Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng pilots a bizarre space fighter through Sewer’s shoot-’em-up game, destroying waves of feces-themed enemies.
• He eliminates Feces Meteors with laser fire, learning that larger meteors require significantly more shots and yield similar points.
• A Hemorrhoid Planet transforms into a white dwarf and ejects an Intestinal Asteroid Belt, forcing Liu Zheng to retreat and maneuver around it.
• He discovers that Feces Meteors attached to the intestinal wall must be destroyed carefully without damaging the intestine, reframing the task as “cosmetic surgery” rather than feces collection.
• Destroying the attached meteor earns points and causes the intestinal structure to return safely to the Hemorrhoid Planet.
• A massive Excrement Galaxy floods the battlefield. Liu Zheng uses one of his powerful bomb attacks to erase the entire stream, earning 5,000 points.
• A Garbage Meteor Shower appears, containing toxic waste, furniture, machinery, corpses, and a bullet-upgrade item. Liu Zheng uses another laser sweep to clear the debris and collects the upgrade.
• His weapon increases from two lasers to four, greatly improving firepower but making precise attacks on intestinal structures more difficult.
• After a quiet stretch, a Feces Meteor suddenly appears dangerously close to the fighter. Liu Zheng barely destroys it before debris strikes him.
• A subsequent meteor wave appears, and Liu Zheng prepares to attack the largest targets first. Before he can fire, a Hemorrhoid Planet launches another Intestinal Asteroid Belt, forcing him to evade toward the upper right.

Character Development

• Liu Zheng becomes increasingly skilled and strategic as he learns the patterns and mechanics of the game.
• He recognizes the importance of preserving bombs, collecting upgrades, and prioritizing larger or more dangerous enemies.
• Despite the absurdity and disgust of the setting, he remains focused and adapts to the game’s rules.
• His confidence grows after obtaining the weapon upgrade, though a surprise attack reminds him not to become careless.
• His humorous commentary and disgusted reactions continue to contrast with his increasingly professional piloting decisions.

Significant Themes

• Adaptation and resource management: Liu Zheng must balance laser fire, bombs, positioning, and upgrades to survive.
• Reframing the grotesque: He mentally rebrands feces removal as “cosmetic surgery,” using humor to make the revolting task more tolerable.
• The absurdity of game logic: Space physics, bodily organs, laser weaponry, and sewage imagery are combined into a deliberately ridiculous but mechanically consistent game world.
• Growing competence: The chapter shows Liu Zheng progressing from basic survival to understanding enemy behavior and planning attacks efficiently.
• Appearance versus reality: Although the game’s imagery is disgusting and comedic, its visuals and mechanics feel realistic enough to make Liu question whether it uses the same advanced technology as the treasure chest.

Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng has no direct interaction with other characters in this chapter.
• His main “interaction” is with Fisherman’s instructions and the game’s enemy systems. He follows Fisherman’s stated rules even when real-world anatomy would make certain actions unnecessary.
• He also mentally responds to the game’s creator, criticizing the lack of a cockpit and the bizarre weapon design while continuing to use the fighter effectively.

Chapter Summary: Farewell, Fire Mage

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng continues playing Flying Chicken, clearing several difficult waves of Feces Meteors, Intestinal Asteroid Belts, and Garbage Meteor Showers.
• He uses bombs strategically, especially during a dangerous dual-asteroid wave, and gains extra bombs and upgraded firepower through Cheat Three.
• The stage boss appears: a heavily armored Feces Giant with a visible power furnace in its chest.
• Liu Zheng identifies the furnace as the boss’s weakness. He repeatedly attacks the same section of its breastplate, then uses bombs to destroy its armor and expose the furnace.
• He flies directly into the opening and unleashes concentrated fire at point-blank range, causing the furnace to overheat and melt the Feces Giant from within.
• Liu Zheng clears the rest of the game, defeating increasingly difficult bosses with the help of the more than twenty bombs he has accumulated. He achieves a score over twice the required amount and wins the game.
• After returning to the sewage river, Fisherman confirms that Liu Zheng has met the conditions for the special reward.
• Fisherman contacts Sewer, which removes Liu Zheng from its blacklist and allows him to enter and leave freely.
• Sewer then produces a real Excrement Galaxy, pursuing Fire Mage through the area.
• Fire Mage, dressed in bizarre clothing and carrying an axe, is livestreaming while fleeing. He initially warns Liu Zheng and Fisherman to escape, unaware that they summoned the wave.
• Liu Zheng reveals that they have summoned the Excrement Galaxy and asks Fire Mage to come speak with them. Fire Mage blocks the wave with a giant axe projection, ends his livestream, and approaches them.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng demonstrates caution, tactical intelligence, and adaptability. He avoids wasting resources, recognizes the boss’s weakness, and changes tactics quickly when the opportunity arises.
• His confidence grows as he successfully defeats the game’s bosses and achieves a score far beyond expectations. However, he remains aware that his success depends heavily on the Golden Finger and Cheat Three.
• Fisherman remains sarcastic and resentful of Liu Zheng’s extraordinary luck, openly admitting that Liu Zheng likely could not have cleared the game without his cheat ability. Nevertheless, he fulfills his role by negotiating with Sewer.
• Fire Mage is introduced as powerful, eccentric, and somewhat reckless. Despite being chased by a catastrophic sewage wave, he continues livestreaming and jokes about potentially eating excrement.
• Fire Mage also shows consideration for others by warning Liu Zheng and Fisherman to flee, and he displays impressive combat power by splitting and temporarily blocking the Excrement Galaxy.

Significant Themes

• Resourcefulness and preparation: Liu Zheng’s careful use of bombs and upgrades allows him to overcome enemies that would otherwise be nearly impossible.
• Luck versus skill: His victory results from both tactical skill and the advantages granted by the Golden Finger, raising the question of how much success belongs to Liu Zheng himself.
• Facing danger directly: Rather than fleeing from the boss’s Excrement Galaxy attack, Liu Zheng advances toward the boss and uses a bomb at close range, turning a dangerous situation into an opportunity.
• Absurdity and parody: The chapter combines bullet-hell game mechanics with grotesque sewage imagery, livestream culture, and exaggerated characters for comedic effect.
• Transition and confrontation: The game victory leads directly into a real-world encounter with Fire Mage, suggesting that the chapter marks the beginning of a new stage in Liu Zheng’s dealings with supernatural figures.

Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and Fisherman argue over Liu Zheng’s reliance on the Golden Finger, with Fisherman mocking his luck while still helping him obtain Sewer’s approval.
• Fisherman acts as the intermediary between Liu Zheng and Sewer, removing Liu Zheng from the blacklist.
• Liu Zheng and Fire Mage initially communicate from opposite sides of the pursuing sewage wave. Liu Zheng reassures Fire Mage that he is not an enemy and persuades him to approach.
• Fire Mage responds cautiously but agrees to speak after protecting himself and the others from Sewer’s attack.
• The chapter ends with Fire Mage standing before Liu Zheng and Fisherman, ready to hear Liu Zheng’s request.

Chapter Summary: “Turn Sha-chan’s Intestines Inside Out, Then Dress Him in Cosplay”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng and Sha-chan negotiate peacefully after Sha-chan’s intimidating powers cause the Excrement Galaxy and axe shadow to disappear.
• Liu Zheng reveals that he is a Deliveryman from the Bloodstained Restaurant and is searching for the final piece of the Legendary Deliveryman Set: the delivery hat.
• The hat is believed to belong to Sha-chan’s brother, Wolf Knight. Sha-chan agrees to help Liu Zheng obtain it in exchange for bringing Wolf Knight good food and wine.
• Sha-chan explains that “turning over one’s intestines” usually means eating excessively well, though the phrase can also refer to literal torture. He also discusses Black Claw, revealing that it once stayed at the Garbage Processing Plant before mysteriously leaving.
• Liu Zheng asks Sha-chan to escort him and his companions to the Garbage Processing Plant so a friend’s daughter can search for her mother. Sha-chan agrees in principle but warns that he is wanted by City Hall and cannot safely approach the plant.
• Liu Zheng asks about Sha-chan’s crimes. Sha-chan confirms that he killed Councillor John Jorden and a Sanitation Bureau deputy director, though he refuses to explain the deeper circumstances.
• The Fisherman explains that the Jorden Family, despite its influence over Metropolis’s underground medical industry, is not untouchable. Their power depends on wealth and political influence rather than City Hall’s direct protection.
• Since Sha-chan cannot leave the Sewer without being surrounded by the Public Security Department, Liu Zheng proposes disguising him in a cosplay outfit to evade detection.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng continues to rely on charm, flattery, manipulation, and unconventional ideas. He quickly builds rapport with Sha-chan and remains fearless even when provoking the dangerous Fisherman.
• Sha-chan is revealed to be powerful but humble, disliking exaggerated praise and refusing to view himself as an important figure. Despite his fugitive status, he is kindhearted and willing to help someone search for their mother.
• The Fisherman remains irritable and violent toward Liu Zheng, but he provides valuable political and historical knowledge about the Jorden Family and Metropolis’s power structure.
• Wolf Knight is indirectly characterized as someone who collects junk and values food and drink, making Sha-chan confident that a good meal will persuade him to surrender the delivery hat.
• Black Claw becomes a more mysterious figure. Its unexplained visit to the Garbage Processing Plant and search for something unknown suggest a larger unresolved subplot.

