Dual wielding volcanoes, killing through the west

"We've already tested the line's maximum capacity," someone below said. "If nothing unexpected happens, there shouldn't be any problems."

“That sounds unreliable.” Henry shook his head and said in a deep voice, “Even if something goes wrong, I need you to have a backup plan. Go and check it again, from beginning to end, carefully and thoroughly. There were already some mishaps at the last exhibition, and this time, reopening it, we absolutely cannot afford the slightest mistake!”

"After guests enter with their tickets and are seated, the host will appear about ten minutes later. It will still be Mr. Jimmy McGill who will host the exhibition. We don't have anything to do at this stage; he mainly introduces our products to the guests."

"Next is the test ride session, where guests will sit in the car themselves, accompanied by a professional driver, to experience the benefits of 'car' as a mode of transportation. During this session, guests will get up from their seats, and the scene may be a bit chaotic, requiring our staff to step in and maintain order. How is this part being implemented?"

“We also borrowed some personnel from the White Torch Town Police Station,” the subordinate replied. “There are about three hundred people on site responsible for maintaining order.”

"Um……"

Henry frowned, remained silent for a moment, and then unconsciously began to twirl the pen in his large hand.

“I still think that 300 people might be too few to handle this kind of situation.” After a moment of thought, Henry made another decision. “There’s still time. Let’s talk to them and see if we can bring in another 100 people as a backup.”

"Now?" The subordinate looked troubled. "But Mr. Hysen... at this time, the exhibition is about to start, and other companies might also be..."

"Don't be afraid of losing face. This is the first time we've organized such a large-scale trade fair. The most important thing is to ensure that nothing goes wrong." Henry waved his hand and said in a deep voice, "Just say that I said we have to get a hundred people, even if we have to scrape together the numbers."

"After that, there will be performance demonstrations of different car models. Tell the drivers that the focus should be on showcasing the car's performance, not on speed or overly difficult techniques. It's better to go a little slower than to leave the guests with any impression of 'danger'."

"As for leaving..."

……

His gaze swept towards the doorway, but he suddenly saw Zhang Renfeng standing there. He didn't come in, but just stood at the door, looking at him with a smile.

"open!"

In Baiju Town today, the prestige of this surname is self-evident.

The moment he stood up, his subordinates immediately followed suit, without the slightest hesitation. The way they looked at him was a mixture of surprise, respect, and awe. It was as if he weren't a human being standing there, but a walking deity.

"Please take the trouble to check what I've said separately." Henry naturally realized that the other party had something to discuss with him, so he quickly ended his conversation with his subordinates. "There's still some time. If you find any problems, report them to me immediately, and we'll solve them together!"

----

“You’re really good at this.” Zhang Renfeng watched his subordinates leave, pulled up a chair for himself, sat down slowly, and said with admiration, “It was the right decision to hire you to organize this kind of event.”

Henry said somewhat embarrassedly, "I'm very happy to be able to help you with such a small matter."

……

The last time I saw him was at the hunter's hut on the border of Takashu. He was there as a representative of Sanyuan Heavy Industries to participate in the negotiations. Ultimately, he facilitated the government's recognition of the ownership of the Takashu territory, allowing Sanyuan Heavy Industries to extract oil in that area.

Just as Kraken represented the Sanyuan Timber Company, Henry was merely a figurehead with no real power. However, just as Kraken's talent lay in manufacturing snake oil, Zhang Renfeng also saw extraordinary talent in this young man.

Bread and the Circus.

Henry was in charge of organizing all of Brightlight City's past festivals, including the most prestigious knightly tournament. He handled everything from venue setup and budget allocation to personnel arrangements—a whole host of miscellaneous tasks—with remarkable efficiency. If we disregard the disgusting pre-arranged selection process, the final result was actually quite excellent.

After that, Zhang Renfeng intentionally explored his abilities further, having him manage some large-scale, public celebrations, which all went quite well. If it weren't for the sudden disruption caused by assassins at the last auto show, it would certainly have ended successfully by now.

……

"The auto show is about to start in about half an hour." Henry guessed his purpose, stood up and asked, "Is there any new requirement that I need to add? If so, tell me right away and I'll try to figure it out."

"No, no, it has nothing to do with that." Zhang Renfeng quickly shook his head, pondered for a moment, and then said, "To put it simply, I have something, or rather, more than one thing, that I would like to ask you for help with."

"Ah."

"Have you ever had a wedding before? A lavish one?"

"A wedding?" Henry frowned. "I have no experience with that."

"But I've attended other people's weddings, so I know the general process. If you'd like, I can learn it after tonight's event. Even a grand royal wedding is just a bit more elaborate, with more elaborate ceremonies and more steps; it's not difficult at all."

"It should be fine in two or three weeks at most."

……

"it is good."

