Dual wielding volcanoes, killing through the west

"If you want others to do to you, do to them first."

“Pike City was hit by a hurricane, and most of those who managed to escape are residents of the city’s main urban area. Perhaps they are forced to squeeze into small, cold carriages due to the circumstances, but if they wear suits and ties, they are probably no different from you.”

“Give them a little help, and they will surely repay this kindness in the future.”

"To refuse someone entry or even drive them away without even glancing at them seems rather impolite..."

Henderson adjusted the rim of his glasses and asked, "What do you guys think?"

Chapter 767: A Useful Claim

"Teacher, I don't understand. This is such a difficult matter, and it just so happens to be in the city, with important guests visiting... Why do you insist on taking it on?"

The young man in front of him leaned against the door, casually flipping through a book in his hand, waiting for Henderson to change his clothes, and asked, "In the discussion just now, everyone's attitude was quite clear."

"More than four thousand people means more than four thousand mouths to feed. Feeding them and finding them places to live adds up to a considerable expense. Nobody wants to bear such expenses for nothing. You could have just found a reason, echoed the mayor's words, and driven them away."

"As a result, things have turned out this way, and we might have to pay for the food expenses of these 4,000 people. If any problems arise later, such as accommodation, resettlement, or safety issues for these 4,000 people, the responsibility will naturally fall entirely on us."

"But where should we house them? The competition is about to start, and with such a large group of people suddenly arriving, how can we ensure their safety?"

The young man shrugged. Although he didn't complain, his words clearly showed that he wasn't entirely satisfied with Henderson's behavior of publicly contradicting others.

Henderson didn't answer him, but instead straightened his suit—he had gone back to his residence to change into a new suit, which looked much more sharp than the one he'd worn to the salon. It was black with a red waistcoat underneath, giving it a very formal appearance.

He straightened his collar in front of the mirror and asked unhurriedly, "Valentine, you're so good at finding out, have you found out who the leader of those four thousand people is?"

“Jonah Wagner,” Valentine shrugged, this question was no challenge for him. “Isn’t he the second son?”

"He's the second oldest, but he's not even in the top ranks in terms of age or position. From what I understand, in the Park City municipal government system, everything is decided by the mayor. The specific tasks are assigned to various departments below, and Jonah's position is called 'municipal secretary.' It's a high-ranking position, but it has no real power. He's not even the mayor's mouthpiece; at best, he's just his pen."

"Is that so?" Valentine said casually. "Then there's even less need to meet him, he's just a pen."

“Think about it again,” Henderson said.

"..." Valentine wasn't stupid. After thinking for a while, he frowned and realized that something was wrong.

It is unusual that the mayor himself is not among these four thousand people.

In other words, the one who organized these more than four thousand people to escape from Park City was this inconspicuous pen?!

"A sudden natural disaster is the best test for a city. Only when a city has sufficient emergency response capabilities, mobilization capabilities, and organizational capabilities can it organize an orderly evacuation when everyone is in chaos. At such times, those who only talk the talk will be exposed. Only with truly strong execution can orders be thoroughly implemented to everyone."

At this point, Henderson sighed, "I've seen many natural disasters—hurricanes, floods, locusts…it's nothing new. Unfortunately, most cities in America don't have this kind of emergency response capability."

"But the second son did it."

“I understand!” Valentine stopped leaning against the wooden door, stood up straight, and said seriously, “You mean, this Jonah has a promising future and is worth our long-term investment? In the future, we might be able to make a hefty profit from him, is that right?”

"..."

Henderson didn't answer this purely utilitarian interpretation, but simply glanced at his student. At this moment, the student stood before him, wearing a toga robe that almost dragged on the ground, the purple silk inlaid with gold thread, appearing incredibly luxurious in the flickering candlelight.

"Do you like this costume?" he suddenly asked.

"Why are you suddenly asking this?" Valentine paused for a moment, then propped himself up on his arms, a slightly excited smile on his face, and twirled in front of the mirror. "That's right, isn't this what you taught me? To truly combine one's own 'experience' with the 'character'."

"Shouldn't someone like me dress like this for the upcoming occasion?"

"Teacher, was I wrong?"

……

After a brief silence, Henderson shook his head.

"I don't know, I... I really don't know."

----

Oak City was indeed quite lucky; it wasn't too far from Pike City, yet it wasn't affected by the hurricane. It barely grazed the edge of the Great Lake Demon's territory, only the sky was a bit overcast, the air was very humid, and there wasn't a single drop of rain.