Significant Themes

• Power versus political authority: Physical strength can destroy underground organizations, but City Hall’s legal and institutional power is far harder to challenge.
• Trust and negotiation: Verbal agreements, contracts, gifts, and mutual benefit are central ways characters navigate a dangerous world.
• Disguise and survival: Avoiding the authorities requires deception rather than direct confrontation, leading to Liu Zheng’s cosplay plan.
• Hidden secrets: Sha-chan’s crimes, Black Claw’s objective, and the deeper politics of Metropolis remain deliberately obscure.
• Humor amid danger: Violent threats, political intrigue, and death are repeatedly undercut by jokes, teasing, absurd metaphors, and Liu Zheng’s shameless behavior.

Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng flatters Sha-chan, then quickly adjusts when Sha-chan requests honesty.
• Sha-chan and Liu Zheng establish friendly nicknames—“Killer Bro” and “A-Zheng”—and form a cooperative relationship.
• Liu Zheng repeatedly provokes the Fisherman by calling him “old man” and even “father-in-law,” prompting the Fisherman to strike him with a transformed fishing rod.
• Sha-chan refuses to intervene in their quarrel, treating them as family members arguing.
• The chapter ends with Liu Zheng, Sha-chan, and the Fisherman discussing how to overcome Sha-chan’s warrant, with Liu Zheng proposing cosplay as a possible disguise.

Chapter Summary

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng questions Fisherman about City Hall, the Sewer, and the deputy director of the Sanitation Bureau. Fisherman explains that the Sanitation Bureau is closely connected to the Sewer because the Sewer processes the city’s urban waste.
• Fisherman reveals that the Sanitation Bureau was responsible for installing the Sewer’s Egg and that the Sewer’s waste eventually flows toward the sea. Liu Zheng suspects this may be connected to Mermaid Princess’s disappearance.
• Fisherman proposes a way to have Liu Zheng’s wanted notice revoked: Liu Zheng must cure the Sewer’s “hemorrhoids” by completing a modified version of the Flying Chicken Game, renamed the Hemorrhoid-Cutting Game.
• The game will be played by Nile, the doctor, rather than Liu Zheng. Liu Zheng accepts this possibility because Nile is much stronger and more capable than an ordinary human.
• Liu Zheng and Sha-chan negotiate a mutual arrangement. If Liu Zheng helps resolve Sha-chan’s wanted status, Sha-chan will help escort Liu Zheng and his companions into the Garbage Processing Plant, protect them, and help them escape.
• Because Liu Zheng’s communications are monitored, he and Sha-chan arrange to stay in contact through Fisherman. Sha-chan also gives Liu Zheng a written note and a piece of his dragon robe, which may provide assistance inside the Garbage Processing Plant.
• The Sewer suddenly begins releasing a massive flood of fecal waste. Fisherman and Sha-chan kick Liu Zheng into the sewer shaft so he can deliver the package, then are themselves swallowed by the flood.
• Liu Zheng escapes through the sewer opening and seals it with a manhole cover. He then tries to wash himself using a fire hydrant, but French Plane Tree warns that doing so could result in a large fine for damaging or using public property.
• Liu Zheng returns to the Delivery Passage, but the passage violently ejects him into Sunshine Pet Store and seals itself. He concludes that his terrible smell may have caused the passage to reject him, leaving him unable to return to the Restaurant.

2. Character Developments

• Liu Zheng becomes more strategic and pragmatic. He recognizes the value of forming a deal with Sha-chan and carefully considers communication risks, possible allies, and future plans for entering the Garbage Processing Plant.
• Sha-chan is shown to be more cooperative and honorable than his violent reputation suggests. He willingly promises to help Liu Zheng and provides both a note and a piece of clothing that may serve as a token of authority.
• Fisherman acts as an important source of information and intermediary, though he also reveals a mischievous side by helping kick Liu Zheng into the Sewer.
• Nile is positioned as Liu Zheng’s best hope for completing the dangerous medical-themed game, emphasizing his superior abilities as a doctor.
• French Plane Tree remains opportunistic and financially minded, immediately considering whether Liu Zheng can be fined for using a fire hydrant.
• Liu Zheng’s relationships with Sea Woman, Nightingale, Vampire Girl, and Novelist are indirectly highlighted as he worries that contacting Sha-chan could expose them to City Hall’s investigation.

3. Significant Themes

• Bureaucracy and institutional power: The Sanitation Bureau’s authority makes it difficult to revoke Liu Zheng’s wanted notice, showing how deeply political and administrative systems control people’s lives.
• Mutual aid and transactional relationships: Liu Zheng and Sha-chan help one another through clearly stated bargains, blending genuine loyalty with practical self-interest.
• The absurdity of the world: Sewage, hemorrhoids, dragon robes, dangerous games, and public-property fines are treated as ordinary problems, creating a comedic contrast with the serious dangers Liu Zheng faces.
• Consequences and reputation: Sha-chan’s killings, Liu Zheng’s wanted status, and even his foul smell have practical consequences that affect where he can go and whom he can contact.
• Survival through improvisation: Liu Zheng repeatedly adapts to unexpected circumstances, relying on negotiation, planning, and quick thinking rather than strength alone.

4. Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and Fisherman: Liu Zheng questions Fisherman for information, while Fisherman explains the Sanitation Bureau’s connection to the Sewer and suggests the hemorrhoid-treatment solution.
• Liu Zheng and Sha-chan: They establish a formal but friendly deal concerning the Garbage Processing Plant. Their conversation reveals mutual trust, directness, and Sha-chan’s willingness to repay Liu Zheng.
• Fisherman and Sha-chan: They exchange contact information and later cooperate in launching Liu Zheng out of the Sewer.
• Liu Zheng and French Plane Tree: Liu Zheng suspects French Plane Tree is trying to trap him into damaging public property. Their exchange reinforces their humorous, antagonistic dynamic.
• Liu Zheng and Cow-Horse: At the end, Liu Zheng calls Cow-Horse for help after being expelled from the Delivery Passage. Cow-Horse’s tired response suggests that Liu Zheng’s unusual troubles have become routine.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• After returning from clearing Sewer’s intestines, Liu Zheng discovers that the foul smell on him has attracted several monsters. They follow him to the edge of Bloodstained Restaurant’s territory but refuse to enter.
• Cow-Horse contacts the Restaurant’s boss, who orders Liu Zheng to wash himself before returning. If he cannot remove the smell, the boss threatens to use magma to clean him.
• Cow-Horse directs Liu Zheng to a Japanese-style bathhouse several kilometers away. It warns him about a shrine separating the men’s and women’s pools: moving it allows people to see through to the other side, but those who have tried dangerous mischief supposedly never returned.
• Liu Zheng examines his delivery and finds a Boiled Breadworm, an excellent-quality item that restores stamina and can be taken out of the instance. He decides not to eat it and instead plans to give it to the socially anxious spider.
• Rather than walk while being followed, Liu Zheng rents a Ferrari through Restaurant’s driver service, claiming that bathing is official business. The driver agrees and reveals that the pursuers are Flymen, protected lower-class creatures that feed on garbage and decaying matter.
• The driver explains that killing Flymen can cause their corpses to explode, releasing an odor that lasts for months. Since Liu Zheng already reeks, he is unconcerned.
• The Ferrari activates hidden jet engines and speeds away. The Flymen pursue them, revealing their grotesque fly-human bodies and forming a triangular formation behind the car.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng remains practical, cautious, and increasingly adaptable to Metropolis’s bizarre rules. He treats money as the easiest solution to danger and uses Restaurant’s systems creatively to secure transportation.
• His resilience and humor are emphasized: despite being beaten up by Sewer’s excrement and targeted because of the smell, he complains sarcastically rather than panicking.
• Liu Zheng also shows restraint when warned about the bathhouse shrine. Though curious, he refuses to risk a supernatural encounter.
• Cow-Horse continues to act as Liu Zheng’s guide and information source, while teasing him about his misfortune.
• The driver is established as observant and capable, quickly identifying both Liu Zheng’s pursuers and his attempts to exploit Restaurant’s rules.
• The Flymen are introduced as disgusting but not inherently powerful creatures whose protected status complicates how Liu Zheng can deal with them.

Significant Themes

• Absurdity and dark comedy: Liu Zheng’s “mission” involves cleaning sewage and finding a bathhouse rather than heroic combat, highlighting the grotesque humor of Metropolis.
• Survival through practicality: Knowledge, money, and exploiting bureaucratic loopholes are more useful than brute force.
• The consequences of contamination: The smell from Sewer’s intestines becomes both a humiliation and a source of danger, attracting monsters wherever Liu Zheng goes.
• Rules and social systems in a monstrous world: Even bizarre creatures such as Flymen are protected by official institutions, forcing characters to navigate laws rather than simply kill threats.
• Temptation versus caution: The bathhouse shrine presents a potentially erotic or supernatural temptation, but Liu Zheng prioritizes survival and avoids it.

Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and Cow-Horse exchange sarcastic, informal dialogue while discussing his filthy condition, the bathhouse, the shrine, and the breadworm.
• Liu Zheng negotiates with the Restaurant driver to rent a Ferrari despite lacking a delivery order, persuading him that he is on official business.
• The driver warns Liu Zheng about the Flymen and their explosive, foul-smelling corpses, then demonstrates the Ferrari’s hidden jet propulsion.
• The chapter ends with Liu Zheng and the driver fleeing while the Flymen pursue them in formation, setting up the next confrontation.

