Will the kemonomimi encounter Alien Ranch Story?

"No, we can't do this without trying anything. It will disappoint our families, and disappointment will lead to doubts, which will shake loyalty. And non-absolute loyalty is no loyalty at all!"

The godfather rejected the proposal. Of course, if there was really no other way to make an effort in the end, then following the family's wishes and handing her over to Rhodes Island was also an option, but they couldn't just do nothing at all.

"Has she still not come back?"

"No, I think she went a bit too far..." She drove out almost half of the werewolf mafia in Syracuse.

"Motive?" The Godfather lit a cigar, sat down in a chair, and his tabby cat automatically jumped onto his lap. "I mean the other party's motive."

"There is no definitive, reliable information, but it can be preliminarily determined that it is related to our recent operations..."

"Hmm? Tell me about it." "We control half of Syracuse's vineyard workers and underground channels. Previously, in order to stop the Xia Group's cheap wines from flooding Syracuse, we blocked most of the smuggling underground channels, but..."

"Someone's involved in that business, hasn't they?" The Godfather's face darkened rapidly. "We're the Mafia, we're not good people. But we're not butchers or slave traders either, are we?"

Are they good people? No one would think the members of these families are good people. They collect protection money, exploit vineyard workers, fight in the streets for territory, hang or throw those who defy them off the moving city deck, and even assassinate government officials and members of rival families.

However, they were not butchers or slave traders. After all, they were originally an organization established and existed to protect their fellow citizens from harm and slavery. If they were to engage in this business themselves, they would be pure gangsters.

At least that's what the Godfather thought. Unfortunately, the younger generation prefers money and power to these old, remaining remnants of conscience and moral bottom line.

He even knew that there were such people within his own family, and that if the investigation continued, his son and relatives might also have played a dishonorable role.

However, he was still willing to give them a chance, after all, they were not good people, so he hoped the children could repent rather than face a just trial.

Unfortunately, the attack proved that this was wishful thinking. They were already dissatisfied with the old man's "foolish decision." They couldn't operate the slave trade, couldn't get their hands on those addictive goodies, couldn't plunder villages and towns. This was prohibited, that was prohibited. Under the government's suppression and the squeeze from their unscrupulous competitors, their territory and profits shrank more and more.

This is also why Corleone invited Xia Lin. If he could reach some kind of cooperation with the Xia Group and gain certain benefits, he could temporarily suppress this trend of thought. At least he didn't want his family to become a purely evil gang in his generation.

"Yes, and your blockade has caused them to lose a lot of... goods."

The "A Bunch of Fools" godfather stubbed out his cigar. "What do our customers think of this business?"

"Although there's very little intelligence coming in from there, they seem to be resisting, but their goods are mainly sold to Lungmen and Da Yan, with Victoria also being a major market..."

"Why do you know so much, Boris?"

"Please forgive me, Godfather, when I was in the back alley..."

"Alright, I understand." The Godfather shook his head wearily. "There won't be a second time, you know that." He was willing to give young people a chance to make mistakes and was willing to wait for them to repent, but there would be no second time.

"So, they chose Lisa?"

"To be more precise, she chose one of your capable subordinates. She is now blinded by hatred, and we don't have another person capable of stopping them from smuggling the goods out. Moreover, this will make the family an enemy of everyone."

The mother, thoroughly enraged, was devoid of reason. Her unrestrained attacks not only caused damage to the opposing family but also put the godfather in a difficult position.

Although she claims to have broken away from the family, it's not that easy. As the famous line from Yakuza goes, "Once a Yakuza, always a Yakuza." The same goes for the Mafia. Once you're a member of the family, you can never escape that mark.

Moreover, this is also what the other family wants, because such acts of retaliation will continuously exacerbate the deterioration of social order, making the Syracuse government lose face. They will also put pressure on the Godfather's family and further suppress normal gang operations, thus forcing the Godfather to focus his energy on dealing with government pressure and appeasing internal sentiments, rather than continuing to block their shortcuts to wealth.

The Republic of Kazdel may not need these "goods," but Theresis has a huge demand for Rupert warriors.

He also needed a nearby grain-producing area and a place to sell stolen goods. Theresis needed warriors, and these people needed beautiful Sarkaz girls, which were a good source of profit, whether for the sex industry or for one-time use.

Furthermore, smuggling Originium from Kazdel and cultivating those addictive treasures are both lucrative businesses, but unfortunately, neither of these is something New Kazdel does. They can maintain their economic needs without even getting involved in any of these kinds of businesses.

This is also why the Godfather believed that Therese could not succeed. If your enemy can achieve the same income and results by taking the righteous path as you do by taking the crooked path, then you will never be able to defeat him.

This is also why evil cannot prevail over good—because taking the righteous path often involves a great deal of constraints, trials, and difficulties.

If you both continue at the same pace, it means that the strength of both sides is actually completely unbalanced.

That's what the Godfather thought, and that's actually what the other families thought too. It doesn't matter whether the Syracuse government thought the same way, but they all recognized that Therese couldn't succeed.

