Chapter 133

Hmph, what a filial daughter.

Since losing to Texas three years ago, Lappland has been in a slump. He's been acting strangely all the time, and later even went on a rampage, severing ties with his family. Now that he's short of money, he's come back, and he really doesn't take him seriously.

What are you doing here?

Lappland hadn't expected to reunite with her father in this way, and her expression was somewhat complicated:

"I'm with Chelinina."

Several family patriarchs in the vicinity gathered around upon hearing the name Texas.

The reason they stayed here instead of going up was to discuss how to contact the mysterious man later.

She had originally planned to use Texas as a link to ease tensions between the other side and Syracuse. But as everyone saw, she simply didn't want to get involved.

Communication without a middleman is like lacking lubricant. Even slight friction between the parties can have very negative consequences.

Alberto's eyes lit up immediately upon hearing this.

If their daughter could establish a relationship with the mysterious man, it would be entirely beneficial to the Saluzzo family.

Do you know that man?

"Of course I know them. I came back with them."

What is his code name?

"The code name is Stone... oh no."

In daily interactions, everyone except Exusiai was always called by her codename, addressed each other by their full names. Lappland almost mispronounced it, and quickly corrected herself.

"That's his real name; his code name is Zhongli."

Seeing that Lappland actually knew the mysterious man, Alberto tried to pull her aside:

"Come, let's talk in private."

Seeing this, the other family patriarchs assumed he wanted to hog the food and expressed their strong dissatisfaction:

"What do you mean by that? Are you hiding something from us? Is there something we can't hear?"

"You wouldn't be thinking of using your daughter to get in touch with that man and then sell us out, would you?"

Frankly, Alberto Saluzzo might actually do that. In his eyes, the family's interests far outweigh everything else. He would deliberate for a long time before making a decision, no matter the difficulty.

Because of this, there's a saying in the underworld, "Last move, Saluzzo." It's a veiled criticism of Alberto's cautious approach and his preference for making his move last.

Hearing the strong protests from the heads of various families, Alberto, not wanting to become the target of everyone's anger, abandoned the idea of a private chat and inquired about the mysterious man:

Do you know what nationality Zhongli is?

Lappland was surrounded and unable to break through:

"I don't know, I think he's from Yan. I've never heard him mention his origins, and he doesn't have any racial features, so it's hard to define him."

Alberto spoke quietly with the heads of several neighboring families, asking the question that everyone was concerned about:

Do you know what abilities Zhongli possesses?

Lappland wasn't worried about this being a leak, because Shi Lei was so powerful that he had no weaknesses. Knowing his strength would only inspire awe and dispel any thoughts of causing trouble.

"His strength is unfathomable; he can summon Cataclysmic Clouds and meteors with ease. We usually just have him cast an invincible shield, which is enough to handle any situation."

Alberto hadn't noticed the shield while in the Grey Hall, and now asked seriously:

"An invincible shield? Tell me about it."

"Zhongli's shield is colorless and invisible, making it difficult to discern with the naked eye. He can not only cast a shield on himself, but also on others."

A wide-area shield. This shield is extremely strong, immune to all physical and Magic Attack. It is said that no one has been able to break through it to this day.

"You've heard about the Bruno family's annihilation a few days ago. There were only two or three of us, protected by Zhongli's shield, who wiped out 560 people without taking any damage. None of their attacks could penetrate the shield; they could only be chased and killed by us."

These words shocked everyone.

Giovanna was the first to realize that it explained why everyone was unharmed when the dome of the Grey Hall flew off.

It turns out, it's the function of a shield.

The ability to shield oneself from all attacks is already incredibly powerful. The fact that it can also shield others is top-tier; it feels like it could easily wipe out a wild beast.

Mister Zhongli's abilities are indeed unfathomable.

Just then, Madam Sicily returned from the restroom to the dining area and saw everyone gathered together. She then spoke with the other family heads, filling in the gaps in what she had missed.

Lappland, who claims to be a die-hard fan of Shi Lei for ten years, can talk about him with great enthusiasm:

"I advise you not to mess with Zhongli. If you say the wrong thing, Syracuse can be wiped out in the blink of an eye."

Even if he doesn't intervene, his subordinates are capable of eliminating Syracuse. In Lungmen, there's Sarkaz with very special Originium Arts who can summon enormous stone golems; one punch from one of them could cripple me for months.

Five Stone Statues are enough to wipe out an entire clan. But she can summon more than ten in one night. Which clan do you think can withstand that?

Is it really that exaggerated?

However, considering that Mister Zhongli has the ability to destroy a country with a flick of his wrist, it is not hard to understand why he has a powerful subordinate.

After listening for a while, Madam Sicily solemnly made a bold suggestion:

"What if we made Mister Zhongli the new master of Syracuse? Do you think that's feasible?"

These words caused an uproar at the scene.

As the creator of the rules of Syracuse, Madam Sicily understood the nature of rules very well. A strong person who can break their own rules certainly has that qualification.

Lappland pondered for a moment, then shook his head:

"I don't think it will work. Mister Zhongli probably won't agree to take over. He's currently Messenger for a logistics company in Lungmen, and he just wants to live a peaceful life. How could he possibly agree to suddenly manage a country?"

If you're interested in collaborating, I suggest contacting Penguin Logistics in Lungmen and setting up an office in Syracuse. If you encounter any problems later, you can simply hire them to resolve them.

198 The Fangs of the World (4K)

Madam Sicily's idea of having Shi Lei become the new master of Syracuse was not unfounded.

As a legendary figure in Syracuse's history, the terminator of a chaotic era, and the pioneer of a new era, she had long awaited this day.

Since the Madam Sicily brought back the ''Guns and Order'' from Laterano in 1039, she quelled the conflicts between the various families and created a set of rules for each family.

