"Why?"
Liu Zheng asked.
"Stating the reason is a prohibited action."
Niu Ma shook his head.
"Fine, what other rules are there?"
"Second, do not leave the break room without having received an order."
Niu Ma continued.
"What about biological needs?"
"Employee meals will be placed in your locker on time every day, and as for using the bathroom, you'll have to make good use of the time when the meals are delivered."
Niu Ma shrugged his scapula.
"That's somewhat humane."
Liu Zheng nodded in approval.
"Be content, if it weren't for the change of the boss, you wouldn't even have employee meals but would have to eat scraps and swill."
Niu Ma picked up on his sarcasm.
"When did we change bosses?"
Thinking of that enchanting noblewoman, Liu Zheng hurriedly pressed on.
With Si Xue's aura, she was either the big boss or a key NPC.
"Thre..."
Niu Ma had barely uttered a syllable before stopping.
His thick lips abnormally clenched, and his body stiffened as if he had been injected with an overdose of sedatives.
But his eyeballs were shaking violently, bloodshot and bulging.
A foul, stenchy smell rushed into Liu Zheng's nostrils, and when he looked at Niu Ma's lower body, he saw a new puddle of dark yellow liquid on the ground.
Liu Zheng realized that something unexpected had occurred, but he knew too little information at the moment.
Instead of panicking, it was better to wait and see.
"Bang!"
Five minutes later, Niu Ma's eyeballs finally stopped shaking.
And the first thing he did upon regaining normalcy was to give Liu Zheng a hoof.
With the force of a heavy truck, he had no way to resist it and was sent flying backwards into the wall.
"Cough!"
Liu Zheng retched, tasting a coppery sweetness in his throat.
"Son of a bitch, you almost killed me."
Niu Ma cursed.
"It wasn't intentional."
He explained.
"I know, otherwise you'd already be dead."
Niu Ma snorted.
"Remember, never ask about the boss again."
"Got it."
Liu Zheng nodded.
He tried to stand up, but a sharp pain in his chest made him see stars.
That hoof had broken at least three of his ribs.
"You're done for, human kid."
Niu Ma looked at him with pitying eyes.
With such a serious injury, Liu Zheng would never be able to perform his job.
"Is this really a beginner's instance?"
Liu Zheng inwardly complained.
Random triggers for death flags, losing sanity at any time and place, and the only NPC you can communicate with might kill you at any moment.
If this is the average difficulty of a beginner's instance, the survival rate of this game is indeed worrying.
"I'm finished, but what about you?"
He coughed before speaking.
"It would be tough for you to deliver all the orders alone, right? Besides, there won't be anyone to give you massages anymore."
Niu Ma stared at Liu Zheng with his bloodshot eyes, attempting to find any sign of weakness in his composure.
However, he saw nothing.
"This is the first time I've seen a human like you."
Niu Ma muttered to himself, then walked to the locker.
He spat out a key and opened one of them.
Liu Zheng saw that there was a photo stuck inside the door, seemingly of Niu Ma dressed in a maid outfit.
"Drink this."
Niu Ma hooked a bottle out with his horn, dangling it in front of him.
The translucent glass bottle contained more than half a bottle of murky, viscous liquid, within which numerous hairy worms moved, barely visible.
"Name: Ascending Mao Tai 53 Proof"
"Type: Prop"
"Quality: Fine"
"Effect: Rapidly heals the user's injuries, slightly increases strength and constitution, slightly decreases Spirit and perception, with a chance of entering a drunken state."
"Note: Ingredients include sorghum, wheat, water, hairy bloody worms, Moss, and those things you don't want to know."
"Quality is sorted from low to high as follows: Inferior, Common, Good, Fine, Perfect, Legendary, Epic, Mythic."
"Ascending Mao Tai..."
Liu Zheng took the bottle, his expression subtle.
He always felt that the system was hinting at something, and he had evidence.
Without much hesitation, Liu Zheng unscrewed the cap and took a big gulp.
The pungent smell akin to concentrated hydrochloric acid made his head swim, but what made him even more uncomfortable were the worms slithering down his esophagus.
They bit the muscles and mucosal lining with their mouthparts and then secreted a viscous vomit to heal the wounds.
That painful and itchy feeling finally stopped only after the stomach acid completely digested them.
And that short period of torture would be enough to make the most stubborn spy divulge everything.
After the pain, a torrent of warmth quickly filled his body.
Liu Zheng couldn't help scratching his exposed skin; he felt as if he had swollen up, like a suckling pig stuffed and roasted.
"Exciting, isn't it? I got this good stuff on the sly, you're lucky."
Faced with Niu Ma's boasting, he only found it noisy and simply opened his Character Card.
"ID: Liu Zheng (modifiable)"
"Level: lv1"
"Strength: 17"
"Constitution: 15?"
"Spirit: 9"
"Perception: 8"
His strength and constitution had increased by 3 points, while his Spirit and perception had decreased by 2 points.
In terms of numbers, it was a gain, and he hadn't entered a drunken state, which was quite lucky.
He touched his chest; the broken ribs had healed, but there was still a faint pain.
In the real world, even the most expensive drugs couldn't achieve such an effect, but in this world, it was merely the private stash of a delivery guy.
No wonder it's a game that selects the Transcendent.
Liu Zheng felt more hopeful about the future.
"Remember, you owe me two thousand bucks now."
Niu Ma said in a mood-breaking tone.
"What's our salary?"
He asked.
"A thousand a month, plus bonuses."
"Okay, I'll pay you back at the end of the month."
Liu Zheng replied readily.
Debt that need not be repaid was comfortable to owe.
"Let's continue talking about work then."
Niu Tou nodded as if nothing had just happened.
"Rule number three, do not talk to the person serving the meal."
"What if the meal is wrong?"
"Then you put it back on the food cart and return to the break room, waiting for the next meal delivery."
Niu Tou replied.
"Understood."
Liu Zheng noticed that it said not to speak, not to communicate.
"Rule number four, no loud noise after 7 PM."
"Rule number five, do not reveal anything about the Bloody Restaurant to outsiders, and don't talk about things outside the restaurant with employees, except for me."
"Doesn't that overlap with rule three?"
Liu Zheng asked.
"It just means you can't talk to the meal servers, but you can still talk to other employees. However, I suggest you limit your interactions with them to avoid trouble."
"That's pretty much it, I won't go into don't eat the deliveries, don't add anything to them, and make sure they get delivered on time — you should understand all that."
Niu Tou licked its lips, seemingly thirsty from talking.
Liu Zheng immediately stuffed the bottle into its mouth.
Niu Tou tilted its head back and drained the remaining liquor.
"Seeing how you're getting the hang of this, kid, I'll give you one more piece of advice."
"Be bolder out there, you're an employee of the restaurant."
It lifted a hoof and patted Liu Zheng on the shoulder.