The train stood silently by the station, as if it had been pulled from the sea, with water seeping from every part of it.

Henderson spotted the group of people from afar and felt a chill run down his spine; he believed the others felt the same way. While discussing this inside the house, they couldn't truly grasp the scale of "four thousand."

It was crowded and densely packed.

As the mayor of Oakwood, Norton naturally arrived early. To prevent the situation from spiraling out of control, they had to bring in heavily armed guards. Even so, they were still far outnumbered by the opposing side.

"Mr. Mayor?"

"...If I remember correctly, this was your suggestion, Professor."

Norton's face turned ashen. "Since you're so willing to associate with these bastards who crawled out of the gutter, then go ahead."

Henderson was also quite surprised.

He saw the condition of these more than four thousand people up close—they were all emaciated, dressed in tattered clothes, and emanating an indescribable stench. So many people, yet they couldn't even afford decent clothes or a pair of decent shoes. This was undoubtedly a far cry from his prediction at the city hall.

They were all poor.

But... how did the poor manage to board trains and escape during such a catastrophe? Logically, train tickets should have been prohibitively expensive for the poor. For such a large number of impoverished people, what to eat and drink on their journey to safety was an extremely difficult problem.

For Henderson, this was an unsolvable problem, because he simply did not believe that any municipal government would have the resources to care for the city's poor when faced with a natural disaster.

But for some reason, there was no fear or trembling in their eyes. On the contrary, they seemed to have something to rely on, each one raising their head and staring at him without any hesitation. It seemed that Mayor Norton was also disgusted by this kind of gaze, which was why he was so irritated.

……

"Um... sir, hello..."

A young man, his shoulders hunched and his speech halting, slowly stepped forward, extending his hand but avoiding eye contact. "Thank you for your help when we were in danger... no, for extending a helping hand to us..."

"And you are?" Henderson asked.

“Oh, sorry, sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Jonah Wagner.” Jonah quickly apologized and said with a smile, “I’m the municipal secretary of Park City. Right now, the mayor is absent for some reason, so I… I’m the acting mayor.”

Valentine, seeing his performance from the crowd, shook his head dismissively.

"That's it?" Henderson was completely baffled.

Is this all the coward he is?

Does he have the ability to organize such a grand escape?

“Alright then, Mr. Wagner, please…”

"Whoosh—!"

Before he could finish speaking, the crowd suddenly parted on its own, forming a perfectly orderly path, entirely voluntarily.

Henderson was even more astonished, because he saw the same thing in the eyes of these four thousand people—uniformity, synchronized steps, as if they were seeing gods truly walking among humans. This boundless respect and worship was perhaps the key to successfully mobilizing more than four thousand people.

Only then did Henderson realize that the second-in-command was still the second-in-command, and this escape had nothing to do with him. He had neither the guts nor the ability. The real mastermind was someone else, and he was merely a convenient figurehead.

----

Zhang Renfeng got off the bus through the main entrance and slowly walked towards me, step by step.

Chapter 768: Connections

"Gentlemen, we apologize for our abrupt visit and hope you will forgive us."

A murmur of discussion arose from the crowd, with all sorts of things being said, but at this moment, Zhang Renfeng was almost immune to these words and didn't care much.

If those two carriages hadn't derailed, the supplies could have lasted at least a day or two, and the steel could have been used as a bargaining chip to try and negotiate a deal. Overall, we wouldn't be in this situation, empty-handed and in such a passive position. But given the circumstances, even if they hadn't derailed, the entire train might have been pulled off, and they wouldn't have made it this far; they would have been lost souls in the mountains long ago.

There's nothing we can do; we have to rely on others for everything now. When you're under someone else's roof, you have no choice but to bow your head.

“We’re from Pike Town, which has been ravaged by a hurricane. The water level has risen, and the whole city may be flooded. The mayor abandoned them to die… The coal reserves on the truck are only enough. This city is the only place we can reach.”

Zhang Renfeng looked around. He felt that there was something strange about the people in this city, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"There's a reason for this. All the supplies we salvaged from the city were destroyed by the natural disaster. Now we're penniless, with nothing—no food, no medicine, no supplies. But many people are sick. Everyone is hungry and cold, and they're already suffering from the disaster, making their immune systems even weaker. There are some elderly people and children among them who might not survive without medicine!"

"We need a place to stay, even a tent will do, as long as we have a place to spend the night and rest. We also need some food and drinking water... anything edible and digestible will be enough. We can find firewood ourselves, and we can set up our own campsite. We won't cause you any trouble!"

