The Mafia Empire
Chapter 71: Chapter 71 The New Player In The Town

How could Pronto feel any respect for such a person, despite his unusual authority?

Annoyance was more like it!

Standing by the window, Shaun snapped his fingers and turned to sit on the windowsill. "I remember now—Jim, Wood, right?" Pronto weakly nodded, and Shaun's face lit up with a grin. "I knew I'd heard that name before. What's up? He's dead? Who did it?"

Pronto shot Shaun a tired look. Shaun must have realized something because he awkwardly chuckled, patting Pronto's shoulder without a hint of shame. "Oh right, you're asking me."

In truth, Pronto didn't know much about this case. He avoided close ties with the gangs and didn't like being seen interacting with them. If word got out, it could cost him his job. Gangs also avoided associating with him. For gang members, even if they lost an arm to an enemy, they'd rather hold out for revenge than call the police. They would never seek justice through law enforcement.

Any disputes between gangs had to be settled according to gang rules. Anyone who involved the police would be despised and ostracized by all gangs and might even face vigilante justice, like Jim's wife did.

Pronto had no idea that Wood had kidnapped Julian's mother and brother, which explained the swift and ruthless retaliatory killings.

At that moment, Pronto classified the two murders as acts of revenge. But he also knew that no matter how he labeled it, it didn't change one fact: war had begun. He furrowed his brow slightly and asked, "Is there any way to de-escalate this? Like replaceing a mediator, getting both bosses to sit down and talk, and avoid a full blown war?"

Shaun cast a disdainful glance at Pronto. The way he moved, the look in his eyes—it was as if he were a gang member himself. "Are you kidding? Wood's already lost two of his top men. Do you really think he's going to agree to a sit down?"

"Forgive my bluntness, but this is beyond your ability to stop or interfere with. You don't have the... capacity." What Shaun really wanted to say was that Pronto didn't have the qualifications. Sure, Pronto was an impressive figure as the police chief of Ternell, responsible for the city's security.

But so what? He wasn't a robot, nor was he a war machine. He was just a chubby human being, no different from the thugs on the street. He could make a mistake, just like anyone else. He could be injured by a knife or killed by a bullet, just like Jim. In fact, he might even be more vulnerable because he didn't have the same level of caution as those thugs.

Of course, when everyone played by the rules, Pronto, as the police chief, was the biggest piece on the chessboard. Everyone had to respect and follow the rules he laid down. But once someone stepped outside those rules, what was Pronto then?

Just another imperial official who could be assassinated, silenced like anyone else.

So, in Shaun's eyes, Pronto didn't count for much. He was far less dangerous than those gangsters who weren't afraid to kill.

While Shaun was focused on Pronto, Pronto's attention was on the name Shaun had casually mentioned—Graf, and more importantly, Julian!

"You mean... Julian?" Even now, Pronto couldn't believe it. "You're telling me that the person going to war with Wood is a guy named Julian?"

Shaun nodded, a bit puzzled. "Yeah, Julian. The whole city of Ternell knows about him by now. He's young, ruthless, and shrewd. Most importantly, they're not afraid to kill. When Wood's men went missing, everyone suspected it was Julian's doing, though there's no proof.

Impressive kid, but hey, I wasn't too bad back in the day either…"

Sixteen!

A young man!

Pronto's heart inexplicably raced. He touched the heavy key to his Imperial Central Bank safety deposit box in his chest pocket, suddenly replaceing it burdensome. After a moment of thought, he ignored Shaun's reminiscing about his lost youth and drove straight to the Imperial Central Bank, where he located the safety deposit box the key belonged to.

Inside the box were ten stacks of ten-dollar bills. Although they were labeled as "old bills," they weren't very old—just circulated and used bills with non sequential serial numbers. Tracking these bills was difficult, even for the Imperial Bureau of Criminal Investigation, which made them the favorite type of currency for bribe takers.

In the past, Pronto would have been thrilled—after all, ten thousand dollars was the largest "donation" he had ever received. But now, he couldn't bring himself to smile.

Because the person who had given him this money was Julian!

More importantly, he now understood Julian's methods. That seemingly young, innocent looking boy had orchestrated two brutal murders, right out in the open. He didn't care about witnesses—Pronto even suspected he wanted to be seen. It was his way of sending a message, a signal to all the bigwigs in Ternell: they had a new player in town!

...

Though a storm was clearly brewing, there wasn't even a hint of tension in the air.

Wood stared at the three bodies on the ground, his eyes filled with sorrow. People on the outside called him a thug, a mad butcher, but that didn't mean a butcher or a thug was devoid of feelings. He was still human, capable of joy, anger, sadness, and happiness. Both Jim and Jiji had been with him for a long time. These two men were more than just his comrades—they were like family to him.

Whether they were so poor they couldn't afford to eat meat or charging into battle against powerful enemies, these two had always stuck by his side, never once falling behind. Their presence had become an inseparable part of Wood's life, something that could never be erased, no matter the method or the moment.

But now, they were dead, their bodies lying right before him.

He wanted to cry, but he couldn't replace the tears to break through his eyes.