Toretto's bond has successfully reached the Familiar stage, and they're now just one step away from becoming friends. That final push? Racing.
If you really want to win over these street racers, you beat them where it matters—on the asphalt. A few races later, and the bond might level up into "Close Friend."
And once that happens, Toretto's signature ability kicks in—his whole "family never dies" miracle. Unlike Brian's exit-triggered buff, Luca doesn't even need to actively learn it.
As long as the bond deepens and he's acknowledged as "family," he automatically receives Toretto's blessing.
This thing is basically a resurrection cheat code. No cooldown. No usage limit. The only condition? Death has to stay unconfirmed.
[Skill: Family Never Dies]
Effect: For companions you have acknowledged, the boundary between life and death enters a state of Quantum Superposition.
Requirement: Bond Level: Close Friend or higher | Cost: 800 Skill Fragments
In the event of a fatal blow or near-death state, as long as the corpse is not directly observed, scrutinized, or confirmed by an external party, the target is forcibly maintained in an "Alive" state by the System. They will persist through sheer causality until observed—or until they can be saved.
It's not resurrection in the traditional sense—it's more like reality bending over backward to pretend you didn't die. As long as nobody actually sees your body, you're still in the game.
Case in point: Letty. Officially dead, tombstone and all—then suddenly she pops up overseas like nothing happened, just with a bit of amnesia as a side effect. Still counts as alive.
Then there's that Korean guy tied to a Japanese racer crew—killed off clean, news spreads everywhere… and later? Back again like the script changed its mind.
In both cases, Toretto never saw the bodies. He only heard about it. And apparently, that's not enough to make death "real."
"This skill really does mirror Brian's exit buff," Luca muttered, already thinking ahead. Maybe the smartest move after reaching "Close Friend" would be to stay away from Toretto. Keep some distance, and even if something goes sideways, the system still flags him as alive.
To Toretto, death reports are just… temporary disconnects.
"I need to lock in that 'best friend' status," Luca decided. Becoming "family" wasn't just sentimental—it was survival insurance. With the looming power struggle back in New York and the inevitable bloodbath for the chairman position, he needed every edge he could get. As long as he didn't die for real, everything else was negotiable.
Toretto, meanwhile, had his own thoughts. After witnessing Luca's influence, the bald patriarch felt a mix of curiosity, respect… and a hint of unease. Sure, Luca backing him meant the Triads wouldn't dare touch him now, but their relationship wasn't exactly tight. It was still just business—customer and mechanic—not real brotherhood. Not yet.
"Hahaha! Did you guys see Johnny's face earlier? That humiliation was better than hitting the jackpot!"
After Luca left, the crew threw a barbecue party outside the shop—beer, grilled meat, the works. They'd finally put Johnny Chen in his place, so of course they were celebrating like there was no tomorrow.
"Brian, your boss is insane! He stood there alone, facing all those Triad guys, and they didn't even dare breathe too loud."
"Yeah, those guys don't scare easy either."
"So who is your boss, man?"
Toretto's question pulled everyone's attention in. Luca clearly wasn't just some rich client anymore.
Brian chuckled and shrugged. "He's just a businessman. Big operations. Big money. People—both legit and otherwise—give him respect."
"A businessman… quoting the Latin like a Priest?" Toretto muttered, clearly not buying it. Still, seeing Brian dodge the question, he didn't press further and instead shifted the topic back to the car rebuild.
Replicating that GTR in a week wasn't going to be easy. Luckily, the blueprint already existed—but now the pressure was entirely on the Triads. If they failed to deliver…
Toretto subconsciously pictured Luca's earlier expression—that calm, suffocating dominance—and felt a chill run down his spine. Anyone who crossed that line was asking for disaster.
Los Angeles Police Department.
Vincent rushed back from the scene and immediately started compiling recent robbery cases. LA had no shortage of crime—robberies were practically background noise—but once he narrowed it down to truck heists, a pattern began to emerge.
Most cases were tied to the truck drivers' union. A significant number involved stolen fuel tankers, with the earliest incidents dating back to early July—the same time Luca's business began expanding into Los Angeles.
Vincent grouped the tanker thefts together. No obvious geographic pattern… except one detail. Almost all the trucks were headed toward gas stations in the same area—territory controlled by the L.A. family and the Russians.
Russian-registered companies. Mafia involvement. Now add Luca to the mix.
The connections practically drew themselves.
"Besides Luca, the Russians and the L.A. crime family are all suspects," Vincent muttered, already feeling the headache coming on. Investigating one gang was tough enough—three at once? That was asking for trouble.
Still, technically, he was helping them recover stolen assets. They should cooperate… right?
Then his thoughts drifted to another issue—the Russians again. Recently, their narcotic officer in Las Vegas had shot and killed one of their men. Normally, that wouldn't be a problem if it was justified, but this case? It looked more like a mutual shootout than a clean operation.
Messy.
Even worse, the officer in question was a captain with strong connections. Internal protection was already kicking in behind the scenes. Meanwhile, the Russians clearly weren't planning to let it go.
Vincent sighed. He preferred playing things by the book, but situations like this made that… complicated.
He picked up the phone. "Once you finish collecting evidence from those two wrecked cars, send them to Luca tomorrow. Don't leave that scrap cluttering the station."
The next morning.
Luca was still asleep in his Beverly Hills villa when the doorbell rang. Two tow trucks had arrived—delivering what could generously be described as "former cars."
The GTR wasn't completely totaled—some parts were salvageable—but the Mitsubishi? That thing was done.
Luca stared at the wreckage, mildly annoyed. What kind of cop delivers scrap metal straight to someone's front yard? Could've dumped it at a junkyard or at least called first. This felt less like procedure and more like a statement.
He got dressed and stepped outside to see who had the guts to do this.
The moment he saw the officer, his expression shifted—just for a split second.
Yeah. Definitely a hothead.
[Rare Card Discovered: Jack Hoyt]
[Rank: B]
[Source: Training Day]
[Skill: Principles of Justice]
[Bond: Strangers]
And just like that, it clicked.
So this is the rookie. The one tied to that narcotics captain—the same guy the Russians wanted dead.
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