However, that doesn't stop them from doing this business, and precisely because Theresis is doomed sooner or later, they need to delay as long as possible, and naturally, they need to speed up this business.

Unfortunately, the stubborn old godfather prevented them from doing this business, blocking their way at the entrance to this final carnival. Assassination was inevitable, and there must have been an inside man helping them.

If it weren't for Lao Xia, they wouldn't have launched an attack so early. Lord Corleone is old and might not live to see another day, so why would they use such methods to invite a jinx upon themselves?

Besides, without Old Xia's words, Kazdel would be in a state of division and civil war, which would be a good time to do business. The Godfather would not have blocked smuggling channels for the sake of dumping Kazdel's wine and other products.

Even though he was cracking down on this kind of "business" that violated the basic principles of the Mafia, it was ultimately a loss he could afford. Therefore, Lisa would have received the mechanical doll later, for other reasons.

However, due to the Xia Group's dumping, smuggling blockade, and changes in the Kazdel situation, the goods have been received ahead of schedule, but the cost of receiving them ahead of schedule is also greater than originally planned.

Because the person in charge now is still Godfather Corleone, not his younger son six years later. The latter is more pragmatic, which makes Lisa's mother completely distrustful, so she directly took her daughter and left to Rhodes Island.

Chapter Thirty-Two: The Last Supper

Chapter 32

Swire, who was led into the guest room, lay down on the bed and didn't move at all. "Tired!" was her clear expression.

This tedious etiquette was what bothered her the most, especially since she had become accustomed to a free-spirited life in Longmen. Suddenly returning to this ladylike state was completely unacceptable to her; it was a kind of mental exhaustion that wasn't physical.

"It's alright, Godfather Corleone isn't as difficult to get along with as I imagined..."

"I'm curious, why did you choose to accept his invitation?" Swire was very curious about this. If you wanted Syracuse's help, shouldn't you have approached the Syracuse government?

“Because what I need is substantial help…” Xia Lin shook his head. The so-called substantial help was help that could immediately block Theresis’s channels for replenishing manpower, resources and funds.

"Specifically?" "I can't say right now, since we're in someone else's home." Why can't we contact the Syracuse government? Because it wouldn't make a difference. At most, they'd verbally support Kazdel but wouldn't send troops, much less sacrifice their own interests.

Most importantly, they won't blockade Theresis, since the Regent's army is closer to them.

However, conversely, contacting the Syracuse Mafia could bypass these troubles and directly blockade Therese.

The solution was for the mafia, which controlled a large number of dockworkers and vineyard workers, to organize a massive strike, without even needing to find a reason for the strike.

In late autumn, as the Great Depression was about to fully erupt, the produced goods piled up and were also impacted by foreign products. The workers' wages were reduced again and again. In addition, the factory owners instinctively tightened production to avoid losing more money if they produced more. As a result, the prices of goods on the market increased instead of decreasing, and social contradictions became very acute.

At this point, a large-scale strike under the pretext of wage and welfare issues doesn't need deliberate provocation; it just needs to be kept within limits to prevent it from escalating into an uprising or civil war, which would be like burning the rice.

For the Syracuse government, this was a perfect excuse to please both sides, offending neither Theresis nor the seemingly inevitable winner, New Kazdel.

Since the dockworkers went on strike, there was naturally no one to unload the cargo, so the supplies from Victoria would pile up densely in Syracuse, and Lao Xia and the Swire Group could obtain these supplies by smuggling them with just a slight loss.

As a result, the Syracuse government was stabilized, the workers received extra income and temporarily refrained from causing trouble, the Mafia made money in the process of organizing smuggling and were no longer willing to take on the low-profit business deals in Theresis—and Old Xia and his team not only received the urgently needed war supplies but also dealt a blow to the enemy.

Therese's only way to break the deadlock is to increase his economic influence over Syracuse, or simply increase funding. But once he's dragged into an economic war...

Trying to wage an economic war against two behemoths like the Xia Group and the Dagu Group? Rhine Life would be crying and going home!

"War is an art, an art that is not limited to the battlefield, agents, and killing. It is the ultimate means by which one social group confronts another, that is, the skill of using all means and strength to compete openly and behind the scenes."

In fact, the war outside the battlefield is even more important. Diplomacy, economy, politics, religion, and even some ethnic groups and customs are all weapons we need to use. We must not only strike the enemy on the battlefield, but also strike them in every field and on every inch of their land, from the economy to governance, leaving no one out," the doctor said.

Although Theresis's current strength shouldn't require such unrestricted warfare tactics, the Doctor isn't going to give him another chance.

This time, without Theresa causing trouble, Kal'tsit's opinion alone couldn't convince the other half of the team.

"Ah, I don't understand, I don't want to understand, I need to rest!"

"Then I'll rest too?" Old Xia reached out to touch it, then his tail lashed out at him. "Get the hell out of here!" That's not rest? He probably won't be able to get out of bed until dinner time.

The little tiger isn't that thick-skinned. Besides, he's already in the "grave" and has made it past first, second, third, and fourth base, so there's no need to give him a nice look or pretend to be a lady.

