The Legend of the Fishermen of Sicily

"What was Marco telling you? Luckily, I repeated it again because I wasn't sure." Andrei put down his fan. "Atlantic blue crabs first appeared in Sicily in 1942, aboard a cargo ship, not in 1972!"

Marco, that's just acting... You're really giving a lesson!

Can they be the same?

"Thanks to you." Leo wiped the tomatoes off his hands. "I finally understand the complete history of the Atlantic blue crab invasion. What Marco could explain in a few words, you talked for three days... You should be a teacher, being your student is a blessing."

Andrei took a fresh peach out of his bag:

"This event is just a minor page in the rich tapestry of Sicily's history, and it's not very interesting to talk about. Next, we'll talk about the First Punic War, which might take ten days or two weeks to get to the Romans. That's what's really exciting!"

The tomato in Leo's mouth suddenly burst open, splattering juice all over the ground.

Andre appeared at the morning fish market for three consecutive days, and each time he sat down next to Leo.

On the first day he brought a small mat, on the second day he brought a fan and a towel, on the third day he brought snacks and fruit...

Leo was worried that a thick lesson plan would appear in front of him in half a month.

After Andrei took two bites of the peach, he asked Leo:

"Why do you eat bread and tomatoes every day? Don't you get tired of it?"

Leo gets up very early every day, and the time around the fish market is his "lunch" time, so he brings some food with him.

"Sicilian tomatoes are delicious," Leo replied, though his words didn't reflect his true feelings.

If you could eat eggplant raw, all you'd see every day would be bread and eggplant... Leo added to himself with a self-deprecating laugh.

What else could it be?

Is it because I don't like to eat other things?

Those two cigarettes brought Leo's financial situation to the brink of collapse... He only had 10 lira left in cash.

If there's only spending and no income every day, who would dare buy good food?

The villagers of Marzamemi almost never buy crabs; if they want to eat them, they catch them themselves.

The only people who can buy crabs are merchants from outside the area.

But for those merchants, the number of crabs Leo caught was rather insignificant... Several times, merchants stopped in front of the stall, asked, "Is this all?", and then nothing more.

Aesop didn't come looking for him again, so Leo didn't open for business for another three days.

House seemingly endless rain.

Leo couldn't eat crabs anymore... so he could only buy some cheap food to fill his stomach.

But this would increase his financial burden.

Therefore, determining the next direction for development is now urgent.

"Even if it's delicious, you can't eat it every day. You have to change things up." Andre put down the peach. "Especially since we Sicilians eat simple food and don't eat much, it would be too boring to eat the same thing all the time. Speaking of which, after we finish talking about the First Punic War, I'll tell you from a historical perspective why Sicilians eat like this."

Leo bit into another tomato and smashed it.

"Here, weigh this." A crab appeared in front of Leo. Andrei shook the crab a couple of times. "I don't want to eat fish today. Let's buy a crab to change things up."

Leo took two more, intending to pack them all up for Andrei:

"No need to pay."

Andrei patted his pocket, looking quite proud:

"Little fox, do you know how much pension I have every month? No one in all of Marzamemi lives a better life than me. Don't try to save me money, I can't even spend it all each month."

He took the other crabs out of the bag, leaving only one, and put it on the scale himself.

"One is enough. As people get older, they can't eat much anymore."

Andrei was indeed the most comfortable person in Marzamemi, because he was rich.

Go to the fish market in the morning, a coffee shop in the afternoon, and a bar or restaurant in the evening... and you have to squeeze in a few ice creams and snacks in between.

His daily expenses are enough for Leo to eat for more than a week.

Leo didn't stand on ceremony any longer and accepted the 4000 lira that Andrei handed over.

"Thanks."

"What are you thanking me for? I just wanted to eat crab." Andrei put down the peach he had just taken a few bites of and took out a small melon.

"It's not because of the crabs." Leo looked at Salvatore and the others at the edge of the dock.

