So It Was Supposed to Be Delta Force—How Did It Turn into Arknights?

"Very good."

Giuseppe's smile widened. "I believe that with your abilities, you'll definitely be able to do it."

At the end, he glanced at Iron-Wrist Capo beside him. "Take Han Fei around and familiarize him with the family's affairs. Get him settled in first."

Iron-Wrist Capo respectfully replied, "Yes, Lord Giuseppe."

Then he once again gestured for Han Fei to follow. "This way, please."

Giuseppe watched the two leave the study. Only after they had disappeared beyond the door did the butler who had appeared at the entrance suddenly materialize at Giuseppe's side like a ghost.

"Lord Giuseppe, can he truly be trusted? Letting him join the family so easily goes against tradition. It may cause certain people to become dissatisfied."

"Tradition? What tradition? Siracusa's tradition?"

The smile vanished from Giuseppe's face. Rising to his feet, he said, "I've said it before. From the day I inherited the Texas Family, we ceased to have anything to do with Siracusa. We are Columbians. Why should we follow that outdated, rigid nonsense from Siracusa?"

As he spoke, Giuseppe picked up a cigar case and took out a cigar.

The butler promptly stepped forward to attend to him.

The ember on the cigar flickered. Giuseppe exhaled a thick cloud of smoke, and amid the curling haze, his voice took on a grave, earnest tone.

"This is no longer an era that values tradition. That old woman from Siracusa has already made her move. If we can't weather this, everything will become nothing but a mirage.

"Tradition? Can tradition help the family survive this crisis? Only by taking in every force that can be used by me can the family overcome this danger."

The old butler said nothing more. He merely bent his waist even lower.

Elsewhere.

After Han Fei followed Iron-Wrist Capo out of the study, the security personnel returned his Bizon.

Han Fei checked it over and found that both the attachments and ammunition were still there. Only then did he equip it again.

After getting his weapon back, Han Fei had assumed the capo would find him a room in this mansion.

Instead, the capo led him straight outside.

With the mansion gates already in sight, Han Fei couldn't help asking, "Where are we going?"

"First, I'll find you somewhere to stay," Iron-Wrist Capo said.

Han Fei raised a brow. "Not here?"

He had come to the Texas Family for one reason: to see Cellinia. If they sent him off to some remote corner, wouldn't this trip have been for nothing?

"Of course not."

Iron-Wrist Capo looked at Han Fei as if he had said something absurd. "This is the family's ancestral residence, the most vital core of the entire family. Only core members of the family are qualified to have a room in this old house."

"So I'm not core enough," Han Fei said irritably.

"That's right."

Iron-Wrist Capo did not beat around the bush. "If you can prove yourself, then in time, you too may have a room here. But not now."

Han Fei rolled his eyes. He wasn't buying that empty promise.

Still, he did not immediately throw in the towel. "Then where are we going now?"

"Don't be in such a hurry, young man."

Iron-Wrist Capo reassured him, "Although you can't move into the main residence yet, you were introduced by me. There's a place for you to stay in one of the manor's side residences."

Generous Spending

"A side residence? Fine, I guess."

Han Fei frowned. He was not entirely satisfied with the arrangement, but his expression eased considerably.

If he couldn't even stay in this manor, Han Fei would one hundred percent walk away.

Without exaggeration, this manor was the heart of the Texas Family. Only by staying here would he have a chance of seeing the Cellinia he had been thinking about day and night.

Outside, it would not be so easy to meet the eldest daughter of the Texas Family.

"Follow me."

Iron-Wrist Capo's voice was low and imposing. He turned and strode forward, his leather shoes crunching over the stone path blanketed in fallen leaves. Han Fei followed behind him and noticed the tails of the man's suit swaying slightly with every step, revealing the faint outline of a knife hilt at his waist—the wear on its metal surface made it clear that it was no decoration.

They passed through mottled shadows cast by the trees, and an old residence steeped in time abruptly came into view. Its dark red brick walls had long since faded, while ivy spread across the entire exterior like green veins.

Han Fei looked the side residence over. "This place has quite a few years on it, huh?"

"Heh."

Iron-Wrist Capo merely smiled without explaining.

He stepped forward and walked straight inside.

Han Fei hurried after him into the residence.

Though this side residence lacked the grandeur of the main one, its interior was decently furnished and did not carry the rundown feel of long disrepair.

Several men in black suits were inside at the moment, gathered around the sofa. The table before them was littered with scattered playing cards and banknotes.

When they saw Iron-Wrist Capo enter with someone, the men in black stopped what they were doing and rose to their feet. "Capo."

"Let me introduce him. This is Han Fei, who has just joined the family," Iron-Wrist Capo said. "He'll be living here from now on."

Han Fei was not shy around strangers. He casually waved at them. "Hey, how's it going?"

Siracusans had always valued family. Even though Han Fei was a newcomer, the men in black showed no hostility toward him. On the contrary, they were extremely welcoming.

"A newcomer? Want to play some cards?"

"Cut it out. He hasn't settled in yet. New guy, go pick an empty room first. Once you're settled, come find us. We'll buy you a drink."

For a moment, the entire living room was a noisy mess.

Iron-Wrist Capo waited patiently for a while before speaking. "All right, get back to your game. I'll take him around and let him get familiar with the place first."

