The next few days were calm, but as the day of the public rally drew closer, undercurrents quietly began flowing throughout New York.
Inside the SSR Club's rooftop office, Luca started pinning photos onto the blackboard again.
This public assembly would involve far more players than the drug war—major Mafia families, the police, the FBI, and the SSR Club. Even the Continental Hotel might get involved. After all, the American Mafia had its own "High Table" of influence, and for an event this big, the New York Continental Hotel would likely show its support and participate.
The hotel manager, Winston, would most likely be present.
"It should be quite lively," Luca murmured.
He pinned up an ordinary photo of a Black man.
This man was the assassin Jerome from the original timeline.
He was the one who killed the big boss and shot Joe Colombo in the head—an event that would plunge the entire New York Mafia into chaos.
Unfortunately, Jerome only had one shot in the timeline, so he probably wouldn't produce any character cards.
Luca now faced a dilemma.
Given the scale of the chaos about to unfold, should he simply follow the storyline… or intervene and save Joe Colombo?
If Joe Colombo survived, the system might reward Luca for upholding peace. But that would also create an enormous butterfly effect. No one could predict what might happen afterward.
Even if he didn't intervene, Luca could already foresee some of the outcome.
He fell into deep thought.
The direct cause of Joe Colombo's assassination was an internal power struggle. A gangster who wanted to rise to power arranged the hit.
That gangster's name was Joe Gallo.
It was also the opening act for John Gotti.
The infamous "Assassinate the Boss" series had officially begun airing. Slowly but surely, rebellion was being promoted as a kind of twisted "traditional virtue" within the Mafia.
But the consequences were severe.
Killing a boss inevitably meant execution by the Commission.
Fortunately, Gallo would eventually be killed as well.
"This involves far too many forces," Luca muttered, carefully calculating how he might gain an advantage.
"So many new rare cards… and they're all Mafia bosses. Their skills could be extremely useful."
While thinking, Luca continued pinning photos of rare cards onto the blackboard.
---
That afternoon.
Queens.
Inside a luxurious villa.
John Gotti of the Gambino family sat across from Pauli Cicero, casually sipping wine from a glass.
His eyes carried a trace of nostalgia.
"Before you came to see me, I never imagined the two of us could sit together peacefully like this."
"Do you remember when we used to fight each other over territory?"
"Back then we were just soldiers. Hell, sometimes we even fought over women."
Pauli sighed.
"Life's unpredictable. A lot of years have passed."
Gotti chuckled.
"And after all these years… you're still selling grilled sausages."
"..."
Pauli glanced at Gotti with a dark look.
"I like selling sausages. Is that a problem?"
Seeing Pauli's gloomy expression, Gotti laughed.
"But things won't stay that way forever."
"Once you become the second-in-command of the Lucchese family, you can sell whatever you want."
"Just don't forget your promise to share the drug business with me."
This was the deal they had struck.
Gotti would lend a hand and help Pauli eliminate the obstacles standing in the way of his rise.
"I've always been a man of my word," Pauli said coldly.
His gaze toward the villa window became even more sinister.
"As long as you help me get rid of the White Tiger."
"I've hated that guy for a long time. He used to be manageable, but lately that bastard's business has been growing bigger and bigger. He's stealing a lot of my customers."
Gotti snorted.
"Besides the White Tiger, what about Mariggio?"
"If Mariggio hadn't handed over the drug business, would the White Tiger even be where he is today?"
"Do you want me to deal with Mariggio too?"
As a madman who had once dared to kill his own boss, Gotti firmly believed that bullets were the only real truth.
Anyone who stood in his way would be killed.
This time, he wasn't too worried about a Commission execution order.
First, he was always extremely careful when committing murder, leaving no evidence.
Second, once Pauli took power, the Lucchese family's retaliation would be handled internally.
After orchestrating numerous killings and employing a network of assassins, Gotti had become extremely experienced in handling these matters.
"Mariggio…"
When Pauli heard that name, the first person he thought of was the Dove of Peace.
His anger immediately flared.
The cowardly behavior of those two bastards—Mariggio and the Dove—still infuriated him.
