[T/n: Bonus Update Progress: 4/20]
Chapter 18: I Have a Plan
Johnny gently closed the system panel. Then, he began to properly wrap those precious pieces of dried meat to make them easier to preserve and carry.
However, when he searched through all his pockets and bags, he discovered to his frustration that besides a few empty cans he had just finished, he didn't have any suitable containers.
Just as Johnny was at his wit's end, the 'Tiger of van der Linde' who had been silently observing him from not far away noticed his predicament and slowly began searching for something in the simple kitchen nearby.
With a kind smile on his face, Pearson walked toward Johnny while pulling several sheets of yellowed parchment from his coat and handing them to Johnny. At the same time, he didn't forget to grumble:
"You young people are always so impatient! Doing things so haphazardly, you still have to rely on an old man like me to look after you every now and then!"
"By the way, speaking of this wolf meat, I'm quite curious—does anyone actually like eating this stuff? I've heard others say it's dry and hard, just like wind-dried wood, impossible to even chew!"
Facing Pearson's well-intentioned nagging, Johnny didn't show the slightest bit of impatience.
On the contrary, he smiled and expressed his gratitude to the old man, explaining that eating wolf meat was actually just a personal quirk of his.
Next, Johnny carefully took the parchment from Pearson and skillfully wrapped the dried meat with practiced movements.
While Johnny was wrapping, Arthur, on the other side, first completed his daily task—a verbal assault on Uncle, calling him the camp rat scurrying around the kitchen and accusing him of stealing the Navy Rum.
He then snatched the bottle and began chugging it down himself. Pearson, laughing to smooth things over, suggested they eat whole roasted deer tonight and asked if Arthur could trouble himself to skin it.
Arthur looked around: Uncle had already slipped away seeing things weren't right, Charles was injured, and Johnny was focused on packing his wolf meat. Shaking his head, it seemed he had to do it himself.
After the skinning was done, Arthur went to check on the rest of the Gang. He greeted Javier at the entrance, and as soon as he stepped inside, he saw the legendary 'rat' launching personal attacks on the other two.
Suddenly overcome with anger, he thought of how Micah usually did no work but never stopped talking for a second.
He stepped up and gave him an Electric Cannon, and Micah went down like a baby, out cold instantly.
Dutch, walking through the door, put a stop to it all. He told everyone to head to the kitchen, stating he had something to announce shortly.
After finishing the packaging, Johnny put some of the dried meat into his bulging wolf king satchel, while the rest was carefully placed in the wagon bed parked nearby.
Just as Johnny finished tidying up, he suddenly heard a clamor of footsteps. He looked up to see Dutch striding toward him, looking radiant.
Coming along with Dutch were many other members of the Gang. Every one of them looked excited, as if there was something important to be announced.
Dutch walked with vigorous steps straight to the campfire, then turned to face the crowd. With hands on his hips and a face brimming with a confident smile, he cleared his throat and began to deliver a stirring speech:
"Ladies and gentlemen, the snow is gradually stopping. It is time for us to leave this godforsaken place and head for a truly civilized continent."
"At this very moment, a brave young man has expressed his willingness to join our Van der Linde Gang. I have decided that we shall hold a welcome party together tonight."
The people nearby had actually expected the arrival of this new member for some time, but hearing the leader Dutch announce the news personally still made it hard to hide their inner excitement. They clapped and cheered one after another, expressing a warm welcome to the brave young man.
For a moment, the entire camp was immersed in an atmosphere of joy and excitement.
However, this joy did not last long, because Dutch immediately followed up with a solemn expression, relaying another piece of important intelligence:
"According to reliable information, our arch-rival Colm ODriscoll is lurking not far from us, plotting a thrilling train robbery."
"Moreover, we cannot be certain whether he intends to rob that train laden with endless wealth, or if he will take advantage of the night to come to this wilderness and ambush me—the thorn in his side whom he hates to the bone."
"We do not have the advantage in numbers, so we must strike first!"
At this point, Dutch's sharp gaze swept across everyone present, and he quickly made deployments: "Mr. Matthews, Mr. Smith, Mr. Pearson, the three of you stay behind to look after the women and children in the camp, as well as young John, who is still recovering from his injuries, and Mr. and Mrs. Adler."
"All other brothers, return to your rooms immediately and prepare your weapons and horses. We must set out at the fastest speed to catch the enemy off guard!"
The rest of the group scattered, each returning to their rooms to prepare for the upcoming battle. Johnny, however, called Dutch aside and took two cigarettes from his satchel, handing one to him.
"Johnny! If you have something to say, say it."
"Dutch, I don't think we should cause more trouble at this critical juncture. We have Pinkerton Detectives hot on our heels, and we've already offended the oil, railway, and sugar tycoon Cornwall in Blackwater Town. Now we're going to rob his train."
"Maybe this bit of money is just a drop in the bucket for him, but this is like a nasty mosquito constantly biting the same person. It will invite frantic retaliation."
Dutch frowned: "Johnny! I thought you understood me. You know the Gang's morale is at an all-time low. I cannot lead them to hide away like cowards at a time like this."
"Dutch! It is precisely because I understand you that I must tell you—actually, after learning of your plan, I had more inspiration. Now, I'm going to tell you about it."
"Oh?" Dutch was quite interested, as almost no one in the Gang would think about problems from his perspective.
(Hosea generally just opposed him and couldn't offer any better solutions.)
"Dutch, since Colm wants to rob Cornwall's train, why should we stop him? Although Colm is your enemy, he's just a man with his head on a platter waiting to be sold. There's no need to rush to eliminate him right now."
"They are merely keeping our property for us temporarily. We only need to find the location of their camp and quietly wait for him to deliver his head and the wealth to us."
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