Chapter 6: Defending Peace with Beauty

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Staring at the effects described by the Lucky Aura skill, Luka was completely stunned. This skill was unbelievably overpowered—no matter what trouble arose, it could ultimately be resolved... albeit with some setbacks. Setbacks? What setbacks? No matter how big the hurdle, it wasn’t a problem! After all, it would always be resolved in the end. Isn’t this the quintessential protagonist’s aura? Every main character must have it.

Luka immediately made up his mind—he had to obtain the Lucky Aura skill! But the stronger the skill, the stricter the learning requirements. Besides needing a large amount of skill fragments, it also required cultivating the bond to the highest level of symbiosis. Symbiosis—that was a bond even deeper than family or romantic partners.

“Symbiosis, soulmates... In the original story, would Leon and Matilda count as symbiotes?” Luka mused, rubbing his temples in puzzlement. According to the system, symbiosis meant a profound spiritual compatibility, complete synchronization of habits and life goals, an intimacy akin to soulmates.

It seemed a bit distant. It was better to cultivate bonds step by step for now... Both Lucky Aura and Forbidden Dependence required bonds at the symbiosis level to learn. Perhaps it was better to consider other skills first.

Speaking of which, the Trauma Mark skill was too abstract, wasn’t it? Only the dead could boost combat power, and they had to be someone with a bond higher than just a partner. Damn... Luka thought even without that skill, if his family or partner were killed, his combat power would still explode in rage.

At present, the only relatively easy skills to learn were Harmless Camouflage and Dexterous Hands. These could be learned with the bond of close friends and didn’t require many skill fragments.

As for the bond between the two of them...
[Bond: Attention]
After initial acquaintance, the bond had moved from strangers to attention, but they were still far from close friends—barely surface-level acquaintances. Comradeship still needed work!

However, getting along well with a troubled and reclusive girl like Matilda was obviously no easy task. Matilda lived in a blended family and had long suffered domestic violence. Her biological father was a drug addict and dealer, her stepmother was promiscuous, and her half-sister frequently beat her to maintain her own family status. This extremely harsh environment forced Matilda to develop a vigilance beyond her years.

Moreover, the little brat was unusually precocious—smoking, bad breath, imitating adult styles, habitual lying... she was filling the emotional void in her heart in an extremely unconventional way. Poor child.

...

The next two days passed quietly. Luka maintained his regular routine—collecting debts during the day, stopping by Uncle Biao’s supermarket for tea and bonding, and spending evenings at the bar with his family’s brothers, joking, drinking, and gambling. Occasionally, he helped deliver fish, bury a few people, and maintain peace in the community.

—Luka “Old Mo, I want to eat fish” Greco.

Over those two days, Luka accumulated nine skill fragments. He and Matilda had a preliminary acquaintance; when they met in the corridor, they greeted each other politely, though most of the time it was Matilda asking questions—she seemed very curious about Luka’s background.

As for Stan’s side, there were no clear clues yet. Nobody knew where that bastard had hidden the drugs. Henry and Jimmy had searched for a long time with no results, and neither Mariglio nor the family had any leads.

It was as if the drugs had vanished into thin air.

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But Luka knew for sure that some of the drugs were with Matilda’s father.

...

That evening, at Matilda’s home.

Wearing thick gloves, Matilda reached into the oven and took out freshly baked cookies and biscuits. The rich aroma of butter filled the air, and Matilda couldn’t help but smile happily. She had spent half the afternoon making them.

Carefully, she packed all the pastries into a bag, then returned to her room to grab a neatly organized medicine box.

Passing through the living room, she saw her sister, Isa, practicing yoga. Isa noticed Matilda carrying a big load and asked curiously, “Matilda, where are you going?”

“That’s none of your business.”

“Hey! Don’t think you can run away! Norman told me to watch you while you do your homework. Have you finished it?”

“I finished it a long time ago,” Matilda said, holding her head high. “Isn’t it just what you want? At least you don’t have to worry about me hogging the TV remote anymore. Go do your aerobics and go flirt with those naive boys at your school.”

Isa was exasperated. “Bitch!”

After her insult, Matilda dashed off, and Isa chased after her in frustration. This was a usual scene in their household—sisters often fought, but Matilda never won against Isa.

