The Trial Begins / Shopkeeper Wen Yue

Thinking this, Griseo covered her mouth with her hand and yawned, then looked at the person beside her, "Fluffy... I'm a little sleepy, I want to sleep..."

"Well, now that you mention it, it really is getting late. Since you're sleepy, I'll Griseo you to wash up." Hearing this, Fumizuki glanced at the time, nodded gently, and then stood up and extended her hand to Griseo.

"Ugh,???)..."

Without hesitation, Griseo grasped Fumizuki's furry hand and led her away from the living room to wash up.

On the other side--

Tonight, thanks to Shirayuki's close "protection," Wei Yenwu completely abandoned his thoughts of sneaking out for drinks and dutifully led the way in working overtime at the Lungmen Guard Department. He even got a little tipsy and worked very late.

By the time he realized what was happening and took Shirayuki back, it was already quite dark outside.

When Wei Yenwu finally got home, he immediately saw Fumizuki sitting on the living room sofa with a pale face, seemingly lost in thought.

He then quickly recalled whether he had done anything "out of line" that day, and after confirming that the problem wasn't with him, he went over and said:

"What happened, Fumizuki? Let me make this clear, I didn't go out drinking today. And what about the little guest you mentioned from Talulah's place?"

"Well, it's none of your business. I just found out a few things. As for Little Griseo, she's already gone to rest. She spent the whole day shopping with Xiao Chen and is a little tired." Faced with her husband's question, Fumizuki put aside her thoughts and shook her head to explain.

She then stood up and walked to Wei Yenwu's side to take off his coat, saying, "Change your clothes and rest for a bit. You've had a long day."

"But you've come back just in time. There are some things we need to discuss in the study later."

"Good."

Upon hearing this, Wei Yenwu didn't ask any further questions. He nodded and went back to his room to change his clothes. Although he didn't know exactly what his wife knew, the unspoken understanding between them told him that it must be something quite important.

"Well..."

Fumizuki watched Wei Yenwu's retreating figure as he returned to his room, and couldn't help but sigh softly.

She hadn't shown it when she was chatting with Griseo to get information, but now that the little one was asleep, she no longer suppressed her emotions.

Although Fumizuki didn't entirely believe what Little Tal said in her Fumizuki from the beginning, after learning some things through Griseo, she felt that the situation was worse than she had imagined...

Chapter 142 The Beginning of the Trial

In the early morning, the first rays of sunlight gently streamed into the dimly lit room through the curtains fluttering in the breeze, quietly awakening everything that had been dormant within and silently signaling the arrival of a new day.

"Hmm..."

As if sensing the light, or perhaps her punctual biological clock had finally struck, Griseo slowly opened her eyes. Looking at the unfamiliar room before her, she sat up groggily, her slightly frizzy hair still on.

After spacing out for a while, remembering where she was and what was going to happen next, the little girl slowly lifted the thin blanket, got out of bed, and went to wash up.

Day by day, Griseo found her life becoming increasingly busy. She was always either shopping for this or that, going out with this or that... Just thinking about going out to buy gifts with Fumizuki today gave her a headache.

But there's no way around it... Lungmen 've already come all this way, it would be a shame not to give Talulah some of the spoils she came all this way.

Thinking of this, the little girl silently quickened her washing up. She was now eager to go downstairs to check on yesterday's work, to see what Fumizuki and her husband had discussed while she was asleep, and how much help they planned to provide to Talulah.

Downstairs in the restaurant--

"I heard noises upstairs; the child must have gotten up. I'll go check on him."

Hearing faint noises coming from upstairs, Fumizuki, sitting at the table, looked at her husband across from her and said, "When little Griseo down in a bit, Wei Yenwu, be gentle with her, don't scare her and leave a bad impression."

"So what if he's a little fierce? He's just a child anyway." In response to his wife's reminder, Wei Yenwu took a sip of tea and said dismissively.

"Heh~"

Upon hearing this, Fumizuki raised an eyebrow, then said with a forced smile, "Wei Yenwu, if you want the child to go back and complain to Little Tal, then go ahead and do whatever you want. I have no objection."

"... Okay, okay, I understand."

After a friendly exchange with Wei Yenwu, Fumizuki stood up from her divination and prepared to go upstairs. However, before she could even reach the second floor, Griseo had finished washing up, came to her first.

"Good morning, fluffy thing..."

"Good morning! You're up so early! But why is little Griseo still wearing this dress? Come with Auntie to change your clothes." Fumizuki smiled and replied, but her attention quickly shifted elsewhere. After noticing that Griseo was still wearing the white dress, she took her hand and led her towards the dressing room.

