In early November, gasoline tax revenue officially surpassed $10 million in weekly profits. From New York to Jersey City, then to Philadelphia, and finally to the Bloomington truck drivers' union where the Irish Painters were based, many nodes had been successfully connected.
The cooperation between the refinery and the Russians went very smoothly.
Frank Fitzsimmons, the president of the trucking union, was also cooperative and even quite eager to take the initiative, because he could also take a share of the profits.
With this comprehensive service chain, Luca had made the pie extremely large—and it was gradually becoming too much for him to handle alone.
The farther away the business expanded from New York, the weaker his control became over territories that technically belonged to other people. Because of that, he had no choice but to bring in more allies.
Just as Luca's business was booming, several more official Mafia members died during the Colombo family's civil war.
One of them died in an extremely… abstract way.
He suffocated while masturbating.
The deceased had been watching porn at home and strangled himself with a rope in an attempt to achieve stronger stimulation and pleasure.
The police couldn't find a killer or any clues, so the case was ruled a suicide.
However, many curious people were secretly speculating:
Who the hell was behind this?
As the death toll continued to rise, the civil war gradually—and strangely—began to slow down.
The leaders of both factions suddenly realized something.
The referee—represented by the Gambino side—was merely watching the show.
They showed no intention of mediating, and they also never clearly stated support for either side.
They simply stood by the shore watching the fire burn.
And no matter how big the fire grew, they had no intention of putting it out.
Luca's ambiguous attitude puzzled both sides.
After all, Luca's attitude represented Gambino's position.
Without Gambino's support, would Luca really dare to play such a dangerous game?
So the question naturally appeared:
Which side was that old man actually supporting?
Rumors began to spread everywhere.
Some said Gambino had secretly instigated Joe Gallo to assassinate Colombo, and that Gallo had acted under orders from the Snake, only to later be eliminated legitimately once he became expendable.
Others claimed that Gambino and Luca—the Dove of Peace—were planning to elevate someone else to power.
The rumors became more and more outrageous.
At this critical moment, the Colombo faction discovered a clue.
They found out the exact date when Joe Gallo had to report to his parole officer.
Although Joe Gallo had already been released from prison, he was still technically on parole and had not regained full freedom.
He had to report regularly.
So on that day, Yacovelli and his men arranged a large number of people and vehicles to create traffic chaos.
Their plan was simple:
Capture Gallo alive.
Or kill him directly.
But Gallo never showed up.
This drove Yaco and his group absolutely furious.
The guy was like a snapping turtle hiding in its shell.
All he did was hide!
---
Afterward, Snake, Yaco, and several others held a secret meeting in a basement in Brooklyn.
Then they publicly announced something shocking:
They were willing to hold a peace meeting with Gallo.
Come on.
We promise we won't kill you.
The judge—the Dove of Peace—will even be present to witness it and guarantee fairness.
But Gallo still refused.
Instead, he assassinated one of Yacovelli's men.
That almost drove Yaco insane with rage.
When Luca heard this news, he nearly burst out laughing.
He had never expected the two sides to actually sit down and talk peacefully.
But now the situation had drifted far away from the original storyline.
The original civil war had been a true internal conflict, limited mostly to assassins within the family fighting each other.
Now?
There were many outside assassins involved.
The war had become far more intense.
If the killing continued like this, it would never end.
Suspicion would continue to grow.
Trust would completely collapse.
Eventually, neither side would even be willing to meet face-to-face.
If things continued this way, peace would never come.
But from another perspective…
When are weapons sold the best?
During war.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Ding! You have covertly provided intelligence leading to the arrest of a Mafia member by the FBI and local police. You contracted Léon to eliminate key targets, hired Mr. Nobody to track high-value marks, and employed Harry to suppress criminal activity and maintain peace within the neighborhood.]
[Current Skill Fragments: 114]
__________________________________________________________________________
Over the past few days, reward notifications kept popping up in front of Luca's eyes.
Although there were no massive rewards, they had accumulated to more than a hundred skill fragments.
Luca hadn't actually provided the FBI and police with much help.
Most of the intelligence came from their informant—
Scarpa.
Scarpa was extremely cunning.
He constantly leaked intelligence about rival factions, using official power to eliminate enemies.
This was the true meaning of using someone else to do your dirty work.
And Luca simply benefited indirectly from the system.
Meanwhile, Leon and Mr. Nobody were targeting members of Gallo's faction.
Usually Mr. Nobody would collect intelligence first.
Then Leon would handle the assassination.
In this way, Luca secretly weakened Gallo's influence while ensuring Gallo would never overpower Iaco, maintaining a delicate balance between both sides.
As for Harry…
At that moment, outside a supermarket in the Bronx.
A black man with a swollen face was lying on the ground while Harry—muscular and intimidating—stood beside him.
Residents gathered around them.
"Finally caught this thief! He steals from here every single day! Doesn't he know I've got connections?!"
