Hell Game: Starting from Metropolis

"Yes."

He nodded.

"Who are you to her?"

"Yaoji asked."

“I have no relation to Qingzi. It was her aunt Jinzi who sent me to save her.”

Liu Zheng replied.

"Qingzi never told me she had such an aunt."

Yaoji shook his head.

"What about Jingzi, Jingzi? Or Jinzi, Jingzi, Jingzi, or Jingzi? Anyway, that's the style of naming people in their family."

"Yes, Kyoko did mention it to me, saying she's her twin sister."

"I think for a moment and then say..."

"There really is. Okay, now you believe me, right?"

Liu Zheng asked.

"But Qingzi has already been sent to the pig farm. According to the timeline, she should have been ready for slaughter long ago. How can you save her?"

"I'm suspicious," Yaoji said.

"Leaving the pen" refers to the point at which livestock reach a weight suitable for slaughter.

In reality, commercial pigs are typically ready for market in six months, so pigs from the bathhouse street naturally wouldn't take that long.

If it's not a high-end breed intended for entertaining VIPs, it can be ready for market in a month.

“Jinzi told me that her family spent a lot of money on her so that she wouldn’t send Qingzi to the pig farm but would keep her locked up. But she didn’t let Qingzi go either, and would ask her family for money every now and then.”

"The Sumire family couldn't bear being slowly cut open like that, so they asked me to come and save them."

Liu Zheng said.

How could she do this?!

"Yaoji said angrily."

"However, that is indeed her style."

She quickly calmed down and sneered.

No one knows the answer to the question of who is the richest person in Bath Street.

But when it comes to the question of who is the most greedy person in Bath Street, everyone will say the same name.

Grandma Tang.

"One last question. Why was Qingzi sent to the pig farm?"

"Yaoji asked."

"Because she fell in love with a pig."

"Uncle Hachijo, he's probably telling the truth."

Yaoji nodded and said to Hachi.

The fact that Qingzi fell in love with a pig was not widely known in the Hundred Ghosts Journey, and it was of little value.

If it weren't for her family, outsiders wouldn't deliberately inquire about such matters.

How much money did Qingzi's family give you?

Eight Questions

"Money isn't important; they gave me something I couldn't refuse."

Liu Zheng replied.

"what?"

"Are you sure you want to see this, Uncle Hachijo? If you do, we might become enemies."

If Hachijo recognizes that these are the legendary deliveryman's underwear, then his identity will be completely exposed.

If Peacock or Mr. Li were to find out about this, they would surely not miss the opportunity to assassinate him outside the city.

Of course, he could run away.

But after they escaped, the mission to rescue Qingzi was essentially a failure.

"Kid, don't think I'm afraid of you. But honestly, I'm not that interested."

His eight beards twitched.

"Go away, leave the Hyakki Gyoza Bathhouse. For the sake of these black lumps, I'll pretend I never saw you."

He looked at the new black-faced babies surrounding Liu Zheng and said.

"I do not go."

Liu Zheng shook his head.

"Looks like you really want to fight this old man."

Eight cold voices.

"I don't want to fight you, Uncle Hachijo. We're both just working, why make things difficult for each other?"

"Now you're making things difficult for me. Although I don't want to meddle, I've been working here for over a hundred years, and I can't just stand by and watch you cause trouble."

Eight said.

"I didn't want to cause damage, I wanted to save people."

He argued.

"What's the difference?"

“There’s a big difference. There are many ways to save people, not necessarily through violence. For example, you and Yoko could help me find out where Seiko is being held, and then I could knock out the guards while you cover our escape.”

Liu Zheng explained his plan.

"You asked us for help, and you even asked us to cover your escape?"

He almost laughed out of anger at all eight of them.

"Kid, are you my grandson or her husband?"

"What's going on, Uncle Hachijo? You guys talk your thing, why are you dragging me into this?"

"I am dissatisfied," said Yaoji on the side.

"Have you ever heard the saying, 'What happens in the martial world should be settled within the martial world, and the trouble should not extend to family members'?"

Liu Zheng said.

"I haven't heard of it, but I roughly know what it means. What are you trying to say?"

Eight questions were asked.

"Uncle Hachijo, do you have children?"

“I have two sons, both of whom are dead. I also have several grandsons, all of whom are dead. I only have one granddaughter left.”

Eight said calmly.

Is your granddaughter filial?

"Of course, she will send me things every month. The dress I'm wearing was sewn by her own hands."

Eight said proudly.

"Um"

"Um"

Liu Zheng and Yao Ji stared at the sweater he was wearing, with its uneven sleeves and irregularly shaped round neckline, and fell into deep thought.

"What do you want to say?"

Eight asked in a dangerous tone.

"Ahem, it's nothing, it's quite good. But Grandpa Hachijo, think about it, if you make a mistake at work and she gets hold of it, do you think your granddaughter will save you?"

"Of course I will, my grandpa will love me the most in the future."

"I'll say this with confidence," Hachijo said.

"Do you want to see her go bankrupt trying to save you, and then have to resort to the black market to raise money?"

"do not talk!"

Eight sharp shouts interrupted him.

"Kid, I'm just old, not useless. Even if she had ten lives, she wouldn't dare treat me like this. If you push me too far, I'll blow the whole bathhouse to smithereens."

"Do you think she'll keep putting you in charge of such an important department as the boiler room?"

Liu said expressionlessly.

Hachijo's expression changed upon hearing this, and he fell silent.

“Although I haven’t been here long, I can tell that she doesn’t have complete control over this bathhouse. Minister Thirteen is probably the opposition, while you should be the centrist.”

"Both core departments are beyond her control. If you were in her shoes, would you feel at ease?"

"When she can no longer tolerate it, she will naturally find a way to replace you with her own people."

"And the best way to replace you is naturally..."

“To punish according to the law.”

Liu said four words expressionlessly.

Wherever there is order, having a legitimate reason for action is extremely important.

Whether it's job transfer, resignation, assassination, or forced retirement, it will provoke strong backlash from the eight employees and other staff.

But if it's one of the eight who violated the rules and was punished, then there's nothing else for others to say.

Just like when Haruko is about to be turned into a pig because of her violation of the rules, even Yoko only feels some sympathy and doesn't think about helping her.

As for whether the eight points violate regulations...

It's hard to prevent someone from making mistakes, but there's always a way to make someone make a mistake.

"I'm not stupid. Now that you've reminded me, I'll naturally take precautions."

Eight counterarguments.

"How long can you guard against it? Ten years, twenty years, or one hundred and eighty years? There's no such thing as a thousand days to catch a thief, but a thousand days to guard against one."

"Besides, she's the boss and you're the employee. There will always be times when you can't protect yourself."

Liu Zheng shook his head.

"She won't."

Eight words were blurted out, and then eight hands were immediately used to cover their mouths.

"Sister Yoko, you're the same."

He ignored it and instead shifted his focus.

"I?"

Yoko was taken aback.

"I heard from Minister Thirteen that your brother-in-law works for the city hall, right?"

"That lecherous minister, why does he tell everyone everything?"

Yoko complained.

"If one day she needs your brother-in-law's help with something, but he disagrees, what do you think she will do?"

Liu Zheng said.

"I guess he'll just divorce my sister."