Hell Game: Starting from Metropolis

Page 769

"okay."

He took a drag on his cigarette.

A delicate fragrance, a blend of flowers, grass, and trees, filled his mouth and wafted into his nostrils.

A slight chill lingered on Liu Zheng's tongue, making him shiver.

But after the initial shock, a sense of comfort from the depths of his soul made him unconsciously let out a long sigh, like taking a big bite of cold pig's ear salad and then drinking a sip of ice-cold beer after a day of physical labor in the sweltering summer heat.

"Is it nice?"

The black skull raised an eyebrow and asked.

"Awesome. Wait, Blackie, when did you grow eyebrows?"

Liu Zheng discovered the blind spot.

"Just planted this morning, how is it, not bad, right?"

The black skull twitched its eyebrows again.

"It looks great. Why didn't you get your hair and beard transplanted too?"

he wondered.

"The child likes bald heads, saying it's fun to touch them. He doesn't like beards either, saying they're prickly."

The black skull's tone was full of doting affection.

"When I first came to the city, I always thought there were no normal people there, but now I find there are quite a few normal people."

Liu Zheng sighed.

"That's still mostly abnormal, otherwise why is the temporary staff of the Public Security Department always insufficient? There's a saying that birds of a feather flock together. You're a normal person, so naturally you'll deal with normal people."

"Besides, you work as a deliveryman at the Bloody Restaurant, where you're surrounded by people of a certain class, so naturally you'll encounter mostly normal people. If you came to our sanitation department, you'd know what it means to be a lot more idiotic and bizarre person."

Black Skull curled his lip.

"That's true."

He nodded.

While the restaurant's mandatory delivery may seem random, there are actually certain patterns to it.

So far, apart from the first fat guy, all the people he's encountered who have placed orders are from the upper-middle class in the metropolis.

Even the mandrill in the Workers' New City belongs to the blue-collar class, and its strength has only temporarily declined.

After all, restaurants mandate delivery in order to collect a "tithing tax." If they were to deliver to just any Tom, Dick, or Harry, the tax revenue wouldn't even cover the labor costs.

The two remained silent, quietly smoking.

The black skull didn't speak until he had almost finished smoking the cigarette.

"Brother, I need your help with something."

"Brother Hei, just say it directly. We're all brothers, so why beat around the bush?"

Liu Zheng said.

"Hmm. You know about Painted Skin, right?"

"The black skull asked."

"I know, a kind of evil spirit that skins living people and dresses them up as beautiful women, specifically to deceive those lustful scholars."

He nodded.

He not only read the book "Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio," but also watched the movie and TV series.

Yes, and there are also some comics that you can't read on the subway.

"Yes, more or less. But the Painted Skin Clan isn't actually a ghost, but a race. Girls of the Painted Skin Clan have to prepare to change their skin and wear makeup when they turn twelve, and then their appearance will be finalized. The better the skin they change into and the more exquisite their makeup, the more beautiful their final appearance will be."

"That's what the black skull said."

"So that's how it is. So your sister-in-law needs to have her skin purified?"

Liu Zheng asked.

"What are you talking about? Do I look like the kind of person who has a pedophilic fetish? Your sister-in-law's twelfth birthday was over a hundred years ago."

The black skull glared at him and said.

"Hehe, just kidding. Is my niece getting a skin change?"

“That’s right. They are my two little daughters, twins. They are well-behaved and sensible, and they are very clingy to me. Every night they want me to hold them on either side to sleep. If I let go, they cry, and I can’t even turn over. Look at the mess they’ve made.”

The black skull appears to be complaining, but is actually showing off.

"Then I suggest you let me carry you. I sleep soundly and don't like to roll over."

Liu Zheng said in a very serious tone.

"Get out of my way, you uncle, stop trying to take advantage of my daughter."

The black skull feinted a kick at his foot.

"Hehe. So, does Blackie want me to find skin for them, or do their makeup?"

Liu Zheng asked.

Can I have them all?

The black skull scratched his head and asked.

"Sure, but Blackie, doesn't your sanitation department also manage those rare animals? You shouldn't be short of good skin, right?"

