Chapter 49 Like a Little Fish in Your Lotus Pond

"Name: Heart of the Ocean (Enhanced)"
"Type: Equipment"
"Quality: Excellent"
"Effect 1: Movement speed in water increased by 50%, allows free breathing underwater."
"Effect 2: Absorbs the soul of an aquatic creature killed by the player and grants corresponding effects. Upon absorbing a new soul, the old soul is set free."
"Remark: Like a little fish swimming in your lotus pond."
"Removable from instance: Yes"

An extra effect had been added, which seemed quite practical.
Liu Zheng thought of that frog-fish; what kind of effect would the Heart of the Ocean gain if it absorbed its soul?
A 500% increase in speaking volume?
He thought with a peculiar expression.

"Please help me distract their attention for a moment; I am going to escape."
The mermaid princess's voice sounded again.

"Alright."
Liu Zheng didn't say much and agreed directly.
If he were a kitchen employee, helping the mermaid escape would undoubtedly be suicide.
But he was from the delivery department; when the sky fell, the beasts and horses would hold it up.
Besides, if Liu Zheng hadn't acted fiercely, this deal would have fallen through anyway.

"Big Brother, where did you say that hotel was last time?"
He started a topic.

"What, are you still planning to use that sick note?"
The Beast-Horse looked at him.

"No choice, I'm just short of a hat, and I'll always feel unreconciled if I don't try."
"Besides, unlike you, I'm not planning to change jobs. If I can gather the Legendary Deliveryman set, it will be easier to carry out my work."
Liu Zheng shrugged.

His explanation was reasonable, so the Beast-Horse didn't suspect anything.

"I do know quite a few hotels, but they are all too dangerous for you. If you check in, you'll hardly survive the first night."
It shook its head.

"Aren't there any hotels operated specifically for humans?"
Liu Zheng asked.
He felt that humans in this world had a status similar to Black people.
He had previously watched a movie called *Green Book*, which mentioned that in the American South, there were hotels operated specifically for people of color, and staying at those hotels was much safer.
Shouldn't this world have a similar place?

"You kid are smart. There are indeed such hotels, but they probably won't let you check in."
The Beast-Horse said.

"Why?"
"Why?"
The Beast-Horse looked at him strangely.

"Take a look at yourself, kid. Don't you have any self-awareness? You're afraid others will eat you, and they're just as afraid you'll eat them."
It complained.

"Fine."
Liu Zheng said helplessly.
It seemed he was now like Zhu Bajie looking in a mirror—neither inside nor outside a human being.
For some inexplicable reason, he suddenly understood the feeling of those undercover agents during wartime.

"By the way, kid, do you know how to play any musical instruments?"
The Beast-Horse suddenly asked.

"No, but I can sing all right. I used to be in a chorus."
Liu Zheng said.

"Then there's a hotel you can try; it's relatively friendly to music lovers."
The Beast-Horse said.

"How do you know?"
He raised an eyebrow.

"Hmph, don't look down on people, kid. Even though I'm just a delivery guy now, I used to be a band bassist, you know."
The Beast-Horse said proudly.

"Uh..."
Liu Zheng looked at its hooves, which could only throw rock in rock-paper-scissors, and found it hard to imagine how it strummed the strings.

"Then why didn't you keep playing in a band?"
To stall for time, he asked anyway.

"City Hall said our songs were vulgar and violent, detrimental to building a good city image, so they banned the band. Moreover, they strictly prohibited us from engaging in related industries."
"By the way, the lead singer of the band was Black Claw."
The Beast-Horse said flatly.

"How vulgar could you guys possibly be?"
Liu Zheng was genuinely curious now.
Based on what he had seen and heard since entering the instance, the lower limit of this world practically didn't exist.
Compared to that bunch of freaks, the Beast-Horse already possessed high morals.

"We just sang about things like racial equality, and that all sentient beings should enjoy civil rights, that sort of stuff."
The Beast-Horse said.

"Well... that really is quite vulgar."
He opened his mouth and said.

The Beast-Horse heard the sarcasm in his voice, didn't scold him, and just let out a cold laugh.

"Actually, Big Brother, you could still form a band. I can be your lead singer."
Liu Zheng suggested.

"Forget it, I still want to live a few more years."
The Beast-Horse refused without hesitation.

"Don't harbor any ideas about me either, kid. I stopped believing in those things long ago. What bullshit equality, what stupid rights. This world is all about the law of the jungle; not only am I going to eat people, but I'm going to eat them heartily."
"For instance, your meat is quite good, kid. I'm just waiting for you to finish your transformation so I can have a good meal."
It bared its jagged, sharp teeth just like when they first met.

"Aren't you going to Paradise Island? Why are you still eyeing my few scraps of meat?"
Liu Zheng wasn't panicked at all.
The people who wanted to eat him could form a line from the Bloody Restaurant to the black market. Even though the Beast-Horse was close by, it still had to wait its turn.

"A grand meal must be eaten, and desserts can't be missed either. Besides, you're a renewable meat source, kid; eating you sparingly wouldn't be a problem for a few decades."
The Beast-Horse licked its lips.

"Big Brother, do you know how to do that candle-dripping thing like Garcia?"
Liu Zheng asked with a smile.

"No, why?"
"Since you don't know, where do you get the courage to want to eat me?"
He took out the teething stick and tapped the tentacles lightly, back and forth.

"Hey, we were just chatting casually, it's no fun if you take it seriously."
The Beast-Horse hurriedly said.

"Really?"
"Really, really."
The Beast-Horse nodded like pounding garlic.

"Then I suppose I just lack a sense of humor."
Liu Zheng put away the teething stick.

The Beast-Horse wiped away a cold sweat.
This damn kid got so many weird things from who knows where; if he didn't want to live, he'd drag them all down with him.

"Hey, is it ready yet? I'm almost out of topics."
Liu Zheng asked in his mind.

"Almost, almost. Please help me stall for one more minute."
The Mermaid replied.

Another minute? They were practically at the entrance already.
Whatever, take people's money and help them avert disaster.
Liu Zheng thought for a moment and took out the map.

"Big Brother, where is that hotel you mentioned?"
"You kid actually want to go?"
The Beast-Horse took the map and pointed at a spot on it.

"There, right here."
"It's so close to the Chaos Club."
Liu Zheng's gaze narrowed as he looked at the location it pointed to.

"Big Brother, what you're holding is a scaled map. It only looks close; they are at least several hundred meters apart, alright?"
"Oh, I guess it really isn't that far either."
The Beast-Horse muttered to itself after speaking.

"These two places shouldn't have any connection, right?"
He asked.

"Probably not. Never heard of the Chaos Club having that kind of business; they practically never do external operations."
The Beast-Horse hesitated.

"Forget it, let's pick another one."
Liu Zheng shook his head.
Even the kitchen had suffered losses at the hands of the Chaos Club; what qualifications did a delivery guy like him have?

"Suit yourself. Every other hotel means certain death for you anyway, so only this one offers a glimmer of survival."
"What's the name of this hotel?"
He asked.

"Rock Never Dies."
"Good name."
Liu Zheng nodded.
Just hearing the name sounded full of vitality.

"It succeeded!"
The mermaid's surprised voice suddenly rang out.