New Gods of North America

After resting in the small town overnight, the group continued their journey.

The inn in this town wasn't large, so everyone had to squeeze together, living in rooms like a collective dormitory.

Inez and Lina shared a room with Emma, while some agents had to share rooms with several others.

Only Wayne had slightly better treatment, sharing with the chef, Parker, who could remain motionless and on standby all night.

Lina was the more lively and outgoing type, not only beautiful but also a so-called "industry colleague."

After setting off again, she started cozying up to Mr. Daggett's team and was surprisingly well-received.

Mr. Daggett, on the other hand, suddenly became like a chimney, constantly puffing smoke.

However, his subordinates didn't seem to think much of it, acting as if they were used to it.

After traveling for another day, the group crossed the mountainous area between the two problem towns and finally reached the so-called "state border."

Many people who have been to the border know that the boundary line on the map may be drawn very precisely,

but in reality, before actually reaching "that line," there might already be no trace of human activity.

So, although the "Skinny Gang's" hideout had a theoretically clear location, Wayne and the others looked out from a hilltop,

and saw only a continuous stretch of mountains and forests.

Once they actually found the place, they would have to hope that the gang members were "at home."

The group didn't delve too deep on the first day, mainly combining the map with the actual terrain to study the next course of action.

Mr. Daggett's side didn't discover any more anomalies. His relatively capable members seemed genuinely interested in taking down the "Skinny Gang,"

at least no one suddenly produced any strange clues and tried to lead the team to a specific location.

As the sun gradually set behind the mountains, an agent spotted smoke rising from the woods.

After a brief discussion, some members began to cautiously approach the smoke.

The alert was initially lifted, as these were locals from a nearby town, and they were not hostile.

"Locals" are good to find in the wilderness. Although they may not lead people to the best places, they are usually more familiar with the roads.

At least the campsite chosen by the locals was quite good, with a stream nearby, terrain blocking the wind, and a relatively flat and open area.

It was good for preventing enemies or wild animals, and even for fishing.

Wayne followed the main group over.

From a distance, he saw a man who looked to be in his early thirties wearing a six-pointed star badge.

"Locals from a nearby town," and also with a "badge"...

The faces of the leaders in Wayne's team showed no abnormality. Everyone began to communicate with the other party very amicably.

There weren't many of them, only five in total. They said they were also here for reconnaissance and were now on their way back, and would return to town tomorrow.

The sheriff from the "problem town," after hearing Wayne's intentions,

rather enthusiastically pulled out a map and shared information with the leaders:

"We don't have many people, and it's not suitable for us to leave the town for a long time, so we can only search for the gang's hideout periodically in shifts. We took this route this time and found no trace. Then we also went here, here, and here, basically exploring this area and this area completely."

"Although a lot of intelligence and clues suggest that the 'Skinny Gang's' hideout is near the state border, according to our intermittent explorations over the past few years, either these are all false pretenses they deliberately use to mislead others, or their hideout may be very hidden, perhaps in a natural cave or something."

The sheriff pointed on a more detailed map as he spoke.

Wayne became more and more puzzled as he listened. Now that they were in such an "outlaw territory,"

why wasn't anyone defecting, pointing to a place like a valley and telling everyone, "Hey, I actually know the location of their hideout. As long as we get here, we'll definitely find them"?

Even this wild local sheriff was using the "elimination method" instead of directly throwing out a target location to lure people.

While a few people chatted here, the rest of the members were busy with their own tasks.

Because there was still some cured fresh meat in the wagon, they didn't need to consider hunting today.

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

By the time the fish soup was cooked, Wayne and the others had moved on from important information such as the "Skinny Gang's" possible hideout location, number of members, and information, to some related but not particularly important information.

For example, the times when "Skinny" Charlie had been arrested.

Speaking of this, the local sheriff looked a little aggrieved and indignant:

"Actually, I also know that 'Skinny' Charlie escaped after being hanged, which sounds a bit bizarre. Many outsiders also have some strange misunderstandings about me or our town because of this."

