Hell Game: Starting from Metropolis

“Pain is joy, death is bliss, we will never be a burden to you. We only hope that you, my lord, can retrieve the remains of the Twisted Saint and carry on the tradition of the Church.”

The old woman said calmly.

"Forget about inheriting the lineage, but reclaiming the remains of the Twisted Saint is something we can consider."

Anyway, he'll always have to make a trip to Calculus Academy.

"Mr. Liu Zheng, rest assured, our family is not an ungrateful person."

Anko also made a statement.

"No need for that. Just answer whatever they ask."

Liu Zheng shook his head.

He won't make things difficult for himself, nor will he overestimate others.

"My lord, you don't need to worry so much. Although the church has fallen, it is not something that can be easily controlled by others."

The old woman said.

"Alright, I'm leaving then. Are you coming with me or staying here?"

Liu Zheng looked at Xia Kai.

"Of course I'll follow you, sir."

Xia Kai quickly replied.

"If a fight breaks out later, I might not be able to take care of you."

he reminded.

"Boss, don't let my appearance fool you, I actually have some ability to protect myself. I can't say I can help you in a real fight, but I certainly won't hold you back."

Xia Kai said with a grin.

"Then you can come along."

Actually, Liu Zheng wasn't entirely at ease leaving Xia Kai at the church.

After all, only he knows whether he meant it sincerely or not when he said he was giving up the side quests.

Although Xia Kai doesn't seem to have the ability to complete side quests, a large part of a player's strength lies in items, and the effects of items are varied and unpredictable. What if he manages to turn the tables?

Xia Kai himself did not want to stay in the church.

On the one hand, after hearing their conversation, he felt that the Church of Pain was not very safe either.

On the other hand, he also wanted to latch onto a powerful figure and see if he could improve his dungeon rating a bit more.

While collecting the umbilical cord of the divine child and the Holy Grail are no longer possible, there is still a side quest to hunt down those in power.

Although this sounds even more difficult than the previous two, one should always have dreams.

Besides, surviving longer can also improve your dungeon rating.

As for risks, in this hellish game, there are risks in everything you do.

Xia Kai's previous dungeon run wasn't a simple matter of surviving; it was also a near-death experience.

"In the hellish game, you can't be reckless, nor can you be afraid of death. The more afraid you are of death, the faster you will die."

The veteran player who cleared the dungeon three times also said the same thing.

"gone."

Liu Zheng greeted everyone and then left the Church of Pain with Xia Kai.

"By the way, you just mentioned that completing side quests can effectively improve dungeon ratings. Besides side quests, are there any other ways to improve dungeon ratings?"

As he walked down the street, he asked.

"I'm not entirely sure about that either. However, as long as you exceed the main quest requirements, you'll definitely improve your dungeon rating."

Xia Kai replied.

"anything else?"

"Also, as long as it doesn't violate the main storyline, changing the original plot development of the dungeon should also improve the dungeon's rating."

Xia Kai thought for a moment and then said.

"For example?"

"For example, my main quest in the beginner dungeon was to escape from prison within a week, and I did indeed escape from prison close to a week later. But my dungeon rating was only B."

"I thought about it, and it might be because I successfully stopped the fight between the Tiger Gang and the Elephant Gang."

“These two gangs have a long-standing feud. If I hadn’t discovered the evidence that the Bird Gang had instigated them, they would have definitely fought each other before I left prison, resulting in heavy casualties.”

Xia Kai explained.

"The Hairy Gang and the Herbivore Gang?"

"Yes, the instance I entered was a world similar to Zootopia, where the inhabitants were all anthropomorphic animals. The Tiger Gang was mostly composed of tigers, leopards, and Pallas's cats, which are carnivorous animals with thick fur, while the Elephant Gang was mainly composed of large herbivores such as elephants, rhinos, and giraffes."

Xia Kai replied.

"So what animal are you?"

Liu Zheng asked with great interest.

"Uh, my identity in the dungeon is a red-haired baboon."

Xia Kai said awkwardly.

"Yes, that's quite reasonable."

He gave a perfunctory comment and then began to consider his own situation.

What would the original plot of Bloody Restaurant have been?

First, there's the delivery department. If the new employee isn't him, it's virtually impossible for anyone to beat the Snake game within 72 hours, and the cows and horses won't be able to go on vacation to Paradise Island.

Similarly, if he hadn't performed so well, Si Xue wouldn't have agreed to let Niu Ma resign smoothly and take over the kitchen smuggling business.

