Dual wielding volcanoes, killing through the west

Excellent martial artists are often extremely sensitive to the "gaze" of others. Their eyes convey the movement of energy. They are accustomed to predicting the next strike's location by observing the eyes, allowing them to intercept it. His incredible skill in dodging bullets is an enhanced version of this principle.

Having roamed the martial world for many years, Zhang Renfeng hadn't lost this instinct. He was fairly certain that the cold gaze had brushed against him unintentionally. The primary target of his surveillance was likely the clumsy thief before him.

Things became increasingly confusing.

"what's your name?"

"Sam," the man honestly gave his first name. He hesitated for a moment, then omitted his surname. It was a very common name; even within the bureaucratic system, there were probably hundreds or thousands of people with it. As long as he didn't reveal his surname, no one would know which Sam he was.

“Okay, Sam, listen to me.” Zhang Renfeng pointed to the office hut not far away. “I don’t know what you’re looking for, but I can take you inside.”

"Really!?" Sam's eyes lit up immediately, showing that he valued this matter to an almost obsessive degree.

“I’m a local, so it’s reasonable for a local to know one or two back doors to the mayor’s hut,” Zhang Renfeng grinned. “But whatever benefits you end up with, I’ll take half.”

“Half…” Sam hesitated for a moment. “I think I’ve already said this. I’m not a thief. What I’m taking can’t be directly converted into money. It might be ledgers, records, forms, or something like that. I don’t think you’d be interested in it.”

"It's alright." Zhang Renfeng patted his shoulder and laughed, "Whatever it is, according to the agreement, you have to give me half."

Chapter 714: Urgent! Urgent!

"You actually knew that..."

Led by Zhang Renfeng, they entered the office smoothly through a secret door on the inside of the wall, which was used to transport cigarettes and alcohol, and avoided all the patrols.

However, there aren't many people patrolling at this time anyway. After all, the mayor's office isn't well-funded, and who would be so bored as to steal documents late at night? Having two people stand guard at the entrance is enough.

Sam's doubts vanished the moment he stepped through the secret door. Seeing Zhang Renfeng's effortless familiarity with the place, he couldn't help but sigh, "No ordinary local tyrant could possibly know this kind of secret."

you do not say……

Zhang Renfeng inwardly scoffed, because this luxurious wooden house was specially built by Dunn to curry favor with him. He'd even been invited to visit it when it was completed. It was clear this guy was really eager to improve himself so as not to follow in the footsteps of Nordlin and Wendigo.

But Zhang Renfeng resolutely refused: nominally, Dunn was the mayor of Baiju Town. Even though many people already knew that he was just a puppet manipulated by Igor, the outward appearance still had to be maintained.

Otherwise, everything would be in chaos. How could someone with no real position be living in the mayor's office?

So, the next time, Dunn was smarter and built another cabin on the mountain, at the site of the Red Center Gang's original camp. This flattery was quite successful, and to this day, that cabin on the mountain is still in use. If members of the Red Center Gang find the city too noisy, they will go there for a couple of days to breathe in the fresh mountain air.

More importantly, it's also very close to the captain's grave, so you can easily walk up the mountain and get there whenever you want.

And so, this wooden house in the center of town naturally became Dunn's office. But in fact, Zhang Renfeng knew that he neither usually nor needed to work there.

Regarding the development of Baiju Town, he could only make decisions on minor, trivial matters; his abilities were basically limited to that. Anything truly concerning the future and crucial directions of development required Igor's approval before things could proceed smoothly.

Dunn Halganda is a human-shaped signature machine and a human-shaped stamping machine.

Of course, this doesn't mean that Dunn was just an extra.

In fact, Dunn's munitions factories played a crucial logistical role in the Battle of Lagras and the Battle of Hightree. Weapons, ammunition, shells, spare parts... were all produced in his factories.

Zhang Renfeng's decision to send Theon to his factory as the "chief consultant for weapons design" was also a strong signal to Dunn: I'm not just playing around with you, I'm really prepared to cooperate with you long-term.

However, everyone has their own expertise. If you don't understand domestic affairs, don't meddle. Just be a human signature machine.

The real benefits will be made up for in the arms deals.

As a small family that made their fortune locally in Baiju Town, Deng En also made a fortune from the orders of the Hongzhong Gang.

As for the mayor's office building... it's more like a landmark, used to tell everyone in White Torch Town that everything here is running smoothly and in an orderly manner.

In fact, it's more like an abandoned file repository.

