American variety show: The Godfather, the Peace Ambassador, what the heck?

Chapter 143 That bastard!

Gunfire erupted on the docks, and mercenaries who stubbornly resisted and refused to surrender fell one by one in the police's encirclement.

With a limp, Simon was unable to escape. His brothers were dwindling in number, and with only a pistol in his hand, he fell amidst the turbulent flow of bullets, collapsing helplessly against the container filled with gold in a corner.

Blood stained his clothes. Simon weakly raised his head, only to see the bald man in front of him already raising his gun.

McClain cursed, "Simon, do you know what? Your brother is a bastard! You two brothers are both bastards!"

Simon laughed: "Hahaha, he really is a bastard, you're right!" His face suddenly darkened, "But he shouldn't have been thrown out the window by you, you Irish fool!"

McClain laughed in exasperation: "I'll reunite you with your brother right now!"

Simon quipped, "McLean, do you really think you've won?"

McClain scoffed, "Are you going to tell me now that you planted a 2000-pound liquid bomb here? Fuck! I won't be fooled by your lies again!"

"There are no bombs here."

Simon, shot in the abdomen, was growing weaker and weaker. "But you've never beaten me in a head-on fight. The reason you're standing here with a gun pointed at me is because of the pigeon. I'm curious, what reason did you use to convince him? And when did he join you? I don't understand, what could be more tempting to him than hundreds of billions of dollars in gold?"

"To be honest, I don't really understand it either. Maybe it's because of my personal charm that Old Pigeon couldn't resist," McLean joked.

"I didn't expect you to be so humorous."

"Why don't you reflect on your own actions? You dropped a bomb on Old Pigeon's territory in the first place, and even sent me to Little Italy to provoke the residents there. Old Pigeon will never allow anyone to cause trouble on his turf, and you've been on the opposite side of him from the very beginning. You should be glad that the bomb in Little Italy didn't explode, otherwise Old Pigeon would have taken you out long ago!"

“Heh.” Simon sneered, “You actually believe that a mafia is really maintaining peace.”

"Didn't you also believe that he was greedy for gold and would send you away? Simon, the current outcome can prove who was right. Old Pigeon helped us get all the gold back."

"."

Simon paused for a moment, then a self-deprecating smile slowly crept onto his lips. So that guy had been on the police's side all along? Was all that hardship they'd shared these past few days just an act? But when Simon was telling his story, that guy's gaze was so sincere, as if he truly accepted him.
Even though he was about to die, he still couldn't tell which of that guy's words were true and which were false.

McClain watched as Simon's smile slowly froze. He stepped forward to check on him and found that the man had already lost consciousness.

He pressed the microphone button and reported: "Simon has been killed!"

You assisted the federal government in capturing/killing the gang behind the massive gold heist and recovering the gold, preventing a disaster that could have devastated the global economy. You defended world economic peace.

[Gain Skill Points x300]

[Gained 150 Skill Fragments]

[Remaining Skill Fragments: 210]

[“Peacemaker” exclusive title advancement progress: 1/3]

The "Peacemaker" title has been enhanced, with its attributes increased by 50%.

A panel popped up in front of Luca's eyes. Regarding the skill "Peacemaker," all the skill values ​​had been enhanced. Three of the values—the 10% reduction in hostility during non-violent negotiation, which had now become 15%; and the combat power bonus when defending peace, which had also increased to 15%—were also strengthened.

The probability of conflict breaking out has also decreased from 10% to 15%, and the range has increased from 1 kilometer to 1.5 kilometers.

At that moment, the atmosphere at the scene underwent some subtle and imperceptible changes.

A young white police officer roughly shoved a captured mercenary into a police car. Seeing that the mercenary was not very cooperative, the officer immediately raised the butt of his rifle. However, the mercenary's struggle weakened a little, and he silently climbed into the car. The officer hesitated for a moment and then lowered the butt of his rifle.