Chapter Summary: A Truly Bony Beauty

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng and the driver flee a swarm of Flymen attracted to the foul smell of old Sewer feces clinging to him.
• The driver reveals his extraordinary driving skill, performing reckless maneuvers and even attacking the Flymen head-on. He explains that he formerly drove tanks and warns Liu Zheng not to die too soon.
• Although the Flymen regenerate their wings and continue the pursuit, the driver rams them again before dropping Liu Zheng off at a Japanese-style bathhouse called Yakuza Sento.
• Liu Zheng enters the bathhouse and meets Jinzi, a mature, skeletal receptionist who is temporarily using a substitute human body because the establishment has not received its supply of fresh bodies.
• Jinzi offers Liu Zheng a private shower room at a discounted price, while the two exchange flirtatious banter. Liu Zheng gives her money for “nourishment” and attempts to gain her favor.
• Jinzi explains the bathhouse’s unusual customs: guests must properly honor shrine deities, avoid provoking tattooed patrons, and compete through reputation if challenged.
• After Liu Zheng enters the men’s changing room, Jinzi reveals that she and an unseen accomplice intended to wait until his next visit, when he would supposedly bring more money, before making a move.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng demonstrates resilience, confidence, and a playful, opportunistic personality. Despite being physically shaken by the driver’s maneuvers, he remains composed and uses flirtation and generosity to navigate the bathhouse.
• The driver is established as a fearless, highly skilled former tank operator with a mischievous sense of humor. Beneath his reckless behavior, he shows genuine concern for Liu Zheng and encourages him to survive.
• Jinzi appears outwardly warm, flirtatious, and professional, but her concealed motives reveal that she is calculating and financially motivated. Her skeletal nature also reinforces the bizarre supernatural setting.

Significant Themes

• Survival in a dangerous world: Liu Zheng repeatedly relies on wit, money, and strong allies to avoid death rather than brute strength alone.
• The grotesque and the beautiful: Jinzi is presented as attractive despite having skeletal feet and using another creature’s body, blending horror with seduction.
• Commercialized supernatural society: Even monsters, undead beings, bathhouses, and deities operate through prices, fees, workplace rules, and transactions.
• Appearance versus reality: The driver’s ordinary-looking car hides extreme capabilities, while Jinzi’s beautiful exterior conceals bones, deception, and predatory intentions.
• Humor amid danger: Violent pursuits and bodily horror are treated comically, particularly through the driver’s reckless driving and Liu Zheng’s shameless flirtation.

Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and the driver develop mutual respect after surviving the Flymen chase. The driver teases Liu Zheng but sincerely advises him to value his life.
• Liu Zheng and Jinzi engage in exaggerated flirtation, with Liu Zheng pretending to fall for her while also trying to manipulate the situation through compliments and money.
• Jinzi plays the role of helpful receptionist, giving Liu Zheng practical instructions, yet privately reveals that she views him as a future source of money.
• Liu Zheng’s mention of Cow-Horse establishes a connection to his employer and gives him limited credibility within the bathhouse.

Chapter Summary: “Money Can Make Gods Turn Millstones”

Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng enters an expensive bathhouse in Metropolis, reluctantly paying a thousand dollars for access to its facilities.
• In the changing room, he finds a mysterious bottle labeled “Super-Strength Deodorizing Stain Remover,” whose warning notes that it is highly corrosive.
• Ordinary shampoo and body wash fail to remove the traces of feces from his seaweed-like hair and body. He therefore uses the corrosive deodorizer, which dissolves his outer flesh and causes his body to regrow completely.
• After rinsing himself clean and drying off, Liu Zheng enters the outdoor natural hot spring.
• He discovers that a shrine containing the deity Ebisu is floating in the pool. The statue resembles the version of Ebisu from Ultraman Mebius and appears hostile or dissatisfied.
• Following Jinzi’s instructions, Liu Zheng performs the required ritual and offers money. His initial offering is rejected, forcing him to increase it first to two thousand and then five thousand.
• Once satisfied, Ebisu gives him a supernatural item: Ebisu’s Taiyaki, which permanently increases Luck slightly.
• The item’s warning states that insufficient offerings cause the fish to eat the worshipper, while larger offerings allow the worshipper to eat the fish.
• Liu Zheng discovers that the “fish” is actually made of wood but forces himself to eat it because he has already spent nearly ten thousand on the offering.
• Just as he prepares to relax in the spring, hurried footsteps approach from the corridor, suggesting a new encounter or threat.

Character Development

• Liu Zheng remains practical, sarcastic, and highly cost-conscious, repeatedly calculating whether the bathhouse’s outrageous prices are worthwhile.
• He demonstrates considerable physical resilience by enduring the corrosive deodorizer and allowing his body to regenerate.
• Despite recognizing the danger posed by Ebisu, he remains composed enough to follow the ritual and negotiate through increasingly expensive offerings.
• His greed and pragmatism are evident when he eats the wooden taiyaki rather than waste an item that cost him so much money.
• He also shows a childish, playful side when he dives dramatically into the hot spring before realizing the shrine is watching him.

Significant Themes

• Money and divine power: The chapter humorously portrays wealth as a means of appeasing even powerful gods; Ebisu’s favor must be purchased.
• Absurdity and dark humor: Corrosive bath products, self-regenerating flesh, and eating a wooden fish create a grotesque but comedic atmosphere.
• Cost versus value: Liu Zheng constantly weighs the bathhouse’s absurd expenses against the benefits of cleanliness, relaxation, and supernatural rewards.
• Risk and reward: The dangerous offering ritual yields a permanent Luck increase, but insufficient payment could have resulted in Liu Zheng being consumed.
• Survival through adaptability: Liu Zheng repeatedly accepts bizarre circumstances and finds practical ways to benefit from them.

Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng’s main interaction is with Ebisu, whose shrine silently judges his offerings through glowing red eyes and an agitated fish.
• Their exchange is essentially a negotiation: Liu Zheng offers increasing amounts of money, while Ebisu withholds the taiyaki until satisfied.
• The deity’s fish speaks the auspicious phrase “Buy more buns,” meaning that business should prosper, but its threatening behavior undermines the blessing’s cheerful appearance.
• The chapter ends with Liu Zheng alone in the spring, interrupted by an unknown person approaching rapidly from the corridor.

Chapter Summary: “Liu Zheng: Sorry, I Wasn’t Targeting Anyone”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng finishes bathing in a hot spring when a Garlic Man arrives and forces him to move from his spot through intimidation.
• A stronger Scallion Man arrives, displays an intimidating demon-mask tattoo, and takes Garlic Man’s place. Garlic Man retreats and pushes Liu Zheng even farther away.
• A Ginger Man then appears, boasting tattoos of dragons and a tiger. Scallion Man yields, and Garlic Man again forces Liu Zheng aside.
• The arrival of a heavily scarred and tattooed Chili Man intimidates the entire Scallion-Ginger-Garlic group. They immediately surrender the “honored” spot to him.
• Chili Man blocks Liu Zheng from leaving and claims the hot spring as their turf. He gives Liu Zheng two choices: acknowledge him as boss or suffer punishment by having a tentacle cut off.
• Liu Zheng initially seems unconcerned, but learns the tentacle will not regenerate. He then decides to challenge their authority rather than submit.
• He compares their criminal accomplishments with his own, repeatedly proving that he has committed or survived far more impressive and dangerous acts:
  • He killed multiple security guards at the elite First-Class Sky Villas.
  • He defied City Hall and rescued someone from interrogation.
  • He cheated a demon at the Black Market Casino and took hundreds of thousands from him.
  • He claims even Chili Man would have been forced to accept a delivery from him and escort him out.
• The tattooed vegetable-men become increasingly intimidated. Liu Zheng orders the Garlic, Scallion, and Ginger Men to stand aside with their heads stuck up their backsides.
• When Chili Man continues acting threateningly, Liu Zheng slaps him across the face before he can finish speaking and gives him the same humiliating order.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng begins as a reluctant bystander who wants to avoid conflict and return to the Restaurant. However, when the group threatens permanent bodily harm, his confidence and aggressive side emerge.
• He demonstrates that his apparently casual or absurd past experiences have given him enormous authority and fearsome credibility in the supernatural world.
• Liu Zheng uses psychological intimidation and personal anecdotes rather than immediately relying on violence or the Chew Toy. His calm mockery gradually reverses the power dynamic.
• Garlic Man, Scallion Man, and Ginger Man are introduced as a hierarchy of bullies who intimidate weaker figures but immediately submit to anyone stronger. Their confidence collapses once Liu Zheng outdoes their supposed achievements.
• Chili Man initially appears to be the dominant and most dangerous figure, but his authority proves dependent on reputation and physical intimidation. Liu Zheng’s slap exposes his vulnerability.
• The trio’s exaggerated fear and obedience emphasize their cowardice beneath their threatening appearances.

Significant Themes

• Power is based on reputation and confidence: The vegetable-men judge status through tattoos and criminal accomplishments, but Liu Zheng reveals that their standards can be surpassed.
• Appearances versus true strength: Their grotesque bodies, scars, tattoos, and intimidating behavior suggest great danger, yet they are easily cowed by someone with a more formidable history.
• Hierarchy and bullying: Each newcomer displaces the previous occupant through intimidation, creating a ridiculous chain of dominance. Liu Zheng ultimately disrupts the entire hierarchy.
• Humor through absurdity: The scene parodies gang culture and territorial posturing by giving the characters vegetable bodies, exaggerated tattoos, and ridiculous threats.
• Restraint giving way to retaliation: Liu Zheng does not seek conflict, but he refuses to tolerate permanent harm or humiliation. His response shows that patience should not be mistaken for weakness.

Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and Garlic Man: Garlic Man first bullies Liu Zheng into giving up his position, but Liu Zheng later humiliates it by comparing their criminal records.
• Garlic Man and Scallion Man: Garlic Man immediately submits to Scallion Man’s superior tattoo and presence.
• Scallion Man and Ginger Man: Scallion Man, previously dominant, becomes submissive when Ginger Man displays more impressive tattoos.
• The trio and Chili Man: All three fear Chili Man and voluntarily surrender their place without resistance.
• Chili Man and Liu Zheng: Chili Man attempts to establish dominance through threats and mutilation. Liu Zheng counters with increasingly outrageous claims, then physically asserts control by slapping him.
• By the end of the chapter, the entire intimidation-based hierarchy has been inverted, with Liu Zheng standing above the tattooed gang despite initially wanting no confrontation.

