The Legend of the Fishermen of Sicily

The second one can also occupy a good position.

Unfortunately, despite bringing in even more crabs and the best location, Rio still couldn't open a shop.

However, it wasn't a complete loss—we gathered a few useful pieces of 'intelligence'.

Leo targeted several other people who were also selling their catch alone.

He wanted to deduce their methods of going to sea and other information by observing what these people were selling.

However, you can't draw any patterns from just one day of observation.

These people sell all sorts of things, and it's unclear whether they've come out to sea alone or are just setting up a stall by themselves; we need to observe them for a few more days.

......

the next day.

Leo got up at 2 a.m., an hour earlier, and brought more crabs.

I got up early, arrived early, and was the first one there again today.

Natale and his group were clearly taken aback when they arrived, especially the older fisherman, who glared at Leo fiercely.

Leo acted as if he hadn't seen anything and went about his business.

I thought to myself, what's there to be angry about?

That's a huge space, I didn't affect your sales.

Despite appearing at the fish market for three consecutive days, Leo still failed to gain the trust of the Sicilians.

The crabs were brought here in the same way they were taken back.

The thought of eating crabs all day again made Leo frown.

But he confirmed that several businessmen had taken notice of his presence.

It could be because we've become familiar with each other, it could be because we've secured a good spot, it could be because he's brought in more and more crabs, or something else... In any case, there's still hope.

Leo didn't know what they were thinking, nor could he control whether or when they would buy. He could only control himself—so on the third day, he got up at 1 a.m.

.......

Catching crabs on rocky beaches is physically demanding, especially at night.

Shortly after sunrise, Leo felt aches and pains in his back and his eyes were noticeably tired, so he ended his work for the day early and headed to the fish market with his catch.

Surprisingly, he arrived a few days earlier than usual, and there were already people at the dock.

That's right, Natale and his group have once again gotten ahead of Rio today.

Leo found it quite interesting.

He arrives early every day because he's worried about being ostracized by the locals and wants to gain an early advantage in the business.

Why are you locals always arguing with me?

Natale and his crew primarily target nearshore crabs and shellfish, so their fleet operates during the day—leaving at dawn and returning at sunset.

There's still one day of work to do, wouldn't it be better to sleep in a little longer at home...? Why bother?

Out of curiosity, Riodo glanced over there a few times and noticed that Natale was staring at him; their eyes met several times.

Old Paul noticed that Leo kept looking over, so he glared at him with a cigarette dangling from his lips, as if he were ready to rush over and beat him up at any moment.

You have received a mission: An eye for an eye.

[Mission Description: Host, please retaliate in a more provocative manner]

[System Note: To be stared at and not look back is to be a lamb; to be provoked and not respond is to be a corpse. Someone offends you with their eyes, but that's not just a look; it's unspoken contempt, a silent test, a knife yet to be plunged! In the Godfather's dictionary, offense must be repaid on the spot, and doubled!]

[Quest Reward: Reputation +1]

Leo cursed inwardly, "You're crazy."

There were three of them, and I was alone.

With six eyes facing two, no matter how much I glare, it's not a "provocation," it's just being an idiot.

Didn't the system consider that the Godfather might also be able to fight against multiple opponents?

If you don't like being taken advantage of, then send me a few underlings!

Despite the criticism, the task still needs to be completed.

Leo lowered his head and thought for a moment, then looked up and met Natale's gaze once again.

But this time, he looked directly at the other person and walked over.

......

"Hello, I'm Leo Volpe, I've only been in Malzamemi for a short time." Leo stopped three meters away from the other person.

Natale sat on the overturned fish basket and looked up in response:

"Natale Fedei, the fishermen here."

Leo followed the pre-planned script, laying the groundwork for the "provocation":

"Every morning, either you're the first one there, or I'm the first one there. We... we're quite destined for each other."

Natale suddenly laughed, and asked Leo with a smile:

Why do you get up so early every day?

"I was going to ask you something else..." Leo muttered to himself.

Before he could answer, Natale added insult to injury, nearly breaking Leo's composure:

"You can't sell them."

Leo took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down and not to get angry or show his true feelings.

This system is insane. If it sees him with a red glow, it might issue some kind of mission, and maybe even have Leo kill him and chop him into pieces on the spot.

His smile remained unchanged, as if he hadn't heard what had just been said, and he answered very seriously:

"I can't control whether the other party buys or not. I can only ask myself, have I tried hard enough and explored all possibilities? Maybe they like bigger ones? Maybe they like bluer shells? Maybe... Anyway, if no one buys after I've done everything I can, I won't have any regrets."

Natale crossed her arms and continued asking with great interest:

"Have you tried hard enough and explored all the possibilities?"

Leo shook himself and continued telling the story according to the pre-prepared script:

"No, we can try a little harder. How about we make a bet? We'll bet on who gets there first tomorrow?"

Natale was clearly competing with Rio – you arrive early, I'll arrive even earlier, let's see who gets there first.

So directly revealing each other's thoughts and sending an invitation to "arrive earlier" would be the biggest provocation.

Sure enough, a system notification appeared, indicating that Leo had completed the "An Eye for an Eye" quest.

However, since Leo spoke with a smile and wasn't ruthless enough, his overall rating was "passable," and no special reward was given.

However, Leo was already quite satisfied with this.

On their first meeting, before they had even exchanged two words, he made such an unreasonable betting offer to the other. He was speechless when he said it.

Seeing that the task was completed, he immediately moved his feet, quietly retreating, while keeping a close eye on Old Paul's reaction.

The reason he stood 3 meters away from Natale and his group was that he was afraid the old man would rush over and beat him up after he made this "provocation".

Unexpectedly, old Paul didn't look at Leo at all, but stared at their eldest son with a strange expression, as if something was running at high speed in his old head that was beyond its capacity.

The young fisherman Ricardo beside him glanced at Leo, then at Natale, then at Leo again, then at Natale once more... his mouth gradually widened.

Natale's reaction was equally strange.

Far from finding Leo unreasonable, his smile widened, and he readily agreed.

"Okay, I like this bet."