Saiyan stowaways on the Ark

After a long silence, the receptionist regained some composure and continued:

"Please rest assured, we guarantee that your belongings will be safe and sound, and the vehicle and keys will be returned to you shortly..."

"Two or three hours."

Thomas suddenly interrupted the other person with a statement that left the other person scratching their head.

"what?"

Thomas explained slowly and deliberately:

"She'll wake up in three hours at most. It's a rare opportunity for her to rest here, and I don't want her to worry about anything else that might affect our mood."

Then, he suddenly switched to a calm yet serious tone and said:

"Rather than expecting you to get everything sorted out before she wakes up, I'd rather handle it myself—okay, tell me, where's the car?"

Thomas pressed his palm against the marble counter, and a soft cracking sound filled the hall as his five fingers gradually sank into the stone. The entire counter, like the front desk's own inner defenses, slowly crumbled.

“Jia...Jiawei Car Workshop”.

The receptionist backed away while squeezing out a name.

"Is this where my car is?"

As he confirmed it, Tomat pulled his hand out of the counter as easily as if he were pulling it out of the water.

"They should have been here! We assure you this was an unexpected situation and we are already handling it for you!"

So what exactly happened?

Seeing the other party's confident defense, Tomat continued to press for answers.

"The owner of the car shop has driven your car away!"

This answer surprised Tomat as well.

It's not hard to understand having malicious intentions towards rare cars, like wanting to take them apart for research, but driving the whole thing away... the culprit is a car dealership owner, not a scientist, and unlikely to have any important status in a country where gang families reign supreme...

Is this person out of their mind?

After getting an address, Thomas ignored the receptionist's attempts to persuade him to stay and walked out of the hotel.

After confirming the direction, they headed into the quieter streets and alleys compared to the bustling downtown area, and then disappeared the moment they stepped into the shadows.

He instantly jumped to the rooftop of a nearby building and looked down at the city where the auto repair shop was located.

The somewhat low-rise buildings are clearly visible from this height, and upon closer inspection, it can be seen that the area is quite close to the area we just drove through when we entered the city.

"Get things sorted out before she asks about the car."

[Main Text] The Saiyans' Daily Life on Terra: Chapter Thirteen - The Idea King of Syracuse

—Let's go back a little earlier.

After receiving instructions from Tomat, the security guard did indeed responsibly find a nearby shop with a rather ordinary decor, but which had the best reputation: "Javi's Car Shop".

However, the shop sign actually bears someone else's name instead of "Jiawei." This is because people in the neighborhood know that the shop has a very skilled and "strong-willed" mechanic, so they simply call the shop Jiawei's Shop.

The gatekeeper chose this location not only because of its technical reliability, but more importantly because the owner of the workshop is also a member of the Terlin family, and the workshop itself is also an asset under the Terlin family.

Therefore, this car shop, located at the intersection of a bustling commercial area and a border district, also frequently undertakes various family-related vehicle maintenance and modification work.

For example, repainting, replacing license plates, removing bullet holes, cleaning bloodstains...

Although the gatekeeper himself didn't know who Thomas and his group were, since they could so skillfully order him to do his work, they must either be people in the underworld or related to them. Naturally, when assigned the vehicle maintenance work, he subconsciously chose Javier's Car Workshop, which was frequently requested by "former customers".

After all, it's safer to entrust these matters to people under the family than to ordinary workshops.

"Is this... a truck?"

The fiery red, spiky-haired young man from Volper watched the vehicle slowly drive into the garage. He removed his goggles, wiped his hands, covered in black grease, on his workshop clothes, and then asked:

"Could it be that the back carriages are full of corpses?"

The young man from Walper frowned and tapped the surface of the parked car a few times in a tone that didn't sound like he was joking.

"This is a motorhome! A motorhome! You call yourself a car mechanic, and you have no idea what you're talking about?"

The doorman who was explaining things to the young man had completely lost the humble demeanor he had when he drove for Thomas.

"I've driven quite a few cars for those family members, but this one really feels great. Despite being a large car, it's not cumbersome at all; it even feels quite light to drive. I don't know what brand it is, but it's definitely not cheaper than others. Be careful when it's serviced!"

Before leaving, the doorman tossed the car keys to the young man in Volper, then ran his finger across the car, which was covered in a thick layer of dust. Some of the almost hardened mud and sand was scraped off and scattered on the ground, revealing the light blue metal shell underneath—and a corner of the Rhodes Island emblem.

"Wash it clean. The owner seems to have just come back from outside the city; it's covered in dust."

"Okay, okay, I got it. Take care, or you might get hit by a car."

Despite the gatekeeper's instructions, the young man from Walper gave him the middle finger and made faces at his retreating figure, cursing as if he were chasing away a plague.

Seeing that the other person didn't even bother to turn their head, the young man quickly returned his attention to his work. He put his hands on his hips and looked at Tomat's RV. After circling around it, he heard footsteps coming from the second floor of the garage—it was a silver-haired Luper youth with droopy eyelids.

"Javie, any new work?"

The young man from Rupert asked the young man from Walper.

The young man called Javi patted the car and replied, "Ah, Austa, you just missed the stupid face of that hotel watchdog."

"What's the harm in not seeing that stinky face to me..." Then, the young Rupert named Austa looked at the imposing and dusty RV in the garage, paused for a moment, and asked, "...Did a family member kill someone in the RV?"

“I thought so at first too, but after walking around and not smelling any blood, it seems like it really just needs a wash.” Javi scratched at the surface of the vehicle a few times, then turned to Austa and said, “But you actually recognize an RV, that’s awesome!”

“...It’s nothing.” As he spoke, Austa picked up the cleaning tools, checked that the doors and windows were sealed, turned on the water valve, and began to wash away the dust on the surface. “But RVs are indeed quite rare. Most people in mobile cities, when they have places they want to go but don’t have a destination in between, usually hitch a ride with business travelers or hire armed forces to escort them. They basically live with other people and don’t have the extra time to consider whether they can be comfortable on the road.”

Although Aosta wasn't sure if Javi would take his words to heart, he still talked at length about the RV according to his own understanding.

People only consider the comfort of their journey when the route is stable and safe. In Terra, aside from certain self-proclaimed "holy lands free from natural disasters," and the fact that mobile cities can crush suicidal bandits or beasts in their path to avoid disaster-prone sections and form so-called "safe routes," there are no safe roads for small mobile groups.

Therefore, people at most seek the convenience of transportation in slightly larger mobile cities, so RVs, which are vehicles that pursue a convenient experience during the journey, are practically useless.

But Javi seemed to have given Austa's words some thought, and then said in a rather serious tone, "Is it possible—I'm just saying—that the owner of this car is driving it himself, living a free and easy life away from the city? After all, it's a small house, with everything you need, so it's quite convenient to live in."

Javi picked up the cleaning tools and, while Austa rinsed the area, said, "Seeing this, I actually have an idea..."

Seeing Javi's serious expression, Austa slightly adjusted the valve pressure before he could utter any outrageous remarks. The increased water flow immediately splashed violently across the vehicle's surface, spraying water directly onto Javi's face. He then said sternly, "Wake up. Even mobile cities can't withstand the harsh wilderness. How long you expect to survive in this miniature house carrying a few people depends entirely on the mood of the land..."

Austa was clearly much calmer than Javi. He used common sense to judge the possibility of what Javi said, and then decisively cut off the idea that was popping into the other's mind.

The two could be considered members of the Trin family gang, although they were not family members but low-level thugs. However, Austa knew the importance of rules. Javi, who had many amazing ideas, did have considerable appeal and personality among the low-level thugs, but if he wanted to survive in the long run, Austa's calmness was also essential.

"Don't get so agitated. Even though you're my strategist, and I give you ideas while you provide the plans, you're already saying it won't work before I've even finished speaking. At least listen to what I have to say!"

During his past gang activities, Javi met Austa. Although the former had many other cronies, it was clear in Javi's eyes that Austa, a smart man who was different from the other thugs, was an indispensable strategist for him, the "future patriarch of the Javi family".

The Trinn family looked down on these petty cliques and didn't interfere, but for Javi himself, they took them very seriously.

“Javi, think about this carefully.” Austa carefully washed the car, and the markings covered by the mud and sand were gradually becoming visible. “What kind of person, besides the one you’re imagining, could drive a car like this around in the wilderness?”

After thinking for a moment, Javi said, "So, the owner of the car is a rich man who hires others to accompany him around the cities in the wilderness, and also a pretentious guy who refuses to live with his guards?"

Austa nodded, then shook his head: "Probably, but you should also know another 'characteristic' of people qualified to do this kind of thing."

Javi thought for a moment longer: "Arrogant and deserving of a beating?"

Austa sighed, blocking the water pipe outlet with his finger and spraying the vehicle's surface with a stronger stream of water: "It's 'we can't afford to mess with them'."

As Austa explained, the Rhodes Island logo gradually appeared on the RV's interior.

[Main Text] The Saiyans' Daily Life on Terra: Chapter Fourteen - The Driver Takes the Road

“Hey, Austa, you’re very knowledgeable. Do you know which family this symbol belongs to? It’s not the symbol of the Sicilian Union, nor does it seem to be the symbol of any of the other twelve families.”

The origins of Syracuse are unknown, leaving only the almost mythical story of "The Wolf Mother of the Seven Hills".

The wolf mother had six children, who, along with herself, lived on seven hills. A hundred years later, each child had their own tribe. However, one tribe was driven out of its hill by the other tribes because it was weak. Having lost their foothold, they launched an attack on the wolf mother, intending to take over her hill.

The wolf mother, unwilling to fight with her cubs, leaped into the sky and transformed into the moon's shadow.

Whenever the moon is covered by its shadow, every Rupert should remember the mother wolf's sorrow, anger, and forgiveness.

After losing the wolf mother, the tribes realized their mistake and understood that they were all members of the same family. They drove out the culprit, established inviolable rules, and then each reclaimed a mountain peak, offering the remaining one to the wolf mother. From then on, they referred to each other as "family" instead of "tribe".

Anyone who transgresses the rules will be severely punished by the Seven Hills Council and the city of Seven Hills.

However, the part about legends that are difficult to distinguish between true and false ends here. The rise of the even larger family that followed—the "Sicilian Union" composed of many families of varying sizes—is a clearly recorded historical fact.

They seized the city of Seven Hills, a symbol of rules and order, by force. The six great families ceased to exist, and instead, twelve new families emerged from the Sicilian League, governed by the "Sicilian Madame," the supreme leader of the "Sicilians."

The broken rules and order have now been re-established, but the Syracusan rules of the family system have continued.

The struggle was once again suppressed, but the initial awe of the wolf mother was replaced by awe of Madame Sicily.

However, this situation did not last long, and the influence and voice of the Sicilians gradually weakened over time and with the expansion of the power of various families.

Today, few members of the Twelve Families still refer to themselves as Sicilians, and they no longer constantly remember that their families originated from the "Sicilian League," which dared to overthrow the six Rupert families.

Although the Sicilian woman still held a high position of power and could even exile families in Syracuse that violated the rules, people's perception of the "Sicilian League" had long since changed from "the origin of the twelve families" to "one of the thirteen families".

In addition, unlike the other twelve families, the Sicilian Alliance was not dominated by a single large family within its territory. Instead, it was composed of a mixed group of large and small families. The centripetal force of the Sicilian lady alone was not enough to maintain absolute stability and development. As a result, in terms of strength and composition, it was looked down upon by the other twelve families. This is one of the reasons why people gradually abandoned the term "Sicilian".

“Now that you mention it, I don’t think I’ve ever seen this symbol before. It’s amazing that you noticed it. It’s neither the symbol of a major family in the Sicilian Federation nor the symbol of any of the twelve families…” More than being confused about the symbol itself, Austa was surprised that Javi had noticed it. “It’s probably a newly rising family that even the gatekeeper didn’t know. Otherwise, he would have made it clear from the beginning which family’s car it was driven by.”

"Tsk tsk tsk." Jiawei clicked his tongue, his tone a mix of resentment and longing, and said, "If it really is a small family rising up, then that's quite something. I wonder when my 'Jiawei' family will be able to make a name for itself."

“Ha, that will take quite a while…” Austa added, “plus the time it takes to come up with all sorts of weird and wonderful ideas.”

“Hey, I have plenty of time, but I’m not going to come up with any ideas?” Javi chuckled. “That won’t do. If it really turns out like that, how can we still call ourselves the ‘Javi family’?”

Two low-level gangsters in Syracuse, exchanging glances and exchanging words, do odd jobs with their hands but talk about their distant "dreams," fantasizing that they too can become rising "gangster superstars" in Syracuse in the future.

"Phew...this car is really dirty outside..."

"But actually, apart from the mud and sand, there are no scratches at all. After washing it, it looks like a brand new car that just came out of the factory."

After working for nearly half an hour, the two finally finished cleaning Tomat's RV.

The normal procedure would have been to contact the hotel security guard to pick up the car—but after taking out his communicator, Javi hesitated to press the call button on the number labeled "Watchdog".

"I said, how about we try our luck today?"

Why try your luck?

Austa was somewhat confused by what Javi said, but he still had a bad feeling about it.