Liu Zheng didn't stand on ceremony, examining each pot one by one.

The floating ingredients on the surface were all the same - onions, carrots, celery, rosemary, cilantro, and so on.

Beneath the soup's surface lay a thick murkiness that revealed nothing.

Simultaneously, the system provided no prompts whatsoever.

He thought for a moment, then extended his tentacles.

"Looking is fine, but touch anything and I'll chop wherever you move."

Oink had seen enough.

"Doesn't count toward payment."

After a pause, it added.

"Tch."

Liu Zheng clicked his tongue.

"Then this one."

He pointed to the pot right in the center.

For no particular reason other than symmetry.

"Seems your luck isn't great."

Oink shook its head, retrieving utensils from the cabinet behind it.

Soon, a brimming bowl of meat soup was placed before Liu Zheng.

"Drink up, finish it so you can get on the chopping block."

The pig-headed man said gently.

Liu Zheng looked into the bowl - the broth appeared much clearer than it had in the pot, with several red-eyed flies struggling in the soup as if still alive.

"Name: Hell Dragonfly Spicy Soup"

"Type: Item"

"Quality: Inferior"

"Effect 1: Taste bud numbness, duration varies by constitution."

"Effect 2: Permanent constitution reduction by 5 points."

"Can be taken out of dungeon: Yes"

He looked at the spicy soup with a troubled expression.

Not because it contained hell dragonflies - having eaten eyeball sashimi, this was nothing.

Mainly because all the effects were negative, and the most terrifying was the permanent constitution reduction.

Liu Zheng's actual constitution was only twelve points - this would wipe out nearly half.

If he cleared the dungeon and then removed his "Flesh Mutation" status, he'd probably become half-paralyzed on the spot.

"Can I get this to go?"

Liu Zheng asked seriously.

"I can pack you to go."

Oink replied just as seriously.

"Sigh."

He sighed, lowered his head, and took a sip.

Extreme spiciness punched his taste buds hard, while the aftertaste of sulfur delivered a second blow to his brain.

"Hss haa hss haa!"

Liu Zheng stuck out his tongue, saliva madly secreting, but it was like trying to put out a fire with a cup of water.

"Tasty?"

Oink asked.

"Not. Spicy. Enough."

He recovered slightly, speaking word by word.

"With that mouth of yours, you'll need at least eight hours of stewing."

Oink chuckled dryly.

"What, can't bite through sashimi?"

Liu Zheng continued talking tough.

"I don't eat humans, though you humans have eaten me. After all, I'm half human."

Oink shook its head.

"But I'll sell your meat to them, just like you did to me."

It said flatly.

"Like Bloody Restaurant?"

The moment these words left his mouth, the firelight in the room instantly dimmed.

Oink's shadow stretched infinitely, expanding into a demon god holding a giant axe.

"You didn't tell him?"

It tilted its head to ask Bullhorse.

"I didn't expect him to ask either."

Bullhorse looked helpless.

Wait, how did we get to supplying the restaurant?

You're supposed to be ingredients - since when do you have this much initiative?

"Bloody Restaurant used to have a classic dish - live roasted suckling pig."

The firelight in Oink's eyes blazed brightly again.

"I was that pig."

In the suffocating silence, Liu Zheng slowly spoke.

"Was it fragrant?"

"Fragrant your mother!"

Bullhorse cursed loudly, kicking Liu Zheng over with one hoof.

After knocking him down, it delivered several more fierce kicks, all four tentacles trampled into meat paste.

"His brain seems to have broken since he stopped being human, please don't mind him."

It shouted while continuing to kick.

"You want to protect him?"

Oink saw through its intentions.

"After all, he calls me boss."

Bullhorse said humbly.

"You can't protect him."

Oink also shook its head.

"Let me try, we all came from the breeding farm - you wouldn't actually kill me."

Bullhorse lay on the ground, exposing its belly.

It even wagged its tail.

"That move - you learned it from Black Claw."

Oink frowned deeply.

"Black Claw's long dead."

Bullhorse said.

"Oh. No wonder I haven't seen it coming to sell meat lately. Made into dog meat hotpot?"

Oink asked.

"Went treasure hunting in the landfill, got gutted."

Bullhorse said flatly. Thɪs chapter is updatᴇd by NoveI[F]ire.net

"It was always that stupid."

Oink sighed.

"I told it back then to stay obediently in the sewers, or come be my guard if necessary."

"Dogs always want to be strays sometimes."

Bullhorse said.

"Hmm."

Oink responded faintly, its shadow shrinking back to its feet.

"Alright, lie down here."

It dragged over a wooden slaughter table from the corner, soaked through with layer upon layer of bloodstains and filth.

"Hurry up."

Bullhorse kicked Liu Zheng.

Liu Zheng walked over and lay face down on the slaughter table.

"Why won't you look at me properly? Scared?"

Oink mocked.

"I always see pigs slaughtered face down."

He said in a muffled voice.

"You seem very eager to anger me."

Oink said coldly.

"I'm not doing it on purpose, I just can't control it. What Bullhorse said is true - my brain has problems."

Liu Zheng explained.

Irritable Temper made him uncontrollably angry, and occasionally he couldn't help provoking others.

"Doesn't matter, you won't need to control it soon."

Oink said, raising the butcher knife.

First cut, it removed the head.

Second cut, it removed the limbs.

Third cut, it removed the organs.

Final cut, it split him in two.

Liu Zheng clenched his teeth, not making a sound throughout the entire process.

He imagined himself as a tree, and Oink was merely pruning his stray branches.

Perhaps this self-hypnosis worked - Liu Zheng's sensations grew increasingly dull until he barely felt any pain at all.

"All done!"

Oink announced loudly, tearing off its dirty apron and throwing it over his face.

Liu Zheng's eyes remained wide open.

He saw nothing, heard nothing.

"So this is what being an 'empty shell' feels like."

His final thought flashed through his mind before descending into permanent silence.

"'Emergency Ration' has been automatically used."

The system's cold voice suddenly rang out.

Squirming chunks of meat appeared out of nowhere, then crawled into Liu Zheng's mouth on their own.

"So that's what he was relying on."

Oink watched with crossed arms, a cold smile playing on its face.

"You never said it wasn't allowed."

Bullhorse said with a playful laugh.

"This is the first time, and the last time."

Oink said seriously.

"Of course, of course."

Bullhorse wiped cold sweat from its brow.

Although it had dared do this knowing the pig-headed man's temperament, only upon hearing these words did it truly relax.

Who knew if Oink might suddenly lose it - it had once hacked through half a restaurant.

"You have high hopes for this human?"

Oink looked at the still unconscious Liu Zheng and suddenly asked.

Otherwise Bullhorse would never dare play such tricks risking its wrath.

"He got me a double-person vacation ticket to Paradise Island, and even got Planehead's vest from that tree."

Bullhorse dropped its smile.

"I think this kid might actually accomplish something."

"Is that so?"

Oink suddenly walked to a furnace and lifted the entire pot.

Then it pried open Liu Zheng's mouth and poured all the broth from the pot into it, completely ignoring how his mouthparts were changing color from the scalding.

"Then let's wait and see with some anticipation."