Chapter 42: White Feathered Chickens and Calico Cats

Unlike what Liu Zheng had imagined, the kitchen of the Bloody Restaurant was not bloody at all. Instead, it was clean and spacious.

It was almost too clean, looking as if it had just been freshly renovated.

A dozen or so chefs of various shapes and forms were busy at their respective stations. No one spoke, and all communication was conducted through gestures and eye contact.

Rather than a kitchen, it felt more like an assembly line in a factory.

"Napoleon, we're here."

Niu Ma called out.

The White-Feathered Chicken, who was currently boiling soup, looked up and handed the long-handled soup ladle to a horse-headed person standing nearby.

Wearing a black Levantine tailcoat and a chef's hat, the White-Feathered Chicken hopped down from its high stool and walked toward the two of them with its head held high and chest puffed out.

"Is this the new guy?"

It looked at Liu Zheng.

Its voice was deep, resonant, and powerful.

"What do you think? Better than the bunch you've got under you, right?"

Niu Ma said proudly.

"He's got plenty of meat, alright, but unfortunately, it's all fat."

The White-Feathered Chicken eyed Liu Zheng critically.

"Can't be helped. After all, he's just a human."

Niu Ma shrugged.

"He won't be for much longer."

The White-Feathered Chicken's gaze seemed capable of piercing right through Liu Zheng's soul.

"Put on a good performance, human. If you satisfy me, I might consider letting you work in the kitchen."

It said with an air of arrogance.

"Thanks, but I'm doing quite well delivering food."

Liu Zheng politely declined.

Having gone through all that trouble to acquire two pieces of the Legendary Deliveryman set, he would have to be out of his mind to give up delivery work for the kitchen.

"Did Niu Ma forget to tell you that Black Goat cubs don't have citizen status?"

The White-Feathered Chicken sneered.

"Huh?"

Liu Zheng looked at Niu Ma.

"Is that true?"

Niu Ma looked even more surprised than he was.

"Once a citizen like you undergoes transformation, you are immediately classified as a floating population."

"While the City Hall will inevitably send people to hunt you down, attacking you won't violate any regulations for anyone else either, and your status as a restaurant employee will become void."

The White-Feathered Chicken explained.

"But here in the kitchen, it doesn't matter what you are. I am the law."

It spread its wings, scanning the kitchen like a fighting cock.

Every assistant chef whose eyes met its gaze lowered their head.

"Look at how majestic and imposing he is."

Liu Zheng poked Niu Ma in the ribs.

"If I had that many underlings, I'd be even more majestic than him."

Niu Ma muttered grumpily.

"Shh~"

Liu Zheng rolled his eyes.

The status of the kitchen was clearly much higher than the delivery department; otherwise, why else would they be assigned here as kitchen assistants?

"You just wait, I'll deal with you when we get back."

With the White-Feathered Chicken present, Niu Ma refrained from verbally sparring with Liu Zheng further, but the threat in his eyes was unmistakable.

"Alright, enough performing your brotherly affection in front of me, get to work. The service department has been blowing up my phone."

The White-Feathered Chicken said in annoyance.

"Who has brotherly affection with him? We're clearly a loving father and a filial son."

Niu Ma protested indignantly.

"That's right, I am..."

Under Niu Ma's death glare, Liu Zheng swallowed the rest of those three words.

"Same routine as usual, you go make the pastries. As for you, what can you do?"

The White-Feathered Chicken asked Liu Zheng.

"I can cook home-style dishes."

"Then go wash the vegetables."

The White-Feathered Chicken said with evident disdain.

There were no such things as home-style dishes in their Bloody Restaurant.

"You got it."

Liu Zheng was quite pleased with this arrangement.

He was just here to slack off anyway; did anyone seriously expect him to learn a culinary trade?

Following the direction of the White-Feathered Chicken's wingtip, he walked over to a sink.

A calico cat wearing an apron was busy washing a bucket of vegetables that looked like cauliflowers.

Watching its slightly twitching ears, Liu Zheng swallowed hard.

It looked unbearably fluffy and tempting to pet.

Seemingly sensing his gaze, the calico cat turned its head.

A pink nose, blue-and-green heterochromatic eyes, and a perfectly round face.

Whether in the eyes of a human or a cat, it could be described as delicate and pretty.

