Are You Fucking Kidding Me? You Want the God-King to Serve Plates?

[Otherwise, what?]

The system's cold electronic voice, tinged with a hint of "are you brain-damaged," rang out once more.

[The employees recruited are here to work for the host; it is only natural that you, the host, are responsible for paying their wages.]

"I..."

Lin Feng's Adam's apple bobbed with difficulty. A mouthful of grievances stuck in his chest, nearly giving him a heart attack on the spot.

"I work my fingers to the bone acting! I rack my brains to harvest leeks! Every single point I earn is stained with my sweat and acting prowess!"

He let out a heart-wrenching roar in his mind.

"And now you're telling me that I have to take the points I risked my life to earn and use them to pay other people's salaries?!"

[Correction.]

The system's voice remained that same indifferent tone, devoid of the slightest emotion.

[Not 'other people'.]

[They are 'employees'.]

Lin Feng fell silent.

He found that he was unable to refute this damn logic.

A few seconds later, his miserly nature reclaimed the high ground, and he began to haggle with the system.

"Then... can the salary be a bit lower?"

"Or, is there any way for me to pay fewer points?"

[Naturally.]

The system answered quite quickly this time.

[An employee's compensation is linked to their comprehensive conditions, such as their strength, rarity, appearance, and temperament.]

[If the host wishes to pay fewer points, this system can recruit some ordinary shop assistants with relatively weaker strength for you.]

Upon hearing this, Lin Feng's eyes lit up instantly!

There was a way!

However, a strange feeling rose in his heart.

Given this dog system's usual habits, its initial targets were definitely not some "ordinary shop assistants."

"Then... who were your original target candidates?"

Lin Feng asked casually, purely out of curiosity.

Yet, the system's subsequent reply made him realize what it truly meant to be shocking.

[It is quite simple.]

The system spoke slowly, in a flat tone as if it were discussing whether to have cabbage or radishes for dinner.

[The Goddess of Life, the God of Goodness, and the like.]

The moment he heard those names, Lin Feng's brain completely crashed.

His entire soul seemed to be extracted, floating in mid-air, watching his own petrified face from above.

The Goddess of Life?

The God of Goodness?

Aren't these the most revered and terrifyingly powerful God Kings in the legends of the God Realm?!

You call this "and the like"?!

You want a God King to come to my shabby little restaurant to serve plates?

Why don't you just bring the God of Creation here to scrub the toilets for me while you're at it?!

The next second, Lin Feng's nearly non-functional brain was instantly jump-started by an even more terrifying thought.

Salary!

He suddenly remembered that devilish word!

[Ding!]

The system's cold electronic voice, like a death warrant, rang precisely in his mind.

[According to this system's preliminary estimate, if you hire the Goddess of Life as the chief server of this shop, the monthly salary standard is: 999,999 points or equivalent items.]

Nearly one million points?

A month?!

Lin Feng felt his breathing come to a sudden halt.

Yesterday, for the entire day!

He had played the roles of both chef and actor, nearly working himself to death, and how much had he earned in total?

14,935 Gourmet Points!

Every single point was stained with the sweat and acting skills he had poured into being a "god"!

And yet, the system was now telling him that hiring the Goddess of Life to serve plates would burn through nearly a million of his hard-earned points in a single month?

This wasn't hiring an employee.

This was inviting a gold-devouring ancestor into his home!

Lin Feng's vision blurred, and he felt as if he had spent an entire year painstakingly tending to a field of leeks, only to have someone shovel them up, roots and soil included, before he could even celebrate the harvest.

"Wait..."

A more terrifying thought, like a bolt of black lightning, violently tore through his chaotic mind.

He shuddered violently, his voice trembling in a near-delirious whisper as he asked in despair within his mind:

"Is... is this the salary for one person?"

"The dog system's original intention seemed to be that I should hire several..."

Lin Feng didn't dare to think any further.

He felt that if he continued, he might suffer a myocardial infarction on the spot and become the first system host in history to be scared to death by his own employees' wages.

"Absolutely not!!!"

A roar capable of overturning his soul exploded wildly in the depths of his heart!

"You dog system! I'm warning you! I don't care if you originally planned to hire the Goddess of Life or the God of Goodness!"

"In any case! From now on! This plan is voided! Immediately! Right now!"

"Otherwise, I'll burn this shop down this instant, and we'll go our separate ways—nobody gets to live!"

His voice carried the desperation and hysteria of someone who had just lost his entire fortune.

[Tsk.]

The system let out a faint clicking sound.

[Understood.]

That perfunctory tone made Lin Feng's blood pressure spike once again.

"I don't care!"

Lin Feng let out a marmot-like shriek in his heart!

"You listen to me! You can hire people! But you must suppress the wages to the absolute limit!!"

Just as Lin Feng was still admonishing the system, the meal for the group of Title Douluo in the shop was drawing to a close.

With expressions of satisfaction on their faces, they didn't speak, yet they seemed to have reached a sacred, unspoken agreement.

Everyone's gaze converged, simultaneously and instinctively, upon the coldest and most profound figure among them.

Ghost Douluo!

The "guide" who had been the first to perceive the senior's divine intent!

Under the collective gaze of the others, which was a mixture of awe and anticipation, Ghost Douluo slowly set down his chopsticks.

As the universally acknowledged "leader" of the group, he stepped forward without hesitation.

To receive the senior's... grace!

"Senior, this junior is ready!"

Ghost Douluo's raspy voice dragged Lin Feng back to reality from his heated debate with the system regarding "employee salaries."

[Consumption: 38,000 Gold Soul Coins.]
[System Evaluation: This leek is excellent, a model worker among leeks. The system is very satisfied and may bestow a reward that is quite beneficial to him.]
[Random Reward: Martial Soul Origin Tracing—Return to Truth!]
[Host Reward: 3,800 Gourmet Points.]

Lin Feng lazily cracked one eyelid open.

Return to Truth?

It sounded like a decent omen.

In the end, he simply lifted his hand and gave a casual, light wave in the direction of Ghost Douluo.

A speck of dim, profound light, as if it contained the secrets of the end of reincarnation, silently sank into the center of Ghost Douluo's brow!

In an instant, the body that had been shrouded under a black robe for years shuddered violently!

His gloomy face began to undergo a heaven-shaking transformation at a speed visible to the naked eye!

The hideous black markings receded inch by inch.

Replacing them was skin as smooth and clean as jade.

Those hands, which had been withered like ghost claws for years, were now wrapped in a soft, dim light; the shriveled flesh rapidly became plump, and the skin, which had been pale and devoid of any color, gradually regained a warm, lustrous hue.

The eerie, ghostly aura surrounding him melted away rapidly, like ice and snow under a scorching sun.

The entire process took no more than a few short breaths.

When the light finally faded, the Spirit Hall Elder Gui Mei, who had been shrouded in sinister ghostly energy and appeared half-man, half-specter, was gone.

In his place stood a man in black robes with a handsome face, an extraordinary temperament, and eyes as deep as the starry sky.

He stood there quietly, as if he had merged into the darkness behind him, yet he possessed a unique, unmistakable air of distinction.

This was the true appearance of Ghost Douluo!

"Ol'... Old Ghost?"

Chrysanthemum Douluo's signature orchid-fingered gesture froze in mid-air, and for the first time, an expression of utter shock appeared on his alluring face.

His voice carried a violent tremor that he himself had not even noticed.