The Legend of the Fishermen of Sicily

The rain started again.

Leo was worried about the big fat orange cat that was wandering outside, and he wanted to catch it and bring it back to the shipyard in the afternoon.

After circling the coastline where it usually stayed without finding it, Leo went to the old residential area and, sure enough, found it near Rosalia's house.

The little guy didn't suffer too much; Rosalia built it a temporary shelter from the rain.

Leo tried to pick up the kitten, but failed twice. The orange tabby was very reluctant to enter the shipyard.

He had no choice but to give up, returning the kitten to the makeshift shed, and touching its wet little face, he said:

"I will definitely find a real home for us as soon as possible."

.......

If you want to settle down, you need to raise the money to buy the remaining diving equipment as soon as possible.

Leo couldn't wait to take them all today!

Recalling the details of that phone call, Leo seriously suspected that Solberto's quote was inflated and wanted to go to the village to inquire about the price and purchase channels for diving equipment himself.

He went to the coffee shop first, and before he could even ask anything, Marco said with a straight face:

"You can come in for coffee, but I'm not in the mood to talk business."

Leo's speechless protest:

"I haven't said anything yet."

Marco turned his head to the side:

"They've come knocking on our door, why aren't you doing anything productive? What are you doing wandering around the village?"

"Who is it? Which family?" Leo asked back.

Marco impatiently sent the person away:

"How would I know? Go ask her yourself!"

Rioccia Marco's "unpredictable temper" flared up again and showed signs of worsening into a nervous breakdown, so he went to the grocery store instead.

Before I even entered the door, I could hear Nicholas and his wife arguing. The argument was incredibly heated and the language they used was extremely abusive.

Leo only listened for a couple of sentences, and it felt like someone had slapped him across the face from afar.

It goes without saying that Nicholas didn't have the time or the inclination to answer Leo's questions, but Leo was in high spirits and didn't want to wait even a second longer.

Although it was inappropriate, I still cautiously poked my head in and asked:

"Excuse me... where does Andrei live?"

Marco and Nicholas didn't have time, so they went to Andrei, the old man who would surely have time to receive them.

"Ask, ask, ask! Here you go again, asking for directions. This is a general store, not a police station!" Nicholas pointed in a direction, then turned back to continue arguing with his wife. "If this were the police station, I would arrest you, you crazy woman, right away!"

"You're the crazy one! You're a poor lunatic!!" Veronica shouted.

"That's right! I'm so broke!!" Nicholas struck Vegeta's transformation pose and roared in despair.

......

Leo quickly fled the center of the village; the area was far too dangerous.

When it rains, all sorts of mentally ill and crazy people come out.

Sicily rarely gets rain, which results in a poor drainage system in Marzamemi. Everywhere you go, the roads are deep and shallow, and the closer you get to the outskirts of the village, the worse the road conditions become.

Nicholas only pointed in one direction, and there were no other villagers along the way, so Leo could only search aimlessly like a headless fly.

As he searched, he thought:

I've lived in Marzamemi for a while now, so I'm relatively familiar with the roads. Lucia probably can't even tell which way is north, south, east, or west... She must have had a lot of trouble finding the shipyard.

I was so careless this afternoon, I was so busy eating that I didn't even say thank you.

Or should I give Rukia a call to express my gratitude?

Then ask her when she's coming next week and if she still wants to eat crab.

Leo shook his head a couple of times to calm himself down.

It must be because he dreamt about a girl whose face he couldn't see clearly today, which made him think about all sorts of strange things!

Does a poor boy like him, who doesn't even have a home, deserve to think about these things?

As he thought of this, a light blue screen appeared in front of him.

You've gained a foothold in Sicily, but there's a world of difference between standing firm and sitting down. Do you want to remain anonymous for the rest of your life? If the answer is no, you should take a step forward and change your identity.

[You have titles waiting to be unlocked]

[Title Unlock Requirements: Reputation 200, Faction 2]

You have received a mission: To distinguish yourself.

[Task Requirements: Provoke 30 violent conflicts and win (0/30)]

[System Note: Sicilians don't believe in resumes; they only care how strong you are. If your fists aren't strong enough, use a knife; if your knife isn't fast enough, use your courage. Here, the fastest way to make a name for yourself is to fight your way to the top—force can give your name wings and let it fly to any place in this land! Go, crush those who refuse to bow down to you, and use their bones to build a bridge to the Godfather.]

