Dual wielding volcanoes, killing through the west

He saw Hans's undisguised smile.

……

Whether it's right or wrong, let time be the judge. Right now, I need him, and he needs me, and that's enough.

“Let’s start by talking about our opponent tonight.” Hans didn’t show any sign of relief, but it was clear from his tone and micro-expressions. As he said this, his tightly shrugged shoulders relaxed, and his tone softened slightly.

As his nerves relaxed, he made a small mistake—in an attempt to ease tensions, he instinctively picked up a wine glass, intending to pour Zhang Renfeng a drink. His hand had barely touched the bottle, the initial stirring not yet complete, when his political instincts immediately stopped him.

If the two of them were alone, there would be nothing wrong with doing this. Drinking this glass of wine would further demonstrate that they have formally formed an alliance and are of one mind.

The problem is, there are so many people standing behind Zhang Renfeng. If he were the only one to fall, it would create the impression that he was rushing to curry favor with the Red Army while disregarding ordinary people like them. Of course, this isn't a major issue, but it would subtly diminish the respect of the dozens of people present.

If you deduct one point, and he deducts one point, and if word gets out about what happened tonight, we could lose hundreds of points.

Hans immediately stopped what he was doing, and instead of pouring drinks for anyone, he remained outwardly calm and continued, "The sheriff here is Gregor Osborne, a member of their own family. He oversees nearly two hundred sheriffs. These guys are probably like weeds to you, so you don't need to worry about them. The only ones you really need to pay attention to are a few."

Have you heard of "Poker Masters"?

"Oh?" Zhang Renfeng asked curiously, "Those people with half a playing card pinned to their chests?"

"No matter what, the police station is an agency under the jurisdiction of the municipal government, and there are some things they don't dare to do too recklessly. But the poker community is different. If you've ever been to a casino, you should know what I'm talking about."

“Ah, those guys, I remember them.” Zhang Renfeng recalled the figure in the casino who could strike six blows in a second. It was hard to imagine what kind of methods those guys would use against those who defied the Osborne family after they left. “Bodyguards, they’re nothing new. Even an idiot like Colin Childer knows to hire a few bodyguards before he goes out and shows off.”

"The poker community is completely under Joffrey's command. Among them are several leaders known by their hand rankings, and they are all extremely skilled. As far as I know..."

"They all spent some time in a mysterious mercenary organization."

"Mercenaries?" Zhang Renfeng frowned. "The Golden Company?"

“No, it’s much further back than that. The time gap is too long, and it’s difficult to dig up any information.” Hans said in a deep voice, “The leader of that mercenary group was very mysterious. Decades ago, like you, he was a fearsome urban legend. People called him ‘Black Hand Lu’.”

"Until the last ten years or so, perhaps because he's gotten older, he's gradually settled down. The way people in the underworld address him has also changed..."

----

"A letter from Dad?"

The man opened his eyes, his tone incredulous.

At this moment, he held two solid metal padlocks out to the side, specifically designed for testing strength. He had deliberately removed his shirt, revealing muscles more perfectly sculpted than marble, now taut and taut, sweat pooling beneath him. The man had maintained this posture for over fifteen minutes, and despite being drenched in sweat, when he opened his eyes, he wasn't out of breath, only slightly surprised by the news.

After hesitating for a moment, he released his grip, letting the two iron locks fall to the ground naturally.

"Thump—!!!"

The loud noise echoed in the underground space, startling his companions who all turned around.

The playing cards on the chests of these men were clearly different from those of the henchmen on the first floor; they all wore multiple cards.

Within the poker community, those who possess their own "hand patterns" are the absolute managers, enjoying separate dividends from the company. Only a wealthy family like the Osborn could afford to hire bodyguards of this caliber.

"No wonder you can't live upstairs. With that kind of noise, you'd have smashed a hole in the floor." The man with a "straight" hand on his chest smoothed his hair. "Couldn't you have used a stone? Why did you have to use iron?"

“The stone… is too light for me.”

Tonghua clenched his fist, seemingly feeling the power moving between his fingers, and then clenched it so tightly that it cracked. "It has to be iron, otherwise it won't be heavy enough."

"Excuse me, how much do these two things weigh?" The loud noise had made Si Tiao instinctively draw his nunchucks from his waist—it had become an instinctive reaction. At this moment, his gaze towards Tong Hua held a hint of jealousy. "Could they weigh around 400 kilograms?"

"I'm alright." Tonghua picked up a towel and wiped the sweat from her forehead and face.

"550 kilograms in total."

……

For a long time, no one spoke in the spacious, bright basement.

"laugh!"

Until a throwing knife flew out of his hand, about ten meters away, and pierced the very center of the already tattered target.

"Congratulations, a flush." ​​The woman with a gourd on her chest leaned back lazily on the sofa, casually tossing another knife, deflecting the previous one precisely, as she said, "With this number, your [Prajna Skill] is almost at the ninth level."

Chapter 501: The Engagement

"That's great, it's so unfair! We all started practicing at the same time, and we're practicing the same thing, so how come your progress is so much ahead of everyone else?"

