Dual wielding volcanoes, killing through the west

"Hmm...this map is so strange, it doesn't seem to match up at all?"

Angelona frowned in distress. After getting off the train, she stood in front of the station gate for about ten minutes, as if being punished, unable to decide which direction to go.

The windswept sands depicted on the map and the windswept sands she actually saw seemed to be completely different places. Perhaps it was her overly serious nature that caused this discrepancy, but the frustration of this mismatch made her extremely annoyed, and her cheeks puffed up with anger.

Angelona flipped the map over, looked at the production year, and muttered, "Made in 1890...that's 3 years ago. Could it be that the city has been completely renovated from top to bottom in the past three years?"

"These outdated relics that don't align with reality should have been replaced long ago!"

That being said, this is all we have right now, and there's no point in complaining.

The girl sighed, resignedly raised her finger, and pointed at the map like a child reading a book. She compared the map to the buildings that matched, and started walking, muttering, "The cathedral... the one with the spire, it's over there. The cathedral certainly won't move, so let's use it as a reference point."

"Go out from here, turn left, and walk to the end. The Windblown Sands Joint Police Station is different from the one pictured above. From here... cross this street, and you should reach the Londonderry Department Store. The entire street behind it is their territory..."

Angelona looked at the map, pondered for a moment, and squeezed through a relatively narrow alley. Her coat clung to the wooden wall, and a damp, unpleasant smell filled her nostrils. The girl frowned, squinting to see more clearly as the lights were blocked by rows of houses.

She felt like a slippery catfish, barely managing to squeeze out of the alley.

"Beep beep!! Beep—!"

The piercing sound of a horn came out of nowhere, startling her. The girl jumped up like a frightened rabbit.

A long, dark black car sped past her, kicking up a cloud of dust on the flat road.

After passing through the dark alley, we arrived at the heart of the town, a place of windswept sand – Londonderry Shopping Centre.

The roads here are smoother and wider than those on the outskirts, and sunlight shines through the buildings, scattering across the roads, making them appear exceptionally clean.

Cars came and went, making it quite lively.

Although it wasn't particularly frequent, it was enough to shock the girl.

In this city, the ratio of cars to horses is roughly 3:7, which is comparable to some of the more developed large cities in the north. Even though it's afternoon, the streets are already quite crowded. Every now and then, an armed escort wagon can be seen passing through the town's main roads; the security is extremely tight.

The girl recognized the "guns and knives" symbol on the carriage.

"It's an armed wagon from Morgan Communications. Generally speaking, only large banks and large companies hire Morgan Communications..."

“This shows that the city’s economic activity is greater than I imagined,” Angelona thought to herself as she observed carefully.

The Londonderry shopping centre, as its name suggests, occupies the absolute center of the town, even pushing buildings such as the police station, banks and city government to the periphery.

There are two whole streets that are occupied by shopping malls.

This is New Elizabeth, the largest shopping center in the state, with towering buildings and a complete range of goods. Almost anything you can imagine can be found here.

From cigarettes and alcohol to gourmet food, to all kinds of gorgeous clothes, and even weapons and ammunition... everything is available. Interestingly, the weapons sold here are basically the latest models of the time. Some new weapons developed by the [Hargunda Armed Company] that have not yet been released to the market can even be sold in this shopping center one to two months in advance.

Behind the shopping center is a spacious shooting range, with both stationary standard shooting targets and moving skeet targets. After the transaction is completed, you can try shooting a few times at the range. Several experienced shooters are stationed there and will teach customers how to use the appropriate posture and angle to quickly adapt to the new weapon based on their shooting results.

It's like a strong and powerful heart; every pump brings a substantial cash flow, like blood, keeping the body running.

"My God! This...this is..."

As Angelona passed by a dessert shop, she couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, almost pressing her round little face against the display window.

Across the thin layer of glass was a beautifully crafted, rich chocolate cake base, layered glazes, perfectly drizzled apricot jam, and a touch of cream on top, like the finishing touch to a masterpiece. Angelona's chubby little face showed surprise and envy, and she unconsciously swallowed.

However, the moment she saw the price tag, she wilted like a frostbitten eggplant.

"Not now... How could a bar girl afford such a small cake..."

She looked at it in the shop window for a while, sighed helplessly, waved goodbye, and continued searching for her destination.

"Red Bird Tavern, Red Bird Tavern, Red Bird..."

"what!"

