"I come from the mountains, bringing orchid grass..."

A melodious song drifted from the distance.

The clear childlike voice carried faint metallic static through the inferior sound system.

A water truck painted in blue and white slowly approached, spraying slender water jets toward both sides of the street.

"You're in trouble now."

The plane tree suddenly spoke.

"How so?"

"The water truck is here to clean up dirty things."

It wore an expression of sheer schadenfreude.

"And you're that dirty thing."

"Perfect timing then. I haven't bathed in days."

Liu Zheng said.

The plant decay smell on him was growing increasingly strong, though he couldn't tell if it was from lack of bathing or because his very essence was transforming.

"You still want to bathe?"

The plane tree laughed heartily.

A root burst through the soil, flinging out the corpse of an enormous mole.

The mole traced a long parabolic arc before landing right beside the water truck.

The high-pressure water jets scoured the mole's corpse, immediately reducing it to a skeleton, then further grinding it into bone fragments.

"Cleans really thoroughly."

Liu Zheng swallowed hard.

"It'll clean you even more thoroughly later."

The plane tree cackled with glee.

"Don't think your 'Flesh Rebirth' and legendary jacket will save you. That astral mole's skin was much tougher than yours."

"Then why are those trees unaffected?"

He looked at the trees being sprayed until dripping wet.

"Because they're public property. What are you?"

The plane tree said contemptuously.

"I'm a deliveryman for the Bloody Restaurant."

"That status won't work on municipal government employees."

The plane tree shook its branches.

"Well, if I can't handle it, I can avoid it."

"Avoid it? Go ahead and try."

Though he knew something was wrong, Liu Zheng still attempted it.

But after running hard for several minutes, he discovered the music was actually getting closer.

The water truck was now only a few hundred meters away from him.

Strangely, he couldn't see any driver.

"Don't waste your energy. You've already been locked on."

The plane tree said.

"You might as well let me eat you. For the sake of our business partnership, I could leave your head intact."

Its smile overflowed with malice.

"I can hide behind a tree."

Liu Zheng looked toward the nearest roadside tree.

"Useless, completely useless."

As if to crush his last hope, the plane tree threw out another astral mole corpse.

This time it threw it behind a photinia tree.

Several water jets curved accordingly, bending around the tree trunk to strike the mole, repeating the scene exactly.

"This actually works?"

Liu Zheng was speechless.

Since when did physics become completely irrelevant?

"Here's a deal - if you give me your jacket and delivery box, I might reluctantly save your life."

The plane tree said.

Clearly, this was its real objective all along.

"Well, I really appreciate that."

Liu Zheng neither agreed nor refused, simply standing his ground.

The plane tree didn't press him, confident he would accept when death was imminent.

The water truck looping "Orchid Grass" drew closer and closer, finally arriving before Liu Zheng.

Then, it stopped.

The water cannons didn't shoot high-pressure jets but instead shut their valves.

However, the plane tree merely sneered.

This wasn't the water truck giving up, but the calm before the volcanic eruption.

It quietly heightened its vigilance. Updates are released by novelFirｅ.net

Even for the tree itself, protecting Liu Zheng from the water truck wouldn't be easy.

At least one-third of its bark would be lost.

But for the legendary deliveryman set, everything would be worth it.

"Still not agreeing? Human. It'll be too late once it starts spraying."

As if to confirm the plane tree's words, the water truck's tank gradually swelled, the air around its body distorting from intense heat.

From a distance, Liu Zheng could feel the approaching heatwave.

As if the tank held not tap water, but boiling magma.

Facing the impending hellish baptism, he gritted his teeth and strode forward.

"Are you insane?!"

Under the plane tree's astonished gaze, Liu Zheng rushed before the water truck and swung his tentacle.

The scale-covered tentacle tore through the air with a whistling sound, appearing impressively formidable.

But the tree knew this was merely an ant trying to shake a tree.

Even with his legendary jacket's assistance, Liu Zheng would at most scratch the water truck's paint.

"It's over."

The plane tree sighed deeply.

Liu Zheng's death was minor, but its legendary collection would be buried with him.

"Smack!"

A crisp sound echoed as the tentacle slapped against the driver's cabin window.

Also slapped against the glass was a one-hundred-yuan bill.

A blue-glowing hand materialized out of thin air, passed through the glass to take the money, then vanished.

But the water tank continued swelling, though at a slightly slower pace.

He instantly understood.

Bill after bill was slapped against the window, the blue hand appearing again and again.

Finally, the water tank contracted back to its original size.

The engine started, and the water truck continued driving forward.

The music from its sound system switched accordingly.

"Good fortune comes, our good fortune comes, meeting good fortune prosperous and flourishing through the four seas..."

"This actually works too?"

The plane tree stared dumbfounded, its mouth gaping wide enough to fit another legendary deliveryman.

"The water truck needs refueling too, you know."

Liu Zheng said casually.

He might not understand this bizarre world, but he understood government employees.

Even if it was a vehicle, it would want high-grade gasoline.

"Consider yourself lucky."

The plane tree said resentfully.

"I'm leaving."

Liu Zheng cheerfully prepared to depart.

Although it cost him quite a bit, seeing this tree get frustrated made it worth the price.

"Wait, you haven't told me the clue about the delivery hat yet."

The plane tree quickly called out to stop him.

"What clue?"

Liu Zheng countered.

"The clue about the delivery hat."

"What delivery hat?"

"The legendary deliveryman's hat."

"What deliveryman?"

"You're messing with me, kid."

After this fruitless exchange, the plane tree's expression darkened.

"You don't think you can get this information for free, do you? I spent over a hundred thousand chips to win this."

Liu Zheng looked at it as if it were an idiot.

Even a clay figure has some temper, let alone a madman suffering from "Irritable Temper."

"How much do you want?"

The plane tree asked irritably.

"Whatever you think is appropriate."

He said magnanimously.

He didn't actually expect to fleece the tree, just wanted to vent some frustration.

"Despicable human."

The plane tree grumbled, digging out a slip of paper from the black soil.

"Name: Sick Leave Note (Single Use)"

"Type: Item"

"Quality: Fine"

"Effect: Obtains three days of sick leave after use."

"Note: Did the company pay so much money to hire you to get sick?"

"Can Be Taken Out of Dungeon: No"

The palm-sized slip contained a string of scribbled, ghost-scratch-like writing, with a red stamp mark in the lower right corner.

Municipal First Hospital Outpatient Department.

"You had such a good item all along? Why didn't you bring it out earlier?"

Liu Zheng exclaimed with shock and delight.

Three days of sick leave equated to one-fifth of a vacation voucher.

"None of your business. Now quickly tell me the clue."

The plane tree said arrogantly.

"Fine then. The demon boss at the casino said the legendary deliveryman's hat is in the hands of the Wolf Knight at the garbage landfill."

"To think it's there... that's going to be difficult to handle."

The plane tree fell into deep contemplation.