Hell Game: Starting from Metropolis

"Luo."

Liu Zheng handed the phone to Wang Xiaoba.

"Second brother."

"I'm not your brother, you're my grandpa!"

Wang Xiaoba had just shouted when he heard a roar from the phone, and immediately shrank back.

Immediately afterwards, a string of vulgar words reached everyone's ears.

"That's really filthy; even the sewers are cleaner than that."

Liu Zheng clicked his tongue in amazement.

"Indeed, I never thought that language could cause me physical discomfort."

The Nile doctor echoed.

"Fourth Manager, why didn't I feel that legendary 'pleasure'?"

He asked the fourth brother.

"Oh, because one more step is needed."

As he spoke, the fourth brother took out a pack of cigarettes and offered one to each of Liu Zheng and Wang Xiaoba.

"Alright, alright, we've become friends through this little misunderstanding. Give me some face and let's be friends."

He said it with a江湖 (jianghu, a term referring to the world of martial arts and chivalry) air about him.

Wang Xiaoba held a cigarette, his expression shifting between anger and uncertainty.

"smoke."

Liu Zhengzhi uttered a single word, then pulled out a butcher's knife and brandished it at his head.

If this cut isn't done properly, it could result in more than just a single hair being chopped off.

"I'll smoke, I'll smoke."

Startled, Wang Xiaoba quickly lit a cigarette and started smoking.

"I'm curious, what if neither party wants to be friends?"

Liu Zheng asked the fourth brother.

"The bathhouse only manages what happens inside; once I'm outside, it's none of my business. But if they don't give me face inside the bathhouse, I used to be a security captain before I became the lobby manager."

The fourth brother puffed out his chest muscles and smiled without saying a word.

"Impressive, impressive. Light me a cigarette."

Liu Zheng gave the order.

Wang Xiaoba reluctantly lit a cigarette for him.

Liu Zheng took a puff, not very skillfully, and a taste that was like smoke but not quite smoke entered his mouth.

"It feels better if it goes through the lungs."

The fourth brother reminded him.

"it is good."

Liu Zheng swallowed all the smoke into his lungs.

After a brief stinging and burning sensation, a feeling of pleasure arises spontaneously.

In an instant, he seemed to see Si Xue licking his feet, cattle and horses massaging him, the plane tree offering up all its collections, the white-feathered chicken stewing itself into chicken soup for him to drink, and the sewers being choked to death by his excrement.

"That felt so good!"

Liu Zheng couldn't help but let out a groan, his body trembling as if he had been electrocuted.

"Player's maximum rationality is increased by 5 points (this effect cannot be repeated)."

The system prompt suddenly sounded.

"Damn, that's awesome."

His eyes widened.

Don't be fooled by Liu Zheng's current disregard for rationality due to the effects of the legendary vest. Once he enters the next dungeon, his reduced rationality cap will become a major hidden danger.

Last time, the White Feather Chicken restored 10 points of his maximum sanity with the Golden Honey Wine, and now this "What are you looking at?" has restored another 5 points of his maximum sanity.

Although it's unclear how much the divine intervention lowered his rationality cap, the 15 points should at least give him a much-needed breather.

The key is that the Golden Honey Wine is a high-quality item, and it's a stockpile from the Bloody Restaurant kitchen. The "What are you looking at?" is just a mechanic in the Gaga Bath, and triggering it only requires one ticket, which is a great deal.

"Mr. Liu, are you satisfied with the local specialties?"

The fourth brother's voice brought him back to reality.

"Very satisfied. It truly lives up to its reputation as one of the top ten bathhouses."

Liu Zheng praised.

"Haha, I won't be modest about that. Our family has quite a reputation in the bathhouse area."

The fourth brother laughed heartily.

But immediately, a glint of light flashed in his eyes.

The way this kid is talking seems to have a hidden meaning.

"What are the special services offered after a failure?"

Liu Zheng asked again.

"This is a trade secret and I cannot disclose it."

