Mr. Li

"Ah!!!"

A shrill scream echoed through the sky.

Watching the security guard's twisted face, Liu Zheng felt an inexplicable sense of comfort.

This instance world was filled with things that seemed real yet weren't, constantly putting pressure on his mind.

Those human-like yet inhuman natives also made him feel irritated from the depths of his heart.

Liu Zheng had merely been suppressing his thoughts, forcing himself to stay rational until he became numb.

Now, that familiar wail had returned.

It was as if he were not in an instance at all, but had returned to reality.

If you got hit, you cried out. If you got killed, you died. What reassuring rules.

"Ha ha ha."

Laughing wildly, Liu Zheng tore open the security guard's uniform.

A standard-issue dagger, still in its sheath, appeared before his eyes.

"Oh, so it's this."

He drew the dagger and gripped it in reverse, palm facing down, its tip protruding from beneath his fist.

"You've got terrible luck."

Liu Zheng ducked beneath a security guard's punch, then drove the blade upward into his neck.

He had never seriously trained in historical combat, but he happened to know a little dagger work.

The unlucky security guard stared wide-eyed and reached for the dagger, trying to stop Liu Zheng.

But the next second, Liu Zheng pulled the dagger out, slicing through two lumbrical muscles along with it.

Bright red blood sprayed from the ruptured artery under high pressure, splattering all over Liu Zheng's face.

That only excited him more.

Bang!

A heavy punch landed squarely on the right side of his face.

Liu Zheng shook his head and looked at the security guard who had hit him.

The smile had long vanished from the man's face, leaving only seriousness behind.

"Don't be so tense. Why don't you smile?"

He said soothingly.

The security guard said nothing. He simply threw another punch at Liu Zheng's face.

Liu Zheng pushed off with his right foot, performed a standard left sidestep to evade the attack, then struck beneath the guard's ear with the fist holding the dagger.

The hard metal hilt dug painfully into his palm, but the security guard had it far worse.

Overcome by violent dizziness, the guard swayed and toppled toward the ground.

Liu Zheng thoughtfully caught him, then used the dagger to slice open both corners of his mouth.

Apparently dissatisfied with how wide the opening was, he reached in with his fingers and pulled hard in both directions until crimson gums and white molars were exposed.

"Look. What a sweet smile."

Liu Zheng nodded in satisfaction and spoke to the remaining security guard.

The guard let out an incomprehensible cry, then charged at him while wildly swinging his rubber baton.

Liu Zheng could have easily dodged, but a violent spasm in his windpipe stopped him.

The rubber baton struck him solidly on the head. Blood flowed down from his forehead, covering one of his eyes.

"Damn it!"

Liu Zheng cursed, desperately trying to focus.

But a concussion was not something sheer willpower could resist. His vision blurred.

Through the haze, he saw the security guard raise the rubber baton again.

With no time to think, Liu Zheng threw himself straight into the guard's arms.

Caught off guard, the security guard could only raise the rubber baton and smash it into Liu Zheng's back.

One strike, two strikes, three strikes.

The security guard gradually stopped attacking and rested his head on Liu Zheng's shoulder.

Liu Zheng shoved him away. The dagger was embedded in the man's chest, buried to the hilt.

"Hah... hah..."

Liu Zheng sat on the floor, gasping for breath.

It was not only because of the discomfort in his throat, but also the stabbing pain in his back and the ache in his lungs.

After resting for half a minute, he braced himself against the security guard's corpse and stood up.

Liu Zheng was badly hurt, but work still had to be done.

Luckily, although the elevator had not stopped on the first floor this time, First-Class Sky Villas had one unit per elevator.

When the elevator doors opened, he staggered over to the door of 301.

"Ding ding ding."

Liu Zheng pressed the doorbell.

"Please wait a moment."

A woman's voice came from inside.

"Hm?"

He frowned slightly. Wasn't this Mr. Li's place?

More than ten seconds later, the door opened. A maid in a Gothic dress and white stockings looked up at him.

Seeing Liu Zheng covered in blood, her face showed not the slightest reaction.

"I'm a deliveryman from Bloodstained Restaurant. This is Mr. Li's order."

Liu Zheng said first.

"Thank you for your hard work. Please give it to me."

The maid said flatly, her voice and bearing as composed as an old butler who had served for generations.

"I'm sorry, but the restaurant requires us to deliver it directly to the recipient."

He had no intention of handing it over.

"Then please wait a moment. I'll go ask my master."

The maid did not make things difficult for him. She merely turned and returned inside, then went up the stairs.

Several minutes later, a silver-haired old man came down the stairs with the maid supporting him.

He was thin, and his face was covered in wrinkles, but he had very few age spots. His eyes were even clearer than those of a young man.

He wore a set of pink silk pajamas embroidered with patterns of some kind of spore plant.

"Has my sashimi arrived?"

The old man asked loudly.

"Are you Mr. Li?"

"It's me."

The old man nodded.

"Sorry, Mr. Li. I'm new. Do you have anything that can verify your identity?"

Liu Zheng asked.

This might anger the other party, but it was better than getting tripped up at the last moment.

"No problem, young man."

The old man smiled tolerantly and took a phone from his pajama pocket.

"Little Dove, call Miss Si for me."

"Yes, Master."

The maid took the phone and dialed a string of numbers.

For some reason, Liu Zheng memorized those digits.

"Hello, Miss Si? Sorry to disturb you. One of your employees came to deliver my order and wants to confirm my identity. Could you please tell him?"

Once the call connected, the old man spoke into the phone, then handed it to Liu Zheng.

He took the phone and held the microphone to his ear.

"Hello, Boss. I'm Liu Zheng, the new deliveryman."

He said respectfully.

"I know. His identity is fine. Give him the delivery."

Sure enough, Si Xue's emotionless voice came from the other end of the line.

"Understood, Boss."

Before Liu Zheng had even finished speaking, the call ended with a busy tone.

"So, young man, can you give me my delivery now?"

Mr. Li asked with a smile.

"Of course. Here is your order."

Liu Zheng handed over the delivery.

Mr. Li picked up the order slip, glanced at it, and sighed.

"So it's this today. What a pity."

"Is there a problem with the meal?"

He asked.

"Nothing is wrong with it. I really like this dish. Unfortunately, I've been ill lately, and the doctor advised me not to eat facial-feature foods."

Mr. Li said regretfully.

In terms of appearance, the five facial features were the brows, eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. In medicine, they were the eyes, ears, mouth, nose, and tongue.

No matter which meaning Mr. Li meant, eyeballs were included.

"Then I wish you a speedy recovery."

Liu Zheng said politely and turned to leave.

"Wait a moment, young man. Such good ingredients shouldn't go to waste. How about you eat it?"

Mr. Li called after him.

"Me?"

Liu Zheng turned around, so shocked he looked like a catfish spirit.

Well, damn. So this was what he'd been waiting for.