He had hoped Mariggio and the White Tiger would destroy each other.
Instead, they had practically dropped to their knees?
Had they actually sided with the White Tiger?
"Are you sure you can do it?" Pauli asked skeptically.
"Putting Mariggio aside, the Dove of Peace is the Continental Hotel's top assassin."
"Can your men really kill him?"
Gotti replied calmly.
"So what if he's strong?"
"Can his skull stop a bullet?"
"I've killed countless assassins."
"The Dove won't be the first… and he won't be the last."
Then his tone became slightly more serious.
"But just in case, I'll need to make several preparations."
"If he escapes, he'll become a huge problem."
Gotti knew exactly how dangerous the Dove of Peace was.
If he made a move, he had to eliminate him completely.
If possible, he would actually prefer not to provoke the Dove at all.
Because if the assassination failed…
the consequences would be disastrous.
Pauli had the same concern.
But now that Mariggio and the Dove had lost their most important source of income, they probably didn't have the strength to compete for the top position anymore.
Pauli frowned.
"Get rid of the White Tiger first."
Gotti laughed.
"You'll hear about his death soon enough."
---
At that moment, inside the SSR Club.
Two men in suits were leisurely drinking beer.
"John… do you know the Mafia's favorite way to kill people?"
"I don't."
Luca explained,
"The Mafia loves planting bombs in people's cars."
"You turn the key…"
"Boom."
"Other times they just drive by with submachine guns and spray bullets everywhere."
John Wick listened quietly.
To him, those methods sounded rather boring.
The only thing that interested him was the Mafia's ruthlessness.
Sometimes they would happily invite a friend over for dinner.
Then, when the guest least expected it, the friendly host would quietly pull out a gun and execute them.
Simple.
Unpretentious.
But extremely effective.
After all… who would suspect their best friend?
The Mafia often assigned internal executions to the victim's closest friend.
John asked curiously,
"Have you ever done something like that?"
Recently, when John talked to Helen on the phone, she occasionally mentioned Luca.
She praised him as a very good friend and hoped John would get along with him.
John had seriously considered that suggestion.
Almost all of John's friends were assassins.
So he didn't care how many people Luca had killed.
What mattered was whether Luca could be trusted.
"No," Luca said, shaking his head.
"You shouldn't kill your friends."
John replied quietly,
"I didn't have any friends before."
A trace of melancholy flashed across Luca's eyes.
When he had been a butcher, he truly had no friends.
Only after becoming the Dove of Peace did people start gathering around him.
Then Luca asked a dangerous question.
"If the High Table ordered you to kill your friend…"
"Would you stay loyal to the High Table?"
"Or would you protect your friend?"
John Wick fell silent.
He suddenly understood the cruelty of the Mafia's execution methods.
It forced people to make a heartbreaking choice.
Luca didn't need an answer.
He simply hoped John would never face that kind of situation.
The two continued drinking.
John wasn't good at conversation, so Luca began talking about Helen's work.
That immediately made John more talkative.
Love really does strange things to people.
Then Abram called.
"Dove, my men arrested two people at the casino."
"One's named Mike. The other's called Worm."
"They claim they know you."
"Is that true?"
Arrested?
Luca was startled.
Had those two idiots been caught cheating again?
"What happened?" Luca asked.
Abram replied,
"They owe money… and they cheated."
"..."
---
An hour later, Mike and Worm—both bruised and battered—stood in front of Luca.
Beside them stood the Russian casino manager.
A bald head.
A thick beard.
The classic Russian look.
__________________________________________________________________________
[Character Card Discovered: Teddy KGB (Unlocked)]
[Rank: C]
[Source: Rounders]
[Skill: Oreo]
[Bond: Stranger]
__________________________________________________________________________
Oreo?
What kind of ridiculous skill was that?
Luca looked at him strangely.
Teddy was the villain from the original storyline—the gambling king who once defeated Mike and forced him to abandon poker and pursue literature.
But in the end, Mike would return, discover Teddy's weakness, defeat him, and win everything back.
And that weakness?
Teddy loved eating Oreos while playing cards.
He would twist them.
Then lick the cream.
