The North American Gourmet Demon Handbook

In addition, Romano also mastered a secret technique of "soul penetration", which could ignore conventional mental defenses and directly plant the seeds of chaos deep in the target's soul, causing them to lose their composure - or even directly and simply fall into an existential crisis.

Romano didn't want a simple defeat, but to completely destroy Cyrus Morton's will.

Romano believes that he must show ruthless means and cut the Gordian knot in order to gain enough impression points from James Drummond.

Therefore, after careful preparation, he could be said to be armed to the teeth.

The convoy soon arrived at the outskirts of the Amish film set. The FBI had set up a cordon here, but perhaps because it was late at night, there was only one agent standing at the entrance.

Vikram Chandrasekhar immediately spotted the tall Asian man in a black windbreaker who looked particularly ghostly at night - Li Shanze.

The car stopped and Li Shanze came forward with a formal smile on his face. "Gentlemen, this place involves the kidnapping case of Mr. Alex Drummond. It has been sealed off by the FBI. Outsiders are prohibited from entering. Please go back."

As he spoke, Li Shanze casually glanced at Romano and Chandrasekhar who were sitting in the car.

Chandrasekhar felt that Li Shanze's eyes were calm and deep, as if he could see through people's hearts.

Romano opened the car door, got out, and casually extended his hand to shake hands with Li Shanze. "Why? Didn't Deputy Director Clark explain the situation to you? As Mr. James Drummond's authorized representative, I need to conduct an on-site inspection of the crime scene."

Deputy Director Clark is Kate's direct superior in administration, and Kate has to obey his orders, at least on the surface.

I have to say that Romano's work was indeed very effective. In fact, Kate also cooperated very well this time. Except for Li Shanze, all the agents had quietly followed the deputy director's instructions and left silently.

Only the "consultant" Li Shanze became the only exception.

However, this exception did not change the formal smile on his face when he heard Romano mention Deputy Director Clark.

But there was an indescribable sophistication in those eyes.

He slowly withdrew his hands, shoved them into his pockets, leaned forward slightly, and lowered his voice, his tone carrying a hint of helplessness and suggestion: "Mr. Romano, you are right. Deputy Director Clark did give instructions. The higher-ups have their own rules, and those of us who run errands have our own difficulties."

He paused, his eyes vaguely sweeping over Romano's expensive suit and the mercenaries behind him who looked tough, then fell back on Romano's face, his eyes carrying a meaning of "you know what I mean."

"It's the middle of the night, and something big has happened on the set. It's not easy for us brothers to stay here in the wind and sun."

Li Shanze sighed lightly, his tone full of helplessness and implication that "the county magistrate is not as good as the current manager."

"You are Mr. Drummond's guest, so naturally we have to give you face. But this is the rule... there must be a reason, don't you think?"

He didn't mention "money" explicitly, but the implication was clear. He put on the extraordinarily mercenary face of a low-level official, as if to imply that as long as they arranged things properly, this cordon would naturally open for them.

Romano raised his eyebrows slightly under his sunglasses when he heard what Li Shanze said.

He has lived for so long, what kind of people has he not seen?

This blatant bribery, while somewhat unexpected, was also within reason. A flash of disdain flashed through his mind. How could an FBI agent be so greedy?

It seems that the FBI's behavior is getting uglier and uglier.

But this is also good. The more greedy a person is, the easier it is to deal with him.

Romano was equipped with numerous protective spells, magical tools, and offensive weapons, but he did not bring the most powerful weapon—money.

After thinking for a long time, Romano finally spoke. He took out a black card from the inside pocket of his suit. There was a low-key yet luxurious logo printed on it.

He handed the card to Li Shanze with a hint of unquestionable arrogance in his tone. He glanced at Li Shanze's name tag and said, "Agent Li, this is the Drummond family's VIP card. With this card, you can enjoy the highest level of service in any of the family's businesses. As for the 'difficulties' you mentioned, I believe this card is enough to solve everything."

No, how could such a thing really exist? A black card belonging to a noble family in some brainless novel?

The corners of Li Shanze's mouth twitched.

However, when he thought about the fact that American nouveau riche really had no imagination, it was reasonable for the common things in amateur literature to appear - Li Shanze barely convinced himself and suppressed any desire to complain.

Li Shanze's gaze lingered on the black card for a moment, and the formal smile on the corner of his mouth seemed to freeze for a moment.

He didn't reach out to take it, but shook his head gently, his tone still slow and somewhat helpless.