At the same time, she also opened local courts in several Mobile Cities across the country, creating a different set of rules applicable to ordinary people, modeled after Columbia law.

The two systems are incompatible and contradictory. For example, the courts, which require cooperation from law enforcement, are now led by judges themselves. Meanwhile, the security management of the Mobile Cities is handled by local families.

A country with two systems, each governing different social classes.

The longer Madam Sicily held power, the clearer she became about what the malignant tumor hindering the country's progress truly was.

Family can make or break a person.

The enemy of a family is the family itself.

This clan-like management model has a serious limitation—population.

No matter how much we respond to the call to have children, it will never reach the scale of managing a Mobile Cities.

This has led to families with excessively large spheres of influence having to rely on ordinary people and the law to maintain their power. They quietly operate behind the scenes, manipulating the behemoth that is the state.

Madam Sicily clearly distinguished between her family and ordinary people precisely because she recognized this. Through her quiet dedication, she convinced all Syracuse over nearly 60 years that having two sets of orders—one outward and one inward—was perfectly natural.

Breaking this deadlock will be very difficult, as it would mean overturning what she has relied on for survival in the past.

The Syracuse of today is not the Syracuse of the past. The Twelve Families that have taken up residence in the Grey Hall value their own interests more than those of the nation. If this cancerous growth of the families is to be eradicated, it will provoke a fierce backlash.

Madam Sicily did not want Syracuse to return to the chaotic era of family antagonism, so she maintained the status quo.

Even today, she sees another possibility in Shi Lei. Perhaps she can use absolute force to completely overthrow the deeply entrenched family.

The family may resist, but it will all be in vain.

Once these families are eliminated, we can emulate the system in Columbia and give the people of Syracuse a future free of families.

To achieve this goal, we must rely on Shi Lei.

The patriarch of Syracuse's most powerful family proposed a plan to eradicate the family. This far-fetched idea was completely incomprehensible to those involved.

They didn't understand why Madam Sicily wanted to hand over Syracuse so easily. They simply thought she was old and frail, and that she was only giving in because she couldn't win.

Lappland then answered several of Madam Sicily's questions, leaving the other patriarchs no chance to interject.

Until she discovered Exusiai on the first floor

The receptionist quickly pushed through the crowd and took the initiative to join them.

Lappland has left the team and hasn't rejoined Shi Lei's group yet. After these few days of interaction, she knows how to ingratiate herself with Sarkaz:

"Hey, Exusiai, what a coincidence. You came down here all by yourself, are you preparing for a party?"

Perhaps it's because Lappland is very obedient in front of Shi Lei. This makes Exusiai feel that this Lupo is polite and not so annoying.

When approached, she responded normally:

"Yeah, let's go down and order some wine and pizza, and bring them up for the party later."

Lappland nodded, her eyes gleaming:

"Having a party in Syracuse is a fantastic idea. But are you just going to drink the cheap wines here? Why not try some of Syracuse's finest vintage wines?"

Upon Exusiai immediately woke up from her drowsiness:

"Oh? Where can I buy it?"

"The truly fine wines can't be bought. You should know that these things are usually kept in the cellars of large families. However, I have a way to solve this problem."

Lappland put her arm around her shoulder and pointed outside:

"See those outside? Those are the patriarchs of the Twelve Families. Because of what happened today, they really want to apologize to Shi Lei. If you're willing to introduce us, I'll have them prepare some good wine and send it over. It's a rare trip to Syracuse, we can't just have a few drinks and call it a day, can we?"

It has to be said that this move accurately hit the nail on the head.

Exusiai licked her lips, somewhat hesitant:

"This... isn't this a bit inappropriate?"

There is still room for maneuver if there is no firm refusal.

Lappland put his left arm around her shoulder and patted his chest with his right hand, assuring her:

"Don't worry about that. They're here to apologize, not to cause trouble. Most of their wines are from private cellars that you can't buy on the market. The quality is absolutely guaranteed; they definitely won't pass off inferior products as superior ones."

"As long as you agree, these drinks will be given to you free of charge, regardless of whether Shi Lei accepts the apology or not. You won't bear any responsibility, so what's there to hesitate about?"

Exusiai clicked her tongue, somewhat convinced:

"Okay, how long will it take?"

"Half an hour, that's not good either. Come down in half an hour and I'll tell them to pick up the wine."

"I'll go up now, see you later."

After reaching an agreement with her, Lappland returned to the heads of the various families and said:

"They're upstairs, about to throw a wild party. If you can provide some fine wines and spirits within half an hour, I'll personally deliver them. Maybe Mister Zhongli will be in a good mood and will get to see you all."

Alberto held an orange in his left hand, secretly thinking to himself that he hadn't raised this daughter in vain. She had actually played a crucial role in bringing them together at a time like this.

"No problem, I'll arrange it right away."

"I have a bottle of century-old wine at home. Excuse me, everyone, I'll have to take a moment to leave."

All the family heads who had established themselves in Volcini quickly took their leave and went home to find fine wines and spirits.

However, most family patriarchs' spheres of influence were outside this city. Left with no other option, they called Rubio, the head of the local food department, hoping he could deliver top-quality wine to the Volcini Grand Hotel within half an hour.

After reaching an agreement with Lappland Exusiai took the elevator back and did not continue buying alcohol.

What they said is true. How can we just have a drink and be done with it when we've come all this way to Syracuse?

Exusiai wasn't worried at all that the wine would be poisoned. Those family patriarchs, having witnessed Shi Lei's terrifying strength, shouldn't have such ignorant thoughts.

When she returned to the bedroom empty-handed, Croissant, sitting on the sofa, raised her chin and asked: