The world has turned into Hell's Game, why should I stay human?
Chapter 77: No One Will Survive

Chapter 77: Chapter 77: No One Will Survive

"Handsome, can you help me take out the rice cooker?"

Funeral clothes old lady repeated again.

"Can’t you take it yourself?"

Liu Zheng cautiously used honorifics.

"I’m old now, my legs aren’t nimble, and I can’t lift my arms."

Funeral clothes old lady sighed.

"Poor old woman I am, with a son who isn’t filial, a daughter-in-law who isn’t filial, and over a hundred daughters who are all ingrates."

As she spoke, she started sobbing.

Although you could hear the crying, there were no tears to be seen.

Over a hundred daughters, did you study ’Postpartum Care of Sows’ by any chance?

"Do all your daughters’ names contain a ’Di’?"

"Yes. Handsome, how did you know?"

Funeral clothes old lady asked.

"I’m somewhat familiar with folk customs."

No wonder her son and daughters are unfilial.

Over a hundred ’Di’ barely bring any brothers. Clearly, it’s a case of being unwilling to come and another of being unwilling to call.

A situation which both sides are unwilling about can hardly be good, can it?

"No wonder, Handsome, one look at you and anyone can tell you’re an educated man, with a good job and good looks, definitely kind-hearted and classy."

Funeral clothes old lady muttered auspicious words.

Liu Zheng looked at his Yellow Vest, then at his very anthropomorphic dignity, feeling deeply that old ginger still packs a punch.

"Handsome, you wouldn’t be unwilling to help, right?"

Funeral clothes old lady’s tone gradually grew colder.

White hairs sprang out of her blusher, resembling both the sinister whiskers of zombies and the mustache of rats.

And her figure became more hunched, her back bulging high like a pregnant woman’s belly.

"Help, I must help!"

Liu Zheng decisively said.

"As a model youth of the new era, an outstanding employee of Bloody Restaurant, a revered owner at Jiahe New Residence, how could I not support the weak and oppose the strong?"

"Handsome, I can’t remember so many names."

"That’s fine, you can just call me Niu Ma."

He said kindly.

"Then, Little Niu, please hurry and take out the rice cooker. The family is waiting to use it for cooking."

Funeral clothes old lady urged.

"It’s not that I don’t want to help, it’s just that I’m incapable."

Liu Zheng sighed.

"You have hands and feet, how can you be incapable?"

Funeral clothes old lady grew impatient.

"Don’t deceive me, old woman. My son deceives me, my daughter deceives me, and now you’re deceiving me too. What’s become of this world?"

"I can’t live on, I can’t live on anymore, they all don’t want me to live."

Her speech grew increasingly indistinct.

Her long tongue lolled out, dripping fetid saliva drop by drop onto the floor, corroding tiny honeycombed holes.

And her fingernails started growing, the edges of her dark blue nails sharpening like daggers.

"You don’t let me live, you all can’t live either!"

She screeched miserably, like it was a burst of venting after enduring much injustice.

"Who is not letting you live?"

Liu Zheng frowned and said.

"You not picking up the rice cooker means you don’t want me to live."

"Please, Handsome, for goodness’ sake. Isn’t it enough if I kneel for you?"

The old lady in funeral clothes abruptly knelt down, crushing several floor tiles.

"It’s not that I don’t want to help you; it’s truly beyond my ability."

He said helplessly.

"With so many tentacles, can’t you spare one to pick up the rice cooker for me?"

Old lady in funeral clothes demanded.

Just as she finished speaking, three flashes of blade light shone bright.

Liu Zheng, holding a boning knife, cut off his last tentacle.

"Now I have none."

He spat out the boning knife, smiling as he said.

"But you still have a mouth, don’t you? You could pick it up with that."

Funeral clothes old lady paused briefly, then sneered.

Liu Zheng suddenly dashed toward the flower bed, then violently slammed his head into the corner.

The force was shockingly strong, smashing his mouth and jaw to bits.

Liu Zheng faced the old lady in funeral clothes without speaking, just lifting his head slightly.

The meaning was clear.

"I don’t have a mouth anymore."

Silence, the scene fell into a dead-like quiet.

"Damn fool."

