Literary Girl

"Senior, please accept my knees."

The girl dropped to her knees and bowed, nearly shaking her bath towel loose.

"No need for that."

Liu Zheng reached out as if to help her up.

Actually touching her was out of the question. He did not want to get chopped into mincemeat.

"Yesterday, I revised it the way you said, and it got accepted right away. The editor really liked it too and said they'd arrange some promotion for me."

The girl said excitedly.

"Congratulations."

"It's all thanks to your excellent guidance, Senior. By the way, what gift do you like? I'll go buy it right away."

The girl asked.

"Put it on my tab for now. I'll tell you when I think of something."

Liu Zheng said after considering it.

There was nothing in particular that he wanted right now, so he might as well keep this favor in reserve.

This woman looked pretty formidable. She might come in handy at a critical moment.

"Okay, then write down my number."

The girl recited a string of digits.

Liu Zheng memorized it after hearing it once.

His mental attribute apparently had something to do with memory. He was practically photographic now.

"By the way, what's your name?"

He asked.

Even if he could not save the number, he still needed something to call her.

He could not exactly call her a dead Flop.

At his question, the girl seemed a little conflicted.

"What's wrong?"

Liu Zheng asked in confusion.

"Well, sorry, but we don't seem to be that close yet."

The girl said hesitantly.

How close did they have to be just to exchange names? Even Japanese people were not this fussy.

He was speechless.

But considering how bizarre this world was, perhaps names had some other significance.

"Fine, then I'll call you Novelist."

Liu Zheng shrugged.

"I'm truly very sorry."

The girl gave him a deep bow.

Very large. Very deep.

When she raised her head, she naturally found Liu Zheng looking at her with an even deeper gaze.

"How about I show you my breasts?"

She suddenly had an idea and started to untie her bath towel.

"I'm in a hurry. Next time for sure."

He waved a tentacle.

"Alright. If you need anything, come anytime. Other parts are fine too."

The girl said seriously.

Looking into her sincere eyes, Liu Zheng did not know whether to call her conservative or bold.

All he could say was that she really only looked human.

"I'm leaving."

Liu Zheng left Building 3A and arrived at Building 1.

Room 201 had no doorbell, so he could only smack the door a few times with his tentacles.

It did not hurt. His tentacles were tough, with a texture almost like rubber.

There was just a layer of chitin-like scales on their surface. When they scraped against the metal door, they made a harsh screeching noise that set his teeth on edge.

Fortunately, the door opened after only a few hits.

"What is it?"

A little boy in a panda onesie stared at him expressionlessly.

"Food delivery."

Liu Zheng raised the takeout bag.

"Oh."

The Panda boy took the bag.

"Huh? That's it?"

Liu Zheng said in surprise.

"What else?"

The Panda boy asked in return.

"Aren't you supposed to refuse the delivery?"

Liu Zheng said.

So far, not a single person had honestly accepted a delivery.

Mr. Li had signed for one, but he had not eaten it himself either.

"Do you think I'm one of those small fry?"

The Panda boy said coldly.

In an instant, Liu Zheng felt a deep malice.

He instinctively wanted to jump backward, only to realize that he could not move.

The Panda boy glanced at him, then opened the takeout container.

Using chopsticks, he picked through the intestines before lifting one into his mouth and chewing.

Yellow-green filling ran down from the corner of his mouth, making Liu Zheng feel nauseated.

"Very fresh."

The Panda boy smiled in satisfaction.

"Thank you for recognizing the quality of our restaurant's food."

Liu Zheng said politely.

"Hm?"

The Panda boy's gaze suddenly focused on Liu Zheng's abdomen.

"Your intestines look pretty good too."

He showed an innocent smile.

"Sorry, those aren't within the delivery range."

Liu Zheng said calmly.

"Come find me when you want to sell them. Remember to eat your fill first."

The Panda boy patted his belly, then shut the door.

"Whew!"

Liu Zheng let out a heavy breath.

If he had not discovered the loophole in that first order of intestine sashimi, he would probably be dead by now.

Before the Panda boy, Liu Zheng had not even had a chance to run.

That guy was terrifying.

Liu Zheng raised a tentacle and wiped away the bodily fluid seeping from his scalp.

He took a deep breath. The familiar scent of rotting plants gradually calmed him down.

"I got a little too full of myself."

