The North American Gourmet Demon Handbook

The thought flashed through his mind like a bolt of lightning, so absurd it made Romano want to laugh.

He tried to prop himself up, but found that his feet were locked tightly by heavy shackles, and the cold iron chains were connected to the wall. He struggled violently, and the shackles made a harsh friction sound, and his ankles were tightened so hard that they hurt.

His hands were also handcuffed tightly behind his back.

For the large-bodied Romano, this was enough to restrict his freedom of movement; he couldn't even get up from the floor on his own.

His struggle looked like a fat cabbage worm wriggling on the ground, futile and ridiculous.

"No... this is impossible." Marco Giuseppe Romano muttered to himself, his voice hoarse and weak.

His last memory was of him stopping the limousine and getting out proudly, ready to teach that ignorant young agent a lesson.

That guy named Li Shanze was so ignorant that he dared to ask for bribes from him, a Johnson & Johnson executive and senior wizard Marco Giuseppe Romano?

It was sheer wishful thinking! He remembered that he had a scornful smile on his face and was about to start scolding her, but then… Then there was a sudden dizziness, his vision went black, and he lost consciousness.

There is no doubt that this is a trap.

This must be an illusion, he thought.

As a master of manipulating consciousness, he knew this feeling all too well.

This was definitely a powerful illusion cast by a high-level wizard, trying to confuse him or extract information from him.

Oh, how could I, Marco Giuseppe Romano, be easily subdued by a mere mortal agent? Who is he trying to fool with such a ridiculous illusion?

Romano's lips curled up into a sneer, one that was filled with disdain and amusement.

Create an illusion that is so real that the vision, hearing, smell and touch are all the same as reality, but leave a clear enough flaw that "the master of illusion was knocked out by an inconspicuous FBI agent" with one punch.

There was no doubt that this was a provocation from a fellow illusionist.

It's like saying, can you break my illusion?

This is a naked provocation.

As for the provocateur, Romano believed that this was most likely a magician accomplice of Cyrus Morton, or perhaps a provocation from Cyrus Morton himself.

For Romano, Cyrus Morton, as one of the biggest imaginary enemies of the Delusional Society - no wizard of the Delusional Society would like a person who had a way to avoid brainwashing, and of course no wizard of the Delusional Society would like a person who tried to brainwash him - was naturally a master of mental manipulation.

"Well, very good! Cyrus Morton, I accept the challenge." Romano sneered.

"Let me expose your illusion full of loopholes!" He taunted in a low voice, his voice a little hoarse due to the dryness of his throat.

Romano closed his eyes and focused all his senses, trying to sense the flow of the surrounding witchcraft and find the flaws in this illusion.

Every illusion, no matter how sophisticated, leaves a trace, a tiny ripple of energy, an incongruous detail, or a logical loophole.

And he, Marco Giuseppe Romano, was an expert at finding these flaws.

He began to construct the structure of this illusion in his mind, trying to reverse-engineer its operating mechanism.

The cold metal floor, the damp air, the weight of the shackles, even the reality of a splitting headache, all seemed like carefully woven silk threads, forming a perfect web.

"Interesting... Really interesting," he muttered to himself, a look of morbid excitement on his face.

This level of illusion is definitely not something that an ordinary wizard can perform.

There is no doubt that Cyrus Morton's attainments in illusion are comparable to his, or even... better.

Romano even felt that it would be difficult for him to create a more perfect illusion that could deceive all the senses.

The other party deliberately left this absurd loophole of "being subdued by a mortal". Was it to demonstrate to him or to lure him deeper?

He began to recite the spell to dispel the illusion in his mind, but not to break free immediately, but to explore the underlying logic of the illusion more deeply.

He wanted to savor every detail of the illusion like a connoisseur and find out its core secret - for Romano, this was not only a challenge, but also an opportunity for him to learn.

"Illusions are not real, the truth is revealed! Delusion dissipates, bondage is released!"

He whispered the spell in his mouth, trying to use his witchcraft to touch the boundary of the illusion, to feel its toughness and its strength.

He even admired it in his heart: "This idea is really clever. It mixes truth and falsehood so perfectly. If it weren't for me, I would have been deceived."

But Romano still thought he had found a loophole.

When he tried to mobilize the magic power in his body to make the spell truly take effect, an unprecedented feeling of stagnation came from every part of his limbs.

His witchcraft was like being filled with lead, heavy and dull. The syllables of the spell swirled in his throat, but could not be gathered into the necessary power.

He felt an invisible force, like countless fine silk threads, entwining his magic cores, preventing them from functioning normally.

This isn't a depletion of magic power, but rather... suppression.

Then, Romano discovered that all his careful preparations before the battle, from various witchcraft props to the protective magic circles on his clothes, had all become ineffective, as if no witchcraft had ever existed.

