Dual wielding volcanoes, killing through the west

Cheddar was invited to the birthday party as a guest of Hysen, and he planned to use this gathering of high society to make a grand entrance and announce his return to the entire South.

Upon hearing his name, Xiaomei's eyes immediately darkened, but this time, she controlled her emotions well, so it wasn't easily noticeable from her appearance.

Chatting all the way, the three of them followed the huge crowd to the most luxurious mansion in Mingdeng City.

This is the mansion of the Hysen family, covering a considerable area. Standing outside the walls, one can still see the imposing gray-white marble columns, the majestic main building, and the towering red domes atop it... While it cannot compare to the grand casinos of Lagras, it is still quite impressive.

At this moment, the servants in front of the mansion were busy moving in and out, preparing for the upcoming grand feast.

"I remember... I think it was placed here..."

Eva rummaged in her pocket for a while and found a crumpled letter with a pattern of a soaring pheasant printed in gold on the envelope.

This was the bank's letter of recommendation, her pass all the way. Even if they looked down on her, this letter at least gave her a chance to try. Eva carefully unfolded it, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. "I won't say more, thank you... I've arrived at my destination and need to get to work."

"How long will it take?" Xiaomei asked curiously.

“I don’t know, but I guess there must be a lot of backlog of work to deal with, otherwise the bank wouldn’t have transferred me here.” Eva shook her head, and thinking about the work she was about to face, she gave a helpless, bitter smile. “As I said before, all those expenses, every single one of them, will cost money. A pile of bad debts will definitely look like a ball of yarn.”

"My job is to untangle this ball of yarn."

Zhang Renfeng suddenly paused, realizing that his team didn't seem to have a dedicated person in charge of the accounts; this role had always been played by Igor and Jimmy. They each had their own set of ledgers and their own management methods, and they rarely reconciled the accounts unless absolutely necessary.

If the timber company really grows big, it can't just get by like this; it needs a professional to manage all the accounts.

With that thought in mind, the girl in front of him became more and more pleasing to the eye.

"Mr. Bruce, are you alright?" Eva felt the eagerness in his eyes, goosebumps rose on her arms, and she instinctively shrank her neck. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Ahem..." Xiaomei knew Zhang Renfeng quite well. Just by looking at his eyes, she could guess seven or eight parts of what was going on. She cleared her throat and asked, "Eva, hypothetically... I mean, suppose there's a company that, although it hasn't taken off yet, has a very promising future and doesn't discriminate against women..."

Would you like to work for that company?

For a fleeting moment, a complex emotion flickered in Eva's grey-blue eyes, but she quickly suppressed it, simply shaking her head with a smile. "I'm so stupid, no other place would want me. I should focus on finding a way to keep my current job."

"I remember that the horse racing preliminary rounds have been taking place at the horse farm in the north of the city these past few days, it's quite lively. If you're interested, you can go and have a look around there."

Chapter 604: Even in death, there was such a dramatic feel to it.

Zhang Renfeng had absolutely no interest in horse racing. As someone who could outrun four people on two legs, he couldn't understand the thrill of galloping on horseback. Besides, their purpose for this trip had nothing to do with this lively Lantern Festival.

Zhang Renfeng was secretly planning to use the festive atmosphere as cover for his retreat after the assassination was successful.

A high wall, of course, cannot stop him.

Although Xiaomei couldn't scale walls like him, her weight was negligible in Zhang Renfeng's eyes. The two circled the high walls of the mansion, choosing a secluded corner. Taking advantage of a moment when no one was watching, he had Xiaomei jump onto his back, wrapped her arms around his strong, buffalo-like neck, and with a light leap, they effortlessly cleared the wall and landed on the other side.

……

"Ugh...!"

At this distance, Zhang Renfeng did not dissipate his energy, allowing his knees to land hard and bear the impact of the two people.

This amount of force seemed insignificant to him, but it caught Xiaomei off guard. The powerful impact pushed her soft breasts against Zhang Renfeng's back. Even through the fabric of their clothes, the strong physical contact still caused the girl to let out a soft moan.

Fortunately, the Heisen family mansion is large enough that even excluding the mansion itself, the back garden with its pavilion takes up a considerable amount of land.

Even with a large number of people coming and going, busy with holiday decorations, there were still many people in sight. At this moment, the two of them were in a corner where no one paid attention, and their voice went unheard by anyone.

"Xiaomei, your heartbeat has suddenly become much faster." Zhang Renfeng put her down from his back, but saw that her face was flushed and her breathing was a little rapid. He asked with concern, "Were you frightened?"

"No... I'm fine!" Xiaomei quickly turned her head away, took a few deep breaths to calm herself down, and said with a hint of reproach, "You should have told me before you jumped so I could be mentally prepared."

"It's not that high, is it?" Zhang Renfeng glanced back at the three or four-meter-high wall and muttered to himself.

"Alright." Xiaomei quickly caught her breath and straightened the hem of her dress, which was still presentable enough. "Let's begin."

……

According to Eva, this high-society feast will be held here, and Ryan will definitely be here in two weeks.

