On My Turf, You Have to Listen to Me~

"Give it up, you have no future..."

Kraft's words struck Fatty Liao like a bolt from the blue.

"On what grounds?!"

Fatty Liao, spittle flying, jabbed his finger towards Kraft's nose, jumping up and down.

"Don't tell me you, with your imposing appearance, have improper thoughts about your own sister?!"

"What nonsense are you spouting!"

Kraft, his face darkened, pushed Fatty Liao's large head away. Just as he was about to explain, a group of people armed with weapons rushed in.

"Damn it! Fatty, you really picked the worst time to show up!"

Using Fatty Liao's body as cover, Kraft quickly activated his wrist guards, then pulled him behind him.

"You unlucky guy, running into trouble the moment you arrive!"

"No, no, no, we specifically followed this child in," the leader explained slowly, sporting a slicked-back hairstyle and an air of confident victory.

This group of intruders was far more sophisticated. Unlike common thugs, they weren't covered in random trinkets and wore matching uniforms – all black suits. Clearly, they'd watched too many Godfather movies.

"So... the stray dogs and homeless man from a while back were your doing?"

Shortly after they moved into the studio, a stray dog had broken in and been stunned by the rudimentary defense system Kraft had built. A few more had appeared sporadically afterward, and finally, a homeless man. After being knocked out by the studio's defenses, Alice had thrown them all back onto the street.

At the time, he hadn't paid it much mind. Now, thinking back, the fact that there had been no attackers for so long was highly unusual. So, they had been testing the waters beforehand.

Kraft pursed his lips. Guys who used their brains were much harder to deal with than those petty thugs from before...

Good thing this is my turf now.

"As expected of the genius boy Stark took notice of," the man with the slicked-back hair lightly clapped his hands. "After all, the previous ones failed, so it's always good to be cautious."

"Uh... Kraft, did I cause you trouble?" Fatty Liao asked weakly.

"Mhm," Kraft grunted in response, then added, "But it's not a big problem."

"Oh? You have more tricks up your sleeve?" The slick-haired man smirked, believing Kraft was bluffing. "Is it that so-called 'Kung Fu'? We're not unarmed rugby players, you know."

The man displayed his Beretta M92F, subtly revealing he wasn't entirely in the dark about Kraft.

The men in black suits behind him also looked relaxed. It made sense; a dozen armed adults against three unarmed kids? It would be a piece of cake.

"Brother, what should we do?" Alice tiptoed to Kraft's side and whispered. Despite Kraft having equipped her with new gear, she still looked on the verge of tears.

So, the personality I adjusted for you earlier was completely useless?

Kraft stared at Alice, who resembled a startled hamster, his face a mask of exasperation.

"Don't worry! I'll protect you!" Fatty Liao, blinded by infatuation, ignored the armed thugs surrounding them and patted his chest, trying to impress Alice.

Alice looked at Kraft, then at Fatty Liao, unsure of what to do, before offering him a polite yet awkward smile.

"Alice, Haro, prepare for battle!" Kraft grabbed Fatty Liao and retreated behind Alice, shouting loudly.

"Battle commencing! Battle commencing!" A green spherical ornament on Kraft's desk suddenly unfurled two circular wings and emitted a synthesized robotic voice.

Following Haro's voice, steel walls rose around the studio, trapping everyone inside. Then, several openings appeared at the top of the walls, from which over a dozen machine guns extended, all aimed at the slick-haired man's group.

"De-defense mode!"

Alice, shielding Kraft and Fatty Liao, also shouted, her back suddenly opening up. Several steel plates and bulletproof glass rapidly formed a massive riot shield in front of her, protecting the three of them.

After removing Alice's useless wind-up key, the mechanism on her back used for winding it naturally became obsolete. Kraft had dismantled it, freeing up considerable space. He had learned various rapid assembly techniques from a bearded man named Rory Swann in his dreams, which he had applied to Alice.

In fact, most of the rising steel walls and machine guns were also based on Swann's technology, with Kraft handing over control to Haro, the artificial intelligence.

"This... this this this..."

The situation changed too quickly for Fatty Liao to even form coherent words in his shock.

"I already told you, you have no future..." Kraft shrugged at him helplessly.

"Is this the time to say that?!" Fatty Liao, having regained his ability to speak, excitedly grabbed Kraft's shoulders and shook him vigorously.

"You scoundrel, you've secretly mastered such terrifying black technology!"

Although seeing Fatty Liao's astonished reaction gave Kraft a sense of accomplishment, it wasn't the time to gloat. He broke free from Fatty Liao's grip and looked at the slick-haired man, who was now sweating profusely.

"Do you know my capabilities now?"