"Your boss is dead!" the policeman said coldly. "Behave yourself and stop making pointless resistance."

The mercenary remained silent, his face grim.

The white police officer then went to escort the other prisoners, and after everyone had been dealt with, he found Hobbes to report the situation. After reporting, he glanced curiously at Luca beside Hobbes before turning and leaving.

Luca stared curiously at the policeman's retreating figure.

He saw the shadows of some old friends, but they were different, only slightly similar.

But, isn't that guy a damn undercover agent?

A mole planted by the gang within the police force!

Luca asked Hobbs curiously, "Was that guy a NYPD cop? He looked a bit unfamiliar."

"He is a Boston police officer."

That makes sense. Luca nodded. The story about that guy in the original plot did indeed take place in Boston.

Luca was a little surprised. He thought Boston might only have that rare card from the petitioner, but he didn't expect the police to have another one.

[Rare Card Discovered: Colin Sullivan]

[Colin: A]

[Source: The Departed]

[Skills: Double Agent; Infernal Hell]

[Bond: Strangers]

Looking at the other party's skill panel, Luca shook his head and smiled. For no reason, he thought of his own experience this time. Wasn't he also playing the role of a double agent?
Seeing that Luca was staring at Colin's back, Hobbs explained, "That kid did a great job just now. He was at the forefront and killed several mercenaries who refused to surrender."

"It seems he has made a significant contribution this time; he can start preparing for his promotion party ahead of time."

Luca said with a smile.

Boston gangs are clever; they train their members from a young age, sending them to police academies to become officers, and then infiltrating police stations as informants.

Unfortunately, the police had the same idea and sent a police academy graduate to infiltrate the gang. Two people with completely misplaced identities began their struggle in a living hell.

I didn't have a choice before, but now I want to be a good person.

Luca was quite curious, wondering how far the two undercover agents had progressed. Colin seemed to be just a junior officer who hadn't risen to the rank yet, so it shouldn't be time for a "rooftop showdown" yet.

"Luca."

Hobbs's voice suddenly interrupted Luca's thoughts. The muscular man stretched out his hand. "Do you remember what I said a couple of days ago? You did me a big favor this time. Now I can give you a clear answer: if you encounter any trouble in the future, I will lend you a helping hand."

Luca glanced at the panel and thought to himself, "You don't really trust me either?"
However, he still shook Hobbes's hand and said with a smile, "Thank you for your trust."

Hobbs stared at Luca, thinking to himself that this matter was not over yet. He wanted to see if any of the gold was missing!
Shortly afterward, the police completed their follow-up investigation, bringing the gold and the criminals back to justice, and even drove away with the garbage trucks as evidence.

In the following week, the Federal Reserve announced that the stolen gold had been recovered and, through official means and related policies, suppressed the panic-driven surge in gold prices—the price of gold had skyrocketed because Simon had broadcast his threat to blow up gold at sea, making the matter known worldwide.

Although the federal government and the Federal Reserve have not released any specific intelligence or information and have attempted to suppress gold prices, they have been unable to do so. Central banks around the world have requested inspections of their gold reserves in the United States, which even triggered a run on gold banks at one point.

The US can only stall, unable to confirm a huge gap in gold prices, and is trying to recover the gold supply in a short period of time to quell market panic.

After the gold was recovered, the federal government immediately announced the news and used various means and policies to quickly adjust the price of gold.

In the current era, the world has not yet de-dollarized, and the United States has a very strong credit rating, almost invincible. In just over a week, the price of gold was calmed down, and a sustained bear market for gold prices even followed.

That day, at the FBI headquarters in New York, Hobbs was putting the finishing touches on the case.

During this period, he cooperated with the Federal Reserve to count the gold, and in the end, the weight of the gold was only about 500 ounces less.

500 ounces, which translates to only 14 kg, is a tiny amount of scrap, less than one-thousandth, for a company like Gold Mountain that is measured in tons. It can be considered normal loss and damage during transportation, and the Federal Reserve has indicated that it is perfectly acceptable.

