For Ma Hon Keung, who had just arrived in the city, everything about New York felt fresh and unfamiliar. As the car drove through Sunset Boulevard in Manhattan, he looked out at the bustling streets and towering skyscrapers and couldn't help but exclaim,
"Wow… this place is beautiful."
Luca smiled.
Well, it was the United States. New York was a global metropolis—they had a reputation to maintain.
"Luca, is Uncle Bill's supermarket around here?"
"This is Manhattan," Luca replied. "His store's in the Bronx."
The Bronx—basically the "Rumble Zone" from the original storyline. The so-called Red Bronx referred to chaotic neighborhoods with high crime rates and dense gang activity.
But things were different now.
The Bronx was Luca's territory. As the Dove of Peace, he'd farmed plenty of skill points and fragments here, bringing the district's crime rate down significantly.
A lot of smaller gangs had already figured it out—gray business was fine, but only if you followed the rules. Stay low-key, do your business peacefully, and don't cross Luca the Dove.
"But I can help you open your martial arts school in Manhattan," Luca added with a grin. "Remember what I told you on the phone? Come to New York—I'll help you chase your dreams. Even if you want to open a furniture store."
"A furniture store?"
Ma Hon Keung paused, then waved his hand. "I don't know anything about business. Opening a furniture store is out of the question."
"Then we'll open a martial arts school inside a furniture store."
"…"
Ma Hon Keung was completely baffled.
Why did everything have to involve furniture?
And more importantly—why was Luca being this enthusiastic? This was literally their first time meeting.
The only explanation he could think of… was Uncle Bill.
Every time they talked on the phone, Uncle Bill would always say the same thing:
If it weren't for Luca, his supermarket would've gone under a long time ago.
While Keung was still trying to figure out his future, Luca was already planning it out for him.
In the original storyline, Keung would clash with Nancy's biker gang while protecting Uncle Bill's supermarket, leading to a full-blown fight. Later, the gang would accidentally get hold of Mafia diamonds, dragging Keung into an even bigger conflict.
Enemies would become allies.
Together, they'd take down the Mafia and "eradicate evil."
…Wait.
Hold on.
Eradicate the Mafia?
Yeah—no. Absolutely not.
Luca wasn't letting that happen.
In the original plot, the White Tiger tried to double-cross the robbers and steal the diamonds, causing everything to spiral out of control.
But now? Luca was personally handling the deal. Harmony first, profit second—clean and controlled. No accidents, no chaos, and definitely no way keung would get dragged into it.
With elite assassins under his command, there wasn't going to be any brainless Mafia goons running around messing things up.
Nope.
This nephew wasn't fighting the Mafia.
Not happening.
Instead—
Live quietly in New York. Open a martial arts school, drive trucks, run a furniture store—whatever he wanted.
And in his spare time?
Keep the peace in the Bronx. Teach small-time punks a lesson. Become the next-generation peacekeeper.
Luca had already written the entire script for him.
One thing was certain—
No matter what, this nephew was not allowed to cause trouble for the Lucchese family.
Otherwise, with that ridiculous protagonist-level charisma…
He might actually wipe most of them out single-handedly.
The two continued chatting. Most of it was Luca introducing different parts of the city—landmarks, neighborhoods, local culture—helping Keung get familiar with New York as quickly as possible.
"Luca, are you some kind of big businessman?" Keung asked curiously.
Luca definitely had presence. Honestly, he gave off serious Hong Kong triad boss vibes—except he looked way too young.
"A businessman?" Luca thought for a second. "Something like that. Uncle Bill runs a supermarket, I run a hotel club. Same idea—we both do business in the Bronx."
"Wow, you're this young and already running a big hotel? That's impressive."
"You're the first person who's ever called me young and promising," Luca said with a grin. "Thank you—I'm genuinely happy."
Then he added, more casually,
"Keung, New York's a very inclusive city. You'll adapt fast. If you need anything, just tell me. I promised Uncle Bill I'd take good care of you."
"Sorry for the trouble."
"Hey, don't say that."
