New Gods of North America.

Chapter 235 Different Versions

After resting for a night in the town, everyone continued on their journey.

The hotel in this town is not big, so everyone has to squeeze together and live in rooms like a dormitory.

Inissa and Lina live with Emma, while some agents may live with several people.
Only Wayne's treatment was slightly better, as he lived with Chef Parker, who could sit still all night.

Lina is one of the more lively and cheerful ones. Not only is she beautiful, she is also a so-called "peer in the industry".
After setting out again, she began to join Mr. Daggett's team and was surprisingly welcomed.

Mr. Daggett suddenly became like a chimney, and smoke began to come out from time to time.
But his subordinates didn't seem to have any opinion on this and acted as if they were used to it.

After walking for more than a day, the group crossed the mountains between the two problem towns and finally reached the so-called "state border."

Many people who have been to the border know that the border line on the map can be drawn very thinly.
However, before actually reaching "that line", there may have been no trace of human beings.

So although the location of the "Skinny Gang" base was clear in theory, Wayne and his team found a hilltop to look out.
What I saw was a stretch of mountains and forests.

Once you finally find a place, you have to hope that they are "at home".

The group did not go too deep on the first day. They mainly studied the next route of action based on the map and the actual terrain.

Mr. Daggett did not find any more abnormalities. The relatively capable members under him seemed to be really interested in dealing with the "Skinny Gang".

At least no one has suddenly come up with some strange clues and led the team to a specific place.

When the sun was setting behind the mountain, an agent saw smoke rising from the woods.

After everyone briefly chatted with each other, some members began to grope their way over there.

After that, the alarm was initially lifted. These were locals from a nearby town and they were not hostile.

"Locals" are good things in the wild. Although they may not necessarily lead people to a good place, they are usually more familiar with the road.
At least the camping spot chosen by the locals is actually quite good. There is a stream next to it, the terrain is windproof, the terrain is relatively flat, and the view is good.

It's good for guarding against enemies or wild beasts, and you can even go fishing.

Wayne followed the main group and went over.
From a distance, I saw a man on the opposite side, who was probably in his early thirties, wearing a six-pointed star-shaped police badge.

"A local from a nearby town" and also has a "police badge"...

There was no sign of anything unusual on the faces of the leaders of Wayne's team. They all started communicating with each other in a very friendly manner.

There are not many people on their side, only five in total. They are said to have come here for reconnaissance. They are now on their way back and will return to the town tomorrow.

The sheriff from the "problem town" heard about Wayne and his group's purpose.
He enthusiastically took out a map and shared information with several leaders:
"We don't have many people, and it's not suitable for us to leave the town for a long time. We can only search for the gang's base at irregular intervals. This time we took this route and found no traces. Then we walked here, here, and here, and basically explored this area and this area.

"Although there are a lot of intelligence and clues suggesting that the Thin Man Gang's base is near the state border, based on our intermittent explorations in recent years, either these are illusions they deliberately use to mislead others, or their base may be very hidden, perhaps in a natural cave or something like that."

As the other party spoke, he pointed on the relatively more detailed map.

The more Wayne listened, the more puzzled he became. Now they had come to such a "lawless place".

Why didn't anyone come out and defect, pointing to a place like a valley and telling everyone, "Hey, I actually know the location of the enemy's stronghold. As long as we get here, we will be able to find them"?

Even this wild local sheriff uses the "process of elimination" instead of just throwing out a target location to lure people in.

A few people were chatting here, while the rest of the members were busy with their own things.

Since there was fresh pickled meat in the carriage, there was no need to think about hunting today.

However, the fish soup cooked by these locals looked delicious, and several members ran to the stream to try to catch fish with nets.

When the fish soup here is cooked,
Wayne and his team have already discussed some important intelligence such as the possible location of the "Skinny Gang" base, the number of members and information, as well as some information that is relatively relevant but not particularly important.

For example, Charlie "Skinny" was arrested several times.

Talking about this, the local sheriff seemed a little aggrieved and indignant:

“In fact, I also know that the fact that Charlie the Skinny escaped after being hanged may sound a bit bizarre. Many outsiders may have some strange misunderstandings about me or our town because of this.