[Quest Reward: Reputation +30]

Leo stopped to observe the system that had suddenly appeared.

There's a new title waiting to be unlocked... but the unlocking requirements are a bit outrageous.

At this moment, there are still more than a hundred points of reputation points needed to reach the required 200 points.

Don't be fooled by the new quest that gives you 30 experience points; Leo won't be stupid enough to fight 30 battles.

Just kidding... Sicilians are so united, if he starts a fight, he'll get dozens of people beating him up.

Therefore, it's unclear how many months it will take to gather all the required [reputation].

The most difficult part is the requirement of [power/influence].

God knows how many brain cells Leo lost to grow the [power] from 0 to 1... and now he's recruiting new 'family members' again.

Leo secretly made up his mind:

"We absolutely have to find someone this time!"

.......

It took Leo a lot of effort to find Andrei's house.

This was all thanks to Andrei's loud voice, which allowed Leo to pinpoint his location—the old man was probably giving a lecture to someone again.

This was Leo's first time visiting a local's home, and he stood at the door feeling a little nervous.

Leo had a good relationship with Andrei, but he was unsure about how Andrei's family treated outsiders.

However, Leo was in a hurry to buy equipment, so he took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

Andrei opened the door, and when he saw that it was Leo outside, the old man's eyes shone brightly, almost shining through his reading glasses. Without saying a word, he invited him inside.

"I was just wondering what to do! You've come at the perfect time, little fox! I just read an interesting story, come, let me tell you about it!"

Andrei's house was decorated quite luxuriously, with wooden floors and furniture that looked expensive, and many valuable oil paintings on the walls.

He led Leo directly to the study, and when Leo came in, he was even more amazed.

The study is very large, about the same size as the living room of an average family. Every wall is covered with books, at least a thousand, making it almost like a library.

Andrei was pleased with Leo's expression and proudly sat down on the sofa:

"This is only part of it."

Andrei urged Leo to sit across from him, eager to share the new story he had just read.

"Is this convenient?" Leo didn't dare sit down. "I heard you talking to someone outside."

Andrei waved his hand, signaling Leo to sit down with peace of mind.

"My wife passed away early, my son went to Rome, and I live alone. I was just studying."

Leo paused for a moment.

He should have thought of that sooner...

Ever since becoming Leo's protector, Andre has bought a crab to take home every single day without fail.

If you have family members, one isn't enough to share.

If you have family, why would you run around the village every day looking for someone to chat with?

Leo was blaming himself for being careless again, while Andrei began today's mini history lesson with great enthusiasm:

"I just saw an interesting fable about a golden treasure hidden at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea—"

Seeing that Leo seemed a little distracted, Andrei suddenly realized something and stopped to ask:

"Little fox, is there something you need from me?"

Leo nodded:

"I need to talk to you about something."

But he quickly shook his head and added:

"But that's not urgent. I'm only interested in the golden treasure you mentioned. Tell me quickly, where is it?"

Leo decided that he would spend more time with Andrei from now on.

......

The heavy rains washed away many country roads, and the road conditions are very bad.

Unless there is something particularly important, no one would be coming or going to Marzamemi at this time.

However, quite a few people rushed back to Marzamemi from outside today.

Besides Rukia, there's another one.

Moreover, both of them came back to see the same person.

Solberto was Leo's father's best friend and also had a good relationship with his uncle Panini.

Knowing that the Volpe family members are all persistent and determined, they worried that Leo's idea of ​​diving and fishing was too strong, and wanted to meet him again to persuade the boy.

The heavy rain also affected Solberto's work in Palermo, so he chose to return today while there was no work to do.

But when he got to the shipyard, he found it empty.

Thinking of a friend who complained that he left without seeing him the last time he came back, Solberto changed his destination and went to a restaurant.

Elena, who was helping her daughter draw, was somewhat surprised when a guest pushed the door open and walked in.

Who would actually go out to eat in this weather?

After recognizing the guest, she smiled and patted Monica on the back:

"Go quickly and call your uncle. Tell him that Sorberto is back."