From this moment onward, the Thumb emerged in full force. These gang members, having waited in Siracusa for only a day, marched out spiritedly, equipped with high-quality firearms straight from the City's Workshops, and began aggressively absorbing surrounding territories.
For the local gangs, this assault was basically catastrophic.
You mean, we're just some ordinary Siracusan gangs—and now we have to face the Thumb's soldiers, those freaks with high-end weaponry and monstrous physical abilities?
Are you kidding me?
Unfortunately, this was no joke. Throughout the entire day, the Thumb's soldiers burst violently into countless gangs who hadn't yet submitted, forcibly annexing them with ruthless brutality.
Some gangs hesitated too long to surrender, some arrogantly ignored the Thumb due to ignorance, while others outright looked down on them…
But regardless of their reasons, none of it mattered to the Thumb.
The Thumb didn't care who you were; their job was simply to unify the surrounding districts. If you were swept up along the way, you just had bad luck.
For the entirety of that day, the Thumb rampaged like mad dogs, devouring territories without restraint. In just one day, at least twenty gangs surrendered, becoming subordinate factions of the Thumb… In an instant, the Thumb's domain expanded at least twofold.
For Texas, this was naturally due to her deal with Hugh.
Such an arrangement wasn't particularly challenging for the Thumb. And as for those surrendered gangs—they weren't all that important either.
They couldn't even be reliably converted into fighting strength; even if thrown onto the battlefield tomorrow as cannon fodder, the Thumb would hardly value them.
In other words, their presence truly didn't matter either way…
Thus, in such a situation, it was now Hugh's turn.
For these gang members that the Thumb cared nothing for, T Corp. gleefully accepted them all without complaint.
Every single gang was neatly collected by T Corp. and brought to the Time extraction facility, even promised nice things like food and lodging… completely unaware of what truly awaited them.
But T Corp. didn't care what they thought. They just kept receiving people from the surrounding gangs.
Though a single gang couldn't provide as many people as a large family, they certainly added up when put together!
Thus, T Corp. feasted to their heart's content throughout that day.
The number of people currently being transported to T Corp.'s Time extraction site had nearly doubled… According to Hugh's estimates, soon enough there would be at least seven thousand people continuously producing Time for T Corp., each person providing roughly twenty-two hours daily. At this stage, that was more than sufficient.
At dusk, the Thumb ceased its expansion. It wasn't that they couldn't push further, but rather that any more expansion would bring them directly onto Saluzzo territory.
A matter of such magnitude was better left for tomorrow's proper handling.
At this point, T Corp. had also finished savoring their "appetizer." Next up was the long-anticipated main course…
For Texas, she hadn't forgotten her second deal with T Corp.: tomorrow morning, the Thumb would formally declare war on the Bellone Family. Afterward, the Thumb would be responsible for drawing out Zaaro, while T Corp. would eliminate him.
Additionally, T Corp. had promised that the Saluzzo Family would also be involved in this incident…
Thus, the Thumb temporarily halted their actions, waiting for the following day.
As for the Wolf Hunter, throughout the entire day of the Thumb's expansion, there had been no significant movements or sightings. Although Texas remained somewhat uneasy, seeing Hugh's calm demeanor gradually eased her nerves.
There wouldn't be any major issues—with Hugh's deal in place, even if something happened, T Corp. would shoulder it.
Therefore, Texas quietly awaited the coming of the next day.
Meanwhile, news finally arrived from Lappland—regarding abnormalities within the Saluzzo Family.
According to Lappland herself, after figuring out the internal situation, she immediately departed from the Saluzzo Family. At present, she was hiding within Siracusa, preparing to move toward the City. After confirming this, Texas temporarily set Lappland aside and began organizing the intelligence she'd sent over.
But the more Texas sorted through it, the deeper her frown became.
According to the intelligence from Lappland… the recent anomalies within the Saluzzo Family seemed related to the "Wolf Lord."
However, it wasn't that the original Wolf Lord had suddenly gone insane… From the suspicious tone in Lappland's intel, Texas picked up a distinct guess:
Lappland suspected the Wolf Lord within the Saluzzo Family had already been replaced.
Reading this, Texas slowly lifted her head, looking toward Hugh and the others whom she'd called in together, quietly asking:
"Everyone… any thoughts?"
"It can only be the 'Wolf,' right?"
Hugh glanced lightly at Da'at beside him, replying casually. Kali gazed into the distance without speaking, but her fists had already clenched unconsciously.
"Hm… No matter how you look at it, it has to be the Big and Might-be-Bad Wolf."
Da'at exhaled gently, replying with utmost seriousness. Texas remained silent, merely furrowing her brows.
So it really was within the Saluzzo Family… but the Wolf Lord had actually been replaced?
But why would that happen… and what exactly caused the Saluzzo Family's sudden spike in aggression?
"Miss Texas, have you ever heard about territory-marking?"
At this moment, Hugh spoke again with the same casual tone, the faintest hint of a smile lingering at the corners of his mouth. Texas abruptly lifted her head, staring at Hugh.
Hugh simply smiled, quietly continuing:
"In short… the main event is about to start."
Afterward, Hugh turned his head, thoughtfully looking toward Da'at and Kali beside him.
Very quickly, time crept quietly into the next day…
The battle was about to begin.
...
When Kali awoke from her sleep, it was exactly six in the morning. Instinctively, she stepped out of her room, heading directly toward Da'at's quarters, wanting to check on Da'at's sleeping condition.
But when she arrived and looked inside, Kali's face stiffened involuntarily.
Da'at… wasn't in the room.
She had vanished.