on horseback. The horse happened to be rearing up, making it exceptionally tall and attracting his attention.

Ali, like a seasoned rider, squeezed the horse's belly with his legs and tightened the reins, quickly taming the startled horse.

With a kick of its legs, the horse vanished instantly through the narrow pane of glass.

"This little rascal is really quick on his feet, he exchanged the money so fast..."

Anyway, finding the person makes things easier, Zhang Renfeng's tone lightened. His only fear was that the person might really be lost in the vast sea of ​​people; then there would be no hope at all.

"Whoa—!!"

He whistled, and strangely enough, amidst the cacophony of voices, the Turkmen warhorse still galloped over and came to a steady stop at the casino entrance.

Zhang Renfeng initially thought of going alone, but then he reconsidered, the owner of the lost wallet also needed to be present. If they caught up with him later and something was missing from the wallet, Nina could point it out on the spot.

"Wow, Mr. Zhang, that's amazing!" the girl exclaimed. "Is that your horse?"

Just to be on the safe side, he asked again, "Nina, you're not wearing a corset or anything around your waist, are you?"

“What era are we living in? Who would wear that kind of thing now?” Nina shook her head. “I still need to practice. Wearing that kind of thing underwater… ah!”

Caught off guard, Zhang Renfeng wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her onto the horse's back.

"Hold on tight." He easily mounted his horse, using the stirrups, and said in a deep voice, "Let's catch up!"

Chapter 485: The Original Sin Behind Civilization

"Damn it!" Zhang Renfeng gritted his teeth and cursed under his breath.

This was the first time he had encountered a situation where he tried his best to pedal in the stirrups, but still couldn't catch up.

"Um, Mr. Zhang... am I too heavy?" Nina's tone was very embarrassed when she said this. No matter what age, girls are very concerned about their weight. "If it really doesn't work, just leave me here."

"Just kidding. We're already outside the city. If I left you there, who knows what might happen to you." Zhang Renfeng sighed. "It has nothing to do with you. My knife was too heavy."

"Knife?"

……

After meeting the rangers, Zhang Renfeng simply strapped his longsword horizontally to the saddle's inner lining, so he could draw it out whenever he needed it.

The weight of the weapon was originally Zhang Renfeng's unique advantage, but everything has two sides. For example, this knife weighs over seventy kilograms. On horseback, it's equivalent to supporting the weight of three people, and the strain on the horse's endurance is no joke. No matter how good the horse is, it can't run at the speed of one person while carrying the weight of three.

Even the Turkmen warhorses trained by Zhang Renfeng would be considered exceptional horses if they could keep the former firmly in their sight without kicking up their tails under such circumstances.

Furthermore, Zhang Renfeng made another discovery from the way Ali turned his back on them.

"This kid has learned riding skills," he commented in a deep voice. "His turning, cornering, and obstacle avoidance are all a little better than the average person. But he's not very proficient yet, just a little better than the average person. I guess he hasn't been learning for very long."

"If I were alone, I could catch up with him in no time"—Zhang Renfeng thought for a moment, but still didn't actually say those flattering words.

"Riding skills... Ooh!" The girl behind him almost fell off. Zhang Renfeng had already stepped on the stirrups, and she had nowhere else to grab onto, so she grabbed his waist and rested most of her face against his back, asking, "Mr. Zhang, have you also learned riding skills?"

"You have to learn it. I am the top martial arts champion. Horse riding is a prerequisite. There is no room for negotiation. You must pass the test."

"What's that?" Nina asked suspiciously. "Are you an athlete?"

"what?"

Zhang Renfeng was taken aback by the irrelevant question, and only then did he realize that he had subconsciously used the word "champion" to refer to the "martial arts champion".

Of course, the actual meanings are quite different, but considering the cultural differences between East and West, Zhang Renfeng could hardly find a suitable term to express the true meaning of "Martial Arts Champion." No similar position existed in Western history. He could only find a similar term to serve as a temporary substitute.

"I'll explain it to you slowly when I have time later."

