Chapter 188: Chapter 120: Li Wei, Activate the Face-Face Fruit

He took a cocktail from a waiter’s tray and walked to a table in the second row.

"Lady Delores, Emma," he said, sitting down in an empty seat, "long time no see."

"Li Wei!" Emma was clearly delighted. "Long time no see! You haven’t been to the store in ages. Did you get a girlfriend and forget all about your old friend?"

"Of course not. I’ve just been busy trying to find a rich guy for you," Li Wei joked back. "I just haven’t spotted one lately."

"Tch," Emma was obviously skeptical. "I’ll just have to rely on myself. Let’s see if there are any single, gullible rich guys here for me to swindle."

With that, she picked up a glass of hard liquor and left the table.

"By the way," Li Wei suddenly remembered, ’how did Emma know I have a girlfriend? I never told her.’

Lady Delores didn’t say a word, just picked up the cocktail in front of her and took a small sip.

"Lady Delores, you know Anya, don’t you?" Li Wei asked. "What’s your relationship with her?"

Lady Delores, who had previously been tight-lipped about such information, seemed unusually talkative today.

"We have what you might call a cooperative relationship with Mr. Sergey," she said calmly. "We specialize in helping wealthy people all over the world handle their financial troubles and problems. It’s just that... well, most of them who come to us are Russians. We also work with Mellon Commercial Bank, which is why Miss Elizabeth Mellon has dealings with us."

Li Wei slapped his thigh. "I knew it! That explains why the boutique has so few customers, yet you’re never worried about bankruptcy or losses. It’s because the boutique is just a front."

"Mr. Li Wei, the annual rent for that storefront is as high as 20 million USD, not to mention that suit Emma took care of for you," Lady Delores smiled for the first time. "If I relied on selling merchandise, I would have gone bankrupt long ago."

She was referring to the suit that Emma had written off as a loss for him. Hearing this, Li Wei couldn’t help but rub his nose.

"We also do business with athletes," Lady Delores said, her expression returning to its usual calm. "Mr. Li Wei, how much tax did you pay on your signing bonus?"

’These Russians really have a knack for intelligence gathering,’ Li Wei thought. ’It’s nowhere near being officially announced, yet Lady Delores already knows about me and the Giants.’

Just thinking about it made Li Wei’s heart ache so much he could barely breathe.

"I paid over 50 percent, anyway," he said sullenly. "Why? Do you have a way to help me avoid taxes?"

"Not for the signing bonus. It’s a different category of income, and the Giants will withhold the taxes directly," Lady Delores said calmly. "But we might be able to cooperate on your endorsements and salary. Have you set up a personal corporation?"

"I have," Li Wei said. "My agent helped me set one up."

Before they could finish, Li Wei heard another kind of accented English from a distance.

"Lady Delores," a thick-necked Italian man in a suit said, walking over with a drink in his hand. "Long time no see."

A plain-looking, middle-aged Italian man followed behind him.

"Frank Russo," Lady Delores said his name immediately, her tone calm and unchanging. "The second-in-command of the Italian Gambino Family. Here to join in on Mayor Holmes’s festivities today?"

"You jest," Frank said, appearing very polite, not at all like the second-in-command of a Mafia family. "Mayor Holmes is planning to build basketball courts, a prison, and a shelter. How can he do without us folks who do the heavy lifting?"

He looked at Li Wei, then back at Lady Delores.

When Li Wei heard "Italian Gambino Family," he couldn’t help but glance at Frank.

He had stolen a ledger from Leto before, and now, just a few months later, he was meeting the man in charge.

"It’s fine, no need to be discreet," said Lady Delores. "He’s one of us."

’Me?’ Li Wei mentally pointed at himself.

Lady Delores called him ’one of us.’ ’Is she trying to use my connection to Anya? Does she want to send a message to Sergey?’

Frank stared at Li Wei, his brow gradually furrowing.

The middle-aged Italian man behind him suddenly spoke, his eyes full of pleasant surprise:

"You’re Li Wei!"

"I am," Li Wei nodded, looking at the middle-aged Italian man. "And you are?"

"You don’t know me; we’ve never met," the slender middle-aged man said with a smile. "But I have to thank you. Your performance in the All-American All-Star Bowl was outstanding. You helped me win back a huge chunk of change."

"So you’re Li Wei! No wonder you looked so familiar," Frank said, slapping his thigh with a smile on his face. "My apologies, I don’t really watch the games myself. I didn’t recognize a big star."

"I’ve been high on you ever since you became number one on 247Sports," Luca leaned forward and shook Li Wei’s hand. "You play a beautiful game. A lot of our ’soldiers’ are your fans."

Li Wei shook his hand, his expression a little strange. "Thanks," he said.

"Well, since we’re all acquainted now," said Lady Delores, "isn’t it time we discussed a few things?"

"Are you talking about the time you took over four of our streets and seven of our companies while we were busy catching a traitor?" Frank’s smile widened.

Emma, who had been humming a tune as she walked back, saw the scene and fell silent, positioning herself behind Lady Delores. The cheerful grin vanished from her face.

"As you wish," Lady Delores said calmly. "If you want to resolve it, then let’s settle things before Mayor Holmes officially implements his plan. It will prevent any unpleasantness when we need to cooperate."

"Let’s keep things separate. Business is business," Frank said. "We’ll continue to cooperate on Mayor Holmes’s projects. You launder the money through the real estate company, then hand it over to our construction union and concrete company to do the work. Same as always."

"As for the streets..." he glanced at Li Wei. "It was a messy affair to begin with. Our people didn’t know the diamonds being smuggled in were from your people. How about this—"

"Since Mr. Li Wei is your friend," he said, "and many of our people are his fans, I’ll take a step back out of respect for Mr. Li Wei."

"I’d suddenly like to ask Mr. Li Wei a question," Luca said with a grin. "Mr. Li Wei, is it true that you’re joining the Giants?"

Another quest popped up in front of Li Wei:

[You have received the quest: War and Peace]

[The Royal City Inner City is rife with undercurrents as two Mercenary Corps factions vie for power. Faced with an intelligence inquiry from the Ocean Mercenary Corps, will you refuse to disclose information and ignite a war between them and the Arctic Mercenary Corps, or will you choose to pacify both sides and broker peace? The choice is yours alone.]

[Quest Reward: Choosing either war or peace will grant +0.1 Free Attribute Points.]

[This quest will affect the future storyline.]

Li Wei shook his head. He had no desire to start a war right now.

Besides, his signing with the Giants was already an open secret. Luca was only asking about it because he wanted to open a betting pool and make some money off it.

"I can only say that I will continue to play football," he said with a cough, "but not in the NCAA."

Luca understood what he was saying immediately.

"Thank you, Mr. Li Wei." He nodded at Frank.

"Out of respect for Mr. Li Wei," Frank said, "we’re even."

Li Wei, activating the Face Fruit. Judgement: Success.

[Quest Complete: War and Peace]

[You chose to quell the war and make peace. You are a true Knight.]

[+0.1 Free Attribute Points]

’Finally, enough to get my Strength to 3.0!’ A look of joy appeared on Li Wei’s face.