Chapter 136
Zaro hung its head, perhaps already cursing Syracuse in its mind. But it was utterly helpless against this masked man.
Unable to win a fight, they could only silently endure it.
Seeing that it did not raise any objections and lay prostrate on the ground in complete submission, Shi Lei flew straight off the ground into the air:
"If there's nothing else, I'll be going now. I'll stay for a few more days and then leave Syracuse. Talk to Texas about the trade whenever you're free, but I don't want this to drag on for too long."
After saying that, Shi Lei turned around and began to accelerate, flying towards the location of the Volcini Grand Hotel.
Meanwhile, in the hotel lobby.
After speaking privately with Shi Lei, Madam Sicily left the scene shortly afterward. Their ideologies differed, and they failed to reach an agreement on certain points.
Father Agnil, one of the top warriors among the Twelve Families, deeply realized the gap in strength between the two sides after facing the oppressive aura released by the Archon Realm. He was completely convinced and left with Madam Sicily.
Bernardo Bellone came downstairs a few minutes later than the other two, and like them, he left without lingering. However, before leaving, he went to the counter and paid a sum of money, saying that all the expenses for Zhongli and the others would be charged to him.
Before long, only Alberto and the family patriarchs who had no connection with Shi Lei remained in the hall.
Lappland, who should have been upstairs, unexpectedly appeared at the bottom of the stairs, peering out. She saw her father's hateful face in the distance and felt a surge of joy.
The Saluzzo family was Alberto's personal fiefdom.
The father often boasted of prioritizing the family's interests, displaying a cold and ruthless demeanor. This gave Lappland, who had returned to Syracuse, a bold idea.
If Alberto's suicide is necessary to preserve the Saluzzo family's wealth and interests, what choice will he make then?
If Alberto were to save himself, the so-called family interests would become meaningless. If Alberto were to commit suicide to protect the family, the family's interests would suffer even greater losses after his death, contradicting the principle of protecting interests. Doing so would put him in a dilemma.
Lappland really wanted Shi Lei's help to see what her father would ultimately choose. However, she knew that this wish was unlikely to be fulfilled.
Although the man was about the same age as me, he was much more mature and composed than his peers.
Lappland noticed Alberto's gaze and quickly slipped into the stairwell. She didn't bother peeking out to check further and went straight back upstairs.
In Exusiai's room, a party filled with pizza and wine is currently underway.
However, since the person in question hadn't returned yet, everyone was chatting around the table, and no one spoke up beforehand.
Seeing Lappland walk in, completely unfazed, Texas frowned slightly, feeling a hint of displeasure.
Please, don't you have your own home? You've already gone back to Syracuse, why are you still bothering Shi Lei?
"You seem very serious, Chelinina. Relax, I mean no harm."
"This isn't a matter of malice or not, but rather, you've already been expelled, so why did you come back?"
"Oh, Chelinina, that's really hurtful. This isn't Lungmen, I shouldn't have any problems moving around within Syracuse, right?"
Texas realized she couldn't win the argument by continuing down this line of thought, so she promptly ended the current topic:
"Don't even think about trying anything funny."
At this point, she held up two fingers, pointing to her own eyes, then to Lappland:
"I'll keep an eye on you."
If the other party persists in following them shamelessly, Texas really doesn't have a better way to deal with it.
The gathering was lively for a while, but quickly returned to calm. The Emperor, perhaps due to his height or that of the Beast Lord, got along quite well with Lisa was similarly tall.
A few minutes later, Shi Lei back to the hotel.
He knocked on the window in mid-air, and only entered the room after Croissant opened it.
Exusiai was already starving, so she quickly brought over a plate of pizza and chuckled as she complained:
"You're finally back! If you hadn't come back, we wouldn't have waited for you anymore."
"Haha, no need to wait for me. Next time you encounter this situation, just eat first if you're hungry."
Amidst the clinking of glasses and the lively atmosphere, the atmosphere was quite convivial.
