Valentine

The young general beat the Korean capitalists until they cried and begged for mercy. Anyone who was invited for a cup of tea would immediately issue a statement that very night, fully supporting all of his activities.

The same was true for Camille.

She would drink enough tea at Bronte Manor, then obediently listen and become a loyal lackey of Van der Linde.

To capitalists, or rather, the powerful and influential, Van der Linde was undoubtedly a detestable, terrifying, and furiously antagonistic damned criminal, a despicable and shameless bandit.

But to the American people, Van der Linde was truly the only God in America right now!

"Choo-Choo-Choo-Choo..."

The train's whistle sounded at Valentine Train Station, accompanied by ground vibrations and the train's roar. A train, almost endless in length, quickly approached from a distance, drawing the attention of the people within Valentine.

Valentine was now much more prosperous than before.

Valentine's streets, which had been greatly expanded, now had three more. Each street was bustling with people, and the various shops lining the streets were filled with lively chatter.

In the past, buying things was a luxury only for the middle class, but now, every household in Valentine could afford to buy things. With money in their hands, they no longer cared about their meager savings as they once did. Instead, they bought what they wanted to eat and acquired what they wanted to wear.

Pedestrians strolled along the streets, and the continuous sounds of laughter and revelry from the taverns could be heard from afar.

Next to the tavern was a snooker hall opened by Van der Linde for people to play. Because playing billiards was free and only drinks and cigarettes cost money, this place attracted a large crowd.

In the newly renovated Veteran Club next door, veterans would occasionally run out, call three or five friends for a game of Van der Linde's billiards, and then go join Van der Linde.

At the street corner, selling newspapers was no longer done by children; now, it was entirely handled by disabled veterans. Van der Linde even built small wooden newsstands specifically for them, where they could not only sell newspapers but also some drinks and tobacco. Most importantly, it gave them a place to sit.

As for the children from before, those with families had all been sent to school, and orphans were taken in and registered by the Van der Linde Orphanage, given Valentine residency, and sent to school.

These people would all be Van der Linde's workers in the future, so of course, he would treat them well.

Occasionally, women would rush by on the street, carrying lunchboxes and hurrying towards the school.

They were going to deliver meals to their children in school. Although Van der Linde provided food and lodging, they weren't too keen on it. Van der Linde was already taking care of their whole family; if he also paid for schooling, wouldn't that be a pure loss?

They didn't care about this bit of money now, so most people would send meals to their children to avoid troubling Van der Linde.

At the entrance of the tavern, a large crowd was gathered, listening to a man with a red book delivering a loud speech under the tavern's eaves.

"Van der Linde said that the situation within America is not actually complicated; it's simply two classes: capital and the exploited people.

However, solving this problem is very difficult because American capital has deeply infiltrated its very bones..."

The man's speech was passionate and his words extolled Van der Linde and the book in his hand to an unparalleled degree. With each sentence he spoke, the surrounding crowd became excited, each holding their red book and comparing it to the words to learn to read, and to grasp Van der Linde's spiritual essence and noble beliefs.

And as the train slowly arrived, it attracted the attention of groups of people around Valentine Train Station.

"Hey, it's Van der Linde's private train. The people from Blackwater must be coming over!"

"Wow, our Valentine is really going to develop into a city! This is great, I never thought my decision not to go east back then was truly correct!"

"Quick, make way, the police are here!"

As the train arrived, groups of police officers in brand new uniforms drove up in carriages from a distance.

Although these were all police officers, in reality, they were all Van der Linde's gunmen. Compared to the public's previous dislike for police officers, they now genuinely respected them.

Because they would not oppress the public with their authority like previous officers, but truly maintained the safety of Valentine, not taking a single needle or thread from the people, giving them a great sense of security and trust.

The increase in Valentine's happiness index and the change in police officers must account for a part of it.

Both sides of Valentine Train Station were packed with people who had gathered after hearing the commotion. The currently high sense of security and happiness index within Valentine made these people start to enjoy watching the excitement.

As the long train gradually approached, these groups of people even cheered enthusiastically.

"Woohoo! Van der Linde is back!"

"Yes, and he's bringing the Blackwater people back!"

"Van der Linde is truly great, that red book is simply a classic, a profound truth, the only guiding light in my life!"

And as they cheered excitedly watching the train, the Blackwater residents inside the train, filled with apprehension, were also secretly peeking out through the train's crevices.

Looking out from the train, it was simply a sea of people. Both sides of the entire train track were surrounded by people, all smiling, laughing and chatting while eagerly watching the train carriages.

But that wasn't important. What was important was that these people were all wearing clothes that, while not exquisite, were clearly of good quality. Their complexions were also completely different from those of the Blackwater residents, who were sallow, sickly, and malnourished. Instead, their faces were rosy and radiant, and although not obese, they clearly had some flesh, indicating they must have eaten well!

Most importantly, the scale of this Valentine city and the buildings on both sides of the road shocked these Blackwater people to the extreme.

"Damn it, is that a school? Valentine First School? Oh, sh*t! I thought it was just a rumor when I heard Valentine was building a school!"

"Oh, is this Valentine? I once came to Valentine, but the Valentine I saw was not like this at all! My God, why are there so many people and police?"

"Oh my god, are those kids going to school? Oh my god! Look, quick, look, even those old guys with missing limbs and limps have jobs? And they're selling newspapers!

Look at what they're wearing, oh, they're all wearing such good clothes! My goodness, that outfit must be at least twenty dollars!"

Only a few people inside the train could see the outside situation. They pressed against the train's wall, reporting the outside situation to others.

But even seeing just these few glimpses had already shocked them immensely!

Damn, this Valentine looked like a dream city from a fairy tale!

The streets were very clean, no one littered, everyone was well-dressed, and their faces were full of smiles, clearly living carefree lives.

This was Valentine? Where had they been brought?

The train instantly became chaotic. A crowd was packed so tightly they couldn't move, only able to discuss, ask questions, and nervously try to get more information about the outside, or receive reassuring news from their companions.