Chapter 3: It's Not About the Money
Stanfield, the primary antagonist in "Léon: The Professional," is neurotic, temperamental, brutal, and a mass murderer who doesn't even spare four-year-old children.
Though he appears to be a New York Police narcotics officer, he is actually a drug dealer.
This was Luca's first time seeing this jerk.
Luca had only been aware of his past life for just over a year and was still unclear how many characters from other stories had been mixed into this world.
At first, he thought this was solely the world of "John Wick," but it was more than that; many other characters had appeared.
For example, the three Goodfellas.
Uncle Biao, who runs a supermarket, and his nephew who is far away in Hong Kong.
On Wall Street, there's also a scamming wolf who frequently throws wild parties, but he's currently in a bit of trouble and is being investigated by the FBI.
There's a formidable individual in the New York Police Department who reportedly blew up a building in Los Angeles and detonated a plane at an airport in Washington.
Now, this perverted narcotics officer has emerged.
"If Stan is here, then Léon the hitman and the little loli should be too?"
"They should be high-tier cards, right?"
Luca thought to himself, "I just don't know if Stan has already killed the little loli's family."
He remembered that in the original plot, Stan killed the little loli's family, which led to the cold Léon opening his door and taking her in.
And in the end, Léon died with Stan to protect the little loli.
Stan isn't dead yet.
So Léon shouldn't be dead yet either?
He just doesn't know how far the plot has progressed.
"Even Stan is S-rank! Léon must be SR, right? Even if the little loli is weak, she should at least be A-rank, right?"
Luca was a little excited!
He found two more rare cards!
He took a deep breath and looked downstairs, seeing Stan had already entered the hotel lobby. He waited at the elevator for a moment, and seeing the elevator going up, he calmly walked into the nearby fire escape and exited the hotel via the stairs.
This wasn't a Police operation to arrest someone, nor was it directed at him, so why be so nervous?
Stan was a corrupt narcotics officer who embezzled funds and sold drugs, and he had a group of equally corrupt Police officers following him. They would resell confiscated drugs to other gangs, profiting immensely.
The entire narcotics bureau was rotten, or at least Stan and his group were rotten to the core.
Luca could tell with his toes that Stan was here to see Kahn.
A transaction?
"For this?" Luca looked at the box in his hand.
Wait.
Luca suddenly realized something.
He took out the photo of Kahn again.
"I remember this fat guy; isn't he a character from 'Léon: The Professional'?"
"Maurizio repeatedly warned Kahn to no avail, then found a middleman to help. The middleman sent Léon to warn Kahn... But this time, I intercepted it beforehand?"
"So, my boss is also a character from 'Léon: The Professional'?"
No wonder his boss's name felt familiar after he awakened his memories.
Luca was exasperated. Why didn't his boss even have a character card? Was it just because he was only mentioned by name and didn't show his face in the original plot?
That's too disrespectful.
"Stan, you're late. The goods have already been stolen."
At the stairwell, Kahn sat dejectedly on the steps, smoking, with a bloody mess behind him.
Stan took off his headphones, a neurotic, sickly smile on his face. His steps were elegant yet frenzied. He stepped forward, looked at the corpses on the ground, and sighed in admiration:
"Headshots, slit throats. Every person was killed with a single blow, without any wasted movements. Look at these bodies; they're as perfect as works of art."
The surrounding narcotics officers were silent, watching Stan's madness.
Their boss was exactly like someone with bipolar disorder, but he refused to admit he had a mental illness.
Stan turned and intimately put his arm around Kahn's shoulder. "Tell me, which artist created these works?"
Some of the drugs were his goods, which he had arranged with Kahn in advance.
Now the goods were gone, and he suffered heavy losses.
"The Lucchese Family."
Kahn was somewhat disgusted by Stan being so close, sniffing at him like a dog. He subtly pushed Stan's hand away. "They sent a hitman to threaten me into giving up the New York market."
The Lucchese Family?
Stan's smile quickly vanished, and a trace of resentful and crazed killing intent flashed in his eyes.
"Boss, how should we handle the goods?"
"You know the rules. Handle it yourself."
On the way back, Luca hung up the phone and casually tossed the box to Jimmy in the passenger seat.
"There's at least 5 million worth of goods in here. You two take it and deal with it," Luca said. "I don't care how you handle it; just give me 5 million when you're done. You can split anything extra."
Henry and Jimmy were ecstatic to get the goods; this was a windfall! If they mixed in some filler to lower the purity, they could definitely sell it for a lot more money.
