A man of honor

"Mr. Davey, if you were in my shoes, having gone through everything I have, I believe you would have the same thoughts.

The hardest thing in life isn't striving, but letting go.

Looking back on my life, it was completely ruined by these two words. High society, power, and wealth clouded my vision, making me unable to see my own heart clearly.

Flattering superiors, oppressing inferiors, betraying friends for personal gain, committing all sorts of evil… I was always dominated by my desires, pushing myself to the highest position in Saint Denis!

But, it's lonely at the top. I gained wealth and status, but at the same time, I lost the most important things: a heart that could enjoy life and the identity to do so.

For twenty years, I never slept soundly. For twenty years, I had constant nightmares, fearing that my enemies would kill me in my sleep every day. For twenty years, I was almost constantly thinking and worrying about how to continue climbing, how to manage various relationships, how to find a path to survival in the cracks… I'm too tired, Mr. Davey, this life is simply too tiring.

But I couldn't let go, because once I did, what awaited me would surely be a death without a burial place.

Until Mr. Van der Linde helped me to passively let go.

Hahaha, I've landed safely; finally, I have the opportunity and the peace of mind to enjoy every single bit of this world."

Signor Bronte's face was filled with a contented smile, a genuinely joyful smile that came from his heart, completely disregarding Davey and Mike, who were stunned speechless beside him.

"Alright, gentlemen, I need to go to the post office to mail the workers' letters. I hope Mr. Van der Linde can walk the path he desires.

Although I don't know exactly what Mr. Van der Linde's thoughts are, I can see that Saint Denis is getting better and better."

Signor Bronte raised the top hat on his head, gave a slight nod, and then, with a wide smile, sat in the donkey cart pulled by a worker.

Oh, right, the worker pulling the donkey cart was actually someone everyone knew: the legendary King of Endurance, Mr. Martelli.

"Mr. Martelli, let's go to the post office first; I want to buy two parrots later."

"Okay, Signor Bronte, how about a nice meal at the tavern this afternoon?"

"No, Tony's wife is about to give birth, and we still need to find a doctor for her…"

The donkey cart slowly moved along the streets of Saint Denis, and soon it blended into the crowd, becoming indistinguishable from everyone else.

Perhaps this was Signor Bronte's new beginning, or perhaps the demise of an era.

"Snowflakes fluttering, north wind howling, the world a vast expanse…"

Davey and Mike watched the departing donkey cart, dumbfounded. If Hosea hadn't shouted at them from the dock, they might have started to reflect internally on whether they truly desired such a life.

"Davey, Mike!" Hosea stood at the dock, raising his arms and shouting.

Beside him, Camille had already arrived and was standing next to Hosea, seemingly waiting for them together.

----

Hosea and his group returned to Henry Manor in a luxurious carriage.

This place served as the Van der Linde Gang's guest accommodation in Saint Denis.

In the living room, Hosea sat in the main seat of the sofa, facing the refined and noble Camille.

"Thank you for coming, Mrs. Morgan." Hosea picked up the red wine glass from the table and poured a glass of high-quality red wine for both of them.

"Cheers!"

As the two wine glasses clinked, the crimson wine swirled back and forth in the stemmed glasses.

Camille took a small sip of red wine, then placed it on the table.

Her legs were crossed, her posture exuded a sense of elegance, yet also a hint of arrogance.

"Mr. Matthews, regarding your loan, Mr. Van der Linde has already mentioned it in his letter, but that alone doesn't show your sincerity. After all, this is a ten million dollar loan. I need to know the main purpose of your project and assess its risks before I can decide whether to grant you the loan."

Camille's gaze fell on the flashy old man in front of her.

The second-in-command of the Van der Linde Gang, Ho-sea Matthews.

Information about him had long been thoroughly investigated by the Morgan Group, and Camille knew his life story.

From almost starving to death and stealing a chicken to becoming the second-in-command of the Van der Linde Gang, his life could be described as legendary.

However, this legendary quality paled in comparison to Dutch Van der Linde, and was largely exaggerated.

According to Camille's information, this Ho-sea Matthews was, at best, just an ordinary old man in a gang; his vision and ideas were not at all outstanding, a world apart from Dutch Van der Linde.

And this was precisely the point she could leverage.