She wandered around the street several times and walked past it several times, and finally, she found the Red Bird Tavern in an inconspicuous little corner.

It's no wonder she was upset. Compared to this bustling commercial street, this place was incredibly inconspicuous—small, old, and the lettering on the signs was faded and worn. The area in front of the entrance wasn't paved; it was covered in mud, worn down by countless footsteps, and looked rather dirty at first glance.

"What's going on? It seems like only this place is stuck in the feeling of more than ten years ago..."

Angelona was puzzled.

How could such a dilapidated shop occupy a piece of land in such a bustling commercial center?

……

Regardless, this must be the place. Despite her many doubts, the girl straightened her clothes, cleared her throat, and solemnly pushed open the wooden door.

"Squeak—"

The old, dilapidated wooden door emitted a sharp, piercing sound, causing her to instinctively soften her grip, afraid that she might push it too hard and break it apart.

There were more guests inside than she had expected—some playing cards, some drinking, some playing dice, some slumped over the table, completely drunk—all sorts of people. No one noticed her arrival, which relieved Angelona somewhat.

"Hello." She walked straight to the owner, who was sitting behind the bar, dozing off with his arms propped up, and said softly, "Did you post the job ad in the newspaper?"

"...Huh?!" The boss had just woken up, rubbing his eyes, somewhat dazed. "Wh...what newspaper?"

"Hey, the New Elizabethan Star, look, in this section... they've written about the Red Bird Tavern in the Windblown Sands urgently needing an accounting inventory person, haven't they?"

Angelona took a crumpled newspaper clipping out of her handbag, spread it on the bar, and pointed it out to him. "This tavern hasn't had a single financial check since it opened in 1867, has it? I'm here to help you clean up your books."

“Angelona Marcus, please take good care of me.”

Chapter 889: Can we go back to the beginning of the story?

"This tavern opened around the same time as this town."

"Actually, for the first twelve years, it was alright. There would be some customers at night, mostly cowboys and gunmen who didn't have many cents in their pockets and could only buy cheap goods. I could manage the accounts by myself and didn't need to hire anyone else."

"It was probably after 1879 that business started to pick up, and more and more people came from all over America to visit. Whether it was day or night, there were always people sitting in the shop... I thought about it and decided to just live in the shop."

“In recent years, the Londonderry shopping center has been doing very well, and the number of visitors has increased again. I’m getting older and my eyesight isn’t what it used to be… If you could help me sort out the mess of accounts from all these years, that would be great.”

While chatting, the boss led the girl up to the second floor of the hotel.

Angelona noticed several bullet holes in the stairs, walls, and even the second-floor floor. Half of the stairs had been shot through and broken, and there were also broken sections in the old walls that had never been repaired.

Judging from the marks, it's been around for quite some time; I don't know which year it was left behind.

Upon opening one of the rooms, the owner turned on the electric lantern he was holding.

"Forehead……"

Putting aside the dust, the several old bullet holes on the floor left Angelona speechless for a moment.

She asked tactfully, "Since your business has improved, why not renovate the shop a little?"

"Haha." The boss smiled enigmatically and shook his head, saying, "We can't flip it. If we do, no one will come."

"Huh?" The girl's face was full of surprise. "But...but this doesn't follow business principles."

“If you could stay in town for a while, you might understand.” The shopkeeper, clearly sleep-deprived, yawned. “You said in your letter that sorting out the accounts from 1890 to this year could be completed in a week, right?”

“You can rest assured about that. I used to be an employee of Donghao Bird Bank.” Angelona patted her soft chest, half-closing her eyes, and said with great pride, “I’m a professional in this area. If I say one week, I mean one week. Absolutely no problem!”

"Okay, this room is yours for this week, no rent required." The owner pointed to the large bed in the room. "There's also a bath service downstairs,... twice a day, no charge for the first two times. I'll talk to the female staff downstairs."

"You can eat three meals a day at the restaurant, with a daily limit of $10. Anything exceeding that will be charged to you. Is that alright?"

"..."

"..."

"..."

In disbelief, Angelona pinched her cheek. "...Ouch!"

I wasn't dreaming, actually.

With meals, accommodation, and shower facilities provided, you might not even find such working conditions in many large cities in the north!

For a moment, Angelona was tempted. If it weren't for the mission, being a lowly accountant in this tavern for the rest of her life might not be such a bad ending.

"Of course! I'm very satisfied!"