On the way here, Xiaomei had already prepared many excuses, such as how to answer if she was discovered or questioned, depending on the other party's identity. They had reached an agreement to keep a low profile for now and absolutely not to resort to force to resolve the issue unless absolutely necessary.

But once they got inside, they found that, let alone being questioned, the two of them walked around the courtyard openly, and no one paid any attention to them.

Upon closer examination, this is the normal course of action: with two weeks until the banquet, strengthening security inside the mansion is pointless at this point. A high wall is enough to keep out ordinary people, and those busy in the courtyard are all laborers working to prepare for the banquet.

Work is already annoying enough, who cares what two people walking by look like or whether their behavior is suspicious?

And so, the two of them were able to stroll freely and enjoy a leisurely visit to the Heisen family's back garden.

This is an exquisitely decorated French garden. At the center, the fountain pool is covered with crushed Venetian glass to mimic shimmering light. The rose bushes are trimmed into the shape of gas lamps, which is quite fitting for their family's style.

A blood-red velvet carpet, like a thread connecting them, drew their gaze from outdoors to indoors.

The banquet was to be held in the luxurious hall on the first floor of the mansion, where sets of heavy, finely polished stone tables and chairs were being carried in through the arched doors.

They intentionally designed the hall to resemble the interior of an opera house, with tables and chairs arranged in a fan shape, leaving a deliberately empty space in the center; even the stage frame was already erected. One can imagine that when the banquet began, these upper-class guests would have their own forms of entertainment.

The servants were hanging a heavy curtain on the stage. Moving his gaze upwards, Zhang Renfeng saw a crystal chandelier suspended from the ceiling directly above the stage. It had a spiderweb-like metal support frame with twelve chain-like lamp arms spiraling upwards, and a gilded bronze pillar hanging from the center of the frame.

Frankly, in such a large hall, we don't really rely on it for lighting. This crystal chandelier is more of a display of wealth, a way for the Heisenberg family to flaunt their status.

The beauty of it is that it's positioned right above the stage.

"Xiaomei, how's your marksmanship?"

"It's alright, isn't it? Mr. Mike has been teaching me how to shoot." Xiao Mei roughly calculated, "But I'm not that fast at drawing my gun. As long as I aim properly, I can handle targets within 100 meters with a revolver. Within 300 meters, with a rifle, my hit rate is around 80."

Legendary gunslingers in the West can be roughly divided into two categories: sharpshooters and quick-draw gunslingers.

In a typical cowboy duel, the two stand face-to-face, perhaps less than ten meters apart, making it highly unlikely that a shot will miss. The contest is all about reaction speed; whoever draws their gun faster survives the other's gunfire. Xiaomei lacks talent in this area, partly due to her personality. She can't integrate drawing and firing into a single action; she has to draw, aim, and fire—a sequence that takes her at least a second.

If she were facing the other person directly at that moment, it would have been enough to smash her head open.

Mike's training method for her was to abandon her weaknesses and focus on her strengths. If she couldn't increase her rate of fire, she would refine her accuracy. As long as she found a safe shooting spot where no one was watching, she would slowly complete the actions of drawing and aiming her gun, and then deliver a precise shot.

In a sense, they are somewhat like snipers providing battlefield support.

A left-handed pistol like the Caloway, which combines speed and accuracy and is honed through extensive combat experience, is actually quite rare.

However, at this moment, Zhang Renfeng's request to her was not even to kill living creatures.

----

“Returning home in glory is like wearing fine clothes at night.” Zhang Renfeng looked at the lavish stage and said in a deep voice, “This return has been so grand that I must go on stage and say a few words.”

He pointed to the metal pipe from which the chandelier was hanging.

Xiaomei understood what he meant, her eyes widening slightly, "You mean..."

“It would be better if you took revenge yourself. This is the conclusion that Mike and I came to after trying it ourselves.” Zhang Renfeng sighed slightly. “At first, you might feel a little empty, but after a while… you’ll get used to it.”

“These next few days, let’s prepare properly and get a full set of security gear. When that day comes, we’ll sneak in quietly and find a shooting angle. I’ll make sure to eliminate all distractions, so you just need to focus on firing that shot.”

"The main body of this headlight is metal. If it falls from a height, it will be smashed to pieces."

"Let this bastard die on stage, die at his most triumphant moment..."

"It's quite dramatic, isn't it?"

Chapter 605: Rats in the Gutter

We've finalized a general plan, and we still have a full two weeks to fill in the details, so there's plenty of time.

Zhang Renfeng walked around the mansion again, memorizing its layout and structure. Xiao Mei, on the other hand, used her steps as a unit of measurement to roughly calculate the length and width of the courtyard, recording it down with a pen. This infiltration mission, aimed at gathering intelligence, had come to a perfect end, and he planned to leave.

Just then, a commotion arose from the direction of the main gate.

----

"catch him!"

"Grab that brat!"

"stop!!"

"Where's the person in charge of guarding the gate? Are they blind? How could they let this guy in!"

