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

Chapter 169 Triads, Skill Unlocked

The following afternoon, Hofa's funeral took place as scheduled.

The event was well-attended, with people from both the legitimate and criminal worlds, as well as Fitz and union presidents from across the United States, and many of Hoffa's loyal supporters and drivers.

Hundreds, even thousands, of people passed by in a long procession of black Lincoln cars on the streets of Detroit, as many Detroit citizens spontaneously organized to send off Hoffa.

Luca sat in one of the cars, holding a phone and communicating with Denham about intelligence regarding matters in Boston.

During this time, Luca kept checking on the situation over there. Now, the feud between the two undercover agents has begun. One is a police undercover agent, and the other is a gang undercover agent. They are both hovering at the gates of hell.

But what they didn't expect was that the FBI had planted an undercover agent, or more accurately, an informant, inside.

The FBI recruited one of the gang members.

And this gang member is none other than the gang leader from the original storyline.

This guy is the same type of person as "The Reaper" Scarpa back then. He's a double agent, sucking up to the FBI on one hand, and using the FBI to develop his own power on the other. He would occasionally send intelligence to the FBI to fight rival gangs, and he was even secretly trafficking drugs behind the FBI's back.

The Boston version of the spy story, though simple, crude, and devoid of any aesthetic appeal, consisting of a bunch of idiots, has more complex relationships than the Hong Kong version.

What can Luca do?

Of course, we should take this opportunity to expand our gasoline business there, and while we're at it, we should also clean up the various powerful underworld factions in Boston, kill off the disobedient ones, develop the obedient ones into our underlings and allies, and then hand over our skills.

The current state of Detroit's underworld serves as a cautionary tale for Boston.

As for the specifics of how to proceed, Luca will need to go to Boston in person after he finishes this busy period. He can bring Night Demon along this time, since there is Russian territory in Boston.

At that moment, Denham's question came through the phone, "Our New York branch can't handle the FBI in Boston. But Old Pigeon, are you sure the FBI has moles in Boston?"

Denham himself was a bit confused. How could the FBI be planting undercover agents everywhere? The key was that he didn't know who any of those undercover agents were.

Could I consider infiltrating an undercover agent myself? If not Old Pigeon, I could infiltrate other gangs in New York, like the Tarasov gang in Little Russia, or the Chinese gangs in Chinatown. There are countless gangs in New York; even beggars have formed a "beggar gang."

Luca couldn't directly explain the undercover situation because he couldn't clearly state the source of the information. "I got some information from within the family, but I'm not sure if it's true or not, so I thought I'd ask you to verify it."

Denham: "I don't know about Boston, but there are definitely undercover agents in New York. I don't know their exact identities, Old Pigeon. Be careful. Those undercover agents have been infiltrating for quite some time and have already infiltrated your Mafia."

Luca smiled. "Little blondie?"

“Okay, I understand.” Luca then asked, “Have you investigated the Chinese gangs in Boston?”

In the original storyline of Infernal Affairs, there was a Chinese gang, which Luca remembers very clearly.

"I found some information, but not much. I'll send it to you later."

Denham said with a headache, "Old Pigeon, I was also thinking of asking you about the Chinese gangs. Are you familiar with Chinatown in Manhattan?"

Chinatown? Luca raised an eyebrow, and Denham said, "There's a Chinese gang there that's been very rampant lately, their drug trafficking is really blatant, David and I are investigating this gang."

David, Denham, and McLean were quite active in the drug bust operation. Since Old Pigeon didn't touch drugs, they could sometimes get intelligence from him about non-Mafia gangs to help combat drug crimes in New York.

Luca is always very generous with intelligence information that doesn't involve the Mafia.

With the help of official forces, they could eliminate some small gangs in New York and also help David and his team get promoted and receive raises—a win-win situation.

However, Luca doesn't know much about Chinatown. He's not as well-connected as Ah-Qiang and Uncle Biao in this regard. The uncle and nephew often go to Chinatown to connect with their fellow countrymen.

He only knew that New York's Chinatown was dominated by Chinese gangs, and they were quite xenophobic, making it difficult for other gangs to infiltrate. The five major families also didn't want to get involved in Chinatown; the cultural divide was quite severe. In any case, those Chinese gangs only fought amongst themselves within Chinatown and rarely affected the outside world.

Initially, the area was inhabited by triad gangs, such as "Hsieh Shing Tong" and "On Leung Tong." The two sides fought for decades until the mid-20th century, when the conflict subsided and the gangs began to decline.

However, with the influx of immigrants, a large number of Chinese have poured into Chinatown, and fighting has broken out there again. Gangs like the Flying Dragon Gang and the Ghost Shadow Gang have emerged, making Luca feel like he has entered some kind of martial arts era.

