The Legend of the Fishermen of Sicily

Bright sunlight streamed through the glass windows into the cabin, and the sea breeze blew in from all directions, effectively neutralizing the high temperature and stuffiness in the semi-enclosed space. In addition, the slight swaying of the ship from side to side caused many passengers to close their eyes in the afternoon.

The guy changed his position, wanting to continue sleeping comfortably, but he couldn't find the familiar soft pillow. His arm touched a hard object, and he realized that he was sitting up instead of lying down... Finally, he reluctantly woke up.

The scene before him instantly brought Leo to his senses.

"Wasn't I just lying in bed listening to Jay Chou's new album 'Sicily'? How did I end up at sea?"

After determining that he was inside a small ship, he pressed his face against the glass window, trying to figure out where he was outside. But a new discovery surprised Leo even more.

A charming, handsome face was reflected in the glass—his features were sharp and strong, his brow bones were high, his eye sockets were deep, and his light brown eyes were filled with a deep sense of confusion and drowsiness, making him look harmless.

The lower half of her face has cleaner, more captivating lines, as perfect as a sculpture.

Leo rubbed his eyes... thinking to himself, even Baggio and Maldini aren't this handsome, are they?

At the same time, the figure on the glass also raised its arm and made the same movement.

"This is me?!"

Two seabirds that were leisurely playing on the railing flew away without looking back, each leaving behind a pile of bird droppings as a protest against the roar.

......

The ferry docked at the port of Messina in Sicily, southern Italy, 15 minutes later.

Leo spent those 15 minutes accepting the fact that he had traveled through time and figuring out the situation.

He traveled back in time to 1995 and inhabited the body of a 21-year-old Italian man named Leo Volpe.

His predecessor had a name with almost the same pronunciation, but the two had completely opposite circumstances.

Before his transmigration, Leo was a lowly employee at a major internet company. Although his work was tiring, he was quite content in his spirits—he enjoyed outdoor sports, traveling, watching people run through the mountains, and small animals... Opening his Bilibili history felt like he was about to participate in a wilderness survival competition.

Leo Volpe, on the other hand, faces a different kind of pressure.

After graduating from university, he found a clerical job at a local small newspaper. Just as his internship was about to end and he was about to be hired full-time, the newspaper went bankrupt.

After sending out resumes for weeks with no response and his pockets empty, Leo had no choice but to turn to his only living relative, his uncle Panini Volpe, a shoemaker in Florence.

His uncle introduced Leo to a job as a sales clerk in a luxury goods store through a friend.

This job is perfect for Leo. His handsome appearance makes it easy for him to gain the trust of wealthy women, which is the perfect opportunity to overtake them.

But the dream ended before it even began—the luxury brand had been poorly managed in recent years, and a blind international brand actually proposed to acquire it.

The boss quickly signed the acquisition agreement. According to the agreement, the shop where Leo worked had to be closed immediately due to "business streamlining"... Leo, who was undergoing onboarding training, lost his job again.

After searching for a job without success, Leo had no choice but to learn a trade from his uncle and give up his unrealistic fantasies.

My uncle's shoe store was passed down from my grandfather Leo. In another fifty years, it will be a century-old store. I wouldn't say the business is great, but it's enough to support my uncle's family.

Such a long-established family business can't just go bankrupt again, can it?

But as expected... an unexpected event occurred.

After Leo became an apprentice, the shoe store's business took a sharp turn for the worse within two months, and his uncle quickly told Leo to stop.

However, his explanation to Leo was quite tactful—

"Even if their shoes are worn out, those old customers won't bring them to me, let alone buy new ones. They'd rather leave them as family heirlooms to their children... The economy is bad now, and nobody's willing to spend money on shoes."

In the early 1990s, Italy launched the famous "Clean Hands Movement," an anti-corruption storm that implicated at least 5000 public figures, led to the dissolution of more than 400 municipal councils due to accusations, and sparked protests across the country that lasted for nearly a decade.

Almost every day, newspapers report on new political elites being imprisoned, businessmen going bankrupt, or celebrities committing suicide out of fear of punishment.

The impact of this storm on ordinary people is enormous and far-reaching. More than 35% of the population has been greatly affected, the national economy has hit new lows one after another, and the unemployment rate among young people has been rising steadily.

Given the current circumstances, the uncle simply couldn't afford to give Leo his salary... and he couldn't bear to see his nephew being poisoned by society before he even truly entered it—becoming free labor. So, on a dark and stormy night, he gave Leo some advice.

"Your father's best friend runs a shipyard in Sicily, and the business is quite large. Fishermen won't stop making a living to protest just because the government is issuing one regulation after another. That island far from the Apennine Peninsula may be the only place in Italy that can be called peaceful right now... Go to Sicily and seek refuge with him. He's more capable than me and will definitely be able to take good care of you."

