It's a hell game, who can still be a human being?

Chapter 673 Si Xue: If it's not tasty, I'll eat you.
"Boss, I'm back."

Liu Zheng pushed open the door to the lounge and said loudly.

"So what if you're back? What's with the fuss? Do I have to carry you in on a sedan chair?"

The ox and horse said in a sarcastic tone.

"No need for that, just give me a red carpet."

He said with a grin.

"You're too beautiful to be true. I'd rather give you a ground nail."

The ox and horse rolled their eyes.

"hey-hey."

Liu Zheng sat down on his small stool and started fiddling with the game console.

He could actually get things done with the little time he had left, but he really wanted to rest.

"What, have you finished your vacation?"

The ox and horse asked upon seeing this.

"Almost there, in about an hour."

Liu Zheng glanced at his phone and said.

"Then I advise you to go and report back to your boss first."

"The ox and horse said."

"Okay, then could you please call the boss for me?"

He is quick to accept advice.

"Why are you being so obedient, kid? It's pointless."

Niu and Ma took out their phones in disappointment.

It also thought that Liu Zheng should be entering his rebellious phase now.

"Listen to advice and you'll eat your fill. Besides, I may not listen to others, but I always follow your advice without question."

Liu Zheng laughed.

"Really? Then you go ahead."

The cow and horse stopped talking abruptly.

"It's such a close call."

They almost exposed their betting odds.

It glared at Liu Zheng, then dialed Si Xue's number.

"Excuse me, boss, I'm sorry to disturb your rest. Liu Zheng is back and wants to see you to cancel his leave."

It said cautiously.

"Yes, okay, I'll tell him."

Niu Ma nodded repeatedly, then hung up the phone.

"The boss wants you to go to the kitchen and get her some late-night snacks."

It said to Liu Zheng.

What should we get for a late-night snack?

Liu Zheng asked.

"How would I know? I've never brought any for the boss."

The ox and horse glared at each other.

"Alright, then I'll ask Napoleon."

He shrugged and left the lounge.

Upon entering the kitchen, I saw white-feathered chickens pacing around, surveying their territory.

"What are you here for?"

When it saw Liu Zheng come in, it asked him rudely.

"My boss asked me to bring her some late-night snacks."

Liu Zheng replied honestly.

"Hmm? What would you like to eat, boss?"

The white-feathered chicken asked.

"I don't know, the boss didn't say."

He said with an innocent look on his face.

"Then how am I supposed to know what to do?"

The white-feathered rooster's tone became agitated.

"Let's just do it the way we always do."

"The boss has never ordered late-night snacks before."

The white-feathered rooster stared into his eyes and said.

"what?"

Liu Zheng was completely flustered.

I thought it would be a simple task, but it turned out to be a hot potato.

If the late-night snacks they brought didn't suit Si Xue's taste, given their status, they probably wouldn't die, but they would certainly suffer.

"You decide what to do. If you can't decide, I'll make you into a midnight snack and send it over."

The white-feathered chicken said coldly.

Although the two "people" have a fairly good relationship, it certainly won't take the blame for this.

"Although the boss has ordered late-night snacks, you, the head chef, always cook the three meals a day, right?"

Liu Zheng tried to struggle.

The white-feathered chicken glanced at him but said nothing.

These are all top-quality ingredients, why would we share scraps with them?
In this kind of situation, you either get involved, or if you say even one more word, you'll cause the blame to fall on someone else.

Seeing that his thoughts had been seen through, Liu Zheng had no choice but to rack his brains.

What would the boss like to eat?

He recalled his several meetings with Si Xue.

On the time she went with Ghost Hand, there were snacks and ice cream on Si Xue's table, but she didn't eat them herself and let him eat them instead.

If you really think about it, the only things Si Xue has ever eaten seem to be the sweet potatoes she roasted herself and the corn Liu Zheng roasted for her.

"Shall we bring a few more sweet potatoes and corn to roast?"

I feel like this choice shouldn't be wrong, but it's not very thoughtful, so I'm still going to get a beating.

"Have it!"

Liu Zheng's eyes suddenly lit up.

"Prepare a bucket of beef bone broth, a bucket of pork bone broth, and a bucket of chicken for me, and pour them all into the pressure cooker."

"Prepare white cardamom, black cardamom, cloves, galangal, amomum villosum, cumin, nutmeg, cinnamon, gardenia, licorice, licorice root, old cardamom, nard, long pepper, dried tangerine peel, lemongrass, bay leaves, star anise, Murraya paniculata, vanilla, and fennel seeds. Grind them all into powder and put them into a pressure cooker to cook for half an hour."

"Finally add salt, MSG, chicken bouillon, umami seasoning, concentrated umami powder, spare rib flavor enhancer, flavor enhancer, chicken bone extract, white pepper powder, cooking wine, and rock sugar."

At this point, he paused.

Do we have Yunnan and Myanmar sea bream here?

After thinking about it, he still asked the question.

After all, given Si Xue's constitution, a mere poppy shell should be harmless.

