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

Chapter 70: Knowing the Small Things
Bang bang bang bang!

Blades clashed and bodies collided as two top-notch assassins fought fiercely in the open space of the gym.

With the katana duel restricted, Luca, whose swordsmanship was rather poor, was no match for Ishii Oren. He could only rely on his superior physical strength and stamina to keep up with his opponent. Ishii Oren also intentionally held back, focusing on teaching rather than sparring. In the end, both of them were exhausted, drenched in sweat, and panting heavily.

The two agreed to a truce.

"Pigeon, you're making great progress."

Ishii Oren sat cross-legged on the wooden floor, giving a solemn affirmation: "In less than half a month, you have already mastered the basics. With your talent, if you practice diligently every day, you will become a master swordsman within three years!"

Three years? If I had enough skill points, I could become a sword god in three minutes. Luca handed her a bottle of water. "I'm even more grateful that I met a very patient and responsible swordsmanship teacher."

With a faint smile, Ishii Oren twisted the bottle cap, recalling her days learning swordsmanship. "I started learning swordsmanship when I was five years old. My father, who was also my teacher, was stricter with me than anyone else."

Her earlier childhood experiences were unknown to Luca. The original plot sketched the image of a vengeful girl in just a few strokes, but did not mention that before becoming an assassin, she was just a little girl with a happy family.

Experiences foster growth, and flowers nurtured by hatred are beautiful yet thorny.

Luca recalled his childhood. Before the age of 10, he wasn't exactly a normal child because he had too much contact with Mafia, his father and godfather, both of whom were members of the Mafia.

During holiday gatherings and parties, all the guests at my home are Mafia.

His mother left him when he was young, and his father was not strict with him, so Luca was a street bully from a young age.

Crab-like gait, walking sideways, arrogant and domineering.

After his father's death, Luca almost overnight put away his knife and hid it even deeper.

Luca: "My father took me to the shooting range. When I was six years old, I hit the target with a revolver on the first shot. My father praised me as a sharpshooter."

Oren Ishii: "I only started practicing with a gun when I was 9 years old. By the way, when was the first time you killed someone?"

Luca: "At 14, I shot and killed a man who was having an affair with another man's wife."

The wives of Mafia family members are off-limits to outsiders; anyone caught doing so will be executed. Many Italians are "new grooms" every night, but they adhere to the bottom line of not sleeping with their brothers' wives.

Old Zuo is the most typical example. Before Black Sonny was released from prison, he took care of his wife and lover every week, but he still couldn't develop a relationship that went beyond friendship.

“I was there before you. I killed a yakuza boss when I was 11 years old, with a samurai sword.” Ishii Oren did not mention the reason, only saying, “I was three years there before you.”

Were you scared at the time?

"I'm not afraid, are you?"

"Shouldn't the one who's going to die be the one who's afraid?"

The two exchanged a smile, but Luca suddenly stopped smiling. "I killed that adulterer because he was having an affair with the wives of other family members. He kept talking about true love, and even that woman pleaded for him, but not a single member stood by his side."

Dominic asked him at the time: Do you know where you went wrong?

The rules were established before he was born, leaving him speechless. If it was true love, his biggest regret should be not hiding his feelings, which we discovered.

At this point, Luca looked at Ishii Oren, "You were only 11 years old when you dared to assassinate a yakuza boss. There must have been a reason why you had to do it. I bet it wasn't for the money. I just want to say that you did it, and you did it beautifully. You made that yakuza boss pay the price for his mistakes!"

Faced with Lucana's frank and sincere gaze, Ishii Oren's dark eyes flickered slightly, and she subtly shifted her gaze a fraction of an inch away, avoiding direct eye contact with him.

She brushed the hair away from her forehead.

Why is it that I can always find a sense of empathy and recognition in this man?

Is it because everyone's past experiences are too similar? Orphans, gangsters, assassins.
"That company president, he murdered my parents, he must pay with his blood!" Ishii Oren looked directly at Luca again, pursed her lips, and used all her strength to say the reason that she rarely mentioned to others.

Perhaps it was because of a sense of resonance, but Ishii Oren found herself willing to talk to Luca about her past experiences. It wasn't because she wanted comfort from Luca, nor did she want him to tell her how to proceed in the future. She simply wanted Luca to know what had made her who she was.

She told stories of her pain as jokes until someone told her that it wasn't funny at all.

"This is how the blood debt should be settled."

Luca brandished his knife and said with a smile, "Once I've mastered swordsmanship, call me along for any jobs like this in the future."

Her smile spread like ink wash painting; it was the first time Ishii Oren had ever smiled so happily.

He understands his past and accepts who he is now.

[Bond: Friends]

[Snow Pavilion Zen Mind] Unlocked.

The two continued practicing their swordsmanship until Jimmy received a phone call.

"Old Pigeon, your friend with the eye patch, cut off the bug's hand."

"."

Luca was speechless. He could figure it out even with his toes: the bug had probably cheated and been caught by El.

Trying to cheat by using tricks in front of an assassin?

Luca could only say the bug deserved it. It was good enough that El didn't release the Black Mamba to bite him. That woman always carried a snake with her—as for why it was a Black Mamba and not her nickname, the California Mountain Snake, that had to do with the woman's jealousy and envy.

"Want to go to the casino together?"

Luca invited, "El helped me catch the thief who was cheating, so I have to thank her properly."

