"Time to eat, time to eat."
Niu Ma excitedly shook his horns, saliva dripping down the sides of his mouth onto the floor.
Seeing this, Liu Zheng also walked to his cabinet.
Upon opening it, he found a box identical to a takeout container with no iris logo on it.
He was about to open the box when a sudden force knocked him aside.
"What are you doing?"
Niu Ma looked at him sourly.
"Eating,"
Liu Zheng said, somewhat puzzled.
"Don't you know the rules? Seniors pick leftovers, then you can eat,"
Niu Ma shouted.
"Please, go ahead,"
He obediently handed over the meal box.
"At least you know your place, kid."
Niu Ma arrogantly used his horn to lift the lid and glanced inside.
"Tch, you're lucky. I don't like spicy food. Eat it yourself."
It said disdainfully.
Liu Zheng also took a glance, and inside was a plate of curry-like paste covered in a lot of red chili powder.
"Name: Bloody Restaurant Employee Meal"
"Type: Prop"
"Quality: Excellent"
"Effect: Restore stamina, replenish the missing."
"Note: She lost everything, only this residue remains."
"Can it be taken out of the instance: No"
Faced with the system's notes, his expression was uncertain.
"What? You don't eat spicy food either?"
Niu Ma asked curiously.
"I don't like curry."
Liu Zheng said, suppressing his nausea.
"You better start liking it. This quality of employee meal isn't always available."
Niu Ma shook his head.
"Aren't employee meals fixed?"
"Of course not, they're random every day. You're lucky to get this kind of meal as a newcomer,"
Niu Ma stuck out his dark brown tongue and licked his upper lip.
Lucky, huh?
Maybe so.
Just became incomplete, and received an item that could replenish what was missing.
Plus, the note was just a vague description; it might not be what he imagined.
The scent of spices and minced meat filled Liu Zheng's nostrils, his empty stomach twitching with excitement.
"Just eat it; no one knows. No sound with one plate."
A voice lingered in his ear.
"Eat your mom,"
Liu Zheng snapped the lid shut.
"Got a lighter, big boss?"
He looked at Niu Tou.
"What for?"
"To burn something."
"Don't waste it. Give it to me, I'll help you trade it and just take a little commission."
Niu Ma proposed.
"No trade."
Liu Zheng shook his head.
"You really are a weirdo, kid."
Niu Ma shook his massive head and spat out a key.
"That locker, help yourself."
Liu Zheng took the key, walked to the locker Niu Ma indicated, and opened the door.
Inside were a lighter, solid alcohol, and an alcohol stove.
He tossed the solid alcohol directly into the meal box, then lit it.
Blue flames rose, and the yellow paste gradually charred black from the flame.
Liu Zheng silently watched, his eyes seemingly also burning with something.
"You need to get used to it, kid. In this world, it's eat or be eaten. If one day I turn to mush, I hope you eat it clean,"
Niu Ma said indifferently.
He nodded, saying nothing.
Niu Ma didn't bother with him anymore and lay down to eat on his own.
Liu Zheng glanced at his meal box, a meat steak fried to medium-well that couldn't be identified, and a large beer with a suspiciously thick froth floating on top.
"Right, something to drink."
He returned to his own cabinet, indeed finding another can there.
"Name: Hell Rock Cola"
"Type: Prop"
"Quality: Excellent"
"Effect: Restores stamina and sanity, may cause random hallucinations about rock music."
"Note: Life is rock, and fuck."
"Can it be taken out of the instance: No"
Liu Zheng licked his dry lips and stuffed the can into his pocket.
With nothing to eat or drink, he simply moved his stool to a corner and leaned against the wall to doze off.
Amid Niu Ma's rhythmic chewing, Liu Zheng drifted into sleep.
"Wake up, wake up."
He didn't know how long it had been when a vigorous shake woke him up.
Liu Zheng opened his eyes to find Niu Ma's huge head very close, he could even see the texture on its nose.
"Uh, what's up?"
He suppressed the urge to punch it.
"There's an order, get up and work."
Niu Ma stepped back a few steps, allowing Liu Zheng to see the delivery ticket stuck on its horn.
Two of them.
"Don't say I'm picking on a newbie, you choose first."
Niu Ma said, feigning generosity.
Liu Zheng looked closely, but both tickets were upside down and the content was unreadable.
"Then I choose the one on your left..."
He deliberately elongated his voice, then stared at Niu Ma's face.
As he said "left," Liu Zheng noticed Niu Ma's nostrils flaring up.
He had no time to think, only to rely on his instincts.
"The one on the right."
"Damn!"
Niu Ma's nostrils flared up fiercely, exhaling two streams of hot air.
Its eyes reddened as it glared at Liu Zheng, like a bull ready to charge.
Liu Zheng simply returned a calm expression.
"Hmph, cunning human kid. Take it."
Eventually, Niu Ma didn't lose its temper.
"Thanks, boss."
He put his palms together and spoke sincerely.
He then took the delivery ticket from Niu Ma's right horn.
"Meal: Deluxe Black Mountain Goat Cub Eyeball Sashimi, large portion"
"Address: First-Rate Mansion 301"
"Orderer: Mr. Li"
"Deadline: 30 minutes."
Liu Zheng opened the map; the destination was 3 kilometers from the Bloody Restaurant.
"What's so good about this order?"
He spoke somewhat exasperatedly.
Not only was there a customer, but the time limit was also short.
"You know nothing, Mr. Li is a super VIP of the restaurant, very generous. Besides, look at mine."
Niu Ma shook its horns.
Liu Zheng reached out and took the other delivery ticket.
"Meal: Hell Maggot Fried Rice, one serving"
"Address: Splendid Residence Building 6, Unit 1502"
"Deadline: 20 minutes"
He found the location of Splendid Residence on the map, 25 kilometers from the Bloody Restaurant.
"Tough work, boss."
Liu Zheng said, folding his fists in respect.
"Hmph, good that you know."
Niu Ma lifted its head proudly.
"But if I had picked that ticket, wouldn't I have definitely failed the task?"
He pondered a problem.
"For weaklings like you humans, if it's over 10 kilometers, you can apply to use transportation, but there's a fee."
Niu Ma responded.
"That's really exploitative."
Liu Zheng said earnestly.
In real-life apps like certain group and certain hungry, they at least rent by the month.
"We don't even have the opportunity to rent."
Niu Ma said discontentedly.
Though renting wouldn't be useable, it still felt bad not having what others did.
"Enough talk, you better hit the road."
It extended its hoof and nudged Liu Zheng.
"Aren't you going with me?"
"Delivery staff can't start together."
Niu Ma shook its head.
"Is that also a rule?"
"No, it's my principle."
Niu Ma said seriously.
"Walking with you dead folks is bad luck."