Chapter Summary

Plot points and events

Liu Zheng finishes subduing the Seasoning Quartet and forces them to acknowledge him as their “Boss.” He recruits Chili Head by taking his contact information and leaves money with Jinzi so the quartet can enjoy the resort, though they must pay for any excess. As Liu Zheng prepares to leave, Guokou Tangzi, the fourth-generation leader of the Ultimate Flavor Group, arrives and confronts him for recruiting her subordinates and disgracing her organization. She declares that she intends to boil Liu Zheng and the Seasoning Quartet into soup. Liu Zheng protests, jokes about cooking methods, and threatens to summon the Tindalos Hound with the Chew Toy. Tangzi claims she can contain even the hound in her soup pot. After Liu Zheng forces her to swear that making soup will not kill him, he and the quartet lie in the hot spring as instructed. Tangzi drops a spark into the pool, causing the entire hot spring to begin boiling.

Character developments

Liu Zheng continues to establish himself as a domineering yet oddly generous leader. He intimidates the Seasoning Quartet but also offers them money, better opportunities, and a possible escape from their lives as petty thugs. His boldness, irreverent humor, and suspicious nature remain central to his behavior, especially in his insistence on obtaining Tangzi’s oath. The quartet, previously arrogant, are now thoroughly cowed and obedient, treating Liu Zheng as a superior while still fearing their original boss. Guokou Tangzi is introduced as powerful, confident, and dangerous, but also fiercely protective of her subordinates and proud of the Ultimate Flavor Group.

Significant themes

The chapter emphasizes power, hierarchy, and the shifting loyalties of underlings. Liu Zheng’s combination of intimidation and rewards contrasts with Tangzi’s authoritarian leadership. Humor comes from the absurd fusion of gangster behavior, culinary imagery, supernatural creatures, and bathhouse rules. Trust and deception are also important: Liu Zheng demands a formal oath because he suspects Tangzi may exploit loopholes, while Tangzi uses technically precise promises to maintain control. The recurring food imagery turns both people and supernatural beings into ingredients, reinforcing the grotesque culinary theme.

Character interactions

Liu Zheng bullies the Seasoning Quartet into shouting their obedience and recruits Chili Head directly in front of Tangzi. Tangzi rebukes the quartet for their arrogance and confronts Liu Zheng over humiliating them. Their exchange becomes a battle of insults, wordplay, and threats, with Liu Zheng defending his status as a Bloodstained Restaurant employee and Tangzi mocking the organization. Liu Zheng invokes the Chew Toy as a threat, but Tangzi confidently counters that she can trap the summoned creature. Their verbal contest ends with Tangzi gaining the immediate upper hand by compelling Liu Zheng and his new underlings to remain in the boiling pool.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng is submerged in Guokou Tangzi’s specially prepared hot spring, where the Seasoning Quartet—Scallion Head, Ginger Head, Garlic Head, and Chili Head—are being boiled to release their flavors into the water.
• The water becomes increasingly spicy rather than hot, causing Liu Zheng to complain and demand entertainment while he waits.
• Guokou Tangzi gives him a bizarre “Blanket Girlfriend,” followed by the offer of a mollusk-themed pornographic magazine. Liu Zheng rejects both and chooses to discuss business instead.
• Liu Zheng begins considering the Seasoning Quartet as potential subordinates. He does not primarily need them for combat, but for intelligence gathering, errands, purchases, and other practical support.
• The Quartet explains that they will acknowledge Liu Zheng as their leader if Guokou Tangzi agrees, provided he does not mistreat her. Liu Zheng promises them wealth, territory, and private bathhouses.
• Scallion Head reveals that Guokou Tangzi loves high-quality soup and suggests this could be used to win her over. Liu Zheng plans to obtain excellent soup from Bloodstained Restaurant.
• Liu Zheng tries to persuade Guokou Tangzi by describing his connections and accomplishments, including visits to the Black Market and Casino, his dealings with Oink, possession of the Legendary Deliveryman’s Delivery Box, and his claim that he caused the recent earthquake by stealing the Sewer’s “balls.”
• He argues that power in Metropolis requires influence and connections, not merely fighting ability. He offers Guokou Tangzi and her followers access to Bloodstained Restaurant’s network and promises them wealth.
• Guokou Tangzi appears intrigued but responds by throwing the soup pot at him, knocking him unconscious.

Character Development

• Liu Zheng demonstrates growing ambition and strategic thinking. Rather than seeking only stronger combatants, he recognizes the value of loyal subordinates who can provide information and logistical support.
• He also presents himself as a powerful, well-connected figure, using his past adventures to impress Guokou Tangzi and establish credibility.
• Guokou Tangzi remains abrasive, suspicious, and highly independent. She is confident in her own strength and dismisses Liu Zheng’s claims, but her reaction to his stories suggests that his connections and accomplishments genuinely catch her attention.
• The Seasoning Quartet begin shifting their allegiance toward Liu Zheng. They admire his boldness, are attracted by his promises of wealth and private bathhouses, and are willing to follow him if Guokou Tangzi accepts him.
• Scallion Head becomes particularly cooperative, secretly helping Liu Zheng identify Guokou Tangzi’s weakness—her love of soup.

Significant Themes

• Influence versus individual strength: The chapter emphasizes that surviving and achieving goals in the wider world requires networks, reputation, resources, and allies—not just the ability to fight.
• Leadership and recruitment: Liu Zheng seeks to build a support organization by offering tangible rewards and opportunities rather than relying solely on intimidation.
• Negotiation through absurdity and leverage: Liu Zheng combines outrageous boasts, humor, and real achievements to negotiate with Guokou Tangzi.
• Loyalty and hierarchy: The Quartet’s loyalty is tied to Guokou Tangzi, but they are open to recognizing Liu Zheng if he respects and benefits her.
• Comedic contrast: The grotesque cooking imagery, strange entertainment, and exaggerated criminal-world boasts undercut the serious power negotiation with absurd humor.

Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and Guokou Tangzi constantly trade insults, with her criticizing his cowardice and him challenging her cooking and authority.
• Liu Zheng builds rapport with the Seasoning Quartet by boasting about his strength and offering them wealth and comfort.
• The Quartet cautiously negotiates their possible allegiance, making Guokou Tangzi’s approval the condition for following him.
• Scallion Head privately provides Liu Zheng with useful information, effectively betraying Guokou Tangzi’s secrecy while trying to improve the Quartet’s future.
• Liu Zheng attempts to impress Guokou Tangzi with his connections, but she ultimately rejects his pitch—at least for the moment—by knocking him unconscious with the soup pot.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng and the Seasoning Quartet are released after being boiled in Guokou Tangzi’s pressure-cooker soup. Tangzi then drains an entire hot spring into her iron soup pot, producing an intensely concentrated broth.
• Liu Zheng negotiates for a portion of the soup, intending to have the Bloodstained Restaurant evaluate it and potentially use it in a trade.
• The conversation turns to Tangzi’s organization, the Ultimate Flavor Group. She explains that its members are trained to endure repeated boiling and that the group operates according to loyalty and righteousness.
• Liu Zheng asks about the group’s strength. Tangzi claims that she and her four subordinates could fight Cow-Horse to a mutual defeat, giving Liu Zheng confidence that they can handle dangerous criminal forces.
• Liu Zheng proposes an alliance against the Jorden Family, whose businesses involve underground clinics and contraband drugs. He offers intelligence, cleanup support, and access to the Jorden Family’s businesses in exchange for the Ultimate Flavor Group destroying them.
• Tangzi questions Liu Zheng’s motives and reliability. He refuses to reveal exactly why the Jorden Family is obstructing him, citing his many dangerous secrets and connections.
• Tangzi agrees to consider the partnership but demands that Liu Zheng do something for her first.
• Before she can explain, Liu Zheng’s phone begins ringing loudly. The call is from Si Xue, who gives him only “two minutes,” prompting him to rush toward the changing room.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng remains resourceful, sarcastic, and strategically manipulative. He turns the soup-making incident into a diplomatic opportunity and uses the prospect of profit to recruit Tangzi’s organization.
• He demonstrates a pragmatic worldview, believing that shared interests can create trust even between strangers, while personal relationships do not guarantee loyalty.
• Guokou Tangzi is established as powerful, proud, competitive, and fiercely protective of her soup. Despite her criminal reputation, she runs the Ultimate Flavor Group according to strict principles and forbids illegal modifications and contraband drugs.
• Tangzi’s jealousy toward the Bloodstained Restaurant becomes clear. She regards it as a monopolistic institution that succeeds through status and premium ingredients rather than superior skill.
• The Seasoning Quartet appear highly loyal to Tangzi and obediently support her decisions, reinforcing the group’s internal discipline.
• Liu Zheng’s relationship with Tangzi shifts from hostility and mutual provocation toward a potentially profitable alliance, although neither fully trusts the other.

Significant Themes

• Trust based on interests: Liu Zheng argues that aligned goals can produce stronger cooperation than friendship or family ties.
• Morality within criminal organizations: The Ultimate Flavor Group is portrayed as a comparatively principled organization despite operating in a corrupt and dangerous city.
• Competition and resentment: Tangzi’s hostility toward the Bloodstained Restaurant reflects frustration with monopolies, unequal status, and the difference between genuine skill and institutional power.
• Secrecy and hidden identities: Liu Zheng withholds the real reasons behind his conflict with the Jorden Family because his connections to the Sewer, Chaos Club, Garbage Processing Plant, and Legendary Deliveryman could endanger Tangzi.
• Humor through grotesque absurdity: Being boiled into soup, arguing over meat, and Tangzi’s refusal to remove her bathrobe create comic tension amid serious criminal negotiations.

Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and Tangzi trade insults throughout the chapter, particularly over the boiling process, masculinity, and her refusal to undress in the bathhouse.
• Liu Zheng flatters Tangzi’s loyalty and righteousness while simultaneously probing the Ultimate Flavor Group’s strength and principles.
• Tangzi challenges Liu Zheng’s motives and warns that she could potentially betray him, forcing him to justify the alliance through financial incentives.
• Liu Zheng and the Seasoning Quartet share a wary but increasingly respectful dynamic, as he recognizes their loyalty and Tangzi’s responsible leadership.
• The chapter ends abruptly when Si Xue’s urgent call interrupts Liu Zheng’s negotiations, creating immediate suspense about what awaits him in the changing room.

Chapter Summary: Si Xue: I’m Starting to Regret This

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng receives an urgent call from Si Xue and rushes back to the Bloodstained Restaurant. He suspects she may have summoned him because of the destruction he caused at Sunshine Pet Store and in the Sewer.
• Before returning, Liu Zheng speaks with Guokou Tangzi, who asks him to arrange a soup competition between herself and the Bloodstained Restaurant’s head chef.
• Guokou proposes wagering half of the Ultimate Flavor Group’s heirloom soup pot. The Seasoning Quartet strongly objects, explaining that the pot represents the group’s authority and legitimacy.
• Chili Head threatens to initiate impeachment proceedings if Guokou proceeds, but Guokou argues that the group’s true purpose is to create the world’s most delicious soup. If she cannot defeat the Restaurant’s chef, preserving the pot is meaningless. The group ultimately agrees to support her.
• Liu Zheng agrees to try persuading the Restaurant’s head chef and deposits 5,000 as a gesture of goodwill. He also notices what appears to be regret in Jinzi’s expression.
• Back at the Restaurant, Liu Zheng places the soup in the break room and stops Cow-Horse from drinking it by revealing that it was steeped in his bathwater.
• While using the elevator, Liu Zheng wonders whether the elevator, like the Sewer and Delivery Passage, might be alive. It ignores him, leaving the question unresolved.
• The elevator opens onto a Frozen Hell rather than the Lava Sea. Si Xue is waiting on a massive iceberg, lying on a snowflake covered in eyes.
• Si Xue admits she regrets allowing Liu Zheng into the Restaurant after he arrived with City Hall’s letter, implying that his presence has caused serious trouble. She then tears off a snowflake petal and throws it at him, ending the chapter on a threatening cliffhanger.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng remains respectful and cautious around Si Xue, while also displaying his usual shameless humor and practical thinking. He recognizes that Si Xue sees through his excuses and prepares to confess rather than attempt deception.
• He continues building relationships with outside factions, agreeing to help Guokou Tangzi despite being uncertain about the consequences.
• Guokou Tangzi demonstrates ambition, pride, and determination. She is willing to risk an important heirloom to prove her cooking ability and fulfill the Ultimate Flavor Group’s ideal.
• Chili Head shows loyalty both to Guokou and to the organization. Though he challenges her decision, he ultimately accepts her reasoning and supports her.
• Si Xue appears increasingly burdened and regretful over Liu Zheng’s involvement with the Restaurant. Her calm but threatening behavior suggests that she is preparing to punish or test him.
• Cow-Horse remains irreverent and gluttonous, but immediately refuses the soup once it learns its unpleasant origin.

Significant Themes

• Loyalty versus authority: The Seasoning Quartet must choose between protecting the Ultimate Flavor Group’s symbol of legitimacy and supporting their leader’s personal goal.
• Pride and competition: Guokou sees the soup contest as a test of whether she can truly claim to be the world’s greatest chef.
• Consequences of power: Liu Zheng’s destructive actions are beginning to catch up with him, especially now that Si Xue is directly involved.
• Institutional purpose versus tradition: Guokou argues that traditions and symbols are worthless if they no longer serve the organization’s original purpose.
• The Restaurant’s mysterious nature: The living Sewer, possibly living Delivery Passage, and ambiguous elevator reinforce that the Bloodstained Restaurant is an extraordinary and possibly sentient environment.

Character Interactions

• Si Xue and Liu Zheng exchange a tense phone call in which her restrained questioning exposes his anxiety.
• Liu Zheng and Guokou negotiate the proposed soup competition, including its terms and wager.
• Guokou and the Seasoning Quartet debate whether the heirloom pot can be risked; Chili Head briefly challenges her authority before being convinced.
• Liu Zheng and Cow-Horse share a comic exchange over the soup.
• The chapter ends with Si Xue confronting Liu Zheng in the Frozen Hell and attacking him with a piece of the giant snowflake.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng reports to Si Xue, claiming that Sewer is suffering from severe hemorrhoids and proposing to find a doctor to treat him. Si Xue accepts the plan, suggesting that she is concerned about Sewer’s condition.
• To reach Si Xue on the iceberg, Liu Zheng comically rolls beneath it and is lifted upward by an ice pillar. Their exchange emphasizes his willingness to endure humiliation in order to survive.
• Si Xue questions Liu Zheng about why he is so submissive toward authority while also recklessly courting death. She confronts him about blowing up Sunshine Pet Store and the surrounding area.
• Liu Zheng offers absurd excuses, claiming the explosion was an accident caused by a faulty understanding of the bomb. He insists that delivering food on time justifies extreme risks.
• Si Xue reveals that she had considered subjecting him to punishment and transferring him to the dangerous Customer Service Department, where Britannia could discipline him. Instead, recognizing his usefulness, she allows him to remain in Delivery.
• As punishment, Liu Zheng is ordered to report to Kitchen as an ingredient for a customer’s Black Goat’s Young hot pot. He jokes that his meat may be tough after spending more than two hundred months out of the pen.
• Si Xue kicks Liu Zheng into the elevator. During the descent, the elevator violently malfunctions—or appears to retaliate against him—repeatedly crashing and jerking around.
• Liu Zheng threatens and negotiates with the elevator until it stops attacking him. He boasts about his connections throughout the Restaurant and persuades the elevator that cooperation is better than hostility.
• Back in the Delivery Department, Liu Zheng tells Cow-Horse that Si Xue summoned him over the Sunshine Pet Store bombing. Cow-Horse condemns the destruction as mass slaughter, while Liu Zheng minimizes it and even suggests he might destroy the store’s breeding farm if it happens to be on his delivery route.
• Liu Zheng then explains that he has been sent to Kitchen not to help cook, but to serve as an ingredient. Before leaving, he asks Cow-Horse to contact Tailor Spider because he needs to discuss another matter.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng: Continues to demonstrate a combination of shamelessness, survival instinct, recklessness, and social cunning. He is willing to endure humiliation or perform degrading tasks to stay alive, yet he remains dangerously impulsive when carrying out deliveries. His ability to build relationships across Restaurant’s departments is shown to be an important source of protection and influence.
• Si Xue: Presents herself as stern and punitive but also pragmatic. She recognizes Liu Zheng’s abilities and chooses not to waste him in Customer Service, despite being angry about his destructive behavior. Her concern for Sewer also reveals a more personal and protective side.
• Cow-Horse: Acts as Liu Zheng’s skeptical colleague and enjoys seeing him punished. It views his actions as far more destructive than he admits, but still helps him contact Tailor Spider.
• The Elevator: Is portrayed almost like a temperamental employee with emotions and grudges. Liu Zheng pacifies it through threats, negotiation, and appeals to workplace solidarity.
• Sewer: Though absent from the scene, remains important because of his medical condition and Liu Zheng’s plan to arrange treatment for him.

Significant Themes

• Survival versus dignity: Liu Zheng openly argues that humiliation is acceptable if it keeps him alive, contrasting practical survival with conventional human pride.
• Workplace hierarchy and punishment: The Restaurant functions like a bizarre workplace where dangerous bosses, departments, transfers, and disciplinary procedures determine survival.
• Loyalty and usefulness: Liu Zheng avoids harsher punishment because Si Xue values his abilities. His many connections also demonstrate that usefulness and relationships can provide protection.
• Destructive professionalism: Liu Zheng treats reckless violence as an occupational hazard, insisting that delivering food on time excuses even catastrophic collateral damage.
• Human adaptability in an inhuman environment: Liu Zheng survives by treating monsters, machines, and supernatural authorities as coworkers who can be negotiated with, bribed, or threatened.

Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and Si Xue: Their conversation mixes fear, mock obedience, interrogation, and dark humor. Si Xue criticizes his recklessness, while Liu Zheng uses flattery and outrageous excuses to avoid punishment.
• Liu Zheng and the elevator: Their confrontation develops into a bizarre negotiation. After provoking it, Liu Zheng appeals to professional solidarity and his network of allies to convince it to stop retaliating.
• Liu Zheng and Cow-Horse: Cow-Horse mocks Liu Zheng’s survival and destruction, while Liu Zheng casually defends his actions. Despite the insults, Cow-Horse remains willing to assist him.
• Liu Zheng and Sewer: Their relationship is indirect in this chapter, but Liu Zheng’s plan to secure medical treatment for Sewer suggests either practical concern or an attempt to gain Si Xue’s favor.