Only then did the men in black settle down.

Iron-Wrist Capo took Han Fei upstairs, showed him around, and then picked out an empty room for him.

Once everything was settled, Iron-Wrist Capo said, "You'll be staying here from now on. Get some rest first. There's no need to rush—an opportunity to prove yourself will come soon enough."

"I'm not in a hurry."

Han Fei dropped onto the sofa and looked around.

The room had every piece of furniture he could need. He could move in with nothing more than a bag.

"Heh."

Iron-Wrist Capo only smiled. He had not forgotten how displeased Han Fei had looked earlier.

"All right, young man. Give me your number. I'll contact you if anything comes up."

Han Fei spread his hands. "Don't have one."

"You don't have one?"

Iron-Wrist Capo froze for a moment, thinking Han Fei was throwing a tantrum.

But upon closer inspection, Han Fei did not look like he was being difficult.

"I don't have a phone. Is that really so hard to understand?" Han Fei explained.

Iron-Wrist Capo's expression turned strange. Did I really pick up some country bumpkin?

"Wait here."

Iron-Wrist Capo turned and left. Not long after, he returned with a phone and tossed it directly to Han Fei. "My contact information is in there. Call me if you need anything."

Han Fei was initially unimpressed, but the instant it landed in his hand, he realized something was off—this thing was actually a Little Gold!

Han Fei immediately perked up. "Is the Texas Family really this rich?"

"I told you, the family has considerable influence."

Iron-Wrist Capo paused, then corrected him. "Also, not your family—our family. Young man, you're a member of the family too."

"I get what you mean."

Han Fei grinned as he put away the phone. Just as he was about to stash it in his secure case, he suddenly realized that might not be a good idea.

Would this thing still have a signal inside the secure case?

Like his backpack, his secure case was completely a separate space. Otherwise, there would have been no way to safely store the fragments of the evil god.

If he threw the phone in there, it would probably lose signal for real.

With that in mind, Han Fei gave up on putting the phone in his secure case and honestly carried it on him.

Columbia was not some remote backwater like the Tundra. People did not communicate by shouting the old-fashioned way; they used communication devices. What if something went wrong because he had no signal?

Iron-Wrist Capo said, "All right, I won't waste any more words. Get some rest. If anything comes up, contact me or find the boys downstairs. We're family. They'll help you."

"Sure. Take care."

Han Fei got up and walked him out a few steps.

Before this, he would have only made a token gesture, saying goodbye without even getting up.

But now, Iron-Wrist Capo held a completely different place in Han Fei's heart.

This was the generous benefactor who had given him a Little Gold!

Little Golds were worth a fortune. One slot was worth at least fifty thousand Haf Coins.

In Classified Space City, if some rat split a Little Gold with a fully geared squad, they would probably be willing to let him tag along to extract through the gate!

After seeing Iron-Wrist Capo off, Han Fei flopped onto the sofa like a salted fish and played with the Little Gold in his hand. "Not bad at all. The Texas Family really is a great family—so generous right from the start."

As the saying went, you couldn't be harsh after taking someone's food, nor could you be hard-hearted after taking their gifts. Having gained a Little Gold before even doing anything, Han Fei almost felt reluctant to let this family be destroyed.

But that was only a passing thought.

Madam Sicily was simply too formidable. He had no confidence in being able to save the Texas Family.

Besides, there was not enough time. He only had five days to search, nowhere near enough for him to make a difference.

Thinking about it made Han Fei's heart ache again.

"Such a rich, powerful family, and all that wealth will be divided among the other Siracusan families. Who knows how many good things are in there?"

With that, Han Fei slapped his hands together and abruptly sat up. "If everyone else is going to carve it up anyway, why shouldn't I grab some for myself?"

The thought instantly invigorated him.

He could not bring himself to loot ordinary people's homes and extract afterward. Everyone was just an ordinary person; there was no need for ordinary people to make things difficult for one another.

But the Texas Family was different. Like the other Siracusan families, it was no good thing.

Wasn't Cellinia determined to cut ties with the Texas Family?

Who knew how much blood and sweat of the common people had gone into the wealth accumulated by this family?

"Since they're so rich, I'm not asking for much. It wouldn't be too much to grab two bottles of champagne, right?"

Face Me

"Since I'm already here, I might as well scrape the place clean first."

Han Fei rolled off the sofa.

He did not rush off at random. Instead, he first wandered around his own room.

His room was quite spacious, around thirty square meters by the look of it. Unfortunately, after making a full circuit, Han Fei did not find a single container he could loot.

"Come on, man. Is this really just like Dam?"

Han Fei was a little numb.

As a beginner map, Dam had many advantages. Extraction was easy, loot spots were concentrated, and it was highly suitable for newcomers.

But Dam was not perfect. One rather regrettable flaw was its lack of loot spots.

Whether high-tier loot spots or ordinary ones, there were only a few areas where you could actually make a living, and there were not many high-tier containers either.

So sometimes, when you entered the map for a knife run and spawned in a bad position, there would be nothing to eat. You could only search the nooks and crannies for little bits of fashionable junk that nobody else wanted.

By comparison, while Space City, a high-tier map, also had poor spawn points and could leave you with nothing, it had many more high-tier containers. That was why rats continued to flock to Classified Space City.