What is a cowboy?
Free, unruly, an outlaw of the West, a duelist with an ancient sense of honor.
Of course, this is all Dutch's own description. In Tariq's official documents, a cowboy is defined as an "unemployed vagrant who illegally possesses weapons, has extremely weak legal awareness, whose moral quality needs to be improved, who is also violent, incapable of working, and has no willingness to work."
In short, a street runner.
"John, do you really think that embroidered cowhide hat of yours qualifies as a cowboy look?"
A black Ara thoroughbred horse lurked in the woods. A middle-aged man holding a low-quality cigarette and blowing out acrid smoke rings mockingly said to the cowboy on the side: "Oh look, the great Sir John Marston not only has With superb marksmanship, a smart brain and a cute hat embroidered with azaleas, this is truly a model for our cowboy industry.”
"Micah, if you want your mouth and ass to use the same conduit, I don't mind if you continue to insult the hat and me."
In the dense forest, the strong Tukuma under the man's crotch was slapping mosquitoes with its tail in all boredom. Wearing an embroidered hat, he stared indifferently at the man named Micah, and warned in a hoarse cigarette voice: "This operation is related to the life of my child, Micah, you'd better not do what you did last time." Act recklessly like that and mess everything up.”
"That's better than you cowering like a pussy."
As a late outlaw who joined the Van der Linde gang, Micah always used that disgusting "I was just kidding" look when dealing with others. Just as he was about to continue mocking the embroidered cowboy hat, Arthur's voice sounded from behind him.
"If you want to fight Detective Pinkerton alone, then get out of here."
Micah suddenly froze when he heard Arthur's voice. He raised his hands, with a joking and frivolous look on his face, and joked to Arthur behind him: "I thought your sense of humor was better than this kid who almost died on the snowy mountain, but it seems I was overthinking it. "
Arthur glanced at Micah and said nothing. He didn't have any affection for this desperado with an extremely abnormal mind. He was a crazy, bitter, mean and shameless person, but he had a head full of crazy plans, and these plans were like chips for gamblers, harvesting for the Vanderlin Gang. He made a lot of wealth, which also made Micah the favorite of the leader Dutch.
Of course, Arthur didn't care about this either. Micah may have to take action to please the leader Dutch, but Dutch and even the entire Vanderlin gang cannot do without him. After all, Arthur is the only being here who can compete with demigod-level professionals. In countless critical moments of life and death, it was Arthur who turned the tide and saved everyone.
"Listen to me, we're a team and there's no need for this."
At this moment, the leader of the gang, Vanderlin Dutch, slowly walked out from the side. He was wearing a "two-color tuxedo" of mismatched colors and carrying a full supply of firearms and ammunition, which made him look very nondescript. He seemed very satisfied with his gentlemanly behavior and said to Micah: "This time we are doing it for little Jack and the whole of Vanderlin. Micah, you'd better keep your mouth shut."
"Okay, okay, it's just a joke, anyone can afford it."
Micah pressed his hand, laughed indifferently, held the reins and stopped talking. John is not as outgoing as other cowboys. He is somewhat similar to Arthur Morgan, gloomy but with a bit of an endearing demeanor. He pulled the reins, turned his head, and said to Dutch:
"Daqi, I only want the medicine for this operation, and I'll give the rest to the gang."
"No, no, my child, you still have a family. Abby and little Jack are the ones who need to eat. Our robbery this time is a normal one. There is no need for you to have a psychological burden."
Dutch patted John on the shoulder, and a generous smile appeared on his rough face: "This time my idea is perfect. Don't worry, this will be a new step in the re-emergence of our Vanderlin Gang."
"As you said, the Vanderlyn Gang will rise again."
Micah on the side was just the right amount of flattery, not annoying, but also gratifying to Dutch. Dutch smiled, then spread out the scroll map and said to everyone: "I have calculated it. We will rush into the weapons store at three o'clock. Micah controls the owner of the weapons store, and I will punish the illegal gambling money." One moment. Ten minutes later, John and Arthur used black powder to blast open the wall of the underground casino on time. We rushed into the medicine convoy that had just been replenished, took away everything we could see, and then separated."
