Dual wielding volcanoes, killing through the west

Thousands of electric arcs burst forth from the dense, metallic coil tower, transforming into countless sharp, piercing branches. In an indescribable instant, they collided and merged, then vanished into the boundless chasm. Only a faint, scorching trace remained in the air, and this scorching trace was repeating itself endlessly, at a rate calculated in millions of times.

Dazzled.

Only now does Zhang Renfeng understand that this idiom is not a simple adjective.

He had observed the sky before. When thunderstorms came, the lightning would meander down from the sky, just a streak of blue light that tore a hole in the dark clouds and split it into several branches.

The scene before us... is as if this steel forest has forcibly confined the lightning, which should have been fleeting, within this space.

Just a window away, lightning flashed and thunder roared!

----

“I’m sorry, Mr. Zhang, this was built without my permission, and I’ve slightly diverted some of the funds you approved for me. The technology is still in the experimental stage and far from mature. I’ll explain it to you later when we have a mature verification system.” Tao glanced at the view outside the window, his tone eerily calm. “Miss Tito, go and turn it off.”

Aurora skillfully took a long rod, pulled down the curtains, blocked the window, and blocked Zhang Renfeng's view.

"What you just saw is still a little too early for you and for the world."

Chapter 579: A Brand New Tomorrow

"Ha ha……"

Zhang Renfeng's face was flushed, and he was panting heavily. He sat down on the ground with sweat pouring down his forehead.

It was fortunate that he was notified in advance that he would be doing sports. At first, he didn't take it seriously, but at Tao's strong suggestion, he took off his suit and shirt, leaving only his underwear.

He was initially somewhat ashamed, but during the exercise, even his last piece of underwear was torn into strips by his tense muscles without him noticing. He was so exhausted that he didn't even realize it.

"Senior brother, let me wipe it for you..."

"No, don't... Wolf, don't wipe it for me." Zhang Renfeng slapped the wolf's hand away, shook his head, and looked pale. "I either don't sweat at all, or when I do, I'm soaked through. I reckon it'll take another half an hour. If you wipe it now, it'll just keep coming out. Don't waste your time."

“But…” The wolf pursed his lips, and the moment he looked at him, his reproach turned into pity, “You’re almost drowning in your own sweat.”

"Sigh—" Zhang Renfeng sighed, shook his head, and could only make a self-deprecating joke, saying with a wry smile, "It's worth it for someone as illiterate as me to be able to dedicate myself to science today."

……

Although it's called sports, what he actually had to do was very simple: weightlifting.

The weight of the barbell plates was gradually increased. In a sense, Zhang Renfeng and Tao were exchanging pleasantries, giving each other a real eye-opening experience. Seeing Zhang Renfeng easily lift a 500kg weight with a single hand, Tao immediately took a step back.

The weight was added gradually, and after exceeding 700kg, he became more cautious. Later, the weight of this thing became unbearable for ordinary people. It's no exaggeration to say that even a slight bump or knock could break bones. He had to unload the plates himself, load them back on, and then lift it himself.

Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his chest, his temples throbbed, and his vision blurred. The golden butterfly seemed to appear out of nowhere again. He quickly let go, and the heavy barbell, which he didn't know how heavy, crashed to the ground with a deafening "BANG!!!" as if a meteorite had struck the earth, creating a large crater.

……

"Senior brother, are you alright?" Wolf looked at him with concern, but his words seemed to have a hidden meaning, and he hesitated, "I didn't know you had this problem too, just like me..."

“No, they’re not the same.” The next second, Zhang Renfeng shook his head and made his point very clear, “Although they look very similar, both being irritable, manic, and beast-like… the triggers are different. Wolf, the reason you had your previous illness was mainly hysteria, right? And the cycle of your hysteria attacks is related to the phases of the moon.”

“I got sick because I used too much strength all at once, um… how should I put it?” He tried to recall the knowledge that Tito had taught him in the cabin, but his mind was a mess, so he just made something up, “It also has something to do with genes, brain, muscles and stuff.”

