Saiyan stowaways on the Ark

"Wait... what did you say?" The group had already walked halfway when Lappland seemed to wake up from a dream and quickly caught up, staring wide-eyed at Tomat and shouting, "A bowl of noodles!? You beat me up because of a bowl of noodles, not because of Texas? Just a bowl of noodles?"

“‘Just a bowl of noodles’?” Thomas stopped and repeated the word with emphasis. “Miss, you’re saying ‘just a bowl of noodles’ to someone who only started eating normal food a few days ago? You have no idea what it means to me, and you, without any knowledge, caused a reckless explosion that knocked it over. Now I think beating you up isn’t enough; you also need to apologize to the shopkeeper, bend over so low that your head touches the ground. If you can’t, I can help you.”

"The explosion... has nothing to do with me, that was done by my target."

Lappland couldn't understand why Tommat would beat her up for a bowl of noodles instead of Texas.

But at least she figured out that the other party had punched the wrong person.

"You also caused me to stray from my goal without my knowledge."

"You mean, there's still someone who owes me a beating."

Normally, a person should apologize to the victim for their misunderstanding and harm.

But Thomas's mindset only made him realize that there was another person who deserved a beating.

"The roads are wide open now, everyone's scared away by the explosion. Texas, drive me."

[Main Text] Travelogue of Longmen: Chapter Eight: The Slums

"Boss, is it really necessary to pursue this to the end?"

Exusiai, who believes the main purpose of this trip is tourism, stated that taking such additional action could potentially lead to other incidents.

“It’s necessary. First, it spoiled my mood, and second, he ruined A-Zi’s business. He probably doesn’t want to let it go.”

Exusiai clearly underestimated Tomat's obsession.

"Uncle Dong finally arranged a place for me, but now I can't set up my stall anymore...sigh." Sitting on the edge of the back seat near the window, Jie looked at the hastily packed-up stall and the bottles and jars scattered all over the ground that could no longer be recycled, and sighed in an already tired tone, "But at least if we catch that guy, it will save Sister Hoshiguma some trouble."

"I can help you with the stall thing later, but I have a small problem right now."

Croissant, unusually reserved, tentatively asked the people crowding around her:

"Don't you guys think there are too many people on the bus?"

Penguin Logistics' official vehicles are brand-new high-end cars imported from Colombia by their boss. Driven by the latest Originium-powered engines, they can achieve high speeds comparable to racing cars. In addition, for functional and safety considerations, most of their materials are military-grade high-strength materials, ensuring passenger safety while maintaining comfort inside the vehicle.

However, it has a drawback: the interior space is not spacious—at least when six people are riding together, the whole car will feel as cramped as a can of sandworms.

In addition to the original group of Tomat, Exusiai, Texas, and Croissant, the car now also has Jekyll and Lappland.

Tomat can fly, but he doesn't know where the escaped gang leader went, so he needs Lappland to lead the way. Now she's sitting in the passenger seat that Exusiai used to be, giving directions to Texas, who is the driver. She knows exactly where the target, who can't easily leave the city now, is going.

The other four people squeezed into the back seat, watching the vehicle drive towards a place in Lungmen that locals avoided like the plague.

—Slums.

“During the commission, if someone tries to harm the boss while we're leading him to a certain location, dealing with them is part of our job.” Exusiai, sitting in the back seat, leaned against Texas's seat in front of her, using her head to separate Texas from Lappland, while explaining their current trip to the slums. “However, if the boss deliberately chooses to venture into special areas or get into fights, this isn't something we'd normally handle. We'll still intervene, but it will be counted as an additional commission—although I usually say this to clients, your situation is clearly a bit special, boss.”

Penguin Logistics has no obligation to protect clients who deliberately do dangerous things to provoke a fight.

Unless the commission is paid in full.

But even if Thomas, as the client, were to provoke a fight, it would not pose a threat to him personally—the battle in front of the casino, relayed by Texas when he got on the bus, already demonstrated that he could handle these troubles on his own.

"To put it simply, the boss chose a rather special tourist spot and took care of some things along the way, rather than deliberately looking for trouble."

Croissant gave a thumbs up, openly exploiting loopholes in the rules of her organization.

"I like your flexible way of doing things. Once you arrive, you don't need to do anything; just leave it to me."

“After all, our corporate culture is ‘not bothered by details’,” Exusiai said.

“Although we were still ‘living for the moment’ the day before yesterday,” Croissant added from the side.