Chapter Summary: “To Win a Spider Girl’s Heart, First Win Her Stomach”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng offers Tailor Spider a plate of blanched mealworms, successfully coaxing her out of hiding. He deliberately closes his eyes to make her feel safe while she eats.
• Afterward, Liu Zheng asks Tailor Spider to make Cow-Horse a new uniform. She explains that she lacks the special thread required and cannot obtain more because her relatives are dangerous and unstable.
• Tailor Spider agrees to provide her shed skin as camouflage if Liu Zheng obtains an All-Insect Banquet. Liu Zheng accepts, planning to ask the Kitchen for help.
• Tailor Spider also warns Cow-Horse that damaging uniforms incurs a 500-fine, though Liu Zheng views the fine as irrelevant since he does not expect to be paid.
• Liu Zheng brings the soup pot to the Kitchen to fulfill a customer’s order for Black Goat’s Young hot pot. White-Feather Chicken, the head chef, escorts him toward the Slaughterhouse.
• White-Feather Chicken provokes Liu Zheng by mentioning Britannia’s purchase of human “consumables.” Liu Zheng retaliates by asking whether any White-Feather Chickens were among those sold.
• The Kitchen falls silent, and White-Feather Chicken threatens Liu Zheng for his insolence. Liu Zheng hides his anger behind an apology, claiming he is mentally unstable and has suffered another episode.
• Liu Zheng offers White-Feather Chicken a taste of his soup. The chef initially mocks it as “a pot of piss,” but after smelling it, he is shocked that Liu Zheng made it himself, implying the soup is far better than expected.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng demonstrates patience and emotional intelligence with Tailor Spider, using food and reassurance to earn her trust. He also shows increasing boldness, challenging powerful figures such as White-Feather Chicken despite the danger.
• His resentment toward Britannia and the commodification of humans becomes clearer. Although Liu Zheng admits that survival is making him less human, he still retains a desire for revenge and refuses to excuse Britannia’s cruelty.
• Tailor Spider becomes more cooperative after being treated kindly. Her willingness to negotiate suggests that food and respectful treatment are effective ways to build trust with her.
• Cow-Horse acts as translator and intermediary but remains sarcastic and easily irritated. Despite complaining, he helps Liu Zheng communicate with Tailor Spider.
• White-Feather Chicken is established as proud, authoritarian, and highly sensitive to disrespect. His expert reaction to Liu Zheng’s soup hints that Liu Zheng may possess an unexpectedly valuable culinary talent.
• Calico Cat shows concern for Liu Zheng by volunteering to help, but White-Feather Chicken dismisses her offer.

Significant Themes

• Food as a means of connection and negotiation: Liu Zheng wins Tailor Spider’s cooperation through mealworms and may now gain White-Feather Chicken’s respect through cooking.
• Survival and moral compromise: Liu Zheng recognizes that life in the Metropolis is forcing him to become less compassionate and more ruthless, yet he still remembers the wrongs committed against humans.
• Power and workplace hierarchy: White-Feather Chicken’s authority allows him to threaten Liu Zheng, while Liu Zheng’s status as an outsider leaves him vulnerable despite being a coworker.
• Human commodification: The conversation about humans being sold as consumables emphasizes the horrifying normalization of exploitation in the restaurant’s world.
• Trust through vulnerability and respect: Liu Zheng succeeds with Tailor Spider by accommodating her fear and embarrassment, contrasting with White-Feather Chicken’s confrontational manner.

Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and Tailor Spider: A cautious but increasingly productive relationship develops through food, negotiation, and mutual accommodation.
• Liu Zheng and Cow-Horse: Cow-Horse translates Tailor Spider’s speech while criticizing Liu Zheng’s behavior, though he still assists him.
• Liu Zheng and White-Feather Chicken: Their interaction shifts from professional cooperation to open hostility after White-Feather Chicken provokes Liu Zheng. The chapter ends with the chef unexpectedly impressed by Liu Zheng’s soup.
• Liu Zheng and Calico Cat: Calico Cat offers to help him, showing sympathy, while Liu Zheng silently thanks her.
• White-Feather Chicken and the Kitchen staff: His authority is unquestioned; his anger is enough to silence the entire Kitchen.

Chapter Summary: “Napoleon: Let You Taste Britannia”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng presents a soup to Napoleon, claiming that although he did not make it himself, he played an essential role in its creation.
• Napoleon tastes the soup and criticizes it for having acceptable heat control and seasoning but a weak base flavor and overly pale color.
• Liu Zheng reveals that the soup was made as a challenge by Guokou Tangzi, leader of Ultimate Flavor Group. She wants to compete with Napoleon in a soup-making contest, with half of the valuable soup pot as the wager.
• Napoleon explains Ultimate Flavor Group’s history: the group once had prestige in Metropolis but was disqualified from the Metropolis Culinary Competition for using prohibited seasonings, causing its sign to be removed.
• Napoleon agrees to compete, though he insists Guokou Tangzi come to Bloodstained Restaurant if she wants to face him directly. Liu Zheng instead proposes carrying the soups between the two sides for judging.
• Captain Dragonfly is suggested as referee. Napoleon accepts the idea but warns that he will reject any unfair verdict.
• Liu Zheng also asks about purchasing an All-Insect Banquet and additional wine. Napoleon refuses to sell the restaurant’s final All-Insect Banquet, explaining that the rare ingredient has not been available for decades. However, Liu Zheng may duplicate it through the Legendary Delivery Box, provided he can afford the enormous cost.
• Napoleon also refuses to sell more wine, claiming that Liu Zheng has already repaid the favor he once owed him.
• Irritated by Liu Zheng’s constant questions, Napoleon suddenly cuts out his tongue with astonishing precision and takes him to the Slaughterhouse.
• The chapter ends with Napoleon preparing to butcher Liu Zheng, while Liu Zheng continues joking about cooking his tongue. Napoleon then threatens to hot-pot the rest of his body as well.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng remains resourceful, provocative, and fearless. He negotiates confidently with Napoleon, arranges the proposed culinary contest, seeks rare food and wine, and continues making jokes even after being attacked.
• Napoleon is established as an exceptionally skilled and arrogant chef. He is proud of Bloodstained Restaurant’s status, values culinary standards and fair competition, and possesses frightening knife skills. Despite his threats, he appears to respect legitimate contests and professional integrity.
• Guokou Tangzi is introduced as an ambitious chef seeking to restore Ultimate Flavor Group’s reputation and reclaim its lost status through a public victory over Bloodstained Restaurant.
• Captain Dragonfly is characterized as an eccentric but impartial referee who avoids official competitions while judging unusual private contests.
• The Calico Cat/Salmon provides comic relief, eagerly asking to taste Liu Zheng’s soup and accepting his permission in exchange for dried fish.

Significant Themes

• Culinary prestige and reputation: The contest is not merely about soup; it concerns Ultimate Flavor Group’s attempt to recover its honor and Bloodstained Restaurant’s dominance.
• Scarcity and value: Napoleon emphasizes that ingredients unavailable in Metropolis become extraordinarily valuable, regardless of their original worth.
• Skill versus status: Napoleon’s confidence comes from genuine culinary and technical ability, while Liu Zheng subtly challenges his arrogance by comparing him to ingredients and exploiting his connections.
• Rules and fair judgment: The proposed involvement of Captain Dragonfly highlights the importance of impartiality and formal standards in competition.
• Humor amid danger: Liu Zheng’s jokes continue even while he is being dismembered, creating a contrast between the grotesque setting and the chapter’s absurd comedy.
• Power and vulnerability: Napoleon presents himself as dominant within the Kitchen, turning Liu Zheng from a troublesome customer into a potential dish, though Liu Zheng’s calmness prevents him from appearing truly helpless.

Important Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and Napoleon: Their conversation is a battle of pride and wit. Liu Zheng flatters, negotiates, and provokes Napoleon, while Napoleon responds with contempt, culinary criticism, and eventually violence.
• Napoleon and the Calico Cat: Napoleon orders Salmon to fetch his spoon, while she innocently tries to obtain some soup for herself.
• Liu Zheng and Guokou Tangzi: Though she does not appear directly, Liu Zheng acts as her representative and conveys her challenge and proposed terms.
• Liu Zheng and Captain Dragonfly: Liu Zheng proposes using Dragonfly’s reputation for fairness to legitimize the soup contest.
• Napoleon and Liu Zheng in the Slaughterhouse: Their playful verbal exchange turns into a threatening confrontation, with Napoleon demonstrating that the restaurant’s chef can overpower Liu Zheng at any moment.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• White-Feather Chicken forcibly slices 9,999 thin pieces of flesh from Liu Zheng’s body for use as ingredients. It threatens to cut his brain and crotch but ultimately only removes superficial meat, attempting more to intimidate than seriously harm him.
• Liu Zheng’s body shrinks to roughly one-third of its original size, but he restores himself by eating dried fish supplied by Calico Cat.
• After leaving the Slaughterhouse, Liu Zheng negotiates with Calico Cat and White-Feather Chicken about obtaining more Sewer Fish and rare food. White-Feather Chicken also demands an All-Insect Banquet and fine liquor.
• Liu Zheng asks Cow-Horse to acquire the banquet and liquor. Cow-Horse explains that the All-Insect Banquet is nearly impossible to obtain, while liquor can be purchased for a price.
• He contacts Fisherman, who cannot arrange the banquet because he is still recovering and must deal with the fishpond’s disturbance after the Sewer’s recent “bowel-clearing.” Fisherman agrees to prepare various large fish for Liu Zheng.
• Liu Zheng plans to give attractive fish to White-Feather Chicken and less attractive ones to Calico Cat.
• He then finalizes a culinary challenge between Napoleon and the Ultimate Flavor Group. If the group loses, it must surrender the complete soup pot; if Napoleon loses, it will receive a congratulatory flower basket endorsing its revival.
• The challenge is accepted because Bloodstained Restaurant’s endorsement could restore the Ultimate Flavor Group’s ability to operate under its original signboard.
• The competition will begin immediately and involve making soup from one of ten designated ingredients. Liu Zheng prepares to contact another person afterward, though the chapter ends before the call is completed.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng remains fearless, irreverent, and highly pragmatic. He treats bodily mutilation casually because of his regenerative abilities and uses humor to resist intimidation.
• He shows greater awareness of social boundaries when White-Feather Chicken jokes about Calico Cat, choosing not to respond in a way that might embarrass or endanger Calico Cat.
• Liu Zheng continues building a broad network of powerful contacts, using favors, flattery, food, and strategic bargaining to solve problems.
• White-Feather Chicken is revealed to be cruel and theatrical but not needlessly destructive. It values rare ingredients and takes pride in its culinary status.
• Calico Cat remains openly affectionate toward Liu Zheng and relies on him to supply fish for its dried-fish production.
• Cow-Horse acts as Liu Zheng’s superior and reluctant intermediary, mocking his relationships and demanding compensation while still helping him.
• Fisherman is weakened by recent injuries and environmental turmoil but remains responsible for maintaining the fishpond’s ecosystem.
• Guokou Tangzi and the Ultimate Flavor Group demonstrate that their true passion is cooking rather than their traditional criminal businesses. Their willingness to accept the challenge reflects their desperation to restore their reputation and identity.