Leaving aside the issue of embezzlement, rare creatures will inevitably die of old age or disease. Their bodies cannot simply be left to rot or be directly destroyed; they must be recycled and reused.

A full-time employee like Black Skull should be someone you can get through internal channels.

"Yes, but they're all stock. It's best to skin them fresh, and preferably from humanoid races."

"That's what the black skull explained."

"That's a bit troublesome."

He hesitated.

It wasn't that he couldn't bring himself to skin them; back in Atlantis, he had skinned and dismembered many of the beast-like residents.

But those are all completely mutated and beyond saving, so it would be really difficult for Liu Zhengxian to find a suitable one.

"Your Bloody Restaurant's kitchen must have plenty of good stuff; finding a couple of good skins shouldn't be difficult."

"That's what the black skull said."

"You know this as well."

Liu Zheng asked in surprise.

"Heh, how long have we in the sanitation department been watching your Bloody Restaurant? Do you think the Yuanshen Cult's affairs were accidental? We've wiped out countless Yuanshen Cults. No demand, no supply; your Bloody Restaurant is the source of all evil."

The black skull rolled its eyes at him.

"a ha ha ha."

He scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

"Wait a minute, why are you making me go to the bloody restaurant to get it?"

Liu Zheng realized what was happening and asked.

"Work is work, and life is life. As a sanitation worker, I certainly hate your bloody restaurant. But as a father of two daughters, I just hope there's as much skin as possible in your kitchen now."

"That's what the black skull said."

"A classic double standard, but reasonable."

He nodded.

"Long live understanding!"

"You didn't know about the makeup thing, did you?"

Liu Zheng probed.

"There are no secrets that stay hidden forever, especially for the city hall. We can't do anything about the Bloody Restaurant, and the Bloody Restaurant can't do anything to us either."

"That's what the black skull said."

"Hey, we're all part of the metropolis. Don't say anything bad. Let's all love each other and live in peace."

He was just saying polite things.

"Yes, that's how I give you the opportunity to love and be with us."

The black skull climbed up the pole.

"Okay. I'll ask around later, but I can't guarantee anything."

Liu Zheng said.

"Then you'd better hurry, there's not much time left. If your side doesn't work, I'll have to make do with what I've prepared."

"That's what the black skull said."

Of course, it couldn't place all its hopes on others. It had already prepared two sets of skins and booked a very famous makeup artist. Finding Liu Zheng was just a spur-of-the-moment decision.

“We’re all family, so I won’t hide anything from you. This year is the centennial celebration of the Painted Skin Clan. All clan members born in the last thirty years must participate in the Painted Skin Competition to see who can paint the skin the best. The winner will be qualified to ‘add the finishing touch to the dragon’ and will have incredible abilities.”

"I want to get them better skin and makeup artists, not only out of love for them, but also to get this reward."

After thinking for a moment, the black skull revealed the truth.

"I see. But, Brother Black, there's something I'm not sure if I should say."

Liu Zheng said somewhat hesitantly.

"Since we've come this far, is there anything we shouldn't say? Speak up."

Is my sister-in-law's ex-husband still alive?

he asked.

"Alive."

The black skull replied.

"Aren't you afraid he'll try to take all the credit? Even if you raise him, he's not as close as your own son."

Liu Zheng said meaningfully.

He said it was a bit too forward for a casual acquaintance, but since Black Skull was willing to tell him about the Painted Skin competition, he decided to confide in him.

Although it is said that the kindness of raising is greater than the kindness of giving birth, the blood ties cannot be severed. As long as the ex-husband shows his fatherly love regardless of the cost, it is hard to say whether the two young girls, whose minds are not yet mature, can resist.

"Afraid."

The black skull said without hesitation.

"and you."

"As soon as you give me good news, I'll take care of him immediately."

The will-o'-the-wisp in the black skull's eye shrank to the size of a bean, yet it looked even more ferocious.

Chapter 537 Red Ghost: Where do you come from, stranger?

“That’s very life-like.”

Liu Zheng gave a thumbs up.

"To be a victim of injustice while alive, and to be a victim of injustice even after death, that would be too much of a tragedy."

"Black Skull said bitterly."

Clearly, it had a painful past during its life.

Liu Zheng wisely refrained from pressing the matter.