Chapter 74: Famous Throughout the World
With Sheriff Malloy and several Police Officers' careful and meticulous collection work, every trace of evidence at the scene was revealed one by one.
After the Sheriff publicly stated that the identity of the culprit could be confirmed, all the reporters rushed frantically into the Lucky Cabin.
They swarmed in, but when they saw the specific situation inside, their expressions changed drastically.
However, out of professional integrity, they all held back their reactions, instead raising their collars to cover their noses and mouths for psychological comfort.
"Let's go, Johnny! I finally believe it all; it's truly incredible!"
Sheriff Malloy chatted casually with Johnny beside him as they rode, as if they were long-time friends.
Numerous signs inside the cabin indicated that Little Edmond was the murderer in these serial killings!
Not only that,
but even the disappearance of the Blackwater Town sports team seemed closely related to him.
Everything was exactly as Johnny had previously stated.
When the group reached the vicinity of the Post Office, Sheriff Malloy suddenly stated that he needed to send a telegram to the Sheriff of Blackwater Town.
He wanted to inform them of the news regarding the sports team.
However, fearing Johnny might feel he was being cast aside after serving his purpose, he told him he could go prepare a photo of himself first.
Because it would be needed for the Prestigious Bounty Certificate later!
Moreover, he could go to the Stable to measure the specific dimensions for a saddle, as it would be needed when the Federation issued the Upland Saddle later.
However, Johnny knew it was still quite early; the Prestigious Bounty Certificate required federal recognition, and the Upland Saddle would require an extremely long process to be approved.
The only thing that was relatively fast was the bounty, which could usually be obtained on the spot.
Furthermore, when discussing with Kieran yesterday, they had talked about his turkoman horse; it could only be said that its coat color was quite rare.
In other aspects, it was quite lackluster; it was a mare with a gentle temperament but lacked top speed.
This was somewhat unbearable for Johnny, who pursued perfection in everything, but there were no horses to replace it with at the moment, so he could only keep riding it.
When he went to other cities in the future and had the chance, he would switch to a turkoman horse with the best talent.
(Note: The talent of a horse here is defined by the four-bar bonus to speed and acceleration from a top-tier saddle, as well as the quality of handling. Since this is a game-to-reality adaptation, god-tier settings like adding attributes via saddles, horse racing, or infinite stamina cores must be discarded.)
(For example, for an ordinary horse of the same breed, top-tier talent means a double four-bar bonus plus good handling; the lowest talent means no bonus and average handling.)
At noon,
Sunlight spilled onto the slightly aged gallows in Valentine Town, as if draping the place in a golden veil.
The members of the Van der Linde Gang, most of the residents of Valentine, as well as Bounty Hunters and reporters who had traveled from afar, were all gathered here now.
They were either whispering to each other in low voices or looking around curiously; everyone's gaze was focused on the gallows, quietly waiting for the "performance" the Sheriff was about to bring.
Time passed minute by minute, and finally, when the clock hands pointed to exactly twelve o'clock, the Sheriff stepped onto the gallows with steady and powerful strides.
He stood tall with a serious expression, holding a thick speech script in his hand.
He cleared his throat and then began his impassioned speech.
First, the Sheriff listed in detail the various crimes committed by Little Edmond, stating each charge clearly, making one feel indignant at the criminal's evil deeds upon hearing them.
Next, he described the extremely negative impact of these crimes, how they had plunged the entire Valentine Town and even the Federation into panic, and how severely the residents' lives had been disrupted.
Afterward, the Sheriff mentioned the high priority the police and the Federation placed on this case, stating they would never let any criminal go and would surely carry out justice to the end.
At this point, the Sheriff shifted the topic and began to recount the heroic deeds of Johnny, a brave citizen.
How he tracked clues alone, how he fearlessly fought a life-and-death struggle with the criminal, and so on.
These events were described vividly by the Sheriff and connected seamlessly, to the point where Johnny, standing nearby, began to doubt if he was the one being spoken of.
"Didn't I just launch a sneak attack? Did I remember it wrong?"
Johnny muttered similar words to himself.
As the speech neared its end, the Sheriff, in front of everyone, generously praised Johnny's heroic and fearless behavior and invited him onto the stage.
Under the flashes of numerous reporters' cameras, the Sheriff shook hands warmly with Johnny and took a commemorative photo.
Subsequently, the Sheriff handed the massive bounty of $1,000 directly to Johnny on the spot.
A burst of warm applause and cheers immediately erupted at the scene, and people cast admiring glances at Johnny.
Without a doubt, if everything went smoothly, the latest editions of major newspapers the next day would feature these photos accompanied by various exaggerated stories.
And Johnny would surely become famous because of this; his name would likely soon spread through the major cities of the East.
As for his main quest, as expected, it would be automatically completed early tomorrow morning!
With the lowering of the Sheriff's right hand, Little Edmond's criminal life came to a complete end.
The Sheriff wouldn't investigate why he had become a mute, because it had nothing to do with him.
Moreover, as long as Johnny didn't commit crimes in Valentine, it didn't matter to him how cruel the methods Johnny used while hunting criminals were.
He only needed results; he only needed someone to maintain order for him!
After everything ended, a crowd of reporters swarmed forward, while Johnny mounted his horse, indicating that maintaining a certain distance was very important.
Then the reporters began to ask a series of questions about Johnny's pursuit of the murderer.
Johnny answered them one by one.
Towards the end, the reporters even showed concern about Johnny's relationship status.
Johnny didn't dare answer those questions; it would be troublesome if the other party started making things up.
After all, rumors are easily started but hard to dispel.
Seeing that Johnny had no intention of continuing the conversation, the crowd dispersed, each rushing to send their drafts and negatives back to their newspaper offices as quickly as possible.
Some reporters who were closer took the train to deliver the materials themselves; it could be said that just as popular as Johnny was moments ago, he was now equally deserted.
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