Chapter 289 The MP4 Player Broke
Chapter 289 The MP4 Player Broke
It was truly a headache.
The message about Chewing Gum seemed more like a joke than a code.
After reading it over and over, Gabriel still couldn't make heads or tails of it.
It didn't seem real no matter what.
After much deliberation, he decided to follow Zoe's deduction method and had put forward two possible theories.
The first was that the paper Shawn had handed him was simply a fake.
This could explain why Shawn was so nonchalant about revealing it.
Gabriel couldn't help but feel that Shawn was placing excessive trust in him. But if it was indeed a hoax, that would mean Shawn was underestimating him.
What puzzled him was why, if this was a deception, didn't Shawn provide something more convincing?
The second theory was that the paper was genuine, but Shawn was as clueless about its contents as he was.
In this case, Shawn might have shared it with Gabriel, believing that two heads were better than one in trying to decipher the enigmatic message.
Such speculation did make sense!
A headache, indeed. Gabriel couldn't figure out which assumption was correct; he couldn't confirm which one was true. It seemed that to unravel the truth behind the information on the paper, he
needed Zoe to decipher it.
If Zoe couldn't crack it, then it was undoubtedly false.
Collecting his thoughts, he stood up, smiled with narrowed eyes, and said, "Mr. Jeff, from now on, we're in a partnership. I believe, in the near future, the entire Gumoldur City will be ours!"
Whether it was true or false, he decided to treat it as a stepping stone today.
Firstly, it postponed the confrontation to a later time.
Secondly, it allowed him to perform this act with Shawn, stirring the waters of Gumoldur City a bit more.
"Cheers to our successful collaboration!"
Shawn laughed, stood up, and shook hands with Gabriel.
Then, both of them walked out of the private room. They maintained a hostile look towards each other, a silent agreement.
"Bring these useless people back!"
Shawn waved his hand, and with the help of the police officers brought by Leonard and the unharmed Jeff family members, the injured individuals were escorted out of the bar.
Meanwhile, Sansa, puzzled by the situation, swiftly departed the scene with her son Tim.
They knew it was evident that whatever negotiations took place between Gabriel and Shawn had resulted in a compromise. Their safety appeared to be assured.
Once all members of the Jeff family had left, Gabriel turned to Thomas. "I'm sorry for this, Tom. You came here for a visit, and it's unfortunate that you ended in a hospital bed."
Taking a short break, Thomas regained some of his strength and scratched his head. "No worries. Sometimes letting out a bit of blood is good for the body."
Gabriel chuckled and said, "Haha, alright, roll into the hospital with wounded brothers!"
It was heartening to see Thomas determination.
A real man shouldn't fear pain or shedding blood.
A man who is apprehensive about such things is unmanly.
Subsequently, with the help of his Qinxi brothers, Thomas and the injured men were taken to the hospital.
Gabriel called Matilda, who promptly sent someone to handle their matters at the hospital.
Over the phone, Matilda informed Gabriel that their operations in the other two territories were proceeding as planned.
In the Enjoyable Bath, Matilda herself led an elite team from the Southern Heaven Association, decimating the remnants of the Crow Clan and forcing Crow, who had personally arrived, to flee in disarray after a confrontation that left him injured.
However, at the Heaven Sent Club, the situation was drastically different.
Lord Water, accompanied by Fat Boy and several subordinates from Ghostly Purgatory Hall, had originally planned to engage in a fierce battle with the Southern Heaven Association's forces.
However, to their surprise, Sebastian Nash, one of the four managers left behind at the Heaven Sent Club, welcomed Lord Water and voluntarily offered to cede their territory.
Lord Water was overjoyed to receive the territory and had Fat Boy arrange for his subordinates to take control of the Heaven Sent Club.
As he left, Sebastian personally accompanied him.
The two of them had a pleasant conversation, and their faces were filled with smiles. In the end, they shook hands and bid each other farewell. Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.
As for the other territories of the Southern Heaven Association, they were all empty.
The members of Ghostly Purgatory Hall made a menacing show of smashing things up but failed to find anyone.
This situation led everyone to believe that the Southern Heaven Association's days were numbered.
Everything was proceeding according to Gabriel's previous arrangements. He ended the call with Matilda and lit a cigarette, pondering the affairs of Gumoldur City.
"Damn, my song!"
He suddenly remembered the song he had heard on the MP4 player and immediately went to find the male server who had given it to him.
The male server, though injured, had not gone to the hospital and was resting against a wall.
"Not bad, you have a sense of loyalty and courage. What's your name?" Gabriel walked up to the male server, evaluated him, and asked with a smile.
The male server was covered in blood but had a resolute and unyielding look in his eyes, a remarkable man.
Earlier at the bar, only this male server was unafraid of the Jeff family and protected Kitty.
It was clear that this man was a loyal and courageous man.
"I'm Garry Willock!" the man replied.
He realized that Gabriel held extraordinary status and had witnessed Gabriel's formidable combat power, causing him to instinctively stand up straight and become more respectful.
Gabriel nodded and patted Garry on the shoulder. He smiled and said, "You're covered in blood. Why didn't you go to the hospital with the others?"
Garry shook his head and said, "Most of the blood on me is from others, and my own injuries are not serious enough to warrant a trip to the hospital."
Gabriel was quite satisfied with Garry's response.
Just like Thomas, he was another rare find.
He silently commended him and said, "Well done! By the way, where are the MP4 player and earphones that I gave you?"
He had given the earphones, which were actually large over-ear headphones, to Garry to safeguard temporarily, fearing that they might get damaged during the fight.
At a glance, he set his eyes on Garry, the one who was protecting Kitty.
Inside the MP4 player, there was a song that could open the fourth Memory Gate of Gabriel, and he needed to get it back to listen to it again.
He'd like to see if tonight he could open the gate.
"Um..." Garry froze for a moment, and turned back to look for it in anxiety, his face suddenly turning pale.
The table where the MP4 player had been placed earlier had been knocked over, and the MP4 player and earphones were nowhere to be found.
"It was right here just now!" Garry lamented.
He crawled on the ground to search and found the MP4 player had fallen under the table.
Fortunately, it was still there, not lost.
He snatched the MP4 player back, heaving a deep sigh of relief.
Just as he was secretly relieved, when he picked up the player, he wore a face full of embarrassment.
The headphones were broken, and the player seemed to have been stepped on and shattered by someone.
"You..."
Gabriel had just praised Garry and now had a negative impression of him.
"Damn, it's all broken. Can it still be played?" He was utterly exasperated and rolled his eyes at Garry.
Garry was extremely embarrassed and hurriedly explained, "Mr. Gabriel, I thought I would go help out upstairs, so I left my things here temporarily. I didn't expect..."
Kitty had been mistreated so badly, making him seethe with anger.
He had lost his temper and gone out to fight, carelessly leaving his belongings on the table.
"Alright, that's enough, don't say anything more."
Gabriel couldn't help but feel a headache coming on.
The MP4 player was now unplayable, and he didn't even know the name of the song.
Kitty was in the hospital, and it was too late to ask now.
It seemed that he wouldn't be able to listen to that song tonight and potentially unlock the fourth Memory Gate.
There was nothing he could do; he would have to wait.
At least Kitty wasn't in any life-threatening danger, and he could ask her for the song's name later.
He put away the shattered MP4 player, hoping that he might be able to repair it.
Once it was fixed, he'd have to return it to Kitty.
Feeling somewhat down, he left the bar and hailed a taxi to return to the Wallick family villa.