In the Pullman car of the train, Amanda looked astonished, unable to resist reaching out and spreading Henry's right hand—it was empty.
No matter how she looked, there was no way to hide such a large silver mirror.
"Henry, so you really know magic. How did you do it?" Cathy asked.
Pete's mouth was not at all tight-lipped, and he leaked the news of Henry's magic in less than half a day.
Since that was the case, Henry didn't act aloof and casually performed a few tricks of appearing out of thin air and moving objects.
"Sorry, Cathy, a magician's first rule is never to reveal their tricks," Henry said with a smile, shaking his head.
The young ladies felt that Henry was full of an indescribable charm.
Mystery and the unknown are definitely one of the supreme treasures for enhancing personal charm.
"So, Henry, I remember you said you were good at boxing, fencing, music, dancing, horsemanship, etc. Is your skill level really that high in all of them?" Chris asked in disbelief.
"Yes, especially boxing, such a brutal sport. Very few people from aristocratic families practice it, right?" Consuelo also asked.
In those days, boxing rules stipulated that a match could only end when one side could no longer continue, allowing wrestling throws and other means.
Moreover, no gloves were worn, so it was very bloody and brutal. Currently, America officially prohibits this sport.
Henry glanced around at everyone, noticing that Edith was also gazing at him with longing, so he smiled slightly at her and said, "I don't know how strong I am; I just have never met an opponent."
"Wow," everyone looked incredulous.
"Boxing is also an excellent way to protect oneself, as sometimes you can only rely on your bare hands, and modern boxing originated in the Commonwealth," Henry said.
"Consuelo, who are the boxing performers you invited this time?" Amanda asked.
"The underground boxing champions Sullivan and Gilrain!" Consuelo replied.
"Wow! They are indeed very strong, especially Sullivan, who is said to have never met an opponent since his debut," Mark said, looking very knowledgeable.
Everyone stared at Henry, wanting to see what he would say.
Henry shrugged his shoulders loosely, spread his hands, and said, "As you know, I just came out of a small town and don't know much about them, but they probably won't last long against me. How about this: Mark, or any of you gentlemen, can try to see if you can tilt my arm 30 degrees."
Henry rested his right elbow on the oak table, making a arm-wrestling gesture.
Mark immediately stepped forward, but even after using all his might, Henry's right forearm remained as still as iron.
Henry effortlessly pressed his right hand down onto the table.
Throughout the process, Henry's expression was normal, as if he were casually breaking a wafer biscuit.
Then, the other three gentlemen who considered themselves strong also stepped forward, but the result was despairing; not one of them could budge Henry's arm.
At this point, everyone was convinced. At the very least, Henry wasn't bluffing; his physical fitness was indeed far beyond that of ordinary people.
The women's eyes all sparkled, intoxicated by Henry's masculine charm.
With such a strong body, their future babies would definitely be very healthy, right?!
Some of the girls couldn't help but think this.
At around ten o'clock in the evening, many people in the Pullman car were resting.
Henry took out the Black Market intelligence files to read. After more than an hour, he put away the files and began to consider his next move.
In the past few days, Henry had finished reading the files in Daysler's small safe at the Black Market Center, and he had also reviewed about a quarter of the other intelligence files.
He now had a deeper understanding of the Black Market's formidable strength and the social structure of America's "Gilded Age."
All of this was closely related to the large-scale immigration of the Irish to America over the past half-century for various reasons.
One of the most notorious gangs among them was the Tammany Association, formed by the Irish.
This association exploited the vulnerability of European, especially Irish, immigrants who were rootless and homeless, providing them with shelter and jobs. In return, these immigrants had to obey their bosses' commands, maintaining their bosses' votes and protection money.
Ultimately, this association became the election machine for the Democratic Party in New York, for example, by using gangs to intimidate and extort opposing candidates.
It could be said that the gangs in New York were merely tentacles extended by this association.
This association long controlled the New York City government, placing key members of the association in important positions in various departments, manipulating New York City's finances, personnel, and public security.
More than half of the police force members were from the association, all of them Irish.
Many Democratic Party states at this time were in a similar situation, including Denver in Colorado.
The Black Market was closely related to this association.
Morrison, the current head of the Black Market, was only the boss on the surface; the true boss was nicknamed "Death Bird," rarely appearing and always wearing a crow mask when he did.
Even whether this "Death Bird" was the true big boss was merely Daysler's own perception, not necessarily the truth.
The Black Market's strongest presence was in its Chicago headquarters and New York branch, followed by San Francisco. Additionally, there were twelve cities where the Black Market's strength was comparable to that of the Denver Black Market, while the Black Market Centers in the other forty state capitals were much weaker, some even without a branch.
Henry calculated casually and found that the Black Market had nearly ten thousand members, not much less than the Pinkerton Detective Agency.
If Henry wanted to become the city boss of Denver, he couldn't bypass this association.
Moreover, Henry had already formed a deep enmity with the Black Market.
Henry did not believe that the Black Market would not suspect him.
His combat power had never been concealed; the Black Market, by analyzing motives and beneficiaries, would list Henry as a key suspect.
As for evidence, it was often an expendable thing.
Since Henry chose to make a name for himself, these were the prices he had to pay.
Henry's current advantages were that he had almost no ties, possessed extraordinary combat power, and knew the addresses of almost all Black Market Centers.
Because the Black Market dealt with too many clients from all walks of life, it was difficult to maintain secrecy, essentially making it a semi-public organization.
It could be said that the Black Market was established on hard power and should be called a "Gray Market" instead.
Henry only had to think about his encounter at the Denver Black Market Center to know that if it weren't for an overpowered player like himself, others wouldn't be able to cause much trouble there.
The disadvantage was that Henry did not know the identity of the Black Market's true boss, "Death Bird."
Normally, with such semi-secret organizations, once their key leaders are eliminated, their internal structure easily falls apart.
Now, Henry would have a much harder time.
However, as soon as Henry thought of Becky's doll-like adorable appearance, he could not tolerate any harm that the Black Market members might inflict upon her.
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