Exusiai ordered every single pizza flavor in the grand hotel. Paired with the Syracuse red wine sent by various families, the overall atmosphere instantly became much more sophisticated.
No one knew how much time had passed when the temperature inside the room suddenly dropped. The Wolf Lord Zaro, emerged from the shadows where the smoke had gathered and approached his target:
"The wolves of the Texas Family, do you still remember?"
Is this an agreement between us?
When Texas opened the door, she only saw the belated Emperor and was unaware that Zaro had been there.
"Of course I remember. I've never forgotten that transaction from back then. But why did you specifically choose this time to appear? You wouldn't be planning to place an order now, would you?"
"That's right, my request is very simple."
Zaro looked at Shi Lei respectfully, his attitude humble. Then, facing Texas, he gave the order:
"I hope that you will protect this gentleman's personal safety and take care of his daily life from now on. As long as you can do these two things, our debt will be settled."
Exusiai was eating pizza when she heard this and immediately gave him a strange look, as if she really wanted to light a fire.
Zaro's self-righteous cleverness left Shi Lei speechless. They all got along so well, why did he have to assign Texas such a nanny-like task?
Are you sick?
Shi Lei has now removed his mask. Zaro noticed the change in his expression and immediately corrected himself:
"Then, let's try another one, you can..."
"No."
Texas interrupted and agreed:
"I'm already working on this project, so let's not change it, let's stick with this one."
Zaro was unsure what to do and looked to Shi Lei for advice. Seeing the look of disgust on Shi Lei's face, his heart skipped a beat, and he immediately backed down.
"Alright, that's settled then. The Wolves of Texas family, our debts are now even."
Having said that, it quickly vaporized and disappeared into the shadows. I dared not linger here for even a minute longer, for fear of being wiped out.
Seeing Zaro leave, Shi Lei began to explain:
"Texas, that guy's talking nonsense, don't take it seriously, just ignore it."
But to everyone's surprise, she remained steadfast and had no intention of giving up.
"I already manage your finances, so adding taking care of your daily needs won't be difficult. You probably don't know how large the purge against the Texas Family was a few years ago. Back then, Lupo was hunting me down all over Columbia. Without the Wolf Lord Zaro vouching for me, I wouldn't have been able to leave alive. Now that it has issued a commission, I should be even more diligent in completing it."
Tsk tsk, were you doing that to complete a commission?
Exusiai and Croissant stood by, suppressing their laughter, knowing full well Texas's intentions but saying nothing.
Shi Lei wanted to settle scores with Zaro, but the guy had slipped away incredibly fast. Now, finding him again would be much more difficult.
"Oh, really, no need. I'm perfectly healthy and don't need anyone to take care of my daily needs."
"Okay, sure."
Texas smiled and didn't bring it up again. She didn't say whether she would comply with the request in the future.
The next day.
Around nine o'clock in the morning, Madam Sicily arrived at the Volcini Grand Hotel again. However, this time she was not looking for Shi Lei, but rather to meet with his boss.
What exactly they discussed remains unknown. But after the meeting, the Emperor informed Penguin Logistics' Messenger that a branch station would be established in Syracuse.
The investigation into the Palermo bombing has made substantial progress. Bernardo Bellone was the messenger this time, delivering detailed results.
The hotel explosion was actually orchestrated by a mid-level manager in the Gambino family. According to his confession, this was something Soloso had told him a few days earlier.
Even after someone's dead, you still disgust people. You're really something.
The Gambino family involved in the case has been completely purged. The patriarch Gambino Ricci, was unaware of the bombing and, in consideration of his past contributions to the country, has been expelled from Syracuse.
The hotel was damaged in the explosion. Someone went to assess the specific losses and promised to compensate the hotel ten times the original price.
Shi Lei was fairly satisfied with the outcome.
The three things he came to Syracuse to do have all been properly handled.
