Spending Money

"Burp~~~"

Cow-Horse let out an astonishingly long belch.

Before him lay a small mountain of takeout boxes, along with all sorts of empty bottles.

"You didn't spend all the money, did you?"

Liu Zheng frowned.

"Of course not. These are all leftovers, dirt cheap. Want some? There should still be a little in the Kitchen."

Cow-Horse was fairly loyal.

"No need."

He shook his head.

The system had determined that they were not items, so eating them would be useless.

If it weren't for item effects, only a ghost would eat this kind of dark cuisine.

The half-eaten pickled fat maggot Cow-Horse had just devoured was thicker than Liu Zheng's tentacles.

"By the way, after you snatched that bottle of Vlad III last time, the Kitchen staff are still willing to sell you leftovers?"

"There are no eternal enemies, only eternal interests. It's not like I didn't pay. Besides, who else would help them deliver goods without me?"

Cow-Horse said, swaying his head.

"The Kitchen should have procurement staff, right?"

"They do, but they can only go to designated places. Unlike us, as long as we deliver on time, we can go wherever we want."

Cow-Horse said smugly.

Liu Zheng fell into thought.

It seemed the three positions each had their own advantages and disadvantages.

If he joined the Kitchen, the benefit would probably be getting cheap food.

As for being a waiter, the benefit would probably be receiving tips from customers.

"Then can you get me another bottle of red wine?"

he asked.

"No, no."

Cow-Horse shook his head like an Arcanine.

"I told you, it's a limited edition. Do you think it runs from the tap?"

"I didn't say I wanted Vlad III. Something a little worse will do."

Liu Zheng said.

"What, you want to give it to that tree?"

Cow-Horse understood instantly.

"Yes."

"Idiot. Do you think that tree is some kind of good thing? You treat it like a friend, but it treats you like food."

Cow-Horse sneered.

"What about you?"

"At least I'd only beat you to death. If I'm in a good mood, I might even find you a nice burial spot so you can be reborn as a Cow-Horse in your next life."

Cow-Horse argued confidently.

"It can eat what it wants, and I can thank it. There's no conflict."

Liu Zheng stubbornly held his ground.

Without the "emergency rations," their earnings would be cut in half.

"Damn, you humans are so pretentious."

Cow-Horse grumbled as he went out.

A few minutes later, he called.

"There's no red wine. Want a case of Maotai instead?"

"Maotai?"

"It's the Ascension Hair Moss you drank last time, except it's fifteen years old."

Cow-Horse said.

"Don't you only sell leftovers?"

"This case of Maotai got completely contaminated, so it can only be disposed of."

"Why the hell would I buy something contaminated?"

"You can't drink it, but that tree probably can. A case is only 10,000. Where else are you going to buy Maotai this cheap?"

Cow-Horse said.

"Fine. Cover it for me first. I'll pay you back when you return."

Liu Zheng thought it over.

A little while later, Cow-Horse came back carrying a case of liquor.

When they opened the case, there were six exquisitely packaged bottles inside.

However, the once pure white porcelain bottles were covered in colorful stains.

After looking at them for only a few moments, Liu Zheng felt dizzy and disoriented.

Name: Fifteen-Year Ascension Hair Moss Liquor (Contaminated)

Type: Item

Quality: Fine

Effect 1: Gain the "Drunken" status.

Effect 2: Gain the "Bliss" status.

Effect 3: Gain the "Hemolysis" status.

Can be taken out of the instance: Yes

Note: Pain is pleasure, hell is heaven. Praise the supreme Supreme Bliss Celestial Venerable.

Drunken: The player's mentality and perception temporarily decrease, while strength and constitution temporarily increase. Immune to some mental attacks.

Bliss: All of the player's sensations will be transformed into pleasure. Pleasure transformed from pain is doubled.

Hemolysis: The player's blood will become highly corrosive.

Damn, drinking one bottle would let you die from feeling good, wouldn't it?