"Hmm?" Old Xia suddenly looked out the window. "What's wrong?" Swire also jumped up instantly and instinctively reached for the weapon pouch on her thigh.

Then I remembered that in order not to embarrass my master, I entrusted the weapons to the shield guards for safekeeping. After all, it was understandable to carry weapons on the road, but once inside the house, wouldn't carrying weapons show a lack of trust in the master?

"No, I just saw a creature that doesn't quite fit the biological... uh, creature." When Lao Xia saw that fluffy big tail, his first thought wasn't how cute it was, but rather, "Doesn't this thing get tangled?"

The second idea is that if we were to raise this animal, we would probably need to design a special machine to groom its fur every day.

Other very impolite thoughts include: "Wouldn't shaving be troublesome? Won't it be hot in the summer if I don't shave?"

"Hmm, let me see!"

"Didn't you want to rest?"

"Let me see!" The little tiger jumped off the bed and pushed Old Xia aside. "Wow, it's really cute!"

In the garden, a quiet blonde girl was reading a picture book. Sunlight shone on her hair, reflecting a golden glow. Perhaps she had seen something interesting, because a tail bigger than her was wagging rapidly behind her.

"I really want to steal it and take it home!"

"Please, please don't do such a thing. By the way, according to the Terrans, those should be the Volpo, right?"

Syracuse is primarily inhabited by Lupo, creatures genetically closer to wolves than dogs, while the Volpo are more canine-like. Interestingly, foxes are also included among the Volpo.

“Oh right, I’ve never seen a Volper with such a long tail before. It seems like it’s only found in the Eastern Kingdom…”

"A mixed-race person? Or is he originally from the Eastern Kingdom?" Old Xia didn't know much about the Eastern Kingdom. It was separated from the Great Yan by a great distance. Moreover, on Terra, the Volper people were more common, but there weren't many people from the Eastern Kingdom.

"Let's ask during dinner..." The Eastern man's appearance here, in the Godfather's courtyard, suggests he holds a fairly high position. At least, he saw several servants nearby nodding to him in a friendly manner before continuing to look after the little girl. The implications of this are worth noting.

"And I remember you weren't that fond of children, were you?" Swire didn't dislike children, but she wasn't to the point of wanting to take a cute little girl home just because she saw her. "Oh right, why is that? When I saw her, I just felt like I really wanted to hug her and cuddle her..."

The little tiger frowned, ultimately unable to figure it out, and could only conclude that it was probably because of the marriage that a certain maternal instinct arose.

Or perhaps it's simply because she's a married woman that she's completely letting loose? [Married women are generally more open-minded.]

At the same time, the shield guards on the perimeter suddenly made a concealed hand gesture, and several teammates behind them quickly relayed the order, then dispersed as if nothing had happened.

However, the next second, "Attack!" came the simple Ursus command. Seven or eight short halberds were thrown, piercing through a small house outside the manor. A dark figure sprang out from inside. "Ah, it's an Ursus. I've never seen one like them before!"

Two longswords in the style of the Eastern Kingdom crossed and slashed at the shield guard, tearing his well-fitting suit in an instant and leaving two bloody marks on his muscular body.

The latter did not retreat at all, but instead reached out to grab the attacker, forcing the attacker to kick back to create distance.

"Hiss!" The nano-healing spray sprayed twice on his chest, and the wound began to heal rapidly. This left the attacker slightly dumbfounded. Wasn't this just too much of a cheat?

The wounds inflicted by her own sword technique wouldn't heal so easily under normal circumstances, especially since she had used Originium Arts in them.

"Wait!" The attacker looked around and saw the Ursus people and the already tense Godfather's guards surrounding them. He then looked at the armored vehicle that had crashed through the garage and the guy throwing large shields and halberds to his teammates from inside the vehicle...

"I'm...receiving my leave!" Without another word, the white-haired Rupert turned and ran. She might be crazy, but she wasn't stupid. These were Ursus's elite shield guards! What kind of damn employer was trying to scam her!

Why the hell would they kidnap a little girl who has no fighting ability? There were only some of the Godfather's guards watching over her. Because of the attack, the Godfather's main defense force was inside the mansion, and the mansion's courtyard was relatively weak.

"This is what you call 'weak defense'?"

The defenses are weak, meaning that a small team of elite shield guards, who are dedicated to defensive operations and protecting royal family members, are patrolling here, and they even have armored units with them.

If it weren't for my quick reflexes and ability to run away, and the fact that the opponent's strongest shield guard didn't give chase, this would have been a major failure in my professional career.

"The second time!" The Godfather didn't seem angry, but the change in his tone made everyone feel as if they were in hell. "The second time, this is the second time my mansion has been attacked, and this time, it was our guests who discovered it..."

This is more than just shameful; for the Mafia, it's practically the end of their criminal career.

"Go on your way. Go back and figure out how to explain things to the family." Perhaps the Godfather was getting old after all, and gave the other party a dignified chance.

After all, the other person had followed him for decades; people aren't machines, they have feelings. But this was also the last chance the Godfather was giving him.