They chased each other outside the front door, and Matilda headed straight to the house opposite theirs, pounding on the door. “Luka! Luka! Open up, someone’s trying to hit me!”

“Bitch! Even if God came today, he wouldn’t save you...”

Click!

The door opened, and Luka stepped out with a puzzled expression.

Isa froze instantly. “Oh, God...”

Matilda dashed behind Luka, only her small head visible as she made a face at her sister.

Isa had never seen Luka, the mysterious new neighbor who was always out early and back late, until now. Seeing Luka’s handsome face—more charming than any movie star—Isa’s mouth slightly dropped open, all her anger toward her sister forgotten. Her eyes filled only with desire toward the handsome man.

Fuck, God! He’s so handsome! Why didn’t I notice this new neighbor sooner?

Realizing her loss of composure, she quickly put on a radiant, gentle smile and waved her hand in greeting:

“Hi~~”

She swayed her hips as she approached, smiling more warmly than Matilda had ever seen. “You must be the new neighbor. I’m Matilda’s sister, Isa.”

Matilda silently rolled her eyes.

Such a flirt—she can’t move a step when she sees a handsome guy.

Luka nodded politely, noticing that the system showed no response, no character card popping up. He felt a bit disappointed.

Just a passerby, not even worthy of a character card?

Well, in the original story, Isa only appeared in a few scenes and was soon taken out by Stan’s shotgun.

“Luka, Isa is trying to hit me!” Matilda whined like a child reporting to a teacher. “And she called me a bitch!”

Bitch! Isa cursed silently, “Shut your mouth! Don’t ruin my image!”

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“That’s a misunderstanding, just a little joke,” Isa quickly explained to Luka, her tone impossibly gentle, making Matilda roll her eyes again.

Luka wanted to roll his eyes too—did they take him for a domestic violence mediator? He glanced back at the little brat, seeing no injuries, then turned back to Isa.

“Matilda doesn’t like those kinds of jokes. I think she needs more respect.”

“Of course, I respect my sister, you...”

“You can call me Luka.”

“Luka, please believe me, it’s not what you think. I just want to make sure Matilda finishes her homework.”

“I finished it already!” Matilda shouted, not giving her sister any face.

Isa was so angry she wanted to smack her sister, but looking at Luka’s handsome, mature, and charismatic face, she thought favoring love over friendship wasn’t such a difficult choice.

“You should have told me clearly. I thought you wanted to sneak out and play.”

Isa tried to sound gentle to show her concern as a sister, then said to Luka, “Kids always find excuses to avoid homework... I don’t want to tie Matilda down too much, but it’s my responsibility as her sister to push her to do well in school. I want her to excel.”

I really believe your nonsense... Luka thought, itching to retort. If you had truly cared about Matilda, she wouldn’t have become such a troubled girl.

He didn’t bother exposing Isa’s lies. If she wanted to pretend, let her.

Besides, he was looking for an excuse to sneak into Matilda’s house and plant a bug. This was the perfect opportunity.

He glanced back and saw the little brat had already slipped into his room. Turning to Isa, he said, “It’s clear you care about Matilda... but she might not want to see you right now. Why don’t you stay here a while? When she’s calmed down, I’ll bring her back.”

“You’re too kind.”

“No problem. I used to have a mischievous sister too, so I know how to deal with them.”

Looking at Luka’s handsome, mature face and gentle smile, Isa suddenly thought her sister was right—the boys at school really weren’t worth it.

They chatted a little more before Isa reluctantly said goodbye and left. She wanted to stay longer but with her sister inside, who knows if she’d get insulted again.

Better not.

There would be plenty of opportunities later.

But... Matilda seemed to have a good relationship with Luka. If Matilda spoke ill of her in front of him...

No, no. She really needed to mend her relationship with her sister.

...

[You stopped a domestic violence incident and made Isa begin to change her attitude toward Matilda... You defended the peace of the neighbor’s family!]
[Skill points gained x3]

Luka looked at the sudden notification with an odd expression.

This is even possible?

I just said a few words—no knives or guns involved.

Could it be that I’m strong enough now to defend peace just with my face?