Chapter 21: Gluttony

Page 1/3

At night, Luca declined Marigio’s invitation to the weekend party and took the little brat back home.

Matilda was exhausted after a day of playing and said goodnight to Luca early, then went back to bed to rest.

Luca returned to his study and sat down, pulling out the file labeled “Joe Doe.”

There were dozens of Joes in the file, each looking different.

“I can’t recognize anyone just by the photos...” Luca was a bit puzzled.

Many characters in this world didn’t look exactly like the ones he remembered from movies or TV shows.

He usually identified them by their names or character cards shown on the interface, or by special recognition methods in certain situations, like that poser in the phone booth.

“Excluding those too young or too old, there are still twelve left. Looks like I’ll have to visit each one personally.”

Luca recalled the killer’s home had a very distinctive style—he kept all the evidence there, with photos of every victim.

In the original story, two detectives found the real culprit’s address only by checking the library’s borrowing system and then getting help from the FBI—since getting a library card required ID and phone bills.

“Maybe there are already victims by now...” Luca tapped his fingers on the desk. “I remember that guy was a premeditated criminal; one victim was even tortured for over a year.”

But it wasn’t a big problem. Luca wasn’t worried—this case had nothing to do with him. The killer was just a pervert, not very strong, posing no real threat.

His only concern was that the killer wouldn’t ruin David, that rare card.

Now that he had some leads, he planned to check them all off and then take down the murderer to claim the system rewards, avoiding all the hassle afterward.

With a plan forming, Luca put the file away.

The interface popped up in front of him.

[Luca Greco]

[Skills: Firearms Mastery LV6, Assassination Mastery LV6, Combat Mastery LV6, Driving Mastery LV4, Scoundrel, Greedy, Harmless Disguise...]

[Current Skill Points: 0]

[Current Skill Fragments: 45]

Recently, his firearms and combat skills had each increased by one level. Luca spent skill points as soon as he had them, aiming to max out these skills first.

However, as levels get higher, the skill points needed per level grow—going from 6 to 7 requires 200 points, and it only increases from there.

No big deal; these basic skills weren’t urgent, so he could take his time.

More important were the special abilities attached to rare cards—each with unique effects, often powerful or abstract. Collecting more character card skills was the real key.

...

Luca closed the interface and began thinking about his next steps.

First, internal promotion within the family.

To become a soldier, an outsider only needed sponsorship from a local boss or multiple ordinary soldiers, along with a sufficient criminal record and a “pledge of loyalty.”

To rise from soldier to boss required not only a solid criminal record but also backing from high-level members and contributions to the family.

High-level members meant figures like the second-in-command or advisors; contributions meant how many missions a soldier completed or how much business they managed, and how much profit they brought in.

Within the family, people usually fell into two categories: one called “money trees,” who made money by any means; the other called “gangsters,” who carried out violent crimes to help make money.

Page 2/3

Few had both roles—no one expected everyone to be both tough fighters and savvy businessmen.

After regaining his memories, Luca grew tired of endless fighting. He wanted to build capital through business and only deal with troublemakers when necessary.

So now, Luca’s main goal was to leverage the family’s background and connections to make a fortune, win over family members, eliminate rivals, and rise to become a boss.

Step by step, he aimed to become the godfather of the underworld!

The club was Luca’s core idea: recruiting talent, connecting profit chains, and entering various lucrative industries through it. He planned to make the club a community of interest—not just economically, but politically and on other levels.

Of course, he wouldn’t tell anyone about the secret of collecting rare cards and learning skills.

After some market research, Luca had his eye on a nearly bankrupt club in the Bronx.

He intended to buy it outright and transform it into his new club.

But he still needed some funds and was figuring out how to get them.

...

Second, Matilda and Leon.

His bond with Leon was developing slowly, but things with Matilda were going well.

Except the kid was far too precocious; if she dared to kiss his cheek this time, next time she might do more...

Speaking of which, how does one advance a bond to the level of partner?

