Dark Light Chaser.

Chapter 543 Barbecue Restaurant

When talking to people in Nevada's black areas, force is always the best option.

Upon seeing Ai Liang's threatening gesture, the jewelry store owner immediately covered his mouth and dared not utter another word.

"I don't intend to kill you. I just need you to cooperate with me in checking the purchase records of the wedding rings at the jewelry store."

Ai Liang pressed the gun against the jewelry store owner's forehead: "Let bygones be bygones. Now cooperate with me, understand?"

"Ming, understand!"

The jewelry store owner lowered his head and spoke tremulously.

As the saying goes, my neighbors store grain and I store guns, and my neighbors are my granaries.

People like jewelry store owners, without powerful backers, would have been someone else's money bag in the past, and would never have had the chance to grow their business into a large enterprise.

However, being honest has its advantages. When Ai Liang killed the exploiters above them, these middle and lower-level merchants immediately ushered in a spring of prosperity.

At that time, the Black Zone in Nevada was already a dead entity.

The fugitives dared not use payment methods that leave electronic transaction records.

They could only raise funds to abscond by pawning gold jewelry and similar items.

Many jewelry stores made a fortune by buying up items pawned by fugitives at low prices.

With the reclusive hermit, a vengeful demon, searching for the lucky ones, the fugitives dared not make a sound and could only grit their teeth and endure it.

Today, hermits are gradually disappearing from people's sight.

Many business owners are worried that people they have cheated in the past will return to Nevada for revenge.

Of course, the Nevada of today is not the Nevada of that time.

Although the fighting continues in unseen corners, the days of exchanging fire with rocket launchers in the suburbs are gone forever.

The jewelry store owner was so impressed by Ai Liang's ability to forgive and forget with a smile that he was so excited that he scrambled to the bedroom to find his clothes.

Ai Liang wasn't worried at all that he would do anything irrational once he returned to his room.

If there is any, it's just a little suffering that will pass.

Boss Zhu changed into a set of sportswear that was easy to move in, holding his car keys in one hand and his phone in the other, subtly indicating that he had no intention of resisting.

Ai Liang followed Mr. Zhu into the garage.

Throughout the journey, Boss Zhu would try to avoid Ai Liang's gaze, even when they were face to face, he would only stare at her shoulder and never look up.

The driver's job undoubtedly belongs to the other party.

Ai Liang sat in the back seat of the driver's seat, trying to use her telekinesis to search Nevada City for the eerie aura she sensed from the corpses.

However, nothing was found.

This was not beyond Ai Liang's expectations, after all, the metal membrane on the corpse could shield its aura.

If the murderer could use this thing on the corpse, there's no reason why he wouldn't wrap himself in it too.

The car was parked inside the commercial street.

With Nevada enacting new business laws, all shops, except for special establishments such as supermarkets and bars, must close by 10 p.m.

Most of the shops on this street sell various luxury goods.

Looking around, not a single shop was open.

The surrounding streets were brightly lit and bustling with people, but this place was pitch black and deathly silent.

This bizarre scene can only be seen in Nevada.

Mr. Zhu, hands on the steering wheel and eyes fixed straight ahead, said, "Um, we've arrived..."

"Get out of the car and open the door," Ai Liang ordered.

Upon hearing the clear instructions, Mr. Zhu finally dared to unbuckle his seatbelt, turn off the engine, get out of the car, and open the door.

Feeling guilty, he didn't dare use his car headlights to illuminate the store, but instead used the dim light from his phone screen to open the door in the dark.

The main concern of Mr. Zhu was that passersby might see him and call the police if there were cars parked in front of the jewelry store late at night.

If I were to upset Ai Liang, I could lose my life right here.

Even if they didn't kill him, it wasn't exactly a glorious thing for him to buy the gold from the fugitives at a low price back then, and if it were investigated, it would be another problem.

In the worst-case scenario, they could be accused of funding criminals.

Ai Liang entered the jewelry store and watched as Boss Zhu turned on his computer, pulling out purchase records and contact information for the same ring.

Mr. Zhu made way for her and stood cautiously to the side: "This ring was very popular in Nevada a few years ago, and quite a few people bought it. Maybe I should find a USB drive..."

Before he could finish speaking, Ai Liang suddenly raised her hand and grabbed his neck.

A few seconds later, Boss Zhu's eyes rolled back and he collapsed to the ground.

Now that I have the contact information, there's no need to waste any more words with this person.

Ai Liang wrote down dozens of reserved mobile phone numbers, and then copied them to her computer using a blank memory card.

I don't have the equipment on hand right now, and it's too troublesome to call each number one by one.

In the past, Ai Liang would simply leave these kinds of trivial matters to Mu Si to handle.

He could give Ai Liang a satisfactory result in half a day at most.

Now that Mus is gone, Ai Liang has no choice but to take matters into her own hands or find the new middleman in Nevada.

Considering the time required to investigate a person's specific whereabouts, where they have recently been, and who they have been in contact with.

Ai Liang felt it was better to spend money to hire someone.

Working together with hired help is definitely faster than someone slowly following the clues alone.

........................

Half an hour later, Ai Liang got off the bus in front of a barbecue restaurant called Nightfire Barbecue.

"Welcome, how many of you are there?"

The waitress greeted Ai Liang with a smile the moment she entered.

Ai Liang said indifferently, "Find someone."

The waitress continued, "Did a friend already reserve a table?"

Ai Liang glanced at her: "I'm here to see Chen Shaodong."

Even the most clueless waitress could tell at this point that the newcomer had ill intentions.

She took a half step back and looked to the male clerk at the counter for help.

"You need to see Brother Chen for something?"

The male waiter walked up to Ai Liang and said in an unfriendly tone.

Just as Ai Liang was about to explain, a person popped out from the kitchen and pulled the male waiter aside: "Xiao Wang, this is Brother Chen's friend."

The man shielded the two waiters behind him and said to Ai Liang with a smile, "We didn't expect you to arrive so quickly. We forgot to inform them. We're so sorry."

After saying that, the man reached out to put his arm around Ai Liang's shoulder.

Ai Liang took a half step back, placed her hands on her waist, and looked at him indifferently.

Upon seeing this, a hint of wariness flashed in the man's eyes, but he maintained a nonchalant demeanor on the surface: "Looks like you've been waiting impatiently. I'll take you to find Brother Chen right away."

At this moment, the waitress who had initially served Ai Liang suddenly grabbed the man's arm.

"Brother Liu, this person is all covered up and wearing a mask. He doesn't look like a good person. Should we call the police?"

The waitress secretly observed Ai Liang's reaction out of the corner of her eye while whispering something.

"What are you thinking? This is Brother Chen's friend. He's just quiet and a bit cold. Besides, we're just a barbecue restaurant owner. What kind of gangsters could we possibly offend?"

(End of this chapter)