Liu Zheng laughed at himself.

He had thought that as long as he did not court death, protecting himself should not be much of a problem.

Now it seemed he still had a long way to go.

When he returned to the entrance of the residential complex, the security guard was still smoking in the guard booth.

When he saw Liu Zheng come out, he merely gave him a cold glance and ignored him.

Liu Zheng did not go over to make small talk again. He headed straight outside.

As he passed the decorative stone at the entrance, a mass of disheveled hair suddenly shot out from the shadows.

I've been waiting for you.

He sneered inwardly.

Even as a non-smoker, he knew that three cigarettes were offered to the dead.

Without hesitation, Liu Zheng used Skate Shoes. His body instantly turned into a blur and appeared a hundred meters away.

A blood-red path stretched from the entrance of Green Osmanthus Garden all the way beneath him, countless chunks of flesh scattered across the road.

"Gasp!"

Liu Zheng looked at the lower half of his body, which had been sliced clean off at the waist, and sucked in a breath.

The cut was clean and neat, even sharper than one made by an amputation saw.

Unfortunately, it had been worn down too badly by the ground. Otherwise, it could have been used as surgical teaching material.

It was not just his lower body. All of his tentacles had been severed too.

The security guard had clearly learned from his mistake. He planned to cripple Liu Zheng's mobility first, then slowly deal with him.

Unfortunately, Liu Zheng had Skate Shoes.

He turned to look at Green Osmanthus Garden. A humanoid figure made of black and white hair was glaring at him desperately, yet it did not take another step forward.

"See you around!"

Liu Zheng shouted.

If circumstances had allowed, he would have at least waved goodbye.

The humanoid opened its mouth and let out a piercing shriek before collapsing and dispersing.

"Mm-hm, I'll bring you some premium cigarettes next time."

Liu Zheng said with a straight face.

"Rubbing, rubbing, on the smooth ground."

He hummed as he wriggled forward on his stomach.

His tentacles and hooves would take some time to grow back anyway. Since he had nothing better to do, he might as well work on his abs.

He wriggled all the way back to the Bloodstained Restaurant, where Cow-Horse was cooking something.

A stainless steel pot sat atop a large alcohol burner, bubbling away.

Compared with what was in the pot, Liu Zheng was more curious about how Cow-Horse had lit the fire.

It did not even have tentacles.

"Kid, you got beaten up again, didn't you?"

Cow-Horse glanced at him and said gleefully.

Compared to before he went out, Liu Zheng had gotten noticeably thinner again.

"When you roam the world, getting cut is unavoidable."

He waved it off.

"I never get cut."

Cow-Horse said smugly.

"Look, freshly slaughtered."

It pointed into the pot.

Heads with their skin and flesh split open floated atop the thick green liquid.

Judging from their facial features, they looked very human.

But judging from their size, they probably were not human.

After all, even a dwarf's head would not be only half the size of a palm.

If they were babies, their hair should not have been so thick.

Besides, they were too ugly—old and ugly.

"What the hell are those?"

Liu Zheng asked in disgust.

"Underworld Ratfolk. They tried to steal takeout, so I wiped out their whole nest."

Cow-Horse replied.

"People actually dare to steal takeout?"

He was a little surprised.

So far, the restaurant had a pretty solid reputation.

Those who caused him trouble had all relied on coaxing and deception. Even a street tyrant like the French Plane Tree did not dare attack directly.

The Green Osmanthus Garden security guard had probably dared to ambush him only because Liu Zheng had struck first before.

"There are always people who want money more than life. Oh, they're done."

Cow-Horse said cheerfully.

Cow-Horse lifted the stainless-steel pot and was just about to pour it into his mouth when he suddenly noticed Liu Zheng's gaze.

"Want some?"

Cow-Horse said reluctantly.

"You should enjoy it yourself."

Liu Zheng politely declined.

"You kid don't know good stuff when you see it. This is rare treasure."

Cow-Horse scoffed at his fussiness.

"I can't tell."

Liu Zheng summoned the system toward the pot of soup, but no item description appeared.

"That's why I said you don't know good stuff. Rat-Skin Man is the best aphrodisiac. I wouldn't tell just anyone."

Cow-Horse said mysteriously.

"What are you trying to do?"

Liu Zheng watched Cow-Horse warily.

There were only the two of them in this lounge.