American variety show: The Godfather, the Peace Ambassador, what the heck?

Chapter 14 Advice
Luca felt like he had become a piece of cargo being secretly transported, passed from one gangster to another, before Pauli drove Luca on his way.

Finally, Luca was taken to a remote neighborhood in the Bronx and placed in a detached house.

Inside, Luca met the family's godfather, the big boss—Victor Morgan.

In addition, there are other family members, such as the second boss and advisors, as well as some gang leaders.

Currently, the family has about 200 official members, plus 700-800 peripheral members, totaling nearly 1000 people, scattered throughout the United States, mainly in major cities on the East Coast, plus Florida, California and other places.

There are many families in Las Vegas because they own casino businesses in the city.

Los Angeles has its share of such problems, but Los Santos is even more chaotic than New York.

There were only a few family members present at the ceremony, a dozen or twenty scattered individuals.
The initiation ceremony began quickly. The big boss, Victor, asked Luca many questions, and finally cut Luca's finger with a knife, dripping blood onto a card with a holy image printed on it.

And then set it on fire.

Luca held up the burning card and chanted loudly, "If I have betrayed my family, or anyone in my family, may my soul burn like this sacred image!"

After this, new members will no longer be loyal to God and the country, but only to their family.

After the ceremony, the big boss and other members explained several family rules to Luca.

The rule of silence: Keep your mouth shut, do not inform the government, and do not discuss family matters with any informal members!
This rule does not restrict members from contacting officials; otherwise, how would they bribe officials? How would they maintain a "good relationship" between the legitimate and illegitimate parties? Silence refers to not betraying or selling family secrets.

Blood for blood: Family members are not allowed to fight among themselves. If a formal member is killed, no one may retaliate by killing another member unless the boss allows it. When deciding to kill another formal member, prior application must be submitted and approved before the action can be taken!

In any case, they can't fight amongst themselves openly, but it's hard to say what they'll do behind the scenes. The Mafia is quite adept at stabbing their own people in the back.

These are the two main rules. Other rules include "no adultery with the wives of other family members", "no beard", and "permitting tributes regularly".

Adultery has serious consequences, including immediate execution.

Homosexuality is also forbidden; the family consists entirely of men, and such behavior is not allowed, or one will be executed.

At the end of the ceremony, the boss and other members hugged Luca one by one, smiling and encouraging him.

Welcome to our business!

The Mafia rarely calls itself the Mafia; it's everyone's business.

After becoming a formal family member, Luca's status was no longer what it used to be.

Although he is still under Marigio's command, he has changed from "Marigio's man" to "our man" and "family man". From now on, it will not only be Marigio protecting him, but the entire family will become his support.

Anyone who dares to touch Luca will face "execution" from the entire Lucchese family.

Now Luca can go on his own business and will have the support of his family; family members can "help" with any relationships that are difficult to navigate.

However, Luca will have to decide for himself what kind of business to do and what connections to make.

The Luches family's businesses are currently incredibly diverse, including casinos, loan sharking, cat shops, automobiles, smuggling, labor unions, stocks, Hollywood, docks, construction, food supply, and even the flour and cod business—they do everything that can make money.

The Mafia is a violent and highly profitable group of "black businessmen" united together.

Of course, not every family member makes money. Some are successful, accumulating capital to start companies, grow large and powerful, and create monopolies; others are less successful, begging on the streets and resorting to extortion.

External members like Jimmy, who are good at making money, are actually richer than many official members.

"Luca, what are you planning to do next?"

After Luca returned to the bar, Marigio asked him while they were drinking, "Want to work with me? We can collaborate."

Facing Marigio's expectant gaze, Luca smiled and shook his head. "Boss, you know me. I have no interest in the drug business."

What a joke! Frank's blue magic has almost taken over most of New York, and the federal government is cracking down on it.

At that point, three-quarters of New York's narcotics officers will be sent there. Luca won't even have time to cut off the gun before he's in there. Only a fool would run headlong into it.

Upon hearing Luca's refusal, Marigio shook his head in disappointment.

He knew perfectly well that Luca was extremely cautious and almost never got involved personally. At most, he would just dump the stolen goods on other members of the family and not care about anything else. He just sat there collecting money and was unwilling to get involved any further.

Marigio could understand; in his mind, Luca was incapable of business, only capable of killing.

Since Luca was unwilling, he didn't force him; doing business wasn't a family "task."

"So what are you planning to do in the future?" Marigio asked curiously. "Continue to take on jobs at hotels in mainland China? Being an assassin is much riskier than drug trafficking."

"It's too tiring to always be fighting and killing. I'm planning to open a club."

"A club? What kind?" Marigio asked curiously. "A sports club? Are you interested in rugby and the NBA?"

"No, no, no, it's a private club, a mid-to-high-end private club."

