Dual wielding volcanoes, killing through the west

"You just said that you have something that I'm interested in and want to know, is that right?"

Simon swallowed hard and nodded repeatedly, his head practically blurring out a blur.

"Okay, I'll give you a chance, but only once."

He reached out and gently placed his hand on Simon's shoulder. This simple action made the latter tremble all over and almost paralyze with fear.

"I hope you will cherish this opportunity."

"Okay, I'll tell you everything!" Simon said as if he had been granted a get-out-of-jail-free card, afraid that his declaration of loyalty would not be loud or fast enough, lest the other party become suspicious.

“Alright, first thing.” Zhang Renfeng didn’t stand on ceremony and asked directly, “Does the Blue Shirts rebellion in Ukraine have anything to do with you?”

Chapter 928: Leather and Paint

People in dire straits only need a straw to grasp at; even if they don't know if they can reach the other side, they will struggle and thrash about desperately. Having roamed the martial world for many years, Zhang Renfeng had long since mastered this tactic.

Torture may be effective in extracting confessions, eventually yielding a statement. However, the person might want to escape the torment quickly, or they might be forced to confess under duress, producing false information. Only when they see hope and become impatient, readily revealing information like spilled beans, can they obtain genuine intelligence.

……

"Yes, yes, of course!" Simon nodded hurriedly, looking extremely nervous. "The Blue-Clad Army and our Howling Wolf Gang receive the same salary."

"The people of Ukraine are known for their fierce nature, and they have always harbored prejudices against you and your team. Based on this, they quickly assembled a group to spread rumors that you... kill without batting an eye. They also said that more than a decade ago, there was a legendary serial killer called 'Red Center,' who was very famous and resembled you, hence the nickname 'Red Calamity.'"

“Heh…haha…” Zhang Renfeng chuckled twice, his expression ambiguous. “So that’s how it got its name.”

The fact that Zhang Renfeng was equivalent to the Red Central Committee was no secret within the core circles of American politics, but to the outside world, the two were not synonymous. In particular, the name "Red Central Committee" carried vastly different, even completely opposite, reputations in different regions. The reactions to hearing this name were entirely different in the north and south.

The nickname "Red Peril" was likely passed down by someone who knew the inside story. They didn't dare to directly state that the "Red Center" of 14 years ago was now "Fat Fortune," hence the nickname "Red Peril." Coupled with tales of blood thirst and murder, they smeared Zhang Renfeng's reputation with accusations.

"What a despicable trick." After his exclamation, Zhang Renfeng shook his head, but did not get angry. He simply gave a disdainful sneer. "It's alright, go on."

"After forming their ranks, they donned blue uniforms and called themselves the 'Uxus Blue Army.' The army's equipment and logistics were provided by an organization. Their leader, Clemson, was a former member of the Northern Army. The Blue Army's goal was to reclaim the sixteen southern states of America from Red... from your hands."

"what……"

“Hahahahahaha————!!!”

Upon hearing this, Zhang Renfeng burst into laughter. His laughter instantly lightened the atmosphere in the tent, and many people echoed his laughter, which made Simon tremble with fear.

"What an ambitious Blue-Clad Army! They actually tried to kick me out." Zhang Renfeng shook his head with a smile, treating the Blue-Clad Army as a joke. "What a pity... I missed out on them. Otherwise, I would really like to have a go with this general. It's been a long time since I've fought a war."

……

"Say it again, where did you get this box of weapons?"

Simon was utterly shocked and bewildered when the dwarf sitting next to him suddenly spoke up. He prided himself on his worldly experience, but he had never seen a dwarf speak up in such a situation before.

Zhang Renfeng's eyes widened, and his voice lowered, "Answer him the same way you answered me."

“Okay, okay!” He shuddered and quickly said, “These boxes were buried somewhere beforehand. I…we are…going to the post office in Fengchuisha to retrieve a letter to ‘Uncle Martin’.”

"Inside the envelope, besides the letter used to conceal our presence, there was also a map and a sketch, which detailed the location of the treasure. Our mission was to dig it out of the ground and put it on a train carrying sand and dust, which would then take us directly north!"

"The remaining matter, there's that [Black Water Poison]... I... actually, I've only heard the name, and I don't know much about it..."

He began to stammer, ultimately because Simon's rank was far too low in this horrific arms smuggling case.

At best, he's just a black glove wearing black gloves, much like the blue-clad soldiers—disposable items, used and then discarded. His blustering demeanor in prison was all an act; even if you tried to get him to confess, he wouldn't get anything out of him.

At this point, prisoners who are no longer of any use are usually shot.

……

"How did you know we needed to go to the post office to look for this letter?"

