Waves splashed from the dark water, and the iron boat's engine roared, churning white foam and carving a grey-white wake across the endless black sea.
Although the iron boat was large enough to accommodate all nine of them, they were basically squeezed together, exchanging glances and letting out a sigh unique to older people.
This boat was so slow, it hadn't even left the signal-free zone yet.
Johnson Joffrey and Ghiaccio showed what true villains were, completely destroying Moody Blues' repetition zone.
"Never underestimate your enemies," Risotto said. "Perhaps we are already being watched by them."
Everyone scoffed and sighed. Please, there wasn't even an island within a hundred miles, only a few sharks following them.
Mista leaned against the boat's railing, feeling as if something was caught in his throat, but he was too embarrassed to say anything. A true gangster should be cold and ruthless.
"Oh!" Melone exclaimed happily, "We're out of the signal-free zone!"
It seemed they were approaching Olbia Port, which meant they were also closer to the enemy. Their group was too conspicuous.
"First, find Trish," Risotto immediately said, accurately judging what needed to be done. Time was too important; they had to find his daughter before the Boss did.
Melone nodded, skillfully operating the computer to search for a girl named Trish.
He listed several homophones and simultaneously searched all of Sardinia.
But thousands of girls named Trish appeared, including those with homophonous names.
Johnson couldn't do anything, as he didn't know how Trish's name was actually spelled, only its Chinese translation and pronunciation. Moreover, the name Trish was quite common.
"1729 names," Melone said.
"Damn it," Ghiaccio cursed, "I know three girls named Trish."
"I don't believe it," Formaggio said. "Ghiaccio can't possibly know any girls."
"The Boss's age shouldn't exceed fifty," Risotto said. "And this girl shouldn't be very old. Search for girls between 10 and 25 years old."
"972 names."
Risotto fell into thought, then he added, "Look for families where the father is deceased or divorced, and the child lives with the mother. Reconstituted families are also acceptable."
Melone typed on the keyboard, executing programs and commands, finally saying, "27 names. Among them, 20 have re-established families, 5 are orphans, and 2 are from single-parent households."
A girl named Trish, aged between 10 and 25, with a deceased father – these conditions narrowed it down to the best candidates.
"Since she's the Boss's daughter," Illuso suddenly said, "she might not necessarily be officially registered."
"No," Johnson retorted, "because even the Boss only recently learned of his daughter's existence, which means this girl has been living a normal life on Sardinia Island until then."
"Look at their locations, and capture all twenty-seven of these girls," Risotto ordered.
"Their locations are quite scattered. To be more efficient, we'll have to split up," Prosciutto said. "After all, we're not the only ones searching; there are also the Boss's members. And if we act together, we'll easily be discovered."
Risotto fell into thought. Splitting up would be more efficient and less likely to attract attention, while also dispersing the enemy's range, making a complete wipeout less likely.
"Melone, do these girls have photos? Do they have full names?" Johnson suddenly asked. He couldn't remember Trish's full name, but he remembered it appearing in the show, and if he saw it, he might recall it.
"Only a small portion has photos, but all have full names." With that, he handed the computer to Johnson.
Johnson's gaze fell upon it, and seeing those Italian names, he began to get a headache. He had originally thought he could remember, but then realized he knew nothing at all. This touched upon his blind spot!
Johnson knew Trish's exact age; she should be the same age as Giorno in the original story, which would make her 13.
Johnson's gaze landed on several 13-year-old girls, specifically: Trish Nara, Trish Una, and Trish Ronadi.
Which of these three was it? However, these three girls were distributed across the northern part of Sardinia, relatively close to each other.
If he had known he would transmigrate, he would have watched golden wind ten thousand times!
"Can you get more detailed information on these 27 girls?" Johnson Joffrey asked Melone.
"It's not impossible, but it will take time."
Time truly is money.
"Then I suggest we go ashore first, obtain the information on these girls, continue our research, and then narrow down the scope," Johnson said. He could even narrow the scope directly to those three girls, but the Assassination Team didn't know that. They had to go ashore, find an opportunity, and analyze to find the right one among the three.
"I think splitting up is too dangerous."
Risotto fell silent, then finally said, "We, the Assassination Team, must advance and retreat together. Melone, start looking up information on these girls now, and we will continue to analyze."
...
"Drive faster."
Hearing the somewhat low voice from the back seat of the car, the taxi driver felt a cold sweat run down his back, making it itch.
The car honked. In the congested traffic, a teacher held up a sign, leading a group of choir children across the sidewalk. The car had no choice but to stop.
"I can't, sir, there are children crossing the road." The driver's hands trembled. He glanced briefly in the rearview mirror at the person in the back seat. The car's interior was dark, so he couldn't see the person in the back seat clearly at all.
"Meg, we could have just driven. You're still as frugal as ever," one of the more casual men asked the other person named Meg.
"Carlson, buying a car is a losing business," he said, then added to the car driver, "Drive."
"Sir... please wait a little longer..."
Meg, with his blue hair, suddenly smiled. "I can't wait for them. I have important business and must get to Olbia Port."
"Waiting for these children to pass, not hitting them with the car? Is it because it's for the continuation of the Italian people, even related to the development of human civilization, that we must care for children? In a way, it's also an investment."
"But now, the situation is more important. Time! That is the most important thing. To invest this time in them, for human civilization? That's too bad."
As soon as he finished speaking, a well-built black figure appeared from behind him, holding a machete, and invisibly struck the driver.
"Ho, are you going to use your Stand already?" Carlson grinned in the darkness.
The machete struck the driver, who suffered no harm, but instantly stepped on the gas pedal and sped towards the choir children.
"I can't help it, I am loyal to the Boss. His orders supersede everything."
------
There's one more chapter. From now on, I've decided to post one chapter as soon as I finish writing it!
The two people at the back both have original Stands.
Let's talk about the protagonist's notebook. Recently, many people have been complaining about it.
The person who gets the notebook is not the protagonist's enemy, and it's impossible for the notebook to fall into enemy hands. Even if it did, the enemy wouldn't be able to decipher it. The protagonist uses a text encryption method, and the book used for encryption is a novel he wrote when he was a child (unpublished).
It's similar to how Jiraiya in Naruto encrypted information for the Hidden Leaf Village about Pain, so the enemy simply cannot decipher it.
Some impatient players keep demanding spoilers. It's really... if I don't spoil it, they complain that my protagonist is sending the notebook to the enemy and screwing over his teammates.
As for how the mysterious person who got the notebook (a native resident, not a second transmigrator—this novel only has one transmigrator, the protagonist) deciphered it, I can't spoil that yet. But he's not a villain. The notebook is a cheat I gave to the protagonist, not to the enemy.