Significant Themes

• Regeneration and bodily resilience: Liu Zheng’s healing ability changes his relationship with pain and physical danger, making mutilation an inconvenience rather than a true threat.
• Food as currency and power: Ingredients, banquets, liquor, fish, and delivery services function as valuable resources used to negotiate favors and relationships.
• Networks and reciprocity: Liu Zheng succeeds by mobilizing contacts across the Metropolis, though every favor carries a cost.
• Identity and redemption: The Ultimate Flavor Group’s lost signboard symbolizes the destruction of its public identity. Napoleon’s flower basket could restore both its legitimacy and its members’ chance to pursue cooking.
• Humor amid danger: Grotesque violence, sexual jokes, and absurd business negotiations are treated casually, creating a darkly comedic atmosphere.
• Ecosystem and cycles of destruction: The Sewer’s periodic purging reshapes the fishpond’s populations, emphasizing the harsh but self-sustaining natural order of the setting.

Important Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and White-Feather Chicken exchange threats and jokes during the slicing process, establishing their hostile but familiar relationship.
• Calico Cat affectionately asks Liu Zheng for more fish, while Liu Zheng negotiates with White-Feather Chicken over what ingredients and food it wants.
• Liu Zheng flatters and bargains with Cow-Horse to obtain rare food and liquor, while Cow-Horse teases him about his romantic partners.
• Liu Zheng and Fisherman discuss the Sewer’s ecological effects and arrange for fish to be prepared for later collection.
• Liu Zheng serves as mediator between White-Feather Chicken, Napoleon, and the Ultimate Flavor Group, using the proposed flower basket to make the culinary challenge acceptable.
• The chapter closes with Liu Zheng preparing to contact another ally, continuing his effort to secure rare food and assistance.

Chapter Summary: “I Want to Take Our Relationship to the Next Level”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Wang Manni has recently become a manager after inheriting and taking control of Manager Wang’s department. She is using her new authority to intimidate subordinates and establish dominance.
• Her transformation is physical as well as professional: her body is developing insect-like features, including hard patches on her face and growing forelimbs. She knows that fully assuming the manager’s power will eventually turn her into a true insect.
• Despite the painful and disturbing transformation, Wang Manni accepts it because power has given her status, wealth, and influence.
• Liu Zheng, the mysterious Deliveryman associated with the Bloodstained Restaurant, calls her unexpectedly. He offers to help secure her position by killing her rivals, but she refuses because an immediate purge would make her appear overly ruthless to higher management.
• Liu Zheng asks Wang Manni to order an All-Insect Banquet, a delivery roughly equivalent to a Planetary Level banquet. The cost is likely enormous, but Wang Manni is reluctant to refuse him because of his power and her fear of becoming his enemy.
• Liu Zheng offers to use his connections to help her in exchange for arranging the banquet. He jokingly suggests that they could take their relationship “to the next level,” but both characters interpret the phrase differently. Wang Manni appears to mean a romantic or intimate relationship, while Liu Zheng means a stronger strategic partnership.
• Wang Manni proposes helping Liu Zheng find a tutor for a deputy director’s son, who ranks last in his school. Liu Zheng accepts, recognizing that the child may be connected to the “Wax Figure Little Fatty” matter from earlier events.
• Liu Zheng plans to find someone else to teach the boy, since he lacks the time and perhaps the expertise to do it himself. The chapter ends with him considering a suitable candidate before preparing to travel home.

Character Developments

• Wang Manni has risen from secretary to manager and is becoming more confident, calculating, and politically aware. However, she remains deeply afraid of Liu Zheng and the consequences of refusing him.
• Her transformation reveals her internal conflict: she wants the power and privileges of the insect hierarchy but is horrified by the loss of her human appearance and identity.
• Liu Zheng is shown to be direct, powerful, and casually violent, but also practical and willing to help his allies. He treats the relationship with Wang Manni as a mutually beneficial partnership rather than a romance.
• Liu Zheng’s memories of being exploited by authority figures add a humorous, resentful side to his personality and explain his suspicion toward vague promises of rewards.

Significant Themes

• Power versus identity: Wang Manni willingly sacrifices her humanity and beauty for authority, illustrating the physical and psychological price of social advancement.
• Fear and dependence: Although Wang Manni now holds a managerial position, she remains subordinate to greater powers such as Liu Zheng and the Bloodstained Restaurant.
• Transactional relationships: Both characters view favors, connections, and protection as forms of exchange. Trust is secondary to usefulness and mutual advantage.
• Appearance and status: Wang Manni believes power itself functions as a form of beauty, even as her body becomes increasingly monstrous.
• Political caution: She understands that leadership requires more than eliminating enemies; she must also manage appearances and avoid attracting suspicion from higher authorities.
• Humor amid horror: The grotesque insect transformations and threat of murder are balanced by misunderstandings, sarcastic dialogue, and Liu Zheng’s comic stories about being underpaid for menial work.

Character Interactions

• Wang Manni’s subordinate treats her with exaggerated respect, revealing how quickly power has changed workplace dynamics.
• Her conversation with Liu Zheng is marked by caution and hidden fear. She tries to appear composed while carefully negotiating his demands.
• Liu Zheng offers violent assistance, while Wang Manni demonstrates political restraint by declining it.
• Their flirtatious misunderstanding exposes a contrast between Wang Manni’s possible romantic interest and Liu Zheng’s pragmatic view of partnership.
• Wang Manni uses her corporate connections to help Liu Zheng, while Liu Zheng offers access to his broader network, establishing a strategic alliance.

Chapter Summary: “Liu Zheng’s Big Life Event”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng calls Nightingale to ask about the explosive enhancement she noticed. He reveals that he used a device capable of multiplying explosive power tenfold.
• Their conversation shifts to Nightingale’s education. Although she never attended school or had tutors, she claims to have possessed extensive knowledge from birth and to be qualified to teach at Metropolis’s best university.
• Liu Zheng offers Nightingale a tutoring job for two students who rank last in their respective grades: a middle-school student and an elementary-school student.
• As compensation, he promises her protection during the upcoming trip to the Garbage Processing Plant. Fire Mage will accompany them, while Fisherman’s involvement remains uncertain.
• Liu Zheng explains his arrangement with Fire Mage: in exchange for helping remove Fire Mage’s wanted status, Fire Mage will escort them into the Garbage Processing Plant. The wanted order concerns the death of a Councillor from the Jorden Family.
• He urges Nightingale, who is pursuing the position of sole family heir, to investigate the Jorden Family’s underground clinics, illegal drug factories, locations, personnel, and other secrets.
• Nightingale worries that her siblings are monitoring her and that Fisherman may be as dangerous to her as they are. Liu Zheng advises her to travel through the waterways and rely on Fisherman and Fire Mage for protection.
• Liu Zheng gives Nightingale Wang Manni’s contact information so she can apply for the tutoring position.
• Cow-Horse delivers Liu Zheng’s requested liquor, charging thirty thousand and asking Liu Zheng to buy him magazines as a hidden favor.
• Wang Manni calls to report that Nightingale impressed a deputy director during a phone interview and secured a private-tutor position for his son. Liu Zheng insists that Nightingale must also tutor another child in the same residential complex, threatening to withdraw the offer if the condition is rejected.
• Just after Wang Manni agrees to negotiate, Liu Zheng receives another call—from the Novelist, whom he had hoped to avoid.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng continues to demonstrate confidence, resourcefulness, and a talent for arranging unlikely alliances. He treats dangerous political and criminal matters casually, though he privately recognizes that his dealings with the Novelist may be trapping him in a dangerous arrangement.
• Nightingale reveals that her aristocratic background is accompanied by extraordinary innate knowledge. She remains rebellious and uninterested in family succession by choice, but her siblings’ hostility has pushed her toward becoming the sole heir. Her relationship with Sea Woman also shows her willingness to defy family and social conventions.
• Cow-Horse remains opportunistic and greedy, disguising a request for magazines as generosity while delivering expensive liquor.
• Wang Manni becomes increasingly impressed and suspicious of Liu Zheng’s influence, wondering whether he secretly belongs to high society.
• The Novelist reenters the story, creating an ominous sense that Liu Zheng cannot easily escape their unequal deal.