To be honest, Luca doesn't have much interest in Chinatown. Only Chinese people can get along there, just like how Little Italy can't be taken over by non-Italian gangs.

If A-Qiang has the ambition to become the boss, Luca might consider giving him a hand, but A-Qiang clearly has no such ambition.

I think I should open a furniture store instead.

Luca said, "I'll ask around over there when I have time. Which gang is involved in the drug trafficking?"

"I don't know. I only know that their leader is called 'Mr. Wei'."

"???"

Mr. Wei's expression suddenly turned strange, as if he had found a few more odd and rare cards.

If he remembers correctly, Mr. Wei will have a very skilled Chinese assassin working for him, who was smuggled in from Shanghai.

With his slicked-back hair, square face, and expert dual-wielding skills, he possesses terrifying combat power capable of single-handedly wiping out an entire gang, along with a top-tier aura, truly embodying the spirit of a hero.

However, it seems that Boss Wei has only recently risen to prominence, and the police have only recently begun to pay attention to those Chinese drug dealers. It seems that the original plot has not yet unfolded, and Big Back Hair probably hasn't yet smuggled himself into the United States with the "American Dream."

After hanging up the phone, Luca closed his eyes and pondered for a while.

They also have a seat at the High Table for Chinese gangs, represented by the Triads, who are quite powerful.

The Triads is a broad term, consisting of many branch gangs scattered all over the world. They are active in Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Japan, Myanmar, Australia, and the Americas, mainly in the United States and Canada, while in Europe they are active in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.

For example, there are the Sun Yee On, 14K, Wo Shing Wo, and Shui Fong gangs in Hong Kong, the Tung On gang in New York's Chinatown, and the Ping An gang in Boston.

Its presence can be seen wherever there are Chinese communities overseas.

Luca couldn't help but think of the car smuggling he had talked about with Bobby yesterday. This stuff would connect with the triads in Hong Kong, which is the region where the triads are most powerful, with dozens of branches.

"It seems that contact with Chinese gangs is inevitable."

Whether it's smuggling, the gang warfare in Boston, or the drug cartel in New York's Chinatown, they are all inextricably linked to Chinese gangs.

Funeral scene.

A dense crowd stood in the cemetery, the air so oppressive it almost felt tangible.

Frank stood in the crowd, staring expressionlessly at the coffin containing Hoffa and the enormous grave.

When a man's complex emotions are trapped and cannot be released, he often cannot show any expression, only a numb and indifferent state. This is especially true for Frank, a soldier with war trauma. Death is not unfamiliar to him; he has killed countless people in his life. But the death of his old friend makes him feel as if another piece of him is missing. His daughter, Paige, doesn't want to stand with her father. Even now, she suspects that Uncle Hoffa's death is related to her father, even though the news reports that the shooter was a black killer.

Compared to before, she prefers to stand by Luca's brother's side.

She tugged at Luca's clothes: "Brother Luca, I don't understand why those black people killed Uncle Hoffa. He was such a good person."

When she was little, Hofa was the one who spent the most time with her. He bought her toys and dresses. Hofa treated her almost like his own daughter, giving her love and never letting Peggy see any of the "union tyrant" side of him.

The little girl only remembered the good things. When she was little, when her classmates wrote essays, others wrote about their fathers or mothers, but she wrote about her Uncle Hoffa.

Luca's lips moved slightly. Actually, he didn't have much to do with black people. It wasn't black people who wanted to kill Hoffa, but the Mafia.

"Because he stood too high, high enough that every enemy could see him at a glance."

Luca said softly, “When those black people look up at your Uncle Hoffa, they are genuinely afraid. But your Uncle Hoffa, his spine never bends, even when asking for help, he stands tall and never bends down to look those black people in the eye.”

Peggy didn't quite understand, but she heard Luca praising Uncle Hoffa.

As he watched the coffin being buried in the pit, Luca felt no emotion whatsoever.

According to the unwritten rules of the underworld, death settles all debts.

Luca continued, "Peggy, go and keep your father company. He's more heartbroken than anyone else here."

Peiqi glanced back at her father's expression; his face was so serious it was almost frightening.

“I don’t want to go.” Peggy shook her head, her heart filled with resistance.

“Hofa’s death had nothing to do with your father,” Luca explained. “I know you don’t want to believe it, but it’s true.”

In the original storyline, after Frank killed Hoffa, Peggy keenly observed the abnormality and guessed that her father was the murderer. From then on, the father and daughter became like strangers and never spoke a word to each other again for the rest of their lives.

Peggy reacted strongly: "Here we go again? Pleading for him? Tell me, if he didn't do anything, why did he act so strangely after Uncle Hoffa died? He wouldn't even look me in the eye! He didn't even make a single phone call to Uncle Hoffa's family. Would someone who cares about a friend act like that? Would an innocent person be so guilty?"