“But this is good too. Through the test, we have basically grasped your load-bearing limit.” Tao then reported a very precise number, “Your body can bear a maximum weight of 978.5 kilograms. Exceeding this load-bearing limit will trigger an instinctive physiological reaction, burning away rationality and turning you into the state you were in Rongma Town.”

978.5 kg.

That is to say...

"About a ton?" Tito looked at him with a complicated expression and sighed, "Coverage of about 50%, that's about it."

“Your load-bearing capacity far exceeds my expectations, which is good news.” Tao’s expression finally changed. “With this reference data as a basis, perhaps I can tailor-make a combat suit for you. If possible, please make time to come again in the future. I would also like to know your wrist strength, grip strength, and body mobility, as well as a series of specific figures.”

"Huh?" Zhang Renfeng wiped the sweat from his forehead, looking miserable. "Are you going to use me as a guinea pig?"

"In terms of species, you're no longer an ordinary white mouse; you should be some kind of primitive rodent from the Cretaceous period, not our species," Tao said with a rare dry humor. "However, to thank you for your cooperation this time, I have indeed prepared a gift for you."

Tao rummaged through the mountain of goods for a while, muttering to himself as he searched. Finally, with Aurora's help, he pulled out a small blue box from the pile of trinkets. Zhang Renfeng didn't dare to be negligent; he repeatedly wiped his hands and forehead with the towel the wolf had given him before respectfully opening the box.

Lying quietly among them were two pistols, unpainted, their bodies gleaming with a pure white, cold metallic sheen.

"Ok?"

Zhang Renfeng sensed something was amiss, so he drew his two Volcano pistols and carefully compared them. Although the general structure was the same, and he could still recognize them as guns, many details were completely different.

"Where's the ammunition depot?" Zhang Renfeng asked curiously.

“There are no more cylinders.” Tao placed the box on the table and took out the two guns from it. “Your weapons craftsman, Mr. Theon Mislandil, once came to see me. We had dinner together and exchanged our research and development experiences. He showed me his own design of the Mauser C96—a semi-automatic pistol, which moved me deeply. His unique understanding of firearms gave me a lot of inspiration.”

“I spent a little time turning the ideas we had at the dinner table into reality, which is what you see now.”

"It has a magazine capacity of 7 rounds, a caliber of 7.65mm, and adopts a sleeve structure design."

With a "click," Tao ejected the magazine and showed it to Zhang Renfeng. "The slide uses a recoil spring, which automatically moves to the rearmost position during the firing cycle. The spring stress causes the slide to return to the initial position and load the next bullet. In other words, as long as the magazine is not empty, you can maintain continuous fire without having to manually move the firing pin to reset it."

"After the magazine is empty, you can replace it with a new one. You can load the bullets into the magazine in advance. This way, you can directly remove and load the magazine, which is much faster than loading the bullets into the cylinder one by one."

"This gun has a faster rate of fire, greater stability, and a faster reload speed. After several experiments and improvements, I am confident that it will gradually become popular and become a revolutionary new weapon. From then on, the era of revolvers will slowly come to an end."

"And you will be their first user."

----

The world's most advanced and cutting-edge automatic pistol was in the possession of a martial arts champion from across the ocean, which made Zhang Renfeng laugh.

"Thank you, Tao, I..." He hesitated for a long time, and with great effort, he finally said, "I will cherish it."

Traveling against the current, retreating if not advancing.

Revolvers are almost obsolete, let alone the lever-action volcano pistol he's still using; to put it bluntly, they should all be in a museum.

Do these two guns have names?

“I have already given it to you; now, it is your property,” Tao said humbly. “It is your freedom.”

……

"White."

Zhang Renfeng remained silent for a long time, then let out a long sigh and murmured, "The White Pistol, let's call it that."

Chapter 580: Are they here with ill intentions?

Seeing the red horse galloping from the street in the distance, Igor finally breathed a sigh of relief and put his pocket watch back in his pocket.