"Mr. Romano, you are very kind."

Li Shanze spoke softly, but his eyes casually glanced at the night scene around him, as if to check if there were any eyes that shouldn't be there peeping at him.

"This card... is too valuable. How can we, as little people, dare to accept such a thing? Besides, it's a bit inconvenient to use."

He paused, lowering his voice even more, with a kind tone that seemed to be considering the other person.

"As you know, we in the FBI have many rules and strict inspections when we handle cases. Once you swipe this card, it will leave a trace. If they investigate later, it will be difficult to explain, which will cause you trouble, right?"

As Li Shanze spoke, he rubbed his fingers pretentiously and glanced at Romano's suit pocket. His meaning was obvious.

What he wanted was a reward for his hard work that would leave no trace, cash that he could put directly into his pocket, not a VIP card that could be traced.

He seemed to be saying, don't try to find any evidence against me, I just want money, and it must be clean money.

Romano's eyebrows were almost twisted into a ball. He didn't expect this little FBI agent to be so stubborn.

However, Romano didn't have any cash on him. A wizard fully armed for battle wouldn't have his pockets stuffed with cash. That was absurd.

All his "weapons" were prepared for killing and protection, but not for this kind of low-level, mundane transaction.

"Damn it!" Romano cursed in his heart. He was used to crushing all obstacles with absolute strength, or simply using the power of the Drummond family to deal with them.

This situation, which required constant management, made him feel strangely irritated and humiliated. He had meticulously prepared various countermeasures against the wizard, but he was thwarted by a mere mortal agent.

Since soft tactics didn't work, he had to resort to hard tactics. He wanted to see how courageous this little agent was to pull such a trick in front of the Drummond family.

Romano took a deep breath, opened the door, and got out of the car completely.

Vikram Chandrasekhar stretched out his hand, trying to dissuade Romano, but before he could say anything, Li Shanze glared at him fiercely, and he panicked, and all the words he wanted to say were choked back into his throat.

Romano snorted lightly and didn't look at Vikram again, as if he and Li Shanze were the only two people left in the world.

In the night, his perfectly tailored black suit seemed to blend into the darkness, exuding an invisible sense of oppression.

Romano took off his sunglasses, revealing a pair of deep and cold eyes.

The look in his eyes was no longer perfunctory and arrogant as before, but instead carried a sharpness that examined prey, as well as a subtle hint of mental pressure that was unique to the wizards of the Delusion Society.

His gaze was like two invisible knives, piercing Li Shanze's eyes, trying to penetrate his worldly disguise and reach deep into his heart.

"Agent Li." Romano's voice was low and slow, and every word seemed to be chiseled out from an ice cellar, carrying an unquestionable weight.

"I'll say it again. I need to get to the scene. Are you sure you want to hinder the Drummond family's actions for this little 'late-night snack money'?"

This is Romano's usual method of putting pressure on his subordinates as a superior, and it always works.

However, today, Romano hit a big snag.

He only heard Li Shanze cough lightly, and then he was hit hard on the back of his head.

Romano, who was so majestic the last second, suddenly lost consciousness with his eyes rolled back before everyone could react.

323 Vikram's sudden realization

The scene was quiet for a moment.

The night wind seemed to have frozen, leaving only the faint noise of the city in the distance.

Romano's tall body fell to the ground with a dull sound, which was particularly harsh in the silent night.

His eyes, which were as sharp as knives just now, were now tightly closed, and his sunglasses fell to the side, revealing his pale and unconscious face.

The mercenaries in the convoy were all fully armed, carrying live ammunition and guns in their hands, but they looked confused.

It happened so suddenly that they didn't react to what was happening immediately.

Wasn't it Mr. Romano who personally dealt with the little agent who was demanding bribes?

How could their employer, that powerful wizard, fall without any warning?

Vikram Chandrasekhar was sitting in the car, watching all this through the window.

However, at this moment, the usually calm Indians also felt a sense of absurd unreality.

Vikram's brain seemed to short-circuit at this moment.

As a wizard, he has always been arrogant and believes that only wizards can fight against wizards.

He even outlined countless possibilities in his mind.

Perhaps Li Shanze quietly laid a mental trap during the conversation, causing Romano to fall into an illusion without realizing it.

Perhaps it was some ancient and gorgeous rune formation that quietly activated in the night, silently depriving Romano of his ability to resist.

