A well-dressed man with black hair sneered at the bearded man in front of him:
"Antonio, the market in Ragunna City has always been like this—driven by profit, the highest bidder wins. What's the problem?"
The bearded man named Antonio, his face full of anger, retorted, "Timoteo, where is the contract spirit of the Fisalia Family?"
Timoteo smirked coldly, "Ha? Since when did the Montelli Family start caring about such useless things?"
"Instead of wasting time on this, why don't you think about how to clean up the mess caused by those Echoes of yours, hahaha…"
Laughing loudly, Timoteo walked away, leaving Antonio clenching his fists, glaring at his retreating figure with gritted teeth.
Seeing their conversation end, Zani stepped forward first and greeted, "Mr. Antonio…"
Antonio quickly suppressed his emotions.
As a member of the Montelli Family, he couldn't let his feelings affect unrelated people.
That would be far too discourteous and damaging to the Montelli Family's reputation.
"You are…?"
Zani extended her hand and introduced herself, "I am Zani from the Averardo Bank."
"These two are Rover and Lucian. I'm sure you're familiar with the names of these esteemed guests."
"They were attacked by an out-of-control Vitreum Dancer while dining, and we're currently investigating the matter regarding that Echo."
Upon hearing this, Antonio carefully observed Rover and Lucian, then said apologetically, "I'm terribly sorry that you two esteemed guests had to witness such a thing…"
"But it's truly fortunate that you weren't injured."
"As for the matter of the out-of-control Echo, we're completely in the dark ourselves…"
Rover shook her head slightly, "We're already aware of this matter, but there are other things we'd like to know about."
Antonio hurriedly responded, "I see. Please, ask me anything."
"Miss Carlotta has instructed me to answer all your questions fully."
Rover raised an eyebrow, "Miss Carlotta?"
Antonio faltered, "Uh…"
Zani patted her forehead, remembering she had promised the second young miss to keep it confidential for now.
But since it had slipped out, it was just a name, so it probably wasn't a big deal.
Zani cleared her throat, "Carlotta Montelli, the second young miss of the Montelli Family."
"She is also the one who commissioned me to serve as your escort."
Lucian leaned close to Rover's ear and whispered, "Rover, what did I tell you? We haven't even met, and the family's young miss is already interested in me."
Rover's expression darkened, "It seems the Montelli Family invited us to Ragunna City because they're after your body."
"But don't worry, I'll handle it."
Zani: "?"
Antonio: "?"
Lucian gently took Rover's soft, delicate hand to calm her, "Don't rush. What if she not only wants my body but also my heart?"
Rover pondered for a moment, "Then it won't just be about destroying one family."
Zani's delicate face was filled with confusion. Did the second young miss really not misjudge these people? Was this really not inviting a grim reaper to Ragunna City?
This was like a double-edged sword.
If Lucian and Rover truly sided with the Montelli Family, the Montellis could wield this weapon to defeat their enemies.
But if Lucian and Rover ever turned against them, they could just as easily destroy the Montelli Family.
In Zani's view, true strength came from one's own power.
To put it bluntly, the Montelli Family lacked the strength to wield this weapon.
With their level of power, Lucian and Rover wouldn't care whether you were Montelli or Fisalia.
Zani cleared her throat again, "Please rest assured, Miss Carlotta likely has no such intentions…"
Rover nodded slightly, "No need to say more. I'll judge for myself."
Zani: "…"
"The question I want to ask is, we've already heard from Zani about your efforts to promote private Pangu Terminals and private Echoes, so we'd like to know more specific details."
Antonio wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. These two were indeed hard to predict.
"So you're asking about this. Let me first explain the situation in Ragunna City."
"In Ragunna City, the terminals used to summon Echoes are uniformly managed by the Order of the Deep."
"All Echoes are collectively absorbed into the Data Bank under the Order's jurisdiction, screened, and then deployed for use in the city."
"Only a very small number of Resonators are permitted to carry private Pangu Terminals, so most people don't own private Echoes."
"Moreover, due to the existence of the Origin Beacon and public Echoes, most people in Ragunna City have no need to carry private Pangu Terminals."
"But in recent years, as Ragunna City's external shipping routes have opened up, more and more residents have grown curious about the outside world."
"After leaving the protection of public Echoes, private Pangu Terminals can provide sailors with more powerful functions and safety assurances."
"As a result, more and more people have started to demand personalized Pangu Terminals."
"The Montelli Family saw this business opportunity and began researching private Pangu Terminals."
"This should have been a good thing!"
"But when we first started promoting private Pangu Terminals, many people thought it was a sign of distrust in the Order, and some even said it was disrespectful to Imperator."
"So we've faced quite a bit of resistance."
Antonio crossed his arms and snorted coldly, "If you ask me, most of these rumors were spread by the Fisalia Family!"
Clearly, he was still bitter about Timoteo's earlier mockery and didn't miss the chance to throw shade at the Fisalia Family.
But beyond that, the Montelli Family and the Fisalia Family had long been rivals.
Lucian asked curiously, "Is your relationship with the Fisalia Family really that bad?"
Antonio sighed, "If we're really going to talk about it, I'm afraid we'd be here for days and nights."
"But to put it simply, the Fisalia Family has been declining in recent years, while our Montelli Family can be considered the most powerful family in Ragunna City at the moment."
"Perhaps because of this, the Fisalia Family has been so antagonistic toward us."
"You know, the tallest tree catches the most wind."
"But what angers us the most is that they've monopolized Ragunna City's largest Tacetite mine, cutting off our supply chain for manufacturing Pangu Terminals."
Antonio's expression darkened, "I've heard their people have been frequently visiting the Mercurio Church lately. I'm afraid they've secretly colluded with the Order of the Deep!"
"Otherwise, with their current strength, how would they dare to so brazenly steal our mine?"
The Mercurio Church was a church within the Order of the Deep, housing a statue of Imperator where devout residents of Ragunna City could pay their respects.
So, the Fisalia Family was colluding with the Order of the Deep.
It made sense. The Order of the Deep didn't want private Pangu Terminals to spread in Ragunna City, and the Fisalia Family wanted to bring down the Montelli Family.
Though their goals differed, targeting the Montelli Family was profitable for both.
No wonder they had teamed up.
"Sigh, we were already stretched thin because our Pangu Terminal supply chain was cut off."
"And now, with the Carnevale approaching, this batch of Echoes has gone wrong… I'm afraid the family's 'Executioners' will have to step in."
"This might even prevent the Carnevale from being held smoothly."
"Sigh, while commercial value is part of it, we genuinely look forward to the Carnevale."
"So we must find out the cause of the Echoes' loss of control. We can't let the Fisalia Family keep throwing dirt on us!"