The world has turned into Hell's Game, why should I stay human?
Chapter 84: If You Don’t Play, I Won’t Let You Go

Chapter 84: Chapter 84: If You Don’t Play, I Won’t Let You Go

After leaving the restaurant, Liu Zheng headed straight for the street where the French Plane Tree was located.

The Ring Contract was like an unstable bomb; it was better to complete it sooner rather than later.

"Have you got the item?"

As soon as he saw Liu, the French Plane Tree couldn’t wait to ask.

"Got it."

Liu Zheng nodded and took out the Epoch Acorn.

The French Plane Tree grabbed it and stuffed it into its mouth.

Immediately, a vast and ancient aura appeared, spreading out from it as the center.

Liu Zheng thought he saw an oak tree as tall as the sky and as big as a mountain range standing in the midst of an endless forest, with countless Elves praying devoutly beneath it.

But the hallucination quickly vanished.

He looked at the French Plane Tree, whose face seemed a bit constipated.

"Did the evolution fail?"

"No, it’s just that I didn’t expect to have to make a choice for the evolution."

The French Plane Tree replied.

"What kind of choice? Tell me, and I’ll give you some advice."

"As if you, a human, could give me any useful advice."

The French Plane Tree took the opportunity to belittle Liu Zheng, but still shared the information with him.

"I have two possible directions for evolution: one is to evolve into a tree spirit, and the other is to become a Phoenix."

"Is there a difference?"

"I don’t know either; the Epoch Acorn contains only very little memory inheritance. Basically, turning into a tree spirit means becoming a more advanced tree with some ability to move but still rooted to the land. Becoming a Phoenix, on the other hand, means completely breaking free from the land and gaining true freedom,"

the French Plane Tree explained.

"Then you should definitely choose to become a Phoenix,"

Liu Zheng said without hesitation.

"Idiot human. To become a Phoenix, I first have to build a nest, then lay an egg, then incubate the egg, and finally hatch from it. The whole process has to last at least a month, during which I’ll be almost defenseless. How is that different from suicide?"

the French Plane Tree said.

"But deep down, you desire to become a Phoenix, don’t you?"

"How would you know?"

"With such harsh conditions, if you didn’t really desire it, why would you be struggling? Plus, you’ve mentioned birds several times; you must be envious of their ability to fly, right?"

Liu Zheng looked into its eyes as he spoke.

"Who’s... who’s envious?"

The French Plane Tree’s mouth was even harder than its roots.

"If you’re worried about safety, I might have an idea. Do you want to hear it?"

"Hmph, if you want to talk, talk. It’s none of my business."

The French Plane Tree turned its face away.

"Niu Ma is thinking about leaving the Bloody Restaurant to get into smuggling; he could use a hand. I can have him protect you until you hatch, and then you can help him with the smuggling. How’s that?"

"Him? A trash dealer selling fake tequila, I can’t trust him."

The French Plane Tree shook its head immediately.

"If you don’t trust him, can you also not trust me?"

"With your little strength, if Niu Ma breaks the contract, could you stop him?"

The French Plane Tree scoffed.

"Don’t you have the Ring Contract? Just make Niu Ma sign one as well, and that will solve the problem,"

Liu Zheng came up with a solution.

"I can only sign one Ring Contract at a time, and I’ve already signed with you. To increase the number, I would have to evolve to a higher level."

Signing a contract required evolution first, but to evolve, another contract needed to be signed.

It was a vicious circle.

"Besides, do you really dare to let me evolve into a Phoenix?"

The French Plane Tree suddenly asked.

"What do you mean?"

"If I evolve into a Phoenix, I’ll no longer be a tree, and the Ring Contract will automatically become invalid. The first thing I would do then is eat you."

The French Plane Tree said with a smile that was not quite a smile.

"I see; then forget what I said. You might as well evolve into a tree."

Liu Zheng shrugged his shoulders.

"Hmph, I knew I couldn’t rely on humans. Get lost; just seeing you annoys me."

The French Plane Tree was sending him away.

"Then you can take your time to think about it,"

he said as he left the tequila and the SB calcium milk behind, walking towards the "Red Witch" board game parlor.

