Dual wielding volcanoes, killing through the west

"So powerful?" Zhang Renfeng asked curiously, "Then... what realm is he at right now?"

"Didn't you just say that one day, people could fly to the moon and climb mountains?" Zhu Kuilong's expression changed slightly, and he said in a deep voice, "Your good son has already accomplished half of that."

Chapter 907: Silence

"Mother, it's getting late, you should get some rest." Zhang Fulin paused briefly in front of his mother's door before saying, "I'm going to sleep too."

Greeting each other morning and evening is a tradition of the older generation. Zhang Fulin grew up following similar customs every day, and it had become a habit. Usually, his mother would reply with a word or two, but this time, there was not a sound from her room. He stood motionless in front of the door, like a piece of wood or stone.

"...Fulin, come in."

……

Qiu Yun looked at her son standing in front of her and sighed inwardly.

Everyone says she is blessed by God to have such a sensible and well-mannered son who knows how to behave properly and is very considerate in his dealings with others. Even the little wolf envies her.

But as the saying goes, every family has its own troubles, it's just that it's not easy to say them out loud in front of others. If she could, she actually hoped that Zhang Fulin wouldn't be so "sensible," because his "sensibility" was essentially a manifestation of trying to protect himself in an unfamiliar environment.

Although his godparents treated him very well, they were ultimately bound by a set of rules.

Sometimes, Zhang Fulin was quite envious of Zhu Ping'an. This kid was naturally outgoing and friendly. In his eyes, Zhang Renfeng and Xiaolang were almost like his own parents, only they were overseas and rarely came back. When they did come back, he even dared to hug them directly... Even his own son had never hugged Zhang Renfeng.

Over time, this behavior became ingrained in him as he grew up, gradually shaping his cautious and observant personality.

Even now, under the lamplight, facing his blood relatives, Zhang Fulin still glances at them from time to time, deciding what to say next based on his expression.

"I won't say much more, I just want to ask you one thing..."

"Would you like to go to the West with your father for a while?"

"No." Zhang Fulin answered without hesitation, "I don't speak Western languages, and I have no interest in that place."

"Then why were you listening so attentively to your father talking about those Western things?" Qiu Yun looked at him with a half-smile. "As for the language, your mother is old and uneducated, so it's difficult for her to learn. But you're different. You're only fifteen, which is the perfect age for learning. Besides, didn't you attend a private school for a few years before?"

“I…” Zhang Fulin hesitated for a moment before explaining, “It’s just that I haven’t seen Father for a long time, and we have to part after only a few days together, so I wanted to hear him say a few more words.”

“That’s right,” Qiu Yun said with a smile. “If we go back with him, we can listen to him talk more. Why bother waiting for him to come back like this?”

"..."

Zhang Fulin remained silent.

"You took apart and reassembled those foreign guns your father gave you, some of them even broke into pieces, didn't you?"

“I do have a little interest in Western countries, but, Mother…” Zhang Fulin finally revealed his true thoughts, saying with distress, “If I’m not here, won’t you be… all alone? What will we do then?”

"What kind of talk is that? Don't you still have your godfather and godmother? Especially your godmother, what a lovely girl she is. With her around, every day will be lively and bustling." Qiu Yun covered her mouth and chuckled. "Besides, it's not like you're never coming back. And I'm not so old that I can't be without someone by my bedside."

"Reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles. What's wrong with going out and seeing different countries?"

"But……"

Zhang Fulin was still somewhat conflicted. "During the meal, I already declined Father's invitation. Now that I'm going back on my word, will he think I'm impulsive and fickle?"

"You're overthinking things again!" Qiu Yun said angrily, flicking his forehead with her finger. "He's your own father, not a stranger. Besides, your father is such a heroic figure, how could he be so petty?"

“If you can’t even entrust your own father and mother to your care, who else in this vast world can you rely on?” She sighed, feeling both gratified and helpless at her son’s thoughtfulness, and could only say, “If you feel it’s inappropriate, then your mother will go and talk to your father for you.”

"I dare not trouble my mother."

Zhang Fulin pondered for a moment, bit his lip, as if making a decision, and said, "I will go and talk to Father myself."

"That's more like it." Qiu Yun nodded in satisfaction. "You should talk to your father more, and you'll gradually understand what kind of person he is."

----

That being said, people who are used to internal conflict cannot change their habits in a short time.

He stopped in front of his father's door, looked around, and carefully considered every word, every tone, and even every pause.

We strive to make this father-son conversation as perfect as possible.

"Father, there's something I want to tell you. I've thought about it, and I still hope to go to a Western country with you. I hope you..."

"No, this is too sudden."

“Father, I have thought it over carefully, regarding studying abroad…”

"No, that's too forceful and shows a bad attitude."

