I created the myth of the Great Old Ones.

"Or are you so cowardly that you believe you can't control the family and will be eliminated by me?"

"No, Father, I didn't."

Stone felt a strong sense of authority.

He could order the monster beside him to kill the man in front of him right now, but that would only be a momentary pleasure. If Corneon were killed now, the entire Catania family would be plunged into strife and turmoil. As an adopted son, he would have no way to fight his way through Corneon's legitimate sons.

Stone knew exactly what Lu Ban had said.

He knew very well that Corneán would never truly hand over the family to an outsider, and that the godfather was using him for everything he did.

In fact, Stone was also taking advantage of Corneán's little scheme.

As the godfather said, Corneille's children were all good-for-nothings. The eldest brother was a complete playboy, without any cunning or shrewdness. The second brother was reckless, violent, and extremely impulsive. The eldest daughter had left the family and was now teaching. The second daughter was good at calculation but lacked her own opinions. The third daughter indulged in pleasure and became the first sacrifice.

The fact that Corneón could so readily hand over his youngest daughter to Stone to kill shows that, for this man, her value as a tool far outweighed any familial affection.

Therefore, as long as Stone still has value, that is, as long as the Catania family does not unify the underworld of the ruined capital, he will not be eliminated.

By that time, Stone had become the head of the family and the true person in charge.

He could become the new Godfather if he eliminated all the Catania family members beforehand.

Corneán was well aware of all of this.

The game between gangsters is not about conspiracies and tricks, but about laying everything out clearly and offering a condition that the other party cannot refuse—a calculated strategy.

Of course, on the surface, the two of them also had to put on a show.

It can be described as a loving father and a filial son.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

"Sir, someone is looking for you outside. It's Detective Trist and his two assistants."

Someone said.

"They've come knocking on our door; this is the result of not handling things properly."

Corneón looked at Stone as if he were lecturing him.

"Go wait in the next room, I'll handle it."

He let Stone leave.

Stone simply nodded, and the blond-haired man immediately turned into mud, enveloping him before disappearing into the ground.

Seeing this, Corneón answered the doorway.

"Tell them to go to the reception room and that I'll be there in a bit."

After the people outside left, Corneón stood up, walked out of the study, and summoned his henchmen.

"Have people quietly surround the reception room. Once those three people enter, dispose of them. I need to confirm the bodies."

"Cornean gave the order."

He certainly wouldn't be foolish enough to confront those people himself. The best way to handle this situation is to offer them some irresistible terms to shut them up.

"Oh, right, have Clayderman and Charles go to the reception room as well, just in case."

He added another point.

These two were once bounty hunters who survived in the wild and possessed considerable combat abilities.

After giving the orders, Corneán returned to his study.

He opened the book he had been reading and continued reading, while taking another sip of wine.

As the chilled liquor flowed down his throat, Corneón seemed to be transported back to many years ago, to the moment he first witnessed the extraordinary.

From that point on, Corneón's ambitions extended beyond the mafia.

And now...

Gunshots rang out from the courtyard, followed by the sound of shattering glass and a commotion.

Then, things quieted down.

ended.

Corneán sighed and put down his cup.

The next moment, a commotion arose outside the door.

"What are you doing? No, wait!"

bang——

Before Corneón could react, he heard a loud crash from the doorway. The high-class wooden door was violently smashed open, leaving only a large crater along with the wall.

On the opposite side of the pit stood the detective, wearing a long overcoat, a deerstalker hat, and smoking a briar pipe, along with his two assistants.

"Hello, Mr. Corneón."

Chapter 416 You're Playing with Fire

"Hello, Mr. Corneón."

Tristan pulled down his hat brim and quickly scanned the room, finding no trace of Stone.

You should knock first.

Seeing this, Corneón remained calm. He moved his hand from the cup to the book, and with his other hand quietly pulled open a drawer, inside which was a pistol.

"I apologize, because some of your subordinates might not be very polite, so we gave them a little etiquette training."

Drizzt glanced at the thug lying at his feet.

Although he looks quite dashing now, Trist doesn't want anyone to see how he fled in terror and hid behind Sia when he was hit by a series of typewriter clicks.

“Mr. Corneón, I don’t know if there is a traitor within your family. We came to visit out of goodwill, but someone tried to attack us just now. It’s really terrible.”

Drizzt walked into the room and said.

"I have quite a few traitors around me."

Corneón smiled.

"Thank you for helping me eliminate the traitor. I think a good reward is due to you."

“Mr. Corneón, you are playing with fire.”

Lu Ban didn't want to play games with Corneón, so he said...

"That monster is not something you can control, nor can it grant you immortality; it can only turn you into a walking corpse."

Upon hearing Lu Ban's words, Conion's gaze turned somewhat cold. He closed his book and smiled.

"I don't know what you're talking about. If monsters exist in the ruined city, they should only exist in the sewers of the slums."

"Cornean said."

"Don't rush, let me explain to Mr. Corneán."

Drizzt took the pipe from his mouth and continued.

"Many years ago, when Mr. Corneón was still in the early stages of his career, he acquired some knowledge, some knowledge about exotic lands, and knowledge about summoning exotic creatures. This knowledge overturned his understanding, and since then, Mr. Corneón has kept it in mind and has never forgotten it."

