New Gods of North America

Perhaps some things are the same no matter where you go.

For example, some local specialties might be considered amazing by outsiders, but locals might find them ordinary.

Conversely, it's sometimes similar.

Like, for Wayne, although the "Gary's Adventure" gang seemed larger in scale and theoretically more brutal, the locals seemed to hate the "Skinny Gang" more.

After Wayne and the others returned to the hotel, they asked the owner about it.

Even the hotel owner said the "Skinny Gang" deserved to die, not only because they committed many crimes locally, but also because they were rumored to abduct children.

With free labor delivered to their doorstep, and the number of people almost matching the detective agency's staff, Wayne and the others felt that something was a little unusual, but there was no reason to refuse.

After all, a dozen or so people, even if they were just puppets, could be very useful sometimes.

Moreover, their identities had been roughly confirmed from the side, not just self-proclaimed.

So everyone agreed in principle, and reminded the detectives to be careful during the cooperation, just in case.

Doug found new material and immediately used it to knock on those peripheral members.

The general idea was "If you don't do it, there are plenty of people who want to," and "Others don't even want money."

Lena was similar, embellishing a local horror story to scare Emma.

The little loli could take off her head, and she was also beating her peers in math problems.

So Emma's nerves were relatively thick in this regard. If she were in a horror movie, if she wasn't the first to die, she would probably be the type to survive to the end.

Many detectives with bounty hunter experience seemed to be used to the so-called "potentially treacherous collaborators."

In Lena's words, "Only companions have the opportunity to stab you in the back."

……

The next day, everyone officially gathered.

Wayne confirmed the number of people. Mr. Daggett's side had a total of eight people, including him. Chris's team had obviously expanded compared to the beginning, and there were ten people including him.

Plus the detective agency's members: three partners, nine detectives, four peripheral members, a chef, and a little kid.

The legendary "Skinny Gang" was said to be smaller in scale than "Gary's Adventure," estimated to be about twenty or thirty people.

But with such a rough calculation, Wayne's side now had more people in comparison.

It was really the first time fighting such a wealthy battle.

According to the bartender's information, the "Skinny Gang's" base was on the state border between Ohio and Virginia.

From where they were currently, they had to leave this county first, and then cross another county.

Since there was free labor, Wayne chose to follow the steam train line all the way, planning to turn around near the state border.

If they found traces of other gangs along the way, they would clean them up as well.

Unfortunately, this advantage was not so easy to obtain.

Some teams deliberately skipped the so-called "big gangs," not robbing "good meat" or gnawing on "bones," and advanced quickly along the steam train line, even dealing with some wanted criminals who were not in the category of "steam train robbers" along the way.

In terms of speed, Wayne and his team might already be considered relatively slow.

Often when they arrived in a town and asked, they would hear that a team had been there, giving people a feeling of "missing out on a limited sale."

Gangs are like weeds in a lawn. If you don't take care of them for a while, you can always find some unexpected gains when you clean them up.

If you miss this wave, you can only wait for the next wave.

However, those teams were fast, but they only caught a few small fries at most.

Among other people's "catches," the one with a slightly higher bounty was a theft team. They didn't use violence, and they weren't very active, but they were quite famous, with an overall package price of 500 US dollars.

Their modus operandi was a bit technical. They usually climbed onto the train, used tools to loosen the "pins" between the carriages, and moved the entire carriage away. Usually, by the time the steam train company sent someone to find the carriage, the goods inside were basically emptied.

The steam train company had also considered countermeasures, such as arranging fixed guards in the last carriage of the freight train, and having some staff patrol back and forth between the carriages.

As a result, this became the reason for the theft team's fame.

They used the ups and downs of the mountainous terrain and some railway sidings to not only successfully move a target carriage located in the "middle," but even reconnected the carriages behind it. During this time, the staff responsible for patrolling back and forth in the carriages claimed to have felt something was wrong, but in the end, it was only when they reached the terminal that people really discovered the problem.

It is said that during that time, there were always analytical articles in the newspapers studying how they did it. The newspapers even published letters from readers, which was quite popular among people who liked to ponder.

Insurance companies took the opportunity to promote a lot of business.

The process of them being caught was even more dramatic. It is said that a bounty hunter team was camping in the mountains, and one of the members was idle and climbed a tree when the sun went down but it wasn't completely dark, sitting there blowing the wind and waiting for the food to cook.

