The North American Gourmet Demon Handbook

The time limit also matches what happened to Enzo and Al.

Romano then proved that he had indeed made great efforts to study Japanese culture in order to promote antidepressants.

"That's right! In Japanese Shinto sorcery, dusk is also called the hour of meeting the devil! And dawn is called the hour of exorcising the devil!"

"Dusk and dawn are both chaotic times, the alternation of yin and yang. Dusk is especially important. The barrier of day is weak, and the other side is open, making it easy to be drawn into ominous things and taboos..."

"And dawn is when the power of purification is at its strongest..."

Li Shanze never expected to hear such authentic Japanese culture as Onma no Ki from an Italian. He raised his eyebrows in surprise.

Romano, who had been talking nonstop for a long time, then continued to summarize: "So, I think this great witchcraft hidden in Kaguya Town may have borrowed some Eastern witchcraft, and even the Japanese in Kaguya Town were personally involved..."

"Ha! That's true. If we put it in the perspective of the Japanese, you guys who used them for human experiments arrived in Kaguya Town at sunset, which is the time of the Demonic Hour, and left at sunrise, which is naturally the time of the Demonic Exorcism. And the whole night is naturally the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons."

Li Shanze said sarcastically with interest.

Li Shanze certainly did not sympathize with the Japanese, but when he thought about it from a different perspective, he felt that perhaps the barrier was not an obstacle for him.

After all, in the eyes of those Japanese, Li Shanze himself is the "devil" who is looking for their lives.

Since he is a demon, it is only natural for him to use the Demonic Moment to break into Kaguya Town.

Moreover, even the somewhat crazy Bai Ligen, a pure test subject, could instruct the Vitali brothers to leave Kaguya Town at dawn, which shows that the rules of this barrier are not that complicated.

Since it is Japanese witchcraft, the rules are always ambiguous and there are many loopholes to exploit.

After Li Shanze thought for a moment, his gaze fell on Romano again. His tone was as calm as a pool of stagnant water, and no emotion could be heard in his voice.

"I don't have any more questions for now. Thank you for your cooperation, Mr. Romano," Li Shanze said formally. "If you have any further questions, I will continue to ask you."

Romano lay on the cold floor, and couldn't help but curl his lips inwardly when he heard these words.

What the hell is this interrogation? I wasn't even allowed to sit down. I was stepped on the floor the entire time, wriggling like a ridiculous worm. This is simply the most inhumane interrogation in history!

He stripped the Drummond family of their underwear, and in return all he got was a cold "thank you for your cooperation"?

However, his instinct for survival made him immediately suppress all his dissatisfaction. He tried to force a flattering smile, twisting his fat body on the ground, trying to make himself look more pitiful.

"Agent Li, look... I'm telling you everything I know. I'm not hiding anything."

Romano's voice was pleading. He tried to lift his handcuffed hands, but it was just a futile struggle.

"Could you...could you help me remove the handcuffs? Or at least let me sit up or stand up? The floor is so cold, my old bones can't stand it..."

Seeing that Li Shanze did not respond immediately, he quickly added, his tone showing a hint of eagerness to express his loyalty.

"I've sold out the Drummond family completely. You don't have to worry about me having other ideas. I've completely drawn a line between myself and them! I swear, I'll never have anything to do with them again!"

He even wanted to raise his hands to swear, but the handcuffs restricted his movements and he could only twist and turn even more violently on the ground.

Li Shanze sneered, "You didn't lose a leg like Mr. Vikram Chandrasekhar did. I was merciful to you because you behaved well. You should be grateful, Mr. Romano, right?"

At this moment, the cell door opened and Charlie, wearing a black classical dress, walked in.

Her face looked extremely serious.

Author's words: Thanks to Qianxiao Anran and Xiaopingguo112633 for their recommendation votes

On Sunday, I went out to help my friend who was developing the game to fill in the crowd at the game exhibition. As a result, I got a bit of heatstroke, so there is only one update today. Please forgive me...

340 Charlie's Anger

Charlie's long black skirt, which almost dragged to the ground, brushed lightly against the cold ground with her steps, making a slight friction sound.

Romano reluctantly turned his head, only to see a glimpse of a black skirt and a pair of exquisite leather shoes. He knew it was a woman coming in. He felt a pang in his heart: women are always more sympathetic than men. Perhaps this was his last chance.

Romano was about to speak when he heard Li Shanze's voice.

