Gunshots rang out, blades flashed, and the entire unfinished building instantly turned into a slaughterhouse.
Among the four top assassins, only Elle Driver was slightly weaker, but even she was overwhelmingly stronger than these ordinary Mafia gunmen. In fact, Baba Yaga alone could have wiped out every killer in the building.
But Luca didn't want any complications. He wanted a quick victory, so he brought a few extra people.
As Elle Driver killed her way through the gunmen, she reminded Luca, "I lost money at your casino, and now I'm helping you kill people. Next time we play cards, you're not allowed to let Mathilda help you—we're going one-on-one. I won't stop until you give me back thirty!"
Luca smiled and nodded.
"No problem."
I'd love for you to cling to me, Luca thought. Even if it's like a snake, I don't mind—especially now that I'm not afraid of snakes anymore.
With a pistol in one hand and a knife in the other, O-Ren Ishii carved a bloodpath toward Luca, leaving body behind as she helped him clear out the nearby assassins.
Around Baba Yaga, almost no heads remained intact—most had simply been split apart.
Leon looked around and couldn't see any living enemies at all, only piles of body.
It was an absolutely one-sided battle.
Only then did Gotti realize that all the assassins he had stationed nearby had silently disappeared without a trace.
When he saw Baba Yaga, he froze completely.
What the fuck is this Russian killer doing here?
And where did the other three monsters come from?
Panic seized him.
Gotti turned and ran.
A gunshot echoed, and a bullet pierced straight through his back.
Plop!
Gotti collapsed onto the ground, writhing in agony. He struggled to speak, gasping painfully.
"Please… Dove… have mercy on me…"
Boom!
A bullet pierced the back of his head.
He died exactly the same way the White Tiger had died.
The future godfather of the Gambino family had fallen prematurely.
Luca walked forward, picked up the bag beside Gotti, and looked down at the corpse with calm, indifferent eyes.
__________________________________________________________________________
[Ding! Together you killed twenty-four hitmen and a notorious drug lord. You defended the peace of New York]
[Gain Skill Fragments +30]
[Event Skill Points ×15]
[Muscle Endurance +5%]
[Remaining Skill Fragments: 62]
__________________________________________________________________________
Pauli stared at Gotti's body lying on the ground, his expression full of complicated emotions.
To be honest, he hadn't expected things to end like this. The White Tiger was dead, and now Gotti had lost his life as well.
"Pauli," Luca said with a smile as he extended his hand. "Pleasure doing business with you."
Looking at Luca's smiling face, Pauli couldn't smile back. Instead, he felt increasingly wary of him.
At the funeral that day, the two of them had reached a cooperation agreement.
Pauli would help Luca obtain control of the port.
In return, Luca would eliminate Gotti so that the White Tiger's death could reach a "perfect conclusion," and that story would never be mentioned again.
After thinking about it for a long time, Pauli had finally agreed.
Only if Gotti died could the secret be buried forever.
As for Luca's story, Pauli sighed inwardly.
I'll deal with that later. For now, I can't afford to fall out with him.
Once he became the family's second-in-command and his power grew stronger, the story could easily be rewritten.
Then he could deal with Luca slowly.
But for now, he needed to keep this dangerous young man calm.
Pauli's caution grew deeper.
Luca was far too dangerous.
Now he controlled the port business and owned a nightclub, and his operations were growing bigger by the day. More importantly, he had a group of terrifyingly powerful assassins around him—and he also had extremely good relations with the authorities.
Pauli had never seen a soldier-level Mafia member reach such a level.
Still smiling, Pauli took Luca's hand and said:
"Even if you have all this leverage, it won't be easy to completely control the port. The Gambino family won't sit idle—they have plenty of people there."
"They might tolerate us executing Gotti, but they won't tolerate us interfering with the docks."
Luca frowned slightly.
"Well… I'll think of something later. The docks really are troublesome, and Mariggio can't help much with this."
"I can help you," Pauli said.
Luca looked surprised.
"Help me? You're not joking, are you?"
"I have friends in the dockworkers' union," Pauli explained. "But Luca, you need to understand something—I'm helping you because I see potential in you. You know what the situation inside the family is like right now."
"You're a smart man. You should know what the wise choice is."
Luca narrowed his eyes slightly.
"You mean…"
"We can make money together."
Pauli leaned closer, his gaze burning with intensity.
"Let's calm things down for now. Mariggio only understands drug trafficking. The White Tiger's jewelry business fell into his hands—look what happened to it. Has he achieved anything?"
"He only knows how to run simple, brutal drug deals. He has no idea how to run a proper family business."
"But you're different, Luca."
"You're smarter than Mariggio. You know how to run businesses and deal with officials. Most importantly, you don't deal drugs."
"That's what I admire most about you."
"I have many business opportunities. If you're interested, we can cooperate—including port business. I can help you."
"Let's grow rich together."
Luca looked slightly excited.
"Pauli… I…"
"Isn't the situation obvious?" Pauli said confidently. "With the White Tiger dead, no one can compete with me for the position of underboss."
"I guarantee that once I become the second-in-command, you will definitely have a place in the family leadership."
"But the premise is that we trust each other."
"Luca… I need your friendship."
"And I believe we can become friends who trust each other."
This time, Luca remained silent for a long moment.
Pauli quietly observed the young man's conflicted yet determined expression.
"Pauli… alright. I can cooperate with you," Luca finally said.
Pauli smiled.
"But I have one request," Luca continued. "Mariggio is my uncle and my godfather. I hope we can help him out. His business isn't doing well right now, and I hope he can live peacefully for the rest of his life."
"This kid is loyal," Pauli thought.
A loyal man was much easier to control.
"Alright," Pauli said. "I promise you."
"Thank you, Pauli."