Significant Themes

• Power and influence: Liu Zheng’s ability to connect aristocrats, criminals, fugitives, and ordinary officials shows how influence in Metropolis operates through favors and negotiated protection.
• Knowledge versus formal education: Nightingale’s claims challenge the assumption that schooling is the only path to intelligence or expertise.
• Family rivalry and inheritance: Nightingale’s pursuit of sole-heir status is driven less by ambition than by resentment and self-defense against her siblings.
• Deals and consequences: Liu Zheng repeatedly makes bold promises—such as lifting Fire Mage’s wanted order—but recognizes that Metropolis’s rules make broken promises dangerous.
• Manipulation and hidden costs: Nearly every favor carries a price, from Cow-Horse’s liquor delivery to Liu Zheng’s arrangement with the Novelist, whose help may be drawing him into a larger trap.
• Humor amid danger: Sarcastic exchanges and absurd situations—such as tutoring last-place students, buying magazines for Cow-Horse, and treating explosive weapons casually—soften the chapter’s criminal and political tension.

Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and Nightingale: Their conversation mixes mockery, negotiation, and strategic planning. Liu Zheng insults her lack of schooling, while Nightingale counters with confidence in her innate intelligence. Their business arrangement strengthens their cooperation.
• Liu Zheng and Fire Mage/Fisherman: Though they do not appear directly, Liu Zheng’s plans depend on using both as protectors and negotiating with them through promises of political assistance.
• Liu Zheng and Nightingale’s family: Liu Zheng pushes Nightingale to act more like a future heir by gathering intelligence on the Jorden Family, turning her personal family conflict into a strategic advantage.
• Liu Zheng and Cow-Horse: Their exchange is a comic negotiation based on suspicion, money, kickbacks, and mutual exploitation.
• Liu Zheng and Wang Manni: Liu Zheng gives her firm instructions and uses Nightingale’s exceptional status to pressure the deputy director into accepting his condition.
• Liu Zheng and the Novelist: The final phone call renews the unresolved threat of their unequal relationship and suggests that the Novelist may soon demand another favor or impose a new complication.

Chapter Summary: “The Novelist Was Going to Steal My Home”

Plot Points and Events

• The Novelist politely asks Liu Zheng to accompany her as her male partner to a high-class salon ball hosted by the Metropolis Writers Association.
• Liu initially doubts her invitation because of her poor reputation as a long-form novelist. To defend herself, she shares several melodramatic short stories. Liu recognizes that they are effective at provoking strong emotions, though their plots are crude and predictable.
• The Novelist explains that she abandoned short stories because long novels offer greater artistic potential, even if they are riskier. Liu agrees to help her if she encounters difficulties.
• Liu accepts the invitation but realizes he needs appropriate clothing and grooming. He asks Cow-Horse to contact Big White Goose, an expert in makeup and styling.
• Cow-Horse warns Liu that the Novelist may be attempting to “steal his home,” referencing the betting pool surrounding Liu’s relationships. Liu dismisses the gamblers’ speculation.
• During the call, Big White Goose complains about the chaos Liu has caused in the Customer Service Department, particularly after Liu supplied Britannia Minister with a powerful object resembling a penis.
• Liu learns that the object has made Britannia Minister unusually energetic, causing him to repeatedly change workplace regulations and driving the department’s employees toward requesting transfers.
• Big White Goose tells Liu that the person who created the problem must solve it, so Liu plans to return to the Mummy doctor who sold him the object. He also intends to ask about treating Sewer’s hemorrhoids.
• Big White Goose agrees to style Liu for the salon ball in exchange for five fresh fish.
• Before ending the chapter, Liu confronts Cow-Horse and asks whether he was the one who rescued Sesha.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng: Shows his usual bluntness and practical opportunism. He agrees to accompany the Novelist partly because it is respectable work, but also takes responsibility for the trouble caused by the object he bought. His final question to Cow-Horse suggests he is beginning to investigate Cow-Horse’s hidden involvement in past events.
• The Novelist: Reveals a polite, sensitive, and ambitious side. Though her writing is mocked internally by Liu, she is serious about improving and sees long-form fiction as a path toward a higher artistic state. Her invitation indicates growing trust or possible romantic interest.
• Cow-Horse: Continues acting as a crude observer and gossip, teasing Liu about the Novelist’s intentions and the betting surrounding them. His discomfort when Liu asks about Sesha suggests he may be hiding important information.
• Big White Goose: Remains both helpful and opportunistic. He complains about Liu’s disruptive actions but agrees to help him prepare for the ball in exchange for valuable food.
• Britannia Minister: Does not appear directly, but his personality and behavior have been dramatically altered by the mysterious object, creating administrative chaos.
• Sesha and the Mummy doctor: Their roles become more significant through Liu’s questions. The chapter hints that Cow-Horse may have been responsible for rescuing Sesha and that the Mummy doctor possesses important knowledge or resources.

Significant Themes

• Artistic ambition versus commercial success: The Novelist distinguishes between writing merely to earn money and writing long novels to pursue greater artistic achievement.
• The emotional mechanics of fiction: Liu explains how short stories rely on direct, concentrated emotional impact, while long novels can build multiple emotional experiences over time.
• Consequences of shortcuts: Liu’s purchase of the mysterious object created a serious problem for the Customer Service Department, reinforcing the idea that convenient solutions often generate later complications.
• Hidden identities and secrets: Cow-Horse’s evasive reaction to Liu’s question suggests that characters’ past actions and alliances remain concealed.
• Romantic and social speculation: The Novelist’s invitation fuels rumors that she may be trying to become Liu’s partner, while others treat their relationship as entertainment and a betting opportunity.

Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and the Novelist: Their conversation is polite but emotionally layered. She seeks his approval and companionship, while he responds with blunt honesty but ultimately agrees to support her.
• Liu Zheng and Cow-Horse: Their banter is antagonistic and comic. Cow-Horse mocks Liu’s appearance and relationship prospects, while Liu insults him in return and later presses him about Sesha.
• Liu Zheng and Big White Goose: Their exchange mixes complaints, bargaining, and mutual dependence. Big White Goose criticizes Liu’s recklessness but still provides assistance for a price.
• Cow-Horse and Big White Goose: Cow-Horse contacts Big White Goose on Liu’s behalf, showing that despite their insults, the three maintain a functional working relationship.
• Liu Zheng and Britannia Minister: Though they do not interact directly, Liu’s actions have caused Britannia Minister’s bizarre transformation and now require him to seek a solution.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zheng baits Cow-Horse into revealing that he secretly helped Sesha avoid becoming an ingredient, apparently arranging treatment through Doctor Nile. Cow-Horse insists the act was purely practical, though Liu Zheng teasingly implies he cared about her.
• Liu Zheng explains that Cow-Horse’s cautious nature comes from having a family to support, unlike Liu Zheng, who can act recklessly because he has no attachments.
• Wang Manni calls to confirm that the deputy director approved Liu Zheng’s request. Liu Zheng instructs her to contact a family using his connection to a previous noodle delivery and asks her to arrange another delivery with a longer time limit. Wang Manni becomes increasingly eager to serve him, hoping to advance her career.
• Ghost Hand tries to drink the liquor delivered to the restaurant, but Liu Zheng refuses because its previous drunken rampage caused trouble. He gives it dried fish instead, while worrying that Si Xue might punish Ghost Hand if it misbehaves again.
• Liu Zheng receives a delivery order for an All-Insect Banquet at the same address as a previous order for “Manager Wang.” The meal is a rare item that temporarily raises all attributes by 20 points, making it extremely valuable, though Liu Zheng cannot use it because it is a quest item.
• Following Cow-Horse’s instructions, Liu Zheng travels to a newsstand to buy pornographic magazines. The owner initially refuses, but when Liu Zheng mentions Cow-Horse’s name, the man angrily grabs a shotgun and accuses Cow-Horse of returning.

Character Developments

• Liu Zheng demonstrates growing cunning and confidence. He easily exposes Cow-Horse’s secrets, manages connections with influential figures, and uses his relationship with Wang Manni to secure favors.
• Cow-Horse is shown to be both secretive and unexpectedly compassionate. His aid to Sesha reveals a protective side, although he masks it with claims of practicality. His past conflict with the newsstand owner becomes a new mystery.
• Wang Manni shifts from fearing Liu Zheng to actively trying to please him. She recognizes his influence as a means to improve her own status.
• Ghost Hand remains impulsive and greedy, trying to reclaim the liquor despite its dangerous past behavior. Liu Zheng’s refusal shows his growing responsibility toward it.
• Sesha does not appear directly, but her illness and possible transformation remain important background concerns.

Significant Themes

• Hidden kindness and self-protection: Cow-Horse disguises his concern for Sesha as business, suggesting that characters in this world often conceal compassion behind cynicism.
• Power through connections: Liu Zheng’s influence grows through relationships with doctors, managers, and officials rather than strength alone.
• Risk and responsibility: The contrast between Liu Zheng’s freedom and Cow-Horse’s family obligations highlights how personal attachments shape one’s willingness to take risks.
• Value and exploitation: The powerful All-Insect Banquet and the newsstand’s guarded merchandise reflect a world where rare goods, information, and favors are tightly controlled.
• Unresolved past conflicts: The newsstand owner’s violent reaction introduces a new mystery involving Cow-Horse’s previous actions.

Character Interactions

• Liu Zheng and Cow-Horse trade insults and sarcasm while probing each other’s secrets.
• Liu Zheng flatters Cow-Horse by calling him an excellent leader, easing the tension after exposing his secret.
• Liu Zheng and Wang Manni establish a more mutually beneficial relationship, with Wang Manni seeking advancement through his patronage.
• Liu Zheng protects Ghost Hand from its own impulses by replacing alcohol with dried fish.
• The chapter ends with Liu Zheng unexpectedly confronting the newsstand owner, whose furious reaction turns a routine errand into a potential confrontation.