Luca took a bite of an Oreo and spoke more quietly.
"My father died early. I didn't really have family growing up—until I met Uncle Bill. He took care of me, encouraged me… treated me like his own son. He'd invite me over for dinner all the time, even gave me Christmas presents."
He looked at Keung and smiled.
"You're his nephew. That makes you my brother."
That statement didn't just shock Keung.
Up front, Jimmy's expression shifted slightly.
He understood exactly what that meant.
This young man—Keung—had just been given a place in Luca's inner circle.
Even without Sicilian blood, he could walk freely across New York without fear.
First Mathilda.
Now Keung.
Another "family member."
Jimmy already knew how to treat him.
Keung, on the other hand, was surprised—but not uncomfortable. He was the kind of guy who naturally made friends, and he'd never reject someone who approached him with sincerity.
He smiled warmly and started chatting about Uncle Bill—thanking Luca for everything he'd done.
Hearing that Uncle Bill had someone looking out for him in a foreign country…
Keung felt genuinely relieved.
"Alright, Keung," Luca said. "Let's get you a proper welcome dinner. We'll invite Uncle Bill and have a few drinks."
"Sounds good."
---
Up front, Jimmy glanced at the rearview mirror. Seeing the two laughing and chatting, he couldn't help but smile.
It had been a long time…
Since he'd seen a smile that simple and genuine.
As the car crossed the Brooklyn Bridge, white doves flew overhead, heading toward Bowery Street not far away.
Below the bridge, near the container terminal, rows of brightly colored storage containers stood in silence—used by people to store their belongings.
At that moment, a black car pulled up nearby.
A tall, thin middle-aged man in a long black coat stepped out.
He walked up to one of the containers and entered a combination—his son's birthday.
Click.
The door opened.
Inside, both walls were lined with weapons—pistols, rifles, submachine guns.
This was his hidden cache.
Fake identities. Passports from multiple countries. Even a U.S. student visa.
He grabbed a suitcase, locked the container, got back into his car…
And drove toward Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, Little Russia.
A place where many Jewish Ashkenazi immigrants from U.S.S.R still lived.
Among them—
A man named Yuri Orlov, also known as the "Lord of War."
Today, Yuri had business to conduct.
He didn't particularly like selling weapons inside New York City—but the buyer was offering a very good price.
And Yuri?
Yuri only cared about price. Politics meant nothing to him.
Compared to flying weapons into war zones in Africa, this was easy money.
Still… he had concerns.
What the hell were those germans planning?
A terrorist attack?
An assault on the United Nations?
A bank robbery?
Last time, all the weapons he sold them ended up wasted in some clothing factory—dozens of guns seized by the FBI, along with a pile of corpses.
Yuri could only shake his head.
These guys were insane.
This wasn't a battlefield.
This was New York.
Then again…Yuri liked crazy customers.
Without them, demand would drop.
On average, there was one gun for every twelve people in the world.
His goal?
To arm the other eleven.
Soon, Yuri arrived at the meeting point.
A blond German man was already waiting.
"Let me ask you something," Yuri said casually. "Buying this many weapons in New York… you planning to rob a bank?"
The German laughed.
"Close. We're planning to rob the Federal Reserve."
"…Hahahahaha!"
Yuri burst out laughing.
That was fucking hilarious.
He never expected Germans—normally so serious—to have this kind of humor.
Maybe his stereotypes were outdated.
(TN: FYI, this is the plot of Die Hard with a Vengeance)
---
Bronx.
As the car entered the neighborhood, Keung immediately noticed the difference.
Compared to Manhattan, the streets were narrower. The buildings were shorter, older. Shop signs were colorful. The crowd was more diverse. Police patrols were more frequent.
It felt rougher—but also more alive.
"Keung," Luca said with a smile, "the Bronx might not be as flashy as Manhattan, but people here are mostly law-abiding and—"
Before he could finish—
A white-haired punk burst out of an alley, stumbling forward.
Behind him, several police officers shouted, "Stop! Don't run!"
The guy jumped onto a red motorcycle, kicked the stand, and sped off.
