Who?

Night deepened, but the Van der Linde Gang's meeting was still ongoing.

Half of the concrete bunkers, built in a three-point cross formation at the ranch, were submerged in the earth, and the exposed parts were also covered with soil, forming a mound shape. In fact, some shallow grass seedlings had even sprouted on these mounds recently, making the three bunkers even more concealed.

"Mr. Strauss, from now on, you will be fully responsible for the clothing store in Valentine, Strawberry. All income and various styles of goods will be under your complete charge. For safety, please bring some of our personnel for necessary protection when you go to collect money!

As for the profits from the clothing store in Rhodes and the clothing store in Saint Denis, those will be entrusted to you, Davey, and the others. You might need to be stationed near Saint Denis for a while. I think it's most suitable for you to be in charge of these funds!

Gentlemen, I have only one request: the money must be delivered completely into Mr. Strauss's hands. If you wish to spend, you also need to approach Mr. Strauss for withdrawal. I will allocate five hundred American dollars per person per month to you! And ladies, you will also have a hundred American dollars per month to spend.

Of course, these allocations will increase as our business expands, and members who complete tasks will also receive an additional allocation. So, gentlemen, ladies, follow my lead, and execute my plan, and our lives will only get better!"

This amount of money was already quite substantial. Under normal gang circumstances, one or two major robberies a month would be considered a good harvest. If lucky, a robbery could yield hundreds or even thousands of American dollars in spending money, but if unlucky, there might be no income for one or two months. On average, it was not as good as a fixed monthly expenditure of five hundred American dollars.

Moreover, the gang's model has shifted from 'the more you work, the more you eat' to 'we provide for you for free,' meaning you no longer have to worry about food, drink, housing, or clothing. These five hundred American dollars are purely for your pocket money.

So, for everyone, this was an improvement in their standard of living.

Dutch's gaze landed on Strauss, who was standing in the furthest corner.

This old fellow usually had no sense of presence, especially now that he no longer lent money, his presence was even lower.

But Dutch would not forget his loyalty to the gang, so all the money was entrusted to him for management.

This true tough guy, who could withstand severe torture and even sacrifice his life without hesitation, would surely be able to resist the corruption of money.

After all, compared to life, the temptation of money was too low.

Watching Dutch's trusting expression, Strauss, the tough guy who had not yielded to any torture, actually flushed and trembled all over.

"Du-Dutch, yes, Dutch!" Strauss nodded heavily. He felt a strong sense of honor from Dutch's trust.

This sense of honor was far stronger than the temptation of money, or rather, money didn't actually hold much temptation for him, because he had no family; only the Van der Linde Gang members were his true family. So, gaining the Van der Linde Gang's approval was truly an intoxicating feeling for him.

"Very good, gentlemen, very good! The clothing stores in Strawberry and Rhodes have already opened. Charles and Javier will be responsible for replenishing clothes to the various stores these two days. Don't forget to tell them when they return. And the clothing store in Valentine will open the day after tomorrow. As our base, Valentine's opening must make a proper splash!

Ladies, you will be responsible for renovating the Valentine clothing store these two days. I believe you can make the Valentine clothing store exceptionally beautiful!

And Hosea, go to the black market more often, old friend, and check out their arms supply routes. Also, Davey, Mac, when you eliminate the Lemoyne Raiders, ask them about their arms channels too. Arthur, take some time these two days to go to Vulture Ranch and see if Mr. Marko has any scientist classmates or friends.

Gentlemen, ladies, the clothing business is ultimately just our stepping stone. If we are merely satisfied with the profits from clothing, all the money and achievements we earn will be easily taken away by those damned senators! The mere issue of identity alone can completely crush us! Therefore, firearms are our foundation!

So, gentlemen, ladies, we cannot be satisfied with this; instead, we should continue forward!"

Dutch watched the gang members' passionate speech. The few who had just woken up were now as if injected with adrenaline; they wouldn't be able to sleep at all tonight.

Dutch's speech ended there, but the related developments were still ongoing.

----

Saint Denis, Bronte Mansion.

"Fuck!"

Accompanied by a roar, a bottle of red wine worth two hundred American dollars was violently smashed onto the floor by Signor Bronte.

Signor Martelli, standing beside him, lowered his head with a serious expression, remaining silent.

"Damn idiots! Idiots!!! Sixty men couldn't take down a few men. Are these damn Lemoyne Raiders all fools!"

Bronte's face was flushed with anger. He wished he could capture and torture to death the Lemoyne Raiders around Saint Denis.

Because Dutch and his group easily defeated fifty Lemoyne Raiders, Signor Martelli's subsequent cleanup plan also failed, which was simply intolerable!

"Damn it, these damn fools even pulled out a Maxim gun, yet they were helpless against these men! These damn pigs! Stupid pigs!"

Bronte was almost red with rage. He wasn't angry about not getting the money, but rather that these Lemoyne Raiders were helpless against the Van der Linde Gang. This result filled him with fear.

This was the reason for his fury!

Can these men even be considered human?

If these damn thugs came to ambush him, in the middle of the night, what chance would he have?

After angrily huffing a couple of times, Bronte finally calmed down.

He looked at Signor Martelli beside him and asked coldly, "Signor Martelli, did they see you?"

"No, sir," Signor Martelli replied. They were a hundred meters behind the Lemoyne Raiders at the time, watching them get knocked off their horses one by one, even their horses were killed. Sixty men couldn't last half an hour against the Van der Linde Gang members. The scene at the time truly terrified him!

Although he was Bronte's top enforcer, having risen through his fighting ability back in the day, he truly had no confidence in being able to withstand even a single move against these ruthless individuals.

Because every one of these Lemoyne Raiders was a tough person, and every one of them was also very capable in a fight, because those who couldn't fight would have long been killed by others or bullied to death by their own kind. In such a gang, everyone who remained was ruthless, daring, and not weak in ability.

But it was this group of people who, in front of the Van der Linde Gang members, were still like ordinary people, completely helpless. This was what truly terrified him!

Because the Van der Linde Gang killed Lemoyne Raiders as easily as slaughtering chickens and dogs, they would surely kill him the same way, and this was also the reason for Bronte's fear.