----

Outskirts of Lagras.

After passing through bustling city centers and dense factories, the buildings became shorter and sparser, exposing large swathes of open land. They were approaching the Bady Mountains, the site of the Roanok Fuel Company's mines.

There was a small town specifically for the miners, without a name. It was small and had no other form of entertainment; literally, it was simply a place for them to live. There was only one general store selling daily necessities; everything one needed for daily life could be bought there.

Towns like this, entirely owned by companies, were everywhere in this era, usually related to the mining industry. The town at Windhaven Trading Post was essentially this type, except it was built with funding from several companies. For management purposes, they hired an outsider, Caster, to manage the area.

Usually, the company provides workers with food, lodging, and wages, but don't expect it to be any better... especially in towns like this where Roanoke Fuel Company has all the power. Company rules supersede the law, and the company retains almost complete control over its workers.

After being away for a long time, returning here makes the air feel very pungent, and Ali can't help but frown.

He slowed his horse's pace, dismounted, and craned his neck to look around. His movements were strangely furtive, as if he were carrying a large sum of money and afraid of being targeted by others.

In fact, there wasn't a soul in sight on the street.

Exhausted workers have no nightlife; their entire daily routine consists of shuttling between "going to work" and "getting off work." Mining is a job that can severely exhaust both body and mind. After work, their bodies are so tired that they feel as if their souls have been separated from them, leaving them with no energy for such trivial matters.

Looking at the empty streets, I was reminded of Lagras city center, where it was bustling and lively at the same time.

Ali gritted his teeth and clicked his tongue in resentment.

"This girl is really rich. Such a nice wallet, it must be made of genuine animal leather, right?" He took out his spoils for the night from his dirty satchel. Even in the dim moonlight, the small wallet still glittered.

As Nina's unsuspecting smile flashed through his mind, Ali could feel his heart clench.

She was one of the few people who didn't show any disgust towards herself after seeing her own appearance.

But isn't that exactly why I chose her as my target? Naive, easily fooled, always thinking the world works like the stories she reads. Such a sucker should stay in her mansion! Once she's in the casino, even if I don't win, someone else will.

“That’s right… To her, this amount of money is nothing. She’ll just go home when she runs out of money, so it’s alright. I don’t need to worry about something like this…”

Ali comforted himself, took out his key, and opened the door—all the houses here were the same, all funded by the company and built for the workers to live in; Ali preferred to call them "cricket cages." They had no personality whatsoever, and the quality was terrible; if you kicked one, a hole would probably appear in the wall, and the soundproofing was utterly awful.

Fortunately, their place was in a very remote location, right in a corner of the town, far away from the other houses.

He carefully pushed open the dilapidated door, which inevitably creaked and groaned.

"Hell..."

Ali cursed under his breath and turned around. He couldn't close the door anymore, so he left it slightly ajar. He tiptoed into the inner room, feeling like a thief even though he was going home.

However, the lights came on the next moment.

Ali's heart suddenly jumped.

Under the light, he saw his brother's thin face—he was wearing miner's clothes, his eye sockets were deeply sunken, but those eyes were staring intently at him, like two glaring lamps.

"You're finally back." The older brother's gaze shifted from his face to the wallet in his hand, and he said sarcastically, "Not bad haul tonight."

Chapter 486: Mistakes and Mistakes, Which Should We Choose?

"It's so late." Since he'd been caught, Ali decided to stop pretending and simply shrugged, acting like he didn't care at all. "I thought you'd already gone to bed."

"How dare I close my eyes?" His brother stared at his face and sneered, "If I don't keep an eye on you for a little while, you'll cause me a whole lot of trouble again."

“…Then I should thank you for your kindness, brother.” Ali bit his lip and returned the same sarcasm. “But, you? A meek and subservient guy who works like a slave for the company, what can you handle? When you encounter those supervisors, you bury your face lower than your neck! I can handle my own affairs perfectly well, I don’t need you to worry about me!”

"Rely on those new 'friends' you've made?"