The Mafia Empire

Th, he undressed, neatly hanging his clothes in the closet. He donned a bathrobe and tered the bathroom, removing the robe and hanging it on the rack. Facing the mirror, he grasped the triangular pdant on his chest and prayed siltly. It was the emblem of the Catholic Church, with an eye inside the triangle, mysterious and intimidating.

After a momt, he stepped under the shower, meticulously washing every part of his body. Perhaps due to the alcohol, he felt slightly dizzy, and every time he blinked, it seemed as though the whole world was spinning. He joyed that ssation, the feeling that he was the cter of the world, and everything revolved a him.

After about t minutes, he felt more alert. He put the bathrobe back on and stepped out of the bathroom. Glancing at the bedroom, he casually poured himself a glass of water from the bottle on the table and took a sip.

Looking at the girl sleeping peacefully in the bed, his heart began to race. Just as he was about to head to the bedroom to indulge in the night\'s delights, he felt something cold and sharp press against his waist.

In an instant, he sobered up.

...

Morris was a stubborn gang member. He had joined a gang at the age of fourte. Over the past twty plus years, he had be to prison three times. The first two times were for violt acts, attempting to climb the ranks, resulting in two and three year stces for assault.

The third time, internal gang issues arose, and while dealing with a traitor, he was accidtally witnessed by an ordinary citiz, who called the police. He took the fall for the gang\'s big boss and served six years in prison. Since joining the gang, Morris had spt nearly half his time behind bars.

This had earned him considerable siority, solidifying his status within the gang, especially after taking the blame for the boss. At that time, four people were killed. According to imperial law, Morris should have be stced to death by hanging.

However, it was during the eve of a looming war, and society\'s atttion was focused on the conflict, not the gang\'s internal power struggles in some small town.

Whether out of loyalty to his subordinates or moved by Morris\' sacrifice, the big boss did what any boss should. He spt a twty thousand dollars, bribing the judges, prosecutors, and ev the state attorney. In the d, Morris was stced to "self-defse" and "manslaughter," and with the help of a smooth talking lawyer and a hefty bribe, he received a t year prison term.

On the last day of his sixth year, he was granted parole.

After leaving prison, the boss decided to give him a good job: raising funds for the gang. In gang slang, this role was called a "fisherman." Morris was very grateful for this. Before his release, he thought the gang might have abandoned him, and he would be giv a few thousand dollars and left to fd for himself.

He never expected the big boss to remember him, let alone pull him out early and give him a dect job.

Morris ambition had be worn down by his elev years of imprisonmt, so he was more than satisfied with this retiremt like job.

Because of this job, Morris shifted his focus from gaining higher status and power to simply joying life and satisfying himself.

It\'s worth mtioning that the reason Morris joined the gang at fourte was because he recklessly fell for a girl, only to be ruthlessly humiliated. The girl was from a big city, from a good family, and well educated. She was in Ternell simply because she didn\'t know where else to go during summer vacation, so she came with her frids.

Wh the girl arrogantly lifted her head, giving Morris dirty clothes and dusty face a contemptuous glance, th mocked him with a dismissive tone, Morris felt something needed to change. He no longer wanted to cower under her aggressive gaze.

He told himself that he had done nothing wrong. He simply liked beauty, and there was nothing wrong with liking someone.

This led to the Morris of today, who joyed conquering well educated girls to fill the shadow left in his heart as a teager.

However, Morris was rational. He never targeted wealthy individuals because he knew he couldn\'t afford to offd the rich.

At this momt, Morris slowly raised his hands, his eyes darting a, trying to find something reflective on the walls to see who was behind him. As he searched for an opportunity, he softed his tone. This wasn\'t the first time he had countered such a situation. A few years ago, wh he was drunk and walking home alone, a similar thing had happed in an alley.

The fact that he was still standing here meant he had survived that incidt.

"Frid, if I\'ve ever accidtally offded you, I apologize for my mistake. If you\'re just looking to improve your situation, there\'s some money in my coat, about a hundred dollars or so. You can take it all..." As he spoke and slowly started to turn a, there was a sudd whoosh of wind, and a blunt object struck his head hard.

The back of the human head is fragile, unlike the front, which is sturdy. After being hit, Morris immediately felt two streams of hot liquid running from his nose. He staggered forward, bt over, and half knelt on the g. He touched his nose, and wh he looked at his hand, it wasn\'t blood but a clear liquid.

He felt confused, not realizing that nosebleeds would have be much better than this transpart fluid.