Chapter Two: Transition of Duties
“Follow me.”
The ox-man flicked his tail and led Liu Zheng deeper into the restaurant.
They walked along the staff corridor and soon arrived at a three-way intersection.
To the left, a red emergency light glowed; straight ahead, the passage was carpeted; to the right, two blue curtains blocked the way.
He pricked up his ears and seemed to hear the sound of bones being chopped behind the curtains.
“Straight ahead is the waitstaff’s break room. The right leads to the kitchen territory. Our place is to the left. Remember, don’t go the wrong way,” the ox-man warned.
What would happen if he took the wrong path?
The ox-man didn’t say, and Liu Zheng didn’t ask.
After a few steps to the left, he suddenly turned back.
Just now, he had heard a woman’s sharp, agonized scream.
Liu Zheng stopped to listen; the scream continued but grew weaker.
“She probably isn’t dead yet. Want to go save her?”
Without warning, the massive ox head moved close to his face.
Liu Zheng looked back at the hairy face, half-smiling, half-smirking.
“Do you want me to go?” he asked, staring into its large eyes.
“Work is so boring, a little fun would be nice. But…”
The ox-man lifted a nimble forehoof, hooked it around Liu Zheng’s shoulder, and turned him in a new direction.
“You’re lucky. I do need a helper right now.”
Liu Zheng was pushed forward with irresistible force.
“Here, everyone needs a job.”
With those meaningful words, they left the intersection behind.
The woman’s screams faded into the depths beyond the curtains.
“We’ve arrived.”
A few minutes later, the ox-man released Liu Zheng’s shoulder.
Ahead of them was a pitch-black corridor; to the right stood an old wooden door.
“That’s the delivery exit. This is our break room.”
The ox-man opened its mouth, curling its broad tongue upward to reveal a key hidden beneath.
It bit down on the key and tried to fit it into the door’s keyhole.
Clearly, it was a difficult task.
“Need some help?”
Liu Zheng couldn’t bear to watch anymore.
“Oh, then you do it.”
The ox-man opened its mouth, and foul saliva dripped from the key.
He took the key without flinching and inserted it into the keyhole.
With a creak, the door opened.
“Oh, well done. You’re actually useful.”
The ox-man praised him.
Then it turned its head, and a slender hand was smoothing its fur.
“What are you doing?”
The ox-man struggled to frown.
“Wiping my hands.”
Liu Zheng said calmly.
“I know, I mean, why are you wiping your hands on me?”
The ox-man’s breathing grew heavier.
“I never take advantage of others. If it’s not my saliva, I don’t want it.”
He said seriously.
The ox-man’s nostrils flared abruptly, its large eyes blazing fiercely.
But Liu Zheng just looked back calmly, neither fearful nor provoking.
After a long pause, the ox-man snorted.
“Human, you’re too clever.”
It muttered gloomily.
It knew this human was testing its limits.
“Being clever just means you die slower, right? You don’t want to find a new partner too soon.”
Liu Zheng replied.
“That’s true. All those fools before, I was doomed to be killed sooner or later. But being too clever can get you killed too.”
The ox-man grunted.
“Then you, boss, will have to give me some pointers.”
Liu Zheng smiled brightly.
“Why should I teach you?”
The ox-man tilted its eyes toward him.
“Because…”
Liu Zheng wanted to say, “because you need my help,” but he knew such words would only provoke the ox-man’s rebellious nature.
He looked at its knotted muscles and the pronounced spine along its back and had a sudden idea.
“Boss, need a massage?”
“Huh?”
A big question mark appeared above the ox-man’s head.
Ten minutes later, in the delivery staff break room.
“Yes, yes, right there, a bit harder—I can take it.”
The ox-man lay on the floor, a blissful smile on its face.
“Don’t worry, I’ll get you all fixed up.”
Liu Zheng said as his hands moved over the ox-man’s back.
“Boss, your spine’s pretty deformed.”
He commented.
“Carrying so many deliveries every day, can’t help but get bent out of shape. I’m not like you humans who can just carry things in their hands,” the ox-man grumbled.
“Then why don’t you hang them on your horns?”
Liu Zheng asked curiously.
“Can’t do that. What if they get damaged? Our horns are more important than your human faces.”
The ox-man shook its large head vigorously.
“Alright… fair enough.”
He decided not to delve into such inhuman matters.
This world looked a lot like the real one, but the sign at the door and the woman’s screams reminded him it was different.
If he kept asking, he’d probably lose his rationality again.
“Okay, get up and stretch a bit.”
Twenty minutes later, Liu Zheng patted the ox-man’s rear.
“That’s enough. Massage me a bit more.”
The ox-man reluctantly pushed off the floor with its four hooves and stood.
It trotted around the break room twice, an excited expression on its big face.
“You’ve really got a knack for this.”
The ox-man raised a hoof in approval.
“Just a trick, nothing special.”
Liu Zheng said modestly.
He had once trained briefly with a practitioner of Bajiquan.
The guy wasn’t great at kung fu, but his bone-setting and massage skills were a family secret.
Later, when Liu Zheng couldn’t learn the kung fu, he simply paid extra to learn the massage techniques.
“Alright, I’m not letting you off without work. Sit down, I’ll explain your job.”
The ox-man said.
Liu Zheng looked around but saw no place to sit.
“Humans are so troublesome. Wait.”
The ox-man spat out a handful of keys, opened a locker, and pulled out a small folding stool.
“Sit. This was used by my previous, previous, previous partner.”
“Where is he now?”
Liu Zheng fiddled with the stool and asked casually.
“Went to the kitchen.”
The ox-man replied.
“As a chef?”
“As the ingredient.”
“Uh, okay.”
He shrugged—unexpected but somehow fitting.
“Have you ever worked as a delivery guy before?”
The ox-man asked.
“No.”
Liu Zheng thought for a moment and answered.
“Then I’ll explain the process.”
The ox-man didn’t ask further and continued.
“See that hole?”
It looked up and gestured.
Liu Zheng followed its gaze and saw a rectangular hole beneath the wooden door, covered by a movable wooden panel.
“Got it.”
He nodded.
“When there’s a delivery, someone slips the order through the hole. Wait half a minute, then go out, take the delivery from the cart, and deliver it according to the order details. Understand?”
“Understood.”
“Good. That locker is for you. Your gear is inside.”
Liu Zheng inspected the opened locker and found a uniform, a phone, and a map.
The phone was an old flip model with no contacts saved.
“Remember my number.”
The ox-man recited a string of digits.
Liu Zheng memorized it and entered it into the contacts.
“Don’t save it.”
The ox-man stopped him.
“Why not?”
“This is the first rule I’m telling you.”
The ox-man’s deep voice echoed through the break room.
“Don’t save any numbers in your phone.”