Chapter 20: Deliberately Accidental

"What kind of extra money?" Liu Zheng asked.

"You'll know when the time comes. And it’s not guaranteed; it depends on your luck," Ox-Head replied.

"Oh. By the way, I can't give you the vest right away." He still needed it for deliveries, and he would leave the vest in the breakroom before leaving the instance.

"That doesn't matter, I'm not in a rush. If it’s not a full set, it won't be of much use to me anyway," Ox-Horse said.

"So, it’s a set?" Liu Zheng asked, surprised. Dai Lego hadn't mentioned that to him.

"That's right. It should be a vest, a hat, and a delivery box," Ox-Horse recalled.

A single vest was already an Excellent-grade item. If it were a full set, wouldn't it be at least Epic grade? Liu Zheng felt a sense of longing, though he knew it was just wishful thinking.

"By the way, who exactly is this legendary delivery person? Are they from our restaurant?" Liu Zheng asked out of curiosity.

"Yes, they are." Ox-Horse nodded.

"Have you ever met them, boss?"

"No, they were already gone by the time I arrived," Ox-Horse shook its head.

"Did they quit, or did they die?"

"How would I know? But they worked at the restaurant for thirty years; if they were going to die, they would have long ago," Ox-Horse said.

"Aren't you planning to save up a decade or more of wages to buy a scalper ticket?"

"You actually believe me when I’m just blowing smoke?" Ox-Horse rolled its eyes. "I’m going to find a way to bolt as soon as I get back from Paradise Island. If I keep working at this restaurant, I’ll be lucky to live until my little calf is born."

Liu Zheng seemed to see a trace of sorrow on its large face.

"Are there any surveillance cameras in the breakroom?" He glanced around.

"I don't know. Even if there are, it doesn't matter; everyone says this sort of thing," Ox-Horse said dismissively.

"Is the restaurant that bad?"

"It’s not bad, just exhausting." Ox-Horse shook its head. "Alright, enough talk. There shouldn't be any more orders today. Let's get some sleep."

It walked to its straw mat, lay down, and began to snore almost immediately. Since Ox-Horse said so, Liu Zheng relaxed his body and mind, found a comfortable position in the corner, and fell asleep.

When he woke up to the sound of his alarm, he couldn't quite believe it. He had actually survived until the next day in this bizarre, horrific world. Aside from a few minor issues, he was doing pretty well.

"Could it be that I have some kind of innate 'Delivery Saint' body?" Liu Zheng thought to himself, amused.

"What are you giggling about? Hurry up and eat breakfast; we start work soon," Ox-Horse shouted.

"Oh." He opened the locker, and sure enough, a staff meal was waiting inside.

It was a bowl of "offal noodles" where the ingredients were unidentifiable, topped with a layer of small, pink spheres that looked remarkably like mystery snail eggs. The quality was only Common, and its only effect was to restore stamina.

"Boss, you first," Liu Zheng offered, handing over his meal box. He knew this was the reason Ox-Horse had woken him up.

"You're a sharp kid, aren't you?" Ox-Horse lowered its head and slurped up half of the meal in one go. It particularly focused on the pink eggs, sucking them up almost entirely.

"Merman eggs are just so snappy," Ox-Horse praised. It chewed vigorously, the eggs making a crisp, crackling sound in its mouth. "The rest is yours." It handed the box back to Liu Zheng.

"Thank you, boss." He took the box and ate without changing his expression. Honestly, Ox-Horse stealing the food wasn't entirely a bad thing; he didn't really want to eat those disgusting eggs anyway.

After finishing the noodles, Liu Zheng picked up the bottle of beverage.

"Name: Essence of the Red-Eyed Escolar"
"Type: Item"
"Quality: Excellent"
"Effect: Induces a hearty bowel movement; can cure certain types of poisoning."
"Note: At first, he thought it was just a fart."
"Can be taken out of the instance: Yes"

The translucent, air-bag-like plastic container held a liquid with an oily sheen.

"This is basically a glycerin enema, isn't it?" Liu Zheng thought, speechless. They put this in the staff meal—are they afraid not enough people are slacking off in the bathroom? Oh, wait, they aren't allowed to use the bathroom in the restaurant. Never mind.

He shoved the plastic container into his pocket. Like hell he was going to drink this; he’d rather trade it to the London Plane Tree.

After Ox-Horse finished its meal, the Ghost Hand arrived to assign tasks. There were two orders again, but this time, Ox-Horse didn't let Liu Zheng pick; it grabbed one and left immediately. Liu Zheng walked to the door and picked up the remaining one.

"Item: Sashimi Platter of Large Intestines"
"Address: Building 1, Room 201, Crazy Garden District"
"Time Limit: Within one hour."

Why was it another order for the Crazy Garden District? Liu Zheng frowned. Though he wasn't thrilled, he had to deliver the order once it arrived.

He opened the locker, put on the legendary vest, and walked out of the breakroom. Opening the meal box on the cart, a terrifying stench instantly flooded his nostrils.

"This is way too stinky!" Liu Zheng hurriedly used his tentacles to block his nose and looked into the box. Inside, over a dozen large intestines of various shapes and colors were neatly stacked. Each one looked thin-skinned and stuffed to the brim.

"Name: Sashimi Platter of Large Intestines"
"Type: Item"
"Quality: Excellent"
"Effect: Restores stamina, heals injuries."
"Note: Life is unpredictable; sometimes the big intestine wraps the small one."
"Can be taken out of the instance: Yes"

First the enema, then the intestine sashimi—was today all about testing his tolerance for gross things? Liu Zheng was about to close the box when he felt something was wrong. He opened the item description and carefully read the note again. Then, suppressing his nausea, he cautiously rummaged through the intestines.

After a moment of searching, he finally found a specific piece. It was thinner and longer, with many villi-like protrusions inside. Clearly, this was a small intestine. He had learned this particular bit of knowledge while scouting at a hospital.

"So that's how you're trying to trap me," Liu Zheng sneered coldly.

He put the delivery order and the meal box back onto the cart and returned to the breakroom. A few minutes later, the Ghost Hand pushed the wooden board open again.

"Come to think of it, Ox-Horse only said I couldn't talk to the person who ordered the food; it didn't say I couldn't communicate with the hand," Liu Zheng thought, watching the Ghost Hand slowly reach in. Thinking about how he had almost delivered the wrong meal, this thought quickly turned into a surge of anger.

"Thump!" He slammed his fist hard against the door panel. The Ghost Hand seemed startled, its five fingers suddenly curling inward.

"Hahaha." Seeing its reaction, Liu Zheng laughed heartily.

The Ghost Hand dropped the delivery order, gave him a stiff middle finger, and retreated from the breakroom.

"Little thing, you've got quite the temper," Liu Zheng chuckled.

After waiting for half a minute, he walked out of the breakroom again. The meal on the cart had already been replaced with a new one. Just to be safe, he inspected the meal again. There were no issues this time; it was all large intestine, with no signs of damage or spoilage. The item description had also changed slightly.

"Name: Sashimi Platter of Large Intestines"
"Type: Item"
"Quality: Excellent"
"Effect: Restores stamina, heals injuries."
"Note: Was it on purpose, or an accident?"
"Can be taken out of the instance: Yes"

Grabbing the order, Liu Zheng walked into the dark hallway.