They had already prepared for the worst, and would accept a 10% loss. This result is undoubtedly great news for the Federal Reserve.

This surprised Hobbes.

He had already prepared some bad plans—that Luca would secretly steal a large amount of gold during this operation. He swore that if Luca dared to do so, he would definitely keep an eye on the kid and make him pay.

But there was nothing. Just 14 kilograms of gold. Hobbs thought it would be perfectly acceptable to give it to Luca as a reward for his informant.

Could it be that I really misunderstood that guy?
Until he obtained a piece of intelligence from his subordinates.

Subordinate: "During this period, a private equity fund has been secretly manipulating the gold futures market, using over $1 million in capital and leveraging 5 to 10 times to go long and short on gold. They seem to know when gold prices will rise and fall, positioning themselves to short in advance and waiting for a gold price correction."

Hobbes was getting a headache listening to his subordinates' lengthy report. "Just tell me how much they made," he said.

"At least 7 million."

"."

Hobbes was taken aback. "So many? Since when?"

"Their voter base began to be established on the day of the bombing, and then they started to act after we recovered some of the gold. For five days after Simon fell into the water, they engaged in large-scale cross-border arbitrage in the global gold futures market."

His subordinate's words made Hobbes' expression increasingly interesting; he suddenly understood something.
Have you found out who controls the fund?

"Jordan Balfour".

"."

Jordan? This guy seems to be on good terms with Luka. Hobbs suddenly realized, "Fuck, no wonder he didn't steal the gold, but is waiting for me here openly!"
He recalled Luca's words: "It can be done in five days at the latest."

So, for the past five days, that brat has been secretly doing all this?
Only then did Hobbes realize Luca's true purpose.
He shook his head, both amused and exasperated. "That bastard!"

These are the real robbers, and they even brazenly stole the gold.

At this moment, a yacht carrying out a wild party is floating on the sea outside Long Island.

The deck was filled with howling and wailing.

Clang, clang, clang—Jordan, holding two gold bars, clapping them as he walked to the top.

"Quiet down, all of you!"

Jordan rolled up his sleeves, revealing a gleaming gold watch: "Look at this thing on my wrist! Pure gold! Do you know where it came from? It was stolen right under the noses of those idiots in gray suits at the Federal Reserve! They guard the world's largest vault. And what did they do? They weren't even as good as a damn watchdog!"

"A whopping $1400 billion! That's enough to bury the Washington Monument! Steal? Hahaha, do we even need to steal? The Federal Reserve has turned its vault into a buffet; all we need to do is elegantly pick up our knives and forks and enjoy this delicious meal!"

"The Federal Reserve is playing the fool by standing in front of the vaults, while we, as the real wolves, only need to do two things when those sheep are panicking: bare our fangs! And then snatch the fattest pieces of meat!!"

"Remember! Gold never disappears; it simply flows from the hands of fools into the accounts of geniuses!"

"Next time they mess up, get your cutlery ready! Wall Street's buffet is always FREE refills!!"

oh!!!
The scene erupted in screams and howls as Jordan picked up two gold bars and tossed them into the air, attracting a pack of wolf cubs to scramble for them.

On the other side of the deck, Luca, wearing only shorts and shirtless, leaned against the railing, holding a glass of champagne and watching everything with a smile.

A moment later, Jimmy, also wearing shorts, walked over with his phone. "Old Pigeon, it's Hobbs on the phone."

Hobbs's helpless yet amused voice came through the phone, "Luca, it turns out the biggest robber has always been right beside me."

Luca: "Please have some respect for Simon. He stole 1400 billion, and I only picked up a tiny bit."

Hobbes hesitated for a moment: "Where are you now? Let's meet before you leave."

The sun was shining brightly, and the sea breeze was gentle. Luca looked up at the sky and said, "Come to the SSR Club tonight, I'll treat you to drinks."

(End of this chapter)