The world has turned into Hell's Game, why should I stay human?
Chapter 173: To Capture Spider Mom’s Heart, First Capture Her Stomach

Chapter 173: Chapter 173: To Capture Spider Mom’s Heart, First Capture Her Stomach

Niu Ma, after connecting, didn’t speak at all and just hung up the phone.

After a while, rustling sounds began.

This time, Liu Zheng didn’t look up, so as not to disturb or anger it.

He took out the duplicated boiled mealworms and placed them on the floor.

The sinister crawling sound immediately stopped, and Liu Zheng could feel the tailor spider’s burning gaze passing overhead, looking at the mealworms on the ground.

"It’s okay, go ahead and eat. This is for you."

He said softly.

The tailor spider shivered but made no other move.

"If you’re feeling shy, I’ll close my eyes. Big boss, you close your eyes too,"

Liu Zheng said to Niu Ma.

"Such a hassle,"

Niu Ma murmured quietly but closed his eyes anyway.

He did the same.

A couple of minutes later, Liu Zheng felt something descend from the ceiling and land on the floor.

"That was quite a thud, looks like it’s been eating well regularly,"

he chuckled inwardly, though his face remained calm.

The tailor spider ate almost silently, and Liu Zheng could only confirm it was eating by the sound of its saliva dripping on the floor.

Five or six minutes later, he heard the sound of thread being taut.

Clearly, that was the tailor spider getting ready to leave after finishing its meal.

"Please wait a moment,"

Liu Zheng hastily said.

He secretly opened his eyes to a nearly invisible slit and caught a glimpse of the tailor spider frozen on its thread.

"I have a favor to ask. The driver wants a new uniform, see if you could help with that, we can negotiate the price."

Liu Zheng said.

The tailor spider seemed to sigh with relief, and appeared slightly troubled.

"The boiled mealworm just now was just a gift, not included in the uniform price. Feel free to state your conditions, or share any difficulties you have, after all, business should follow moral principles,"

he continued.

"Chirp."

The tailor spider finally spoke.

"Boss, what did it say?"

Liu Zheng asked.

"It said it doesn’t have enough thread for making uniforms,"

Niu Ma translated.

"Can we request more supplies?"

"Chirp chirp chirp."

"It said no, the driver isn’t close to being scrapped yet,"

Niu Ma continued to translate.

Scrapped...

So the driver isn’t actually a tank pilot, but a tank itself, right?

"What if I need to get the supplies myself?"

Liu Zheng asked.

"Chirp chirp chirp chirp."

"You would have to buy it from its relative, but it has a bad temper. If it’s not a familiar face, it would likely eat them right away,"

Niu Ma translated.

Whether it’s social anxiety or irritability, can’t your family have any normal spiders?

"Do you have any token I could take there?"

He pondered and asked.

"Chirp chirp chirp."

The tailor spider’s voice seemed a bit helpless.

"There is, but it’s useless. Ever since its relative took a big loss on an investment, it’s been even more confused, recognizing them is already quite an achievement,"

"Then why do you still let it take jobs? Isn’t this tarnishing your family’s reputation?"

Liu Zheng bewilderedly spoke.

The eerie residents he had encountered were mostly rational and capable of communication, it just depended on whether they were willing to communicate.

"Chirp."

"No choice, only it can produce that kind of thread. Otherwise, we would have cleaned house long ago,"

"Please think of some way, there are plenty of insect delicacies available,"

Liu Zheng bowed deeply.

The tailor spider seemed stunned by his Japanese-style plea and remained silent for a while.

"Chirp chirp chirp."

"It said if you can get it a full All Worm Banquet, it can give you the skin it sheds to use as a disguise,"

"Shed skin? Isn’t it a spider?"

Liu Zheng curiously asked.

"Who said a spider can’t shed its skin?"

Niu Ma retorted.

"...Alright."

He was heading to the kitchen anyway, might as well ask.

"Chirp."

"Next time just call directly, no need to tear up the clothes; they’re quite a hassle to mend. Also, intentionally damaging the uniform incurs a 500 fine, deducted from your salary,"

Niu Ma translated.

"Ok."

A 500 fine isn’t much, especially since it’s deducted from the salary.

Hilarious, Liu Zheng never really expected to receive a salary.

There were more rustling sounds, and the break room fell silent.

"Alright, it’s gone,"

Niu Ma said.

"Then I’m off to the kitchen,"

Liu Zheng opened his eyes and glanced at the soup pot.

Um, nothing’s missing.

