Dual wielding volcanoes, killing through the west

After saying this, Zhang Renfeng lowered his head slightly, his expression hardening, and began to circulate his internal energy.

In recent years, as his martial arts skills have become more and more profound, he has rarely shown his skills in front of others. Even his closest wolf companion is unaware of his current state.

At this moment, he suddenly unleashed his power, and his powerful internal energy erupted from his body like waves, echoing in the empty cave. Before he could even transmit his power, his hair was already standing on end.

But his expression showed no anger whatsoever; instead, it remained as calm as ever.

He has long since passed the stage where he needed to rely on anger to guide his power.

Formless and shapeless, he simply circulated his internal energy like breathing, naturally lifting his hair as the inner force gushed from the top of his head, making him appear like an immortal.

"Sit down," Zhang Renfeng said softly. "Cross your legs."

"Raise your hands."

Overwhelmed by his divine power, I vaguely felt that I and he were two different beings. I dared not be negligent and immediately sat down cross-legged, obediently raising both hands as he instructed, fingers spread, palms facing him.

"It's okay, don't be nervous, it will hurt a little..."

Zhang Renfeng gently comforted her, "It will be over soon."

Before he finished speaking, he reversed the flow of the [Northern Darkness Profound Art], circulating his vast internal energy throughout his body and channeling it into his palms!

"boom------!!"

Palms facing each other.

"Ugh... Ahhhhhhhh!!!"

Yin felt as if a scorching little sun was being scalded into her body through his palm. In an instant, it felt as if it were burning her limbs, internal organs, and meridians to ashes, and she couldn't help but scream out in alarm.

"hold onto."

The wolf walked behind her, sat down cross-legged, and, also channeling his inner energy, let out a soft shout and struck her back with both palms.

Ramakrishna's internal energy flowed into her body through her back.

The couple, with their two opposing forces, made Yin feel like a snow lion facing the warm sun, as if she were about to melt into water.

Just as he was in a daze, a popping sound suddenly came from his body, and milky white steam, like a ribbon, gushed out from his body!

Chapter 948: Stress Test

"Oh..."

Inside the hidden chamber, a series of bottles and jars were scattered on the stone table, along with several different "face masks".

At first glance, they look as if they were peeled directly off a human body, with very three-dimensional facial features. Each face bears some resemblance to one's own, yet there are subtle differences.

If this scene were shown without filters in a horror movie, it would be classified as restricted and unsuitable for children.

Moreover, even someone as worldly-wise as Igor couldn't help but be startled in real life.

"Crack!"

"Crack!"

"Crack!"

……

A person of similar height, whose gender was indistinguishable, sat at a stone table in the secret chamber, her back to Igor, her right hand holding a knife, constantly whittling a piece of wood. Large pieces of wood shavings were shaved off and scattered around the stone table; it was unclear what shape she intended to carve the wood into.

"Hey~~~~ It's you..."

Hearing footsteps, Yin turned around. Her face was covered in various substances, obscuring her true features. But her gaze was incredibly sharp; she didn't look down on Ego because he was a dwarf. On the contrary, she scrutinized him intently from head to toe, repeatedly, as if trying to memorize his features.

"That's right, it must have been really tough on you to put on that not-so-good-looking, comical face," Igor said with a slightly self-deprecating laugh. "Thanks for your hard work."

Regarding Yin, Ego only knew of her existence and that she possessed unparalleled skills in disguise. Beyond that, the two had virtually no interaction. Unlike Ren and the others, Yin wasn't considered part of the group. After completing her mission to impersonate Abby Gray, she essentially retired from the world of martial arts.

If it weren't for this sudden assassination attempt, these two people might never have had any chance to meet in their entire lives.

"Why are you only arriving now?" Yin's tone was somewhat dissatisfied. "I was supposed to have three days to imitate your movements, but now I only have one and a half days."

"Is it too late?"

"It'll be very rushed. With so little time, I'll be lucky if I can even imitate you to about 70-80% accuracy." Although Yin complained, she had already started staring at him intently. "Speaking of which, I only need to impersonate you at the banquet a day and a half from now, and that'll be it, right?"

"Exactly."

"Sigh..." Upon hearing the answer, Yin sighed.

“The dinner will only last one or two hours,” Igor reassured him. “It’s not long, just hang in there a little longer…”

"It's not a matter of how long it takes. Normally, mealtime is when a person is most relaxed. If we use a painting as an analogy, this time is a person's 'underlying color,' revealing their most authentic side, which is also the most difficult to imitate..."

"Normally, if there were enough time, we would take it slow, but now we can't slow down even if we want to."

She somehow managed to pull out a bottle of sake from some hidden corner and poured herself a small cup. It wasn't even really "drinking"; she just gulped it down, making a "pfft" sound like an old man. Then she took out a stack of dried squid and handed it to Igor.

