The uncle and nephew's conspiracy finally came to an end.
Mariggio went through the back door to secure the licenses, while Luca prepared to approach the Russians for cooperation.
According to Mariggio, there was actually no need to deal with Russian gangs at all. It would be enough to find a few ordinary Russian immigrants to act as scapegoats and run errands.
If something went wrong, they could simply send the person back to Russia and pretend he had never existed.
Given the current relationship between the United States and Russia, using Russians as the fall guys was a relatively safe choice.
From a purely profit-maximizing perspective, Mariggio's suggestion was obviously the better one.
But Luca was still thinking about skills.
The Tarasov gang—this Russian group that included Baba Yaga—still had several rare character cards.
Before Baba Yaga wiped everyone out, there was still time to learn a few skills.
Right now, Baba Yaga was still working for them, and their relationship seemed pretty good.
---
On his way home, Luca stopped by Uncle Bill's supermarket.
He casually asked Uncle Bill when he was planning to get married.
Luca had previously tried several different ways to get Uncle Bill's nephew to come to New York, but all of them had failed.
The nephew drove trucks in Hong Kong.
He had a proper job and was busy supporting his family.
Why would he come all the way to New York?
Only something big—like Uncle Bill getting married—could justify flying over for a few days.
"Luca, please stop pressuring me," Uncle Bill said helplessly. "My girlfriend already asks me every day when we're getting married. I'm already old, and now even younger people are pressuring me."
"As you wish. We've already set the date. The wedding will be at the end of the year."
Luca blinked.
"Uncle Bill… are you seriously dragging this all the way to the end of the year?"
"Late December?"
"No. The end of the year in China. More precisely, the first day of the Lunar New Year. That's the end of January next year."
"..."
Luca was completely dumbfounded.
Damn.
The plot had gone way off track.
The nephew would only come to New York during the Lunar New Year?
Seeing Luca's stunned expression, Uncle Bill assumed the Italian didn't really understand the Chinese New Year, so he started explaining the tradition in detail.
"What don't I understand?" Luca said with a grin. "Are you messing with me because I'm Italian?"
"Congratulations, Uncle Bill! I wish you a happy marriage in advance! Do you need a groomsman? I'd be honored to help."
Uncle Bill burst out laughing.
"Luca, you're so handsome. If you're the groomsman, won't you steal the spotlight from the groom?"
His Black girlfriend leaned against him excitedly.
"This is amazing! Luca, you'll be our best man! Our wedding is going to be incredible!"
Luca finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Fine.
End of the year it is.
Marriage is great.
Marriage is wonderful!
Uncle Bill's nephew was finally coming to New York.
And once he arrived…
Luca would have an invincible SSR card in his hands.
What demons? What monsters? What beautiful women in disguise?
His nephew would handle everything with Kung fu.
However, the nephew would only stay for a few days.
So Luca needed to figure out a way to keep him in New York.
---
Just as Luca was thinking about that, Mathilda suddenly jumped up and raised her hand.
"Uncle Bill! I want to be a bridesmaid!"
Luca rolled his eyes.
"Bridesmaids have to be adults. You can be the flower girl."
Mathilda grabbed Luca's hand and shook it vigorously.
"The flower girl is for little kids. I'm already eighteen. I just want to stand closer to Sister Whitney and witness her happiest moment so I can give my blessings."
Luca: "..."
Even if you count the time she spent in her mother's womb, she still wasn't eighteen.
Uncle Bill's girlfriend shot Luca a reproachful glare, then pulled Mathilda over to her side.
"Who says bridesmaids have to be adults? I like Mathilda. Why can't she be my bridesmaid?"
Mathilda looked up at Luca with wide innocent eyes.
"Luca… don't you want me to be your bridesmaid? Or do you just not want me standing next to you?"
"I'll do whatever you say. Even if it makes me a little sad. As long as you're happy."
"I'm the villain here! You got me!" Luca raised his hands in surrender.
"Fine, I give up!"
Then he turned to Uncle Bill's girlfriend and said seriously:
"But at the bachelor party, you absolutely cannot let Mathilda drink alcohol!"
"That's my only request!"
Luca then handed Uncle Bill the club's business card and told him to hold the wedding at the club.
"Go big!"
Uncle Bill happily agreed.
---
Luca then asked about Uncle Bill's relatives and friends, saying he could arrange accommodations for them when they arrived in New York.
"I have a nephew in Hong Kong," Uncle Bill said with a sigh.
He and his brother had come to America decades ago to chase the American dream.
His brother's son remained in Hong Kong.