The uncle bought Leo a long-distance bus ticket overnight and secretly gave him 30 crumpled, smelly banknotes that had been hidden somewhere for who knows how many years behind his aunt's back.

Before parting, he gave Leo only one piece of advice:

"If things don't go well, I'll stay in Sicily for three to five months before coming back, otherwise I'm really afraid our family's century-old business will go out of business."

And so, early the next morning, Leo embarked on his southward journey to "find a job," and was now sitting on a ferry traveling from the Apennine Peninsula to Sicily.

......

Once the ship came to a stop, Leo picked up his small briefcase, then checked the 30 lire in his pocket to make sure all his belongings were there. After confirming that he had everything he owned, he followed the people in front of him and set foot on the land of Sicily.

Among the people walking ahead of Leo, several were carrying luggage, and they seemed to be people who had come from the main island to live in Sicily.

Over the past few decades, large numbers of residents from southern Italy, especially Sicily and Sardinia, have migrated to northern Italy or other European countries, leaving their impoverished hometowns in search of better job opportunities.

But as this massive storm swept in, job opportunities in major local cities drastically decreased, and social and economic turmoil ensued. In a short period of time, a large number of residents returned to southern Italy... in search of new opportunities for development.

People believe that the end of an era will inevitably bring forth new heroes, and the still largely undeveloped southern Italy may be the birthplace of the next national hero.

In his previous life, Leo had not paid attention to the rise and fall of Italian history, but he vaguely remembered that throughout the 1990s, Italy experienced a profound wave of deindustrialization—large industrial enterprises basically disappeared, and the urban economy stagnated, which was jokingly referred to by later Italian scholars as the era of "dwarf capitalism".

In the extraordinary year of 1995, leaving the turbulent big city and seeking opportunities in the south was indeed a direction worth trying.

Thinking of this, Leo quickened his pace, passing one stranger after another carrying luggage, as if afraid they were there to steal his 'future'.

However, after walking for a while, Leo quickly slowed down, attracted by the surrounding scenery.

The sea, palm trees, vibrant flowers, and the dazzling sunlight reflecting off the water create a mesmerizing scene.

The towering Mount Etna, Europe's largest active volcano, in the distance makes this scene look as bright as an oil painting.

Instead of rushing to find transportation to his final destination, he strolled leisurely around the dock.

He left in such a hurry. He decided to come to Sicily last night and set off this morning. He didn't even have time to call his father's best friend or prepare a gift. But since he was coming to stay with his father, he had to pay attention to basic etiquette. He planned to buy a gift nearby to take with him.

Historically, Sicily has been controlled by various regimes of different cultures, and the number of invaders is among the highest in Europe.

This has resulted in an exceptionally rich and vibrant local culture and customs on the island.

Here, you can see the ruins of Greek temples, Baroque-style ancient buildings, experience the exotic Arabian culture, and also be wary of the volcano's "bad temper".

Just as Leo was captivated by the unique and mysterious patterns on the plates at the roadside stall, a tall man suddenly walked past him quickly.

Leo instinctively clutched his pocket.

Sicily's mystery stems from another important reason—it's the birthplace of the Mafia!

Although the Mafia of this era had spread to other parts of Europe and even across the ocean to the free United States, many people still think of this organization first when they mention Sicily... and the movie that swept the Oscars—"The Godfather".

Thankfully, it was all a false alarm; the person was just walking fast.

Leo lowered his guard and comforted himself:

"The Mafia's center of power has moved far from its 'hometown.' The few remaining members operate only on the west coast of Sicily, and through economic infiltration. There are virtually no traces of their activities on the east coast. It was because of this confirmed information that 'Leo' dared to come here to seek refuge with his father's best friend, since the shipyard was located on the east coast, which is said to be a very safe and quiet place."

Leo came to Sicily to try his luck; the Mafia would just be a background element in his life. He believed he would never have any chance of getting involved with the organization.

Coming to his senses, he was once again captivated by the handsome man reflected in the plate.

"You won't even call me Godfather."

Leo recalled a classic scene from the movie and chuckled as he muttered a line to his reflection.

This is his favorite movie.

[System analysis in progress...]

[Italy, Sicily, East Coast]

[Geographic location meets system activation requirements]

[System activation in progress...]

System activation complete.

Welcome, host, to Sicily, Italy in 1895. Today, Sicily is engulfed in conflict—order grows in the shadows, power shifts in the undercurrents, and only the strong can stand firm. This system aims to help you build your own power and become the new godfather of Sicily.