"???)Eh..."

After hearing Fumizuki's words, Griseo, who was being led by the hand, couldn't help but let out a small sound of panic.

"Pfft~ Changing your clothes will make it easier to go out! After we go out to buy a gift for Little Tal today, Auntie will take you for a drive!" Fumizuki couldn't help but chuckle as she looked at Griseo's adorable appearance and explained.

"Hmm, okay then..."

In the end, it turned out that it was a mistake to agree to the strange aunt's "weird" request. By the time Griseo came out of the dressing room and sat down at the dining table after changing her clothes and hair, the time on the living room clock had already slipped from a little past 6 o'clock to a little past 7 o'clock.

After a quick breakfast and a brief exchange of words with Wei Yenwu, the little girl finally began her busy shopping trip.

When people are busy and focused on doing something, time seems to be accelerated, slipping away quietly through their fingers, and several days pass in the blink of an eye.

While Griseo was spending her time in Lungmen, browsing around, shopping, interacting with different people, and unlocking new characters, some things were quietly happening in the shadows of the city.

For example, an interesting meeting...

10:30 PM The stinking alleys of Lungmen slum--

In the era of Lungmen's development, some things will always fall behind. When the economy is extremely prosperous, people in the slums often don't notice the filth. It's only when the economic boom recedes that the people living in the slums realize that even dumping garbage is a technical job.

This alley originated from that era, a place where refugees and illegal immigrants from various countries dumped their garbage. Due to years of neglect, the rotting alley constantly emitted the stench of decaying garbage.

Therefore, even the poorest people would not want to stay in this place for one night.

Because the stench of decay often lingers in a person for years, and can never be completely washed away.

But today is an exception... A group of uninvited guests arrived, adding a touch of life to the otherwise desolate night.

Gambino covered his nose, walked through the stinking alley, and arrived at the junkyard. He looked up at the guy waiting there and said, "Your plan and your taste in choosing a place are equally appalling."

The two sides' henchmen, dressed in black suits, emerged in the shadows cast by the streetlights, while the archers vied for advantageous positions to prevent the other side from making any rash moves.

Capone looked indignant, but he smiled knowingly and said, "What? Didn't you have enough of arguing at the bar? Want to argue until you come up with a solution? Enough. I brought you here to solve your problems, not to keep spouting nonsense, buddy." Gambino seemed to have guessed his thoughts, so he didn't ask first, but continued calmly.

"If I set this disgusting place on fire... wouldn't that count as beautifying the city? Would Wei Yenwu be angry?"

Capone chuckled twice and said to him, "I don't want your arrival to make my nearly ten years of hard work go to waste, so I've decided to make a bet with you. If you can handle it, I'll do as you say, at least for now."

Gambino's expression hardened. "Even without the bet, I am still your superior and the heir to the Gambino Family. If you disregard the bigger picture, you know how the family deals with traitors—it's not a pretty sight."

He didn't agree immediately, just tried to bluff a little, and of course Capone wasn't stupid.

He simply watched the family heir quietly, a clueless and reckless young man.

Capone, deeply involved in Lungmen's underground forces, knew very well that to survive in Lungmen, one couldn't use the Sicilians model. Seeking cooperation was far more prudent than disrupting the established order.

Gambino's arrival made him feel terrible. Everything was supposed to be over, but who would have thought that this idiot who parachuted in would ruin his plans?

To prevent this guy from completely endangering the Gambino Family, and to ensure that Capone's own efforts wouldn't go to waste, he had no choice but to resort to this drastic measure.

After waiting a while, he saw that Capone was no longer making any moves and was just watching him.

Gambino waved his hand, as if to ward off the smell of garbage and murky thoughts, and said, "What you're saying had better be of some value, rather than some nonsense."

"Take this alley for example, it's utterly nonsensical..." He snorted and gestured for Capone to speak.

Capone couldn't help but sneer, "I need you and me to have a contest to see who finds it first..."

The sounds of two people shouting and cursing passionately echoed from the dark alley.

However, a few blocks away, unbeknownst to the thugs, Mr. Lin, a model citizen nearing retirement, and Mr. Wei, an ordinary citizen, were leisurely sitting on park benches, playing Go.

As he watched the chess game unfold, ordinary citizen Wei Yenwu frowned slightly. Hearing the commotion in the distance, he looked at model citizen Lin Ge Rui and asked, "Is it a bit noisy next door?"

"Never mind, isn't it the same every year around this time? Even thugs need their own sense of ritual," Mr. Lin said.

