Dalzollene personally led Lin Yan into the villa's main hall.
The decor was extravagantly luxurious, with unfamiliar oil paintings hanging on the walls and thick Persian carpets covering the floor. A faint blend of cigar smoke and red wine lingered in the air.
A man who looked about fifty, dressed in an immaculate suit with meticulously combed hair, sat on the sofa at the head of the room. He held a glass of red wine as he appraised Lin Yan's arrival.
He was Light Nostrade, the head of the Nostrade family.
"Mr. Lin Yan, please have a seat."
Light Nostrade gestured toward the sofa opposite him, wearing the practiced smile of a businessman.
Lin Yan dispensed with the pleasantries and sat straight down.
After pouring him a cup of tea, Dalzollene respectfully withdrew to one side and stood as still as a statue.
"I was rather discourteous over the phone earlier. Please don't take offense, Mr. Lin Yan."
Light Nostrade raised his wineglass in a toast from across the room.
"Not at all." Lin Yan lifted his teacup and took a small sip.
Light Nostrade set down his glass and leaned forward slightly, fixing his shrewd eyes on Lin Yan.
"Mr. Lin Yan, forgive my bluntness, but with your strength, you could easily become a bounty hunter or join a major nation's special forces. Why choose a small mafia family like mine?"
It was a probe.
He wanted to understand why Lin Yan had come and what he was after.
Lin Yan put down his teacup and looked at him. "Because I need your daughter's ability," he said calmly.
He made no attempt to dance around the subject, laying his intentions out directly.
Light Nostrade's pupils contracted slightly, and his smile faded a little.
"Mr. Lin Yan, what do you