Even though they were all crammed together in the back seat, Tomat casually crossed his legs, clasped his hands together on his knees, and asked Lappland in the front seat:

"You say he's here, how did you confirm that? Where exactly is he? Who is he, and what does he look like?"

“Phew, that guy is my target. He’s got that kind of attitude, talking like he’s got you cornered.” Lappland chuckled and complained at first, but then answered without reservation, “Many gangs from other places choose to develop in Lungmen, and the most suitable place is the Lungmen slums. Although they all have to give some face to the local ‘gang leaders,’ they still have to establish themselves here. The Syracuse gang called the Gambino family is the same. They’re being suppressed by some rat here, but they’re still shamelessly shouting ‘the glory of Sicily.’”

"The Gambino family, huh? Old acquaintances. I remember they got a really bad lesson when they were recklessly expanding in Lungmen a few years ago. I thought they had all run away, but it turns out they're still living in the slums." As a well-informed Penguin Logistics employee, Exusiai and the others naturally knew any organization with a bit of a reputation in the area, even if they were famous for getting beaten up.

"Tsk..."

Texas clicked her tongue almost imperceptibly as Lappland recounted the story, but her focus wasn't on the Gambino family Lappland mentioned, but rather on "they came from Syracuse."

"What's wrong, Texas? Are you bothered by this?"

But Lappland keenly noticed the sound that could be easily masked by the car engine, and asked with a smile that revealed her sharp teeth, completely ignoring Exusiai standing in the middle.

“Go on,” Tomat gestured for Lappland to continue explaining the information.

"Their stronghold is right here, and that guy, as a cadre, was attacked by me. Since he couldn't escape Lungmen immediately, he would naturally seek the protection of his family. Of course, whether his 'parents' have the time to care about him is another matter. He's probably wandering around the slums in despair right now, thinking that everyone here is his man, and if he can't hide, he can at least fight back."

Judging from Lappland's lack of urgency in pursuing the other party at the casino, she knew where the other party went afterward.

Even if they escaped, they only escaped to another pre-arranged hunting ground.

“That guy was also a Lupo, nicknamed Fang, but he’d lost several teeth. I beat him up.” Lappland closed his eyes and shrugged, casually recounting the violence he had inflicted. “He was a minor, peripheral member of the Gambino family. Precisely because he was peripheral, I started dealing with him. The big fish stay in the pond, while the small fry can easily escape.”

Arriving at the boundary between the city center and the slums, compared to the otherworldly atmosphere of the old streets, here one feels only the thin line separating prosperity and ruin.

The old street is ultimately just a somewhat chaotic tourist area.

But the slums are another independent world within Lungmen.

But if asked what the biggest difference is, most people would probably just subconsciously say those three words.

—"Infected Persons"

[Main Text] Dragon Gate Chronicles: Chapter Nine - The Trap

The Gambino family—a group expelled from the Syracuse underworld. No one knows why they were expelled, but those who know them know that every member of the Gambino family stubbornly calls themselves "Sicilian."

For example, whenever they were beaten up by well-meaning citizens in the city and then sent to the police after causing too much trouble, they would repeatedly mention this word.

Of course, using this ancient and prestigious term on themselves won't get them anything beyond jail time and administrative detention.

"You're saying that the guy who ran away won't be accepted by their boss? Why? Because they're busy running away themselves?"

If the atmosphere of the old streets is desolate, then the condition of the slums is dilapidated.

It's not just because this place is far from the city center and has chaotic public order, and the infrastructure, including residential buildings, is in terrible condition. More importantly, the Reunion Movement originally infiltrated this area and launched riots from one of their strongholds in the slums. Since their target, Misha, is also an infected person living here, their large-scale mobilization has made the already untidy slums even more dilapidated, almost like the area outside the battlefield where Tomat is located.

Luxury cars are not suitable for driving on these roads, and who knows if they might suddenly collapse halfway through the journey, so the group opted to proceed on foot and enter the slum area.

"No, because he made a mistake he shouldn't have made. He not only violated the laws of Lungmen on the surface, but also the rules behind the scenes. Those people will not admit that this troublemaker is a member of their family."

Although Tomat still asked about Lappland's pursuit of the underworld for unknown reasons, Texas unusually took the initiative to explain.

The existence of organized crime is not solely due to the existence of individuals who choose this risky profession.

More importantly, they are "allowed" to exist by certain people who truly control this place.

Sometimes it's for profit, sometimes it's out of personal feelings, and of course, it might be a necessity of the current social situation, but it could also be purely for fun.

