Chapter 487
"Heh, after all, this is someone else's territory. Before taking action, we should at least give them a heads-up. If they can handle it, I'll see how it goes. If they say they can't, then what we do next is up to me."
"Sophisticated."
Lappland suddenly realized, and adopted a smiling expression reminiscent of Ip Man pointing at someone:
"Since you've put it that way, let's call it a day for now and settle things later. But what if they run away? Chasing them one by one is too much trouble."
"That's easy."
Shi Lei closed his eyes and let his mind wander.
Just as Lappland was about to ask him what he was doing, he quickly received the answer. Outside the walls of Seven Hills City, large swathes of rocks had inexplicably appeared, layer upon layer, seemingly trying to seal the entire city inside.
This move is the same as the one used in Jade Gate, summoning a large number of rocks to gather into the shape of a birdcage. The sturdy Rock Constructs can both protect and restrict people.
Wow!
Lappland gave a thumbs up, feeling that compared to this, her previous efforts were nothing but child's play.
Upon witnessing this extraordinary sight, people from countless tribes came out of their homes. Those living near the city walls even went out to touch the rocks and tap them to check their hardness.
After completing the 'birdcage', Shi Lei opened a ventilation Cave Entrance high in the air.
Then, with a wave of his right hand, he created another Rock platform.
Texas and Lappland walked up and flew away through the Cave Entrance under the watchful eyes of countless people.
Half an hour later, the three returned to Volcini.
When Lappland, who had been missing for several months, appeared before her full of life, Madam Sicily remained silent with a gloomy face, feeling extremely ashamed.
So many people from the Twelve Families couldn't withstand an opponent's attacks for even a few hours... Sigh, what else can be said?
Shi Lei briefly described his experience of finding Lappland in Seven Hills City, then suddenly changed the subject:
"What do you think we should do about this?"
Madam Sicily, sweating profusely from the question, stiffly pulled a silk handkerchief from her pocket and wiped her brow.
"We need to hold an emergency meeting to give you a reply by today, is that alright?"
"Sure, of course."
Shi Lei didn't force them to do anything; they could agree on a timeframe. If there were delays, that was fine too, as long as they provided a final answer on how they would handle the situation.
He glanced at the time; there was still half an hour before dinner at six. He then sent Texas and Lappland to find Mudrock and the others, while he flew away from Volcini.
As for the matter of the Wolf Lord, you should ask the Wolf Lord.
Shi Lei found Zaro resting in a cave 30 kilometers away.
Hearing that the Wolf Lord had attacked humans, it was filled with righteous indignation and vowed to help find the unruly Wolf Lord so that he could be severely punished.
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Seeing that Zaro seemed determined to take full responsibility for this matter, Shi Lei did as it wished:
"You said it yourself, so I'll leave the task of finding this Wolf Lord to you."
"Huh? I just..."
"Um?"
Zaro wanted to argue, but seeing the strange look in his eyes, he had to hide his true thoughts.
"That's exactly what I meant. Once the murderer is found, I'll have someone notify you."
Shi Lei had originally intended to scare Zaro, saying that if they couldn't find it, it was Zhalo's fault. But then he thought the guy might be easily frightened, so he didn't say those words.
"Okay, I'll wait for your good news."
Having achieved his goal, he turned and left the cave. He took off from the spot and flew back to Volcini to rejoin the others.
The sun was setting, and it was almost six o'clock, dinnertime. Lisa's mother, Katerina, had been found and a dinner arrangement was made at the New Volcini Grand Hotel.
Using the Rock Constructs ornaments worn by his girlfriends as a guide, Shi Lei quickly arrived at the scene. Less than half an hour after ordering, all twenty-odd dishes were served.
During the banquet, Katerina raised her glass to thank Shi Lei and Texas.
"My daughter has received so much care and attention from both of you over the past year, and I am truly grateful."
"Don't thank me, thank her."
Shi Lei pointed to Surtr and introduced him:
"I travel frequently for work and am away from Lungmen most of the time. This Miss Surtr not only supervises Lisa's homework but also takes care of her daily life. She picks her up and drops her off at school every day, rain or shine, without fail. The person you should thank the most is her."
Upon hearing this, Katerina thanked her sincerely.