"But that was exactly what happened. The Slim Gang didn't commit crimes in our town at first. We saw the wanted poster and ambushed them in the tavern.

"After 'Thin' Charlie surrendered and was arrested, we tried him, sent him to the gallows, and confirmed that he was hanged." "On the day of the execution, there was a doctor and some townspeople present. They could all testify for me, so I was able to continue to serve as the sheriff of the town.

"But after the news of 'Thin' Charlie's escape spread, many law enforcement officers in other places thought that I was still young and had just taken office. Perhaps because I didn't have enough experience, I gave the criminal an opportunity to escape, so I made up the story to cover up my mistake."

Well……

This version of the story differs from the one told by the bartender in Clarisburg and the mounted police in the neighboring county.

If Wayne had heard him say this before he met "Grey Wolf" Freddy, he might have thought that this guy was just being stubborn, or was "playing dumb while knowing the truth."
But when the story gets outrageous to a certain extent, it starts to sound somewhat believable...

Wayne and the other two looked at each other, probably thinking of the Extraordinary People.

Wayne thought for a moment and said, "So that's why you ran out of the town and came here to continue looking for their base?"

"Well," the sheriff nodded, "In any case, Charlie the Skinny has escaped from our town, and I have an obligation to arrest him. Moreover, the Skinny Gang has committed several crimes in our town, and several townspeople have lost family members because of the Skinny Gang."

Because of the approval of the local sheriff, the other townspeople were quite cooperative when Wayne called them aside to ask about the situation.
When you put the versions they told together, the content is basically the same.

The sheriff who wants to make up for his mistakes, the revengeful townspeople who lost their loved ones, the father who wants to know the final whereabouts of his child, etc.

They were unwilling to see the criminals continue to go unpunished, so they gathered together and came here to search every once in a while, hoping to find the gang's stronghold and traces, and then call on others to come and encircle and suppress them.

Mr. Daggett was not very interested in these stories, but Chris was listening to them.

I also tried to speculate:
"There are records of people faking their deaths in some places. It is said that the custom of 'staying the body' in many countries is to prevent similar situations from happening. And in some legends of the Old World, there are also potions that can create the 'illusion of death'.

"Could it be that 'Thin Guy' Charlie has a special physique, or has he taken similar drugs?"

Wayne pretended to listen carefully, then nodded, "I think it's possible."

If it was a Beyonder, then the "unable to find base" might be a little more troublesome.

Wayne thought back to the bombed cave in Blackrock Town, and suddenly missed the professional exorcist team under Roose Bolton.

I secretly asked Inissa if she had any life tips.

If the approximate location of the stronghold can be determined, Inissa can think of many ways, even setting a fire nearby can sometimes have miraculous effects,

But in such a large forest, it is really beyond human control.

Calculating the time, Lina can try to summon the "wise sage" for help again.

Lina herself actually wanted to confirm whether the sage would continue to give her enlightenment as before.

But she also raised a soul-searching question:
"I can try to ask the sage. But how can we use any method or simple question to pin the result to that stronghold or that 'thin' Charlie?"

Wayne thought for a moment and said, "Is it okay to just ask 'Thin' Charlie?"

Lina shook her head. "A simple name won't work. Even if it's someone I've met, it's not okay to ask like that."

Wayne changed his mind, "What's the closest hiding place to us?"

Lina deadpanned, "The bush behind you might be one."

Wayne perfected the settings, "Where is the nearest place disguised by extraordinary power?"

"There are too many factors... Some of the limiting conditions may be ignored or distorted. Maybe the sage will tell you where Peter is hiding now, or point to the fake Mr. Daggett."

The wise sage is also troublesome...

No, I can't say that to Him. If He hears it, it will be really troublesome...

Wayne then remembered that a town resident's child was missing, "Find the guy who abducted or killed someone else's bloodline?"

Lina was about to shake her head, but suddenly stopped.

Then she looked into Wayne's eyes, "You can try to ask for the location of the person who inherited his bloodline. If he doesn't have many children."

(End of this chapter)