Zhang Renfeng took a deep breath, and before he uttered those words, his restless heart finally calmed down.

He held up two fingers and said in a deep voice, "I would like to ask you to help me plan two weddings."

"I'll leave the Western-style wedding to you, since I know nothing about Western customs and such."

"As for the Chinese-style one..."

"I can do it myself."

Chapter 884: The Taste of Being an Outsider

"Evelyn, Evelyn." The wolf pointed to a dark, pear-shaped clay vessel with several holes on the wooden shelf and asked curiously, "What is this... this strangely shaped clay pear?"

"Ok?"

Evelyn couldn't remember what was in that spot for a moment. Holding a stack of books, she hurried over and, seeing what the little wolf was pointing at, chuckled. "Miss Namelia, this isn't a pear, although it looks a bit like one..."

"call--"

She picked up the clay instrument, gently blew on it to remove the layer of dust, and explained, "This is called a 'ocarina,' a very unique wind instrument. My brother often brings back strange souvenirs. He used to teach me how to play it, but I don't quite remember..."

She used her fingers to block several holes in the instrument and blew into the mouthpiece, producing only a few disjointed sounds.

"Perhaps Mr. Zhang knows that this instrument originated from his country."

"Huh? Is that so?" Wolf was very surprised. She had also stayed in China for a period of time, but she had never seen anyone play this instrument.

"Yes. My brother said that the origin of this instrument can be traced back to six or seven thousand years ago!"

"Back then, people made a living by hunting. They would tie a stone or mud ball to a rope and throw it to hit birds and animals. It was the kind of sling that the chief used."

"Later, someone discovered that the weapon made a sound when it was swung around, and people found it interesting, so they started blowing on it. Gradually, they discovered that by poking out more holes, they could use the thing to make completely different sounds."

"They also tried different materials, such as stone, shell, wood, and ivory, but in the end they found that the clay made of clay produced the best sound."

"Oh, I see." The wolf nodded, like a child who had just received a lecture in class, and said sincerely, "Your brother knows so much."

“Yes, my brother does know a lot.” Evelyn wasn’t very happy, instead she sighed. “He often says some very obscure things, and I have no idea where he learned them. When I ask him, he just says ‘I learned them in my dreams’ or something like that.”

"It's like... a completely different person."

Evelyn looked at the tightly closed, dark door not far away, her expression showing lingering fear.

This was the house she and Theonado used to live in, or rather, it was mainly where she lived alone. Her eccentric brother rarely came back to stay; when he died on the cold antlers, it had been a long time since he had returned home.

Only one room remained, an extremely eerie room covered with the words "NO EXIT".

Later, Evelyn herself nearly died in that house, becoming a meal for the cannibals. If it weren't for Zhang Renfeng, this extraordinary man, arriving in White Torch Town at just the right time, all of this... might have truly been irreversible.

For every ounce of affection she held for Zhang Renfeng, she felt an equal, deep-seated fear of this house.

After the Australian Shrike incident, Evelyn received a performance invitation from Zhu Kuilong and his troupe, which gave her a suitable reason to leave that awful place.

In fact, even without an invitation, she wouldn't stay in this house any longer. Every cell in her body was screaming for her to escape.

After that, Evelyn continued to wander outside.

While pursuing her acting career, she also worked as an "unofficial intelligence agent" for the Red Center, striving to provide the gang with whatever assistance she could. It wasn't until the Battle of Lagras that she began to openly assume the role of Red Center messenger, responsible for traveling to Saint Quintac and Three Horses to relay news of the outbreak of war to the Red Center's allies.

After going around in circles, I finally came back.

Through her performances these past few days, she has gained both fame and fortune thanks to her superb acting skills.

The money she saved was enough for her to buy a house in a relatively bustling and lively area in the center of Baiju Town.

Since we've decided to move, we naturally have to move some of our old belongings out as well.

Evelyn was hesitant to return to the house alone.

But then she thought again, if she were to ask Zhang Renfeng for help over such a small matter... that would be a bit too much of a whining act.

Within the Red Center gang, she wasn't very familiar with the others. The two girls, who were the same age, were both busy with their own affairs—Xiao Mei was the head of security for the auto show, while Alana was preoccupied with "Morgan Communications." Both of them were handling seemingly important and serious matters, and after much deliberation, Evelyn decided not to bother them.

After going around in circles, she had no choice but to ask Little Wolf to help her move.

After a fierce battle in Oak City, Zhang Renfeng was unconscious for a day and a night, and it was the two girls who stayed with him.

After a while, they became familiar with each other.

At this moment, after Evelyn stopped talking about Theonado, a great sense of pity welled up in the wolf's emerald eyes.

“I dare not say that I can fully understand your brother, but I can somewhat feel his confusion and pain.”