Surtr, somewhat shyly, smiled and waved his hand:
"Auntie, you don't need to be so polite. Let's eat first, or the food will get cold."
"Ah, yes, yes, come on, let's eat first."
Everyone clinked glasses and chatted, creating a lively atmosphere.
Whether intentionally or unintentionally, Shi Lei suddenly asked halfway through his meal:
"Actually, there's something I'm curious about. Which family are you currently working for in New Volcini?"
Katerina, without suspecting anything, answered truthfully:
"The Shelby family, a family of three hundred people. The youngest daughter of the Konobo family married the Second Young Master of the Shelby family. She was away on her honeymoon that year and didn't return, thus narrowly escaping disaster. She is the last remaining Konobo family in Syracuse."
Shi Lei nodded slightly and continued:
"It seems Auntie is truly loyal. It's understandable for a descendant to be loyal to his former master. But what I can't understand is that Lisa has been fostered in Lungmen for over a year and you haven't visited her even once. Her father went to great lengths to come, so what's going on with you?"
Katerina's face was stiff and full of apology:
"I'm so sorry, I've just been too busy to get away. Otherwise, I would have gone to Lungmen to see her."
Shi Lei was very dissatisfied with this answer and made his stance clear by pressing for further questions:
"Then I really want to ask, have you taken over all the affairs of the Shelby family, or do you not have the money to hire an assistant? In the past year or so, you haven't even been able to find time to see your daughter? It seems that you are extremely busy, Auntie. I'm not as busy as you even when I'm traveling for work all year."
"..."
These words left Katerina speechless. She buried her head and gently scratched her plate with her fork, offering no response.
Seeing her mother's somewhat awkward situation, Lisa thoughtfully stepped in to smooth things over:
"Big brother, I'm so happy to see Mom today. I'm a little hungry, let's eat quickly."
Lisa is still young and has a kind and considerate personality, always thinking of others. But Shi Lei still insisted on bringing this matter to the forefront, arguing that it couldn't be dealt with casually.
"Food can be eaten anytime. But some things can't be left like this. If you were a pillar of the Shelby family, I could pay a hefty price to ransom you. You wouldn't want such a lovely child like Lisa to lack a mother's love during her childhood, would you?"
"No, no, that's not true..."
Sensing that Katerina's momentum had softened, Shi Lei immediately made a decision:
"Alright, then it's settled. I'll contact the head of the Shelby family later to see how to handle this. Your childhood is none of my business, but Lisa's childhood cannot be without her mother."
He rarely interferes in other people's affairs and usually remains an observer.
The reason for Shi Lei's unprecedented and forceful intervention today is because he treats Lisa like a younger sister.
He knew very well that as parents, they should always be there for their child's growth. He couldn't just sit back and do his job outside without a care in the world, thinking that Lisa was sensible.
They keep saying they're busy, but how busy can they really be?
Even for jobs with six days on and one day off, employees are given a holiday each year to go home and visit their families.
Even if Syracuse doesn't have the Yan Year custom, surely you can always find time to visit it throughout the year?
The Bruno family, who wiped out the Konobo family, were all killed by Penguin Logistics Messenger. Chief Soloso was thrown off the overpass, with no chance of survival.
If Katerina is making excuses about not seeing the child because she's afraid of retaliation, that's utterly ridiculous. Shi Lei doesn't believe anyone in Syracuse would dare lay a hand on Lisa.
A mother who entrusts her child to someone else and runs off to enjoy herself is being incredibly irresponsible.
Shi Lei understands that her aunt may have had an unhappy childhood in a violent environment like Syracuse. But that experience is not a reason for her not to visit.
Please, this is your child, not some game account you're paying someone to level it up for you.
Seeing that Katerina did not object, Shi Lei forcefully took the lead and made the decision, turning his head to look at Texas:
"All their expenses in Lungmen will be charged to my account. Please settle the accounts monthly."
"No problem, leave it to me."
Lisa knew Shi Lei meant well, but she couldn't be too direct about it now. Later, when they were eating, she would give him a grateful look.
With Exusiai's enthusiastic encouragement, the atmosphere quickly became lively. No one mentioned the incident again, and everyone raised their glasses to drink and eat with great enjoyment.
