Liu Zheng was not polite; he checked each pot one by one.
On the surface, all the pots contained the same ingredients: onions, carrots, celery, rosemary, cilantro, and so on.
Beneath the surface was a thick layer, opaque and impenetrable.
Meanwhile, the system offered no hints.
He thought for a while and then extended a tentacle.
"Look all you want, but touch and you get chopped."
Oynk couldn't stand it anymore.
"It's on the house."
He paused, then added,
"Tsk."
Liu Zheng smacked his lips.
"I'll take this one then."
He pointed to the one in the middle.
Not for any particular reason, just because it was symmetrical.
"Looks like your luck isn't so great."
Oynk shook his head and took some cutlery out of the cabinet behind him.
Soon, a bowl full of meat soup was placed in front of Liu Zheng.
"Drink up, then it's onto the chopping board."
The pig-headed person said gently.
Liu Zheng looked into the bowl, the broth looked much clearer than it had in the pot, with several red-eyed Hell Dragon Flies fluttering in it as if they were still alive.
"Name: Hell Dragon Fly spicy soup"
"Type: Item"
"Quality: Inferior"
"Effect one: Loss of taste, duration varies by physique."
"Effect two: Permanent reduction of physique by 5 points."
"Can it be taken out of the instance: Yes"
He looked at the spicy soup with a troubled expression.
It wasn't because of the Hell Dragon Flies; he had eaten eye sashimi before, so this was not much different.
The main issue was all the negative effects, especially the permanent reduction in physique.
Liu Zheng's real physique score was only twelve points; this soup would nearly halve it.
If he cleared the instance and washed off the "Flesh Deformation" condition, he would probably be paralyzed on the spot.
"Can it be packaged?"
Liu Zheng asked seriously.
"I could package you,"
Oynk replied seriously.
"Sigh."
He sighed, lowered his head, and took a sip.
The extreme spiciness punched his taste buds fiercely, and the aftertaste of sulfur struck his brain again.
"Hiss-hah-hiss-hah!"
Liu Zheng extended his tongue, saliva secreting madly, but it was only a drop in the bucket.
"Does it taste good?"
Oynk inquired.
"No, not, spicy,"
He paused, then said each word slowly.
"Your mouth, at least, needs to be stewed for eight hours,"
Oynk could not help but laugh.
"What, can't you chew sashimi?"
Liu Zheng remained defiant.
"I don't eat humans, although you humans have eaten me. After all, I'm half human,"
Oynk shook his head.
"But I will sell your meat to them, just like you do to me."
He said indifferently.
"Like to the Bloody Restaurant?"
No sooner had he finished speaking than the room's flames dimmed instantly.
Oynk's shadow stretched infinitely, expanding and transforming into a demon with a giant ax.
"Didn't you tell him?"
It tilted its head to ask Niu Ma.
"I didn't expect him to ask that."
Niu Ma looked helpless.
Really, how did we even get to supplying a restaurant?
You, as food, sure have a lot of initiative, don't you?
"The Bloody Restaurant originally had a classic dish, live-roasted suckling pig."
In Oynk's eyes, the flames brightened again.
"I was that pig."
In the suffocating silence, Liu Zheng slowly opened his mouth.
"Did it smell good?"
"I smell your mother!"
Niu Ma cursed loudly, knocking Liu Zheng over with a hoof.
After knocking him over, it fiercely stomped him several more times, turning all four tentacles into minced meat.
"He stopped being human, and it seems his brain has stopped working too, don't mind him,"
It shouted while stomping.
"You trying to cover for him?"
Oynk saw right through it.
"After all, he called me boss,"
Niu Ma replied humbly.
"You can't handle it."
Oynk shook his head too.
"Just give it a try, we're all from the same farm, you wouldn't really kill me."
Niu Ma lay on the ground, exposing his belly.
He even wagged his tail.
"You learned that move from Black Claw, didn't you?"
Oynk frowned deeply.
"Black Claw has been dead for a while."
Niu Ma said.
"Oh. No wonder I haven't seen it selling meat for so long. Was it made into a dog meat hotpot?"
Oynk asked.
"Went treasure hunting at the garbage landfill, got gutted."
Niu Ma said indifferently.
"It was still so stupid."
Oynk sighed.
"I had told it to just stay in the sewer, or at worst, come work as a doorman for me."
The pig-headed man shook his head.
"Well, a dog always dreams of being a stray."
Niu Ma said.
"Hmm."
Oynk responded faintly, his shadow retreating back under his feet.
"Alright, get up here."
He dragged over a wooden slaughter table from the corner, soaked through with layer upon layer of bloodstains and filth.
"Hurry up."
Niu Ma kicked Liu Zheng.
Liu Zheng walked over and lay face down on the slaughter table.
"Why won't you face me, are you scared?"
Oynk mocked.
"I've seen pigs slaughtered face down."
He said in a muffled voice.
"You seem very eager to provoke me."
Oynk sneered.
"I didn't mean to, I just can't control it. Niu Ma is telling the truth, there's something wrong with my brain."
Liu Zheng explained.
Anger Management made his rage uncontrollable, occasionally causing him to provoke others without intention.
"No worries, you won't have to control it much longer."
Oynk said, lifting the Slaughter Knife.
With the first cut, he removed the head.
With the second, he removed the limbs.
With the third, he removed the viscera.
With the final cut, he split Liu Zheng in two.
Liu Zheng clenched his teeth, not making a sound throughout the ordeal.
Though his body was not truly separated, the sensations were horrifyingly real.
Yet, as he was continuously sliced, those feelings became more and more numb.
By the time he was finally cleaved in half, Liu Zheng felt no pain.
"Done!"
Oynk called out, ripping off his filthy apron and covering Liu Zheng's face with it.
Liu Zheng's eyes were wide open.
He saw nothing, heard nothing.
"So this is what 'an empty shell' is."
The last thought flashed through his mind before he fell into eternal silence.
"'Emergency Rations' had been automatically used."
The system's cold voice suddenly sounded.
Squirming chunks of flesh appeared out of nowhere, then crawled into Liu Zheng's mouth on their own.
"So you were relying on this."
Oynk watched, a cold sneer on his face.
"You didn't say it wasn't allowed."
Niu Ma said playfully.
"This is the first and last time."
Oynk said sternly.
"Of course, of course."
Niu Ma wiped off some cold sweat.
Although he dared to pull such a stunt knowing the pig-headed man's temperament, it was only after hearing these words that he truly felt relieved.
Who knew if Oynk would have a fit? After all, he once flipped over half the restaurant.
"Do you have high hopes for this human?"
Oynk looked at the still unconscious Liu Zheng and suddenly asked.
Otherwise, Niu Ma would never dare risk provoking him with such a petty trick.
"He got me a double holiday voucher to Heaven Island and obtained the pilot's jacket from that bird."
Niu Ma dropped the smile.
"I think, this kid might really make something happen."
"Really?"
Oynk suddenly moved to a stove, lifting it entirely.
Then he pried open Liu Zheng's mouth and poured all the broth into it, completely ignoring that his mouth was scalded discolored.
"Then let's just wait and see."