Chapter 315: The New Umbrella (Part 2)

It was another rainy day in Cat Getan; as soon as dawn broke, the rain poured heavily. The ground in Cat Getan, not yet fully repaired, was pitted and full of puddles. Besides the heavy rain, there was also a strong wind. Pedestrians on the road held umbrellas in front of them, bracing against the harsh weather they had grown accustomed to.

A wisp of gray mist slowly coalesced in the room. In the psychological counseling office at Cat Getan University, Schiller shook his head as he looked at the umbrella in his hand.

This umbrella was truly broken beyond repair. Originally, it had only been missing a part, causing one rib to snap; one side of the canopy had become somewhat dented, but it could still be used with difficulty.

But the more it was forced, the faster it broke. The second and third ribs snapped in succession, and more than half of the canopy was dented in, making it almost impossible to open fully.

Although the ribs supporting the canopy were broken, the metal shaft in the center of the umbrella was still intact. If folded up, it could serve as a cane. However, before, Schiller had flashed down underground and struck that demon with the umbrella.

A demon's chin is not made of cotton. A chip had been knocked out of the umbrella's handle, making it nearly impossible to grip. Later, after striking Constantine, the handle shattered completely, leaving only the internal metal tube. All in all, it had transformed from an umbrella into a club...

When Alberto walked in, he saw the professor standing behind the desk, holding an object that could no longer be called an umbrella, his face full of regret.

His entrance caught Schiller's attention. Schiller looked up at him and said, "Good morning, Alberto. Please, have a seat."

"Professor, if you need a new umbrella, I can have one custom-made..."

Schiller shook his head. He placed the broken umbrella beside his chair and said, "No. Soon, I will be able to replace it with a new one."

Having finished speaking, he adjusted his coat, sat up straight, looked at Alberto, and asked, "Has Hawk's funeral been held yet?"

"Yes. I spoke with his older brother at the funeral, and he expressed his willingness to pledge loyalty to me." Although Alberto remained as deep and reserved as ever, his tone made it easy to hear his current pleasure.

"I told you before: when there are two power centers within a group, they can never be as close as brothers, even if they are truly blood brothers."

"To be honest, they hid it very well." Alberto sighed and said, "In Yin Wensi's memories, I never saw any scene of discord between the Hawk brothers. Among the Twelve Families, everyone praised their brotherly closeness and unparalleled understanding."

"Perhaps in the past, that might have been the case." Schiller stood up, walked over to the coffee machine, and began fiddling with it. With his back to Alberto, he said, "But do not forget, many changes have occurred in Cat Getan recently."

"As you said, the older of the Hawk brothers is the holder of actual power in the family, while the younger brother is responsible for handling internal affairs and managing detailed matters."

"If you had studied the part of Yin Wensi's memories regarding my teaching him psychology, you would understand that not only does human thought guide action to change the environment, but the environment and behavior also shape human thought."

"As the older brother and head of the family, he must appear sufficiently tough. This is the style of all gang bosses; they must appear ambitious and perpetually energetic, and never hesitate or be indecisive, otherwise no one would follow them..."

"But as the younger brother and chief steward of internal affairs, he must consider everything thoroughly and cover all aspects. He must know how to weigh pros and cons, consider costs and benefits, and never act rashly, otherwise it could lead to a break in the capital chain or problems in personal connections."

"Such two brothers, when encountering the growing pains of Cat Getan's reform, would inevitably develop differing opinions."

Alberto took the coffee Schiller handed him and said, "Indeed, the older of the Hawk brothers told me that they have actually been at odds for several years. His younger brother always used various detailed factors as reasons to obstruct the gang's development, at least in his view."

"And after the reform in Cat Getan began, their conflict escalated to an irreconcilable degree. The older brother wanted to be ambitious, seize a larger share of the pie during the reform, and ride the wind to reach a higher social stratum..."

"But the younger brother was more cautious. He could not determine whether this reform would change the existing situation. He feared the Hawk family would plummet as a result, so he always used various methods to obstruct his older brother."

Alberto rested his elbow on the table, held his coffee in the other hand, took a sip, and said with some emotion, "Professor, I discovered in Yin Wensi's memories that he held you in very high regard. Previously, I did not know why, but now I am beginning to understand."

"Using the conflict between the Hawk brothers as a starting point, helping the older brother eliminate the younger brother who was always dragging him down would not only win over the head of the Hawk family but also accelerate the pace of reform, making the Twelve Families more united."

"More importantly, you can use the serial murder case as a cover. If you openly move against the old godfather's subordinates, no matter what, it would still damage your father's face. But if the mysterious serial killer did all this, then Hawk could only count himself unlucky." Schiller summarized.

The fingers holding the coffee cup moved slightly on Alberto's hand. He asked tentatively, "I heard that yesterday..."

"What do you want to ask?" Schiller looked up at him.

Alberto thought for a moment and said, "Ritchie was killed by the godfather's men, correct?"

"You chose a correct question, so I will answer you: yes."

"And I can also tell you that this is because Ritchie deliberately designed it to let his youngest daughter meet you by chance, then get into your bed. The godfather was very dissatisfied with this, so he chose a very gruesome death for him."

Alberto curled the corner of his mouth and said, "Miss Ritchie was beautiful, but that was all. Her father did not teach her well; she wrote her intentions on her face. Therefore, eight-tenths beauty could only arouse one-tenth of interest..."