While Shi Lei and the others were having dinner, Madam Sicily convened an emergency meeting of the Twelve Families heads in the Grey Hall.
To understand the situation, intelligence personnel drove to Seven Hills City. They discovered that the entire Mobile Cities was encased in rocks and immediately took photos and sent them back.
Madam Sicily printed out the photographs, which were then distributed by her assistant to each family head present.
Only now did she reveal the authority befitting a gang leader, her face cold and stern as she spoke:
"As you can see, Seven Hills City is sealed off by the rocks in the photograph. Neither bows and arrows, nor firearms, nor even explosives can crack these rocks."
Intelligence personnel contacted them by phone, saying that someone flew away from the sky after the rocks appeared. I'm sure you all know who was behind this without me having to explain.
Mister Zhongli is currently having dinner with a group of friends at the New Volcini Grand Hotel. We need to give him a satisfactory answer before midnight tonight. Please feel free to offer any suggestions or ideas you may have."
Shi Lei's strength is extraordinary.
The patriarchs of the Twelve Families knew very well that even all of Syracuse's elite forces combined might not be able to defeat him.
Faced with overwhelming power, the suggestion to rise up in resistance was immediately swept into the dustbin of history.
He could seal off Seven Hills City with rocks in two or three minutes. He could also seal off the entire territory of Syracuse in an hour. In that case, he wouldn't even need to kill anyone; the whole country would be paralyzed.
After a long while, a clan patriarch put down the photo in his hand and took the initiative to break the deadlock:
"Actually, this matter is not as complicated as you might think. Since Mister Zhongli wants an explanation, then we will give him one."
The Chieftain of Seven Hills City have never really obeyed the Grey Hall's rules. We can take this opportunity to completely eliminate them and pay them a good settlement. These two things combined will be enough to appease Mister Zhongli. If this can free up a Mobile Cities, we can send the young talents of each family there to explore a new world."
He appeared to be offering advice, but his last sentence revealed his true intention: to seek benefits for his family.
Syracuse's territory is only so big; it's impossible to seize it from Sargon. If eliminating the Seven Hills City's power would free up a Mobile Cities, the various families would definitely rush to take action. However, since they can't do it themselves, they would select young members of their clans to forcefully move in.
Madam Sicily naturally understood the ulterior motives of these family patriarchs, but she had no better solution at the moment.
"He didn't destroy Seven Hills City because he was afraid of getting his hands dirty, right? Let him remove those rocks, and we'll do the rest of the dirty work. Anyway, we're only superficially allied with Seven Hills City, so killing them wouldn't be a loss."
What about other people's opinions?
I agree.
Me too.
What Seven Hills City becomes is not important to the patriarchs of the Twelve Families. But the destruction of Seven Hills City is very important to the patriarch of the Shi Er Family. They all expressed their support or tacit approval, and no one raised any objections.
Madam Sicily couldn't think of a better solution, so for now, she could only proceed with this plan:
"Okay, let's do it that way. We also need to accelerate the deployment of Mobile Cities road surveillance systems; I don't want this to happen again."
Some family patriarchs hesitated to speak, but ultimately said nothing. With the increasing prevalence of surveillance cameras on the streets, they need to be more discreet in many of their actions.
Fortunately, besides the main roads, a city also has many intricate alleyways. While surveillance and public awareness can restrict overt actions, things continue as usual behind the scenes.
After finalizing the plan, the emergency meeting adjourned.
Madam Sicily and the heads of the Twelve Families traveled to the Volcini Grand Hotel in their respective luxury cars.
By the time they arrived at their destination, it was already past six in the afternoon. The sun had not yet set, casting a warm glow over the Mobile Cities.
Madam Sicily was very polite; she first had a hotel staff member go in to announce her arrival. She waited in the lobby on the first floor with Father Agnil and the heads of various families.
Shortly after, Shi Lei, Texas, and Lappland left the private room and came to the group. He skipped the pleasantries and went straight to the point:
"So, has the discussion been resolved?"
"Yes, Mister Zhongli, it's settled. We deeply regret this matter. We have decided to severely punish the members of the Seven Hills City troops. We are truly sorry..."