As he passed, he turned back—
Raised his middle finger.
"Eat shit!"
Keung: "…"
He looked a little embarrassed.
"Uh… Dove, things here seem… kinda complicated."
"…"
Luca's lips twitched.
Sure, crime was lower—but it wasn't that low.
And who the hell was this idiot?
"Jimmy," Luca said calmly. "Follow him."
The car accelerated.
Under Keung's stunned gaze, Luca casually pulled out a gun.
"Keung," he said, voice steady, "the Bronx doesn't tolerate people breaking the rules in broad daylight."
The car caught up quickly, pulling alongside the motorcycle.
The window rolled down.
The moment the white-haired punk saw the gun—
His face went pale.
Then he saw Luca.
His hand trembled. He immediately let go of the throttle.
"Don't shoot! Don't shoot!"
He slammed the brakes.
Luca stepped out and stared at him for a moment.
…Honestly?
He briefly considered sending him straight to hell.
__________________________________________________________________________
[Character Card Discovered: Angelo (Unlocked)]
[Rank: C]
[Source: Rumble in the Bronx]
[Skills: Take It for Yourself]
[Bond: Attention]
__________________________________________________________________________
Angelo—member of Nancy's biker gang.
Also the most annoying one.
In the original story, he constantly caused trouble—stealing from Uncle Bill's supermarket, picking fights, bullying the weak while fearing the strong.
Bold. Greedy. Opportunistic.
He was the one who stole the Mafia's diamonds and hid them in Nancy's brother's wheelchair. When caught, he played innocent—triggering a whole chain of chaos.
His skill?
Honestly… pretty useless.
__________________________________________________________________________
Skill:
[Take It for Yourself: Reduces chance of being caught while stealing by 15%]
[Requirement: Bond level "Friend" or higher; 40 Skill Fragments]
__________________________________________________________________________
To Luca, it was trash-tier.
"Andrew," Luca raised the gun slightly, "what did you steal this time? Hand it over."
Angelo forced a smile and pulled out a phone.
"Anything else?"
"…No."
Luca clicked off the safety.
"Then take a guess—are there bullets in this gun?"
"…!"
Angelo immediately pulled out more stuff.
Wallet. Watch.
Even a bag of chocolate.
"That's everything! I swear!"
He looked like he was about to cry.
"Dove, please—just this once! I won't do it again!"
Sirens approached from behind.
Luca lowered the gun slightly.
"This is the last time. Next time, I cut your hand off."
Angelo nodded frantically.
__________________________________________________________________________
[Ding! You helped the police catch a thief and maintained neighborhood peace.]
[Skill Points +5]
[Skill Fragments +2]
__________________________________________________________________________
Luca glanced at the panel.
Too minor.
Not even close to triggering a title upgrade.
After the police took Angelo away, Luca greeted a few nearby residents and shop owners.
Then he turned back to Keung, smiling like nothing had happened.
"Stuff like that rarely happens now. The Bronx is pretty peaceful these days."
Keung: "…"
He replayed the scene in his head—
The thief's fear.
The police's respect.
The neighbors' friendliness.
And the gun.
"…Luca," he said slowly, "it feels like everyone here knows you—and respects you."
"I just tend to get involved," Luca said, glancing around. "Do it often enough, people start respecting you."
Then he added,
"Uncle Bill told me you used to protect people back in Hong Kong. Standing up for your friends, helping the weak… I respect that."
"I just did what I could."
Keung smiled modestly.
Maybe…
This was how Luca helped Uncle Bill too.
"Keung," Luca said, "I think we're going to get along just fine."
"When you're out here, you need friends," Keung replied. "Luca—you've got one."
[Bond: Familiar]
Luca felt satisfied.
A full year of goodwill with Uncle Bill had paid off—skipping straight past "Attention" to "Familiar."
At this rate…
"Close Friend" wouldn't be far off.
==============================================================
Support me On P Site/OrbisTranslate for 15 advance chapters just three bucks.
Each 100 Stones = 2 Bonus Chapters
And as always, tomorrow is my day off, Peace Out