"Have."

The white-feathered pheasant nodded.

"Then let's add another batch of Myanmar shells."

Liu Zheng said decisively.

"It sounds like you're going to make hot pot."

"It's not hot pot, it's mala tang. The two are very similar, but there are still some differences in taste and presentation."

He shook his head.

What he wanted to make wasn't the kind of mala tang from real-life establishments like "Yang Guofu" or "Zhang Liang," but rather a local specialty mala tang from his hometown.

The ingredients are skewered and kept cooking in the pot; you can take whatever you want to eat.

Spicy and flavorful, it's incredibly satisfying.

When Liu Zheng was a child, he hated eating offal, but he would always eat a lot of the pig heart and pig lungs in hot pot.

"You only mentioned the type, what about the dosage?"

The white-feathered chicken asked.

"You can decide on the dosage, but I'll take the blame in the end."

He said it bluntly.

The white-feathered pheasant glanced at him and then moved on from the topic.

"What about the ingredients?"

It asked again.

"Dried tofu, dried orchid leaves, seaweed, konjac tofu, potato chunks, dried bean curd sheets, wood ear mushrooms, bean curd sticks, radish strips, pig lungs, pig heart, chicken feet, meatballs, lotus root chunks, duck blood"

Liu Zheng recited all the ingredients he remembered.

"salmon."

The white-feathered rooster let out a cry after hearing this.

"Meow!"

The calico cat, who was sleeping sprawled out on its back, suddenly snapped to attention and instinctively answered.

"Come and get to work."

"Okay meow!"

The calico cat then rolled over and trotted over.

"Liu Zheng, you're here, meow~"

It happily greeted him and then naturally climbed onto Liu Zheng's shoulder.

"I'm coming."

Liu Zheng smiled and patted its head.

"You and Salmon go prepare the ingredients, I'll take care of the rest."

The white-feathered chicken said.

"Okay, meow! Liu Zheng, go there, meow."

The calico cat didn't go down; instead, it started giving orders.

"Ah~"

Liu Zheng sighed and resigned himself to his fate as a laborer.

It feels like no matter where he goes, he'll eventually be dragged off to do chores.

Does he have the words "Great Injustice" tattooed on his face? Or is he some kind of innate, superhuman physique?

After counting out the necessary ingredients, Liu Zheng and the calico cat washed and prepared the vegetables together.

Fortunately, the kitchen had already checked all the ingredients when they were delivered, so all the ingredients were fresh and clean, which greatly reduced the workload.

After they finished preparing all the ingredients, Baiyu Chicken also prepared the soup for the mala tang. "Go find a suitable cart."

The white-feathered chicken glanced at the prepared ingredients and said...

"Okay meow."

The calico cat turned and ran into the warehouse, quickly bringing back a double-decker cart.

The pot sits on top, and the ingredients are placed underneath—it's just right.

"you can go now."

The white-feathered chicken watched as the person and the cat loaded all the things onto the cart, and then gave them the order to leave.

"Don't be in such a hurry to send me away. Look what I brought you."

Liu Zheng took out "Laziness" from the system space.

"You humans do have some merits when it comes to efficiency."

Looking at the fruit knife in front of him, White Feather Chicken had to admit it.

"Time is life, my friend."

He spoke in a strange tone.

"Who's your friend?"

The white-feathered chicken glared at him, then took "Anger" from the knife rack and handed it to him.

"It's yours for now, so take good care of it. Once I've collected the remaining six, I'll come back to you for it."

The white-feathered chicken said.

"Don't worry, I will take good care of it."

Liu Zheng assured.

If White Feather Chicken can really collect the other six weapons, then he can give "Anger" to it as well.

Whether the white-feathered chicken can find him at that time depends on its luck.

"He's off. Sigh, he's got the body of a young master but the life of a errand boy."

Liu Zheng suppressed his anger, grabbed the cart, and made his way to the elevator.

This time, he didn't need to press the button; the elevator opened the door on its own.

"Thank you, elevator guy."

Once inside the elevator, he politely thanked him.

"Bang bang!"

The elevator shook twice in response.

A moment later, the elevator doors opened again, and Liu Zheng pushed the trolley into Si Xue's office.

This time, the office has been redesigned to resemble a lake island, but instead of a pavilion, there is a large tree on the island, and Si Xue is dozing against it.

"Reporting to the boss, your subordinate is here."

He shouted with great force.

"Come here."

Si Xue opened her eyes and said, her voice sounding somewhat tired.

"Boss, I'm fine with leaving, but these things are a bit inconvenient."

He scratched his head and said.

"Hot Pot?"

Si Xue glanced at it and asked.

"It's not hot pot, it's a local specialty from my hometown, Mala Tang."

"It still sounds like hot pot."

Si Xue pursed her lips, raised her hand and waved, a gust of cold wind blew directly from the island in the middle of the lake to Liu Zheng, making him shiver.

As the cold wind dissipated, a path of ice appeared on the lake.

