The world has turned into Hell's Game, why should I stay human?
Chapter 170: Everyone is Being Honest, Why Aren’t You Taking Off Your Clothes?

Chapter 170: Chapter 170: Everyone is Being Honest, Why Aren’t You Taking Off Your Clothes?

"Big Brother, Big Brother, wake up."

Garlic shook Liu Zheng awake.

"Is it ready?"

He touched his forehead and asked.

"Almost there."

Garlic replied.

"Has it only been two hours?"

Liu Zheng looked at the wall clock and said.

"Big Sister changed to a pressure cooker."

"Damn!"

He looked at his own body, the skin indeed had been cooked soft and tender.

"What are you damning about, it’s not like you’re going to die."

Guo Koutangzi said impatiently.

"You try it."

Liu Zheng didn’t indulge her, directly firing back.

"I’d contaminate the flavor if I went in. Alright, you can come out now."

Guo Koutangzi said.

As soon as she finished speaking, Liu Zheng and the Flavor Gang immediately rushed up from the dock.

Even if it wouldn’t kill them, no one wanted to be cooked continuously.

"Look at you guys, still males. When I took over as the boss of the Extreme Flavor Group, I was cooked in a pressure cooker for a day and a night."

Guo Koutangzi said proudly.

"And then you cooked your brain away?"

"Do you want to keep cooking?"

Guo Koutangzi glanced sideways at Liu Zheng.

He shut his mouth and looked up at the sky.

"Hmph, men."

Guo Koutangzi scoffed, lifting the soup pot.

"A gold soup pot, a silver soup pot, none is like my iron soup pot, swift as a decree!"

She twirled the soup pot, chanting, then suddenly shouted loudly.

The entire hot spring’s water immediately rose from the ground and transformed into a long dragon, merging into the soup pot.

In just a minute or two, the hot spring had been drained completely.

And the soup pot was filled with a dense, oily soup.

"Tch."

Liu Zheng tugged at the corner of his mouth.

All that oil had been cooked out from his body.

Guo Koutangzi took a deep breath, and a mouthful of broth was sucked into her mouth.

"What a great soup."

She licked her lips, stating contentedly.

The already delicious broth had been condensed hundreds of times, making the taste buds explode with a single sip.

"Can we talk business now?"

Liu Zheng said.

"Then let’s talk about it, how do you plan on making me the underground king?"

Guo Koutangzi asked with interest.

She had knocked out Liu Zheng earlier not because she really wasn’t interested, but to prevent him from controlling the conversation.

"Oh, I didn’t mean that. I meant that you should share some soup with me."

Liu Zheng waved his hand.

"Huh?"

Guo Koutangzi wondered if she had heard wrong.

"I provided the raw material after all, it’s not too much to ask for some soup, right? You are confident in your soup cooking skills, aren’t you? I’d like to take some back to Bloody Restaurant’s head chef to see what he thinks of it."

He said.

After all, Bloody Restaurant wasn’t picky about dishes, and Feather Chicken probably wouldn’t mind the way the soup was made.

If it liked it, then he would suggest trading soup for soup.

If it wasn’t interested, then Liu Zheng could trade for something else, like insect gourmet, for example.

"Fine then..."

Not sure which of his words had persuaded Guo Koutangzi, but she agreed to Liu Zheng’s request.

She grabbed the handle of the soup pot and pulled it to the side, immediately separating an almost-illusory pot from it, filled halfway with dense soup.

Liu Zheng glanced at the main body of the soup pot, from which about a quarter was missing.

"That’s all you get, take it or leave it."

Guo Koutangzi hugged the soup pot to her chest, saying menacingly.

Just like a food-guarding husky.

"It’s just a pot of soup, look how stingy you are. We could always cook it again if needed."

He said nonchalantly.

Compared to Liu Zheng’s other experiences, being cooked was nothing, and the first half was even quite comfortable.

"Cook again? If we cook it again, we’ll start cooking your ’meat’. With what little meat you have, it’ll only last three more cooks."

Guo Koutangzi sneered.

"How come they’re fine then?"

Liu Zheng pointed at the Flavor Gang.

They had definitely been cooked more than once.

"They undergo special training. As long as it’s not too frequent, they’re fine."

Guo Koutangzi said.

"Your organization is pretty good, huh."

He said with fake admiration.

"The foundation of the Extreme Flavor Group is loyalty and righteousness. They are loyal to me, so I show them righteousness. Got a problem with that?"

"None. I’m impressed."

Liu Zheng genuinely said.

In a metropolis teeming with villains, achieving that level was practically a charity.

No wonder Guo Koutangzi, even as the boss, had only this small bathhouse to bathe in.

"Hmph, men just love to suck up."

Guo Koutangzi disregarded his compliments.

"Let’s talk business. How good are you and your underlings?"

Liu Zheng asked.

"Even Garlic, the weakest, could easily take you down."

Guo Koutangzi scoffed.

"Heh. Why don’t you order some delivery, and then we can have a proper contest?"

With the Legendary Armor effective, watch Liu Zheng smash her soup pot to pieces.

"No chance, the deliveries from Bloody Restaurant aren’t something ordinary folks can afford. But whether the taste justifies the price, that’s a different matter."

Guo Koutangzi said dismissively.

"You seem really unsatisfied with the restaurant."

He raised an eyebrow.

"Hmph, it’s nothing but monopolizing the market because of its status. If it were a fair competition, our Extreme Flavor Group wouldn’t lose to those third-rate chefs who just pile on fancy ingredients."