"What's going on?" he couldn't help but ask. "It's just delivering a notebook, does it really take that long?"

"Don't even mention it... They made me sacrifice myself for science, and I was drenched in sweat. I had to take a shower there before coming here." Zhang Renfeng waved his hand, and when he dismounted, he unusually rubbed his back.

The fact that he was just a little short of breaking the limit of his load-bearing capacity still had an undeniable impact on his body. He didn't specify what the experiment entailed, leaving everyone confused.

Igor shrugged and didn't ask any further questions. After all, Tao wasn't going to eat him. Once he decided on a long-term investment project, he generally didn't care about short-term returns. If the funding was sufficient, he'd let him do as much as he wanted.

What's going on inside?

“Everyone who was supposed to come is here. According to him, he organized this gathering to act as an intermediary and introduce us to others,” Igor instructed. “Have you ever participated in a gathering like this before?”

"No." Zhang Renfeng shook his head honestly.

“I guessed so… Okay, let me explain.” Igor didn’t rush in, but grabbed Zhang Renfeng’s sleeve and pulled him aside. “When we go in, there won’t be any Zhang Renfeng, Hong Zhong, Igor, or Mule, none of them! We are a group with a very clear power hierarchy, and the other side is definitely the same.”

"Ideally, we can divide our team into three distinct levels: the lowest level is responsible for stating the direct demands, the middle level is responsible for providing support, and the highest level is responsible for coordinating the direction of the negotiations."

"In my mind, the ideal structure should be 'Jimmy, you, and me,' each taking on the roles of low, medium, and high, like a combat team with incredibly rich combat experience."

“He’s a lawyer, quick-witted, and has seen countless negotiation scenarios. If we’re going to attack, he’s the vanguard; if we’re going to defend, he’s the general. He can buy me, the strategist, time to think, while I can provide him with ammunition and intelligence support at any time. After we’ve bombarded them round by round, and they’re confused by our bombardment, you, the boss, can then make the final decision. This kind of allocation structure is the most reasonable.”

"Oh my god..." Just imagining that scene, Zhang Renfeng almost burst out laughing.

"Unfortunately, he's in Sanma Town right now and can't fly over. Let's settle for second best; I'll handle the lower and middle-level roles myself. As for you, don't offer any opinions until the very last moment; just listen to us. The longer you remain silent, the stronger your final decision will be."

"It can't be that bad," Zhang Renfeng muttered. "On the battlefield in Lagras, we took care of his son. Maybe it was just to express our gratitude and treat us to a meal."

“Don’t underestimate bankers, Old Zhang, especially Mesvid, he’s a shrewd guy!” Igor seemed very serious. “Tell me, does Mesvid need money?”

Zhang Renfeng shook his head.

"What about their status?"

"At least in White Torch Town, his status is not low."

"Personal safety?"

"Nobody wants to kill him."

“You see, he had no urgent motive to prove his loyalty to us by sending his own son to the battlefield, but he did it anyway. Why do you think that is?”

Zhang Renfeng stood frozen in place, a gust of wind blowing into his neck, making him shiver involuntarily.

“Even if David is a bit slow-witted, he’s still his own son. On the battlefield, bullets have no eyes; a single bullet through his chest could kill him. Besides… back in the snowy mountains, that kid was quite disrespectful to you,” Igor continued, “What if you hadn’t kept him in the rear? What if he had gone to the battlefield and just happened to be unlucky enough to be killed by a stray bullet?”

"..."

"For a banker to risk his own son, there must be a deeper calculation involved. He wants to recoup all of this, with interest!"

"Ugh..." Zhang Renfeng sighed, rubbed his forehead and shook his head, looking troubled. "All this scheming and plotting, does it really have to be like this?"

"If you want to rule a place for a long time, this is unavoidable and unavoidable. You can't control people's minds. If you want the vast majority of people to work for you willingly, you can't avoid the distribution of benefits."

Igor was already prepared for this, and said in a deep voice, "Like I said, once you're inside, the less you talk, the better."

"I'd like to see what tricks he's up to."

