The world has turned into Hell's Game, why should I stay human?
Chapter 220 - 219 Si Xue: Tell that woman to keep her distance, her sour smell is nauseating me.

Chapter 220: Chapter 219 Si Xue: Tell that woman to keep her distance, her sour smell is nauseating me.

"Ah?"

Liu Zheng had never expected it to come up with such a statement.

But upon further thought, it made sense.

After all, if Si Xue could tear the Five Virtues from the Phoenix and transfer them to him, others naturally could do the same from him to themselves.

Moreover, the Five Virtues seemed to have a high compatibility with the Authors Association.

"Rest assured, I will definitely offer a price that satisfies you."

"Plus, I see you are struggling to bear these ’words’; if triggered a few more times, you might be crushed to death,"

the Black Cat said.

"Then may I know which ’word’ the God of Fool wishes to purchase?"

Liu Zheng asked.

He was indeed curious whether there were any peculiar individuals among the recipients of the Metropolis’s established interests that fit the "Five Virtues" criteria.

"Hmm..."

Upon hearing his question, the Black Cat fell into deep thought.

Indeed, it was a spur-of-the-moment impulse to request a purchase and had not considered whether it could actually make use of them.

While the Black Cat always considered itself innovative and refused to indulge in the mainstream views of the Metropolis, becoming a major novelist undoubtedly entailed doing many things.

Even if it didn’t suppress others, others would still try to climb over it to reach a higher position.

The number of spirits under its command was enough to host a salon dance.

However, to say the Black Cat couldn’t withstand it all was an exaggeration.

In the Metropolis, there was a virtue that nobody liked but yet everyone had to abide by.

"I want to buy your ’Trustworthiness’."

the Black Cat said after a moment of thought.

In the Metropolis, trustworthiness was a very serious rule.

Even though the City Hall hadn’t specifically legislated for it, everyone could feel the constraints of that indistinct obligation.

Although there were ways around promises or contracts, since the Black Cat’s business had been thriving, it hadn’t needed to resort to those underhanded tactics.

Thus, it was confident it could handle the ’Trustworthiness’.

Liu Zheng was just about to speak when the phone suddenly rang.

He looked at the phone number, and his expression changed.

"Excuse me, I need to take a call."

He lifted his cell phone to signal.

The Black Cat expressed understanding and willingly stepped aside.

"Boss, do you have any instructions?"

Liu Zheng pressed the answer button and spoke respectfully.

The novelist nearby noticed his subservient demeanor, with a glint of lethality flashing in her eyes.

"Tell that woman beside you to move away a bit; her sour smell is stinking me up,"

Si Xue said indifferently.

"Uh, okay."

Liu Zheng gave the novelist a helpless smile, then stepped away a bit himself.

"Humph, who’re you choosing for a consort? Someone with such a cursed widow’s destiny? What, do you think you have too long a life to live?"

Si Xue mocked.

"Boss, do you need anything else?"

He did not pick up on Si Xue’s insinuation.

Not to mention whether the novelist was his consort or not; would finding someone else really ensure a longer life?

Every female in the Metropolis was no easy target.

"I forgot to remind you, use up those ’words’ if you must, but if you dare sell them to someone else, I’ll burn you and use you as a salve for that Phoenix,"

Si Xue said coldly.

"Uh, sure, boss,"

Liu Zheng hung up the phone and wiped away non-existent sweat.

Although he hadn’t intended to sell to the Black Cat, Si Xue’s warning was a wakeup call.

It seemed the "Five Virtues" were not simple commodities even to Si Xue.

So were those existences sealed within the Obsidian Pillars Si Xue’s personal collection, or an accumulation of the restaurant’s over the years?

While pondering, Liu Zheng returned to the novelist’s side.

"Senior, are you okay?"

The novelist asked with concern.

In truth, with her hearing, she could have easily eavesdropped on their conversation, but out of respect for Liu Zheng, she deliberately pretended not to have heard it.

"It’s nothing, just a work reminder,"

Liu Zheng said with a smile.

"Delivery man sir, have you made your decision?"

the Black Cat asked eagerly as it approached.

"I’m sorry, but this is the restaurant’s property, and I personally have no right to sell or exchange it,"

he apologetically replied.

"This... fine, perhaps it’s for the best."

The Black Cat appeared disappointed for a moment but quickly came to terms with it.

Although it believed it could bear the ’Trustworthiness,’ it didn’t have complete confidence in doing so.

For the Black Cat, whose career was at its peak, being crushed by ’Trustworthiness’ for being overconfident would definitely leave its rivals jubilant, and they might even pop champagne at its grave.

After some idle chatter, Fei Shibu walked over from a distance, carrying a plate.

Her steps were steady and powerful, and her posture extremely stable; not a single tremor could be seen in the wine glass on the tray.

If you replaced Fei Shibu’s magnificent twelve-layered Kimono with a waistcoat and trousers, she indeed had the air of a high-class waiter.

Unfortunately, her somber face was intimidating, and her pupils still seeped blood, making her look more like an assassin with murderous intent than a waitress.

"Your ’Slaughter Knife’."