"Eat?"

So that's it. She wants me to eat right in front of her so she can mimic my actions...

"Then I won't be polite."

Igor took the dried squid, took a bite, and the taste was truly unappealing. Besides being hard and salty, he couldn't taste anything else, and it didn't satisfy his discerning palate at all. But even so, he went against his conscience and praised, "It's a very good flavor."

"Haha, what nonsense." Yin saw through his pretense immediately and said with a laugh, "It tastes awful."

“Uh…” Igor was taken aback, thinking to himself that this girl was really hard to please.

"But there's nothing I can do about it. Only my father knows how to make authentic grilled squid. He used to make it for me a lot when I was little. He'd skewer it on a bamboo stick, grill it over a fire for a bit, then sprinkle some seasoning on it... The squid tentacles would be singed by the fire, releasing a fragrant aroma, and they'd naturally curl up, crackling and popping..."

"But after I came here, no one knew how to make grilled dried squid anymore. Even people who eat squid are very rare, so I had to make it myself."

She held up the dried squid and waved it in front of Igor. Although Igor couldn't see her expression clearly, he could vaguely discern the appearance of a charming young girl from the details of this small gesture.

"As you can see, my skills are only good enough to produce half-baked stuff like this."

“But even so, I still want to eat dried squid… Now, this is the only connection I have with my father.”

"What about you?"

Yin changed the subject abruptly, asking with a smile, "Do you and your father have any unforgettable bond?"

Igor paused slightly, looked up, and stared at her in disbelief.

But Yin didn't seem inclined to explain, like a curious child waiting for his answer.

"Why?" Igor didn't follow her line of reasoning. "You know perfectly well, don't you?"

"Yes, of course I know~~~ It seems that... apart from your uncle, who escaped to Mexico through the secret passage, all the other people with the surname Zolael were wiped out by the Red Center Gang in that battle... Oh, right, we should also exclude your father. He wasn't killed, but walked into the Zolael family home that was set on fire, and they were all burned to ashes."

"You didn't kill your father, but likewise, you didn't save him either."

Yin swung her legs casually and asked, "I'm just curious, how exactly do you define this matter?"

"Is it about justice, or revenge?"

……

"Between Hector and me, we were first enemies, then rivals, then partners in the same gang who used each other... As for 'father and son,' that came after all other identities."

"Why?" Yin continued, "Are you his illegitimate child?"

“Worse,” Igor laughed self-deprecatingly. “I’m a dwarf.”

“Before I even realized it, he had tried to kill me more than once… but for various reasons, I was lucky enough to survive,” Igor said in a deep voice. “If he had the chance, he would have done the same thing to me.”

"He was just the most ruthless, cunning, and cruel of all the enemies I've encountered in my life. This enemy once existed and controlled my life, but he's no longer here. That's all I see him as."

……

Yin finally got a satisfactory answer and smiled as she extended her hand to him.

"Are you asking this question on purpose to test my stress response?" Igor had already guessed her trick and said with a smile, "Should I act a little more emotional?"

“There’s no need for that. That was your most genuine reaction. You’re actually much smarter than they say.”

Yin shook his head, abandoning his previous frivolous attitude, and introduced himself for the first time, "I am Toyama Ye Yin."

“Hello.” Igor smiled back and shook her hand. “Igorinacio Zolael.”

"It is my honor to work with you."

Chapter 949: Execute First, Report Later, Act Expediently

"Father, if they're after Mr. Igor, what about his family? Could they be in danger too?"

Of the three brothers, only Zhang Wusheng raised this question after hearing the whole story, which surprised Zhang Renfeng.

"Based on the intelligence we have intercepted so far, all the assassination attempts were targeted at Igor himself, and his family was not mentioned."

He nodded and then said, "However, Wu Sheng's concerns are not without merit. We still need to be vigilant. We have increased the number of plainclothes patrols, night patrols, and sentries around his home. The posts are set up in a relatively concealed manner, and we keep a close watch on him 24 hours a day, just in case."

The Pearl Shell Restaurant, formerly known as the Nordlin Hotel, perhaps has some inexplicable connection with Zhang Renfeng.

Here, 16 years ago, in Zhang Renfeng's first year in this country, it witnessed an assassination attempt against the Nordlin family.

Calling it an "assassination" might not be entirely accurate... In any case, Zhang Renfeng at the time was still consumed by raging anger. For 25 cents, he slaughtered the Nordlin family, who dominated White Torch Town, turning this once-prominent family into dust.

From then on, the name of Red Center began to resound throughout the West. The Nordlin Hotel entered a period of decline; without the Nordlin family's support, its name went from being revered to being a cursed object of contempt. The hotel owner sold it, and after changing hands several times, it became the Pearl Shell Restaurant.