But whatever the reason, once they are allowed to exist, they must obey the rules set by others before they can realize their ambitions and become so-called rulers.

The Gambino family is a prime example—and not just the Gambino family, but even Penguin Logistics, known for its audacity and capriciousness, quietly adheres to the rules that must be upheld.

No live ammunition will be used in urban areas, no civilians will be targeted, no inter-organizational conflicts will be instigated, regular security management fees will be paid, and 100% reimbursement will be provided for any damage to public property caused by the actions of the individuals involved...

And that fights must not result in death.

As long as these rules are followed as much as possible, whether these gangs are secretly plotting against each other or openly engaging in group fights in the city, the consequences will only be dealt with individually or they will be given a ticket and detained for a few days.

They were allowed to live and make a living under the rules, but that was all.

"So Exusiai, your gun isn't loaded with live ammunition, and Texas and Croissant won't kill anyone?" After hearing this information, Tomat looked at the weapons in the hands of the group and asked, "Let me make this clear, I didn't kill those thugs, I just smashed their heads into the ground, and your friend is fine."

"She's not my friend, and she's not a good benchmark for normal people," Texas said, still chewing on a chocolate chip cookie as usual.

"So we're in a relationship that's more than friends, Texas?" Lappland responded to Texas's cold words with an unusually cheerful attitude that had emerged since arriving in the slums.

"This only applies during peacetime when we're not threatened with lethal force. We still have the right to self-defense." Exusiai removed the magazine from her repeating rifle and showed it to Tomat. "Although in most cases we're the ones who strike first?"

“I’ve actually fought with this Gambino family quite a few times back in Lungmen, because of business disputes and such. They seem to really want to take over the boss’s business, but there are just too many people like that. I can’t even remember which one is which just by mentioning their names.” Croissant carried his shield on his back and a giant hammer on his shoulder, walking at the very back of the group.

The slums are different from the old streets. In the latter, even normal shops won't let you in if you're carrying weapons, but in the former, if you're not armed and aren't a sorcerer who can cast spells with your bare hands, you'll be considered suspicious when you come here.

Theft and robbery are minor matters. In this place rife with infected people and violence, if an uninfected person or a non-local enters, they might find themselves ambushed by a large group of people wielding sticks around the next corner.

Therefore, their decision to openly display their weapons was the correct course of action.

However, even though Jiedu was holding a fine steel butcher knife, Tomat still didn't take any other weapons.

Initially, under the watchful eyes of only a few local children hiding in inconspicuous corners of the surrounding houses or streets, Tomat and his group arrived deep into the slum. Here, they could see small groups of lightly dressed slum dwellers gathered together, glancing at their location with shifty eyes. However, no strange individuals appeared to cause trouble or immediately ran away upon seeing them.

This was also thanks to Penguin Logistics' advance search for the infected Misha on Rhodes Island, which allowed some locals to get a certain impression of Exusiai and others. Lappland, on the other hand, directly revealed the characteristics of an infected person, which made some people less wary.

For the locals, weapons are not scary, infected people are not scary, but those who are not infected but come here are the most dangerous people.

Seeing that Penguin Logistics and Thomas were willing to be with Lappland, who was clearly infected, those people naturally lowered their guard considerably.

"Ah Jie, your prestige has spread this far? No wonder you're the branch leader of the one-man-one-sword-wielding gang—" But Croissant, seeing this, deliberately joked with Jie, who had been mostly silent since arriving, "When I came here before, I was given no shortage of trouble."

"Oh, is this Ursus guy a gang member too? Saying that gangsters can't cook is just prejudice. I'm very good at making mille-feuille."

Lappland even took the opportunity to tell gangster jokes to Jie, who was clearly a model citizen.

An atmosphere reminiscent of friends taking an afternoon stroll was gradually created, but their pace slowed down more and more.

"When did it start?"

Croissant kept smiling and asked a question in a low voice, seemingly out of the blue.

"Shortly after entering."

"Exusiai replied."

“They came from all directions.”

Lapland slowed her pace and looked around at the slum neighborhood where there were more people.

"It doesn't smell like the Gambino family's scent."

Texas placed her hand on the hilt of the Originium Sword at her waist.

“Uncle Dong brought me to the slums before, but I don’t remember seeing so many unfamiliar faces.”

He pulled up his mask, a move he originally intended to avoid being recognized by acquaintances, but now it looked like the preparations of a skilled executioner.