Drip.
Blood continuously flowed from Liu Zheng's wounds, dripping onto the cage beneath him.
A nest of white-furred mice with blood-red eyes craned their necks in anticipation, rushing to lick up every drop of blood that fell.
Their actions followed a strict pattern - each mouse could only lick once before making way for the next.
Only one mouse with patches of gray mixed into its fur was an exception; it could lick twice.
Liu Zheng noticed its gaze appeared older than the other mice, yet clearer and more focused.
He had even counted that this particular mouse had exactly 53 whiskers.
Two more on the right side than the left.
Only one mouse with patches of gray mixed into its fur was an exception; it could lick twice.
He was currently hung on the wall by White Feather Chicken, with several drills piercing through his limbs and chest.The drills kept rotating continuously to prevent his blood from clotting.
"When are you going to take me down?"
After counting the gray mouse's gray hairs one more time, Liu Zheng finally couldn't take it anymore.
The pain was secondary; the real issue was the sheer boredom.
Plus, being displayed in this position made him feel somewhat embarrassed.
He was already a tentacle monster - if people mistook him for some kind of play enthusiast, he'd never be able to explain himself.
"Just hang there quietly until kitchen duty is finished."
Bullhorse replied while flipping flying pancakes with impressive skill, making them large enough to use as blankets.
"When will kitchen duty be over?"
"Another five or six hours."
Bullhorse glanced at the wall clock.
"Sigh, delivering takeout was so much better."
Liu Zheng lamented.
It was freedom, it was easy, and he could even chat and joke with plane tree.
"Only realizing that now? If you'd joined the service department or kitchen from the start, I could've been eating staff meals made by you."
Bullhorse mocked.
"I think you're gaslighting me, and I have evidence."
"Then if you're not happy, transfer departments. I'll talk to the boss for you - she'll definitely agree."
Bullhorse rolled his eyes.
"That won't be necessary. Once a deliveryman, always a deliveryman. No other place, no matter how good, can truly accommodate my soul."
Liu Zheng said with devout sincerity.
"Souls can be cooked into dishes too. Want to give it a try?"
White Feather Chicken put down the half-carved radish in its hand, shooting a sharp glance at the two slacking off.
"..."
Liu Zheng tilted his head and entered infant-like sleep.
Bullhorse started flipping pancakes with even more force, apparently planning to make a carpet for the kitchen.
"Hmph, trash from the delivery department."
After flexing its authority, White Feather Chicken returned to carving radishes.
"Hand it over."
"What for?"
Liu Zheng played dumb.
"Payment for saving your life. Without me protecting you, White Feather Chicken would have slaughtered you for sure."
Bullhorse glared.
"It has no evidence, why would it slaughter me?"
He argued reasonbly.
"Evidence? This restaurant only needs rules, not evidence."
Bullhorse sneered.
"Hurry up, either pay up or get beaten up."
"Skinflint bull."
Liu Zheng grumbled discontentedly but still took out the money.
"It's Bullhorse."
Bullhorse emphasized, returning to its nest with a beaming smile before immediately falling into deep sleep.
It had been making pastries all day and was exhausted.
Liu Zheng also sat on his stool - with his smaller size, the stool actually felt more comfortable now.
With Bullhorse snoring loud enough to shake the heavens, he couldn't fall asleep immediately, so he decided to take stock of his gains.
Currently, he possessed eight items.
First item, "Human Bone Cane".
This was Liu Zheng's first acquired item, with simple yet practical effects.
The 10% speed boost might not seem like much, but with all his attributes significantly increased, this bonus became quite substantial.
During normal deliveries it was just the icing on the cake, but when escaping, it could prove extremely useful.
Second item, "Legendary Deliveryman's Vest".
This was Liu Zheng's first perfect-quality item and also his most powerful equipment.
Its effects were straightforward yet powerful - without the legendary vest, he wouldn't be able to stand upright in this dungeon world.
Third item, "Legendary Deliveryman's Delivery Box".
Liu Zheng's second perfect-quality item, and also part of the legendary deliveryman set.
This counted as a growth-type item - as long as he delivered enough takeout, the benefits from this item might even exceed its original quality.
Fourth item, "Sick Leave Note (Single Use)".
This was a double-edged sword type item, avoiding one risk while introducing another.
Whether to use it or not required further consideration from Liu Zheng.
Fifth item, "Jiahe New Residence Honorary Resident Medal".
Collect five resident medals, and he could move freely through the vast majority of residential complexes city-wide, and customers would no longer reject takeout.
Once he obtained both the legendary deliveryman set and the honorary resident medal set, delivering takeout would basically present no difficulty.
He even felt confident about competing for the "Excellent Employee" title - the thought was somewhat exciting.
Sixth item, "Tindalos' Chew Toy (Single Use)".
This item was impressive - although not high quality, its power was substantial.
The kind that could take both him and his enemies out together.
Unless in absolutely desperate circumstances, Liu Zheng definitely wouldn't use it.
Of course, occasionally taking it out to scare people worked quite well too.
Seventh item, "Circle God Sect Token".
This was given to him by that High Priest Garcia - no need to think about it, there was definitely something fishy about it.
But Liu Zheng didn't plan to discard it either.
What if it came in handy someday?
After all, even a piece of toilet paper has its uses.
Eighth item, "Heart of the Ocean (Enhanced)".
This item had undergone two enhancements, and its effects had become quite remarkable.
Although only fine quality, in specific environments its effectiveness wasn't much worse than the perfect-quality legendary vest.
Moreover, since it could replace absorbed souls, it could barely be considered a growth-type item.
The key point was that it could be taken out of the dungeon.
Among Liu Zheng's current possessions, only "Heart of the Ocean" and "Human Bone Cane" could be brought out of the dungeon.
No matter how good the other items were, they would just expire and become useless.
He wondered if there would be any compensation during dungeon settlement - otherwise it would be quite a loss.
After taking stock of his items, Liu Zheng felt absolutely amazing.
Although he didn't know how other players were doing, he intuitively felt his dungeon difficulty was absolutely abnormal.
From the moment he entered the dungeon, every step had been fraught with deadly danger.
Relying on thirty percent wit, seventy percent ferocity, and ninety percent luck, Liu Zheng had survived until now.
However, luck wouldn't favor him forever, even if he really was some kind of jester.
To clear with an A-rank evaluation or higher, meeting the "betting agreement" conditions to avoid eradication, the minimum requirement of surviving 72 hours was far from sufficient.
He needed to obtain the legendary deliveryman's hat to complete the first piece of the puzzle.
Liu Zheng's gaze passed through the break room door, looking out at the perilous world beyond.