Dual wielding volcanoes, killing through the west

"Knowing you're his substitute... enjoying his blessings and committing his evil deeds... you should take on all the suffering he hasn't yet endured!"

"But..."

……

"I'll do it, I'll do it, I'll do anything!" Hearing that there was still a chance, the stand-in immediately opened his eyes, afraid that the opportunity would slip away, and repeatedly assured, "Whatever you say, I'll do! How do you need me to cooperate?"

"...It's simple, it's what you're best at." Zhang Renfeng was only trying to scare him symbolically, and it was already very effective, so there was no need to scare him any further.

He then put the Volcano Pistol back into its holster.

“I need you to go to White Torch, New Austin, where…”

“Play Samuel Graves again.”

Volume: Interlude

Chapter 875: A Desperate Struggle

"Grandpa, the fish has taken the bait! The fish has taken the bait!"

A girl wearing a straw hat and dressed so exquisitely that she looked like a porcelain doll was shouting and yelling on the shore. Her face was flushed, and her excitement was palpable.

She stared intently at the rippling water. It's said that a child's attention span is limited to one thing at a time. At that moment, for Holly, the ripples on the water were the most intriguing code in the world, unmatched by anything else.

"What should I do? What should I do next?"

Even as she asked the question, Holly had already instinctively gripped the fishing rod, trying to use brute force to pull the fish that had taken the bait up.

"Don't rush, Holly, it's very simple, just take your time."

Mike instructed from the side, "First, loosen the fishing line. If you pull too hard, the fish will realize it's a trap. Pull the rod in the opposite direction of its struggle to fight it off and wear it down. Then, when it's exhausted and resting, quickly reel in the line and raise the rod upwards to bring the fish in directly."

To Mike, a seasoned fisherman, the above statement was as simple as one plus one equals two, and perfectly natural.

But... let alone the listener right now, who is a little girl of just over twelve years old, even many people who have been fishing all their lives might not be able to do it skillfully. The little girl's small mind couldn't process so much information at once, and she just instinctively pulled the fishing rod, and the result was predictable.

"Clap!"

The fish broke free of the fishing line, leaving behind ripples.

"Ah...she ran away." Holly pouted, her expression full of disappointment.

“It’s okay. Fishing is a process of constant struggle between people and fish.” Mike’s voice was so gentle that it was almost unlike him. “Reel in the line, change to a live bait, cast again, and wait for the next one. There will always be a fish that bites.”

Live bait, as the name suggests, is insects that fish like to eat.

The thought of touching those wriggling, milky-white worms made Holly's brows furrow even more, and her pout deepened.

She slowly reeled in the fishing line and found that the live bait on the hook had been eaten. She muttered, "Why... why do you have to use such disgusting insects? I just saw that you, Grandpa, never used insects as bait."

"This is for river fishing. Most fish have this kind of insect on their diet. If you want to catch big fish, crickets are better as bait. You can catch smallmouth bass."

Mike explained with great enthusiasm, enjoying the dual roles of fisherman and grandfather, his eyes half-closed in bliss. "Grandpa uses a kind of 'lure,' which just looks like an insect."

"By reeling in and letting out the fishing line, you can simulate the movement of insects on the water. If you are skilled enough, you can catch real fish even with fake bait."

"The first rule of fishing is to stay calm. Don't be impatient; wait for the fish to bite. Don't reel in the line too frequently, otherwise you'll scare the big fish away. Just like Grandpa is doing now, reeling in a little, stopping, and then..."

A loud splashing sound came from the surface of the water—there really was a big fish, fooled by Mike's superb acting skills, and had taken the bait!

Mike's right hand was still bandaged, but his left hand didn't hesitate; he immediately raised the fishing rod. If the fish swam to the left, he would pole to the right; if it swam to the right, he would pole to the left, always keeping the rod in the opposite direction.

A true angler, at this moment, has no superfluous emotions, so his commentary must stop. At this moment, Mike has forgotten all the troubles and disputes outside; all he sees is the rod, the fish, and the ripples constantly spreading across the water.

Look at that focused, single-minded gaze, that posture of raising an arm to fight the fish—who would still dare to say that fishing is a recreational activity?

Finally, after a stalemate of several tens of seconds, the big fish ran out of energy, and the splashes it made gradually began to shrink.

"Now, Holly." Mike finally breathed a sigh of relief and called out with a smile, "Quick, Grandpa's right hand is not working well, you help Grandpa reel in the line."

"it is good!"

The little girl's expression brightened again, and she began helping Mike reel in the line. But halfway through, the fish seemed to realize its fate and began to struggle frantically once more. Water splashed everywhere, and a large section of the fishing line slipped from his hand, but Mike didn't seem to care. He simply told Holly to let go and wait for the next opportunity.