After all, dealing with such a useless old man was much simpler than dealing with a madman like Dutch Van der Linde.

And the words she spoke now were a test.

Given Mr. Van der Linde's stature, he wouldn't need any risk assessment for a ten million dollar loan; even if he lost everything, his current wealth far exceeded ten million dollars.

If Dutch Van der Linde were sitting here, Camille Morgan wouldn't even ask the question she just did; she would directly hand over the ten million dollars to prevent Van der Linde from causing any more trouble.

But it was different now. With Dutch absent, it was effortless for her to manipulate these short-sighted, incompetent Western cowboys.

Camille's gaze was fixed on Hosea, observing the old man's reaction.

If she could extract information, that would be best; if not, it wouldn't matter. She could try to use him as a breakthrough point to uncover deeper information about the Van der Linde Gang.

However, reality was unexpected.

Upon hearing Camille's question, Hosea adjusted the new gold-rimmed glasses on his face and said with an displeased expression, "Mrs. Morgan, you're meddling too much!

Davey, Mike, bring over that ten million dollars. Sh*t!, we, the Van der Linde Gang, sent you here to deliver money, not to ask questions!

To be frank with you, Mrs. Morgan, when you brought that ten million dollars to Saint Denis, that money no longer belonged to you!

According to the new regulations of the New Hanover and Lemoyne joint government, the people of New Hanover and Lemoyne own all the wealth and land in New Hanover and Lemoyne, and Mr. Van der Linde has twenty-four-hour usage rights to all this wealth every day!

In other words, Miss Morgan, even you now belong to our Lemoyne State government, so please stop using our money to ask us about our affairs!

At the same time, I need to warn you about one thing: all the agreements we signed, including the IOU, were signed within Lemoyne. Therefore, the ownership of the IOU belongs to the people of Lemoyne. Not only do you not have ownership of the IOU, you don't even have the right to use it, because only Mr. Van der Linde has the right to use it! So, from now on, we don't owe you anything!

I hope you can play your role as a shareholder well, so you can still receive profit dividends, instead of always acting superior and constantly thinking up dirty tricks!

Recently, many people in our gang have reported that someone is offering a high price to buy them off, Miss Camille, this is not how a partnership should be!

I think you need to give our Van der Linde Gang, and Mr. Van der Linde, a satisfactory explanation!"

Oh, sh*t! Was that something Hosea could say?

Had this damned old scoundrel, who had been diligently studying various subjects recently, actually developed to such a perverse degree?

Creating his own rules, then using those rules to exert pressure and manipulate others—this most typical aristocratic playstyle was now being mastered by Hosea!

Damn it, he could already be called an aristocrat!

"Hahaha, Dutch's idea is still the best!"

Ho-sea was overjoyed, but he didn't show it on his face at all.

Having learned so much from Dutch during this time, their thinking had also made significant progress.

Especially now, everyone knows one thing: if you draw a regular circle for me, I'll violently dismantle it, but if I draw a circle for you, you must jump into it.

Miss Camille's face was ashen, her hands clenched tightly, and her eyes were filled with anger mixed with a hint of nervousness.

"Sh*t! Mr. Matthews, you don't do business like this! This is robbery!"

"So, your attempts to secretly bribe our people with high prices are legitimate business practices? Mrs. Morgan, neither of us needs to point fingers. Anyway, we're the ones who owe money, and we're not in a hurry."

Ho-sea said with a smile, picking up the wine glass on the table, pouring himself some red wine, and taking another calm sip.

Don't think of this old man as too kind. As the second-in-command of the Van der Linde Gang, one of its founders, and a genuine desperado, he is not a good person in any sense!

The main reason everyone thinks he's good is because they control Arthur, not a passerby on Valentine Street.

He is very kind to Arthur, to John, and to everyone in the gang, but he also kills when he's out and about!

Ho-sea Matthews, perhaps he seems kind and benevolent within a gang full of ruthless individuals, but that's only in comparison to those desperadoes!

Ten million dollars, in a small briefcase, was being carried by the bodyguard Miss Camille brought with her.

At this moment, both the bodyguard and Miss Camille were being aimed at by more than a dozen guns inside the villa, making them dare not move an inch.

Davey and Mike stepped forward, forcibly taking the money box from his hands.

"Sh*t! Can you put our money down?" Mike pried open the bodyguard's fingers, pressing him down so he couldn't resist at all.