Having already learned about Pigeon's nickname, Ishii Oren asked curiously, "I've heard that you enjoy resolving conflicts and disputes. Is this also a way of defending peace?"

"If the thief who cheated accepts the idea of ​​reconciliation, then so be it."

If they don't accept it, then the peace ambassador will have to resort to force.

Upon arriving at the scene, Luca discovered that the so-called "hand-cutting" did not mean the entire arm was severed, but rather that El had used a dagger to pierce the insect's palm and plunge it into the card table.

Blood stained a corner of the card table.

When Luca arrived, Al was sitting next to him counting chips, keeping a notebook as he did so.

She smiled and waved to Pigeon, "Pigeon, I didn't want to cause trouble at your club, but this damn Fake cheated me out of all my money." Luca looked "gratified." The Silver Queen was clearly less effective against a killer like El, whose thinking was a bit blocked.

"How much did you lose?"

"Over 6000, I'm still calculating. I was really lucky; if I hadn't encountered a cheater, I definitely would have won!"

"Stop counting, stop counting. I'll give you a round 1. Consider the extra as what you were supposed to win." Luca told Jimmy to help El cash out the money and then invited the female devil to a bar for drinks.

"Old Pigeon, I love men as magnanimous as you!" El blew a kiss and winked at his one remaining eye.

"You look terrifying with only one eye, okay?" Luca laughed as he saw El out, before leisurely returning to the card table.

Upon seeing Luca, the insect was utterly shocked, momentarily forgetting its pain. Wasn't this the janitor who watered the flowers at the front gate?

"what!"

The insect screamed in agony as it watched Luca grip the hilt of the knife but fail to pull it out.

"Did you find out whose territory this is before you came?"

"Luca the Pigeon"

"So you know me."

Is he the pigeon?
As the insects grew increasingly terrified, Luca pulled the $10 from his pocket and slammed it on the table:
“You cheated in my establishment, swindled my customers, and ruined my reputation. According to the rules, I should chop off your hand and throw it out. But I believe in reciprocity, so considering the money you gave me before, I'll give you two choices.”

Luca pushed the $10 over while gripping the knife handle tightly. "If you want the money, take the $10 and leave, but leave your hand behind; if you want your hand, I'll take the $10, but you'll have to bring another $3."

He remembered that this guy and his friend owed the Russians ten or twenty thousand dollars and were acting like they were going to die. If he said too much, the two of them might just carry the train away overnight.

Upon hearing the number 30,000, the insect's face, contorted in pain, almost turned green. "I didn't cheat that much money. I only won a little over 10,000 in total."

"You're using the extra money to buy hands? Don't you think your hands are worth that much?"

"."

The insect, realizing it was in the wrong and being on someone else's turf, sighed dejectedly, "Fine, I'll take the bait."

"Pay up."

"Right now, I don't have that much on me," the insect pleaded. "Could you give me some more time? I'll send you the money when I have it."

“Call your parents, your friends, and ask them to send you money.”

Luca didn't give him a chance to argue. He simply pulled out the knife so fast that the insect didn't even have time to react before the knife was gone, leaving only the excruciating pain.

"Jimmy, have someone treat his hands. We'll release him whenever the money arrives."

After Luca finished speaking, he stared at the bug clutching its hand and said, "Only by keeping your hand can you have a chance to shake hands and make peace with me. I'm glad you chose it."

His smile seemed like a devil to the insects.

[Bond: Follow]

This guy, Bug, is a gambler who only knows how to cheat and take shortcuts. He doesn't use cheating techniques or cheat at all, so he can't be called a Texas Hold'em master.

If Luca remembers correctly, Bugs owed money and dragged his friend Mike into it, but in the end he ran away alone, leaving Mike to face the threat from the Russian gang.

Mike admitted it too.

This is as a way of repaying the insect for not betraying him and going to jail alone back then.

From that moment on, the two severed all ties.

Luca wasn't quite sure what their relationship was now. Had they broken up? Or were they still friends?
If Bug is still in New York, does that mean he hasn't abandoned Mike and run away?

After the bug was taken away, Luca casually asked Jimmy, "Teddy KGB, do you know this guy?"

Jimmy paused for a moment: "Of course I know. Teddy is a member of the Tarasov gang and runs an underground casino. He's also the best Russian at playing cards in all of New York. I used to lose a lot of money to him."

Luca: "."

The memory of losing money is always memorable.

The Tarasov Gang is the gang that Nightmare currently works for, and it is also the largest Russian gang in New York.

I wonder if Night Demon knows how to play cards?
Soon after, the insect's friend arrived at the SSR Club.

Mike, Bug's only friend, was completely stunned when he learned that Bug had been detained by the Mafia for cheating!

That troublemaker, isn't it enough that he offended the Russians? Now he's going to provoke the Italians too!

He hurriedly entered the underground casino and came to Luca's side.

Where are the bugs?

[Character Card Discovered: Mike Dermott]

[Mike: S]

[Source: The King of Gamblers]

[Skills: Desperate measures; keen observation]

[Bond: Strangers]

Seeing the big picture from small details
The peace ambassador has taken a liking to this skill.

The real Texas Hold'em masters are all masters of micro-expressions and psychological warfare. A subtle micro-expression or a small movement can reveal the size of an opponent's hole cards in an instant.

Mike is that kind of gambling god, an invincible law student who dreams of conquering Las Vegas.

But before that, he not only had to defeat the Russians, but also the peace ambassador.

(End of this chapter)