The fourth brother said with difficulty.

Is it bloody?

he asked.

"No, no, no, it's not bloody at all, it's all green and healthy."

The fourth brother quickly said.

"Okay. Go ahead and have fun, put the expenses on my tab."

Liu Zheng said to Wang Xiaoba.

"Really?"

Wang Xiaoba looked at him suspiciously.

"If you keep talking nonsense, I'll make you go and scrub Niu Daji's back."

Liu Zheng said calmly.

"I'll go right away."

Wang Xiaoba ran to the third floor without looking back.

"A combination of kindness and severity, brother. You're so young, yet you've got the reins on your subordinates perfectly. I'm truly impressed."

The fourth brother flattered him.

"Not at all, Manager Si is truly worldly-wise, adept at navigating social situations, and makes people feel like they're basking in a spring breeze."

Liu Zheng took the picture.

"Cough cough."

The Nile doctor couldn't help but cough lightly.

If these two keep praising each other, we won't be able to finish the process today.

"Fourth Manager, let's go."

He said.

"Ok."

The fourth brother led Liu Zheng and the other man forward, and this time very few people looked at him.

However, Liu Zheng lost interest in triggering "What are you looking at?" again, since the effect of increasing the rationality cap could only be triggered once.

Although the experience was indeed very enjoyable, he wasn't obsessed with it.

"This is the sauna in our bathhouse."

The fourth brother led them to a row of rooms.

"Starting from the first room on the left, the difficulty gradually increases, and of course, the experience will also continuously improve. But just like 'What are you looking at?', guests are responsible for the consequences if they voluntarily take on the challenge."

he introduced.

"So, do I have to take on these challenges one by one?"

Liu Zheng asked.

"Normally yes, after all, each sauna has different characteristics. Although the difficulty generally increases gradually, there are situations where the earlier rooms are more difficult than the later ones for guests of a certain race."

"Of course, Mr. Liu is a distinguished guest of our bathhouse, so I'll make the decision that you only need to challenge the odd-numbered rooms."

The fourth brother thought for a moment and then said.

"Thank you, Manager Si."

He nudged the fourth brother with his tentacles.

"Hey, no need for formalities. Let's get started."

The fourth brother gestured for them to proceed.

Liu Zheng nodded and walked into the first sauna room.

"Sauna Room No. 1"

Temperature: 100℃

Features: None

A sign with room information was nailed to the door of the sauna.

"Goodness, it starts at 100 degrees Celsius. If this were real life, saunas would be renamed sterilization rooms."

The corner of his mouth twitched.

In reality, saunas typically reach a maximum temperature of around 65°C. Spending just a few minutes in a 100°C sauna would be tantamount to a massacre for sperm.

Liu Zheng reached out and pushed the door open, and a scalding heat immediately came from the tip of his hand.

The temperature on this door alone would be no less than 100℃; an ordinary person would get burned if they touched it.

He retracted his tentacles, the tips of which were already red from the heat.

Even with a constitution score as high as several tens, one is still made of flesh and blood. Proteins denature when exposed to high temperatures, and given his mystique, there is no way for him to defy the laws of physics.

Of course, it's only slightly red.

Under the effect of "flesh and blood regeneration", as long as Liu Zheng's flesh and blood have not completely turned into inorganic matter, they can be recycled and reused.

He curled his tentacles into a fist and then gently pounded open the door.

A wave of heat hit him, burning his eyes and making his breath feel scalding.

By the time Liu Zheng reached the middle of the sauna, his body and respiratory system had already undergone a high-temperature disinfection process.

Perhaps it was the fourth brother's arrangement, but there was only one person in the sauna at this moment.

With deep eye bags, loose skin, and a fat, flat stomach like someone who'd had too much liposuction, he looked just like the old men Liu Zheng had seen in real saunas.

"Nice to meet you."

He gesturing with his tentacles in greeting.

"Young man, where are you from?"

The old man glanced at him with droopy eyelids and asked.

"From the city."