A few hours later, inside a secret room in the lower levels of the Mafia Headquarters.
Marcus Cabrelli had just rushed over from the concluded auction. He plopped down onto the sofa and asked impatiently, "Are the Ten Dons really dead? One hundred percent certain?"
"Yes. All dead. It's a message sent personally by Illumi, the eldest son of the Zoldyck Family; there's no mistake. All the previous images and visuals were illusions created by him controlling the corpses with his Nen ability. Furthermore, all members of the Phantom Troupe are dead. How far you can climb now depends on your own capability," Allen replied casually. At this moment, his thoughts were already far away, flying inside the Molten Core dungeon.
"This means that before the news spreads, I have at least five days to a week more time than others. And my family has suffered no losses whatsoever in this tragic war. I can easily rally and absorb the severely damaged gangs. I can even deduct all the commission from this auction and use it as capital to hire people and expand my strength..." Confirming the truth of the Ten Dons' deaths, Marcus swiftly displayed the demeanor of a gangland kingpin, calmly taking stock of the resources at his disposal.
In about thirty minutes, he managed to rally the most powerful Mafia families through one phone call after another, quickly establishing a massive alliance of interests, and simultaneously forcefully seized control of the headquarters building from another figure.
For a time, the entire Mafia association was operating according to the various orders he issued. Although many expressed strong dissatisfaction with Marcus's autocratic actions and threatened to report him to the Ten Dons, they were quickly suppressed.
Some of them hadn't even figured out what was happening before they found themselves stripped of control over their own families. Clearly, Marcus had made extensive preparations in secret for this day, even bribing important figures within rival camps, who then rebelled at the crucial moment to give him an excuse to intervene.
By the time the night passed and dawn broke, he had completely stabilized the situation and become the de facto leader of the Mafia.
Of course, this monopolistic situation certainly wouldn't last long. Once other powerful Mafia families reacted, they would immediately join this feast of power and territory redistribution.
"Here! This is the benefit you deserve. Without your help, I would never have gained such power," Marcus handed a massive check, filled with countless zeroes, to Allen. Although he hadn't slept all night, he didn't look tired at all, instead giving off an air of high spirits.
But Allen didn't reach out to take it. Instead, he flatly refused: "Don't give it to me. Donate it to those who need it more. Especially the owners of all the shops and houses within a hundred-meter radius of the explosion center. If there's any left over, donate it to the municipal government so they can repair the destroyed underground facilities."
"Oh? Are you trying to be charitable?" Marcus's face showed surprise. This was no small sum; it accounted for more than half of the total auction proceeds.
"Charity? No. I'm simply paying the bill for the mistakes I made," Allen explained, glancing at the neighborhood outside the window, which looked like a grim battlefield ruin. A person must be responsible for their actions, especially wrongful ones. This was the core value and life creed he always adhered to.
But Marcus clearly couldn't understand this mindset and asked in confusion: "Aren't those shops and houses covered by insurance? Why go to all this extra trouble? As for repairing the damaged underground facilities, that's the government's responsibility; there's absolutely no need for you to do this."
Allen smiled and shook his head: "No, you don't understand. This involves issues of bottom lines and principles. For a Nen user, nothing is more important than sticking to one's original heart. In short, ensure that everyone who suffered losses receives compensation. Can you do that?"
"Of course! I will establish a foundation in your name with this money, specifically for this purpose," Marcus agreed without hesitation. After all, he wasn't spending his own money. Furthermore, he was having a headache over the extent of the damage to those few streets and was considering how to provide a reasonable explanation to the bureaucrats and the media.
Now, with this huge compensation fund, all problems and troubles could be solved easily. After all, for Yorknew City, a modern metropolis filled with corruption and money-power deals, as long as enough money was produced to keep the victims silent, the rest was easy to smooth over.
As for those who tried to take advantage and extort money... Did they really think the Mafia syndicate was running a charity? They'd be dumped in a cement drum and sunk in the river in minutes!
Precisely because he understood the Mafia's style and deterrent power, Allen chose to let them handle this matter. Otherwise, who knows how many greedy people would try to inflate or falsify losses to make a huge profit.
When the trio walked out of the Mafia Headquarters, the sun was already high in the sky. The streets and alleys were filled with busy police officers, fire brigades, and ambulance teams. Additionally, a large number of heavy engineering vehicles had rolled in, urgently repairing the damaged underground cables, water pipes, and gas lines.
Feeling the warmth of the sun on her, Baise couldn't help but sigh softly: "It's finally over! I can't believe I had the honor of participating in and witnessing the downfall of the Class-A bandit group, the Phantom Troupe."
"Over? This is just the beginning. Even more thrilling and dangerous adventures await us soon. Next, I need to put you through hellish special training and officially begin our challenge of the Molten Core, as originally planned," Allen said enthusiastically, laying out his plan.
"Molten Core? What kind of place is that? Some kind of undiscovered ancient ruin?" Baise asked, thoroughly confused.
"No. It's much more interesting and thrilling than any ruin! Trust me, you'll love it," Bodoro said, grinning with excitement and anticipation.
He would never forget the experience of being nearly flattened when he first went in with Allen and had a head-on clash with the two Molten Giants at the entrance. He understood how many powerful and terrifying elemental creatures were hidden in that inner-earth world.
"Let's go. Let's find a small hotel to stay in, then figure out how to increase Baise's Aura Capacity by more than five times its current level. Otherwise, with her current strength, she wouldn't even qualify to enter," Allen sighed helplessly.
Bodoro nodded in agreement: "You're right. In her current state, she'd probably be stepped on and turned into meat paste in one stomp."
"Hey! I know my strength is poor, but I don't think it's as pathetic as you two are making it sound!" Baise finally couldn't stand being openly scorned for her Nen level and protested loudly.
But unfortunately, Allen and Bodoro chose to completely ignore her, instead openly discussing various training methods that sounded utterly chilling just to hear.
She had no idea that she was about to spend the next period of her life in a literal hell. Especially Allen, who already followed a principle of completely pushing potential to the limit, was an absolute devil coach.
If it didn't kill you, he'd train you to death. At least he guaranteed no missing limbs, and he could save you even if you only had one breath left...
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You can read the ahead chapter on Patr-eon if you're interested: p-atre-on.c-om/Overgod [Just remove the hyphen to access normally]