Matthew's face changed drastically when he heard that. "I swear, if you dare to do anything to Jane and Wendy, I will kill you, Cook. No matter where you run to, no matter how many people you have around you, no matter how many connections we have, I will catch up with you and put a bullet in your head."
"Very well, that's what I need." Old Hunchback suddenly shut his mouth when he said that. Jane then came over with tea and cookies. "Are you guys talking about something interesting?" "Yeah, I was talking to Matthew about the time we went fishing for salmon together."
Old Hunchback took the teacup and thanked her with a smile. "I don't know if he told you about the time we went out hunting and got lost. We didn't know how we ended up by a stream. I don't know if we were the first people to find that place, but there were so many salmon there. They were almost squeezed together, sticking to each other, and every one of them was very fat. Matthew and I didn't even need to use any fishing gear. We could just reach out and catch them. And they didn't put up any guard. They just stood there, waiting for us to catch them. This made me very curious. What made them like this?"
"What is it?" Jane asked with interest.
"It's life, madam. It's life that made them like this. For a long time, they had no natural enemies. This stream provided them with a lot of food, so they gradually lost their vigilance against the outside world and were immersed in temporary happiness. When danger came one day, they even forgot to escape."
Old Hunchback took a sip of tea and continued, "Seeing them reminds me of the society we live in now. Isn't it just like this stream? It does its best to maintain order so that the fish living in it can reproduce as much as possible. All these laws, economic orders, and God … all of these are creating an illusion of prosperity, making people feel at ease, willing to be domesticated, and losing their own instincts. However, madam, when danger really comes, these things can't save you. Your laws, money, and God, they can't save you."
After Cook finished speaking, the living room fell into silence.
Jane tried to squeeze a smile on her face, "… To be honest, your words scared me a little, sir."
"Really? Then I apologize for that, madam. By the way, the tea you made is delicious." Old Hunchback raised his glass, then turned his head to look at Wendy, who had walked into the living room. "You are lucky to have a mother who is a good cook, little girl."
Wendy didn't say anything. Instead, she asked, "How was your harvest?"
"What?"
"You said the stream was full of salmon. How was your harvest that day?"
"Oh, it's great. Although we didn't catch any deer, we did catch a lot of fish. I had to take off my coat and wrap up all the fish that I couldn't fit. Even so, the fish we caught was still insignificant compared to what was left in the stream. Your father and I had to eat grilled fish for several days. After that, I didn't want to smell fish for a long time." The hunchbacked old man seemed to be immersed in his memories. He smiled and said, "That's right.
Matthew, who had been silent all this while, spoke up, "Well, I have something to discuss with Mr. Cook. Wendy, why don't you and mom go upstairs first?"
"Okay, then we will leave the living room to you men." Jane smiled politely at Old Hunchback again.
However, the next moment, her smile suddenly froze on her face.
Old Hunchback pulled out a revolver from his waist and pointed it at her. "I like you, dear. Really, you remind me of my own daughter. I really wish this had never happened, but … I need you to help your husband wake up a little. No matter what I said before, he just wouldn't listen. I think it's time for life to reveal the truth to him."
After that, he pulled the hammer on the back of the barrel.
Jane's breathing suddenly quickened, her eyes widened, and she looked overwhelmed. At the same time, Matthew on the other side also straightened up from his seat, like an angry cheetah. He wanted to pounce on Old Hunchback, but Old Hunchback pulled out another pistol with his left hand and pointed it at him.
"It's not your turn yet, my child. Be patient."
"You don't know what you're doing."
"On the contrary, I know exactly what I'm doing." Old Hunchback smiled.
"What the hell do you want, Cook? If you kill my wife, I won't be able to join your Cook Gang. "
"About that, let's wait and see … I will kill your lovely wife first, and then I will take your daughter away when the matter in Lincoln County is over. In return, I will hand over the Cook Gang to you. You can borrow their power to find my whereabouts. Many of them have lived with me for a long time. They know my hobbies, where I like to go, and even where my old lover lives. All you have to do is to get information from them and make them bring you to me willingly."
"Don't worry, they are easy to get along with. As long as you understand their temperament and give them what they want, they will treat you as one of their own. You may have lost two family members, but you will gain more than forty brothers. Although you will sometimes feel that they are a little noisy … you will get used to it. I can give you a whole year. Don't let me down, my child."
"Don't do this, Cook. When I find you, I will kill you!" Matthew's eyes widened in anger.
"If you have the ability to do so, I don't mind."
"If you don't let my mother go, I will kill you too," Wendy said on the other side.
"Hahaha," Cook burst into laughter when he heard that. He seemed to be amused by Wuji's childish words, but the next moment, his laughter stopped abruptly because he saw the shotgun in Wendy's hand.
Unlike her mother, Wendy had heard about her father's past from the sheriff. So, when the hunchback old man appeared, she knew who he was. However, Wendy didn't show any fear or fear like an ordinary girl would.
Instead, she buried everything in her heart. From beginning to end, there was no emotional fluctuation on her face. So even an experienced man like Cook was fooled by her. Wendy, on the other hand, waited silently … waited.
It was not until Matthew and Cook confronted each other that she finally found an opportunity to secretly take out the shotgun she had hidden behind the cabinet. She forced herself to calm down and recalled the shooting method Zhang Heng taught her in her mind. After that, she picked up the shotgun as fast as she could and aimed at Cook's heart.
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