Liu Zheng pushed the cart onto the ice track and then proceeded cautiously.

Fortunately, its hooves weren't real sheep hooves; the bottom had a suction cup-like structure that greatly enhanced its grip.

The cart's wheels also had an anti-slip design, so he arrived at the island in the middle of the lake without any major incidents.

"Hel me up."

Si Xue gave the order.

"Yes."

Liu Zheng walked to her side and respectfully helped her up.

Si Xue didn't care about any of that and pressed almost her whole body against him, but he didn't feel any weight at all, as if a ghost was leaning against him.

"You had a very busy holiday."

Si Xue spoke in a declarative tone.

"I deserve to die for causing my boss worry."

Liu Zheng lowered his head and said.

But he immediately realized that looking down was not a good idea, because Si Xue was wearing a loose tank top today, and she wasn't wearing anything underneath.

He glanced at it like lightning, then looked up as if he'd been electrocuted.

"You're shameless. When did I ever say I cared about you?"

Si Xue seemed oblivious and said calmly.

"Everyone knows how much the boss cares for his subordinates, and I will always remember it."

Liu Zhengyi said sternly.

"Ha, you didn't remember what you should have remembered, but you remembered what you shouldn't have remembered clearly. Do you know that the Minister of Public Security called me to complain about you, and the General Office also sent a letter asking me to strengthen personnel management and cause them less trouble?"

Si Xue said.

"What are the Public Security Department and the General Office anyway, daring to disturb your rest? Don't worry, boss, next time I'll definitely handle things cleanly so they can't find your place."

He said indignantly.

"Wasn't it you who disturbed my rest?"

Si Xue said expressionlessly.

"Hehe, so I've specially prepared some hometown delicacies for you, hoping to make up for some of my mistakes."

Liu Zheng said without any embarrassment.

If it's not tasty, then you'll be my midnight snack tonight.

Si Xue said calmly.

"Don't worry, if it doesn't taste good, I'll just cook myself."

He assured, patting his chest.

"I hope so. Where's the fishing rod?"

Si Xue asked.

"it's here."

Liu Zheng quickly took out the dragon fishing rod.

"You can start now."

Si Xue took the fishing rod and started fishing.

"okay."

He lifted the pot lid and put the skewered ingredients inside.

A grid-like divider was placed inside the pot, which perfectly separated the different ingredients.

"Damn it, I forgot to make it go viral."

After he finished, he realized that he hadn't asked the white-feathered chicken for fuel.

"Um, boss."

Liu Zheng opened his mouth with an embarrassed look, but before he could finish speaking, Si Xue flicked out a flame.

"thank you boss."

He put the lid on the pot and placed the pressure cooker on the flame.

Without a stove, he used his tentacles as supports, alternating between them in pairs.

Fortunately, I used a pressure cooker, and the flame was strong enough that the aroma of the food soon began to waft out.

Also wafting a fragrance were Liu Zheng's four tentacles.

"Don't waste it, throw it in too."

Si Xue spoke as if she had eyes in the back of her head.

"Yes."

Liu Zheng gave a wry smile, pulled out "Anger", used the cart as a chopping board, cut his three tentacles into small pieces, and then skewered them together with a skewer.

"There's one more."

Si Xue suddenly said
"Boss, if you keep cutting like this, you'll have to hold the knife in your mouth."

"I do not mind."

Si Xue said calmly.

"Ok."

The people eating here don't mind, so what can he say?
With "Anger" dangling from his mouth, Liu Zheng cut the remaining tentacle into pieces as well.

Perhaps because he had just been cut by the Seven Treasures Wisdom Sword, his flesh and blood regeneration speed slowed down considerably, and he used his mouth in conjunction with other parts of his body to complete the entire process.

I don't know what Si Xue was thinking, but if it were him, he definitely wouldn't be able to eat it.

"All right?"

Si Xue suddenly asked again.

"Okay, boss."

Liu Zheng replied.

"Oh."

Si Xue suddenly pulled the rod, and something that looked like a stone and a piece of meat was thrown ashore.

This thing is similar in color to beef liver and is semi-transparent. Upon closer inspection, it seems to contain an embryo with eyebrows and eyes, but it doesn't look human.

"Cut it up and throw it in too."

Si Xue gave the instructions.

"Boss, what is this?"

"This is the visual flesh."

Si Xue replied.

The Classic of Mountains and Seas, Western Section of the Seas Within, records: North of Kaiming there are the Shirou (视肉), the Pearl Tree, the Wenyu Tree, the Yuqi Tree, and the Immortal Tree. The Phoenix and the Luan bird both wear tassels.

Some people believe that the "flesh-like flesh" is the same as the "Tai Sui," also known as the "flesh-like Lingzhi."

However, some people believe that these two are not the same thing.

In Liu Zheng's view, this piece of meat was indeed somewhat different from the Tai Sui he had seen in reality.

"Wait, could this be the Miniature Man's friend?"

He suddenly remembered.

(End of this chapter)