"During the meal just now, things were too rushed, and I didn't think things through properly. After returning to my room, I thought about it again and felt that I should..."

……

"Click" sound.

Zhang Fulin paced back and forth in front of the door for a while, when he heard a soft sound and the wooden door opened from the inside.

"??!"

A powerful aura swept over him, sending chills down Zhang Fulin's spine. He instinctively took a step back, his last shred of reason telling him that his own father lived inside. Although every part of his body was screaming in terror, urging him to use his lightness skill to escape, he forcibly stopped himself.

Fortunately, this aura, like a mountain peak crashing down, vanished in an instant.

"...Fulin?" Zhang Renfeng looked astonished, his expression one of utter surprise. "You...when did you arrive?"

"Um, Dad, I...I disturbed your rest." Zhang Fulin ultimately didn't say it aloud, and subconsciously apologized, "It's late at night, I..."

"Snapped!"

Zhang Renfeng gripped his wrist, his expression utterly serious, devoid of any smile.

How long have you been standing outside?

"It would take... a few minutes, or so?"

"A few minutes."

Zhang Renfeng murmured, "A fifteen-year-old boy, in the prime of his life, had his heart pounding like a drum, and I... didn't even notice..."

He closed his eyes and tried to sense Zhang Fulin's pulse, but it was like a rootless catkin, drifting in the wind, requiring him to hold his breath and concentrate to catch even a glimpse of it.

"Very well, Fulin." Zhang Renfeng opened his eyes, a smile on his face, as if he had seen a peerless gem, even a little excited. "Would you like to go to the West with your father? Just for a few months, to broaden your horizons, and I'll give your Wild Goose Kung Fu a proper makeover..."

"I'm willing to go!"

This time, Zhang Fulin finally seized the opportunity and quickly nodded in agreement.

Chapter 908: Chuck Londonderry

"Can you do it?"

Angelona bent over, urging him on in a sweet voice. This was probably the first time she had ever done something like sneaking in and picking locks. She was so nervous that she stared intently at the keyhole and didn't notice that she was almost pressed against the boy, their shoulders and elbows touching, completely close together.

"Shh... be quiet, don't distract me. This thing is thin and difficult to handle; if it breaks inside, it can't be taken out."

Zhang Honglu squatted in front of the door, holding two lock picks in his hands, fiddling with the keyhole, while trying to scare her, "By tomorrow morning, even if they're stupid, they'll realize someone's been here and start a big search. If I get caught then, you'll be the first one they implicate."

"You...you..." Angelona wasn't familiar with the local customs either. She was genuinely frightened. The thought of going to jail made the girl shudder. She muttered softly, "Okay, okay, I won't make a fuss. Just hurry up..."

The most nerve-wracking time when doing something so clandestine is the period before the door is pried open.

At this very moment, in the dead of night, the two were walking together, crouching in front of a document storage room on a core floor inside the Londonderry shopping center. This was a very important location within the entire shopping center, patrolled 24 hours a day.

Logically speaking, Angelona shouldn't be able to enter such a heavily guarded place.

On a whim, she asked the magical boy who lived in the stable shed for help, and to her surprise, he actually patted his chest and said that the matter was "all his responsibility."

Zhang Honglu, like a local who knew the place well, led her through a maze of twists and turns, slipping in through a loosely closed back door. Even in a large area with many patrols, there are always blind spots; they navigated through these blind spots until they arrived here.

Now, a tightly closed door stood before him. Zhang Honglu took out a lock pick and began fiddling with the keyhole on his own.

In those few dozen seconds, the lights and footsteps, sometimes near, sometimes far, seemed to be hovering right beside her ears. The wooden floors here weren't soundproof, and creaking sounds could easily be heard from upstairs and downstairs, making the girl feel like a frightened bird.

After several agonizing seconds, a creaking sound came, as if the gates of heaven had opened. She was even more impatient than Zhang Honglu and pushed the door open to enter.

"How strange." Zhang Honglu walked in unhurriedly, closed the door, and said sarcastically, "This thin door, once closed, seems to bring immediate peace of mind."

"Why...why did you have to be so talkative..." Angelona snapped at him, taking out the electric lamp she had prepared and adjusting the light to the lowest setting. "But thank you for helping me anyway. As for the promised payment, I will pay you in full after I complete my mission."

Do you have that much money?

Zhang Honglu looked around and then dragged a chair over. The chair legs creaked as they dragged it across the wooden floor, startling Angelona, ​​who quickly gestured for him to be quiet.

"Shh—!! What are you doing? Why do you have to lure people here?!"

She glared at Zhang Honglu with annoyance. After warning him, seeing that he had finally stopped making a sound as he lifted the stool leg off the ground, her tone softened. "I don't have that much cash on me, but I have a bearer bond. You can take it to the bank in Fengchuisha and exchange it for money."