Handing the black powder to Arthur from his pocket, Dutch asked with a smile: "You used too much black powder last time, can you control it this time?"
"I don't necessarily."
Arthur took the black powder, shrugged, and pointed at John, "But he can."
"Okay, that's fine."
Dutch nodded. He tightened the reins in his hands, took a deep breath, and then let out a low groan.
"Set off!"
Arthur flicked the reins, and the red half-breed horse neighed and began to gallop towards Strawberry Town, not far away. He leaned over the horse and skillfully pulled the scarf around his neck over his face, hiding his face.
Strawberry Town is a remote town in the western region, which was once famous for its rich strawberries. But a rare blizzard in a century destroyed all the farms here, and the originally prosperous Strawberry Town suddenly fell into decline. The people in the town could only rely on stealing carriages or doing some shady businesses.
As for why Tariq does not provide relief funds to these people, there is only one reason.
The West does not belong to any country.
This is a world where wildness and chaos coexist. The Tarik people, who have lived in a warm cradle since childhood, cannot understand why some people would resist order and resist a great and civilized country.
Yellow sand, tumbleweeds, and endless wildlife. These rugged yet unique landscapes make the West a unique destination. At the same time, those infected with ore disease are everywhere and lurking in the shadows, staring with greedy eyes, constantly looking for prey.
The cowboys galloped through the yellow sand, carrying long guns on their backs, and the standard Tarik revolvers in the pistol holsters at their waists. These pistols can materialize the professional abilities of cowboys into bullets and then shoot them out. These backward products smuggled from the black market are the means by which these people make a living.
Soon, under the dark sky, four cowboys wearing turbans entered this decaying old town. Facing these uninvited guests, the townspeople whose faces were numb, disabled or sick simply moved their bodies to avoid these people's horses, and then continued to sit there indifferently.
Cowboys are the masters of the West.
"right here."
The horses stopped in front of the luxuriously decorated wooden house. Dutch twisted his neck and said to everyone: "The only rich man in Strawberry Town, Cam Slater. If my guess is correct, he is currently maintaining that horse." My beloved Tariq II pistol, that toy is selling like crazy on the black market.”
"I think this kind of good thing should be given to someone who deserves it, for example, the master of a gang."
Micah's goatee trembled. He looked at the building sinisterly and said with a ferocious smile: "Of course, I still remember that this beast once beat me with a stick because I stole his bullets."
"Follow the plan and don't act rashly."
Arthur glanced at Micah indifferently, gave a warning, and then got off his horse. The horses were tied to the posts as usual and then waited for the others.
After everyone placed the horses in specific positions, Arthur Morgan walked to the door of the weapons store. He first took out a thick pile of cloth and put it in his hand, then opened the door.
"welcome…"
The standard pistol under gun oil has a metallic beauty. It was his son's tenth birthday gift. When he heard the ringing of wind chimes, the owner of the weapons shop raised his head. Just when he was about to say welcome as always, he suddenly noticed that these people's hands had been leaning on the holsters on their waists.
The visitor is not good!
Without any hesitation, the Western instinct made Cam directly raise his pistol. However, just when he was about to pull the trigger, he suddenly saw that the originally blue eyes of the tall leading man were covered by a layer of dark and hot abyss fire.
Dead eyes.
Everything slowed down, and Arthur could clearly see that the boss' finger on the trigger slowly moved back. His eyes were full of horror, and the bullets that were shot down beside him slowly fell towards the ground. The time in this world seems to have been pressed on the delay button, slow and stagnant.
Arthur put a thick piece of cloth in front of the gun's muzzle, and he calmly raised the pistol wrapped in thick cloth. Aim and fire.
Boom!
With a muffled sound, Cam's pistol was suddenly penetrated by a bullet and fell to the ground. Cam didn't even see Arthur's action of raising the gun. He clutched his wrist that was broken by the huge momentum and fell to the ground in pain. For a while, even the strength to call for help was gone. Arthur took out the hemp rope, stepped forward, tied Cam's hands and feet, stuffed a piece of cotton cloth into his mouth and put it aside.