Behind him, the French Plane Tree’s gaze turned to the sky.

"Being able to fly isn’t necessarily a good thing,"

it murmured softly, its gaze seemingly reaching beyond the stratosphere.

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

Upon arriving at the entrance of the "Red Witch" board game parlor,

there stood a four-story gothic-style building with a large bronze statue at the tip of the roof.

It was a witch riding a broomstick, wearing a Wizard Hat and a cloak that was far too large.

And at the very tip of the spire, right at her rear end.

Yikes, it looked painful even to look at.

"Crack!"

A bolt of lightning descended from the sky and struck Liu Zheng squarely without deviation.

The smell of barbecued meat wafted around, as wisps of black smoke rose from his body.

Liu Zheng had no time to react before his whole body was paralyzed.

Several minutes later, as new flesh pushed off his charred husk, he finally recovered from the paralysis.

"I didn’t even swear, why the hell did I get struck by lightning?"

He was utterly baffled.

Liu Zheng looked up and saw the witch’s eyes shift from staring straight ahead to looking sideways at him.

Great, he knew the reason now.

This statue had a Mind Reading Technique and was damn petty, too.

"Sorry, my brain is sick, I offended the great Witch. Your grace is immense, please spare me this time."

Liu Zheng clasped his hands together, his tone heartfelt.

The statue was unmoved.

"Or maybe you could strike me a few more times to let off some steam?"

He suggested.

No sooner had the words left his mouth than three bolts of lightning struck simultaneously.

This time he was thoroughly charred.

After quite a while, Liu Zheng, now the size of a dwarf, climbed out of the ashes.

"Cough cough cough."

He coughed violently, choked by the rising ashes.

"Hee hee hee."

Liu Zheng seemed to hear the sound of joyful laughter.

He looked again at the statue, and the witch was once more looking straight ahead.

"Hoo."

He exhaled deeply.

He hadn’t even entered the store yet, but had already been beaten up by the sign. What was this all about?

Liu Zheng was speechless.

However, this served as a reminder that he should not speak recklessly when he saw statues in the future—who knew if they were alive?

He first ate a handful of small dried fish to return his body to normal size, and then he entered the store.

Upon entering the RPG establishment, there was a large hall on the first floor.

There were some sofas, chairs, and tables placed inside.

Around the hall were many cabinets filled with various boxes for role-playing games and tabletop games.

All the furniture had a vintage style and looked quite valuable.

Liu Zheng even suspected they were all genuine antiques.

"Welcome to the ’Red Witch’ Tabletop Game Hall, what activity would you like to play?"

The front desk clerk, dressed in a pure black maid outfit, asked with a smile.

Her skin was so pale it was nearly transparent, and red veins were faintly visible.

This was strange because normally what is seen through the skin are the veins.

And the veins are either purple or blue in color.

But Liu Zheng did not pay much attention to that—maybe she was a vampire who had just finished feeding?

In this world, the least surprising thing was surprise itself.

"Hello, I’m a delivery man from Bloody Restaurant, here to deliver an order."

He introduced himself.

"Alright, can you tell me the name of the person who placed the order?"

The front desk asked.

"Sea girl."

"Oh, it’s sea girl who ordered. She is currently hosting a game and probably can’t pick it up. Would you mind waiting for a bit, or I can pass it to her."

The front desk said.

"How much longer does she have to host this game?"

Liu Zheng inquired.

He had played his fair share of tabletop games too, and knew that hosting a game meant being the game master in a role-playing game.

"It’s an emotional game with a small volume, so it should take about an hour more."

The front desk confirmed after checking.

"Alright, I’ll wait for a bit then."

Liu Zheng nodded.

"Great. During this time, would you like to play any of our games?"

The front desk asked.

"Uh, thanks, I’d rather not play."

"I’m sorry, but if you’re not playing any games, you can’t stay inside the hall."

The front desk said with a smile.

"Then can I wait outside?"

Liu Zheng said, getting ready to stand up.

"I’m sorry, but if you’re not playing any games, you’re not allowed to leave either."

The front desk smiled even more brightly, revealing two sharp fangs.

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