----

“You’re in now.” Zhang Renfeng held up an electric lamp to light his way, “but there are many rooms here. You should at least tell me what you’re looking for.”

“Hmm…” Sam hesitated for a long time, as if he had made a great decision, “Then… you have to swear to God that you won’t tell anyone.”

“I can’t,” Zhang Renfeng told him bluntly.

"Huh?" Sam looked completely bewildered.

“I told you, I can’t do it,” Zhang Renfeng said calmly. “Whether I tell others or not depends on what you’re looking for, and it’s up to you.”

"Perhaps we'll have another chance to get to know each other later, and then you'll see. I'm the kind of person who always keeps my word. But I never easily say things I can't do."

Sam was taken aback by his bluntness. In this God-believing country, invoking God was generally a sure way to win, and people would readily back down. This tactic had always worked, until tonight, when it finally met its match for the first time.

However, he could easily make up a couple of lies and fool himself.

"..." After a difficult decision, Sam bit his cheek and made his choice. "Okay, your name is... Zang, right?"

“Zhang.” Zhang Renfeng patiently curled his tongue and corrected his pronunciation.

“Zhang.” Sam nodded. “To be honest with you, I don’t even know what I’m looking for.”

"Huh?" This time it was Zhang Renfeng's turn to be dumbfounded.

“I just told you, forms, bills, numbers, notes, letters, anything is possible, I need information.” Sam shrugged. “And it has to be immediate. They only gave me a week. I rushed here from the First State overnight, and the train journey alone took three days. It almost broke my back.”

"Wait, higher up?" Zhang Renfeng asked suspiciously, "Who's your higher up?"

“Sorry, I can’t say, it’s highly confidential.” Sam said with a serious face. “To be honest, I don’t even want to tell you what I’m looking for.”

"I feel... that although you're a local, you're not a bad person, so it's better if you know less about these things."

……

Zhang Renfeng was somewhat surprised.

After hearing this, and looking at Sam's chubby figure and bulky appearance, he suddenly seemed honest and simple.

"You know, the previous mayor of this town was a damn Australian shrike. Every night, he would go out into the streets, pick out a few prey, and make sausages to eat."

Zhang Renfeng patted him on the shoulder with a smile, "We've been through all this ridiculous stuff. Now, nothing can scare me anymore."

"..."

Sam's expression suddenly changed.

He is indeed someone who can't keep secrets.

"You're looking for Wendigo Lecter?" Zhang Renfeng guessed his purpose, and his heart skipped a beat, as if an unseen darkness was crashing down on him like a tidal wave, engulfing his head and feet. "Why? Who are you?"

“…I’m sorry, Zhang, I really can’t say.” Sam’s expression was conflicted as he gritted his teeth and said, “You know where those documents are, right? I checked, and the current mayor is Dunn Hargunda. He started as an arms dealer, took office very quickly, and the votes were unanimously in favor… This isn’t normal. I suspect your current mayor is a puppet who was pushed into office!”

“But now, I don’t have time to bother with Dunn. What I need is Wendigo’s information. All the documents he’s handled before shouldn’t have been destroyed; they must still be kept in some room.”

"Please, Zhang, if you know, please tell me as soon as possible."

"And then what?" Zhang Renfeng asked calmly. "So much stuff, you want to copy it all down by yourself? Isn't that absurd?"

"You don't need to worry about this anymore. Just go back. The more involved you are, the more dangerous it becomes," Sam said in a deep voice. "Trust me, I can handle this!"

……

"What exactly is going on?" Zhang Renfeng couldn't help but ask.

"I can't say!" Sweat dripped down Sam's forehead, his brows furrowed tightly. "But... it'll definitely be beyond your imagination!"

"Okay, I understand." Zhang Renfeng didn't waste any more words and grabbed his wrist. "Come with me!"

Chapter 715: Cooking Oil Over a Raging Fire!

"Let me give you some background information first. Wendigo Lecter committed many serious crimes in this area and was notorious for cannibalism."

“You may have some understanding of his position as mayor, but I must tell you, he is a rather fierce, cruel, and cold-blooded person. He doesn’t treat others as human beings at all. In his eyes, he is like the owner of a sheepfold, and the people living in this town are just livestock like cattle and sheep. He can kill them and eat them as he pleases, and he takes pleasure in it!”

"After the incident, during the pursuit, he was caught by local bounty hunters and put on a train, where he fell off midway and was never found."

Sam looked up and couldn't help but glance at Zhang Renfeng.