"But that was indeed the situation at the time. At first, the 'Skinny Gang' didn't commit crimes within our town's borders. We saw the wanted warrant and ambushed them in the tavern."

"After 'Skinny' Charlie surrendered and was arrested, we tried him and even put him on the gallows, confirming that he was hanged to death."

"There were doctors and some townspeople present on the day of the execution, and they can all testify for me, so I was able to continue serving as the town's sheriff."

"However, after the news of 'Skinny' Charlie's escape spread, many law enforcement officers from other places thought that I was young at the time, and had only just taken office, perhaps because I didn't have enough experience, and let the criminal find a chance to escape, and made up a story to cover up my mistake."

Hmm...

This version is different from what the bartender in Clarisburg and the county cavalry officers in the neighboring county said.

If Wayne had heard him say this before encountering "Gray Wolf" Freddie, he might have thought that this guy was simply being stubborn, or was "pretending to be confused."

But when the story became outrageous to a certain extent, it sounded somewhat credible again...

Wayne, Inez, and Chris exchanged glances, probably all thinking of the Awakened.

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

"Yes," the sheriff nodded. "In any case, 'Skinny' Charlie escaped from our town, and I have an obligation to bring him to justice. Moreover, the 'Skinny Gang' has committed several crimes in our town since then, and those townspeople all have family members who have disappeared or died because of the 'Skinny Gang.'"

Because of the local sheriff's recognition, the other townspeople were quite cooperative when Wayne called them aside to ask about the situation.

The versions they told were basically consistent.

A sheriff who wants to make amends, avenging townspeople who lost their loved ones, fathers who want to know the final whereabouts of their children, etc.

They were unwilling to let the criminals continue to roam free, so they got together and searched here every once in a while, wanting to discover the gang's hideout and traces, and then call on others to encircle and suppress them.

Mr. Daggett wasn't very interested in these stories, but Chris kept listening by the side,

and even tried to speculate:

"There have been records of human suspended animation in some places. It is said that the custom of 'lying in state' in many countries is to prevent similar situations from occurring. And in some legends in the Old Continent, there are also potions that can cause 'false death'."

"Could it be that 'Skinny' Charlie's physique is special, or that he has taken similar drugs?"

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

If they were dealing with Awakened, then the "hideout that couldn't be found" might be a bit more troublesome.

Wayne recalled the cave that had been blown up in Black Rock Town, and suddenly missed that professional exorcism team under Luce Bolton.

He secretly asked Inez if she had any life hacks.

If they could determine the approximate location of the hideout, Inez could think of many ways, even just setting a fire nearby, which sometimes had miraculous effects,

but putting that in such a large area of mountains and forests was really beyond the scope of human power.

Calculating the time, Lina could try summoning that "Wise Sage" for help again.

Lina herself actually wanted to confirm whether the Sage would continue to give her revelations as before,

but she also raised a fundamental question:

"I can try asking the Sage. But what method or concise question can we use to lock the result's direction on that hideout or that 'Skinny' Charlie?"

Wayne thought for a moment, "Can we directly ask about 'Skinny' Charlie?"

Lina shook her head, "A simple name won't work. Even for people I've met, asking like that isn't very effective."

Wayne changed his approach, "The closest hidden location to us?"

Lina was expressionless, "The bush behind you might count."

Wayne refined the setting, "The closest location disguised by extraordinary powers?"

"Too many elements... some of the limiting conditions may be ignored or distorted, maybe the Sage will tell you where Peter is hiding now, or it might point to that fake Mr. Daggett."

The Wise Sage is also troublesome...

No, I can't say that about Him, it would be really troublesome if He could hear it...

Wayne then thought of the townsperson whose child had disappeared, "Find the guy who lured or murdered someone's bloodline?"

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

then she looked into Wayne's eyes, "We can try asking about the location of someone who inherited his bloodline. If he doesn't have many children."