"Ha! There are more and more loopholes!" Romano's mouth curled up into a smug sneer, with a hint of mockery. He suddenly opened his eyes, and they flashed with a light of insight.

"So that's it! This is your flaw, Cyrus Morton!" His hoarse voice echoed in the empty cell, carrying with it the excitement of discovering a secret.

He thought he had found the "loophole" in the illusion - this illusion world was actually unable to perfectly simulate the feeling of a wizard's magic being suppressed!

"You think you can fool me like this? You coward! You even try to suppress my strength in an illusion!"

Romano jeered loudly, his voice full of contempt for Cyrus Morton.

"You don't dare to confront me directly, and can only use this crude illusion to test me. Even in the illusion, you dare not let me go and cast my full strength, and you cowardly suppress more than half of my strength!"

Despite his mockery, Romano secretly admired it in his heart: "How ingenious! He can actually simulate such a realistic sense of oppression. If I weren't proficient in this, I would probably think I was restrained by some kind of witchcraft prop."

In fact, that was three-fifths of the credit for Li Shanze's handcuffs - Li Shanze hesitated for a moment, and then handcuffed Romano, determining that Vikram Chandrasekhar lacked the will to resist.

Romano took a deep breath and tried to mobilize his magic again. The syllables of the spell became clearer in his mouth, but the feedback from the magic was still pitifully weak. He regarded this weak feedback as a sign that the illusion was about to collapse.

"You think you can trap me like this? Ridiculous!" Romano struggled, his fat body squirming on the ground. He wanted to use his will and witchcraft to completely tear apart this false cage.

However, no matter how he probed, no matter how he chanted, nothing happened except the dull pain of a splitting headache and the cold touch of his shackles. There was no magical backlash, no sign of the illusion being shattered, only the dead silence of the cell and the cold floor.

Romano was unwilling to give up. He twisted his fat body on the ground, trying to use brute force to break free from the shackles on his ankles and wrists.

The iron chains scraped harshly against the metal floor, and he flapped his tail in vain like a stranded whale.

"Get out here! Face me! Cyrus Morton! Stop hiding!" He roared at the empty wall, his voice hoarse from excessive exertion.

"You think such a low-level trick can trap me? I tell you, I, Marco Giuseppe Romano, am a master of illusion!"

"My understanding of illusion is definitely not comparable to that of a half-baked person like you!"

"I can see every flaw in your illusion clearly!"

While cursing, he tried to bang his head against the cold wall, as if the wall was the weak point of the illusion.

However, the hard metal wall only made him feel dizzy and a real pain came from his forehead, but he stubbornly believed that this was a "pain simulation" created by the illusion to increase the sense of reality.

"Do you think you can make me surrender like this? Childish!" He panted, sweat running down his fat cheeks and sticking his messy hair to his forehead.

He believed that as long as he found the "core" of the illusion, he could completely destroy it.

He rolled on the ground like a madman, cursing, and even tried to kick the air with his feet, as if there was an invisible enemy standing there.

His movements were clumsy and funny, his fat body looked particularly bloated in the small cell, and every struggle was accompanied by the rattling of shackles and his heavy breathing.

Just as he was gasping for breath and preparing to recite the spell again in an attempt to "attack" this false world, a dull "creak" sound broke the silence of the cell.

The door slowly opened, and dim light poured in from outside, outlining a figure in a black windbreaker.

It’s Li Shanze.

Li Shanze stood at the door, holding a folder in his hand, looking puzzledly at Romano who was lying on the ground like a trapped fat worm, kicking and cursing at the air.

His brows furrowed slightly, with a hint of confusion in his eyes.

"What are you doing? Mr. Marco Giuseppe Romano?" Li Shanze's voice was calm and puzzled.

Author's words: Thanks to Qianxiao Anran and Xiaopingguo112633 for their monthly tickets

331 Sudden Enlightenment

The reason why Li Shanze left Vikram Chandrasekhar, who fainted in the middle of the interrogation, and went to find Marco Giuseppe Romano was because of Charlie.

Even though she knew that Vikram Chandrasekhar might be directly related to her teacher's death, Charlie still felt a little sorry for the miserable condition of this Indian.

In order to take care of Xia Li's emotions, Li Shanze decided to put Vikram Chandrasekhar aside for the time being.

In Li Shanze's opinion, it doesn't matter who is tried first.

Then Li Shanze walked to Marco Giuseppe Romano's cell.

The good news is that Romano has woken up from his coma and Li Shanze doesn't need to waste his time trying to wake him up.

The bad news is that Romano is performing some confusing performance art on thin air.

When Li Shanze's voice rang out in the cell, Romano suddenly raised his head, his eyes, bloodshot from anger and struggle, fixed on the tall figure at the door.

"Ha! You finally show up? Cyrus Morton!" A smug smile of "I've seen through you a long time ago" appeared on Romano's face. He struggled to sit up, but the restraints of the shackles made him twist on the ground, like a fat fish that was caught and struggling desperately.