Luca remarked that the little girl was quite perceptive. "You've always had a strong sense of observation, which you take after your father. But what you observe isn't the whole truth."

There is no truth, only perspective, and Peggy's perspective clearly stems from her stereotypical impression of Frank as a killer.

"He can't look at you, not because of what he did to Hoffa, but because he knows something happened to Hoffa. He saw the worst possible outcome, and he felt fear and helplessness. Fear that the world would devour his respected friend, fear that the vortex would sweep away more people. He doesn't know how to face you."

Luca patiently mediated the conflict between the father and daughter. "He's afraid you'll ask questions he can't answer, he's afraid it will implicate you. Peggy, you should understand, Frank has always been protecting you, but he's not good with words, sometimes his methods are a bit rough, and he doesn't know how to express his feelings to you."
But this was not because he was indifferent, nor because he felt guilty; he simply felt ashamed for betraying Hoffa's trust and failing to protect him as a friend.

Luca looked up at Hoffa's wife and family not far away and said softly, "Your father doesn't know what to say to comfort a woman who has lost her husband, nor does he know how to comfort you. He feels that anything he says is hypocritical and cannot make up for anything. His silence is just a cover for his emotions, not an admission of guilt. Peggy, you have misunderstood your father."

Peggy became even more agitated, her voice trembling: "Excuses! All excuses! If he was really that upset, why didn't he ever mention it? It's like he just accepted it like that. Why didn't he tell me? Why didn't he defend himself?"

"Just how much do you hate your dad?" Luca comforted. "Because he knows you too well. He knows how much you love Hofa. In the face of this tragedy, any explanation from him will only sound like a lie, an excuse, an insult to you. He's afraid that if he speaks, even if he tells the truth, he'll be silenced by your deeper hatred... Look at you now, I'm telling you the truth, but you refuse to believe it."

Peiqi's eyes were blank, but her emotions had calmed down a little.

She's about to turn 18, she's no longer a child, she has her own thinking ability, so how could she not see that her father was protecting her? He just chose a violent method.

父母爱意的表现形式在全世界都千奇百怪，溺爱或是严苛责备、混合双打或者耐心劝导碰到麻烦闯了祸，有的父母无条件护犊子，有的父母第一反应是先揍孩子一顿，让孩子认错。

“Peggy, think about your father. He did many things in his life, some honorable, some in the gray areas. But his respect for Hoffa was genuine; he would never have harmed Hoffa. He had no motive, not even a little; he only felt the immense pain of losing his dearest friend.”

Luca talked on and on, while Peggy grew increasingly silent, glancing at Frank every now and then. Perhaps she had never truly understood what kind of person her father was.

“I’m not asking you to hug him right away. First, put aside a little prejudice and go to see him. Don’t look at him with judgment. Give him a chance to tell you himself about his sadness and his helplessness that day.”

"Give him a chance, Peggy. Don't let a mistaken hatred become an irreparable regret between you and your father. The truth is here; the choice is yours. Not just for him, but perhaps for Hoffa's spirit in heaven, I think he wouldn't want to see you and your father create a lifelong rift because of a misunderstanding."

Peggy rubbed her eyes and looked up at Luca. "Is it really unrelated to my father?"

“It has nothing to do with us.” Luca nodded; at most, it was just a case of standing by and watching someone die.

Peggy nodded and walked toward Frank with a complicated expression.

Luca didn't know what they talked about; he only vaguely heard a few words: "Peggy, I love you, and I love Hoffa too."

Then Peggy threw herself into Frank's arms and sobbed, and the father and daughter hugged each other tightly.

When Luca looked over, Frank raised his face, his eyes red. When their eyes met, Frank said thank you with a complicated expression.

It's unclear whether he was grateful to Luca for comforting his daughter or grateful that Luca didn't make him kill Hoffa himself.

You initially resolved the conflict between Frank and his daughter. You upheld peace within the family.

[Event Skill Points x5]

[Gained 2 Skill Fragments]

[Bond: Close Friend]

In an instant, all three of the painter's skills were unlocked: [Painter], [Guild Leader], and [Irish].

Luca turned off the panel and looked at Hoffa's grave.

Amid Peggy's sobs, the tombstone stood erect.

People came forward one by one to pay their respects and offer flowers.

Frank stepped forward and placed down a rusty union badge with a trace of blood on it, which had been found at the scene of the death.

This badge represents Hoffa's identity, and the rust on it looks even more dazzling than the gold in the Federal Reserve.

Corrosion is the only patina of power.

Jimmy Hoffa is buried here.

He fed the hungry wolves to save his flock of sheep, but was eventually eaten by them.

(End of this chapter)