"Heh heh heh… I think there might be a slight misunderstanding between us."

The man with the slicked-back hair quickly put away the Beretta in his hand, pulled out a white handkerchief, and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. Then, he roared at his subordinates in Italian, "What are you guys doing?! Put your weapons away, now!"

"So it's the Italian Mafia… no wonder they're acting like the Corleones…"

Kraft pouted. It was a shame they showed their true colors as soon as they were at a disadvantage. He really couldn't expect anything from this bunch of gangsters.

"We are truly sorry for disturbing you, Mr. Kraft. However, we were just doing a job for hire. If we had known you possessed such strength, we wouldn't have gotten involved in this mess, no matter what."

After wiping his sweat, the slick-haired man regained some of his former composure. However, the situation was out of his control, and he humbly placed himself in a subordinate position.

"So, who is the one who really wanted to cause trouble for Martin? And why target him specifically?"

Kraft asked curiously. Martin wouldn't tell him, and he wouldn't pry, but there was no harm in getting information from others.

"We usually just do our jobs and don't pay attention to our employers' business…" The slick-haired man spread his hands helplessly. But he quickly added, "However, I know the person we dealt with. It's a capable operative from the Maggia, 'Black Wolf.' I heard the Maggia's business has been heavily targeted recently. Perhaps it has something to do with your father?"

"The Maggia?"

Kraft blinked, then a bright smile spread across his face.

"Then I know what's going on. Thank you for clearing things up."

After nodding his thanks to the slick-haired man, Kraft clapped his hands and gave an order to the small green sphere on the table.

"Haro, switch to tranquilizer darts."

"Tranquilizer darts ready! Tranquilizer darts ready!"

Haro flapped its wings, emitting electronic sounds. The machine guns on the wall also responded with the sound of magazine changes.

The slick-haired man finally breathed a sigh of relief. He adjusted his collar and gave Kraft a wry smile.

"The Gambino Family will remember your friendship."

Then, he and his subordinates drifted off to dreamland.

"Combat over! Combat over!"

Under Haro's electronic command, the machine guns on the wall retracted, and the steel walls sank into the ground.

"Brother, these gangsters are so scary~~~"

Alice retracted her riot shield, her eyes welling up with tears as she wailed at Kraft.

"Didn't they get taken down in an instant?"

Kraft rolled his eyes and lightly tapped Alice.

"But they were still scary…"

Alice replied with a wronged pout, which made Kraft completely abandon the idea of using her as a combat unit.

"Bang!"

The workshop door was pushed open again. The same security guard from last time rushed in with a group of men in black suits.

"Not again!"

Fatty Liao jumped back in fright at first, then quickly regained his composure. He patted Kraft's shoulder.

"Quick! Kraft! Take care of them!"

After saying that, he proactively retreated behind Alice.

"Didn't you say you were going to protect Alice?"

Kraft glanced at him with disdain, then explained, "Don't worry, these are our people."

The head of security nodded at Kraft and waved his hand at his subordinates. The men in black suits quickly carried away the other group of men in black suits and left silently without a word.

"Wait! Give Martin a message for me. Tell him to come back when he has time."

Kraft called out to the unnamed security guard. Martin actually went to seek revenge on the Maggia behind his back. Kraft couldn't pretend not to know about it anymore.

"Kraft! You can actually build such amazing things!"

After the men in black suits had all left, Fatty Liao regained his usual liveliness. He picked up the small green sphere on the table and examined it, constantly exclaiming in admiration.

"Thank you for the compliment, thank you for the compliment."

Haro happily flapped its wings and said to Fatty Liao.

"Hmph… what is this compared to…"

Kraft muttered under his breath. His horizons were much broader than Fatty Liao's. Haro, the intelligent robot, was just a small toy. Those giant humanoid mechs in his dreams were the true romance for men…

It was a shame he couldn't build them yet.

"Oh! It can even move freely!"

Fatty Liao exclaimed again as he watched Haro grow limbs and run around on the table.

Kraft's face darkened as he smacked the back of Fatty Liao's head. "Are you stupid? I even made a life-sized android robot like Alice. What's so special about Haro's level?"

"Oh right! Alice is a robot… I'm heartbroken again…"

After a two-second slump, Fatty Liao suddenly jumped next to Kraft and hugged his shoulders tightly.

"Kraft! We're good friends, right?"

"…Right…"

Kraft replied with a hint of hesitation, mainly because Fatty Liao's gaze was rather unnerving.

"Please, you absolutely have to make a cute girl robot for me too!" Fatty Liao's eyes shot out a greenish glow. "Having a robot maid is my biggest wish in this life!"

"Get lost!"