"what?"

Igor asked a truly unexpected question, and Simon looked up, his face full of surprise.

"The person who hired you is a staunch advocate of secrecy. He wants to keep the black gloves in place layer by layer, minimizing your contact with each other."

Igor spoke calmly, both analyzing the situation and explaining it to everyone present.

“For example, these smuggled weapons can’t just be buried in the ground for no reason. They need a group of people to bury them; after they are dug up, you need to put them on the train; after they are put on the train, you need to make arrangements with the people at Fengchuisha Railway Station or other stations along the way to ensure that they are safely delivered to the north… It’s all interconnected and separate.”

"However, no matter how much secrecy is maintained, certain instructions must be given to each link in order to launch the operation."

"For example, your Howling Wolf Gang received the instruction to 'receive the letter first, then dig the ground.' My question is, how did you know about this instruction? It didn't just fall from the sky, did it?"

A moment of silence.

Simon's expression finally shifted from confusion to shock. Looking at the dwarf again, his small figure seemed like a mountain pressing down on him. He suddenly remembered the various legends about "getting rich," one of which seemed to mention... the real "getting rich" was an unassuming dwarf who was quite adept at manipulating people's hearts.

He gasped and immediately stopped being so slow.

……

"There was...there was someone who visited our camp and talked to us..."

"..."

"Go on," Zhang Renfeng said calmly, adding fuel to the fire in his heart. "What kind of person is he?"

"I……"

Simon became increasingly vague, hesitating for a long time without uttering a single word. Only when all eyes in the tent were fixed on him, as if trying to poke hundreds of holes through him, did he swallow hard and manage to say, "I don't remember."

"What?" Zhang Renfeng frowned.

"There are many characteristics that can be described, such as height, weight, gender, hairstyle, what clothes they are wearing, and whether they wear glasses."

Xiaomei spoke for the first time, her voice cold and emotionless, as if it had been cleansed of all emotion: "For you, this is a big deal. Such an important matter, such important information, and you don't remember anything?"

"I...I really tried hard to think, but...I really can't remember..."

For some reason, that person's voice, tone, and appearance, like bubbles, magically floated up from his memory and then burst with a snap.

But, in the very end, a useful piece of information finally surfaced in Simon's mind, striking him like a summer thunderclap.

The key to memory is not language, but smell.

A strong odor.

"He smelled of leather...and paint!"

Chapter 929: Red Center is White Plate, White Plate is Fortune, Fortune is Red Center

"come in."

"Yes...Okay..."

……

Upon receiving the order and stepping into the tent, Dunn's legs trembled. While not as terrified as Simon, his anxiety was far greater than that of Simon, the prisoner.

Because he was involved in the situation, or even had been involved before, he naturally knew how valuable the people sitting in this tent were.

Especially Zhang Renfeng, Yi Ge, and Xiao Mei. Over the years, the Sanyuan Group's control has gradually expanded, and its power has reached into the sixteen southern states of America. As their businesses have grown larger and larger, the three of them rarely get together in the same room anymore.

He was one of the few initial partners in the Sanyuan Group.

The new partners who join now only think about "making money," emphasizing a win-win strategy where everyone benefits. But only the old guard like Dunn know that making money is like having a blank tile, a blank tile is like having a red tile, and a red tile is like making money.

Making money with a friendly demeanor is, in essence, a disguised form of corruption, wielding a powerful and unpredictable force.

How did White Torch City come to be? It was established after he killed two generations of leaders, from the Nordlin family to the Wendigo Corporation.

Nominally, he was the mayor of White Torch City, but in reality... from the very beginning, he was a puppet mayor planted by the Red Central Gang. At first, he thought that being associated with gangsters and having to follow the lead of an unremarkable dwarf meant the Hargunda family was doomed.

But no one could have imagined that this gang, teeming with extraordinary individuals, could turn the tide so swiftly and decisively in such a short time. They played Straw Monopoly, winning and winning, until they actually won back half of America's territory.

His position as town mayor also rose with the tide, eventually becoming mayor. Not only that, Dunn's arms factory also secured numerous orders, becoming the designated weapons supplier for Morgan Communications and the Lamoine Raiders' army. With orders coming in, greenbacks poured in like snowflakes, making him incredibly wealthy.

But at this moment, these banknotes have become like sharp knives, aimed at his heart.

----

“Gentlemen, Dunn and we are old acquaintances,” Zhang Renfeng said after a moment of contemplation. “Let us speak privately.”

Those who had been sitting on either side of the tent, upon hearing this, rose without uttering a word and withdrew in unison. This powerful execution once again demonstrated Zhang Renfeng's immense power, causing Deng En to swallow hard and look apprehensive.