He did not have the concept of a "Sicilian hierarchy of discrimination".

But ever since Andrei took up residence by his side, those people have never come within a 10-meter radius... The little fox knew why.

Andrei laughed heartily twice, his face flushed, and took a bite of the melon:

"Oh, you weren't talking about crabs, you should be thanking me! It's been a long time since I've met someone who knows nothing about Sicily. Come on, let's continue. Where were we? Right, right, the First Punic War—"

The tomato in Leo's mouth exploded again!

.......

Marco and Andrei's help temporarily averted the crisis.

Leo, who had been tense for several days, could finally relax.

But being relaxed doesn't mean you can be lazy.

He still goes out around midnight every day these past few days.

Aesop said that if Natale's stock wasn't enough, he would continue to buy from Rio.

Even if there's only a 1% chance, we should still put in 120% effort.

Catching crabs on rocky beaches is physically demanding.

Even though Leo has good stamina, he can't work for five or six hours straight; he needs to rest and catch his breath in between.

During this period, he used his rest time to bring some small fish and shrimp to the injured Big Fat Orange.

The coastline where the kitten usually stays is near the shipyard, and it takes less than five minutes to go there and back.

After resting for five minutes, Leo can work straight through until sunrise and then head to the fish market.

But on this day, he circled the shore and did not find the orange cat.

Because it had a history of defeat and was injured, Leo was worried and searched around for a while.

Soon, they found the little creature fast asleep in the abandoned housing area.

Sensing a stranger approaching from afar, it immediately opened its eyes alertly, but once it realized who it was, it went back to sleep reassured.

"You're really something, sleeping here." Leo's eyes darted around in the darkness.

This area is mostly abandoned and dilapidated buildings with few inhabitants.

Some houses don't even have windows or doors, and there are no streetlights nearby, so it's pitch black inside, and you feel like something dirty might jump out at any moment.

If he hadn't been so eager to find the cat, he would never have ventured here at night.

Leo put down the "takeout" and turned to leave.

In the blink of an eye, a ghostly blue light suddenly appeared before him, startling him so much that he blurted out a national treasure and lost his footing, knocking over several broken pots.

The sleeping orange cat was so frightened by the noise that it wet itself... It jumped up on the spot, arched its back, and let out a series of sharp and urgent meows. The cries, like those of a crying child, echoed through the abandoned housing area, attracting even more angry meows.

A series of unexpected events, coupled with this symphonic, heavenly sound, gave Leo goosebumps.

Even the super immersive horror escape room I went to in my previous life, which cost over 300 yuan, was nothing compared to this.

"Why did you have to jump out at this time..."

The culprit, that eerie blue light, turned out to be the system screen.

After reading the system's message, Leo not only got goosebumps all over, but his calves also started to tremble.

[Attention! You have discovered the hideout of a psychopathic killer!!]

You have received a mission: Follow the trail.

[System Note: Listen, what's that sound? One after another, it's the sound of a blunt instrument, then a sharp instrument, followed by the sound of buckets of water being flushed; smell, what's that smell? It's like something seeping from a crack in the wall... What must be done at night? What secret is being hidden? Go, find that house, and investigate which unfortunate fellow died on your territory.]

[Quest Reward: Reputation +1]

After reading the mission description, Leo felt as if every dark door and window in front of him was a gaping maw ready to swallow him whole.

After a few seconds of mental preparation and reciting a few passages of the Tao Te Ching, I finally mustered the courage to take action.

He fled the dilapidated neighborhood like a wild horse.

You're insane!

What kind of good person would go to the ruins in the middle of the night to look for a psychopathic killer?

......

Two minutes later.

Leo picked up the now-sleeping, chubby orange cat and positioned it in the shape of a machine gun, then cautiously moved forward with cat-like steps:

"Come inside with me for a look around."

The system said that "this matter" can only be done at night, which means that no trace will be found during the day.

Whether it's a dragon's den or a tiger's lair... we have to go in and take a look!