Like a Fish in Your Lotus Pond

"Name: Heart of the Ocean (Enhanced)"

"Type: Equipment"

"Quality: Fine"

"Effect 1: Movement speed increased by 50% in water. Breathe freely underwater."

"Effect 2: Absorb the soul of an aquatic creature killed by a player and gain its corresponding effect. After absorbing a new soul, the old soul will be released."

"Note: I'm like a little fish in your lotus pond."

"Can be taken out of the instance: Yes"

It had gained an extra effect, and it looked fairly useful.

Liu Zheng thought of that Frogfish. What effect would he gain if the Heart of the Ocean absorbed its soul?

A 500% increase in speaking volume?

He thought about it with a strange look on his face.

"Please help me distract them for a while. I'm going to escape."

The mermaid princess's voice rang out again.

"Fine."

Liu Zheng agreed without saying much.

If he had been kitchen staff, helping the mermaid escape would have been suicide.

But he was in the delivery department. If the sky fell, Cow-Horse would be there to hold it up.

Besides, if Liu Zheng hadn't gone all out, this deal would have fallen through anyway.

"Boss, where was that hotel you mentioned last time?"

He found a topic to talk about.

"What, you're still planning to use that sick leave note?"

Cow-Horse looked at him.

"I can't help it. I'm only one hat away. If I don't give it a try, I just can't let it go."

"Besides, unlike you, I'm not planning to change jobs. If I can complete the Legendary Deliveryman Set, work will go a lot more smoothly."

Liu Zheng shrugged.

What he said made perfect sense, so Cow-Horse did not suspect anything.

"I know quite a few hotels, but they're all too dangerous for you. If you check in, it'll be hard for you to survive even the first night."

They shook their head.

"Are there no hotels that cater specifically to humans?"

Liu Zheng asked.

He felt that humanity's status in this world was about the same as that of Black people.

He had once watched a movie called "Green Book." It mentioned that in the American South, there were hotels specifically for people of color, and staying in those hotels was much safer.

There should be similar places in this world, right?

"You're a smart kid. There are indeed hotels like that, but they probably won't let you stay."

Cow-Horse said.

"Why?"

"Why?"

Cow-Horse looked at him strangely.

"Take a look at yourself, kid. Don't you have any self-awareness? You're afraid others will eat you, but they're afraid you'll eat them too."

They mocked.

"Fine."

Liu Zheng said helplessly.

It seemed he was like Zhu Bajie looking in a mirror—not human on either side.

For no apparent reason, he suddenly understood how undercover agents must have felt during wartime.

"By the way, can you play any instruments?"

Cow-Horse suddenly asked.

"No, but I'm decent at singing. I was even in a choir before."

Liu Zheng said.

"Then there's one hotel you can try. They're relatively friendly toward music lovers."

Cow-Horse said.

"How do you know that?"

He raised an eyebrow.

"Hmph. You really underestimate me, kid. Don't look at me as just a deliveryman now. I used to be a bassist in a band."

Cow-Horse said proudly.

"Uh..."

Liu Zheng looked at their hooves, which could only ever throw paper in rock-paper-scissors, and found it hard to imagine how they strummed strings.

"Then why didn't you keep playing in the band?"

To stall for time, he asked anyway.

"City Hall said our songs were vulgar and violent, detrimental to establishing a positive image for the city, so they shut the band down. And they strictly forbade us from working in related fields."

"Oh, and the band's lead singer was Black Claw."

Cow-Horse said flatly.

"How vulgar could you possibly have been?"

Liu Zheng was genuinely curious now.

From everything he had seen and heard since entering this instance, this world's lower limit barely had a lower limit at all.

Compared to those freaks, Cow-Horse was practically a moral paragon.

"We only sang things like racial equality and how all intelligent beings should enjoy civil rights."

Cow-Horse said.

"That really is pretty vulgar."

He opened his mouth and said.

Cow-Horse caught the sarcasm in his words. They did not curse him, merely sneered.

"Actually, Boss, you could start a band too. I can be your lead singer."

Liu Zheng suggested.

"Forget it. I still want to live a few more years."

Cow-Horse refused without hesitation.

"And don't get any ideas about me, kid. I stopped believing in that stuff long ago. What fucking equality? What fucking rights? This world is all about the strong preying on the weak, the strong devouring Flesh. Not only am I going to eat humans, I'm going to eat a whole lot of them."

"Your Flesh, for example, is pretty good. I'm just waiting for your transformation to finish so I can have a nice meal."

Like when they had first met, they bared their jagged teeth.

"You're going to Paradise Island, and you're still thinking about these few scraps of Flesh on me?"

Liu Zheng was not worried at all.

The people who wanted to eat him could line up from Bloodstained Restaurant all the way to the Black Market. Cow-Horse might be close by, but they still had to wait their turn.

"You eat the main course, but you can't miss dessert either. Besides, you're renewable Flesh. If I ration you carefully, you'll last for decades."

Cow-Horse licked their lips.

"Boss, do you know how to do that wax-dripping oil thing Garcia uses?"

Liu Zheng asked with a smile.

"No. Why?"

"Since you don't, where did you get the courage to say you'd eat me?"

He took out the teeth-grinding stick and lightly tapped the tentacles now and then.

"Come on, we're just chatting. It's no fun if you take it seriously."

Cow-Horse quickly said.

"Really?"

"Really, really."

Cow-Horse nodded frantically.

"Then I guess I'm not funny enough."

Liu Zheng put away the teeth-grinding stick.

Cow-Horse wiped away a cold sweat.

God knew where this kid had gotten so many bizarre things. If he wanted to die, he would Ra them all down with him.

"Hey, are you done yet? I'm running out of topics."

Liu Zheng asked in his mind.

"Almost, almost. Please stall them for one more minute."

The mermaid replied.

One more minute? They were practically about to enter the passage already.

Whatever. Take someone's money, help them deal with their trouble.

After thinking for a moment, Liu Zheng took out the map.

"Boss, where's that hotel you mentioned?"

"You really want to go?"

Cow-Horse took the map and pointed at a spot on it.

"There, right here."

"It's so close to Chaos Club."

Liu Zheng's gaze sharpened as he looked at the place they indicated.

"Brother, that's a scale map. It only looks close. They're at least several hundred meters apart, okay?"

"Huh, it really doesn't seem that far."

Cow-Horse muttered after saying it.

"There shouldn't be any connection between these two places, right?"

He asked.

"Probably not. I've never heard of Chaos Club having that kind of business. They hardly ever open to outsiders."

Cow-Horse said hesitantly.

"Forget it. Let's pick another one."

Liu Zheng shook his head.

Even the kitchen had suffered at Chaos Club's hands. What right did he, a deliveryman, have to tempt fate?

"Suit yourself. You'll definitely die at any other hotel. This is the only one where you might have a chance to survive."

"What's this hotel called?"

He asked.

"Rock Never Dies."

"Good name."

Liu Zheng nodded.

That name alone sounded full of vitality.

"It worked!"

The mermaid's delighted voice suddenly rang out.