"Grandpa, why did you let it go?" The girl scratched her head, puzzled. "Shouldn't you have lifted the pole according to what you just said?"

“That’s how fishing is, Holly. Every fish is different, so the fishing method is different too,” Mike explained patiently. “If you don’t give it any way out and drive it to its death, it will fight you to the death, and there won’t be any good outcome.”

"Old Zhang once mentioned an idiom from their country, 'to fight to the death,' which is roughly the same idea. Holly, you must remember this too. No matter what you do in the future, you must never push someone to the brink of despair, understand?"

You may have heard it, or you may not have heard it.

Sunlight filters through the gaps in the tree branches, casting dappled shadows on the damp soil.

The chirping of birds echoed through the mountains.

In the little girl's eyes, there were only the rippling water and waves; her grandfather, whom she hadn't seen for so long, had finally returned to her side. For some reason, her mother seemed to know something about "adult matters" and appeared very happy, buying her many exquisite and beautiful clothes and shoes.

The world is so colorful and beautiful.

Finally, after several back-and-forth battles, Mike won the victory thanks to his superior patience. And his prize was a huge creature that required both hands to hold.

"Wow! It's a long-nosed gar, weighing a good... 6.7 kilograms. I'm really lucky today, all thanks to you being with Grandpa, Holly." Mike tossed the big fish into the metal bucket behind him and said with a smile, "This is our prey caught together."

Look at this long fish, curled up in the bucket.

Looking at the various fish inside, none of them were ones I had caught myself…

After the initial excitement, Holly seemed to lose interest and completely lost interest in fishing. Her attention shifted to the large patch of red and purple flowers beside Mike.

A rough, large hand reached out from the side and handed her a cluster of red flowers that had been picked.

"Thank you... Ah, Uncle Zhang!"

After receiving the flowers, Holly sprang to her feet as if propelled by a spring, nearly throwing her fishing rod into the river.

Zhang Renfeng was both amused and exasperated, but then he realized that he would be thirty after the New Year. He felt that compared to his younger self, he had only gained more experience, and his essence had not changed. But at this age, it was indeed time for younger generations to call him "uncle."

"Fishing with Grandpa?"

Zhang Renfeng clicked his tongue and looked around. The mountains were beautiful, the water was beautiful, the land was beautiful, the forest was beautiful, and the sunlight was just right. The pebbles in the stream looked so lovely.

He rarely showed such envy, and remarked with emotion, "This is what true family happiness is all about."

Chapter 876: In the Woods

"Uncle Zhang, is Anna home now? I want to go and play with her."

Holly's voice was perfectly suited to her age, crisp and clear, with a girlish charm, and her eyes sparkled. "We made a promise last time that next time we come, she will show me how to apply lubricant to that metal arm."

“She’s at home.” Zhang Renfeng nodded, then added with concern, “Do you know the way? From here, just go up that way…”

"Oh, of course I recognize you, I come here all the time, don't I?" The girl's smile was as bright as the sun. She turned her head, propped up her fishing rod on the soft mud, and waved to Mike. "Well then, Grandpa, I'm going to play over there."

"Uncle Zhang, my grandpa's right hand is weak, could you please take good care of him?"

With those words, Holly vanished like a gust of wind. Her delicate ribbon dress fluttered in the air, like a light and elegant butterfly.

……

“Youth is wonderful.” After a moment of silence, Zhang Renfeng shook his head and sighed unconsciously, “Kids like Holly’s age have inexhaustible energy. No matter how wild or crazy they play, they can sleep it off and be full of energy the next day.”

"Stop making such a fuss, okay?" As soon as his granddaughter left, Mike immediately pulled out a cigarette, lit it, and resumed his deadpan expression, complaining, "You always have so much energy, with your monstrous stamina, and you're still reminiscing about being young."

“Unlike me, I’m really getting old… especially after this run, I’ve aged a lot.” Mike glanced at his right hand, which was wrapped in bandages, and sighed.

Upon returning to White Torch, every surgeon in New Orleans who could be named was already waiting there.

But doctors are just doctors, not gods. After observing for several days and conducting several rounds of intense analysis and discussion, the final conclusion was that the damage caused by the bullet was irreversible.

Even if the hand is saved, its dexterity will be greatly reduced. After a period of adaptation, it can be restored to the level required to cope with daily life.

During this time, Tao also came up with a treatment plan... or rather, a design plan. He proposed to amputate Mike's entire hand and then fit him with a prosthetic hand.

He brought along the design drawings of his right prosthetic hand, as well as Anna with the added arm prosthesis, as an example to demonstrate the prosthesis's performance. This terrified the doctors, who turned pale. A group of them surrounded Anna's prosthetic arm, studying it for a long time, but still couldn't figure it out.

