America: Starting from collecting corpses, leveling up to godhood

Chen Ming squatted down, grabbed the manager's left arm (which was wearing a Rolex), and pressed his thumb firmly on the ulnar nerve tubercle at the manager's elbow.

A sharp, piercing pain instantly coursed through his body, causing the manager to convulse as if he had been electrocuted.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch... Let go! I'll give you whatever you want. My car keys and wallet are in my left pocket, with a few hundred dollars in cash... Take it all!"

The manager lowered his voice and begged for mercy repeatedly, afraid of angering the madman in front of him wearing a Batman mask.

"You think I'm wearing this to rob people in alleyways? What kind of hellish joke are you using to insult the mask on my face?"

Chen Ming increased the pressure on his hand, causing the manager to roll his eyes in pain.

"What do you want? Please, brother, my Kuaishou app is ruined..."

"Two things." Chen Ming patted his chubby face, which was covered in cold sweat.

"First, immediately transfer all the withheld wages to the restaurant staff. Second, I need the password to the electronic safe in your restaurant manager's office..."

The manager's eyes widened suddenly, and he sobered up considerably in an instant.

"Who...who are you? An undercover agent for the tax bureau? No, I can't say. There are ledgers and purchase orders inside. If they leak out, the boss will kill me..."

"I'm a law-abiding citizen of Los Angeles... but if you don't tell me, I'll just kill you."

Chen Ming moved his fingers to his armpit and pressed down hard.

"I'll talk, I'll talk!!!" The manager completely broke down, wailing and crying.

"The password is 0418... Please, please don't press it, I'm really going to die!"

Chen Ming released his grip and looked at the tattooed manager huddled in the garbage heap, shivering.

"Tomorrow you'll have to return all the withheld wages to my friends, and don't even think about calling the police or changing the password. The LAPD takes at least forty minutes to respond, but it only takes me four minutes to find you... I don't have a principle of not killing."

"I understand, I'll pay you first thing tomorrow morning!"

Chen Ming turned and walked out of the back alley, tearing off the Batman mask and stuffing it into his pocket.

Half an hour later, at the back door of the Green Tree Restaurant.

Los Angeles was unusually quiet at three in the morning. Chen Ming used a tool to open the back door and easily made his way to the manager's office, where he pressed 0418 on the electronic safe.

"drop--"

The safe popped open.

Inside were three large stacks of cash that hadn't yet been deposited in the bank, as well as the purchase invoices and ledgers that Michel had been longing for.

Chen Ming ignored the cash and picked up the top purchase order to examine it.

"At the city center's cheap overstock wholesale market, you can buy a pound of Grade III Argentine red shrimp that's nearing its expiration date for just two dollars..."

Chen Ming sneered.

These trash can be sold for eighty dollars a serving in the front hall; the profit margin is so high that even Mexican drug lords would drool over them…

He raised his phone, started snapping photos of the receipt repeatedly, and sent them to Michelle.

Chen Ming: "It's all here, including their black market receipts for purchasing industrial pigments and prohibited additives."

Michelle: "Got it, well done Chen! I can't wait to see what the entire California vegan community looks like tomorrow morning..."

After sending the last photo, Chen Ming was about to close the safe.

Suddenly, a very faint sound of shattering glass came from the hallway outside the door, followed by deliberately lowered footsteps.

There were not only people, but at least three people could be heard making noise.

"They actually dare to call for help..." Chen Ming's eyes turned cold.

He immediately pulled out his Batman mask, put it back on, and shrank into the shadows behind the door.

The footsteps in the corridor grew closer, accompanied by hushed, broken English.

"Hurry up, this shabby shop doesn't even have a security system!"

"Same as always, take all the money from the cash register in the front hall. Forget about those copper pots, they're too heavy and they're not worth much even if you sell them for scrap!"

"Hey, look over there! The manager's office door is open, and the safe looks open too!"

Three young Black men wearing hoodies and baseball caps rushed in, carrying flashlights.

Chen Ming, hiding in the shadows, burst into laughter.

It turns out to be a unique Los Angeles-style "zero-dollar shopping" late-night intensive course.

"We've struck it rich! There's cash!" The leader dropped the crowbar in his hand and excitedly rushed towards the safe.

"Something's not right. It looks like someone came here beforehand... What if the police come?" Another Black man nervously swallowed.

"What's there to be afraid of? California law considers stealing under $950 a misdemeanor, and the police won't be here for at least forty minutes. We'll grab it and leave!"

Before he could finish speaking, a hand suddenly reached out from the darkness and precisely chopped the neck of the leading black man.

The latter didn't even make a sound before being soothed to sleep and falling to the ground.

"What the hell—"

The remaining two turned around abruptly.

They were met with a Batman mask and two heavy blows.

Chen Ming controlled his strength perfectly, only causing the person to faint without injury.

boom!boom!

In less than ten seconds, the three black guys were lying neatly on the carpet.

"Zero-dollar shopping has run into Batman... You guys probably didn't say hello to Jesus before you left home today."

Chen Ming clapped his hands, looked at the three unlucky guys in front of him, and a perfect plan to take the blame came to mind.

He grabbed each of the three men by the collar and dragged them into the kitchen, then hung a heavy padlock on the outside.

With these three free suspects around, the police will definitely cordon off the scene tomorrow, and that way no one will suspect that the restaurant's secrets were seen and leaked by a temporary kitchen helper...

After doing all this, Chen Ming took out his phone.

Chen Ming: "Mission accomplished."

Michelle: "Great, you should get out of here now... check carefully, and make sure you don't leave any fingerprints or anything."

Chen Ming: "Don't worry, I also left a big surprise for the restaurant owner. The three burglars who were just knocked unconscious are now locked in the kitchen to spend the night with the seafood."

Michelle: "What kind of monster are you... But this is too perfect. Tomorrow when the police investigate the scene, those industrial pigments and illegal additives will be impossible to hide. These guys are doomed!"

Chen Ming: "This is called making good use of Los Angeles' local resources to draw fire for us... See you tomorrow."

Chen Ming pulled off his mask, pushed open the back door, chuckled, and disappeared into the night.

……

The next day, Chen Ming strolled to the neighborhood where the Green Tree Restaurant was located as scheduled.

From afar, you could see flashing red and blue police lights, two layers of yellow police tape, a news channel broadcast van parked on the side of the road, and a conspicuous "Order to Close" seal on the restaurant's glass door.

Chen Ming pretended nothing had happened, put his hands in his pockets and strolled over, where he bumped into Heck and the others.

"What's going on? You're not preparing any food today?" Chen Ming asked casually.

Heck is smoking.

"Prepare my ass, we're all unemployed, bro... This lousy shop looks like it's completely finished."

"What happened?"

"Something terrible happened this morning. Three idiots who buy things for free came to steal last night, but somehow they locked themselves in the kitchen..."

Chen Ming raised an eyebrow.

"The police shut down the store just to catch three thieves?"

"No... it's because when the LAPD went in to arrest the suspect, he struggled and knocked over the condiment rack. A packet of energy powder spilled all over the officer and was even inhaled," Heck explained, gesturing wildly.