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

Chapter 695 Vegetarian Tiger
Because it was a new residential area, Liu needed to allow enough time, so he arranged to meet Yaksha at the entrance of the old town.

As the hearse drove into a small alley, the shadows in the corner of the wall rippled and rose, then receded like the tide, revealing the demon within.

Compared to his previous half-dead state due to excessive spellcasting, Yaksha was now beaming with joy, even his pale skin had regained some color.

It's unknown what benefits she gained after returning to the Dark Elves' stronghold.

"Where's the stuff?"

Once inside the car, Yaksha asked,

"here."

Liu Zheng gave her the perfume bottle.

Yaksha took the perfume bottle but didn't open it immediately; instead, he put it aside.

Then, she took out her staff and began chanting a spell.

After a long chanting session, she squatted down and reached her hand into her shadow.

When the Yaksha pulled out his arm, a jet-black raven appeared in his hand.

The crow's eyes are neither black nor red, but a grayish-white that looks quite eerie.

Yaksha then opened the perfume bottle, pried open the bird's beak, poured the blood into the crow's mouth, and forced it to drink it all.

"Gah!"

As the crow emitted its unpleasant cawing, the phantom image of a black swan appeared in its eyes.

"Let's go back."

After doing all this, Yaksha shoved the crow back into the shadows.

"Is the ceremony complete?"

Liu Zheng asked.

"It's done. The fates of the blood's owner and the one who exchanged their destinies with it will be lost in the shadow realm. Unless they are equally proficient in shadow magic, they will be unable to foresee their own fate or sense danger."

Yaksha replied.

How long will the effect last?

"Until that Shadow Raven dies, even I can't be sure."

"Yaksha said."

It's very likely that it will be killed by other Shadow Realm residents as soon as it's released back into the Shadow Realm, or it might live for ten or twenty years.

This ritual is low-cost and highly effective, but it is also difficult to control.

The principle of equivalent exchange is particularly evident in mysticism.

"I will call you as soon as I sense that the ritual has failed."

"Yaksha said."

"Row."

That's all we can do. Hopefully, that crow will live a little longer.

Of course, don't live too long either.

Otherwise, the big white goose would definitely let him chase it into the shadow realm and kill it.

"By the way, do you sell rare species?"

Liu Zheng remembered and asked.

Yaksha glanced at him speechlessly, then nodded.

"That's great. Do you have any that are mindless but whose skin is extremely valuable?"

he asked.

Although it may sound hypocritical, Liu Zheng still wanted to maintain some bottom lines, which, from a utilitarian point of view, was to anchor himself in human nature.

"No, we are in the slave trade. Only those with intelligence are called slaves; those without intelligence are just pets."

Yaksha shook his head.

"Do you know anyone who sells this?"

He asked, unwilling to give up.

"I can ask around for you, but don't get your hopes up too high. Things are very tight lately, and even if they have the goods, they might not dare to release them."

"Yaksha said."

"Is it because of the desert species riots?"

"how do you know?"

Yaksha was slightly shocked.

The Great Desert is even more remote than the Ten Thousand Mountains, and the Biological Administration often blocks information, so people who are not interested in it have no idea what's going on there.

"The city hall holds few secrets for me."

Liu Zheng revealed a mysterious yet pretentious smile.

As long as he doesn't know how many secrets the city hall holds, then naturally there's nothing more to say.

"Then you might as well just buy it from the Biological Administration Bureau."

"Yaksha said."

Just as the police sell stolen goods and evidence, the officials of the Biological Management Bureau will naturally sell rare species.

Besides illegal channels, there are also legal channels such as universities, zoos, and research institutions.

Of course, the former is much more expensive than the latter.

I'll ask about it later.

Liu Zheng gave a perfunctory reply.

If you can smuggle something, don't go through the official channels. Private items, no matter how expensive, still have a price, but it's hard to earn favors from public officials.

Moreover, he doesn't know anyone at the Bureau of Biological Affairs, and if he wants to establish connections, he'll have to go through the "anti-favor faction," which would result in a high attrition rate.

This matter isn't particularly urgent. We're about to go tomb raiding anyway, and we might get some good skins.

He couldn't bring himself to skin a living person, but he had no qualms about skinning a dead one.

Maintaining one's bottom line in the Metropolitan is already incredibly difficult; to further restrict oneself would be tantamount to courting disaster.

After watching Yaksha leave, Liu Zheng drove to the lush green residential area.