Watching this scene of blatant robbery, Miss Camille's face turned livid: "Mr. Matthews, this is not how business is done! Your banditry will only isolate you and won't help you at all!

I'm telling you, if you handle this matter this way today, then I can guarantee that no resources, no capital, will be channeled towards you. You will only be trapped in this Western land, you will only be able to linger here!"

Miss Camille's voice was resolute, her plain face filled with seriousness and coldness, fully displaying the demeanor and grace of a capitalist.

But unfortunately, her methods, from beginning to end, were all business tactics used against other capitalists, completely useless against a major warlord with two states under his control.

Ho-sea's smile remained on his face, seemingly unaffected by any threats.

He picked up the red wine glass from the table, took another leisurely sip, and then placed it back down.

"Clink!"

The wine glass clinking against the glass table made a crisp sound, and Miss Camille's face grew even colder and more severe.

But the control of the situation was not with her at all, but with the old man sitting on the sofa in front of her, still smiling, looking like a gentle and amiable gentleman.

"Sigh!" Ho-sea sighed deeply.

"Mrs. Morgan, why haven't you noticed the real problem yet? Now, whether it's resource acquisition or production and trade, all the initiative is not with you capitalists, but with us, the Van der Linde Gang.

What we need to consider now is no longer how to expand our sales channels or how to attract external capital.

Of course, that doesn't matter, that's not why we've reached this point. The main reason we've reached our current state is because you never got your position right from the start!

Dutch said that if you were genuinely cooperative, he would not lack the capacity for even a small share of profits. But from the very beginning, you had no intention of sincere cooperation; from the start, all you thought about was how to take the entire West from our hands, how to steal our achievements!

Given your mindset, I don't think what we are doing now is inappropriate at all.

As for your threats, Miss Camille, they are naive and ridiculous!"

Ho-sea didn't finish his sentence completely; in fact, if he had, it would have sounded a bit arrogant.

But the fact is, the Van der Linde Gang now has an army, weapons, and resources, so they don't need to worry about those things.

Whether it's firearms or clothing, minerals or buildings, they can sell them to whoever they want!

Soon, the Mexicans will have to use resources to buy firearms under Mr. Van der Linde's encouragement, and soon West Elizabeth will voluntarily become Mr. Van der Linde's affiliated state!

As for those capitalists in the East, if they don't come over, they'll get beaten; if they don't take the initiative, they'll be punished!

What the hell is a joint boycott? It's clearly just a bunch of capitalists being surrounded by Mr. Van der Linde's army!

The bunker clusters have formed, the combat personnel are almost reaching ten thousand, and various weapons, equipment, and resources can now be self-produced. Even if they are blockaded by the army, they can still use an endless supply of logistical energy to resist the entire United States!

Therefore, with strength in place, their voices can naturally be louder!

When they didn't have strength before, they spoke politely, so much so that everyone almost forgot how the Van der Linde Gang got its start!

Ho-sea's words made Miss Camille's face grow even darker, but he paid no attention to her expression.

Looking at Miss Camille's ashen face, Ho-sea tapped his finger on the glass table, pondered for a moment, and then spoke again:

"Dutch said he could give you another chance. West Elizabeth will soon become territory belonging to our Van der Linde Gang.

Dutch has decided to vigorously develop West Elizabeth, making Blackwater the largest trade and freight city bordering Mexico in the future, replacing Saint Denis, and becoming the civilized state of the West.

And this time, he has decided to give you an opportunity: to borrow fifty million dollars from Morgan Bank, as well as dock equipment and industrial machinery, with the future development achievements of West Elizabeth as collateral.

If this cooperation satisfies us, the West Elizabeth government will grant the Morgan Consortium priority in commercial trade throughout the West. You will become the only consortium able to interface with the Western government, and you will truly reap the benefits of Western development."

Ho-sea's gaze fixed on Miss Camille, his words full of logic and targeting, making it feel as if Dutch himself was sitting there.

At the very least, Davey and Mike, standing by, felt this way; they truly felt that Ho-sea now was just like Dutch, exuding confidence, full of philosophy, and also possessing true resolve!

However, for Miss Camille, this was not good news.

"Impossible!" Miss Camille snorted coldly, her anger almost impossible to suppress.