"Are you here to help?"

It asked.

"Yep."

Liu Zheng nodded.

"What's your name?"

The calico cat asked.

"My name is Liu Zheng. What about you?"

He was somewhat surprised.

Ever since entering this instance, this was the first time anyone had actually asked for his name.

"My name is Salmon."

The calico cat replied.

"That's a nice name."

"Thank you. My master gave it to me."

The calico cat shook its whiskers, looking very pleased.

"Your master must really like you."

Liu Zheng said with a smile.

"Of course."

A voice abruptly sounded.

The calico cat turned around, and the fur on its back contorted into the shape of a man's face.

He looked at Liu Zheng expressionlessly and spoke again.

"Keep your hands off my cat, or I'll end you."

"Uh, don't worry, I'm a dog person."

Liu Zheng replied.

"Tasteless bastard."

The man gave him a disdainful look before smoothing back into regular fur.

"Hey, say that again if you've got the guts."

Liu Zheng felt immensely aggrieved.

He had actually been looked down upon by a patch of fur.

"Don't be angry with my master."

"He's a very nice person, his temper only got a little bit bad after I ate him."

It said earnestly.

Looking at the calico cat's innocent and adorable expression, Liu Zheng felt a chill rise from the soles of his feet.

"Why did you eat him?"

"Because that's the only way to stay together with my master forever."

The calico cat stated matter-of-factly.

"Otherwise he would have rotted away, and I don't like licking stinky fur. Isn't that right?"

It asked, looking somewhat wronged.

"You did the right thing."

What could Liu Zheng say? He could only nod.

"Are you two done playing around?"

An oppressive voice echoed through the space.

The human and the cat turned their heads to see the White-Feathered Chicken glaring at them.

"The head chef is mad, let's hurry up and work."

The calico cat guiltily licked its paw and went back to washing vegetables.

"Oh."

Liu Zheng prepared to fish some vegetables out of a basket.

"You won't wash those well, go wash that basket over there instead."

The calico cat stopped him.

"Alright."

He looked toward the basket pointed out by the cat's paw, which contained a pile of mushrooms with pink caps.

"Be careful, though. If you rub them too hard, they'll be ruined."

The calico cat reminded him.

"Got it."

Liu Zheng used a tentacle to curl around a mushroom and rinse it under the tap.

This was when the benefits of tentacles truly shone—they were far more flexible than fingers.

The running water washed away the surface dirt, while he used another tentacle to gently wipe it clean.

Then, he watched as his tentacle gradually turned blue.

"What the hell???"

He hurriedly dropped the mushroom.

"It's totally normal, this is a Jian Shou Qing mushroom."

The calico cat glanced over and said.

Jian Shou Qing literally meant "turns blue upon touch"—you touch the mushroom, your hand turns blue, is that it?

"Is this poisonous?"

Liu Zheng asked nervously.

The toxin of Jian Shou Qing seemed to be neurotoxic, and it was hard to say whether "Flesh Regeneration" would work against it.

"Of course it is, and people die a miserable death from it."

The calico cat said, blinking its large eyes.

"......"

If not for how cute you look, I'd shave the fur right off your head right now.

"It's no big deal though, it's very easy to cure."

The calico cat retrieved an eraser from its apron pocket and handed it to him.

"Just use this to erase it."

With the mental sentiment of *are you fucking kidding me*, Liu Zheng wiped the blue-stained portion of his tentacle.

And then, the expected and yet utterly absurd thing happened.

The blue color was actually erased away.

"Heh."

Although he knew this world was outrageous, he hadn't expected it to be *this* outrageous.

He shook his head and focused on his work.

Soon, an entire basket of "Jian Shou Qing" mushrooms was washed.

"All done. What's next?"

Liu Zheng asked.

"Wow, you're amazing."

The calico cat looked at him with eyes full of admiration.

"Just so-so, I mostly rely on having more tentacles."

Liu Zheng said, feeling a secret thrill of satisfaction.

"Then go take out the frozen meat to thaw. Make sure to get the bag on the very top."

The calico cat pointed toward the freezer.

"No problem."

He walked over to the freezer and pulled open the door.

Then, raising a tentacle, he reached up and dragged down the bag on the topmost layer.

When he clearly saw what was packed inside the bag, Liu Zheng's expression gradually froze.