……

Amidst the shouts and curses, a thin figure emerged from the crowd, forcefully squeezing his way through the throng. His clothes were quite worn and stained, emitting an unpleasant odor—a mixture of kerosene and sweat.

Because his face was blackened and filthy from the smoke, his age was hard to guess. Only his eyes, which would occasionally turn their heads to warily watch the crowd chasing behind them, were gleaming.

Zhang Renfeng could see that those eyes were already brimming with anger.

Driven by rage, his frail limbs unleashed incredible strength, allowing him to leap over the crowd, tread the red carpet, smash open the arched wooden doors, and storm into the Heysen family mansion. Only then did the security guards belatedly react, swarming forward and subduing him.

"Boom!"

The boy was seized by several burly men, who pressed his forehead and slammed it hard against the stone-paved ground. A trickle of bright red blood slowly flowed from his dark face, dripping onto the pristine white tiles, a stark contrast. The commotion silenced the previously noisy hall and backyard, drawing everyone's attention.

Humans are social animals, and one of the characteristics of social animals is that they enjoy gossiping.

Zhang Renfeng was no exception.

Originally, he and Xiaomei had planned to leave, but now they stood still in the crowd, wanting to see what had happened.

"damn it……"

A short, stout man with a fierce expression, surrounded by security guards, hurried toward the center of the incident. He wasn't particularly tall, but his shoulders were as broad as a church door, and his neck was as thick as a bulldog's. He wore a midnight blue three-piece suit, and the sound of his footsteps made the floor thump.

Seeing this, he became even angrier and turned around, roaring, "What are you looking at? Did I tell you to stop? Get back to work!"

“Irish man, should we…” his henchman suggested, “close the door first?”

"So much stuff being moved in and out, what's the point of locking it up!" the Irishman roared, then turned to the security guard beside him, "Who's in charge of the gate? Get out here!"

The two burly men exchanged glances and stepped forward. Although they were both taller and bigger than the Irishman, their tone was extremely timid. "It was...it was this guy...he suddenly rushed in, we didn't...we didn't react in time..."

The Irishman stared at them for a long time, until their figures had shrunk so much that they seemed to be disappearing into the road, before he looked away.

"Damn it, running into a bunch of trash like you is really bad luck..."

"Thump—!"

He complained, then turned around and kicked the boy hard in the stomach.

His thighs were quite powerful, and with the added strength of his hard-soled military boots, the kick immediately caused the frail boy's eyes to bulge out, and he vomited a mixture of blood and stomach acid.

As the head of the Hysen family's private army, he was in charge of security in this situation. With such an incident happening in front of everyone, regardless of whether his subordinates were negligent, he, as the leader, could not escape responsibility. Thinking about the consequences, the Irishman became increasingly enraged and kicked the boy several more times in the stomach.

……

"Cough...cough..."

The boy spat out the blood from the corner of his mouth, still looking at him with eyes full of extreme resentment.

"Heh, interesting. You seem to have some guts." The Irishman touched the corner of his mouth and asked casually, "I'll give you a chance. Who gave you permission to do this? Tell me, and I'll make your death easier."

“...Henry…”

"What?" The Irishman's expression changed.

"Henry... Henry Heysen..." It was clear the boy wanted to shout, but after being struck several times, his lungs were injured, and he had no strength left to yell. Even with all his might, his voice was still hoarse, "That bastard, he... he raped my sister..."

"You're asking for death!" The Irishman's eyes flashed with malice. He suddenly squatted down, grabbed the man's hair with such force that it seemed he wanted to rip it off his scalp. "What the hell do you think you are, a rat soaked in kerosene, daring to drag the young master into this? Who gave you the guts!"

"...It's true..." The boy gritted his teeth, his breathing already unsteady, and shouted with all his might, "Henry Heisenberg! He raped my sister, and now he's hiding! You...you call him out, I can confront him..."

This sentence was heard by many people, and hushed discussions began to ripple through the crowd.

"Boom!"

Realizing what he was doing, the Irishman immediately grabbed the back of his head and slammed it to the ground, interrupting his sentence, and sneered, "Ha...you're going to pull this on, aren't you? Save your breath, it won't work."

"Confront him? Who do you think you are? You don't even deserve to see him!"

……

"What happened?"

A bearded, impeccably dressed man appeared on the stairs. His gaze, behind his glasses, scrutinized every character in this farce, finally settling on the Irishman.

Often, the aura and prestige of those in positions of power don't need to be expressed through words.

A single glance was enough for them to understand.

"It's nothing, old butler." The Irishman waved his hand, trying to simplify the facts in his report as much as possible. "A madman barged in and kept talking nonsense. My men didn't guard the door properly. They'll come back to be punished in a bit."

"..." The old housekeeper frowned when he saw the vomit on the floor and the intruder's filthy appearance. "How did you let this kind of slut get in? The floor is dirty, and I'll have to have the housekeeper clean it again."

"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry." The fierce-looking Irishman smiled apologetically, "It's all our fault. This will never happen again."