In an instant, Christopher’s words wiped the smile off Carl’s face; the man’s expression darkened while anger found its way to his face in the form of a vibration, giving the fat on his face a sharp jiggle. Then, he let out a cold scoff. “Don’t feel like paying, you say? Do you have a death wish, you punk? Do you think my restaurant is somewhere you can come and go as you please? I’ll break your legs if you don’t pay for your meal today!” His threatening voice echoed loudly in the restaurant. With a flick of his hand, the waiter who was wearing the same sarcastic smirk quickly went and closed the door. At the same time, several burly men in black appeared out of nowhere, surrounding Christopher and Samantha at once. Christopher tensed up a little before he immediately regained his senses. This restaurant has quite the trick… How interesting. When Carl noticed that Christopher was being surrounded by his men with no escape, a satisfied look appeared on his face. He said casually, “If you don’t pay me now, you’re going to have to crawl out of here.” Christopher didn’t respond; he simply took out his phone to make a call. His gesture made it seem like he was about to call the police. At the sight of that, Carl scoffed. “How innocent! Our restaurant would’ve been long gone if the police were of any help to people like you!” “What an idiot! Don’t you know we have ties with the Bureau of Labor Statistics?” The waiter eyed Christopher’s gesture deridingly as well; he didn’t even bother hiding the mockery in his speech. Meanwhile, Christopher ignored their rude remarks and quickly called Brian on his phone. After a few seconds, a timid and people-pleasing voice rang in his ear. “Is there anything you need help with, Mr. Christopher?” “Yes, I’m having a meal somewhere and I ordered a few dishes, but I was charged 100,000 for it. I’m at…” After giving him all the information, Christopher hung up the call without waiting for Brian to respond. ...... Meanwhile, at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Brian’s call disconnected after a few words from Christopher. At once, he knew that the latter was already in a bad mood; he tensed up a little as he recalled the 100,000 that Christopher had just told him about, and his face darkened in anger as well. “What on earth are those guys from the Bureau of Labor Statistics doing? How did something like this happen right under their noses? More importantly, they were even caught by Christopher himself; I’ll be in trouble if I can’t set this straight.” Brian clutched the phone in his hands tightly, and cold sweat beaded on his palms as he panicked. Someone from the Bureau of Labor Statistics was probably supporting that restaurant secretly in order for a scam like this to work. Hence, it seemed like Brian had no choice but to expose the spy today. With that, he took a deep breath and made a call to the Bureau—after all, they were the ones responsible for finalizing the prices of food in such restaurants. Thus, this issue couldn’t be solved without their help. After ending the call, Brian quickly gathered a few of his team members and headed over to the restaurant that Christopher was at. ...... … Around 20 minutes after his phone call with Brian, the wait was finally over for Christopher as he saw Brian arriving. Next to him, the unassuming Carl instantly turned as pale as a sheet at the sight of the newcomer’s face. Brian was the deputy director of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry—naturally, Carl knew that very well. Outside, Brian was wearing a black suit with a pair of glasses; his forehead creased deeply due to his tight frown. He quickened his steps as soon as he saw Christopher and headed up to him in a hurry. At that moment, cold sweat trickled down Carl’s forehead; his legs even felt numb all of a sudden. He then shot a glance at Christopher—who was as calm as a lake—and thought to himself, Does this young man have both money and power? That can’t be possible! Horrified shock filled his face as he considered that possibility. He would be doomed if Brian was actually a close contact of this young man. After all, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry was fully capable of revoking the business license of any restaurant! If he were to have his license revoked, he wouldn’t be able to run his restaurant ever again! Carl didn’t expect himself to be so unfortunate today, for his plan had completely backfired! Just then, Brian and his team entered the shop and showed them their relevant verifications. Carl was already dumbfounded at this point, and he backed away all of a sudden. Regardless of his sheer audacity, he was nothing more than a regular citizen; to go against the government was obviously suicide. Brian’s dark expression instantly brightened into a smile as soon as his eyes met Christopher’s. “I apologize for being late, Mr. Christopher. These people didn’t do anything to you, did they?” Christopher shook his head, but he pointed his finger at Carl with a slight smile. “I’m just curious about one thing—how are you planning to deal with Carl and his bunch, Deputy Director Hughes? His menu really scared me to death!” Brian shuddered at the sound of Christopher’s words; he took the menu from Christopher’s hand and skimmed through it with a solemn expression. By the time he finished looking at the menu, he was so cold with fury that he looked like he could kill someone. Then, he whirled around and looked toward Carl. “Carl, am I right? You’ve got some nerve—charging 10,000 for a basic dish like this! Nice, very nice!” Brian mercilessly smacked the menu straight into Carl’s face as he scolded him disdainfully. Carl stood up from his seat, quivering in fear as he did so. Meanwhile, his overbearing demeanor from earlier was long gone. He hung his head and said softly, “D-Deputy Director Hughes, our menu has already been approved by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.”Brian stared fixedly at Carl; his eyes were sharp and filled with hostility. Carl’s attempt to explain himself seemed to be the last straw, and Brian instantly exploded with anger. “Very well. Let’s wait until the Bureau arrives, then!” He let out a cold scoff in the midst of his immense anger. Then, he went over and stood next to Christopher without saying another word. After a long time, two middle-aged men arrived at the restaurant. One of them wore a yellow buttoned-up shirt, whereas the other one was in a grey jacket. They hurried inside as well with their eyes fixed on Brian as he stood next to Christopher. The two men quickly took out their certificates to confirm their identities—they were the director and deputy director from the Bureau of Labor Security. They had rushed to the scene without a second’s delay after receiving Brian’s call. Once they stepped through the door, they immediately noticed the menu. With that, their faces took a dark turn instantly. In particular, the deputy director looked especially disturbed when he saw Brian and the menu. “Tell them, Uncle. These prices on the menu were legally approved, right?” A sly grin immediately appeared on Carl’s face when he saw the deputy director. He went up to the man and tugged his arm excitedly. Everyone in the room was astonished at the sound of Carl’s words. However, they understood what was happening right away. The Bureau of Labor Security’s deputy director was none other than Carl’s uncle. Hence, it was no wonder he was able to set such bizarre prices on his menu. “Shut up! Who are you calling Uncle? I’ve never agreed to such prices on the menu!” The deputy director silently cursed Carl for his blatant pleading before viciously bellowing denials at his nephew.