The two men embraced.
[Bond: Friends]
Relief appeared in Luca's eyes.
They had finally reached the level of superficial friendship.
__________________________________________________________________________
[New Skill Unlocked - Black Hand Arbitration]
"Buy"
[-50 Skill Fragments]
[Skill Added]
Skill:
[Black Hand Arbitration:
Your deterrence against family members of lower rank increases by 10%.
When executing family members who violate the rules, your combat power increases by 20%.]
__________________________________________________________________________
The group walked out of the unfinished building together.
But before leaving, there was one more thing to do.
There were too many Mafia corpses inside—especially Gotti, the "media darling." Luca had no intention of letting his death become tomorrow's headlines.
Better to make him disappear quietly.
"John, did you contact the cleaner?"
"He'll be here soon," John Wick replied.
Not long afterward, a short elderly man wearing a black top hat arrived with several assistants and a delivery truck.
__________________________________________________________________________
[Character Card: Charlie The Cleaner]
Rank: D
Source: John Wick
Skill: None
Bond: Familiar
__________________________________________________________________________
Charlie was a professional cleaner in New York who worked for the Continental's assassins, responsible for removing bodies and cleaning crime scenes.
"Mr. Greco, Mr. Wick."
Charlie removed his hat politely before directing his men to enter the building.
Soon, neatly wrapped body were carried out one after another and loaded into the truck.
---
While waiting for the bodies to be collected, Pauli continued chatting with Luca.
"Dove, do you have a good relationship with the FBI? How much did they charge you to get them to help you? And those police officers—ordinary cops wouldn't dare dig into Mafia cases like this."
"If they hadn't turned those assassins against their own families, we might not have had the chance to execute Gotti."
The police had always maintained an ambiguous attitude toward the Mafia, but the FBI was different. The FBI had long harbored strong hostility toward organized crime and had dedicated itself to dismantling the Mafia, even planting undercover agents within the families.
Pauli could understand corrupt police officers doing Luca favors—after all, he knew plenty of crooked cops himself—but he simply couldn't understand why the FBI would help Luca.
Luca shrugged calmly.
"I wasn't there that night because of my Mafia connections. I cooperated honorably with the FBI to catch a killer and help maintain peace in New York. Why wouldn't they support that?"
Pauli: "…"
Pauli warned him quietly.
"You'd better be careful. The Commission won't like it if you get too close to the FBI."
Luca nodded.
"Yes, I'll be careful."
Before long, all the bodies had been loaded into the truck.
Including Gotti, there were twenty-five bodies in total.
Luca pulled out a shining gold coin and handed it to Charlie.
Charlie counted the coins carefully.
Then he frowned slightly.
"Mr. Greco, you gave me one extra."
"I didn't give you any extra."
Slash!
Luca suddenly drew the katana from O-Ren Ishii's hand. The blade flashed through the air and sliced across Pauli's neck, blood spraying out as Luca calmly returned the sword to its sheath with a metallic clang.
The gray-haired Mafia veteran clutched his neck and collapsed to the ground. His eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at Luca, as if he wanted to say something, but his mouth filled with blood, preventing him from forming a complete sentence.
"Luca…"
"Goodbye, Pauli."
Luca stepped forward, crouched beside him, and spoke quietly.
"Actually, there were two execution orders. One was for Gotti."
"The other… was for you."
"The Boss already heard that story."
A trace of relief appeared in Pauli's eyes.
So during the funeral meeting that day… he had already been considered a dead man by the Boss.
Luca continued calmly.
"The Mariggio you look down on is now the most business-savvy and valuable person in the Boss's eyes, because every week he brings in one million dollars."
"Tell me—who else in the entire family can produce that kind of money?"
Pauli stared at Luca in despair as his struggles gradually weakened.
Luca concluded calmly.
"Uncle Mariggio was never very smart, and he was never particularly good at business. That's exactly why he's the most suitable boss for me."
"Rest in peace, Pauli."
"Mariggio will attend your funeral as the new underboss. I hope you'll feel honored."
---
In his final moments, Pauli's eyes revealed a hint of nostalgia and reluctance.
His life had not been particularly extraordinary, but through its ups and downs he had witnessed much of the Mafia's history.
Being murdered was the fate of most Mafia members.
So Pauli was not surprised by this ending.
He simply had not expected it to arrive so soon.
The young man standing before him made him feel both powerless and sorrowful.
"Luca…"
"The family will become exactly what you want it to be."
Pauli's grip on Luca's arm slowly loosened, and a trace of deep regret remained in his lifeless eyes.
The first person executed under Black Hand Arbitration was the very owner of the skill.
__________________________________________________________________________
[Ding! You executed a notorious Mafia boss and preserved the peace of your family]
[Gain Skill Points +10]
[Gain Skill Fragments +5]
[Remaining Skill Fragments: 17]
__________________________________________________________________________
The truck loaded with bodies disappeared into the distance.
Luca stood alone at the crossroads with the bag in his hand. The streetlights cast long shadows behind him while the evening breeze lifted the edges of his coat.
The assassins who had fought beside him quietly departed in different directions, their brief alliance ending as quickly as it had begun.
Not long afterward, a green Mitsubishi pulled up beside the road.
"Dove! I'm here to pick you up!"
Brian flashed his signature warm smile.
"Let's head back to the club."
He glanced at the bag Luca was carrying.
"That's a pretty big bag. Don't tell me it's all money."
"Yes."
Brian laughed.
"Dove, you're incredible. You managed to make this much money in such a remote place."
The car drove away down the road.
Only these remote streets allowed smooth travel without traffic.
The heart of New York City was far too crowded, and the towering skyscrapers standing in the night looked like silent tombstones—each one a monument to the people who owned the city.
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