Contrary to its name, the exterior of the buildings in the residential complex is not green at all; instead, it is all earthy yellow.

"Boss!"

Niu Daji, who was guarding the supplies, came up to greet them.

"Have you paid?"

he asked.

"Payment has been made. The items have been checked, and there are no problems with the quantity or quality."

Niu Daji quickly replied.

"Okay, push one cart and follow me."

Liu Zheng said.

"okay."

The two of them each pushed a cart to the entrance of the residential area.

"Stop, what do you do?"

As expected, the security guards stopped them.

Surprisingly, the security guard at the vegetarian animal community was a tiger.

"A food delivery person."

Liu Zheng replied frankly.

"Good grief, you don't even bother to put on an act. You really don't take me seriously."

The tiger's eyes widened.

"When I travel the world, my motto is one word: sincerity. Brother Tiger, you haven't eaten yet, have you? I have a bowl of Black Mountain Ram Offal Soup that I can't finish. Could you please eat it for me?"

Since it's a tiger, it wouldn't be appropriate to send it vegetables and fruits. Luckily, it still has a few meals left to eat.

Lamb offal soup is just ordinary food, it only adds physical strength, making it perfect for bribing security guards.

"Take it away, take it away, don't show me such filthy things."

Unexpectedly, the tiger immediately showed a look of panic and disgust upon seeing the mutton offal soup, waving its claws at Liu Zheng repeatedly, as if trying to drive away something dirty.

"So, you don't eat meat?"

Liu Zheng was stunned for a moment, then immediately understood.

"That's right, I'm a strict vegetarian and I never eat meat, which is considered unclean food."

The tiger said proudly and loudly.

"awesome."

No wonder a tiger can work as a security guard in a vegetarian community.

Of course, it could also be for hiring a uniform.

The truth is not important; what matters is that Liu Zheng knows what to do.

"It's my fault that you, Brother Tiger, saw this stuff, which offended your eyes and hurt your heart. Please accept these clean fruits and vegetables as a gift to atone for my sins."

He said it with a sincere expression.

"Do you really think it's your problem?"

The tiger was taken aback by his understanding nature.

"Of course. My brother is a vegetarian, and I completely understand your situation."

Liu Zheng turned to look at Niu Daji.

"Come on, Tiger, try some of this fruit. We just bought it from the store, it's still dripping with juice."

Niu Daji understood and immediately pulled the tiger along enthusiastically, stuffing things into its arms.

"How embarrassing."

Niu Daji is not a food delivery driver, and he is also a vegetarian, so the tiger can't be rude to him.

"We'll be family from now on, so there's nothing to be embarrassed about."

Liu Zheng pressed on while the iron was hot.

"family?"

The tiger looked at them suspiciously, then at itself. A tiger, a minotaur, and a tentacle-wielding goat-hoof monster—they didn't seem like a family at all.

“I’m planning to buy a house for my brother here, then we’ll be family.”

Liu Zheng laughed,

"what?"

Tiger and Ox were both shocked.

"Houses here aren't cheap."

The tiger said instinctively.

"I'll buy it no matter how expensive it is, not for anything else, but for the vegetarian atmosphere here, and for a security guard as understanding as you."

He spoke with righteous indignation.

"Boss!"

Niu Daji was so moved that tears almost fell from his eyes.

Others might think this was just an excuse to sneak into the neighborhood, but it knows its boss well; he really keeps his word.

Liu Zheng's actions were not impulsive.

The saying goes, "Those who have no stable property have no stable mind." If you buy a house for Niu Daji, it will be more willing to work for him.

Originally, he took in Niu Daji to find a helper for Niu Ma, but now it seems more appropriate to let Niu Daji go straight and be responsible for cleaning up his messes in the future.

Anyway, with the network of connections he left behind, as long as Niu Daji doesn't mess around, he can make money no matter what he does.

Hmm, I'll have to remind it later not to trust the two-headed ogre and get involved in any investments.

Am I really that good?

Tiger lost his confidence after Liu Zheng's words.

"Daji, do you think it exists?"

Liu Zheng asked Niu Daji.

"Boss, if you say it's there, then it definitely is."

Niu Daji said without hesitation.

"Listen to what everyone is saying, you shouldn't be so modest anymore!"

Liu Zhengyi grabbed the tiger's claws and said excitedly.

"Sigh, okay, then I'll admit I'm excellent."

The tiger said with a reluctant expression.

"That's right. Okay, now open the door for us, we need to go to the property management office to ask about buying a house."

Liu Zheng said.