Hearing his tone, Schiller asked, "You did not sleep with her?"

Alberto shook his head and said, "She had almost written her intentions on her face; how could I fall for it? Besides, I could not determine the godfather's attitude, nor did I know if he would approve of me getting too close to Ritchie..."

"You made the correct choice, because the godfather only treats Ritchie as a dog."

"However, he actually did not care if you slept with Miss Ritchie. After all, she could never be the future godfather's Lady. Your caution made you miss a romantic encounter. Do you regret it?" Schiller smiled and said.

Alberto took another sip of coffee, shook his head, and said, "Only an unexpected encounter can be called a romantic encounter. One that is designed by others is not a wonderful meeting."

"So, the godfather actually..." Alberto slid his fingertips along the coffee cup. He said hesitantly, "He is willing to resolve the ill-intentioned Ritchie for me. Does that mean..."

"You do not need to be so hesitant. It is the answer you are thinking of."

Schiller placed both hands on the table and said, "You and the godfather have a grudge... or perhaps you cannot even be said to have a grudge, because the grudge against the godfather belongs to the Court of Owls, and you can only be counted as a sacrifice."

"Now, the godfather has only two choices: either you, or others. You have a grudge with the godfather; do the others not have one? Do you expect that after the nephews of the Twelve Families rise to power, they will let people surnamed Falcone go?"

Alberto shook his head and said, "Of course not, unless we are willing to exile ourselves, such as returning to Italy to retire or something."

"Of course, after you rise to power, you might also let the old godfather return to Italy to retire. But at least you bear the surname Falcone. More importantly, you have the ability to continue ruling Cat Getan, while others, besides being bad, are also stupid."

"As long as the old godfather is unwilling to hand over the life's work of a lifetime to others, as long as he still wants to continue being Cat Getan's underground umbrella, he has only one choice..."

Alberto let out a long breath. He stared at the foam on the surface of the coffee and remained silent for a long time. Finally, he said, "He will not admit that I am his son, so I also do not want to admit that he is my father. But in this endless vortex of power, only the remaining father-son affection can allow us in this war to retain a shred of dignity."

After Alberto left, Schiller finished his coffee. And after he drank the last sip, the door to the counseling office was knocked on again. Schiller said, "Come in."

Cobblepot walked in. He was wearing a large black raincoat, looked like he had walked in a hurry, and his hair tips and eyebrows were covered in rainwater.

He walked in, took off the raincoat. Schiller pointed to the coffee machine. He walked over to make himself a cup of coffee, then walked to the opposite side of Schiller and sat down.

Schiller took out a medical record book and said to him, "Before we discuss business, I still need to ask routinely: how are your and your mother's mental states?"

"Not bad. She has improved greatly. Yesterday, I even took her to the new apartment for a tour. After regaining her senses, she was very satisfied with the environment there..."

Cobblepot's tone finally showed some fluctuation; it seemed he had already walked out of those glooms.

Schiller wrote a few notes on the medical record, then said, "Alright, have things been smooth on the gang side recently? Lawrence, Hawk, and Ritchie are all dead. The Lawrence family is headless, the Hawk family has changed its attitude, and Alberto's path to power is now clear. What about you?"

"Bruce recommended me to Yin Wensi. Of course, this was just a formality. Alberto and I have long had an understanding. He has too few usable people under him and is eager to establish his own loyal faction, and I happen to meet his requirements."

"Originally, Lawrence was the one most dissatisfied with me, and Ritchie was also very dissatisfied that Alberto did not use his people. But now, they are both dead, so I will become Alberto's trusted minister after he rises to power."

"It is not strange for these uncles, the heads of families, to interfere in the Crown Prince faction organized by Alberto. They are just dissatisfied with you. If even one of them had been decisive in killing and cutting, by now, you would have been replaced by their person, and your corpse would have already been thrown into the sea..."

"What you mentioned before... that deal between us..." Cobblepot looked at Schiller and said, "You help me eliminate those who obstruct my rise to power, and I promise to fulfill one request of yours... Do you want me to kill someone?"

Schiller shook his head and said, "I would never let a child kill for me. Besides, I have no enemies that I must kill."

"I have always treated people with sincerity, have many friends, and have no opponents in Cat Getan. And my request is very simple; it is absolutely within your capabilities."

"... What is it?"

By night, the rain finally gradually lessened. At the entrance of the dining hall at Cat Getan University, Victor closed his umbrella, then used the tip to lift the curtain and walked in. Schiller followed behind him and also closed his umbrella.

Victor turned back to examine Schiller's umbrella, saying, "You fixed it? This umbrella was broken to such a degree, yet you actually managed to repair it??"

After the two sat down, Victor leaned in to observe closely and discovered a mark of a Vigin umbrella maker at the very tip of the umbrella. He said, "Isn't this the umbrella from Cobblepot's house before? Wasn't it left by his father? How did it end up with you?"

"Because I made a deal with him. I helped him with a few matters, and he gave me this umbrella."

"None of you are willing to understand me. In this place called Cat Getan, I didn't even have an umbrella and had to figure it out myself. But now, thank God, a new umbrella..."

Schiller narrowed his eyes, repeatedly examining the umbrella in his hand as if admiring the fruits of his own hard work. He said with great satisfaction:

"Look, a beautiful new umbrella."