Dual wielding volcanoes, killing through the west

At this point, Zhang Renfeng stood up naturally, his eyes sparkling with a bright light.

Despite their differing opinions, Igor and Jimmy were still captivated by the radiance and deeply moved.

These are the people they chose.

I must say I have excellent judgment to have chosen him from among hundreds of millions of people in America.

……

"So, everyone..."

"Abandon illusions, prepare for battle!"

Chapter 732: Park City

"call……"

Sam rubbed his nose, fighting off the dizziness, and continued reading the documents he had brought from White Torch Town amidst the clanging of the rails.

……

After resting for two days, they embarked on their journey to the First State.

This time, Zhang Renfeng didn't ask anyone to accompany him, not even Mike, who was considered the best support. He was the only one belonging to the old Red Center gang. Together with Sam and Sophia, they formed a small, inconspicuous team of three.

As for Angel Eye, it's the same as before. Zhang Renfeng's task for him is to first go to their destination, the First State, Pike City, to gather information. Based on Zhang Renfeng's understanding of him, Angel Eye might already be in Pike City, and he will definitely appear in time when needed.

The tension in the air was palpable, like a storm brewing.

Tao, the group's future prodigy, is closely protected by Tito and Wolf.

Zhang Renfeng was quite confident in his junior sister's fighting ability and alertness, and for the time being, he didn't need to worry about who would kill this young scientific talent.

The three strategists remained in Xin'ao Prefecture to take charge of the overall situation in place of Zhang Renfeng. While continuing to maintain the Sanyuan Group's business, they began to consolidate resources.

Theon oversaw the production of weapons and ammunition at the military factory, while Calaway and Mike used this time to intensively train the militia in preparation for the worst-case scenario.

Since the Battle of Takagi, the morale on our side has remained quite high.

Moreover, the spoils of victory in the war were directly converted into capital for the expansion of the Sanyuan Group.

Sanyuan Heavy Industry acquired the oil development rights in Gaoshu, transforming itself into a well-known oil processing company. Under Igor's management, they steadily acquired Ryan Childer, effectively inheriting a piece of the legacy in the New Elizabeth oil business market.

Taking the "oil business" as an opportunity, Sanyuan Group began to gradually expand its influence into New Elizabeth.

Who could have predicted that the new Elizabeth State, which had been successively handled by the Osborne and Cheddar families, would eventually fall into the hands of the Triumvirate Group?

Not to mention Granite State—half of that territory, Gaoshu, shared a common hatred with Zhang Renfeng. Sanyuan Heavy Industry took root there, living alongside the local Native American tribes. With chiefs remaining there to mediate and manage everything, the relationship was exceptionally strong.

If you count on your fingers, the Sanyuan Group's influence now spans three states.

New Austin is completely under control; they can basically target any location they want.

New Elizabeth's penetration is still quite limited, remaining in its initial stages. After all, Cheddar's legacy is vast, including railroads, sugarcane, and postal communications, which are not directly related to the Trinity Group's business. Igor has no intention of getting involved—he doesn't want to become the next Ryan Cheddar, who would love to take all the money in the world for himself.

Granite State, whose land and people belong to the Gaoshu tribe, also maintains a very close relationship with the Sanyuan Group.

It's no wonder that Samuel noticed it; the combined territory of these three counties was almost forming an enclave.

When truly driven to a dead end, launching a war is not just a casual remark.

Of course, before leaving, Zhang Renfeng also made an agreement with them to try his best not to let the situation deteriorate to an irreparable point.

His only responsibility was to get Sam safely to his destination. Whether he could use this intelligence and information to bring down Samuel was not his concern.

……

"It's best not to look at things for too long on the train," Sofia said softly, taking a sip of her coffee. "It's bad for your eyes."

"I know that, but there's no other way. Time waits for no one."

Sam sighed, squinted in the light of the kerosene lamp, and read on line by line. “When I get there, my superior will ask me, ‘What have you been doing all these days? What useful things have you found?’ I’ll have to say something. If I just hand her a bunch of stuff, she’ll definitely say I’m incompetent and give me a good scolding.”

"Being an elite civil servant isn't easy either," Zhang Renfeng thought to himself.

"So...did you find anything useful?"

"Unfortunately, not yet. What I want is content related to 'art.' If there was any theme to that hour he spent with Samuel, it must have been art."

Sam sighed and shrugged. "But this guy is... how should I put it, very cold. He almost never leaves a trace of personal emotion in his writings."

"Even in his diary, he only recorded official matters, such as the opening of the Mesvid Bank, the introduction of investment to Baiju Town, and so on."

Putting aside his quirky personality, Wendigo is a fairly mature politician.

Revealing emotions is tantamount to leaving yourself vulnerable to attack.

