SWDnovel Chapter 21 The Butcher's Bounty
Chapter 21 The Butcher's Bounty
Finn O'Connor's one eye suddenly widened.
He stared at Li Wei as if he were looking at a madman.
"Sir, you mean... send our people to post notices in the South District?"
"Right next to 'The Butcher's' bounty poster?"
Finn's voice tightened, and he subconsciously lowered his voice, afraid that someone outside the warehouse might overhear his words.
This is no longer a provocation.
This is like putting your face right up to "Butcher" Jack's knife and asking him if it's sharp.
The fact that "Butcher" Jack is offering a reward of fifty pounds—an exorbitant amount for someone at the bottom of society—for an unknown killer means that he sees this as a challenge to his authority.
Taking the initiative to step forward now is tantamount to introducing oneself.
Li Wei didn't answer. He simply wiped the blackboard clean, which had the word "home" written on it, and then rewrote two words: fear and need.
He turned around and met Finn's eyes, which were filled with surprise and doubt.
"Finn, what does Jack use to rule the South?"
Finn didn't hesitate: "Violence, and fear."
"He used violence to create fear, and then used that fear to obtain money and obedience."
Li Wei pointed to the word "fear" with chalk. "His bounty order is to amplify this fear and tell everyone what the consequences of disobeying him will be."
"Then we..."
"So we gave him something else." Li Wei drew the word "demand" with his chalk.
"What do the dockworkers in the South End, those poor Irish people, need most?"
Finn remained silent.
Of course he knew.
It's a job that can earn a living, a bowl of hot soup that can dispel the cold, and a glimmer of hope to keep living.
"The butcher's bounty promises death and money. Our notice promises a cup of hot tea and a moment of warmth."
"Finn, war isn't just about swords and guns. The human heart is the greatest battlefield."
"When everyone fears him, he is the king of the South. But when people discover that following us means drinking hot tea, while following him means only hunger and beatings, his throne begins to shake. Besides, does he even deserve to be called a throne?"
Li Wei spoke calmly, but everyone in the warehouse who heard him felt a chilling aura emanating from him.
Seamus and his four companions stood ramrod straight, silent, their heavy breathing unusually clear in the quiet warehouse.
Just a few days ago, they couldn't understand these things.
But now, they seem to understand something.
They looked at Levi, whose figure, illuminated by the oil lamp, was not tall, yet he exuded a sense of oppression far exceeding that of "Butcher" Jack, a figure of pure violence.
Seamus stepped forward, his voice hoarse but powerful.
"Sir, let's go put it up."
Li Wei shook his head and looked at Kieran.
"Kieran, you went to the South District last time. This time, you'll go again."
Kieran's body stiffened visibly; the image of Rory having his nose broken was still vivid in his mind. But after glancing at the one-eyed Finn standing to the side, he gritted his teeth and nodded emphatically.
"Yes, sir."
That night, the night wind in "Stinky Fish Alley" in the South District still carried the salty smell of the sea and the sour smell of garbage.
The bounty poster for "Butcher" Jack, printed on thick paper, was posted on the most conspicuous wall at the alley entrance.
The words "fifty pounds" were particularly glaring in the moonlight, causing several homeless men to look up and then lower their heads in fear from time to time.
A dark figure slid along the base of the wall, rapidly approaching the wall with the wanted poster.
Kieran's heart pounded in his chest, clutching a roll of rough paper and a jar of sticky flour paste in his hands.
He took a deep breath, no longer hesitated, and quickly pasted the notices he had brought next to the bounty poster, some even covering a corner of it.
The notice was very simple; it wasn't printed, just a few lines written in charcoal on cheap wrapping paper:
"Awakening Tea. Three days later. South Wharf. Free."
Having done all this, Kieran didn't linger for a moment, turning around and disappearing into the maze-like alleyways.
Not long after he left, a dockworker who was huddled in a corner to keep warm curiously approached him.
By the moonlight, the worker struggled to decipher the words on it.
"Free...tea?"
He muttered to himself, a hint of confusion and disbelief in his eyes.
Immediately afterwards, more figures emerged from the darkness.
They saw the new notice, and saw it placed alongside the "Butcher" bounty.
No one spoke, but an unusual atmosphere began to ferment in the silence of "Stinky Fish Alley".
The news quickly reached the ears of the "Bloody Hands Gang".
On the second floor of a slaughterhouse in the southern district that had been converted into a casino, the air was murky and filled with the strong smells of sweat and blood.
"Butcher" Jack, a burly man weighing over 200 pounds, is standing with one foot on the card table and slamming a dagger into the surface.
He was shirtless, revealing his chest covered in black hair and scars.
One of his men scrambled in and handed him a notice that had been torn from the wall.
"Boss! This is it! It's plastered everywhere!"
Jack grabbed the rough piece of paper and squinted at it.
"Free tea?"
He was stunned for a moment, then burst into a wild, beast-like laugh.
"Hahaha! Free? Giving away free stuff on my turf?"
His laughter stopped abruptly, and his face instantly turned ferocious.
He crumpled the paper into a ball and slammed it to the ground.
"You're playing me!"
He suddenly pulled out a dagger from the table and pointed it at his men.
"When and where did they say?"
"Three...three days from now, at the dock..."
"Good! Very good!" Jack licked his lips, a cruel glint in his eyes.
"Let them deliver it! I want to see who's so stubborn as to dare come to the Southern District to collect my 'customs duties'!"
He glanced around at his men in the room.
"Pass down my message! Three days from now, everyone bring your weapons and go to the docks to 'welcome' them!"
"I want not only their tea, I want their lives!"
……
Considering the Blood Hand Gang's actions, Li Wei shortened the planned time from three days to two days.
A silent operation to collect supplies, centered around a warehouse in the North District and sweeping across the entire lower-class area of North Boston, began.
The warehouse became unusually busy for the next two days.
Of course, Boyle experienced two of the most agonizing days of his life.
With the money and list given to him by Li Wei, he found the city's largest supplier of medicines and groceries.
Robin van Persie, a shrewd Dutch businessman.
"I need sulfur, and saltpeter." Boyle wiped the sweat from his brow, trying to make his voice sound calm.
Van Persie squinted at him, his eyes seemingly full of meaning.
"Mr. Boyle, when did your bakery start selling smoked meat? Or are you planning to marinate something special?"