Chapter 46: The Unlucky Carlson Family

Chapter 46: The Unlucky Carlson Family

At midnight, Leon walked alone onto the rooftop.

The moon was full tonight, and its soft, silvery light bathed the rooftop, easing some of the tension in his heart.

Facing a being who could kill him at any moment, even though he knew it was unlikely—after all, why go through the trouble of saving him just to kill him later?—he couldn't help but feel a lingering sense of fear.

"You're here."

A familiar voice rang out. Leon looked up in the direction of the sound.

At some point, George, wearing his Reaper mask, had appeared above him. He was now descending slowly through the moonlight, his figure almost godlike.

"Mr. Reaper, what do you need from me?"

Leon instinctively bowed.

George landed and gave Leon a once-over before saying:

"If I were to kill the leadership of the other twelve families in the Bronx, could you take over all their territories?"

He had thought about it. Just cash wasn't enough. If he partnered with Leon to take over the entire Bronx underworld, they could split the profits.

That would be a real score, ensuring he'd never have to worry about money again.

As for whether the Bronx would become better or worse under Leon's rule, that wasn't his concern.

Honestly, the struggles of the people here had nothing to do with him. He wasn't a superhero, always thinking about saving people or playing the savior. If he could save himself, that was enough.

"W-what?"

Leon's legs nearly gave out, and he almost collapsed to the ground.

He hadn't expected George's opening statement to be so explosive. He had just transformed the Chebel family into the Leon family, and now he was being asked to take over the entire Bronx underworld.

Those twelve families weren't pushovers.

But when he saw the seriousness in George's eyes and realized he wasn't joking, Leon swallowed hard.

Admittedly, the idea was incredibly tempting, but in the end, he shook his head with a bitter smile:

"It's impossible. With my current strength, I can't handle that many families. Even if I could, I shouldn't."

"Why?"

George raised an eyebrow. The first part he could understand, but the second part? What did that mean?

Afraid of angering George, Leon quickly explained:

"You might not be aware, but the reason there are thirteen families in the Bronx is because it's a rule set by the Kingpin of the entire American underworld.

Even if you killed all the leaders of those twelve families, I couldn't swallow all their territories. New families would just rise to replace them.

The Kingpin wouldn't allow a single family to dominate the Bronx and threaten his position."

"The Kingpin? What if we killed him?"

George frowned slightly.

He knew about the Kingpin, but he hadn't realized the extent of his influence over the underworld, even controlling the number of families in the Bronx.

Still, the Kingpin was just a human. Even if his physical abilities were near the peak of human potential, killing him wouldn't be too difficult for George. The real challenge would be finding him.

"Hiss~~"

Hearing George talk about killing the Kingpin as casually as slaughtering a chicken, Leon couldn't help but suck in a sharp breath.

"Even if you killed the Kingpin, it wouldn't solve the problem. It's not that simple.

If the Kingpin dies, the entire underworld would descend into chaos. Families would start fighting, not just in the Bronx but in other areas with even more powerful factions.

With my current strength, I couldn't hold onto the entire Bronx. I might even lose the territory I have now."

"Then forget it."

George thought Leon made a fair point. Unless he wiped out the entire American underworld, Leon might be killed the moment George wasn't around.

Besides, he didn't have the time or energy for that. Such a move would also draw the attention of major organizations and authorities, which went against his original plan.

Making money was just a means to buy time to stabilize and study magic. Spending too much time and effort on cleaning up the underworld would be putting the cart before the horse.

"Alright, how about this: we take out one family, seize their territory and assets. Would that work?"

George proposed again.

This time, Leon didn't immediately reject the idea. Instead, he thought for a few seconds before replying:

"If it's just one family, that's manageable. I could then support a smaller family to take their place. As long as the number of families stays at thirteen, the Kingpin would at most send someone to scold me."

Such things weren't unheard of in the Bronx. The thirteen families jointly managed the area, and conflicts over interests were common. It wasn't unusual for smaller families to overthrow larger ones.

The Kingpin actually welcomed such infighting. What he didn't want was the thirteen families uniting against him.

"Good. Then give me the name of a family you're at odds with. I'll make sure their leadership meets an untimely end in the next few days. You can take over their territory, and we'll split the profits fifty-fifty."

George nodded. Since wiping out all twelve families wasn't feasible, taking out one and splitting the gains would still be a significant haul.

At the very least, it should be more than his original plan of just robbing the twelve families of their cash.

"The Carlson family. Their territory borders ours, and we've had frequent clashes. They took advantage of my internal conflict with little Chebel to seize some of our land.

I was already planning to fight them to reclaim that territory. If their leadership suddenly dies, I'm confident I can take over their entire domain."

Leon's expression grew excited.

Even if George took all the profits, Leon wouldn't mind. After all, George had saved his life, and during the recent turmoil, the Carlson family had taken advantage, costing him several close allies. He had no intention of letting them off the hook.

But after the internal strife, his forces were weaker, and a direct fight was out of the question. At best, he could annoy them.

Now, with the mysterious Reaper willing to step in, revenge was within reach.

"Gather all the intel on this family. I'll come back tomorrow night to collect it."

With that, George leaped off the rooftop and vanished into the darkness.

Though the plan had deviated from his original intentions, the outcome wasn't too bad.

He wasn't a god. He couldn't foresee everything. Even with his knowledge and advantages, mistakes were inevitable.

But he thought this was normal. Plans change, and new plans must be made. What mattered was his ability to adapt and still achieve his goals.

In the end, strength was the foundation. With strength, even if the world spiraled completely out of the familiar plotlines he knew, it wouldn't matter.

(End of Chapter)