"Just a few days will do. Give us some relief for a few days so we can adjust. We'll leave soon."

Zhang Renfeng pursed his lips and lowered his voice, "Of course, I know... this request is indeed a bit excessive."

"But I promise that everything we have received from this city today will be returned to us many times over in the future!"

……

"you promise?"

Interestingly, Henderson's gaze didn't show any discrimination or annoyance; instead, she seemed quite curious. "Who are you?"

Zhang Renfeng was taken aback by his question.

“He is my friend.” Lydia stepped forward. After the bumpy journey, she was hardly graceful anymore, but she still tried her best to appear more dignified when she introduced herself. “I am Lydia Ulysses, the eldest daughter of Captain Istavo White Ulysses.”

But in this city...

The title of captain doesn't seem to be as effective anymore.

Henderson looked at her calmly and asked in a routine tone, "You mean you're willing to vouch for your friend?"

Lydia nodded.

"Very well, since you insist..."

……

“Oak City is not open to outsiders; that has always been the rule.” Norton’s voice was dry and lifeless, like an empty shell without a soul. Two inches of cold light shone from behind his glasses. This was the first time he had confronted Henderson in public. “We will not accept your ‘rewards.’ We just want you to leave here immediately.”

“You have no idea how much trouble you’ve gotten yourself into… This city is not a place where you disheveled worms have the right to enter.”

“I didn’t say we weren’t leaving.” Sam was annoyed by his cold attitude, and his tone became more intense. “We just need to borrow a place and some food so we can recover our strength. We’ll leave after we’ve recovered.”

“I’m sorry, we have no obligation to provide you with aid. Every expenditure in this city is recorded by the treasurer. If he finds out that we’ve invested a large sum of money in something completely irrelevant… as mayor, I can’t explain myself.”

Norton waved his hand, his eyelids lowered. He didn't outwardly show his disgust, but this utterly indifferent expression was even more terrifying than disgust. Deep down, he didn't think the lives of these four thousand people were of any importance.

“This is not what you said before, Mr. Mayor.” Henderson was not annoyed, but turned to look at him with a half-smile. “Didn’t you promise that I would be the one to make the first contact with them on this matter?”

"I made that promise."

Norton glanced indifferently at the more than four thousand people gathered around the train. “You’ve already met them and ‘made contact,’ haven’t you? Then it can end here. This city should be ‘perfect’ at all times and under all circumstances. These four thousand-plus stinking homeless people will become an indelible and glaring stain, which I believe most residents will not agree with.”

His words received widespread approval, with many nodding in agreement.

With the support of the people, Norton spoke even faster, "Now, I am the highest executive officer of this city, and I decide how to handle this matter."

He waved his hand dismissively, as if brushing away a fly, and said with utmost ease, "There are no conditions to discuss. Please, leave this city immediately."

……

The guards all stepped forward in unison.

"..."

"Why are you still standing here? Didn't you understand?" Norton pushed up his glasses, looking extremely impatient with the throng of people. "This city doesn't welcome you. Leave now, you can go wherever you want."

"What if...we just don't leave?" Zhang Renfeng stared intently at him. "What are you planning to do?"

“That would be against the law,” Norton said matter-of-factly. “As mayor, I have the authority to organize people to violently remove you. No matter how many injuries or bloodshed occur, I will not be held legally responsible.”

"Is that so?" Zhang Renfeng tilted his head slightly, grinned, and revealed a somewhat terrifying smile.

----

……

"I advise you not to provoke him."

A clear voice suddenly came from behind the crowd, pausing the almost chaotic atmosphere.

Norton's expression, initially sinister, shifted effortlessly. When he turned back, it became calm and submissive, even bordering on ingratiating. He even abandoned his work in the standoff and jogged to the man's side, asking, "Why did you come out?"

A dark fine-woven coat, over which is a dark green paisley waistcoat. The lower half is a classic Cumberland County outfit, with trousers and cavalry boots.

Add to that his handsome face with a constant slight smile, his deep features, and his domineering slicked-back hairstyle.

Zhang Renfeng felt like she had seen him somewhere before, but she froze for a moment, unable to recall the details.

"Don't you recognize me?" the man said with a hint of mockery. "How sad, Mr. Zhang. Didn't we meet once in Dover Hill?"

"..."

"what!"

A thought flashed through Zhang Renfeng's mind, "You're that... Ze... Ze something again?"