Muttering to himself, Shijo leaned back in his chair, tossing his nunchucks up, catching them, and tossing them up again, repeating the process over and over. Although he said this, there was actually no real dissatisfaction in his tone.

At its core...

“There’s nothing to complain about, right?” Shunzi said as if he had expected it. “According to Dad, this is ‘the slow and steady wins the race.’ As long as you put in the time, you will reap the rewards. The real challenge is to put in the time to practice every day. While Tonghua is practicing, you’re busy drinking, playing cards, and chasing women. How can your progress in practicing be faster than his?”

"Ha, that's true." Shijo rubbed his nose, caught the nunchucks, and reattached them to his belt. He said nonchalantly, "If I were to practice like him, without fail, dedicating so much time to training every day, I couldn't stand it. What's the difference between that and an ascetic?"

"It didn't take that long, did it?" Tonghua wiped the sweat from his body and turned to look at his companions, his tone slightly dissatisfied. "Bow drawing, sword wielding, and stone lifting, each only takes thirty minutes. The bow and sword are special, only Dad has them, so let's leave that aside. There's only one thing left to practice, stone lifting, but none of you have taken it seriously."

"Save your breath, why bother with so much effort?" Shunzi waved his hand dismissively and said, "For me, the fifth level of Prajna Kung Fu is more than enough."

"I'm on the sixth floor now. When I'm in bed, if I want to... hehe, I can give those women a real hard time. I can make them scream and scream. Some of the weaker ones will faint on the spot."

A frivolous smile spread across Four's face. His lustful thoughts stirred within him, and he couldn't help but lick his lips, savoring the feeling of conquest. He patted Flush's shoulder regretfully, saying, "If you have the chance, you really should try it. Seriously. You could probably break down any woman, let alone a bed."

"Is that all you aspire to?" Tonghua glanced at him and sighed inwardly.

Everyone has their own ambitions, and we cannot force them to.

He understood to some extent what his father meant by those words.

"You don't really want to break through to the tenth level, do you?" Shunzi looked at him as if he were a monster independent of human society.

"Can't you?"

“It’s possible, but what’s the point? It’ll take a lot of time, and no matter how much you practice, you’ll never be able to surpass your dad.”

“Of course you two wouldn’t understand, because you’re normal people. But this guy is more like a ‘martial arts fanatic.’ He just loves all sorts of things, like martial arts and fighting.” Hulu continued to lie on the sofa, crossed his legs, and said slowly, “Dad took a liking to him because of his personality, that’s why he adopted him as his son.”

Tonghua let out a long breath, washed her hands thoroughly, dried them carefully, and then, with a sense of ceremony, picked up her father's letter.

Finally, the remaining three companions also stood up and huddled together, wanting to see what this "father," who was thousands of miles away and had no blood relation to them, had sent.

……

"Dong dong dong——!"

The knocking on the door was quite urgent.

"Don't you know the rules? I don't have time right now!" Shijo said impatiently, frowning. "Go wait outside!"

"Wait a minute." Tonghua sensed something was amiss. She put the letter down, turned around, and opened the door. "What is it?"

"Mr. Flush... Yes, it's the mine! Something happened at the mine, a blowout, and many miners drowned. Genos led a team to suppress it, but they couldn't... The miners' families formed a force, stormed into the city, and surrounded the mayor's house!"

Tonghua's expression changed instantly; he immediately realized that from the moment Genos failed, the situation had been rapidly spiraling out of control. He had only just received the news, far too late.

For the company, human lives are of course not important, but face is. Right now, the miners' families are making a scene in the city, and the more people who know about this, the more damage the company's reputation and face will suffer!

"Does Joffrey know about this?"

"He...he should still be on the third floor. Today he invited that very famous actress, we..."

Seeing the younger brother's troubled expression, Flush didn't press him. Given Joffrey's personality, interrupting him at this moment unless it was extremely urgent would likely end badly. Of course, even if it were truly urgent, the outcome might still be uncertain.

"I understand... This is very important, I'll go talk to him."

The moment he stood up, he suddenly felt a sense of panic, as if there was something he hadn't done yet, and everything felt awkward and wrong.

The letter my father sent is still lying quietly on the table, unopened.

"Never mind," Tonghua thought to himself, "I can still check it when I get back."

----

"A marriage contract?" Evelyn stopped what she was doing, raised her head slightly, opened her eyes a little, and looked at the man in front of her again.

Strictly speaking, he was not bad-looking; in fact, he was quite handsome, with deep-set eyes, a high nose bridge, and a rather well-proportioned figure.

At Joffrey's level, people tend to pay extra attention to their health, with a dedicated team of nutritionists responsible for his daily calorie intake.

His figure was very well-proportioned, his hands were fair and delicate like a woman's, and his well-tailored suit, meticulous hairstyle, and flamboyant color scheme, like a peacock spreading its tail, made him look much younger than his actual age.

At this moment, he was very relaxed, leaning back in the high-backed chair, comfortably half-closing his eyes as he looked at himself.