Perhaps because this treatment plan was far too advanced for its time, very few people could even comprehend it, let alone understand it. Ultimately, the medical team rejected the plan because it was too radical. Mike himself didn't want a part of his body replaced with a metal lump.

In particular, this solution requires completely severing one's right hand.

Mike is also going to be 60 this year. He can't accept that in old age, one has to permanently separate from a part of one's own body.

Of course, the aforementioned conservative treatment means that some high-precision and relatively complex tasks, such as playing the piano, are no longer possible.

Mike didn't expect to learn something as refined as the piano at his age. What he cared about was that he would never be able to draw or fire a gun with his right hand again. Even if his right hand recovered, it would become quite fragile, unable to withstand even the recoil from a regular revolver.

The once formidable gunslinger, who struck fear into the hearts of countless cowboys, now spends his days fishing by the river with his granddaughter.

……

Zhang Renfeng sat down, picked up the fishing rod Holly had left behind, baited it, and gently cast it out.

A quiet silence lingered in the woods.

Even so, Zhang Renfeng didn't feel awkward, nor was he in a hurry to find a topic to talk about. This was a sense of security he only felt with family. Even if there was nothing to talk about for the next hour or two, just sitting there would be no problem at all.

In the silence, Zhang Renfeng seemed to understand why Mike liked fishing, especially here. The gentle sound of the flowing water washed away the chaotic thoughts in his mind.

There's no need to put too much patience into the water. If you can catch something, great; if not... well, consider it a day spent relaxing.

----

"That little princess is still around," Mike said casually, exhaling a puff of smoke.

"She said she likes being here. In addition... her experiences, her ordeal, and her arm are all diplomatic issues that cannot be ignored. Even if we find her, it's hard to say what Luxembourg's attitude will be."

Zhang Renfeng gently brushed the leaves that had fallen on his shoulder and said, "Igor means that we should not only consider Luxembourg's opinion, but also Anna's own wishes and her mental state. In short, we have already arranged for Master Lynx and Alden to meet with her."

"We'll wait until they return to their home countries, then relay the information to Luxembourg and see their reaction. We'll decide what to do then."

"Hmm..." Mike said noncommittally, "That's fine too."

"Having more children of the same age to play with can help soothe those bad memories."

There was another moment of silence.

The bait bobbed and sank, and Mike skillfully lifted the fishing rod without Zhang Renfeng's help, using only his left hand to quickly reel in and release the line. The whole process was effortless, as if he were just buying fish from the river, and in an instant, he caught another one.

"Hmm, not bad, but that's enough for me today."

Mike squinted at the fish he had caught, reeled it in, threw it back into the water, and muttered, "Consider it a way to accumulate some 'morality'."

"You're really good at this," Zhang Renfeng exclaimed. "I can't catch a single one even after half a day."

“This is one of my few hobbies besides murder and playing cards,” Mike said, continuing to cast his fishing rod. “Back in Strawberry Creek, Jack…”

"..."

A look of dejection flashed across his eyes, and the light in Mike's eyes dimmed further, making him look more and more like a real old man.

After everything settled down, he didn't ask about Jack, and Calaway tacitly kept quiet as well. But both of them knew that after this battle, the last three members of Jack's gang—Jack, Il Ellan, and Lusris—were no longer alive.

Dust to dust, ashes to ashes, everything about the Jack Gang has become a legend.

……

Mike then asked, "How's that guy's situation going?"

Chapter 877: Retreat bravely from the rapids

Mike said "that guy" because he didn't know the stunt double's name; in fact, Zhang Renfeng himself didn't know either.

From the moment he decided to play Samuel Graves, he had only one name.

This was indeed a brilliant move—Samuel was a secretive man who once wielded power that could have shaken the country, yet he was exceptionally discreet and rarely appeared in public.

When absolutely necessary, he would also send out a double as a precaution. Professor Henderson's task was to customize and train a double for Samuel, ensuring that every detail, from physique and appearance to mannerisms, was almost indistinguishable from the real thing.

This approach certainly has its advantages. Regardless of the situation, Samuel can remain behind the scenes. Even if he falls into someone else's trap, the one who dies is a double. He can still hide in the shadows, issuing orders and directing the assassin group led by Lu Aniu to launch a counterattack and turn the tide in his favor.

However, when Lu Aniu was eliminated and the organization's military support was destroyed, this tactic became a hindrance.

When a stand-in falls into someone else's hands, who is the stand-in and who is the real one...?

It's not up to him to decide anymore.

……

"It went fairly smoothly. The public trial lasted for almost twenty days, and the guy was very cooperative."