"But ordinary people can't even touch the otherworld. The monsters in those wildernesses are terrifying enough. Even though Mr. Corneon has a fairly large organization, he still hasn't been able to come into contact with the extraordinary. He has many children and grandchildren, and his organization is thriving, but these worldly things can no longer touch his heartstrings. Only things from the otherworld are what he pursues. Such an empty castle would have collapsed as he grew old and died, until he met Dr. House."

"Dr. House is a doctor who runs a private clinic. More importantly, he is the descendant of the Crane Cry School who has been stranded in the ruins of the city. Unlike those charlatans, he showed Mr. Corneón a real miracle and convinced him that he could also possess the method that enabled the Crane Cry Taoist to ascend to immortality and achieve immortality."

"Mr. Corneón provided Dr. House with housing, materials, money, and test subjects. In the ruins, it is quite difficult to conduct such experiments. Although the wealthy people in the upper city are corrupt and tyrannical, if anyone touches their interests, then the iron fist will follow. This is why, even though the Catania family has achieved its current power, it still has to associate with those in the upper class, has to be obsequious, and has to launder its businesses."

"The pollution from the factories that have sprung up in recent years has just met Dr. House's needs. He opened a clinic in the border area between the rich and poor, and generously treated the workers, providing them with drugs at low prices. In reality, he was conducting experiments. The drugs he used were essentially just inducers that caused people to become increasingly alienated. As the workers suffered more and more from the alien pollution, ordinary industrial exhaust pollution could no longer cause them any more damage."

"Of course, these rituals to summon alien monsters cannot be carried out with medicine alone. Dr. House searched for a long time and finally found a suitable vessel, which was the companion of the girl Liz. He suffered from an illness, and the medicine was expensive. Dr. House provided the medicine, which slowly eroded the other's body, and relied on regular check-ups to slowly carry out the ritual."

"Dr. House told Mr. Corneon that this exotic monster could modify the human body, grant immortality, and give him unlimited power. Mr. Corneon did indeed have a group of good-for-nothing children, and he did believe that if these children inherited the family business, the family's assets would be squandered. Therefore, his idea was to obtain immortal life and rule on this eternal throne for a thousand years."

"But accidents are always the main theme of the ruins. According to Dr. House's plan, the test subject should have transformed into a monster in Dr. House's basement after a period of time. But the accident broke all of this. Flora, as Tucker's woman in the Sharp Knife Gang, chose to inform the Catania family because of her jealousy of Liz and her disappointment with Kata. She revealed Tucker's hiding place and when he would appear here."

"And in the Catania family, there are always some people eager to make a name for themselves, including one of Mr. Corneon's distant relatives, McKee, who led a group to attack the Happy Home apartment building, killing Tucker and also affecting Liz, who lived next door to Tucker, and the experimental subject."

"Liz was fatally wounded on the spot, and the experimental subject was born prematurely due to the catalyst of death."

"On that day, in the Happy Home apartment, the mud-like monster completed its transformation and descended into this world ahead of schedule. It devoured Liz and merged with her last remaining consciousness. The two achieved fusion and will never be separated again."

"The monster was secretly contained. It has shown amazing power and will grow stronger with each killing. Mr. Corneón discovered that it seems to have a good liking for Stone and is able to move around with him. Therefore, it was made to mimic the appearance of a dog and accompany Stone."

“Mr. Corneón wanted immortality and wanted the monster to grow, but the monster seemed to have its own consciousness. It killed Dr. House, who wanted to conduct a second experiment, and the test subject Flora, as well as McKee of the Catania family. They knew very well that the monster was seeking revenge. Liz and the test subject’s will was gradually influencing the monster. They wanted to find a way to control it, so they commissioned me to investigate the truth behind it.”

After saying this, Drizzt picked up his pipe and took another puff.

"Mr. Corneanne, are you satisfied with the story I told you?"

After hearing all this, Corneán's expression remained unchanged.

"A very good story. So, Detective Tristana, have you found a way to control that monster?"

He asked a question.

“No, Mr. Corneón, that monster will only keep devouring until the very last moment, and you will not be able to control it.”

"That's what Drizzt replied."

The next instant, a speck of mud fell from the ceiling.

Chapter 417 Hesitation Leads to Defeat

The ceiling seemed to melt, with clumps of cement dripping down, as if the entire room had become part of the monster's body.

Corneán sat behind his desk, motionless.

“Mr. Corneone, aren’t you worried that Stone will eliminate us along with you, and then claim to the outside world that we killed you, and that he wants to avenge you by purging the mole within your ranks?”

Drizzt pulled out his revolver and said.

This wasn't just for Corneanne; it was also for Stone.

If Stone and Corneón are determined to stand together, then Drizzt and the others are actually in relatively danger. After all, Sia can hold them off, Lu Ban is not afraid of death, but Drizzt himself does not have that many ways to protect himself. If they really go on a killing spree, he will be the most unlucky one.

Therefore, Drizzt needs to create a rift between Stone and Corneón, making Stone hesitate.