Although he suppressed it well, Sam could still hear the underlying pleasure in his tone.

Zhang Renfeng harbored an almost instinctive hatred for this cannibal—his most painful memories from his time in China seemed to begin with being tricked by a thug into eating so-called "rice and meat." He never imagined that after coming abroad, he would encounter another bizarre individual with such a peculiar fetish. This man not only ate people, but also arranged and cooked them in elaborate ways—it was utterly outrageous!

Therefore, when Mike suggested using the same method to nail Wendigo to the antlers, Zhang Renfeng did not find it cruel at all and readily cooperated.

“With such a major case involved, all documents related to Wendigo will naturally be collected as evidence and stored by the police. Anything that has passed through his hands could become evidence of a crime. As the mayor, he is involved in far more matters than the average person.”

"The forms, ledgers, letters, and notes you just mentioned have all been taken away by the police."

"These things..." Sam looked at him with great suspicion, "Zhang, how did you know?"

"Never mind, I just know."

“In that case, everything will be over.” Sam stood still and sighed deeply.

"How is it over already?"

“I understand. Your town’s police chief is Gordon Jansen, right?” Sam’s tone was somber. “This guy was originally just a sheriff in some remote town. Somehow, Wendigo promoted him to his current position.”

“He’s a Wendigo man, so it’s hard to guarantee the authenticity of this information once it falls into his hands.”

“Damn it… I was worried about this before I came here… and it came true! Gordon was someone Wendigo promoted. Wendigo has fallen, but Gordon is still here. What does that mean?” Sam patted the back of his hand. “It means that the forces behind Wendigo are still in power. They still control White Torch, and even more tightly than before.”

"Dunne was an arms dealer who hadn't shown any intention of getting involved in politics before. Suddenly he ran for mayor and was elected unanimously."

"He's just a puppet, and this town... is terrible."

Zhang Renfeng was stunned.

So, from the outside perspective, this is how things appear.

That seems... plausible?

Sam has a typical politician's mindset; he naturally assumes that since Wendigo promoted Gordon, Gordon should be his man. In fact, he's not wrong, because that's the rule in most places. Whether Gordon likes it or not, Wendigo is his "benefactor"; without him, Gordon would have spent his life retiring in a remote town.

The fact that Wendigo fell, yet he, as one of the people on the same boat, survived and is still sitting comfortably in the sheriff's seat, certainly gives people the illusion.

Zhang Renfeng kept Gordon around simply because he was a competent and good policeman.

But who would believe that?

What's even worse is...

“You just mentioned the ‘power behind Wendigo’?” Zhang Renfeng seized on the key point. “I know he has no relatives. He has a sister who fled from some fort during the Civil War and probably died on the way.”

Who else is behind him?

“Don’t ask anymore, Zhang.” Sam sighed. “At this point, there’s no point in talking about it…”

Zhang Renfeng grabbed his hand.

"open?"

"Come with me." Without waiting for a reply, Zhang Renfeng grabbed his hand and strode towards the police station.

"Wait, wait!" Sam recognized the police station and cried out in panic, "I can't go... I... strictly speaking, no one can know I'm here. You'll expose my identity!"

"fine."

----

"Boom!"

Despite his large size, Sam was no match for Zhang Renfeng in terms of strength.

Zhang Renfeng grabbed his arm and dragged him all the way over. With a gentle push, he opened the police station door.

The sheriffs who remained inside stared at him blankly for a few seconds before revealing expressions of utter astonishment.

“It’s you…it’s you?!” A young sheriff stood up abruptly, his face full of respect.

To be honest, it's hard to keep his status as a member of the Red Cross a secret. Many people within the police station know about it, but it's an open secret.

Most of the police officers had witnessed firsthand how the Red Center gang had gradually improved the town. Every industry was thriving, their salaries were rising, Dunn's arms factory provided a safety net, and even the sheriff's weaponry was better than before.

People are all made of flesh and blood; they know perfectly well who to associate with.

Zhang Renfeng made a shushing gesture and asked succinctly, "Where's Gordon?"

"The sheriff went to an exhibition, you know, the one downtown... Is there anything I can help you with? I'll send someone to find him."

“No, not yet. You all stay here.” Zhang Renfeng waved his hand. “Go and get all the documents related to Wendigo. Note, all of them. Even if he just scribbled something on a piece of paper with ink, bring them to me. I need to see them now.”

……

Give an order.

Without any hesitation, not even the simplest question, "What do you need Wendigo's files for?"

The sheriffs immediately dispersed and began their operation.