First Takeout Order

After explaining the rules, Cow-Horse ignored Liu Zheng and lay on the ground to sleep soundly.

He looked around and found nothing to pass the time with, so he started playing with his phone.

It was an old-fashioned phone that could neither access the internet nor run apps, with only a built-in Snake Game.

Why is it a Snake Game?

Liu Zheng looked at the long snake made of black-and-white pixels and fell into thought.

A deliveryman's combat power was enough to instantly kill him, and coupled with so many eerie rules, it was obvious that this dungeon leaned more toward puzzle-solving to clear.

Although he wasn't enthusiastic about deduction, he also knew that anything in a puzzle game was often useful.

How to know what a use of a game was? Of course, by playing it first.

Pressing the confirm button, the game began.

A black pixel snake chased randomly appearing circular pixel dots on the screen, growing a segment for each one it ate.

On the lower left of the screen was the score, and on the right was a timer bar.

Every once in a while, a flashing large pixel dot would appear on the screen, and the timer bar would start to shorten.

A regular pixel dot was worth 5 points, and a large pixel dot was worth up to 25 points, with the score decreasing as the timer bar diminished.

When the accumulated score reached the upper limit, a square pixel dot would appear on the screen.

Making the head of the Snake Game enter the square pixel dot advanced it to the next level.

The rules were simple, and the strategy to deal with them was also very straightforward—eat the large pixel dots at the fastest speed possible so that the length of the Snake Game could be kept as short as possible.

Of course, this also carried risks.

After the Snake Game grew longer, it was easy to focus only on eating the large pixel dots and crash headfirst into its own tail.

Even so, it was still a simple minigame after all, and Liu Zheng quickly reached level 10.

Starting from level 10, the difficulty rose straight up; not only did the speed of the Snake Game become faster, but many obstacles also appeared on the screen.

Just as he was concentrating fully on eating a large pixel dot, he suddenly felt a wave of heat wash past his ear.

He pressed pause and looked back—sure enough, it was Cow-Horse's big head.

"You really played it after all."

Cow-Horse wore an expression of expectation met.

"Can this game not be played?"

"Doesn't matter. Anyway, you humans can never resist games."

Cow-Horse shook its head.

"Since you've started, don't stop, and you're not allowed to lose."

It said.

"Must I clear it?"

"You can exit after reaching level 20, but if you open this game again, you must play until it's cleared."

"By the way, the highest record I've seen is level 24."

Liu Zheng looked toward the top of the screen, where the displayed level number was 10/25.

"How many people continued playing?"

He asked.

Cow-Horse didn't answer, only glancing at those densely packed cabinets by the wall.

All of them had once had more than one owner.

"Fine."

Liu Zheng shrugged and continued playing the game.

Meanwhile, Cow-Horse wasn't sleeping anymore and stood right beside him watching.

One level, two levels, three levels.

Liu Zheng changed his strategy to play it safe and steady, slowly making his way to level 20.

Upon reaching level 20, the difficulty soared once more.

Not only was the speed of the Snake Game more than double that of the first level, but the positions of the obstacles also became extremely tricky.

The respawning of large pixel dots also became even more bizarre and unpredictable, making scoring heavily a tremendous challenge.

The most terrifying thing was that pixel dots covered in sharp spikes would also respawn on the screen.

Although Liu Zheng didn't know what those were, they should be something similar to landmines.

After a bitter battle to clear the stage, he was already drenched in sweat.

"Impressive, no wonder your massages are so good."

Oxhead praised.

If he played Snake Game, he probably wouldn't even pass the first level.

Fortunately, games were a curse upon humans, and Cow-Horse didn't fall for that trick.

"What is the clearance reward?"

Liu Zheng asked, wiping away a sweat.

"Unknown. Some say a huge cash bonus, some say a chance for promotion, and others say a train ticket."

"A train ticket?"

"Yes, a ticket to leave the Bloodstained Restaurant and leave this city."

Cow-Horse's tone seemed full of yearning.

And Liu Zheng silently exited the game.

Though his curiosity was indeed quite heavy, it hadn't reached the extent of getting himself killed.

After all, he wasn't a cat.

Suddenly, Cow-Horse stood up.

"Work's here."

It said.

Liu Zheng looked toward the front door as the wooden plank at the bottom was slowly pushed open.

A skin-and-bones hand reached in, dropped a slip of paper, and then quickly retracted.

Cow-Horse strolled over in a leisurely manner and glanced at it.

"You have good luck, human."

It raised its chin, signaling for Liu Zheng to pick up the paper.

He walked over, picked up the slip of paper, and looked at the contents on it.

"Item: One Freak-Eyed Salmon Head Pizza."

"Address: Room 503, Building 3, Merlin Residential Compound."

"Time limit: Within one hour."

"Why do you say I have good luck?"

Liu Zheng asked.

"You'll know later. Now, go deliver your first order."

Cow-Horse urged.

Under its supervision, Liu Zheng put on his work uniform and took his phone and map.

The moment he stepped out of the breakroom, the wooden door closed automatically, making not a sound.

A trace of chill crept up the back of Liu Zheng's neck, and that unknown sense of danger made his heart creep out.

Truly, wolves are in front and tigers behind.

Liu Zheng thought helplessly.

He looked at the food cart, which held a sealed packaging bag.

Opening it, he found a square paper box inside, the lid painted with a blood-colored Iris.

Liu Zheng hesitated for a few seconds, then still opened the box.

Then, he beheld a scene that made his scalp go numb.

A dozen or so fish heads with varying numbers of eyes were crowded onto a 9-inch crust, their pitch-black, juicy eyeballs staring right at him as if they were still alive.

That gaze was so profound that it made Liu Zheng's soul sink deep within it.

Crack!

He ruthlessly slapped himself across the face.

The physical pain woke him up, and when he looked at the pizza again, those fish heads had already turned into pale, dead fish eyes.

That bizarre feeling vanished, replaced by an uncontrollable nausea.

Name: Freak-Eyed Salmon Head Pizza
Type: Item
Quality: Excellent
Effect: Temporarily increases the player's perception, with a small probability of gaining the 'Spirit Sight' status, and permanently decreases mental fortitude.
Remarks: When you gaze up at the starry sky, what you see might not be heaven; it could also be hell.
Can be taken out of the instance: Yes

This actually turned out to be an item, and it could be taken out of the instance?

Liu Zheng looked at the system prompt and conceived a bold idea.

Still, now was not the time to put it into action.

He shut the lid firmly, cutting off those faint, lingering gazes.

"Merlin Residential Compound."

He looked at the map, which showed the destination was about six kilometers away from the Bloodstained Restaurant.

If it were the past, this distance was nothing; Liu Zheng could easily run a half-marathon.

But now, this distance posed quite a bit of difficulty.

Even if he could hold out, his lungs could not.

Hoo-hoo.

Liu Zheng could not help but clutch his throat, which felt as heavy as if a block of lead had been stuffed inside.

Earlier, he had forced back his discomfort precisely so he would not reveal his weakness in front of Cow-Horse.

The battle of flesh had already been lost, but the battle of wills had only just begun.