Generally speaking, you wouldn't bring up something like this with someone you've just met. But he seemed quite confident in his charm. Joffrey has never lacked women; in fact, at his level, most ordinary women have already bored him. Having been exposed to an endless supply of delicious food since childhood, his appetite has naturally become increasingly discerning.

However, for large families, the value of the word "marriage contract" is different.

Evelyn quickly understood.

"You want to enter into a marriage agreement with the 'Dittasdorf' family, don't you?"

"Heh, heh heh... You're quite clever, miss. But I don't like women who are too clever; as long as they're docile enough, that's fine."

Joffrey waved his hand, picked up a piece of delicate dragon fruit from the exquisitely arranged plate with his fork, and put it in his mouth to chew.

The dragon fruit juice stained my lips, making them look like blood.

Evelyn didn't answer, she just looked at him quietly.

“The market in the north is almost saturated, and a large number of competitors have emerged. Let them fight over that small market. Father has already set his sights on the south, where there are vast 'virgin' areas that have not yet been developed.”

Joffrey looked Evelyn up and down, licked his lips, and said with a smile, "If our family can form a marriage alliance with a major family in the South, it will be very beneficial for implementing the next series of strategies."

Simply put, they wanted to leverage the reputation of the powerful families in the south, but they didn't actually want to share resources with them.

Who could be more suitable than this last descendant of the Dietersdorf family?

Chapter 502: This world is like a pyramid enveloping us.

“Frankly, based on what I know, I don’t understand what you’re still hesitating about,” Joffrey said bluntly. “The Dietersdorf family is already defunct. Marrying me is its only chance to leave a name for itself in the future, and it’s also your chance to step back into high society.”

"Right now, you're nothing more than a vase with an expensive label attached. No one will truly respect you. They're just using the extinct Ditasdorf as a mere embellishment to your beautiful face."

Joffrey sounded quite smug as he said this.

"I've been in the entertainment industry a lot, and I've slept with quite a few female celebrities of all kinds."

"This industry isn't open to ordinary people. The higher you try to climb, the less important acting skills become. It's too subjective. Who acts well and who acts poorly? There's no clear standard, right?"

He cut a medium-rare Charlotte steak with his knife, the bloody juices squeezing out and mixing with the burgundy sauce poured over it, creating an enticing aroma and sizzling sound.

"It's either connections and background, or looks and figure; you have to choose one." He put the sliced ​​beef into his mouth, chewed it repeatedly, and then stared intently at the girl in front of him with the eyes of someone looking at prey. He grinned and said, "Instead of sleeping with those theater owners and event organizers, why not sleep with me? It's a one-step solution, isn't it better?"

“I am very satisfied with my life now,” Evelyn replied calmly and confidently.

"What?" Joffrey didn't show any emotion at her rejection; he simply spread his hands and asked with a smile, "Am I not your ideal type?"

To be fair, he wasn't ugly, and with his extremely illustrious family background, he was more than qualified to be the prince charming in the hearts of ordinary women.

Somehow, Evelyn subconsciously didn't see him as a man, but rather as a flamboyant peacock. Of course, she knew the person sitting opposite her was a man, but that was all she knew; any deeper thoughts about him didn't even cross her mind.

To tell the truth would be too hurtful, so Evelyn had to politely decline from a different angle, "Thank you very much for the invitation, but... I really don't have any lately..."

“You seem to have misunderstood me, Dietersdorf.”

Joffrey's gaze turned cold. He slowly rose and looked down—their seats were directly above the entire casino lobby. Even three floors away, the deafening noise below was still audible, but it was no longer cacophony; instead, it gave him a pleasant feeling.

Sitting here, looking down, Joffrey sees all those faces, immersed in a world of excitement, whether greedy, ecstatic, frustrated, or angry, as if he were God.

"Okay."

He pulled a revolver from his waist; here, he was the only person allowed to carry a firearm in the casino.

Standing above the rules, looking down at the ignorant and greedy gamblers below, the bookmaker wore a godlike smile.

"boom!"

A gunshot rang out, interrupting everyone's attention. Countless heads turned upwards, looking at the figure standing high above.

No spotlight was needed, nor was superb acting required. Joffrey pulled a thick wad of US dollars from his pocket. He counted them all in front of everyone, and finally, like releasing doves of peace, he raised his right arm and flung them into the air!

"Crack-!"

Under the illumination of that luxurious crystal chandelier, the angle at which the banknotes scattered was quite beautiful.

"Oh oh oh oh oh—!!"

The room erupted in applause and cheers, as no one felt they had too little money, especially the gamblers on the first floor. They leaped from their seats and charged towards the falling banknotes, scrambling and grabbing at them. Before long, they were wrestling, and the battle quickly escalated, engulfing almost the entire first floor of the casino.

"Ha, ha ha ha... Good, good! Make it even more exciting!" Joffrey laughed heartily, pulled out a wad of banknotes from his pocket, and scattered them down, muttering to himself, "If two people die, it will be even more exciting."

Evelyn's gaze turned wary as she looked at him; she saw a familiar shadow in this young, wealthy man.