When Li Shanze faced this woman, there was an obvious gentleness in his words, which was completely different from the coldness and toughness when he faced Romano.

There was a hint of smile in Li Shanze's words: "Dear, you are here."

Xia Li walked slowly to Li Shanze and responded softly, "Yes, dear. Is everything settled?"

Darling? Are they lovers?

Romano's eyes suddenly lit up, as if he had grasped the last straw.

Women are easily soft-hearted, while men are happy to show their magnanimity in front of their lovers!

Therefore, Romano didn't care about Li Shanze's previous threat, nor did he care about his own current embarrassment - or rather, the more embarrassed he was, the better.

Romano twisted his body desperately, trying to make his voice sound more pitiful and helpless.

"Good lady! Please! Look at me, a patient, lying on this cold floor, my hands and feet shackled, unable to move... This is like hell!"

Romano's voice was filled with tears, and his fat face was filled with pleading.

"You are so beautiful and kind, you can't bear to see an innocent person suffer like this, right?"

"Please, have mercy on me, sir, and let this gentleman uncuff me, so that I can at least sit up, or stand up! I promise, I won't cause you any trouble, I just want to be a little more decent and comfortable..."

He begged bitterly, placing all his hopes on Charlie, completely unaware that he was begging for mercy from a soul that he had pushed into the abyss with his own hands.

The batch of therapeutic drugs he sent was the culprit that eventually led to the death of Barnum, the woman who adopted Charlie and was regarded as her mother and teacher.

Each of Romano's pleas was like a blunt knife, gently scraping across Charlie's heart, which had been hardened by hatred and sorrow, but it could not cause the slightest ripple, only a deeper coldness.

Charlie's gaze fell on Romano's fat, distorted, pleading face. A silent storm was brewing in his once deep eyes.

The reason why she had been suppressing her emotions and never stepped into the cell was to avoid interfering with Li Shanze's interrogation.

She knew that Li Shanze needed to dig out the secrets of the Drummond family from this man, and if her anger erupted at an inappropriate time, it would only make everything complicated and confusing.

That's why Charlie has been trying so hard to suppress the grief and anger in her heart.

But now, the interrogation is over.

Li Shanze's words, "I don't have any more problems for now," were like a clarion call of relief for Xia Li. She had taken the initiative to walk into the cell just to deal with this man.

Romano's pleading, words like "good lady", "beautiful and kind", "innocent person", etc., were like sharp ice picks, piercing Charlie's heart.

How dare he act pitiful in front of her? How dare he beg for mercy from her?

How dare this executioner, who personally delivered the poison to Barnum and pushed her teacher and her adoptive mother into the abyss of death, have the nerve to play the victim in front of her?

Charlie's face turned red with anger.

She took a slow step forward, the hem of her black dress trailing silently on the ground like the cloak of death.

Her voice was eerily calm, and every word seemed to be chiseled out of an ice cellar.

"Innocent people?" Charlie repeated Romano's words softly, with an imperceptible tremor in her tone, which was the extremely suppressed anger boiling under the calm surface.

“You, Marco Giuseppe Romano, senior vice president of global market access and pricing strategy at Johnson & Johnson, call yourself an innocent man?”

Romano was startled by Charlie's voice, it was so cold that it chilled him to the core.

He realized that he might have said something wrong, so he raised his head with difficulty and finally saw Charlie's face clearly.

It was a beautiful cheek, flushed with anger.

Her eyes were bottomless, as if they could suck people in.

Under Charlie's gaze, Romano felt an unprecedented fear. His intuition was screaming, telling him that this woman was far more terrifying than Li Shanze.

"Ma'am… I, I…" Romano stammered, trying to explain, but was interrupted by Charlie's cold voice.

"Those 'cures' you sent me caused my teacher, Barnum, to fail in suppressing the recursive boiling."

Charlie's voice suddenly rose a little, but still maintained a strange calm. Every word was like thunder, exploding in Romano's ears.

"You pushed her to death with your own hands. You destroyed my world with your own hands."

Romano's pupils suddenly constricted and his fat body stiffened.

Barnum? Was this woman Barnum's student? The medicine he had sent... He finally understood that his pleading wasn't a plea for mercy, but rather a provocation of an already enraged beast.

Charlie's eyes became sharp as a knife. She looked down at Romano, who was trembling like a sieve, and said slowly, "Do you think I will be soft-hearted towards you?"

Charlie's voice was low and dangerous, every word filled with extreme hatred.