“Very good, then... it’s a pleasure to work together.” The boss shook hands with Angelona. “You must be tired from your journey. Let’s start work tomorrow.”

----

"ah----!!"

Just when everything was going perfectly, a scream suddenly rang out, shattering Angelona's good mood.

The sound was coming from very close, directly below the house. After the screams, there were sounds of punches and kicks, as well as muffled curses, making it impossible to ignore.

The girl's expression changed.

"Don't worry about it, it happens all the time." The boss's tone was quite calm. "It has nothing to do with you. As long as you don't provoke it or meddle in other people's business, you'll be fine."

"Then I'll go downstairs. You can rest."

……

With a "thump," the wooden door closed.

rest.

How can one rest amidst these screams?

Angelona immediately ignored her boss's instructions, slammed her handbag on the ground, and with a flurry of activity, flung open the curtains, pushed open the window, and leaned most of her body out. What she saw was appalling: several burly men in suits were pinning a thin, short middle-aged man to the ground, punching and kicking him. While beating him, they were also shoving his head into the mud, throwing cigarette butts at him, and spitting on him.

"You fucking...you really think we're a charity? You're asking for it!"

"Tell me, where's the money?! Where did you deposit it all?!"

"I...I'm having some cash flow problems right now..." The man was grabbed by the neck and lifted up. He already had a black eye, a swollen and bruised face, and snot streaming down his face. His other eye was wide open in terror. "I promise, I promise I'll pay you back right away! Please...please allow me a little more time..."

"Another extension?! Damn it, it's been three months! Are you kidding us?!"

"Boom!"

The man was slammed to the ground like a rag.

"It's only because the economy is good now that we're not allowed to use force. If it were a decade or two ago, a bastard like you would have had his fingers chopped off long ago."

Another hard kick landed on the thin man's abdomen, causing him to cry out in pain, curl up like a shrimp, and roll on the ground.

"Tell me! Where did you put all the money? Who told you to do this?!"

……

"Stop!"

A sharp, delicate shout came from the second floor.

Angelona bent over and squeezed through the narrow gap in the window, a button popping off her clothes in the process.

She arrived at the corridor on the second floor of the Red Bird Tavern, and ran down the stairs without hesitation, blocking the thin man's path. "You guys should kill him!"

"..."

The leading man carefully examined Angelona's appearance: she wasn't very tall, and she was dressed quite warmly, wearing a dark blue overcoat on the outside and a rather fitted frosty white hermit-like robe underneath. On her head was a cute baseball cap with a small blue fish pattern. Her hair was long, but very well-maintained, cascading down her shoulders like a waterfall.

Her face was round and chubby, her eyes were deep blue, and her long eyelashes fluttered like a beautiful butterfly.

The coat on the outside was slightly larger than her body, making her round little face seem to be buried inside the coat.

“I assure you, Miss, you’re far from it! I’ve been quite polite to Mr. Downs.” The man sneered and said in a mocking tone, “The hero saves the damsel in distress isn’t popular here. This is none of your business, so get lost.”

Angelona swallowed hard, took a step forward, and, with her neck stiff, continued, "What you... what you did, openly... assaulting people in the street, and using violence to collect loans from them, these actions are all violations of federal law!"

These words were like a spark falling into a powder keg, instantly igniting the emotions of the underlings. Their gazes towards Angelona turned hostile.

----

"Sorry! Sorry, sorry, gentlemen, this girl is new here, from out of town, and doesn't know the rules. She's disturbing your work, I'm really sorry. Please forgive her, gentlemen, don't hold it against her. We'll definitely teach her a lesson when we get back."

A boy with black hair and black eyes, dressed in dirty clothes, suddenly walked quickly out of the shadows of the alley, his face full of smiles, his hands clasped together, and he said SORRY to everyone one by one.

He walked up to the girl and grabbed her wrist with astonishing strength. Angelona had no strength to resist and was dragged away without a word.

The boy grabbed Angelona with one hand and said with a forced smile, "You guys continue, continue."

……

"Boss, are we just going to let this little wench go like that? She..."

The leader of the debt collectors suddenly raised his hand, stopping his underlings' chatter. He frowned, looking thoughtful.

After a long silence, he raised his head again, made a decision, glanced at Downs lying on the ground, beaten to the point of near death, and said in a deep voice, "Alright, that's enough for today. If you don't pay back the money... you'd better watch out."