415. An Unrefusable Condition
The Ruined City, the upper city.
In the areas where the wealthy live, the air is clean and the streets are spotless. You can see rich people in expensive clothes walking their dogs. Most of them don't need to work. They can earn enough to last several lifetimes just by investing and making money from rent. Life for them is all about enjoyment. In the Ruined City, the biggest entertainment for these people every day is various banquets. After the prohibition was issued, drinking alone at home also became a trend.
In an impressive courtyard, several black luxury cars were parked at the entrance, and armed guards were stationed in various locations throughout the courtyard, making it virtually impenetrable, so much so that not even a mosquito could fly in.
In the courtyard, on the first floor, in a room filled with bookshelves full of books, behind a mahogany desk, "The Godfather" Corneon Catania is reading a book about philosophy.
The culture of the Ruined City has experienced many breaks, but there are always some people who are able to transcend the times and come up with amazing ideas. Corneon liked such ideas very much, and he believed that they could guide his life and career.
After reading a passage, he picked up a wine glass from the table. The glass contained homemade, high-purity liquor, served with ice, which was said to be invigorating.
After taking a sip of wine and putting down the glass, there was already someone in the room.
"They know most of the things."
Stone stood there, with the big golden retriever beside him, its tongue lolling out, looking very tired.
"Not dead?"
Corneon closed the book and asked a question.
"I told you, they are all Transcendents, possessing power beyond imagination. I have seen that power, which you cannot comprehend."
Stone suppressed his emotions.
"Their presence will cause a lot of trouble. If you can't finish this, I'll send someone else."
Corneon seemed oblivious to Stone's emotions; his voice remained steady, like a church bell, always ringing at the same moment, always ringing only that many times.
"I will kill them."
Stone replied, his golden retriever tail wagging beside him.
"Are you starting to have doubts? Do you think I'm just using you, and that I'll abandon you once my family takes over the entire underground world of the Ruined City?"
Corneon suddenly spoke, and the atmosphere in the room instantly became heavy.
"They said similar things to me, but I didn't believe them."
The golden retriever next to Stone suddenly stood up and took the leash.
"My children are all useless. If they inherit the family, the family will either be devoured by those above us in a fierce and reckless confrontation, or it will sink and perish in the old and rotten self-imposed isolation. Only the right person can lead the family to true prosperity."
Corneon said in a deep voice, his words extremely sincere, making anyone who heard him think he was confiding in you.
"Or are you so cowardly that you believe you can't control the family and will be eliminated by me?"
"No, Father, I didn't."
Stone felt a strong sense of authority.
He could order the monster beside him to kill the man in front of him right now, but that would only be a momentary pleasure. If Corneon were killed now, the entire Catania Family would be plunged into strife and turmoil. As an adopted son, he would have no way to fight his way through Corneon's legitimate sons.
Stone knew exactly what Lu Ban had said.
He knew very well that Corneon would never truly hand over the family to an outsider, and that the godfather was using him for everything he did.
In fact, Stone was also taking advantage of Corneon's little scheme.
As the godfather said, Corneon's children were all good-for-nothings. The eldest brother was a complete playboy, without any cunning or shrewdness. The second brother was reckless, violent, and extremely impulsive. The eldest daughter had left the family and was now teaching. The second daughter was good at calculation but lacked her own opinions. The third daughter indulged in pleasure and became the first sacrifice.
The fact that Corneon could so readily hand over his youngest daughter to Stone to kill shows that, for this man, her value as a tool far outweighed any familial affection.
Therefore, as long as Stone still has value, that is, as long as the Catania Family does not unify the underworld of the Ruined City capital, he will not be eliminated.
By that time, Stone had become the head of the family and the true person in charge.
He could become the new Godfather if he eliminated all the Catania Family members beforehand.
Corneon was well aware of all of this.
The game between gangsters is not about conspiracies and tricks, but about laying everything out clearly and offering a condition that the other party cannot refuse—a calculated strategy.
Of course, on the surface, the two of them also had to put on a show.
It can be described as a loving father and a filial son.
Just then, there was a knock on the door.
"Sir, someone is looking for you outside. It's Detective Trist and his two assistants."
Someone said.
"They've come knocking on our door; this is the result of not handling things properly."
Corneon looked at Stone as if he were lecturing him.
"Go wait in the next room, I'll handle it."
He let Stone leave.
Stone simply nodded, and the blond-haired man immediately turned into mud, enveloping him before disappearing into the ground.
Seeing this, Corneon answered the doorway.
"Tell them to go to the reception room and that I'll be there in a bit."
After the people outside left, Corneon stood up, walked out of the study, and summoned his henchmen.
"Have people quietly surround the reception room. Once those three people enter, dispose of them. I need to confirm the bodies."
"Corneon gave the order."
He certainly wouldn't be foolish enough to confront those people himself. The best way to handle this situation is to offer them some irresistible terms to shut them up.
"Oh, right, have Clydeman and Charles go to the reception room as well, just in case."
He added another point.
These two were once bounty hunters who survived in the wild and possessed considerable combat abilities.
After giving the orders, Corneon returned to his study.
He opened the book he had been reading and continued reading, while taking another sip of wine.
As the chilled liquor flowed down his throat, Corneon seemed to be transported back to many years ago, to the moment he first witnessed the extraordinary.
From that point on, Corneon's ambitions extended beyond the mafia.
And now.
Gunshots rang out from the courtyard, followed by the sound of shattering glass and a commotion.
Then, things quieted down.
it's over.
Corneon sighed and put down his cup.
The next moment, a commotion arose outside the door.
"What are you doing? No, wait!"
Thud—
Before Corneon could react, he heard a loud crash from the doorway. The high-class wooden door was violently smashed open, leaving only a large crater along with the wall.
On the opposite side of the pit stood the detective, wearing a long overcoat, a deerstalker hat, and smoking a briar pipe, along with his two assistants.
"Hello, Mr. Corneon."