However, regardless of the circumstances, only four people remained in the tent, creating a sense of speaking behind closed doors. This was, to some extent, a way of saving face for Dunn. After all, he was undeniably responsible for this incident, both as the leader of the Hargunda Armed Company and the mayor of White Torch City.

The tent was still quiet, but the faint sense of oppression made him feel suffocated. He hesitated for a long time, unsure of how to speak.

……

“Mr. Hargunda,” Xiaomei spoke first, her voice lacking both hostility and warmth, addressing Dunn by his name directly.

"Yes!"

"In recent years, your armed forces company's business must have been quite profitable, right?"

“Thanks to the group’s help, my little company is still… still able to stay afloat…” Dunn’s facial muscles were almost out of control. He tried to smile, but couldn’t manage it. Cold sweat poured from his forehead. “I… I want to make something clear to the three of you…”

Seeing that none of the three spoke, Dunn could only swallow hard and continue, "The company is currently conducting an internal audit of this matter, reviewing all accounts from previous years, including whether expenses are compliant and whether goods have been delivered, etc."

"Those who participated in smuggling the ammunition out have all been arrested. As for those traced back to whoever is involved, they will be arrested immediately!"

"..."

Zhang Renfeng said calmly, "You mean to say that this matter has nothing to do with you, right?"

"Of course! This has nothing to do with...me...it has nothing to do with me! A large portion of our company's orders come from the Sanyuan Group!" Dunn quickly defended himself. "What good would it do me to betray the group and poach its employees?!"

"Besides, haven't we always been great partners? Our cooperation has always been very pleasant. Baiju City is the center of the entire New Ao State, the vibrant heart of the group! My family and business are here, how could I possibly betray them?"

……

At this moment, every second of silence felt like an invisible hand gripping his heart, threatening to crush it.

Dunn felt a tightness in his chest and shortness of breath, saw stars before his eyes, and almost fainted.

----

"I believe you."

In short, it's amazing how one can go from feeling utterly hopeless to feeling like a gentle breeze.

"call……"

Having received Zhang Renfeng's approval, he felt as if he had walked through hell and returned to the human world, letting out a long sigh of relief. He wiped his forehead again; his palms were soaked with cold sweat, and his whole body was so trembling with fear that he could barely stand.

Looking back 14 years ago, when I first met this person, I didn't think much of him and even called him "Yellow Barbarian." It's really funny to think about it now.

But in reality, Zhang Renfeng didn't trust Dunn as a person; rather, he trusted the entanglement of interests between himself and Dunn. These 14 years of development were enough to deeply bind the armed company and the Sanyuan Group together. In the eyes of the world, the former had become a vassal of the latter.

In this situation, any act of stabbing someone in the back is actually stabbing oneself. Although Dunn doesn't have any special skills, he is a competent businessman and wouldn't do something that goes against his own interests.

He might not, but it's hard to say whether his subordinates will.

He went on to report, "We also conducted unified interrogations of those who betrayed us."

"They have all confessed that they were instructed to participate in the major arms smuggling case."

"But the people they mentioned who came into contact with them and who lured them were men, women, young and old, and there were more than ten of them! Therefore, we initially speculate that the hostile force has a rather complex composition. Moreover, these people are very likely still moving around in Baiju City."

"Gordon and his team are compiling these testimonies into a wanted poster and distributing it."

"In addition, we have conducted a full inspection of Mr. Igor's residence and have not found any security issues so far."

……

Seeing that the three did not interrupt his report, Dunn secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

The fact that he was still asked to report on the situation in Baiju Town meant that, at least for now, they still recognized him as their mayor.

That's how we got through this hurdle.

Chapter 930: Killing someone by destroying their spirit?

"Ugh……"

With only the three of them left in the tent, Zhang Renfeng was finally able to open up, revealing a hint of exhaustion. He leaned back in his chair and sighed helplessly.

Half of it was the exhaustion of the journey, and the other half was that I had just disembarked and hadn't even gotten my feet on the ground before my brain was forced to work at lightning speed.

The Blue Shirts case in Ukraine and the arms smuggling case in Windblown Sands were both solved by his two sons. However, these two major cases were intricately linked, and coincidentally, they both broke out within the same month he was away at sea visiting relatives. The sinister intentions behind this were already quite clear.

The plan was to take advantage of his absence to launch a series of tests, to see how the Sanyuan Group could handle these two unexpected events, one overt and one covert. As for the Blue-Clad Army and the Howling Wolf Gang, they were merely disposable tools; the masterminds behind them certainly hadn't put much thought into them. If they succeeded, great; if not, they'd be discarded like torn black gloves.