"Hahaha! Luca, God bless you, you're the most generous person I've ever met!" Henry, in his excitement, showered him with flattery.
"Awesome," Jimmy suppressed his excitement and promised Luca, "You just wait at home to collect your money. Remember to buy a big fridge, otherwise, you'll have too much money and nowhere to put it."
Luca smiled but said nothing. "Goodfellas, I'm generously throwing money at you all for the sake of your skills."
Besides, a portion of this 5 million had to be given to the boss; that was the rule.
Thinking of this, Luca opened his panel.
He was surprised to find that Henry's bond level had already reached "Friend."
That fast?
【Henry】
【Bond: Friend】
【Jimmy】
【Bond: Familiar】
Bonds are divided into seven levels: Stranger (zero contact), Interested (interest), Familiar (contact), Friend (acquaintance), Close Friend (intimate friend, confidant), Partner (high trust, family), Symbiotic (soulmate).
Now, with a bit of money, it directly became an acquaintance?
Luca also believed that he would always, at most, only be Henry's acquaintance. This guy would betray anyone and never truly confided in others from the bottom of his heart.
And Jimmy seemed quite cautious. Even with so much money, he wasn't even an acquaintance, right?
As expected of a ruthless person who would kill all his accomplices to embezzle the loot.
Thinking of this, Luca opened the character card and decided to exchange Henry's skill first.
【Do you want to spend 20 skill fragments to exchange for "Scoundrel"?】
【Yes/No】
Yes!
【Exchange successful, skill added】
【Scoundrel: When communicating with the Police, Police trust +10%; when betraying and providing testimony to the Police, Police trust an additional +40%】
Steady, steady.
Luca showed a relieved smile. With this skill, dealing with the Police in the future should be useful.
Before returning to the bar, Luca parted ways with the two Goodfellas and went alone to a macaroni shop in the Bronx.
The owner here was an informant, a middleman, and Léon's contact—the family had the middleman's contact information.
Displaying the Lucchese Family's name, Luca placed his gun on the table in front of the owner and easily and happily obtained Léon's address.
But how to approach and develop a bond?
Léon was an extremely reclusive hitman, always working alone, and he was illiterate.
His neighbor, the little loli Matilda, was a precocious, problematic girl who didn't fit in with her peers. Because she was often abused, her personality was somewhat extreme.
Both of these people were difficult to deal with.
Learning hidden skills from character cards required bonds. How could he build a good relationship with a reclusive loner like Léon?
With no immediate ideas, Luca didn't rashly disturb those two rare cards but returned to the bar first.
Because taking Léon's address wasted a lot of time, it was already dark by the time Luca returned.
As soon as Luca entered the bar, he heard an angry roar, mixed with several "motherf***ers" and "sh*t." He could tell the cursing was very foul.
And Luca could also tell it was his boss losing his temper.
Seeing Luca return, Maurizio waved, "Luca, you've come at just the right time!"
Luca walked forward, stepping over broken beer bottles. "Boss."
Maurizio, still fuming, angrily said, "Luca, go and take out Stan from the narcotics bureau right now!"
Luca looked puzzled, only to hear Maurizio continue, "Just now, Stan led a team of Police and raided the family's drug den! He killed a dozen of our brothers and confiscated at least 10 million worth of goods! This is a blatant provocation! He doesn't put our family in his eyes at all!"
Luca: "..."
This was indeed something Stan would do; that guy was a lunatic.
Seeing Luca not immediately agree, Maurizio patted his shoulder and persuaded him, "You did very well on this mission. Kahn has already left New York on a plane. I promised you I'd introduce you to become a full member of the family!
I am a man of my word. I have already submitted your membership application to the higher-ups. You should receive notification in a few days!
But now this has happened. Stan has provoked our entire family. We must eliminate him first and get the goods back! Defend the family's honor!"
Luca hesitated, "But he is a Police officer wearing a federal badge after all. I'm worried..."
Maurizio: "500,000. I know you have a part-time job at the Continental Hotel. The family won't let you work for nothing."
Luca: "It's not about the money."
Maurizio: "1 million. No more. And you must get the goods back."
Luca: "Boss, you know me. I always prefer peace. This guy Stan broke the rules and shattered the peace. He must pay a blood price! To defend the family's honor and the peace of New York, I am willing to accept this mission and eliminate this beast Stan!"
Maurizio: "..."
F***, why are you talking so righteously? Are you addicted to being a Peace Ambassador?