He wouldn't make such a basic mistake. He's probably already prepared for the day he'll be arrested, and then all his personal records will be handed over to the court as evidence to convict him.

The contents of the diary might have been prepared for this day. He just hadn't anticipated encountering Zhang Renfeng, a ruthless killer who wouldn't listen to any laws; he'd treat you the same way you killed others.

Besides, what respectable person keeps a diary?

“Art…” Zhang Renfeng lowered his head in thought, “He likes to nail people to deer antlers, does that count as art?”

"Haha." Sam chuckled wryly, not answering, but simply saying, "We still have a long way to go to Pike City. I'll take my time and look around a bit more. If you're sleepy, you should rest first."

“Pike City?” Sophia looked at him with some surprise.

“Yes, didn’t I say so? The First State is very big. The city we’re going to is Park City, which is where Samuel rose to prominence. However, as his status and position rose, he stopped living in that city decades ago.”

“When we got there, we found out that we had come up empty-handed. His original house had been sold long ago, and his family business had nothing to do with this place. But my superiors thought that starting the investigation from where he made his fortune was not a bad thing, so they settled down in Park City.”

Sam explained, "Pike City is located near a seaport, with frequent maritime trade, and it is also a large industrial city with a particularly large population."

"It used to be called 'Bay City,' but since the new mayor took office, he's implemented a lot of new policies. Especially in recent years, these policies have caused a lot of resentment among the people, so the name was changed. Many of the lower-class people in the city now call it Pike City. Did you know that? Pike means 'water ghost'..."

……

“Wait a minute…” Sophia narrowed her eyes slightly as she looked at Sam. “You said your name is Sam Wagner, right?”

Chapter 733: Three Rabbits Sharing an Ear, Still in a Dream

"what……"

Sam awkwardly touched his nose, his expression a mix of embarrassment and something else entirely—the kind of expression that's awkward when you've been called out, but also kind of hoping you'd pointed it out. But Sophia's next words quickly froze his complicated expression completely.

"Which branch of the family are you descended from? Mr. Hal? Mr. Stryker? Or Mr. Rhodes?"

Sam looked somewhat bewildered, his mouth slightly agape as he stared at the girl in front of him as if she were a monster.

"What's wrong?" Zhang Renfeng was completely confused. "What are you talking about..."

In a flash, a brilliant idea struck him, as if a pair of pincers had appeared out of nowhere and clamped down on the surname "Wagraette".

Zhang Renfeng had never been particularly sensitive to foreign surnames, which wasn't surprising. In his hometown, the most complicated surnames were nothing more than Fuxing, like "Zhuge" or "Sima." However, in America, two-character surnames were considered a blessing, and three- or four-character surnames were commonplace. There was even Evelyn's "Ditasdorf," a surname that was both difficult to pronounce and remember. Aside from those close to him, when others introduced themselves, their surnames were often forgotten as soon as they were heard.

The person who can still leave an impression on him now must be someone very important, someone he has mentioned before, someone who has permanently occupied a space in his mind.

"I remember now, your father told me... your mother's surname is this, right?" Zhang Renfeng gasped as if he had discovered something new, and looked at the two of them. "So, you two are relatives?"

“But…you…” Sam’s tone suddenly changed, becoming somewhat flustered and timid. The elite civil servant who had just been in front of Sophia seemed to have vanished into thin air. “Your surname…”

“I have the Wagner family bloodline from my mother, Dia Wagner,” Sofia explained, “but I take my father’s surname, as do all three of us sisters.”

“Dia Wagner?!” Sam exclaimed, his voice rising several decibels, his face filled with astonishment. “You, you are the heir of the main family?”

"Huh?" Zhang Renfeng turned his head and looked at Sophia with a puzzled expression.

“Simply put, the ‘Waglette’ is a large northern family that has existed for quite some time,” the girl explained. “To give you an example, like a tree, it has a trunk and branches. The branch my mother belongs to happens to be the trunk, nothing more.”

"That's it..."

Zhang Renfeng was somewhat surprised. In his hometown, there were also such prominent clans, but they generally recognized male heirs as the main bloodline. Perhaps the situation and customs were different here, and he didn't inquire further.

"Since you have the blood of the main family, why did you choose to drop the Wagner surname?" Sam asked, his expression one of utter astonishment, like a mathematician facing an unsolvable mathematical problem. "You should know that this family's emphasis on bloodlines has reached..."

“I think it’s incredibly stupid to determine who a person is based on blood purity,” Sofia shook her head. “I will always be my father’s and mother’s child, and knowing that is enough.”

"..."

For a fleeting moment, Sam's expression was one of utter desolation, as if he were witnessing the world's vicissitudes for the first time. But his ability to adjust his expression was also remarkable; this vulnerable look only lingered for a few seconds before vanishing. In the end, no one understood the exact nature of Sam and Sofia's relationship. But judging from Sam's reaction, it certainly wasn't a happy story.