Guo Koutangzi spoke with a mix of disdain and envy.

"Cut it out, then why are you so insistent on stewing me?"

Liu Zheng slangily commented.

"Are you cursing me in your mind?"

Guo Koutangzi gave him a look.

"Playing the mind reading technique so shamelessly?"

"Who’s playing mind reading with you? Don’t you know that in the bathhouse, everyone is open and honest?"

Guo Koutangzi said.

"Then why aren’t you being open?"

Liu Zheng said, looking at her bathrobe.

"Want to see?"

Guo Koutangzi’s eyes flashed with a dangerous glint.

"No thanks. Back to the main point, how do you compare in strength with Niu Ma?"

Who knew what was underneath her bathrobe? What if it turned out to be a soup ladle?

"I can’t beat it, but it can’t kill me either. With my four underlings, we could probably fight it to a mutual destruction,"

Guo Koutangzi thought for a moment before saying.

"Then that’s probably good enough."

He nodded.

The strength of Niu Ma should be comparable to the bouncers of the black market.

As a representative of the underground world of Metropolis, the bouncers’ strength should be higher than that of ordinary underground forces.

With the addition of Nightingale and sea girl, smashing the Jordan family’s venues should be no issue.

Of course, the information gathering work still needs to be done well, investigate the number and manpower of the Jordan family’s venues.

"What exactly do you want us, the Extreme Flavor Group, to do?"

Guo Koutangzi was getting impatient, she was in a hurry to go back and drink some soup.

"First, you have to swear not to leak anything I tell you."

Liu Zheng said.

"Okay, I swear, no matter what you tell me, I won’t leak it."

Guo Koutangzi said bluntly.

"You know the Jordan family?"

"Don’t know."

Guo Koutangzi shook her head.

"Uh."

Liu Zheng choked; he hadn’t expected an underground boss not to know about the Jordan family.

"Don’t you guys go to underground clinics for surgeries or buy banned drugs or something?"

He asked.

"Why would we go to underground clinics? We in the Extreme Flavor Group don’t do illegal modifications. As for banned drugs, at least during my tenure, members of the Extreme Flavor Group are absolutely prohibited from touching them. Got it?"

She swept a stern gaze over the Seasoning Quartet.

"Yes sir!"

The Quartet bowed in response.

An underground organization with principles, especially in a place like Metropolis...

Liu Zheng found it slightly absurd.

Oh, it’s not an underworld group, it’s Extreme Flavor; then no problem.

Having principles is good; it makes him feel a bit more secure about cooperating with them.

"Anyway, the Jordan family’s business is underground clinics and banned drugs, as for the specifics, I still need to investigate."

"My plan is, I provide intelligence and help with the aftermath, and you, as agents, will smash the Jordan family’s underground industry. All earnings during the operation are yours, I just want a result,"

Liu Zheng said.

"What result?"

"The downfall of the Jordan family."

"You have a grudge against this Jordan family?"

Guo Koutangzi asked.

"No, they just got in my way,"

he said nonchalantly.

"That statement does sound somewhat manly."

Guo Koutangzi raised an eyebrow.

"My manliness is all in the soup."

"That’s the smell of sheep. I don’t know what this Jordan family is up to, but meddling in underground medical practices surely means they’re not a small force. We’ve only just met, and you’re daring to entrust such a task to us Extreme Flavor Group?"

Guo Koutangzi said.

"Interest aligns, and even strangers can be trusted with each other’s backs. If interests conflict, even close friends and family can end up stabbing each other in the face."

Liu Zheng said calmly.

"How can you be so sure our interests are aligned? I may not leak information to the Jordan family, but that doesn’t mean I can’t help them against you."

Guo Koutangzi said with a cold laugh.

"Helping the Jordan family against me, what would you gain from that?"

he countered.

"Money."

"Money, I can also give you, and surely more. Because I’m feeding only myself, not a whole family like the Jordan family."

"Besides money, if you guys are capable, the Jordan family’s businesses could also be handed over to you. After all, they’re not protected by the City Hall, and a Martial Arts Practitioner occupies it."

"If you feel the Extreme Flavor Group can’t handle it alone, you can also look for other collaborators. All the earnings you can divide yourselves, I just want one result."

"The Jordan family’s downfall?"

Guo Koutangzi finished the sentence for him.

"Exactly,"

Liu Zheng nodded.

"Now I’m a bit curious, what exactly did the Jordan family block you from?"

Guo Koutangzi took a puff of her pipe and said.

"Don’t be curious; knowing too much isn’t good for you."

He shook his head.

There were just too many secrets involved with him.

The sewer, Chaos Club, Garbage Processing Plant, Legendary delivery man...

Any one of these could crush the Extreme Flavor Group to smithereens.

As for Liu Zheng himself, he had debts too many to worry about, and too many lice to itch.

"All this secrecy. I don’t trust you,"

Guo Koutangzi declared.

"I expected that."

"If you want me to work with you, you’ll have to help me with one thing first."

Guo Koutangzi said.

"Go ahead."

Just as Guo Koutangzi was about to speak, a ringtone suddenly started playing.

"It’s not mine,"

she shook her head.

"Nor ours,"

The Seasoning Quartet also shook their heads.

"It’s mine,"

Liu Zheng said, recognizing the familiar ringtone.

Since when was his phone volume so loud?

As he spoke, the volume of the ringtone increased again, sounding almost deafening even through several walls.

"Two minutes,"

The ringtone suddenly turned into Si Xue’s voice.

"Damn it!"

He threw off his clothes and sprinted toward the dressing room.