"Oh, I see."

Zhang Honglu sat in a chair, legs crossed, clearly a fourteen-year-old boy. The lamplight cast his shadow, yet he exuded an air of utter composure. He was practically ready to pull out a cigarette, strike a match with the sole of his shoe, and puff away in front of the girl.

Fortunately, he didn't develop that habit. He just leaned back in his chair, half-closing his eyes, watching Angelona open drawers one by one and rummage through something in the dim light.

"What if I say I don't want the money?"

“…Huh?” Angelona, ​​amidst her busy schedule, glanced at him briefly. “So, what do you want?”

“It’s a secret.” Zhang Honglu held up a finger, a mysterious smile appearing on his succubus-like face. “I’ve told you before, haven’t I? I’m an adventurer, and what I love most in my life is dealing with exciting things.”

"Otherwise, why would I go through all this trouble and get no credit for doing something that could land me in jail?"

“But… this matter is a bit too… too big for an outsider like you.” Angelona stopped what she was doing and hesitated. “Could I just tell you some things that I can tell you, so that you won’t get too involved?”

"Do not."

Zhang Honglu smiled and refused her, "Have you forgotten? I'm an adventurer. Adventure, adventure, what's the point if there's no risk at all?"

"If I'm going to listen, I want to hear the absolute truth, without the slightest bit of embellishment."

"Do you want to?"

In his dark eyes, there seemed to be a vast, unpredictable sea, churning with the wind and waves, its depths unfathomable. To meet his gaze was like plunging into the ocean, searching only for a tiny glimmer of light amidst the seaweed, whirlpools, and the crests of the waves.

Angelona swallowed hard, struggled with the decision for a long time, and finally gave in.

----

"Do you know the St. Florence Foundation? It's an economic organization established in the north. It's nominally a foundation, but in reality, it undertakes these... less-than-humane jobs."

Angelona multitasked, flipping through the documents while softly explaining, "I am just an insignificant agent in the Foundation."

"About two weeks ago, the foundation discovered that some cash flows from unknown sources had leaked out from upper-class circles in the north under different names. Colleagues in the foundation immediately began to track the whereabouts of these cash flows."

"The total amount is already in the hundreds of thousands. Moreover, the final destination of these cash flows has shocked us..."

"Wind-blown sand?" Zhang Honglu naturally guessed her purpose. "Are you sure it was the northerners who did it? Did they transport the money to this town?"

“This is a judgment made by the foundation’s senior management, and it should be correct.” Angelona frowned as she flipped through the records of goods coming in and out, and said, “Wind blows sand, and all the economic activities in this town can ultimately be attributed to one person.”

"Chuck Londonderry".

Angelona looked up at the photograph hanging on the wall.

Mayor of Windblown Sands, and also the founder of this shopping center, Chuck Londonderry.

"We pulled up this person's file and, after careful examination, discovered many suspicious points. Looking back, their family's entrepreneurial journey was like a rocket launch. My teacher suspected..."

"This mayor is likely a puppet put forward by the Sanyuan Group."

Chapter 909: Getting Rich

"His family situation is no longer verifiable, but at least 14 years ago, the Londonderry family was just an inconspicuous grocery store in the town of Windswept Sands."

"Like every small town on the western frontier, there's a general store that sells cheap liquor, cheap candy, and many other inexpensive daily necessities."

"The customers who come to buy things are all locals from this town, so we can't set the prices too high. We operate on a low-profit, high-volume model. After a month, we can barely break even and only accumulate a meager income."

"However, around 1880, as the Triumph Group further expanded its oil refining business in New Elizabeth, a huge sum of money was suddenly injected into this unremarkable grocery store. From then on, the town's economic activity became increasingly frequent."

"The small grocery store, through repeated upgrades, has become the Londonderry shopping center it is today. Every day, massive amounts of goods are transported to the city by rail. If anything seems amiss..."

"You suspect Chuck is involved in something?" Zhang Honglu smiled warmly. "Did he take money from the northerners?"

“I’m just saying it’s possible… In Fengchuisha, only he could handle such a huge cash flow so quietly.” Angelona said while flipping through the accounts of the past few months. “Frequent economic activities can certainly boost the local economy, but they can also become a fig leaf for gray industries.”

"If that's the case, things get a bit complicated..."

"How so?" Zhang Honglu asked slowly.

"As I just mentioned, we already suspected that Chuck Londonderry, the mayor of Windblown Sands, had connections with the Sanyuan Group. So, is it possible that this money flowing in from the north entered the Sanyuan Group through the shopping center's massive freight system? Could Chuck be a sly glove used by the Sanyuan Group's upper management to embezzle funds? Was his action authorized by the group's top management?"