"Your kindness ruined a perfect pistol. If you hit his right hand,..."
Micah started to ramble on to the side, but before he could finish his words, Arthur's indifferent and indifferent look silenced him. He clicked his tongue, walked up to Cam and kicked him hard in the chest, then sat carelessly on top of him, holding the gun down and looking around.
"I'll go first."
Arthur didn't pay attention to Micah. He took out the black powder and threw it to John, and they walked into the basement together. Dutch looked at the damaged pistol with a flash of pity in his eyes. He shrugged and went upstairs to search for anything he could find.
The basement is an ordinary storage room. Apart from a pile of vegetables, there are only two hanging sticks of bacon. Looking at the messy dishes in front of him, John frowned and said with some confusion: "This...there's nothing."
"The pickles around me are like decorations, and the soil under my feet is still wet."
Arthur leaned over and touched the slightly moist soil. He stretched out his hand and touched a handful on the vegetable shelf nearby, and thick dust fell down. He looked around, and the fire of the abyss flashed in his eyes. Then he walked under the two hanging pieces of bacon and kicked the shelf full of food in front of him.
"Actually, this thing should have a mechanism."
After Arthur kicked open the shelf, a huge gaming table and a pile of scattered chairs came into view. John was stunned for a moment, then nodded and followed Arthur into the underground casino.
"This is it."
In a corner of the underground casino, Arthur found traces of the dome. This kind of round cover is usually the original sewer of the old city. Later, Tariq renovated the sewer facilities due to the accumulation of water, and this sewer was abandoned and closed. Later, some people relied on some connections to build an underground market in an underground air raid shelter, and these old sewers led to those markets.
Following Arthur's instructions, John began to rub the dome that was sealed with special cement. After accurately measuring the amount, John spread the black powder evenly around it, then stuck the fuse on it and slowly pulled it back.
*******************************
"Other than you, Yin Jue, I can't think of anyone else in this world who can establish an underground market in Tariq."
In the Tower of Silver, the main church of the Commercial Church, Yin Jue squinted at the uninvited guest in front of him with a faint smile on his face.
Zhou Li patted the high-grade leather seat under him, looked at the surrounding furnishings, and said with emotion: "Damn it, the speed at which your church makes money really makes me jealous, otherwise you let me help you , let’s make a lot of money in the name of the brave, I’m not greedy, I’ll take 30%.”
"Is the reputation of the brave man worth only 30%?"
Yinjue looked at Zhou Li with a smile, and a magnetic voice sounded in the office,
"Yes, 30% interest. You are relying on my name to make money and you are not allowed to give me 30% interest?"
Zhou Litian said this shamelessly, and Yin Jue was not angry. He kept his faint smile and joked: "You are really a genius in mathematics. It seems that you have adapted to this world very well."
“Mainly relying on help from others.”
Zhou Li looked at the calm Yin Jue in front of him and said with a smile: "There are two people who have helped me the most."
"Oh, who is it?"
Yinjue raised his eyebrows and asked curiously.
"It's not your parents anyway."
Zhou Li looked at the man in front of him whose father and mother died from gambling, and said this with a smile.
Yinjue was stunned for a moment, but when he came to his senses, he was not embarrassed. Yin Jue leaned on the back of his chair, looked at Zhou Li, and said calmly: "Master Brave, you and I have no enmity, why do you need to provoke confrontation?"
Hearing this, Zhou Li suddenly looked serious. He looked around, leaned closer, and whispered, "To be honest, someone actually forced me to do this."
"Um?"
Yinjue was stunned for a moment. At this moment, countless rumors about those things flashed in his mind. He immediately cheered up, looked at Zhou Li, frowned, and asked in a low voice, "I wonder who dares to force Lord Brave to provoke a dispute?"
Zhou Li pondered for a moment, then raised his head and said sincerely:
"It's not your parents anyway."
(End of chapter)