Funeral clothes old lady cast him a deep glance, then straightened up and walked away with her hands behind her back.

"Trying to compete with me, you old thing are still too green."

Liu Zheng thought smugly to himself.

But after this encounter, he was certain.

There must be something wrong with that rice cooker.

Better not touch it, definitely not.

Liu Zheng eyed the trash can longingly and then headed toward the French Plane Tree.

-----------------

"I’m back."

He pushed open the door of the resting room and called out.

"So you’re back, why all the shouting?"

Niu Ma, who was awakened, rubbed his eyes and said with annoyance.

"Didn’t want to interrupt anything important you were up to, boss."

Liu Zheng said cheerfully.

"The best thing is you not coming back at all."

Niu Ma said grumpily.

"If I didn’t come back, how would you escape?"

"Hmph, a three-legged Niu Ma might be hard to find, but two-legged delivery guys are a dime a dozen."

"Just shout in the Old City District, and a crowd of applicants will come swarming."

Niu Ma retorted.

"It can’t be that simple, can it?"

Liu Zheng half doubted.

If it were that simple, would Niu Ma only have him as a subordinate?

Look at how many staff are in the kitchen, even if the delivery department is considered lowly, the gap shouldn’t be that big.

"You little devil, you’re quite sharp. Indeed, it’s not that simple."

Niu Ma admitted.

"People without citizenship rights are just walking food on the streets; even being an employee of Bloody Restaurant doesn’t help."

"So, do all the people in the Old City District lack citizenship rights?"

"Some have it, some don’t. Most of those who do are fourth-class citizens."

Niu Ma explained.

"There are different classes of citizens?"

Liu Zheng exclaimed in surprise.

"Even ingredients are graded, of course citizens are too."

"And what are the classifications?"

He asked.

"I’m not entirely sure, but people like us are third-class citizens; we basically have the rights we should have."

"And your lady friend must be a second-class citizen."

Niu Ma thought for a moment and said.

"Why’s that?"

"You think ordering takeout only costs money?"

Niu Ma sneered.

"If she wasn’t a citizen above second-class, with her order habits, you’d have seen her in the staff meal by now."

"Oh."

What class the citizens were didn’t really matter to Liu Zheng, as he wasn’t planning to take her surname anyway.

"You little rascal, you’ve caught quite a bit."

Niu Ma finally noticed the fish in the net.

"Didn’t catch them, picked them up."

He explained.

"Pick up? Where’d you do that, I’ll go too."

"A fart in the sewer killed all the fish. I just scooped up a bunch."

Liu Zheng briefly described what happened in the sewer.

Of course, he didn’t mention anything about the Red Ghost.

"Boss, you never told me the sewer was alive."

He said with empty eyes.

"Forgot."

Niu Ma admitted frankly.

"Anyway, what difference does it make to you if it’s alive or dead? You’re not strong enough to catch the sewer’s attention."

Niu Ma said indifferently.

"At least let me be mentally prepared."

"Some things are better left unknown. Ignorance brings fear, but not knowing brings courage."

Niu Ma explained.

"Isn’t that another pilfered Bai Langzi’s poem?"

"Will you ever let it go? At least the first part was my original thought."

Niu Ma retorted loudly.

"Alright, alright. Boss, we should be able to trade these fish for something, right?"

Liu Zheng changed the subject.

"I’m not much into fish, but there’s a decent amount. Maybe enough for a couple of bottles of booze?"

Niu Ma hesitated.

"That’s it, we both don’t know much, what if Napoleon drives down the price?"

"Based on my understanding of it..."

As he faced his expectant gaze, Niu Ma continued.

"It’s absolutely going to drive the price down."

"Sheesh~"

Liu Zheng let out a sigh.

He wasn’t willing to sell them cheap, it was practically his life exchanged for those fish.

But if he didn’t sell to White Feather Chicken, there was nowhere else to sell.

Looking at the big net full of fish, Liu Zheng suddenly had an idea.

"Boss, you take this one..."

He whispered into Niu Ma’s ear.

"Will it work?"

Niu Ma was skeptical.

"Let’s try it; if not, we’ll just consider it a favor."

"Alright, it’s your fish anyway."

Niu Ma shrugged, picked up the net with his horn, and went out.