Liu Zheng has a firm grasp on the takeout department.

Secondly, there's the kitchen. If he hadn't threatened the Yuanshen Cult to complete the deal last time, the White Feather Chicken wouldn't have even had the chance to use "Skinning and Stuffing with Grass".

Similarly, if it weren't for his relationship with the fishermen, the kitchen wouldn't have been able to get so many high-quality sewer fish.

Liu Zheng has a basic grasp of the kitchen.

Next is the customer service department. If he hadn't found a shroud for Britain, the head of the customer service department wouldn't have had the opportunity to wield such power.

And then there's that rich woman in the apartment; if he hadn't introduced her, Britain wouldn't have been able to find such a physical partner.

Liu Zheng has managed to get the customer service department under control, albeit barely.

Finally, there's the boss. If it weren't for Liu Zheng, Si Xue would have had virtually no chance of getting the sewer eggs. Given Niu Ma's personality, even if she had the opportunity, she would be unlikely to embarrass Mr. Li and Kong Que.

So he's got Si Xue under control.

As for other characters like Ghost Hand, Driver, and Spider Weaver, I won't list them all.

Anyway, if the scope is limited to the Bloody Restaurant, Liu Zheng's dungeon rating should still get a lot of extra points.

However, if the scope is broadened to the entire metropolis, then he won't change much.

The egg that was fished out of the sewer was one example, but it was returned in time and did not cause any damage to the Metropolitan Area.

As for things like blowing up a whole street of "Sunshine" pet shops and massacring the 11th floor of Xihe Center, those might be a big deal to their owners, but to the entire Metropolitan Area, they're nothing.

"If we take down the Peacock, blow up the Chaos Club, or simply let the Red Phantom roam the skies over Metropolis again..."

Liu Zheng seemed to be deep in thought.

If he can do all that, then the system would be deliberately suppressing him if it didn't give him an SSS rating.

Of course, that's just wishful thinking.

If he could kill Peacock, why didn't he just kill Si Xue and become the owner of the Bloody Restaurant himself?

Will the cattle and horses still want to run away then?

She was directly transferred to the boss's office as a secretary; if the massage wasn't done well and she lifted her hand, she'd get a slap in the face.

Forget it, I'll just focus on figuring out a solution through the main storyline.

Anyway, he's already survived seven days. If he survives another ten days or half a month, he can't be denied even an A grade, right?

Even Xia Kai managed to get a B rating.

Liu Zheng lowered his head in thought, and Xia Kai didn't dare to speak either. The two of them returned to the Yadan Cemetery in silence.

"You two are truly trustworthy gentlemen."

Beethoven was also very happy to see them return.

Those "Holy Sword" hunters also breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank you. You did a good job too, by not sending anyone to follow us."

Liu Zheng replied politely.

"Mutual trust is the foundation of communication, and besides, you are not my enemy."

Beethoven said.

He was not a pedantic person; if Liu Zheng showed any threat to Athens or the church, he would not let him leave.

However, it seems that the two sides can still communicate amicably.

"In that case, I'll get straight to the point."

"Please say."

Beethoven said gently.

Do you know the truth about the Atreus Disease?

Liu Zheng asked.

"The truth behind the beast-like disease?"

Beethoven paused for a moment.

"The church is still investigating, and the current speculation is that this is a plague caused by the spread of some kind of germ."

He thought for a moment and said.

"So how is this germ transmitted?"

Liu Zheng pressed for an answer.

“I’m not in charge of research and medicine, so I’m not too sure. However, scholars at Calculus College and researchers at the church believe it may be transmitted through air or water.”

Beethoven said.

Have you done any statistics?

"I think so, but I'm not really sure."

Beethoven replied hesitantly.

To be honest, he really wasn't interested in doing academic research.

Back when he was still at Carnarvon Academy, he preferred leading hunters to hunt monsters in underground ruins rather than spending his days studying in the Great Library.

"Let me be frank, Maestro Beethoven."

Liu Zheng used the term "Holy Sword" to refer to the hunters.

"Have you ever considered that the transmission route of the Beast Transformation Disease is precisely through the Blood Healing Church's blood healing?"

Chapter 273 Liu Zheng, you've been a bit presumptuous.

"No way, absolutely impossible."

Beethoven immediately shook his head.

“Outsider, you may not know this, but the beast disease has existed in Atlantis for a long time. It was only because the church promoted blood therapy that the beast disease was effectively controlled.”

He explained.