The small conflict that had just occurred in the county was quickly quelled by the sheriff's intervention.
However, many people heard the gunshots and ran out of their houses to watch the commotion. They witnessed everything that happened after that.
Zhang Heng's initial goal had been achieved. After that, no one dared to pick a fight with him on the street. On the other hand, he had successfully entered the list of unwelcome people in Lincoln County.
The way the sheriff stared at him was enough to say it all.
In fact, the townspeople's attitude toward him did not change much. They were just a little more vigilant. Wherever he and Radish passed, the women would drag their children into the house, and the men would stop in their tracks, looking nervous and hostile.
Zhang Heng found a bar and bought some fodder and beans for Radish to reward it for its hard work over the past few days. He then ordered a glass of black beer recommended by the bailiff, along with his staple steak and fried eggs. As he ate, he thought about his situation and his next move.
He had found Lincoln County, but the environment here was a little harsher than he had imagined.
His unpopularity here was probably second only to the Indians, even more so than the villains and hooligans.
Zhang Heng could not even be sure if the chef spat in the steak when he made it for him. Of the 49 dollars he looted from Ricky and his gang, he had spent 3 dollars along the way. Now, he was left with 46 dollars. If he were to stay in a hotel and eat, it would cost him almost a dollar a day. In other words, this money would only last him for a month and a half.
And that was if he did everything else. As usual, he still needed to find a way to make money for this quest.
Zhang Heng missed the forty kilograms of gold.
Other than that, he did not know what kind of standard the so-called settlement in the main mission implied. Did it mean that he had a fixed residence here, or that he could live here for a certain amount of time? Or that he could live here forever. The first two were easy to handle, but if he wanted to live here forever, he would have to buy a property.
But it was pointless to think so far ahead now. After Zhang Heng finished his lunch, he decided to go to the town police station.
There were actually a lot of jobs he could do, but considering his current friendliness in the town, there were not many options left for him.
Among them, the quickest way to earn money, and at the same time, it didn't require too much cooperation from others.
The police's poor manpower reserves made it difficult for them to cope with the vast and complex environment in the west. Many towns only had one or two law enforcement officers, and sometimes they even had to face enemies several times their own. They had to maintain local law and order, and they also had to serve as judges to hear cases. It was almost impossible for them to leave the town.
Even with the addition of the bailiffs, there was still a huge shortage of manpower.
This was also the reason why the security in the West was so poor. Once someone committed a crime in a place, as long as they concealed their identity and found a random place to hide, it would be difficult for the police to chase after them.
Thus, the profession of bounty hunter was born.
The police offered bounties of varying prices according to the degree of danger of different criminals and the size of the crime, and the bounty hunters would hunt down the fugitives.
This was a profession that only the brave and adventurers dared to engage in. Zhang Heng had never doubted his own combat effectiveness, but when he came to the police station and looked at the bounty posters in front of the door, he realized that he had underestimated this matter.
Zhang Heng eliminated the fugitives with relatively low bounties immediately. Although it was relatively less dangerous to hunt down these people, the rewards were not proportional to the effort. This was especially true for a newbie like Zhang Heng. He suspected that the money he earned on this trip was less than the money he spent on the road.
On the other hand, most of those who had more money didn't travel alone. Zhang Heng didn't particularly care about that. However, they were more mobile and secretive. As a Lv.3 sailor, Lv.2 driver, and a man who had even piloted a spaceship, Zhang Heng did encounter some trouble in this quest.
Although he had a tacit understanding with Carrot Lo along the way, Zhang Heng knew very well that whether it was his riding skills or the four-dimensional attributes of Carrot Lo, there was still a big gap between them and the average level of this era, let alone the powerful ones.
Besides, Zhang Heng's marksmanship could be used to its full potential when Carrot Lo was stationary or dismounted. Once Carrot Lo started to run, Zhang Heng's accuracy would drop a lot.
All in all, the money on the bounty seemed very tempting, but it was not easy for Zhang Heng to earn. He also had a disadvantage — he was not familiar with the surrounding towns, and it was likely that he would take a lot of wrong turns. Of course, his reasoning and combat effectiveness were also something not many people possessed.
Zhang Heng felt that he could do it, but he needed to put some thought into choosing his target.
Just as he stood outside the door and looked at the bounty, the drunkard sheriff who he had dealt with not long ago also saw him. He walked out of the house with a big belly. "Boy, let's get this straight. You'd better behave yourself when you're in Lincoln County. I've seen many young people like you who think they can be arrogant just because they learned some marksmanship. Do you know what happened to them?"
"I'd like to hear the details." Zhang Heng raised his eyebrows.
"Back then, I could take down five people with one gun." The sheriff made a cool shooting gesture, and at the same time, he exhaled the smell of alcohol from his nostrils. The next moment, he slipped and almost fell to the ground. Fortunately, someone next to him helped him up. "Sheriff, it's time. Everyone is waiting for you."
"Do I have to go, Jameson?" The sheriff was immersed in the glory of the past, and he muttered discontentedly when he was interrupted.
"I'm afraid so. In Lincoln County, you are the embodiment of the law and the nemesis of criminals. I'm pretty sure you need to show up on such occasions to deter the criminals. Besides, the final verdict needs to be read by you." When it came to deterring the criminals, the sheriff glanced at Zhang Heng, intentionally or unintentionally.
"Well, it's necessary to let those lawless guys know the power of the law." The drunk sheriff nodded, but he did not leave with Jameson. Instead, he turned and returned to the police station.
"Uh … Are you going in the wrong direction, sheriff?"
"Damn it, am I so useless in your eyes, Jameson? I'm going to get the bottle of wine that I haven't finished." The sheriff scolded. He staggered back to his table, picked up the bottle of wine on it, and picked up his hat. Then, he slowly walked out again.
At this time, Zhang Heng also noticed the crowd gathered in the officialdom not far away and the high wooden platform in the center.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