His name was Keung.
Full name: Ma Hon Keung.
A simple, straightforward name.
But to Luca, it sounded incredibly powerful.
The name literally translated the word strong.
How could someone named that not be strong?
"My nephew knows Chinese kung fu!"
Uncle Bill demonstrated a few punches in the air.
"His kung fu is very good. Even you, Luca, might not be able to beat him."
Luca smiled mysteriously.
Fight his future SSR card?
That would be insanity.
"When is Keung coming to New York?" Luca asked enthusiastically.
"I'll be his host. I'll show him around."
"It's not decided yet. The earliest would be a few days before the wedding."
"Have him come earlier!"
Luca threw a few playful punches.
"Uncle Bill, you don't understand. I've admired many Martial Arts since I was a kid. I've always wanted to see Martial Arts Master in person!"
"Can you ask Keung to come to New York earlier? I want to learn some technique from him!"
Uncle Bill looked surprised.
"This Italian guy is a Martial Arts fanatic?"
"Aren't Mafia guys supposed to be all about guns and shootouts?"
"Well… I'll have to ask him."
"To be honest, Keung used to run a martial arts school in Hong Kong."
"His dream was to pass on kung fu and help promote it."
"Unfortunately, fewer and fewer people learn martial arts nowadays."
"His school closed down."
"So now he drives a truck to make a living."
Uncle Bill sighed.
"These days everyone uses guns."
"Martial Arts?"
"Even my grandma don't use it anymore."
"Learn it!"
"Let's learn some technique!"
Luca slapped his thigh loudly.
"Opening a martial arts school is easy!"
"Come to New York!"
"With me here, even if Keung opens a school in Times Square, there won't be any problem!"
"I'll have every guy in my family come learn Martial Arts!"
Uncle Bill: "..."
Are Mafia members really going to learn kung fu?
That sounded extremely unrealistic.
Luca eventually received Keung's phone number.
---
He was about to call when Nancy called first.
"Dove! Brian got into a car accident!"
"???"
Luca froze.
Even with Brian's driving skills?
"Where are you? How is he?"
"Brian's fine. We're at the airport. Just some minor injuries."
"But the Russians are in trouble."
"Their car got smashed by Brian."
"And now they're blaming him."
"They're saying Brian hit Iosef Tarasov first!"
"That's bullshit!"
"I clearly saw Iosef Tarasov hit Brian first!"
Luca opened the panel.
__________________________________________________________________________
[Character Card Discovered: Aurelio (Unlocked)]
Rank: D
Source: John Wick Series
Skill: None
Bond: Attention
__________________________________________________________________________
Later, when Aurelio answered the phone:
"Butcher, this is Aurelio. About tonight—"
"Call me Dove," Luca interrupted coldly.
"If I were actually the Butcher…"
"Do you think you'd still be able to talk right now?"
Aurelio fell silent.
Luca continued calmly:
"I'll give you two choices."
"First — we keep the peace and let my people go."
"Second — we keep the peace, and I personally come talk to you."
Aurelio sighed.
"I choose the first one."
"Peace is the most important thing."
Aurelio let out a long breath, feeling relieved about his decision.
He believed his boss would understand… right?
After all, Dove wasn't alone—he had the Mafia behind him.
There was no way they could let such a small matter ignite a gang war.
Suddenly, Luca's voice came through the phone again.
"Smart guy."
"I'll stop by your shop sometime when I'm free."
Aurelio: "…"
Wait!
Don't hang up!
I chose the first option, not the second!
__________________________________________________________________________
[Ding! Your reputation spreads far and wide. You stopped the conflict between the street racer gang and the Russians. You defended the peace of the underground racetrack]
[Gain Skill Points +5]
[Gain Skill Fragments +2]
__________________________________________________________________________
Luca hung up the phone, a thoughtful expression on his face.
Originally, he had just been looking for a way to cooperate with the Russians.
But Aurelio…
A man who was shrewd, understood the bigger picture, knew when to advance and when to retreat, and even owned a car repair shop…
That kind of person was actually a pretty good choice.
Meanwhile, Aurelio was feeling extremely irritated.
He handed the phone back to Nancy.
"Nancy, could you call Dove again for me?"
"There were some things I didn't explain clearly earlier."
"Well… he must have misheard."
"This was just an accident. A misunderstanding."
"I have absolutely no intention of making things difficult for you."
"There's no need for him to come to my shop to talk."
Nancy: "???"
Ha.
Now one phone call scared you this badly?
You weren't acting like this when you were threatening Brian earlier.
================================================================================
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