"What are you looking at? You think I’d drink your bathwater?"

Niu Ma was very dissatisfied with his distrust.

"I was afraid it might evaporate."

He quickly made up an excuse, then picked up the soup pot and walked out of the break room, heading straight for the kitchen.

As he lifted the curtain door, a wave of heat and noise hit him in the face.

Today seemed to be a good business day; almost all the stoves were lit, and the chefs and kitchen helpers were bustling about.

White Feather Chicken, however, was completely unperturbed, patrolling the kitchen with its wings folded back.

"Boss Napoleon, I’m here!"

Liu Zheng called out.

Even though he was loud, his voice was drowned out by the kitchen noises.

Liu Zheng strongly suspected that if he worked in this environment for a day, he would need a pair of new ears.

Fortunately, White Feather Chicken had already seen him.

It strolled over to face Liu Zheng, motioned for him to squat down, and then spoke into his ear.

"What are you here for?"

"The boss said a customer ordered the Black Mountain Goat Cub hot pot and asked me to supply it to you," Liu Zheng said loudly.

"Have you been causing trouble again?"

"Can’t help it, delivery is tough," he spread his tentacles.

"Excuses, you just want to make trouble," White Feather Chicken stated pointedly.

"Ah haha."

Liu Zheng gave a forced laugh.

It wasn’t his boss, so there was no need to explain further.

"Then come with me to the slaughter room," said White Feather Chicken.

Like human beings and other "dirty" ingredients, they would not be butchered in the kitchen to avoid contamination.

"Chef, do you need any help?"

San Huamao was washing vegetables and shook his ears upon hearing their conversation, then turned around and took the initiative to offer help.

"No need, just do your own thing. The boss hasn’t killed him, so he certainly won’t die here," White Feather Chicken said.

Liu Zheng mouthed a "thank you" to San Huamao.

"Oh. Hehe."

San Huamao licked his paw bashfully and then continued washing vegetables.

"Come with me," said White Feather Chicken, leading Liu Zheng deeper into the kitchen.

"I heard you installed a second-hand chandelier for Britain?"

It suddenly asked.

"I’m only responsible for procurement, not installation," he corrected.

Liu Zheng wasn’t curious about how White Feather Chicken knew; Niu Ma had informants in customer service, so it made sense that White Feather Chicken would too.

"It bought a lot of ’consumables’ from me, including some of your humans," said White Feather Chicken.

"Did it include any of your White Feather Chickens?"

he countered.

As soon as he finished speaking, the entire kitchen fell silent.

Even the previously raging flames seemed to behave.

"Are you trying to provoke me?"

White Feather Chicken stopped in its tracks and asked slowly.

Even though it was looking up at Liu Zheng, he felt as if it were looking down on him, like an eagle eyeing a ground mole under its talons.

But he had long been used to looking up.

"You’re the one trying to provoke me. Chef Napoleon, I’m just your colleague, not your subordinate. I’m under no obligation to entertain your morbid curiosity," he said calmly.

Was Liu Zheng angry? Of course, he was angry.

But would he take the blame? No, he wouldn’t.

Since becoming commodities, the fate of those humans had already been sealed.

Whether it was more cruel to die by abuse or to be turned into food, Liu Zheng didn’t know and didn’t want to know.

He was just an ordinary man struggling to survive in the Metropolis, even verging on the inhuman in his fight to live.

All he could do was chalk this up as a debt, and if he ever got the chance, he would pull that chandelier down from Britain and stuff it up their own rears.

"You’ll pay for your insolence soon," White Feather Chicken said coldly.

The kitchen was the most crucial department of the Bloody Restaurant, and the chef’s authority was absolute, even over employees of other departments.

"Don’t take it personally, Chef. You know, my brain isn’t quite right, and it’s acting up again," Liu Zheng said with a grin.

"Why don’t you try some of the soup I made to cool down your temper?"

"Soup? You think you’re fit to make soup?" White Feather Chicken said with disdain.

As the main chef of Bloody Restaurant, it could somewhat gauge other people’s cooking skills.

In its eyes, Liu Zheng’s cooking skills were even worse than San Huamao’s.

"How will you know if you don’t try?"

He took out the soup pot from the delivery box.

"I don’t need to try it to know that what you’ve cooked is just a pot of piss. Hm?"

White Feather Chicken fluttered its wings slightly to waft the aroma of the soup, separating it from the complex odors of the kitchen.

"This pot of piss, no, this pot of soup, did you really make this?"

It took a deep breath, incredulous.