They still checked me when I entered the town, but this time it was a couple of Pinkertons doing the frisking.

  "Hey, what's with Blackwater? It looks like a military base."

  Stephen handed over a few cigarettes with a smile, "I'm Stephen Johnson, a bounty hunter."

  Just for the sake of the cigarette, the guy doing the search didn't mind chatting with Stephen for a bit.

  Plus, Stephen had chosen a somewhat out-of-the-way entrance to get into town.

  There wasn't much traffic here, so the search guys were pretty bored.

  "James Worthy."

  One of the older ones introduced himself, then sized Stephen up, "What? Something big happened in Blackwater and you have no idea?"

  "What? What happened?"

  Stephen said with a puzzled look, "I was chasing some O'Driscoll gang scum, followed the guy around in the Grizzlies West snow mountains for three months, just came out a few days ago."

  "You've got guts, going after the O'Driscoll gang alone!"

  James looked at Stephen, instantly amazed, "You really are a crazy son of a bitch."

  "Hey, what can you do?"

  Stephen shook his head and said, "Sheriff Sam in Strawberry and I are pretty tight. A few months ago, one of his brothers from the East was killed by the O'Driscoll gang, he asked me to get revenge."

  "I'm a guy who knows what he likes and hates, Sheriff Sam has helped me a lot, I have to repay him."

  Stephen told James the story with color and exaggeration, making James look at Stephen with admiration.

  "If what you say is true, then you're a good man."

  James spat out the cigarette in his mouth, looking at Stephen with appreciation, "You're a rare find these days."

  "I don't know, people these days value money above all else; they act like they can't survive without it."

  Speaking of this, James looked tired. Seemed to have thought of something sad.

  After a while, he shook his head and said, "Since you want to know, I'll tell you."

  Then he told Stephen about the Van der Linde gang's glorious achievements, leaving Stephen dumbfounded.

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  "My God, they robbed fifteen thousand dollars!"

  Stephen pretended to be extremely shocked, murmuring, "Fifteen thousand dollars! That's a fortune!!"

  "Yeah, those depraved thugs."

  James said, smoking his cigarette, grinding his teeth, "They not only stole money but also massacred police and civilians in Blackwater; even we Pinkertons suffered heavy losses."

  "Now we're wanted them in several states nearby, no one knows where they ran off to."

  James said with hatred, "I lost several good men to them. I swore I'd get revenge."

  Stephen quietly looked at James with a face full of hatred, and for a moment he didn't know what to say.

  Everyone has different standpoints, and they see things from different directions, so Stephen had to pretend to comfort him.

  "Sorry, I got a little excited."

  James calmed down for a while, finally coming to his senses, he wiped his moist eyes, and sighed with a look of melancholy.

  "Kid, interested in joining the Pinkertons?"

  This question stumped Stephen.

  What's this? An invitation from the enemy?

  For a moment, Stephen was taken aback.

  This was too sudden, the Pinkertons weren't some street gang.

  They have strict screening mechanisms, how could they recruit people on the street?

  Before Stephen could answer, James quickly explained, "My team suffered heavy losses in that incident, leaving only me and a young man, I need to rebuild my team."

  "Waiting for the higher-ups to allocate people, who knows how long that will take. So I plan to recruit some people myself, and I think you're pretty good."

  "This..."

  Stephen hesitated for a moment, then slowly said, "I need to think about it, you know, this is not something that can be easily decided."

  "I understand, so there's no rush."

  James patted Stephen on the shoulder, "You tracked down the O'Driscoll gang alone to repay your benefactor, that's great, I value that about you."

  "If you're willing, I can let you join my team directly and become a full member."

  "You need to know, this is not an opportunity that can be easily obtained. In the past, it wouldn't have been so easy to join the Pinkertons."

  James said earnestly, "This is a good opportunity, a chance to get a decent job."

  Joining the Pinkertons, this was truly an enticing choice.

  To be honest, even Stephen, as a time-traveler, couldn't help but feel a little moved when he heard the Pinkerton's invitation.

  But only for a moment he calmed down.

  He didn't travel here to be an American lackey.

  "Uh, I need to think about it." Stephen pretended to think seriously for a while, then looked at James with some regret.

  "You know, freedom."

  "I still can't let go of my current free life, after all, once I join you, I have to work hard."

  "I'm too serious, once I have a responsibility on my shoulders, I'll keep thinking about completing it, which puts too much pressure on me."

  Stephen's words didn't deter James; in fact, they made him admire Stephen even more.

  He took out a business card from his pocket and handed it to Stephen, "Keep it safe, if you ever figure it out, come to this address and find me."

  Stephen took the business card, it had James's name and office location on it.

  He's coming on a bit strong, isn't he?

  Stephen instinctively felt something was wrong, but he didn't say anything, and still put the business card in his pocket.

  "Thank you, I'll consider it carefully."

  Stephen reached out and shook hands with James, then led his horse away.

  "Boss, are you really interested in this guy?"

  Watching Stephen's retreating back, the young man next to James came over, asking with a suspicious look.

  "This guy doesn't look like an ordinary bounty hunter."

  "Bullshit, do you think I don't know that?"

  James said a little annoyed, "Otherwise, what can we do? Our team only has you and me left. If we don't recruit two more capable guys, do you really want to stand here guarding the door for the rest of your life?"

  "Damn it, I'm not old yet! I don't want to stand here like an idiot every day."

  "Damn Van der Linde gang, I'll twist all their heads off sooner or later!!"