A Cappuccino for the Lady

Chen Feng's jaw dropped. He had always thought that once he was cursed, his only option was to fight the Landlady to the bitter end. Who knew there was another way to clear the scenario?

Come to think of it, She Qingqing really was a good person.

No, a good snake.

When Chen Feng had first arrived in this world, She Qingqing had tried to drive him away. He had thought she was chasing off a vagrant. Now he realized she had been urging him to leave this death trap. He just hadn't understood what she meant back then.

"There's no time. Come with me!"

A fair-skinned hand grabbed Chen Feng's arm, its smooth skin cool against his.

She dragged him out of the Internet Cafe.

Leaving like this didn't sound so bad.

But damn it, I can't bear to give up those nine Points.

If this had been his first run, Chen Feng would have fled without hesitation.

But he had already spent Points on Warlord's Protection, which was single-use, and he still had the Water Ghost's mission to complete. If he didn't fight the Landlady, the Water Ghost would leave as soon as the mission failed. His purchase would be wasted, and he would lose the Points for destroying the Happiness Internet Cafe too.

All told, he'd lose far too much.

After wavering, Chen Feng said, "Sorry. I can't go."

As soon as he spoke, a pair of huge, cold, slick hands clamped around She Qingqing's throat.

Chen Feng said, "Do it."

Then he added, "Don't kill her. Just knock her out."

A while later.

When She Qingqing failed to reappear, Zhu Xianxian asked irritably, "Where did she go?"

"Maybe to the bathroom," Chen Feng said vaguely.

Zhu Xianxian wasn't happy. Even without counting Chen Feng, the Internet Cafe had six employees, but the four Imposter attendants were useless at anything besides telling people to restart their computers. That left the front desk busy enough already. Now that one person had vanished, all the work fell on her.

While Zhu Xianxian was busy, Chen Feng opened the cash register and borrowed five hundred yuan.

"I'm going out. I'll be right back."

After calling that out, Chen Feng grabbed an umbrella by the door and found a nearby supermarket.

The owner sat in a chair, playing on his phone.

Chen Feng walked over. "Hey, got any insecticide?"

The owner looked up. "Yeah. It's all on the shelves at the back."

"How well does it work?" Chen Feng asked.

"I run a shop. You think I'd sell you fake insecticide?" the owner assured him. "Don't worry, it's very safe. Even indoors, it barely irritates people."

Chen Feng turned to leave. "Then I don't want it."

"Are you messing with me?" The owner stared. "You don't want the safe stuff? You want something more dangerous?"

Chen Feng nodded. "Yeah. I like the strong stuff."

"Fine."

The owner went into the storeroom out back, rummaged around, and brought out a sealed white plastic bucket with no label. "Here. I guarantee it's strong."

Chen Feng checked again. "What if this stuff doesn't kill the bugs?"

"Bring it back and I'll drink it myself. Happy?" the owner scoffed. "It's an organophosphate pesticide. Ever heard of methamidophos? This stuff's so toxic you have to dilute it with water. Spray it on a field, and forget the bugs—even the fish, shrimp, and frogs turn belly-up."

"It was banned years ago because it's so dangerous. I got this on the sly. Satisfied now?"

"Couldn't be happier." Chen Feng tossed him the money. "Give me two jin. Let's see how it tastes."

After returning from the supermarket.

Chen Feng began the next step of his plan. "Xianxian, want something to drink?"

"I don't drink coffee," Zhu Xianxian said.

Of course Chen Feng knew that. Biologically speaking, caffeine was nearly lethal to the nervous system of an invertebrate like a spider.

"It's juice," Chen Feng said.

Zhu Xianxian happened to be thirsty, so she nodded. "Then I'll have a glass."

"Sure."

As he spoke, Chen Feng dumped a hefty amount of instant coffee mix into the juice.

A cappuccino for you!

He gave it a good shake.

Chen Feng brought the doctored juice to Zhu Xianxian.

Next, it was time to clear out the audience.

Chen Feng snapped his fingers, signaling the Water Ghost to cut the power to the entire Internet Cafe.

"My five-kill streak!"

"What a pain. I'm leaving!"

Once the customers had gone, Zhu Xianxian's face gradually reddened. Her whole body grew agitated. "It's so hot. What did you just give me?"

"Coffee. I added coffee."

As Chen Feng spoke, he picked up the white plastic bucket of pesticide. According to his plan, he would unscrew the lid, throw the undiluted pesticide over Zhu Xianxian, then stroll away.

But something went wrong.

Chen Feng couldn't unscrew the lid.

The thing was sealed tighter than a jar of canned fruit.

For a moment, things were painfully awkward.

Zhu Xianxian's expression darkened. "Why did you put coffee in my drink on purpose?"

"Uh, would you believe me if I said you'd been staying up too late and your eyes were so red that I made you some coffee to perk you up?" Chen Feng said, edging toward the Internet Cafe's entrance.

Crash!

Glass shattered at the entrance, and cold wind and rain swept into the Internet Cafe.

Zhu Xianxian sensed trouble. "Water Ghost?"

A fight was about to break out, but Chen Feng held out the bucket. "Here. Help me open this."

The Water Ghost: "..."

Zhu Xianxian: "..."

Pop! The lid hit the floor, and Chen Feng flung the pesticide over Zhu Xianxian!

The acrid smell of pesticide instantly filled the Internet Cafe.

After a brief silence, Zhu Xianxian let out an insectlike shriek. Her body split apart at once, scattering into clusters of crawling spiders.

"How dare you! Aah!"

Zhu Xianxian trembled as she tried to pull herself back into human form. But under the pesticide's effects, the little spiders draped in scraps of human skin scattered in every direction, refusing to obey her.

Meanwhile, the Water Ghost had twisted the necks of all four Imposter attendants, killing them.

Chen Feng watched Zhu Xianxian collapse and twitch, turning into a mess of dead insects across the floor.

She may have been a monster, but just like the Water Ghost, she wasn't so formidable once you knew her weakness.

But just then, a thread too fine to see shot toward Chen Feng.

Chen Feng was caught off guard. The Water Ghost wasn't.

It reacted instantly, catching the thread and yanking a spider noticeably larger than the others out of the pile of insect corpses. Then it crushed her underfoot!

That was Zhu Xianxian's true body!

Chen Feng felt a sting on his cheek. He touched it and found blood. Fear hit him a moment later. The thread had only grazed his cheek and had still drawn blood. If the Water Ghost hadn't stopped it, his head might already have been severed from his body, sending him back to Load Save.