Overnight, the Gambino family, one of the Twelve Families of Syracuse, vanished into history. But the lives of the people of Palermo were not affected.
It seems as if Syracuse can still function normally even without the support of a family.
After two days of deliberation, Madam Sicily finally compromised. She planned to build a city without family control on a newly constructed, Moving Plot.
Through this pilot city, we will spend several years validating whether this model can be implemented throughout Syracuse.
During this time, Lappland shamelessly approached Shi Lei, wanting to become Shi Lei subordinate. Now, she's become a useless piece of trash who can't even kill without a shield.
Texas, as always, showed considerable resistance to her joining. It was almost as if it were a matter of "either her or me," a situation where either of them was mutually exclusive.
Ultimately, it was the Emperor who proposed a solution: to recruit Lappland as an intern at Penguin Logistics, temporarily placing her in the position of store manager to oversee the Syracuse branch.
They promised an opportunity to return to headquarters once a year, with paid leave to visit Lungmen.
Lappland knew this was her only chance, and she had to accept it whether she wanted to or not.
Perhaps working in this position for a while will change Shi Lei's impression of him.
The four Messenger came to Syracuse on a paid leave granted by the Emperor. They didn't stay long in Volcini; they spent two days there and prepared to return to Lungmen on the 30th.
Bernardo paid for the hotel stay on the first day. The expenses for the following days were covered by Madam Sicily. She also promised that if Shi Lei ever visited Syracuse again, all expenses would be covered by the government.
Lisa's mother did not appear, but sent someone to keep her company.
A message. He entrusted Shi Lei and Texas to send Lisa back to Lungmen, and to have her father come to pick her up in June.
On April 30, everyone embarked on their journey home.
It is expected that they will not be able to return to Lungmen until mid-May.
On his way back, Shi Lei passed En route Palermo and made a special trip to check on the hotel. His rock pillar was so sturdy that it remained there without being dismantled.
The hotel reopened, and Aya's Barber Shop was thriving. The fall of a large family hadn't affected the father and daughter's lives. The future seemed increasingly promising.
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201 A Day with a Baby (4K)
On their En route away from Syracuse, Shi Lei sensed that Wolf Lord were following them.
They seemed to have some kind of tacit understanding, maintaining a sufficient distance. Apart from secretly observing from afar, they did not engage in any aggressive behavior.
Whenever Shi Lei approaches quickly, these Wolf Lords are so frightened that they teleport away instantly. After a while, they reappear nearby.
Seeing that they made no further moves, Shi Lei ignored them. Only after the group left Syracuse did the Wolf Lord stop following them.
During this period, Shi Lei gradually adjusted the color of his pupils to the golden hue of his Immortal Body Mode. Several colleagues noticed this, but said nothing.
He had previously considered how to conceal his dragon eyes. However, it seems there was no need for that.
Just like in Texas's past, everyone tacitly refrained from mentioning it. Even if colleagues noticed and noticed that he had changed his pupil color, they wouldn't ask.
What they care about is Shi Lei as a person. They treat him as a friend, as family. They won't become strangers just because his pupils change color.
It was the same before, and it is the same now.
May 15th, morning. After a long journey of half a month, the convoy finally returned to Lungmen.
Everyone looked a little tired as they said goodbye at the company entrance and went home.
Home is a strange place sometimes.
If you stay at home for too long, you'll start to want to go out and see the world. But once you've actually been away for a while, you'll miss home.
Lisa's mother was unable to make it in, as she did not appear in Volcini. She sent a message through someone, hoping Shi Lei would continue to help look after the child. She also mentioned that she could bring her daughter back to Lungmen, and that Lisa's father would come to pick her up at the end of June.
Adhering to the principle of "helping someone to the end and seeing them through to the end," Shi Lei did not refuse this unpaid commission.
After all, such an adorable nine-tailed fox, just looking at her cute appearance can instantly lift your spirits.
"Lisa, say goodbye to your sisters."