"This"

The tiger hesitated.

“If we don’t go in now, next time it will be my brother who goes in alone.”

"It has a really bad temper. If I hadn't stopped it, it would probably have been complaining every few days."

His tone turned cold.

"That's right, I am petty."

Niu Daji cooperated by puffing out his chest muscles.

"Or, we can give all of those to the property management later and say that we were moved by your enthusiastic service."

Which one do you think is more suitable?

Liu Zheng put on a smile again.

"I think the last one is more suitable."

The tiger instinctively stuck out its tongue and licked its nose.

"Very well, then open the door."

he said calmly.

"Please register here."

The tiger returned to the guard booth, took out the registration book, and while Liu was filling out the forms, it secretly took out the walkie-talkie.

"Captain, a visitor wants to enter the community and says he wants to buy a house."

It spoke softly.

"Really? Have you verified my credentials?"

"The security captain asked."

Security guards certainly don't have the authority to ask visitors for materials, but they can try to probe indirectly.

"It's been verified, it should be genuine. His demeanor is just like that of a CEO of a listed company."

"That's what the tiger said."

Having worked as a security guard for so long, I've got that much of a keen eye.

"Then hurry up and invite them in. If you close this deal, your performance bonus for this month will be guaranteed."

The security captain immediately spoke.

Security guards shouldn't have to worry about selling houses, but precisely because of this, if they can help sell a house, the performance points they get will be quite substantial.

"But."

"But what is it? Tell me quickly!"

The security captain urged.

"But one of them is a deliveryman from the Bloody Restaurant."

The tiger smiled wryly.

"Are you sure they're here to buy a house?"

The security captain paused for a moment before speaking.

"The only thing I'm sure of is that they can definitely afford a house."

"That's what the tiger said."

"Then let him in. I'll call all the brothers later. If he dares not to buy today, we'll make sure he can't leave once he gets in."

The security captain said menacingly.

"Yes!"

With the security captain's words, it felt reassured.

After collecting the registration book, they lifted the railing and let the hearse in.

"Do you know what to say later?"

After parking the car, Liu Zheng asked.

"Boss, don't worry, these words are more effective than anything else."

Niu Ma patted the box in his arms and said.

But instead of fruits and vegetables, the box was filled with large, bright green banknotes.

"Yes, be flexible and adaptable, don't cause trouble but don't be afraid of trouble either."

Liu Zheng gave one last instruction before getting out of the car and heading to apartment 501 in building 3.

He noticed the hidden gazes but didn't take them seriously.

The hardest part is getting into the residential area; once you're inside, things become much easier.

When Liu Zheng arrived at the door of 501, he rang the doorbell.

"Who?"

A somewhat muffled voice came from inside.

"Hello, I'm a promoter for 'Town Fruit and Vegetable Store.' We offer free samples. Would you like some?"

It's the exact same line as when delivering takeout to the mandrill, but as long as it works, it's fine.

Is it really free?

The answers from the people inside were all the same.

"Of course. However, after you finish eating, whether it's delicious or not, you must give us a serious and detailed feedback, otherwise we will have to charge you."

Liu Zheng answered fluently.

"No problem. But next time you pretend to be a promoter, could you please change your clothes first? Your clothes from the Bloody Restaurant are too conspicuous; it's hard for me to fall for it."

The person inside said coldly.

He looked up and seemed to see the other person's mocking expression through the cat's eye.

"Since I can't keep up the act anymore, I'll lay my cards on the table. Tell me, what conditions do you want for me to sign for this takeout?"

Liu Zheng patted his uniform and asked.

What conditions would it take for you to die?

The person inside asked in return.

"No problem, one legendary item is enough."

Liu Zheng thought for a moment and then quoted a price.

Anyway, he has two lives, so exchanging one life for a legendary piece of equipment is still a good deal.

After all, he doesn't even have a single legendary item right now.

"Your life isn't cheap, but mine is more valuable. My life is priceless; I wouldn't trade it for anything you offered."

The person inside remained silent for a moment before speaking.

"Can't we discuss this further?"

Liu Zheng still wanted to try.

"There's nothing to discuss."

"Why don't you try these first? These are some of the foods that vegetarians love most, carefully selected by me. Let me show you my sincerity first, and then we can discuss whether we can negotiate."

He looked at his phone and said.

"I'll give you ten minutes."

Liu Zheng went out of the building again, waved his tentacles toward the balcony of apartment 501, and then watched intently as the time ticked by.

(End of this chapter)