The wolf looked toward Theonado's room, at the dusty, tightly closed door.

"Can you open it?"

“…Open it.” Evelyn pursed her lips and said softly, “It has to see the light eventually.”

They had long since lost the key to the door lock, but they didn't waste time looking for it.

The wolf pressed two fingers against the keyhole and suddenly exerted force, knocking the entire lock off with a "clang".

The moment I pushed open the door, the curtains billowed slightly, letting in the lights of White Torch Town under the night sky. Because the room had been uninhabited for so long, a thick layer of dust covered the floor. Under the light, even the angle at which the dust settled looked artistic.

The words "NO EXIT" were carved in frenzied strokes on the walls, doors, and even the floor.

But time eventually fades everything, and Evelyn herself was surprised when she came in again. The traces of these words seemed to have gradually faded and blurred with time.

The wolf didn't speak, but stood in the center of the room with its eyes slightly closed, as if listening intently to something.

After a long while, she opened her eyes, her deep emerald eyes, like a clear lake, radiating an ethereal quality that seemed to transcend the world. In the quiet room, they seemed to glow.

“When I was very, very young, I had a similar illness to his… I always said strange things because the world I saw, heard, and touched was different from that of other people. That feeling… was very confusing and perplexing.”

"Really?" Evelyn asked, puzzled. "But, Miss Nymeria, you look no different from a normal person right now."

"...It was Senior Brother Zhang and Senior Brother Zhu who rescued me from human traffickers and took me to Master. He and Senior Sister He first helped me regulate my internal energy and exercise my internal strength. But soon, they said that my physique was extraordinary and unlike that of ordinary people, and that the usual methods would not work at all."

"Finally, my master invited a person wearing a red Taoist robe to treat me... In the end, I don't know what method he used, but after a long time, he finally got rid of my hysteria. Only then could I observe the world like a normal person."

The wolf's voice held a hint of lingering fear, "If I hadn't been saved by my senior brother that day, then now..."

……

“I’ve tried to understand the world they describe: the sky is blue, the sun is a blazing red furnace, the flowers are purple… But until my master completely helped me adjust, the world in my eyes wasn’t so beautiful.”

She looked up at the writing covering the wall and sighed deeply, a rare occurrence for her.

It's hard to describe the feeling of being an outcast to others, even though she and Zhang Renfeng had such a deep connection, Lang never mentioned it to him.

Only she knows the true feelings she experienced.

"Let's not talk about that anymore." The wolf waved his hand and said softly, "Among your brother's belongings, which ones should we take? Let's move them to the carriage outside."

Chapter 885: Red Hair

In Evelyn's memory, during the time when she was still a minor, Theonado would often go out to take on jobs, going to different theater companies to write scripts and earn some odd jobs.

The income from this job is very unstable; sometimes there is a lot of money, and sometimes there is little. When there is little money, he paints a few paintings with unclear meanings and sells them.

Perhaps it's because his painting style is so unique that there are always some people who are drawn to it, willing to support him, buy his work at high prices, and hang it somewhere in their homes.

Thus, after the deaths of his parents and the burning down of his old house, Theonado barely managed to fulfill his responsibilities as an older brother, raising young Evelyn with great difficulty.

As if it were preordained, just as Evelyn reached the age where she could perform on stage and sell tickets, Theonado's mental state suddenly deteriorated. He became increasingly eccentric, not to the point of harming Evelyn, but often making her feel like a stranger.

Regardless, she is gone. Looking at the empty room, Evelyn felt a little sad, and her eyes were filled with tears.

She hadn't felt the warmth of family love for a very, very long time.

"Isn't your brother a painter?" Wolf asked curiously as he tidied up the notebooks in the room. "Why isn't there a single painting in this room?"

"To be precise, Theonado was not only a painter, but also a playwright, and he did the latter for a longer period of time, often adapting Greek myths."

Evelyn sighed softly. "A few months ago, in order to introduce Wendigo Lecter, we held an exhibition at the House of the Outer Lights, which was dedicated to his posthumous works."

"As a result, the reviews for these paintings were inexplicably very high. To put it bluntly, I even suspect that he might have some kind of harpy bloodline... Otherwise, how could something he casually drew become so popular?"

"In short, the people from the plein air school discussed with me whether I could rent these paintings to them for long-term exhibitions. I was short of money at the time, so I agreed."

"The paintings in this room that could be exhibited are already on display at the Utopian Museum. The rest are all sketchbooks he wrote in before, some of them are discarded drafts..."

Evelyn dusted off the notebook and smiled wistfully, "If you can bring it all, then bring it. In the future, I'll be able to read what he writes."

……

“Who said there isn’t one? Look.” Wolf pulled a picture frame out from a pile of dusty manuscripts and said with a smile, “There’s still one that slipped through the net here.”

"?!"