----

Pearl Shell Restaurant.

This place has almost become the designated dining spot for Zhang Renfeng, Dunn, and Maysved, and because of this, business has gradually improved.

Interestingly, the business had previously been dismal because the Nordlin family had been wiped out in this place, which was considered unlucky. The original "Noldlin Grand Restaurant" changed hands several times and was renamed "Pearl Shell Grand Restaurant," but it became deserted.

The restaurant's downfall and its rise were both tied to the Red Center (a nickname for a restaurant chain), which is quite a remarkable story.

Zhang Renfeng and Yi Ge were both strikingly different in appearance, making them impossible to mistake. Upon their arrival, the restaurant staff dared not neglect them and immediately invited them to a private room. In the few days since they last visited, the place had become increasingly luxurious, and the table setting seemed to be gradually reverting to a style from the old era.

The guests who came to participate in the dinner had all taken their seats in turn.

Dunn Harganda, the patriarch of the Harganda family and mayor of White Torch Town. His expression was somewhat uneasy, perhaps because the things Hong Zhong had done before had shocked him too much. As soon as he saw Zhang Renfeng, he revealed that flickering smile and subconsciously wanted to stand up.

McCann Mesvid, a banker and the de facto controller of the Chedel-Mesvid Bank. Although the bank bears that name, he has almost lost real control of it due to Chedel's great retreat. He sat there with his eyes half-closed, displaying his usual shrewdness and composure.

The third person was someone neither Zhang Renfeng nor Yi Ge recognized. He didn't look too old, but his temples were still covered by a net of silver hair.

His face resembled a finely cut diamond, with cold, emerald-green irises and edges that gleamed with a cold, metallic sheen. Though he sat simply, he did so with great style—his upper body was upright, his double-breasted morning suit clung to his body, and the tortoiseshell pocket watch chain hanging from the fifth button of his vest swayed slightly.

People with a strong presence are hard to ignore.

Especially those emerald green eyes; when they met eyes, Zhang Renfeng felt as if he had seen those eyes somewhere before.

"I've long admired your names, Mr. Zhang and Mr. Zolael." The man gave a deep, unfathomable smile, but did not rise. He simply nodded slightly to the two of them as a greeting. "I hope you don't mind. I really wanted to pay my respects to you both, but I never had the chance. So I had to ask my former colleague to do it for me."

"You recognize us?" Igor frowned.

"Like thunder."

“Oh…” Igor pulled out a seat, gesturing for Zhang Renfeng to sit down first, and asked, “So, are you… representing yourself, wanting to communicate with us, or representing some other force or organization?”

“Both,” the man said in a deep voice, his arms crossed. “My name is Louis Osborne.”

----

"?!" Zhang Renfeng couldn't help but widen his pupils.

“I am the third son of Roanoke Osborne, and now I work as a professional manager at Eastbow Bird Bank.”

Chapter 581: We Have a Common Enemy

"brush!"

Zhang Renfeng hadn't expected that his newly acquired White pistol would come in handy so quickly. The straight, cold barrel was pressed against his forehead, across a table.

Upon hearing about Louis's background, his eyes suddenly turned cold. He instantly stood up, drew the White pistol from his waist, and pointed it at Louis.

To leave some room for negotiation, he didn't draw his gun on Maysved and Dunn, but instead coldly questioned, "What's the meaning of this, you two? Haven't we been cooperating quite pleasantly lately?"

"No, no, no, no, no..." Dunn shrank his neck, shaking his head so hard it was almost a blur, his survival instinct was evident. "You've misunderstood, it's not like that! We didn't mean to betray you!"

Igor reached out and pressed down slightly, signaling Zhang Renfeng not to be so agitated. He then spoke, regaining control of the situation, "Mr. Dunn, how much do you know about tonight's events?"

"I... I don't actually know more than you do." Dunn's smile was stiff, almost painful to the point of crying. "Well, we needed a mayor, and I just happened to be that mayor, so I'm sitting here. I really don't know anything else, I really don't know anything!"