Chapter 576 - 591: Hotel

Xu Cheng’s statement made the customs officers nervous. ’He speaks French? Could he be telling the truth?’

Soon, the commotion drew the attention of many onlookers.

Boss Yu wore a grim expression, remaining silent with his hands clasped behind his back. In Yu the Elder’s presence, the representative from Country F began to lodge a fierce complaint against the customs staff.

The representative kept glancing over at Yu the Elder. Seeing him remain unmoved, he had no choice but to make his performance more convincing. He gestured more emphatically and spoke with a sharper tone, causing the customs officers’ expressions to sour.

"Hey—we didn’t say anything! You’re going too far."

"Please leave our work area. I don’t care who he is, he has no right to evade a customs inspection. This is our job."

The two customs officers spoke with righteous indignation. In truth, they weren’t wrong, but their methods were poor.

The commotion was getting too big. Eventually, a supervisor came over and escorted everyone away.

Inside a room, the supervisor listened to what had happened and began by feigning a reprimand of his subordinates.

But then his tone shifted. He turned to Xu Cheng and said, "In reality, we’re just doing this for national security. Surely you can understand that?"

Xu Cheng didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he turned and translated for Yu the Elder.

Yu the Elder finally deigned to look at them, his expression unreadable. "Apologize to us for their inappropriate remarks," he stated. "Otherwise, we will refuse entry and return home immediately."

Yu the Elder’s tone was firm, and Xu Cheng’s translation was even firmer.

The representative, who understood some Huaxia language, suppressed his own frustration with Yu the Elder’s group and outwardly continued to advocate for them.

Before they knew it, the situation had escalated into a diplomatic incident.

Yu the Elder’s group refused to yield an inch, putting the other side in an awkward position. Not wanting the matter to escalate further, they finally offered a superficial apology.

Regardless, the apology was at least a start.

Once the minor incident at customs was resolved, Yu the Elder and his companions passed through without further issue. They got into the car provided by their host and began driving down the avenues of Country F.

The architecture was completely different from Huaxia’s. The people of Country F were impeccably dressed. Countless small cafés lined the streets, filled with sophisticated men and women who looked to be savoring their coffee.

As they drove on, no one in the car said a word.

The representative tried to start a conversation a few times, but all he received were noncommittal grunts in response. Since his Huaxia wasn’t very fluent anyway, he eventually gave up.

"Reduce our hours!"

"We want freedom!"

"Unfair! Inhumane!"

The chants were unified, though the procession itself was somewhat disorganized. A crowd of people held up all sorts of homemade signs, each with a different slogan.

The car slowed to a stop. The road ahead was completely blocked.

The representative let out a vulgar curse. He wanted to tell the driver to turn around, but the crowd quickly swarmed the vehicle, trapping them.

"Damn it!" the representative cursed again, then turned to Yu the Elder and the others with a strained smile.

"It’s nothing, this will be over as soon as they pass by."

Xu Cheng, suddenly interested, pointed outside. "What are they doing?"

"Oh? A union strike. It’s just a bunch of malcontents. Pay them no mind."

The man’s tone was dismissive. He failed to notice the driver’s expression.

The strikers from Country F grew more and more agitated. When people gather in a crowd, their boldness grows with their numbers.

Perhaps everyone clung to the same hopeful thought: there’s safety in numbers.

’I’m just one person in a huge crowd,’ some thought. ’No one will ever notice me.’

The strike continued outside. Some people even began pounding on the car windows. The loud THUMP THUMP sounds inside the car infuriated the representative, and his language grew increasingly foul.

"A bunch of low-class pigs—"

THUD. The representative watched, stunned, as his own driver got out of the car. The driver swiftly tore off his uniform, revealing a shirt covered in slogans underneath. The representative was dumbfounded.

It was unclear what the driver said to the crowd, but the people surrounding the car grew enraged. They began smashing the windows with more force, and some even tried to wrench the doors open.

From the back seat, Xu Cheng nimbly vaulted into the driver’s seat. CLICK. CLACK. The doors locked.

"Sir, do you know the way?"

"I do. What are you doing?"

Xu Cheng smiled, turned the key, and the engine roared to life. The representative nervously tried to grab onto something, but Xu Cheng gave him no chance. The car shot forward, scattering the people in its path.

"Hey—this isn’t funny! Do you even know how to drive?!"

As he spun the steering wheel, Xu Cheng grinned cheekily at the representative. "Nope!"

After that one word, "Nope!," the car shot into reverse. A second later, he slammed the brakes, and the rear wheels spun, kicking up a cloud of smoke from the friction that blinded everyone. The crowd began to back away.

Striking was one thing; dying could wait.

Just as it seemed the tires would be ground flat, Xu Cheng executed a perfect donut, spinning the car around and flooring it toward a less crowded corner. At that speed, the people in his path screamed and scattered, dropping their signs as they fled.

CRASH! He clipped a few café tables. Xu Cheng then slammed the brakes and accelerated again. THUD. THUD. The representative was seeing stars.

In the back, however, the others—who had buckled their seatbelts at some point—were perfectly composed. Wang Qiang supported Yu the Elder, while Zhao Xin shielded An Ning. The four of them were as steady as if they were on a pleasant train ride.

Thanks to Xu Cheng’s chaotic maneuvers and his seemingly homicidal driving, they successfully broke free from the striking crowd.

"Can you give directions now? I don’t know the way."

After Xu Cheng spoke, the man beside him shakily raised a finger and silently pointed the way.

They weren’t far from their destination; it only took Xu Cheng a few minutes to get there.

The moment the car stopped, the man in the passenger seat shoved the door open and lunged out, headfirst. He collapsed onto the ground and, with a great retch, threw up everything.

Xu Cheng got out of the car and, with great concern, stood about ten feet away. "Are you alright?" he asked.

The man desperately wanted to offer an internationally recognized gesture of friendship, but he didn’t have the strength. With another retch, he was sick again.

While the man was busy being violently ill, someone finally emerged from the hotel. After checking a photograph to identify Yu the Elder, they stepped forward to express their welcome.

"I trust your journey was smooth?"

Yu the Elder shook the person’s hand, considered the question seriously, and gave a lengthy reply. Xu Cheng then dutifully stepped forward to translate.

"On the plane, we encountered a thunderstorm. After disembarking, we were insulted by your customs officials. On the way here, we ran into a strike where protesters tried to smash our car, forcing us to break through on our own. We are, at present, still alive. So yes, our journey was very smooth."

This exceptional reply made the other party chuckle awkwardly. In the end, all they could say was, "How... exciting!"

Yu the Elder continued to stare at them without a word, which only made the host more uncomfortable. Awkwardly, they invited the group into the hotel to rest.