During Wendigo's two years as mayor, the Pearl Shell Restaurant showed no signs of improvement.

Until the Red China Gang returned like lightning and turned the town into their base, building it up bit by bit from scratch. The town's residents gradually became wealthier, with money and leisure time, which spurred a series of industries, including the catering industry.

Over the past 14 years, Baiju Town has developed into Baiju City, and most of the shops in the town have seized the opportunity to grow and prosper, including Pearl Shell Restaurant.

Due to certain complex commemorative significance, Zhang Renfeng was quite fond of this restaurant, and some of his larger banquets and feasts were held here.

At the pinnacle of power in the entire New Orleans, even the slightest hint of favor from him would have a tremendous impact on the lower levels, let alone such blatant favoritism. As a result, the restaurant once again transformed into a near-exclusive dining venue for the Sanyuan Group, and gradually, the days it was open to ordinary households became less frequent.

And now, perhaps by fate, another assassination attempt is about to take place in this luxurious restaurant.

It is aimed at the most powerful families in the entire state of New Orleans, and even in the entire southern America.

……

"Father, who exactly wants to kill Mr. Igor?" Zhang Lvjiu asked.

"Is that even a question? Green Wine, of course, refers to those so-called big capital groups in the North." Zhang Honglu sneered. "The Atlantic Federation Industrial Group and the Krenzikov Industrial Group have been inseparable for so many years."

"The Blue Shirts' rebellion, the arms smuggling case, and this assassination attempt... In my opinion, it's all the work of these people behind the scenes. The Howling Wolf Gang leader I caught confessed that they were paid by the Northerners to be used as cannon fodder."

“If it really is the capital groups in the north backing us up, then… I’m afraid there will be a next time, and the time after that.” Zhang Wusheng leaned on his cane, his brows furrowed, and said in a deep voice, “As long as there’s money, there will always be people willing to do the dirty work for them.”

Moreover, the targets of the crackdown will definitely become wider and wider—he didn't say these words out loud, but just silently thought about them in his mind.

“I have to be present at the entire dinner party. Their plan states that a person codenamed ‘Petrified Stone’ will remain at the party to monitor the situation. Their assassination operation will be initiated with a signal from this ‘Petrified Stone’.”

"The idea is to lure the snake out of its hole. If I weren't there, perhaps that cunning snake would realize it's been tricked and abandon its plan, retreating back into its hole! That would be bad!"

Zhang Renfeng's tone was extremely serious, "Once they go back into hiding, who knows when we'll catch them. We must uproot these assassins from the ground before they cause any damage!"

"Father's meaning, could it be..." Zhang Honglu realized something, and his tone became eager.

"This matter remains highly confidential. The fewer people who know about it, the better for us. The arms smuggling case... pains me, but it also makes me realize that our internal structure is far from monolithic."

"The same applies to any group. When there are ten people, they are usually the easiest to manage. A thousand, ten thousand, or even a hundred thousand people are completely different concepts... When there are many people, everyone has their own agenda, and you can't hold your fist tightly. It will be leaky from all sides."

Zhang Renfeng's gaze swept over his three sons in turn, and he said earnestly, "Green wine, red stove."

“You are all my sons, and I have been teaching you martial arts for some time now. I can’t leave, but you can.”

"According to their plan, a sniper and an observer would be stationed on each of the buildings on the west and north sides. On the rooftop about fifty meters away from the two buildings, there would also be an observer watching the two snipers. If the sniping failed, a signal would be given to announce the failure of the first phase of the assassination operation."

"We already know the time, the place, the number of people... even what kind of guns and bullets they will use."

"I need someone to take care of those two snipers. It has to be quick, ruthless, and a one-shot kill. We can't let them fire a single shot. Otherwise, we'll just alert them."

Zhang Lvjiu and Zhang Honglu, upon hearing this, rubbed their hands together, eager to try their hand at it.

Ultimately, compared to this, the Blue-Clad Army and the arms case were just minor skirmishes, mere practice. This was Zhang Renfeng's first official mission for them—protecting the head of the Sanyuan Group! Its importance far surpassed any of the previous petty tricks.

“Father, don’t worry.” Even the usually composed Zhang Lüjiu’s voice trembled with excitement at this moment. “We will definitely complete the mission and will not let you down.”

“Okay.” Zhang Renfeng nodded and continued, “On the day of the banquet, Mesalia will be in charge of traffic control, security, and all actions involving force in the entire city of White Torch. In case of any conflict with your actions, she is the highest executive officer, and her final decision shall prevail.”

"Sister Xiaomei?" Zhang Honglu asked with a hint of surprise.

"..." Zhang Wusheng turned slightly to the side and gave him a meaningful look.