Then, "Huh? What are those two people doing between the carriages of a moving freight train?"

Then they waited for the rabbit and caught them red-handed.

Wayne and the others also heard about this today while camping on the county border, when they happened to meet a few mounted police officers. So while waiting for the chef to cook, they chatted and heard them talk about it.

The configuration here was relatively higher. The mounted police officers were in groups of four, with two carriages and four horses.

That is, the town's治安官 Daggett was also in the team. Otherwise, for safety reasons, the mounted police officers probably would never dare to mix with this team of more than thirty unfamiliar bounty hunters.

Wayne was a little surprised to see a mounted police officer sharing his commercial cigarette with Mr. Daggett, feeling that they should be quite familiar with each other.

The detective agency didn't prepare much wine during work trips. If the detectives wanted to drink, they had to bring their own.

Chris and Mr. Daggett's team both had some barrels, which wasn't enough for a big drink, but it was enough for everyone to have a small drink for a while.

Today, everyone happened to have hunted two white-tailed deer. Chef Parker skillfully skinned and cut them into pieces, and used the pots of several teams, all steaming hot.

Everyone sat around the campfire in a circle. Those who drank wine used their own drinking utensils to fill it, which was almost like a simple outdoor pub.

Contrary to what many people think, barbecue is actually a relatively troublesome and wasteful thing for professionals with long-term outdoor camping experience.

It not only consumes the fat of the meat during the cooking process, but also requires more attention, energy, and more fuel, and the portion will shrink.

Even if you really have to barbecue because there are no other tools, for larger animals, professionals usually cut off the cooked meat on the outside while grilling, and rarely cook it all before eating it together.

Boiling is very convenient. You just put up the pot and throw in the meat. If possible, add some seasoning. As long as you make sure the fire doesn't go out, you basically don't have to spend manpower to keep an eye on it.

The lit fire can cook everything thoroughly, whether it's big or small, and the cooking action can be fast or slow without burning it. And there is also soup, which can be used to soak hard bread.

So for so many people's dinner, the chef mainly responsible for the stewing part.

As for those who want to eat barbecue, they have to cut the meat themselves like Wayne, and then sharpen a tree branch with a forked head to grill it themselves.

The sliced meat cooks faster. Wayne took a plate to hold it, sprinkled it with seasoning, and then divided it into small pieces with a dagger. He picked a piece for himself, and let everyone pass the rest to each other.

The detectives now had experience, and basically kept away from Wayne's seasoned barbecue. Before eating it, they often confirmed whether it had been sprinkled with holy water, but in most cases, there was no need to ask.

Therefore, the plate turned very quickly at the beginning. The detectives almost passed it directly to the side after receiving it. The people who ate it didn't have any strange reactions. A mounted police officer politely praised Wayne's craftsmanship.

Then the boiled meat was served, and everyone passed the plate in turn. Those who were already hungry could go and serve themselves.

The amount of meat was enough, and as everyone ate, their speed slowed down and they began to continue chatting.

A mounted police officer took a sip of wine to slow down:

Are you planning to cross the next county to the state border? Although you are probably going for the gangs, you may have to pay a little attention at that time. Some towns in that area have a bad reputation. If you catch bandits, it is best to bring them back and exchange them for bounties. Lest they say they were hanged, but after a while, they are sighted again.

"There will be this kind of thing?" Wayne asked.

"More than once," another mounted police officer took over, "Even the 'Skinny' Charlie of the Skinny Gang has been 'hanged' twice. Once, he even retaliated against a small landlord in their town and kidnapped his youngest son."

Um……

Wayne thought of the information the bartender gave earlier, which mentioned that some治安官 in the counties near the state border had dealings with the "Skinny Gang."

But this is too outrageous, right? The townspeople can tolerate this?

The previous mounted police officer seemed to think for a while, "Mr. Daggett, I remember that your town seemed to have dealt with 'Skinny' Charlie before? It is said that many townspeople were killed or injured?"

Mr. Daggett nodded slightly, "I am going with you this time to deal with him together."

"No wonder you gathered so many people."

The mounted police officer looked enlightened, "I heard that 'Skinny' Charlie is a slippery guy. If he can't beat him, he will surrender immediately. We law enforcement officers shouldn't execute prisoners privately. If we catch him again, it's best to bring him back to our county for processing, and we can't let him run away again."