Fei Shibu’s movements were stiff as he passed the tray to Liu Zheng, his tone more rigid than his actions.

"Thank you."

Liu Zheng politely said, then he picked up the wine glass from the tray.

The liquid in the glass was the color of amber, and when tilted slightly, one could see the reflection of a coppery gold.

This was the shade that only a very fine distilled liquor could possess.

However, the substantial amount of impurities suspended in the liquid severely compromised its appearance.

Black Cat also noticed these impurities but did not raise any questions.

That meant the impurities were not something Fei Shibu had added for revenge; they were originally there.

Liu Zheng held his breath and concentrated hard, observing carefully for a while, and quickly noticed something.

It turned out that those black specks were not impurities, but tiny letters.

"This is the exclusive fine drink of the ’Quill’ club, available in limited supply only to members above the gold tier."

Black Cat explained.

"Then I am indeed basking in the light of the God of Fool."

No sooner had he spoken than the item description popped up.

"Name: Joy Begets Sorrow"

"Type: Item"

"Quality: Fine"

"Effect: Spiritual Attribute +1, slightly increases resistance to spiritual attacks."

"Can it be taken out of the instance: Yes"

"Note: When both happiness and sorrow are nothing but plays directed by someone else, should you cry or laugh?"

Liu Zheng looked at the note for a second, then drained the liquid in the glass in one go.

To his surprise, the taste of the liquor was incredibly smooth, with a hint of sweetness, not at all like a distilled liquor, but more like rice wine.

But as he was about to comment on the taste, a strong wave of dizziness suddenly hit him, causing him to nearly lose his balance.

The novelist seemed to have anticipated this moment and promptly moved closer to support him.

"This liquor..."

Liu Zheng tried to speak in a daze, but he couldn’t control his tongue at all.

The letters he had swallowed floated before his eyes and began to arrange themselves automatically.

They danced merrily at times, and at others, they twisted in agony.

Once all the letters had arranged themselves, a short story appeared before Liu Zheng’s eyes.

"Three days later, facing the girl who brandished the Slaughter Knife, he couldn’t help but remember the afternoon his wife happily told him she was pregnant."

Just the first sentence of the opening gripped his attention firmly.

As Liu Zheng tried to see the text below, his consciousness was pulled into a dreamlike state.

In the dream, he was a white-collar worker at an advertising company with a beautiful wife.

Compared to other husbands in the Metropolis, Liu Zheng was fortunate.

His wife’s clan had only migrated here from outside a few decades ago; they had forgotten most of their memories from outside, but their deep-rooted customs had yet to be completely assimilated by the Metropolis.

Every day as he left the house, Liu Zheng would receive encouragement from his wife.

And every day when he came home, he could immediately enjoy delicious and mouth-watering meals.

After his wife told him she was pregnant, Liu Zheng felt he was the happiest "person" in the entire Metropolis.

Even the first-class citizens could not possibly be as joyful as he was.

Because he was not entirely human; his ability to reproduce was much more difficult than that of ordinary people.

To safeguard this hard-won child, Liu Zheng took over all household chores, even going as far as to buy groceries after work.

The Metropolis was not a safe place, especially for a pregnant woman.

Regrettably, despite all precautions, an accident still occurred.

One day, he forgot the USB drive that contained his PPT at home.

The meeting was imminent, and there was no time to go back for it.

If he made an error at such a critical meeting, he could very well be fired on the spot.

Without his job, he wouldn’t be able to support his family.

Reluctantly, Liu Zheng had no choice but to ask his wife to bring the USB drive to him.

His wife happily agreed, and then, there was no further news from her.

When he saw his wife again, she was already a dismembered corpse.

His eight-month-old child was cast aside, resembling a mouse charred by fire.

Liu Zheng didn’t know how he maintained his sanity, but he managed to do so.

He reported the case, and personnel from the Security Bureau arrived quickly, but the investigation results were unsatisfactory.

For half a year, Liu Zheng visited the Security Bureau every day.

However, the outcome was that there was no outcome.

Finally, he gave up on relying on the Security Bureau to solve the case; he resolved to seek vengeance himself.

Perhaps the high and mighty gods sympathized with his plight, as his luck finally took a turn for the better.

The lottery ticket that Liu Zheng bought on a whim miraculously won him two million, providing initial funding for his revenge plan.

Thus, he began to trace the murderer’s whereabouts through various channels.

This search lasted for thirteen years.

One evening, after thirteen years, an informant provided Liu Zheng with some information.

A down-and-out Werewolf, boasting while drunk, claimed it had assaulted and dismembered a pregnant woman from the Foxman Clan.

And Liu Zheng’s wife was precisely from the Foxman Clan, a population that was rather sparse in the Metropolis.

Liu Zheng couldn’t wait to track down the Werewolf with his informant and tie it up in a secret safe house for interrogation.

After interrogation that even the informant found cruel, Liu Zheng got bad news and good news.

The bad news was that the boasting Werewolf was not the murderer.

The good news was that it knew who the real culprit was.

When the Werewolf uttered the name of the true culprit with a mouth bereft of teeth, Liu Zheng’s eyes widened in shock.

Because that name belonged to his former boss.