"But even hooligans need to know what their sense of ritual is, right? The older generation always needs to look into bad things and offer some guidance. Of course, good traditions also need to be promoted," Mr. Wei said, groping for the white pieces.

"I've heard some really bad things happen lately, and the elderly don't know how to supervise. If you get involved, they'll probably get angry with me again."

Lin Ge Rui, a model citizen, groped for the black stone and then spoke up, "Timing is very important when doing things. If those old men are watching, they'll never have enough fun. If you don't make a fuss, they'll cause a ruckus. Old people, old people, experience is their only way to survive."

The two looked at each other and smiled.

Then Wei Yenwu looked at the chessboard and said, "... Wait a minute, did you move the chessboard just now?"

"How could that be? When have I ever taken back a move?"

"Yes, you never take back your moves; you always manage to steal the initiative and switch the pieces when I'm not looking."

"No, no, not at all, hahaha--"

The conversation then veered off in another direction. "But this time it's convenient; we can hand it over to a third party," said Wei Yenwu, an ordinary citizen, with a pointed remark.

Upon hearing this, Lin Ge Rui narrowed his eyes slightly, "Are you sure? If things go wrong, the cleanup will be a real challenge."

"However, the fact that something went wrong means that guy hadn't thought things through properly, and he should be dealt with severely..."

Seeing that his old friend wanted to say something more, Wei Yenwu narrowed his eyes and suddenly said, "Just admit defeat already. Don't try to distract me. Do you think I'll give you another chance to lay a hand on me?"

"... tsk"

"Then it's settled as previously agreed, but of course, I won't provide her with any favors."

"You're saying the same thing I would do."

The two exchanged a knowing glance, then both turned their gaze to the stinking, decaying alley. Wei Yenwu said to Lin Ge Rui, "I told you, that place should have been dealt with. It stinks for three years after it's burned. But at least it's beautified the city, haha."

The alleyway was currently ablaze, billowing green smoke, awaiting the arrival of the firefighters.

As for our protagonist, our protagonist is currently...

"Hmm, the scenery on this street is quite nice. I'll bring An Suo next time if I have the chance... Ah Qiu." Before she could finish her sentence, Pardofelis couldn't help but cover her mouth and sneeze loudly.

She then looked around at the quiet surroundings, a sense of unease creeping into her mind: Could it be that yet another person is plotting against her?

Chapter 143 Boss Fumizuki

"?~"

In fact, Pardofelis's intuition was just as accurate as she remembered.

She had just felt like she was being watched again last night when she was suddenly woken up by a series of annoying phone rings before she was fully awake this morning.

"Who is it, so early..."

Muttering to herself, Pardofelis rolled over and reached for her phone, groggily trying to turn off the noise. After all, her little brother Rope, was still sleeping in the next tent, and it wouldn't be good to wake her up too.

"!"

Just as the cat finally grabbed the phone and looked at the screen to turn it off, the note displayed on it made her jump, and she almost dropped the phone.

"Wen... Fumizuki!"

Pardofelis, instantly wide awake, composed herself and, after confirming that her voice didn't sound like she had just woken up, quickly answered the phone.

"Oh, good morning, Miss Pardofelis." After the call connected, Fumizuki's gentle and smiling greeting came slowly from the other end.

"Haha, good morning, Ms. Fumizuki. Is there something you need from this sudden contact? Or are you planning to patronize my business?"

The moment Pardofelis saw that it was Fumizuki calling, she understood what was going on. Not wanting to beat around the bush, she directly threw out the topic with a laugh.

"Miss Pardofelis is indeed very perceptive. I do have something I would like to ask you to do. If you have some free time now, why don't you come over and we can talk?" Knowing that Pardofelis disliked beating around the bush, Fumizuki didn't waste any words and invited her with a smile.

"I'm free, of course I'm free... What could I possibly have to do so early in the morning? Fumizuki Yue, no, I should call you boss now."

"Boss Fumizuki, wait for us, we'll be there soon!"

"Then I will await your arrival."

"... Sigh, time to get busy."

After hanging up Fumizuki's call, Pardofelis couldn't help but sigh, then got up and quickly got to work.

Although arriving a little late wouldn't be a problem, Cat decided to hurry up in order to make a good impression on herself, the future biggest boss of Lungmen.

She couldn't help but feel excited as she thought about how the deal would go.

Pardofelis quickly dressed and crawled out of the tent, then called out to the nearby locked tent, "Get up, Ansuo! Something very important is happening today!"

"... They've arrived."