"Do you think I'll make you more respectable and comfortable?"

She stretched out her hand, her fingers emitting a witchcraft glow, and she summoned a wizard's hand. This hand summoned by witchcraft gently fell on Romano's fat cheek and slowly stroked it.

Romano felt the touch was as cold as the scales of a venomous snake.

"No, Mr. Romano." Charlie sneered, and that smile was more frightening than crying.

"You will not be honored, nor will you be comfortable. You will pay for your crimes in a place deeper than hell."

"And I will make sure that you feel a hundred, a thousand times the pain that Mr. Barnum endured."

As she spoke, Charlie waved her hand, and the wizard's hand she summoned with undeniable strength pinched Romano's fat chin, forcing him to look up and look into her eyes burning with the flames of revenge.

Romano was so frightened that he was shaking all over, and his clothes were instantly soaked with cold sweat.

The angry blush on Charlie's face had gradually faded, and she showed a faint smile.

"From what I understand, you're a wizard of the Seething Sage School, and you could even be considered a student of Mr. Barnum. So, Mr. Romano, please allow me to test you on your behalf. Do you know recursive seething?"

Romano's panic reached its peak. He tried desperately to use witchcraft to escape from the current predicament, but he always failed.

He had to force himself to calm down and answer Charlie's questions to buy time.

"Yes, yes! Mr. Barnum once—"

"You murderer! You're not worthy of calling her teacher!" Charlie interrupted angrily.

Then, the wizard's hand, which was pinching Romano's chin and forcing him to look up, suddenly loosened.

Romano's jaw slammed against the floor of the RV. The intense pain made his vision go black, and his mouth instantly filled with the taste of blood. His tongue was scratched by his teeth.

Before he could even open his mouth to cry out in pain, the wizard's hand, which seemed to have infinite strength, slapped his left cheek with lightning speed.

Snapped!

The sound of a slap echoed in the small cell. Romano's head whipped to the right, leaving five bright red fingerprints on his fat cheek. Before he could recover from the blow, the wizard's hand swung back and landed harshly on his right cheek.

Snapped!

Another loud slap, and Romano's head was thrown to the left again. His cheeks swelled up at a visible rate, and blood oozed from the corners of his mouth. He felt dizzy, his ears tinnitus continued, and he saw stars, as if the whole world was shaking.

Charlie's eyes were as cold as two thousand-year-old ice blocks. She watched Romano struggling on the ground like a whipped fat fish, her face expressionless.

"I'll give you one more chance." Charlie's voice remained calm, yet carried an undeniable authority. "What should you call her?"

Romano lay on the ground, his cheeks burning with pain, his tongue aching even more, and his mouth full of the taste of blood.

He trembled, and with difficulty changed his words in an unclear voice with a crying tone.

"Ms. Barnum...Ms. Barnum once said..." He changed his words almost with instinctive fear.

"Recursive boiling... Recursive boiling is the process of using an alchemical potion to solve all problems, resulting in the potion's infinite self-referential nature... Ultimately, the alchemist's entire body will be replaced by the potion's products, causing existence to evaporate in the boiling..."

Romano felt aggrieved, like a child who was punished by the teacher for being naughty in class. He sobbed and recited the text in a halting manner.

"Very good. Congratulations, Mr. Romano. You will be the first wizard to experience the recursive boiling of the Delusion Society school. This honor is not something that everyone can have."

Charlie gave a beautiful smile.

But in Romano's eyes, that smile was more terrifying than the devil's grin.

Author's words: I forgot to set the timer to publish, Orz

Thanks to Qianxiao Anran for the recommendation vote

341 Enlightenment

Before Romano could utter a sound, the wizard's hand struck again.

This time, the wizard's hands roughly pinched Romano's cheeks and forced his jaw open. Romano's mouth was stretched to the limit, making a teeth-grinding sound of bones grinding.

Then, Charlie took out a small glass bottle from the pocket of her long skirt.

The bottle contained a strange liquid, which was dark purple in color and had an ominous shimmer on its surface, as if countless tiny bubbles were silently rolling inside.

Without hesitation, she removed the cork from the bottle, then tilted it down towards Romano's forcibly pried open mouth.

The cold liquid, with an indescribable fishy sweetness, poured straight into Romano's throat.

He struggled desperately, making a "ho ho" sound in his throat as he tried to spit out the horrible potion, but the wizard's hand clamped his head tightly, leaving him no room to resist.