"Do you think you can scare me by sending a mortal puppet? Do you think this poor illusion can make me surrender?" He looked at Li Shanze, his voice full of contempt and ridicule, "You coward! You don't even dare to show your true self, and you only dare to hide behind this illusion and play tricks like this!"

"Genjutsu? Do you think I'm part of the genjutsu?"

Li Shanze looked at the fat man on the ground. He was sweating profusely, his hair was messy and stuck to his forehead, his face was covered with dust, and he was still muttering curses.

His embarrassed yet self-righteous appearance made Li Shanze very interested. He didn't know where Romano's confident judgment came from.

Romano, however, saw Li Shanze's approach as a further "upgrade" of the illusion. He stared at Li Shanze with wide eyes, watching him step by step, and could even clearly see the subtle changes in his facial expression and the texture of the folder in his hand.

"Oh? It's quite realistic!" Romano sneered, a hint of admiration flashed in his eyes, but he was not merciful in his words.

"Even the aura of a mortal is simulated so realistically, even your hypocritical expression of doubt is so lifelike! Cyrus Morton, you are truly a talented illusionist. Unfortunately, you chose the wrong opponent!"

He struggled violently, trying to hit Li Shanze with all his strength, as if to smash this "illusion" into pieces. However, he only twisted on the ground in vain a few times, unable to get close to Li Shanze at all.

"Don't hide! Cyrus Morton! If you have the guts, come out and fight me!" Romano roared breathlessly, spitting.

"Do you think you can use this illusion to drain my energy? Let me tell you, the sorcerer power of Marco Giuseppe Romano is beyond your imagination! You want a war of attrition? Fine, then I'll give you one!"

Li Shanze's eyes moved slightly. He understood Romano's train of thought from Romano's curse.

It turned out that the fat man actually mistook the reality before him for an illusion cast by the "master wizard" Cyrus Morton.

In his eyes, I am just a mortal puppet created in an illusion.

This explained why he cursed so confidently, why he turned a blind eye to the restraint of the shackles, and even attributed the feeling of suppressed magic to a flaw in the illusion and a strategy of attrition war - he didn't even doubt the shackles on his hands.

The corners of Li Shanze's mouth curled up, revealing a relaxed smile.

It is much more interesting and easier to get information out of a confused person who doesn't understand the situation than to interrogate a stubborn or recalcitrant criminal.

He retracted his steps, did not move closer, and did not speak again. He just stood there quietly, holding the folder, watching Romano's performance with interest.

Romano saw that the "Mortal Puppet" was no longer approaching but had stopped, which made him more confident in his judgment.

He thought that Cyrus Morton was observing his reaction, trying to find flaws in his words and actions - and, this illusion doll would reveal its true form as soon as he bumped into it - haha, you really don't dare to get close, right?

"What? You have nothing to say? Are you speechless now that I've exposed your tricks?"

Romano shouted triumphantly, using all his strength to try to pull the shackles on his wrists off. The rattling of the chains was particularly harsh in the silent cell.

He even began to bang his head against the ground, making crisp clanging sounds, as if challenging the illusion in this way.

Li Shanze felt that he needed to complete the interrogation before Romano completely knocked him into an idiot - but there was no rush at the moment, at least he could still watch the monkey show for a while.

"I tell you, this kind of childish illusion is nothing to me!" Romano gasped, his fat body trembling due to the intense exercise, sweat soaked his suit, and his shirt stuck to his body.

He even started trying some strange postures, such as hooking the wall with his feet, or rubbing the ground with his body, and muttering some syllables that sounded like spells but were completely out of tune.

Li Shanze looked at Romano like a funny clown, performing an absurd drama that only he could understand on the small stage.

He didn't interrupt or laugh, but just watched quietly, as if studying a rare biological behavior.

"You think you can make me surrender like this? I tell you, I, Marco Giuseppe Romano, will never bow to any illusion!"

Romano's voice was hoarse, but he still refused to give in. He curled up his body, lunged forward, and hit Li Shanze's leg with his head.

At the same time, Romano shouted, "Good opportunity! Dissipate the illusion!"

Li Shanze raised his foot, and Romano's head hit Li Shanze's boot hard, as if he had put his head close to be kicked by Li Shanze, making a dull "bang" sound.

Li Shanze didn't move, just looked down at his hit shoe, then turned his gaze back to Romano's face, which was twisted with anger, pain and fatigue.

He was not angry, but felt that this play was becoming more and more interesting. He wanted to know how long this fat man could hold out before he could wake up from the illusion he had woven.

Romano's head hit Li Shanze's boot, but the expected scene of the illusion being shattered or Cyrus Morton revealing his true form did not happen.

He only felt a real dull pain coming from his forehead, while the mortal puppet in front of him remained motionless, and even its expression became more interesting.