The atmosphere became somewhat awkward, and the only sound in the carriage was the clanging of the train.

To ease the tension, Zhang Renfeng took the initiative to say, "Let me take a look too."

“Of course, no problem, but…” Sam handed half of the mountain of documents to Zhang Renfeng, saying, “Actually, it’s not necessary. Don’t be fooled by the large pile here. Once it’s sent up, there will definitely be someone to review it. They won’t miss a single punctuation mark.”

"If we still haven't achieved anything by then, we should probably give up."

“But none of them have ever met Wendigo, right?” Zhang Renfeng patted his chest and said with absolute confidence, “When I was in White Torch Town, I actually had dealings with him. In that respect, I know him better than you do.”

That's what they say, but when it came to actually doing it, Zhang Renfeng found it to be a dull and uninteresting job.

Although Wendigo had excellent handwriting, and his words were neatly printed without any flowing, cursive strokes, Zhang Renfeng, who barely knew any characters, couldn't read some of the written terms at all. As he looked at them, his eyelids inevitably started to droop.

Every few pages of this black-covered diary, there is a sketch, mostly based on real-life scenes, but also some copies. He seems to regard everything in life as material for art.

Two intertwined trees, an anthill, a tall tower, a clock tower, a dog lying on the ground… Again, anything that appears in the diary is perfectly acceptable. Just by reading this diary, one would think he was a person who loved life and was good at observing things; it's completely impossible to associate him with the image of the Australian shrike.

As Zhang Renfeng flipped through the pages absentmindedly, he grew increasingly sleepy. The aftereffects of his disrupted sleep schedule from that day were beginning to take effect.

He felt he was still thinking, but in reality, he couldn't concentrate anymore; his mind was pacing back and forth on the table like a chicken pecking at rice.

----

Strangely enough, he knew very well that he was dreaming. One second he was on a train, and the next he was in a magnificent palace.

The surrounding area was filled with all kinds of artworks, paintings, sculptures, and rare artifacts, a dazzling array that left him overwhelmed with admiration.

But all of that was secondary. Above him, he heard the sound of something enormous turning. Like gears in a giant machine, it produced an unimaginable roar as it turned, forcing him to look up.

The circular dome was painted a dreamlike azure blue, but the vast starry sky depicted was not filled with stars, but with one after another, inlaid with gilded rings. Zhang Renfeng had never seen such pure gold before; it was as if it were a two-dimensional representation of light. Compared to it, even the enormous gold nugget at the beginning of the story seemed mundane, utterly vulgar.

The layers of golden rings, with the empty space in the very center reserved for three rabbits.

A red one.

A white one.

A green one.

They share three ears, which are stacked into an equilateral triangle. Within this circle surrounded by golden rings, they run tirelessly, their legs outstretched.

The three running rabbits act like a core, driving the outer and inner layers of these large and small golden rings.

Spin.

Full power, overflowing with golden light, this vast and mysterious system, centered around the three rabbits, began to spin rapidly. Zhang Renfeng couldn't describe their trajectory; many metaphors flooded his mind, but due to his lack of knowledge, they all stuck in his throat, unspoken.

"boom----!!!"

There was a loud bang.

That azure, false "sky" was torn apart by the golden ring.

----

"boom!!!"

Zhang Renfeng suddenly woke up with a start. When he looked at the notebook again, it was on the page with the drawing "Three Rabbits Sharing an Ear". He had actually fallen asleep while looking at this sketch!

Immediately afterwards, a strong gust of wind blew, quickly closing the laptop.

Zhang Renfeng sensed something was wrong and looked out the window—dark clouds pressed in, everything was pitch black, a strong wind was blowing, and thunder was booming.

Raindrops pounded against the car windows in bursts, making a loud rumbling sound, and even the kerosene lamps on the car flickered on and off.

It's no exaggeration to say that the entire train seemed to be heading into hell.

Sam looked out the window with a worried expression, and Sofia also looked distressed. Such extreme weather could affect one's mood. The strong winds constantly pounded against the carriage, making a creaking sound that evoked very unpleasant associations.

"What's going on?" Zhang Renfeng's expression also became serious, and he quickly put the strange dream out of his mind.

“I don’t know, it wasn’t like this when I left.” Sam looked very anxious and began to unconsciously bite his fingernails. “Mother… I hope God will bless her…”

Chapter 734: Doomsday

Before we even reached the station, we saw a train pulling out from the opposite tracks. Unlike this empty train, that one was packed with people. Forget about seats; every inch of standing space was crammed in like a sardine can.

As Zhang Renfeng watched it drive past, a bad feeling rose in his heart.