Uncle Bill angrily rushed forward and kicked the man twice before returning to the store.
He grabbed a bottle of water and handed it to Harry.
"Harry, thanks for your help! You came all the way here—have some water!"
Harry felt slightly irritated but still smiled and accepted the bottle.
However, when he glanced at the thief, his gaze became as sharp as knives.
The thief immediately froze on the ground in fear.
Harry was confused.
Didn't the Dove of Peace say there were Colombo members here?
Could this guy be a Colombo mobster?
Harry almost wanted to scream:
"Since when are there Black guys in the Mafia?!"
He was losing his mind.
Over the past few days he had been running all over the Bronx—sometimes even other districts—following the intelligence provided by the Dove.
But they never found Colombo members.
Only petty thieves and street punks.
Harry felt like he had turned into a professional janitor cleaning up neighborhood garbage.
I have a mission!
My goal is to capture Joe Gallo and Yacovelli!
Why am I defending peace every day?!
"Harry! Thank you so much! The Bronx needs a guardian angel like you!"
"The dove found us a new peacekeeper!"
"Harry chased away a thug who tried to collect protection money from me last week!"
"He even helped me recover my stolen car!"
"He caught my cheating husband too!"
The surrounding residents applauded enthusiastically.
Their praise made the muscular man blush slightly.
You really don't have to…
I'm not a peace envoy.
I'm a high-ranking Omega spy!
"Harry, if only there were more people like you."
Uncle Bill smiled warmly, which startled Harry.
"For the past two years, Luca has been the only one doing this kind of thing around here. Recently he recruited more people, so now we finally have more protection."
"Harry, you're one of Luca's men, right?"
"Work hard for Luca. The people of the Bronx will remember what you've done!"
"We'll give you a discount at our restaurant next time!"
"My shop just got a batch of turkeys. Christmas is coming—Harry, come grab one!"
"Harry, are you free tonight?"
Listening to everyone speak, Harry felt increasingly awkward.
But deep down, a strange warmth slowly spread through his chest.
As a spy, his identity was always highly confidential.
No matter how much he accomplished for the organization, he would never receive public recognition.
Soon the police arrived and took the thief away.
Before leaving, one officer patted Harry on the arm.
"Dude… how did you get muscles like that? You're huge. Were you a bodybuilder or something?"
Harry: "..."
Unable to endure the residents' enthusiasm any longer, Harry quickly made an excuse and fled.
"Friends! I must go defend peace somewhere else! Goodbye!"
---
Later that night.
Inside the club bar.
Harry held a drink, looking extremely annoyed.
"Dove, the intel was wrong again."
"There were no Gallo or Yacovelli men there. Just some random gang member causing trouble."
Luca sat in a chair, teasing a black-and-white Border Collie puppy with a piece of jerky.
Earlier, Luca had asked Mr. Nobody which dog breed was the smartest.
Mr. Nobody had recommended Border Collies.
"Lucky! Sit!"
"Lucky, shake hands!"
Luca looked like he was having the time of his life.
Harry repeated his complaint again before Luca finally looked up.
Seeing Harry's helpless expression almost made Luca laugh.
"Did we get it wrong again?"
Luca shrugged helplessly.
"I thought those guys were from the Colombo family."
Over the past few days, Luca had been sending Harry around Little Italy and the Bronx to deal with minor gangs and troublemakers.
He never mentioned the Colombo civil war again.
Scarpa had only been bait.
Just enough to let Harry taste success so he would willingly stay.
Besides, Scarpa was an informant.
If anything went wrong, the blame could always be pushed onto him.
Scarpa betrayed the Mafia.
What does that have to do with the Dove of Peace?
Even if Harry turned out to be a spy, Luca wasn't worried.
However, Luca also deliberately kept Harry away from the real civil war, avoiding unnecessary trouble.
Take Brian, for example.
Why not just quit?
He was now working with Jimmy, driving a tanker truck for the Teamster local 560 Truck Drivers Union, delivering fuel, racing trucks, and living his best life.
Apparently Brian had become the fastest and most successful delivery driver in the entire union.
Driving trucks gave him a unique sense of freedom.
Luca comforted Harry.
"Harry, I know the Colombo bounty is tempting."
"I'm still investigating. As soon as I get solid intel, I'll tell you."
"But some information can't be confirmed yet."
"Don't worry—whether the intel is right or wrong, I won't let you work for free."
Harry: "..."
The excuse of cooperating with the Dove had originally just been a way to earn money.
Now the other side was even willing to pay him.
But this wasn't the spy life he wanted!
If things kept going like this, when would he ever capture Gallo and Iaco?
"Dove…"
Harry hesitated, as if he wanted to say something.
At that moment, Denham called.
Luca stood up and walked to the window to answer.
Denham spoke quietly.
"We used some methods to leak information about Yacovelli's group to the Gallo faction through Scarpa."
"Scarpa has sent inside intelligence."
"Joe Gallo plans to attack Yacovelli tonight."
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