Or perhaps it was some exquisite and deadly curse, like an invisible serpent, that coiled around Romano's soul and quickly made him lose consciousness.

He even imagined the dazzling spells that Li Shanze might cast.

The air was filled with mysterious runic light, and invisible energy fluctuations surged like a tide. Romano was bound by some irresistible force in his struggle, and finally fell to the ground in a gorgeous magical light effect...

Whether ghostly or gorgeous, that is in line with the battle between the strong in the wizarding world and in line with his definition of strength.

However, reality was like a loud slap in the face.

There was no light, no runes, no energy fluctuations, not even a hint of witchcraft.

He only remembered that Li Shanze coughed lightly, and then... then he simply threw a punch, and Romano fell down.

It was not the grace of being knocked down by a spell, nor the pain of being eroded by a curse, but a knockdown in the most primitive, brutal and unreasonable way.

It's like an ordinary person being hit hard on the back of the head by another ordinary person with the most direct punch.

Vikram Chandrasekhar was very sure that Li Shanze's punch did not contain any sophisticated witchcraft, it was just pure violence.

Vikram's mouth opened slightly, wide enough to fit a goose egg.

His face, which never showed his emotions and never revealed his true feelings, was filled with incredible absurdity.

A wizard, a powerful wizard, would actually fall in this way?

This is simply a huge mockery of the witchcraft system he believes in!

Although wizards' bodies are not much stronger than those of mortals, they have magical shields, instant spells, and various means of saving their lives.

Romano was a member of the Delusion Society and could be said to have been through hundreds of battles. How was it possible that he was knocked down by a single punch from a mortal without even having time to react?

This goes against common sense and does not conform to the logic of any wizarding world!

However, Vikram's shock did not make him lose his mind.

He has always been cautious and knows that "when things are abnormal, there must be something wrong."

Li Shanze's nonchalant expression and his extraordinary self-confidence made Vikram subconsciously restrain himself.

He did not act rashly, but stared at Li Shanze intently, trying to find even the slightest flaw in him, trying to identify any deeply hidden traces of witchcraft from Li Shanze.

He restrained his impulse and did not let anger and fear get the better of him like the mercenaries.

"Fire! Fire!"

Finally, a mercenary captain roared, breaking the dead silence. He couldn't comprehend what was happening before his eyes, but protecting their employer was their duty. Romano's fall was undoubtedly the greatest provocation.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The sound of gunfire rang out instantly, breaking the tranquility of the night.

After a brief moment of bewilderment, the mercenaries in the convoy finally reacted. They raised their automatic rifles with disciplined precision, their muzzles spitting out tongues of orange-red flames. A dense barrage of bullets, like a torrential rain, whistled sharply as they poured down towards Li Shanze's position.

They are professional killers. At this moment, they only have the target in their eyes and no hesitation at all.

Meanwhile, the other wizards accompanying the caravan finally recovered from their shock. While not as powerful as Romano, they were nonetheless trained wizards. Seeing their companions felled by "mortals," their pride and anger were instantly ignited.

Then, their pride and anger quickly turned to confusion.

Because they witnessed a miraculous performance: Li Shanze strolled leisurely in the metal storm with a smile on his face.

The whistling bullets were obedient and docile. As soon as they got a few meters in front of Li Shanze, they knelt on the ground and never dared to raise their heads, as if they were afraid to offend his majesty.

Li Shanze, with a calm expression, just casually raised his hand, raised his gun, aimed, and shot.

The pistol in Li Shanze's hand seemed to be no ordinary weapon in the hands of a mercenary. Every time he pulled the trigger, it was accompanied by a whistling and deadly sound.

There were no fancy moves, no unnecessary movements, he just stood there, like a cold-blooded god of death, reaping lives wantonly.

A bloody hole instantly appeared between the eyebrows of the first mercenary. He didn't even have time to scream before he fell straight down. His body twitched a few times and he was completely silent.

Then, the second, the third... the bullets accurately penetrated the head or the heart, and each shot meant the end of a life.

Those mercenaries, who had just been unleashing fire fearlessly, were now in extreme panic.

Their bullets could not reach the target at all, and every bullet fired by the enemy carried the mark of death.

They began to scream and retreat, and the well-trained formation collapsed in an instant, turning into a disorderly escape.

Some tried to hide behind cars, some lay on the ground, and some even dropped their weapons in despair, just hoping to live for another second.

However, Li Shanze's movements didn't falter. The smile on his face remained, but his eyes were as cold as a polar glacier.