"Right, Xiao Jiu doesn't eat raw food."
Mr. Li looked at the maid with affection.
"Young man, you wouldn't refuse to meet my simple request, would you?"
He said with a smile.
Liu Zheng looked at him, then at the maid.
One was skinny and hunched, the other delicate and tempting, and even though he was injured, he could take them both down easily...
As if.
Dai Legao couldn't just lay his hands on restaurant staff, whereas Mr. Li could call the restaurant owner directly.
These two, definitely weren't human.
"I have a request."
After a brief silence, Liu Zheng said.
"As long as it's not excessive, you may ask," replied Mr. Li generously.
With his status and wealth, money, positions, real estate, and women meant nothing to him.
As for what constituted an excessive request, only he himself knew.
"I need minced chili, garlic, soy sauce, and vinegar."
However, Liu Zheng's reply caught him off guard.
"And it'd be even better if you have scallion oil," Liu Zheng sniffed.
"Haha, what an interesting young man, come in and have a seat. Xiao Jiu, fetch what our guest has asked for," Mr. Li laughed heartily.
"Yes, Master."
The maid went to the kitchen while Liu Zheng followed the elderly man into the living room to sit down.
The interior decoration was not complicated, but rather very simple.
There were no crystal chandeliers, no glittering ceilings, nor the redwood furniture that the elderly prefer, the overall color scheme was black and white, making the whole hall appear very spacious.
However, the green plants scattered around did alleviate the cold feeling significantly.
Interestingly, once the two of them sat down face to face, Mr. Li didn't initiate conversation with Liu Zheng but instead started reading the newspaper on his own.
This made Liu Zheng breathe a sigh of relief.
It's not because he was somewhat socially anxious.
Okay, he was a bit socially anxious.
But more importantly, it meant Liu Zheng didn't have to worry about discussing the restaurant.
Even though Mr. Li seemed quite familiar with the boss, that rule probably still applied.
He curiously glanced at the newspaper, but due to the small print, he only made out a few words like "descend," "suppress," and "demote citizens."
"Master, I've brought what the guest requested."
After a while, the maid came with a large tray.
On it were the condiments Liu Zheng had asked for, along with a pair of chopsticks and a bowl.
"Thank you for your hard work. Young man, everything you asked for is here, start eating."
Mr. Li put down the newspaper and said.
Liu Zheng stared at the jar of sheep's eyeballs and swallowed saliva, breathing out a sigh.
If he had to eat, might as well, at least it was a free prop.
A bottle of similarly high-quality Mao Tai had cost him two thousand yuan.
He mixed all the condiments into the bowl and stirred them well.
The spicy aroma shot straight into his nostrils, stimulating Liu Zheng's appetite.
"This dipping sauce could make even a shoe insole taste good," he couldn't help feeling proud.
But glancing at the jar of sheep's eyeballs, he sighed again.
"It's actually worse than an insole."
Liu Zheng picked up a sheep's eyeball, rolled it heavily in the bowl, and then popped it into his mouth with his eyes closed.
At first, all he tasted was the flavor of the dipping sauce; apart from a strange texture, it was okay.
But when he bit into it, an extremely pungent odor quickly overtook his entire mouth.
The fuzziness in his brain from the injury cleared instantly, then crashed due to the overwhelming feedback from his taste buds.
"Is it good?" Mr. Li asked.
"It's quite fresh," Liu Zheng commented as neutrally as possible.
"If you like it, then eat more, finish it all."
Mr. Li said with a smile, like a kind elder watching a young person with a hearty appetite.
"Okay," Liu Zheng nodded with difficulty and picked up another eyeball.
To be fair, once you got over the initial hurdle, the thing wasn't that bad.
Right?
With this mental suggestion, Liu Zheng continued to pop sheep's eyeballs into his mouth one after another.
The dipping sauce in the bowl dwindled, and Mr. Li even thoughtfully asked the maid to prepare a fresh one.
```
"Can we change the music?"
Liu Zheng suddenly stopped and said.
"Young man, we aren't playing any music."
Mr. Li looked at him strangely.
"Not playing music? Then what am I hearing?"
Liu Zheng lifted his head as the music grew louder.
So loud that he couldn't hear what Mr. Li and the maid were saying to him.
"Is it a Hallucination?"
Liu Zheng suddenly remembered he had drunk a little Hell Rock Cola.
"But this isn't rock music, is it?"
The music was prolonged and ethereal, mixed with many low murmurings he couldn't understand, like the sound of insects crawling in the underbrush.
It was nothing like rock music, more like...
Gospel.
"Shub-Niggurath!"
He suddenly uttered a string of bizarre notes.
"No!"
At the sound of these notes, Mr. Li let out a sharp, thin scream and then burst apart.
His scattered flesh seemed magnetically drawn, flying into the maid's wide-open mouth.
Immediately after, the maid ripped off a shield-shaped pendant from around her neck, engraved with a mark resembling a fishbone.
"By the name of N'tss-Kaambl!"
She cried out, her voice ancient.
An invisible force dispersed the distant malevolence.
"Hell Rock Cola? Should I say you're very lucky or very unlucky, young man?"
The maid smiled helplessly, but the sound that came out was Mr. Li's voice.
In her pupils, Liu Zheng's reflection was rapidly deforming.
"Warning, rationality decreasing."
"Warning, rationality decreasing."
...
"Warning, acquired 'Flesh Deformation' status."
"Warning, permanent decrease of rationality limit."
"Acquired temporary madness 'Anger Management'."
A series of system prompts woke Liu Zheng up.
He shook his head and felt a lot clearer.
"Am I better now?"
He instinctively lifted his hand to touch the wound, but what he saw was a tentacle.
Liu Zheng leaped out of the couch and backed up to the wall, only to find the tentacle following like a shadow.
He had to realize that it was his own arm.
"What's happened to me?"
Liu Zheng asked, trembling slightly.
"Young man, don't be nervous, you've just undergone a little change in appearance."
The maid consoled him.
"Mr. Li? You're possessing the maid's body?"
He noticed the voice of the maid.
"No, child, I am Mr. Li."
The maid shook her head, her tone affable and kind.
"Don't you want to take a look at your new appearance?"
She pointed towards the floor-length mirror by the entrance.
Liu Zheng walked up to the mirror and came face to face with the monster inside.
The monster had four tentacle-like arms and strong, cloven-hoof-like feet, with tumor-like flesh extending from the feet to the head.
And the most abominable part was its face, with ears, nose, lips—all gone, leaving behind only dark eyes and a mouth filled with sharp teeth.
Liu Zheng was silent for a moment, then smiled at the monster.
The monster too opened its mouthpiece, emitting a strong scent of decaying vegetation.
"System, how long will this state last?"
He asked.
"After the instance ends, it can be removed by spending game points."
The system replied.
"That's good."
Liu Zheng breathed a sigh of relief.
If he had to live with that appearance forever, it would indeed be a fate worse than death.
"Young man, will you continue eating?"
The maid asked.
"Of course."
He moved his new hoofs and walked toward the dining table.
Since I'm not human anyway, I might as well eat, eat, eat.
```