Mike noticed the habit and read his tells.
"Hello, Dove," Teddy said politely.
As a minor gang leader, he showed great respect toward Abram's friends.
"Abram told me to hand them over to you."
Even a small skill was still a skill.
Luca asked,
"How much do they owe you?"
"Twenty-five thousand."
Luca immediately understood.
Teddy clearly wanted the money, but he didn't dare demand it from Abram's friend.
"Abram is my friend," Luca said calmly.
"And you're his man."
"I won't let my friend's man suffer losses."
Luca glanced at Mike's swollen face before turning back to Teddy.
"I'll give you a satisfactory explanation."
Teddy felt a surge of goodwill.
Still, he politely replied,
"It's no trouble."
"If Mike knows you, then he's my friend too."
"We're all friends here. No need to worry about such a small amount of money."
Luca chuckled.
"Teddy, Abram told me about you."
"He said you're a loyal friend."
"He was right."
"I also heard you're good at cards."
"Why don't you try the casino at my club?"
Jimmy escorted Teddy to the casino.
When Teddy arrived, Jimmy handed him a box of chips.
"Three thousand."
"The Dove told me to give them to you."
"Enjoy."
Teddy looked at the chips.
Then at Jimmy walking away.
He thought to himself:
The Dove of Peace is truly generous.
Mike and Worm were unbelievably lucky to know someone like him.
[Bond: Familiar]
__________________________________________________________________________
You resolved the conflict between Teddy, Mike, and Worm.
You upheld the peace of the casino.
[Skill Points +3]
___________________________________________________________________________
Mike and Worm finally relaxed.
But the moment they saw Luca's smiling face, their hearts jumped again.
Mike had a bad feeling.
"Mike," Luca said with a half-smile.
"If I remember correctly… you promised never to ask me for help again."
Mike's heart sank.
"Dove… I'll owe you one more time."
"I can play cards for you."
"That's not how this works," Luca replied.
"Then I'll owe you the twenty-five thousand."
"I'll pay you back someday."
Luca laughed.
"Last time you walked out broke."
"This time you walked in broke."
"Where exactly are you planning to get the money?"
Mike collapsed in despair.
Worm was the real problem.
Despite having only one hand left, that lunatic could still cheat using dozens of bizarre tricks.
"So what do you want me to do?" Mike asked helplessly.
"Just say it."
"I'll do anything within my power."
Worm grinned slyly.
"Dove, just tell me what you need."
"I'll follow you from now on."
"Besides cards, my hands can water flowers too."
Luca: "..."
Looking at those two hopeless gambling addicts, Luca made a decision.
"My casino needs a few poker players to supervise the tables."
"Mike, you'll work as a dealer and keep an eye on the games."
Mike immediately agreed.
It was the only thing he was truly good at.
"And me?" Worm asked excitedly.
"I can deal too!"
Luca raised an eyebrow.
"Didn't you say you could water flowers?"
"Watering flowers and playing cards can go together!"
Luca sighed.
Letting Worm deal cards would be a disaster.
If he got caught cheating, the casino's reputation would be ruined.
"Fine," Luca said with a grin.
"You'll water the flowers."
"And while you're at it… catch the cheaters."
"If you catch one, you get a share of their chips."
Worm looked around at the glittering chips everywhere.
His eyes lit up.
"Deal!"
No one was better at spotting cheaters than another cheater.
After they left, John finally spoke.
"Dove… you help people a lot."
"You don't seem like someone who has no friends."
Luca smiled faintly.
"That was the old me."
"Back then I was called the Butcher."
"I worked alone."
"Now I'm the Dove of Peace."
"And doves are social animals."
He raised his glass.
"I think we could become good friends too."
John remembered Helen's voice on the phone—full of gratitude whenever she mentioned Luca.
He didn't fully understand why.
But he trusted Helen.
John raised his glass.
"Peace is the best policy."
Luca grinned.
Helen had played that card perfectly.
"John," Luca asked,
"Do you know how to play poker?"
He stood up.
"Come on. Let's go to the casino and play a few rounds."
After all…
there was even a rare card whose special ability involved eating Oreos.
================================================================================
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