"Oh~~~"

Upon hearing the word "club," Marigio understood.

Mafia members love to open bars and clubs, and many family members also like to go to clubs to have fun, conduct business, and so on.

The club is a second home for family members, and there are even weekly lovers' parties where a group of older men get together to fool around behind their wives' backs.

Marigio has lost count of how many clubs the Lucchese family owns. "You can't make much money running a club, and you don't do drugs, so you need to set up an underground casino inside, that's where the real money comes from."

"I'll think about it carefully."

Luca smiled and nodded.

While underground casinos are a viable option, Luca's main purpose in opening the club is to collect impressive character cards, recruit various "talents," make good friends, expand his network, learn skills, and incidentally concentrate his network resources to enter highly profitable industries and make big money.

The Mafia can't bring in outsiders, and many people aren't like Matilda, so the club is a good middle ground where anyone can come, as long as you have the ability and value.

The person Luca chooses is never a mistake; they are undoubtedly a chosen one with exceptional skills.

Of course, aside from some unfortunate protagonists who are completely outmaneuvered by villains, such as David Mills who is persecuted by the seven deadly sins, these are the kinds of people who need Luca to step in and save them.

That afternoon, after learning that Luca had been "officially promoted," Jimmy excitedly invited Luca to his bar to have fun and also gave him a box containing 100 million in cash.

It has to be said that Jimmy and Henry are really efficient at doing these things.

Luca accepted it with a smile.

This is the last time. Luca will now cut ties with everything related to the flour business in preparation for opening a club business later.

Soon, New York will be transformed.

As Frank's "blue magic" grows more rampant, he also gets closer to destruction.

When his drug empire collapses, the New York DEA will undergo a major reshuffle—a turmoil Luca could foresee.
"Have you seen the news these past two days?" Henry said to the two of them. "Washington is talking about drugs again, and they've even threatened to launch another large-scale drug bust. Hahaha! How many times have they talked this out? Has it ever succeeded?"

Jimmy laughed along, "The louder the clamor from Washington, the better Blue Magic sells." He made a comical face, "Everyone's afraid they won't be able to buy it later~~~ So hurry up and buy as much as you can now."

Luca smiled without saying a word.

He also remembered that news report.

The number one enemy of the United States is the rampant drug problem. In order to strike hard and defeat this number one enemy, a new all-out offensive is necessary. The federal government has announced a new round of drug war in Washington, New York, Chicago, and other places.

Luca knew this was the calm before the storm; the Federation was serious this time, and playing big.

Looking at the two guys smiling broadly, Luca suddenly lost interest. He no longer wanted to enjoy the wine or the pretty girls and prepared to take his money and leave.

However, before leaving, Luca gave the following instructions:

"Here's a piece of advice for you two: give up the entire drug business now."

Luca's expression was serious. His gaze swept over Jimmy and landed on Henry's face. "New York is cracking down hard lately. If you get caught, even the family can't save you!"

Seeing Luca's serious tone, Jimmy frowned and pondered for a while.

While drugs can be profitable, it seems unnecessary to offend Luca for them.

I should cling to Luca's generous coattails.

Henry's heart skipped a beat. After a moment of internal struggle, he nodded and agreed, "Okay, okay, I'll do whatever you say. I swear I won't do it starting tomorrow."

"Please do not."

You can completely trust me.

“Very good.” Luca patted Henry on the shoulder with a smile. “Good man! You’re the most honest person I’ve ever met.”

Henry patted his chest and said, "Everyone calls me Honest Henry!"

Luca opened his arms and gave Henry a warm bear hug: "I believe in you."

Naturally, five days later, Henry, who had been outwardly compliant but inwardly defiant, was caught red-handed by narcotics officers for drug trafficking.

He doesn't even listen to his boss Pauli, so how could he possibly listen to Luca?
The arrest took place right in front of his house.

He had just gotten into his car to deliver the drugs when he was surrounded by police.

"Police! Don't move! You motherfucker, you idiot! Or I'll smash your brains out!"

At that moment, Henry's expression froze, and he dared not move, but he felt inexplicably relieved.

At least we can still hear sounds.

He knew the police wouldn't shoot, they would just yell at him; if it were an assassin sent by his family, he wouldn't hear a sound and would already be a corpse.

The Mafia is quite adept at killing their own people, especially when executing family members; they often use their closest brothers as the culprits.

Now that he's been caught red-handed, Henry feels his life is over. If Paul finds out about his drug dealing, the boss will most likely kill him.

Perhaps, he could betray his brothers in exchange for police protection?
Henry stepped out of the car with his hands raised, and just then, a sniper bullet flew from a distance and struck him squarely in the head.

On a distant rooftop, Leon holstered his sniper rifle, turned, and disappeared into the darkness.

He took out his phone and made a call:
"mission completed."

(End of this chapter)