187: Chapter 184 What does "all empty" mean?

Putting down his phone, Freddy slumped onto the sofa as if his bones had turned to jelly.

He took a deep drag of a cigarette; though it was clearly laced with something, it tasted utterly bland at that moment.

Slap!

He slapped his own head, trying to clear his mind, but his brain remained a muddled mess.

"Boss Freddy, what's going on? This isn't the way someone about to do big things should look!"

Just then, a lackey opened the door, and an old man wearing a red Tang suit walked in with a chuckle, fiddling with a string of prayer beads like the Maitreya Buddha.

The man was a silver-haired elder from Great Xia, looking to be in his sixties or seventies. He was somewhat stout and leaned on a cane with his other hand; though he walked with a limp, he was full of energy.

Hearing this, Freddy only gave the old man a vacant glance before his voice rasped, "You were the one who contacted them. Are you sure they were professionals?"

"What? You don't trust me?"

The old man sat down next to Freddy with a chuckle, casually picked up a cigarette from the coffee table, and lit it.

"Trust you? Then tell me, why did the FBI tell me that those so-called professionals you hired are all finished?"

Freddy ground out each word through clenched teeth.

He looked as if he wanted to skin the old man alive.

"Hmm?" The old man froze for a moment, then laughed dismissively and shook his head. "Impossible! Absolutely impossible! The other side was very clear; all fifty-plus of his men participated in this operation.

I also paid him a deposit of nearly a million US dollars, and his men are all veterans from war zones. They should have been more than enough to take down that old ghost and everyone else!"

The old man spoke with great confidence, though this might have been to mask his own guilt.

"Impossible? Then call him right now and ask what the hell is going on. Why would the FBI tell me they found dozens of bodies at the scene?

They even asked me how I handle things, unable to get even such a small matter right!"

Freddy was nearly driven mad with rage. Not only would this make things very difficult for the FBI, but they would also face an investigation from the FBI themselves, and in a worst-case scenario, he could be arrested directly.

His foundation here might soon be finished.

"What?"

The old man was also stunned. He was the one who had called Chris Parkman earlier.

Thinking back, the other party had indeed complained about losing a squad, but he had thought they were just trying to hike up the price.

Now it seemed...

Without another thought, he hurriedly tried to place a call, but after several attempts, the other side remained unanswered.

However, on the fourth try, the old man heard the voice and words from the other side and quickly hung up.

The FBI had answered. Even though the person didn't reveal their identity, having dealt with the FBI frequently, he could keenly sense it.

He didn't dare communicate further, fearing he would get himself involved.

It was foreseeable that the local police chief and the police force would start turning on everyone like mad; his connection with this group wasn't deep.

The reason he had joined forces with Freddy was that he wanted to use the other man's connections to reach out to the higher-ups, ideally to find a backer.

But now, the way he looked at Freddy was full of apprehension, as if Freddy were carrying some terrifying virus that might infect him at any moment.

"Boss Freddy, I think you should leave here as soon as possible. Go back, or go straight back to Mexico. As for me... I'm taking my leave."

Watching the old man depart, Freddy's expression shifted uncertainly.

He really wanted to take out the old man, but there was no longer any point, because he had to leave this place overnight.

He could guess with his eyes closed that those damn FBI agents, fearing they'd get burned themselves, would definitely do everything possible to shift all the trouble onto him.

—

Li Changsheng could feel his entire body letting out a groan of being overwhelmed.

An outburst of Hidden Jin could briefly unleash extremely fierce and swift power, equivalent to instantaneously calling upon the strength of the entire body.

Upon entering a Hidden Jin outburst, the cells become exceptionally active in that instant, the heart's pumping intensifies, blood flow accelerates, and metabolism skyrockets.

The side effects after use were body-wide pain, soreness, and weakness, much like the brief surge of adrenaline an ordinary person experiences during a crisis.

Under the stimulation of adrenaline, a person's perception of pain decreases, replaced by excitement and a feeling like being a mini-superman, with various physical attributes briefly reaching a critical point.

Buzz!~

While standing to pay the hundred-dollar meal fee, Li Changsheng felt a constant buzzing in his ears, as if he had tinnitus.

This was a physical warning sign of a crisis.

Generally speaking, similar reactions occur when mental stress is too high or there is an extreme lack of nutrition.

"Sir? Sir?"

"Ah?"

When the Young Miss serving him called out several times, Li Changsheng finally snapped out of it apologetically; his face was deathly pale and bloodless.

Frowning slightly, the bullet graze on his abdomen throbbed with pain, but it wasn't a problem; the main issue was that he was too hungry.

"Sir, your meal fee has been paid. Your table is number 23. Enjoy your meal. However, as a friendly reminder, our shop prohibits waste. For food exceeding one hundred grams, we will charge a fee for every gram over the limit."

The blonde, blue-eyed Young Miss gave a very considerate reminder.

Li Changsheng took the number plate in a daze and turned to stagger toward the food selection area.

—

American-style Western Buffet Restaurant—

Peter Luke stood at the entrance of the shop in a decent suit, looking at the passing customers with a smile.

His gaze inadvertently drifted to the Chinese buffet across the street, and he let out a "tch." The manager of the opposite shop, also standing at the entrance, frowned upon seeing this.

However, the manager stood on his tiptoes and looked around, seemingly searching for something through the glass window.

Peter Luke looked at him suspiciously and found that the lowly man from Great Xia was actually showing a gloating expression toward him.

"Shit! Those damn people from Great Xia only know how to play the cheap strategy; it's ruining the market!"

Peter Luke cursed inwardly. He indeed looked down on the other party, but he hated their price war even more; their prices were more than half as cheap as his, which led to them having several times more customers every day.

In contrast, his side seemed somewhat deserted.

"Hmph, it's just low-quality food. I'm taking the mid-to-high-end route!"

Peter Luke could only comfort himself this way.

Just then, he saw a young couple from Great Xia walking over from a distance. Seeing them constantly looking at the restaurants along the way, Luke knew they were potential customers.

Soon, the young couple arrived between the two shops. The young man from Great Xia kept looking at the Chinese buffet, while the girlfriend's eyes lit up as she looked at the Western buffet.

Seeing this, Luke understood. This couple would definitely come to his place because the woman always takes the lead in couples from Great Xia.

Sure enough, after some discussion, the young couple came to Luke's place.

Seeing this, Luke gave a cold laugh toward his rival across the street, as if showing off or engaging in an invisible contest.

But unfortunately, that guy across the street didn't show the expression he wanted to see; instead, he looked at him with a gaze full of pity.

Hmm?

Luke didn't quite understand. Had that damn guy taken the wrong medicine?

However, before long, he noticed that the couple who had just walked in were walking out again.

?

He was about to go forward and ask why. After all, leaving without even eating was a behavior that questioned the restaurant; he wanted to understand the situation.

But before he could ask, the couple had already started chatting to themselves.

"What the heck? They want a hundred dollars, but there's nothing inside."

"Yeah, Xiaoyue. Eating is the same everywhere. If you ask me, a Western buffet isn't as good as the Chinese buffet across the street.

I ate there once; they always have a lot of dishes. Unlike here, everything related to beef is empty—no, I should say most of the meat is empty.

I don't know how they dare to open a buffet shop."

The couple seemed to be international students; they were using English and speaking quite loudly, so Luke heard them clearly.

What do you mean it's all empty?"