According to the system, “Close Friend” meant sharing life details, emotional experiences, and values, reaching the stage of confidant or best friend.

“Partner” meant exposing vulnerabilities, accepting flaws and failures, and forming a highly trusting relationship—like partners or family.

Luca noticed a crucial point—“mutual.”

Bonds between people were always reciprocal, never one-sided.

He thought that to get closer to Matilda, he needed to actively show her a more “colorful” side of himself, including some of his thoughts and personality flaws—in short, let her understand him better.

Sincerity begets sincerity.

...

Third, dealing with the looming crisis caused by the “Blue Magic.”

The Blue Magic was growing rampant; soon the federal government would launch a large-scale anti-drug operation in New York.

Luca naturally wouldn’t miss out.

Money, system rewards, skills... such a huge operation would surely have generous rewards.

As a peace ambassador, defending peace was his duty!

Fourth, Uncle Biao needed to get married soon, and his eldest nephew needed to come to New York. He wanted to be friends with him and go furniture shopping together.

Maybe he could subtly ask Uncle Biao’s relatives in Hong Kong if they planned to visit New York or study abroad.

No need to wait until the wedding—if he found a good excuse, the nephew could come earlier.

Fifth, McClane, who brought one disaster after another.

This guy was almost as formidable as Conan, and the incidents he got involved in were always exaggerated—blowing up buildings, planes, even cities. Definitely not something ordinary people could handle.

Prudent as always, Luca thought it best to keep an eye on things. He didn’t have any die-hard aura skills.

Sixth, the night demon—John Wick.

Page 3/3

That guy was still working for the Russian gang, hadn’t retired, wasn’t married, and didn’t have a dog. He was at the peak of his power, the undisputed underground assassin king.

Give him a suit, and he might just take on all of New York by himself.

His story hadn’t even reached the original plot’s unfolding yet.

The Russian mob and the Italian mafia had a tense relationship—surface peace with hidden currents. Luca belonged to a different faction than the Night Demon; he had killed many Russians, and the Night Demon had taken down many Italians.

Both were assassins who followed the rules; factional conflicts didn’t directly involve them.

Speaking of which, the Night Demon valued loyalty deeply... but how to get close to him?

Maybe send him a dog?

Seventh, the Wolf of Wall Street.

That con artist was recently under FBI investigation and in quite a bit of trouble.

Luca might reach out some day to “borrow” some money from him.

Eighth...

...

The next day, Monday morning.

Luca drove Matilda to school, then stopped by a nearby café for a coffee to wake up.

Just as he was about to contact Leon to investigate the Seven Deadly Sins killer, a nearby conversation caught his attention. He sharply heard keywords like “murder,” “fat guy,” “died from overeating…”

Luca quickly grabbed a newspaper from the rack.

Sure enough, there was breaking news about a murder.

[Major Murder in Residential Area]

—The victim was a several-hundred-pound man.

Luca raised his eyebrows in surprise. That was fast. No sooner had David been transferred to New York than this happened.

Many people in the café were reading newspapers. In this era before smartphones and the internet, watching TV and reading newspapers was how many citizens kept up with current events.

“It’s getting less and less peaceful lately,” a white-collar worker complained to a colleague nearby.

“There are deaths every day. You can hear police sirens every night in Manhattan; they’re so loud I can’t sleep! That concerned citizen was right—New York is a mess!”

“The media only reports this one case. What about all the others? Our community had a whole family murdered.”

“Stupid media; they only pick sensational news. A fat guy who ate himself to death—everyone’s curious how much he ate. Maybe some donut shops will even use this to advertise.”

Luca smiled and put the newspaper away, then walked out of the café.

The media might be idiotic, but this time they really weren’t at fault. It wasn’t that they only wanted to report this case—the killer was actually a media professional.

He wanted to use the media to display his deadly art of warning the world, showing how terrible the world was and that everyone was guilty.

And he was revealing the first of the Seven Deadly Sins.

—Gluttony!