Liu Zheng's eye twitched as he read it. This thing was even more sinister than Black Goat's Young eyeball sashimi.

"What exactly contaminated it?"

he asked.

"No idea. Something seems to have gone wrong during smuggling."

Cow-Horse shook his head.

"Smuggling?"

"Obviously. If it came through legitimate channels, it would've been returned directly. Would you even get the chance to pick up a bargain?"

Cow-Horse wore an expression that said Liu Zheng did not know what was good for him.

"Oh. Then can I return it?"

Liu Zheng asked.

"Sure."

Cow-Horse nodded.

"Huh?"

"You can go return it yourself."

"Tch."

He knew it.

After chatting nonsense for a while longer, Ghost Hand reached inside.

As expected, it gave Liu Zheng the middle finger again.

"Little bastard, you're pretty persistent."

He smiled.

Then, while Cow-Horse was not paying attention, he grabbed a bottle and stuffed it into Ghost Hand's hand.

"Hey!"

Cow-Horse immediately cried out.

"How much kickback did you get from that case of Maotai?"

Liu Zheng turned and asked.

"Mhm, these braised chicken feet are nice and tender."

Cow-Horse lowered his head and continued eating.

When Liu Zheng turned back, he saw Ghost Hand raise the bottle at him three times before retreating.

"What does that mean? It wants me to find it after three in the morning?"

Liu Zheng was baffled.

"It means it wants three more bottles from you."

Cow-Horse cut in.

"Really?"

"No."

"Heh."

He gave Cow-Horse the middle finger in his heart.

Still, he could give it a try. He had money now, after all.

"Boss, save three bottles for me."

Liu Zheng said.

"You actually believed that? Fine."

They were low-quality liquor anyway. Even all of them together were not worth as much as Cow-Horse's kickback from that case of Maotai.

"Who's taking this order?"

He picked up the delivery slip.

"I'll let you have it."

Cow-Horse said generously.

He was already considering running off with the bucket, so naturally he had no enthusiasm for work.

"Fine."

Liu Zheng shrugged.

He wanted to test the Legendary Delivery Box's effects anyway.

He checked the contents of the delivery slip.

Meal: One serving of Garlic Mi-go Brain

Address: Room 1503, Building 7, Jiahe New Residence Complex.

Time limit: Within one hour.

Liu Zheng glanced at the map. It was about four kilometers away.

There was plenty of time.

He slung the delivery box over his back, rolled up the Maotai and a black bag, then walked out of the break room.

When he opened the food container on the dining cart, a cloud of garlicky steam immediately rose up.

Beneath the thick layer of garlic sauce was a purplish-red oval covered in tiny tentacles.

It still seemed to be alive, its tentacles swaying back and forth in a certain rhythm.

Liu Zheng seemed to hear a humming whisper drifting through the air.

Sanity reduction resistance successful.

The system prompt suddenly sounded, snapping him awake.

"Damn, looks like this is another tough customer."

He used two tentacles to plug his ears, then looked at the item description.

Name: Garlic Mi-go Brain

Type: Item

Quality: Fine

Effect: Small chance of gaining the "Telepathy" ability; small chance of gaining the "Mind's Ear" status.

Note: Mi-go Freddy with the red head whispers in the dark night.

Can be taken out of the instance: Yes

Telepathy: The player gains the ability to communicate mentally with others, ignoring language and race.

Mind's Ear: The player can hear sounds that normal people cannot hear.

"This really is a tough customer."

Liu Zheng sighed.

The telepathy ability was tempting, but the Mind's Ear effect was downright deadly.

What kind of good sound could normal people not hear?

If normal people could not hear it, could it possibly be a good sound?

Especially in this bizarre world. It would be fine while the Legendary Vest was active, but once he finished the delivery and headed back, his sanity would probably drop the entire way.

Whoever wanted to eat this brain could eat it.

Liu Zheng shook his head and headed toward the dark passage.