Chapter 62 Extermination

The leaders holding the meeting abruptly stopped talking.

They stared in astonishment at Liu Zheng, who had just burst through the door.

Liu Zheng, however, was even more astonished than they were, for all these leaders were bugs.

Stag beetles, luna moths, cockroaches, mosquitoes, dung beetles...

There were harmful ones, beneficial ones, domestic ones, wild ones, and both those that ate dung and those that did not.

"Which one of you is Manager Wang?"

Recovering from his shock, he bellowed.

Not a single bug answered, but the gazes of all the bugs subconsciously turned toward one specific bug.

The bug that had been pointing fingers and holding court over a PowerPoint presentation.

It was a giant isopod.

"Who the hell are you?"

Manager Wang asked.

"Since you asked with such sincerity, I shall grant you mercy and tell you."

Liu Zheng stepped forward as he spoke.

"I am your daddy."

When he was merely a step away, he lunged forward violently.

Caught off guard, Manager Wang was instantly embraced in a tight hold.

"I am supposed to be presenting the slides, what do you think you're doing?!"

It roared while struggling fiercely.

Its strength was immense; Liu Zheng felt as though he were wrestling with a motor vehicle.

"Shut up!"

He wrapped three of his tentacles around Manager Wang, while using his remaining tentacle to grab its antennae and yanked them hard.

"Squelch!"

A spray of pale purple blood shot out.

The true-damage effect of the legendary disguise was exceptionally effective.

"Ah!"

Manager Wang let out a piercing screech.

It struggled with even greater ferocity, four pairs of jointed limbs bursting through its suit and stabbing forward fiercely.

The already chitinized shell did not offer Liu Zheng much protection; his chest and abdomen were pierced through, and the barbed jointed limbs hooked directly into his bones.

Yet, this played right into his hands.

"Well done, truly well done."

Liu Zheng laughed wildly, pulling Manager Wang tightly into his embrace.

Then, adopting the posture of a running back charging with a ball, he flew out of the conference room.

"Aaaah!"

Exposed to the sunlight streaming through the floor-to-ceiling window, Manager Wang went completely berserk.

The suit on its back tore open as well, revealing its calcareous shell.

Following that, it gave a fierce pull, actually tearing Liu Zheng's upper body straight in half with raw force.

However, that was the end of it.

"Don't you know this hurts like hell?"

He grumbled, baring his teeth.

His three tentacles fumbled frantically to stuff his internal organs back in, before laboriously trying to tie his two halves together.

Meanwhile, another tentacle held a can of insecticide, pressing the nozzle directly against Manager Wang's compound eyes.

"I asked you a question, do you or do you not know?"

Liu Zheng patted Manager Wang's face.

"My brother, let's talk this out rationally. Please put down the bug spray first."

Manager Wang said, trembling with fear.

Its voice was bizarre, sounding like an echo from the deep sea.

"Do you take me for a fool?"

Liu Zheng delivered a kick to Manager Wang's lower limbs, sending it staggering.

"Oh, quite tough, aren't you?"

He landed a few more kicks, aiming fiercely at the reverse joints until he finally snapped its lower limbs.

Losing its balance, Manager Wang dropped heavily to its knees with a thud.

"Huh?"

Liu Zheng noticed that its size seemed to have shrunk.

Could this be the reason why fights must be settled in public?

Without the slightest hesitation, he stomped down and broke Manager Wang's other leg.

Following that, the giant isopod shrank by yet another circle.

"How fascinating."

Liu Zheng laughed heartily as he snapped off Manager Wang's jointed limbs one by one.

By the time he had smashed its back shell to pieces as well, Manager Wang was no larger than the palm of a hand.

"This is your delivery, please sign for it."

Liu Zheng produced a bottle of wood elf milk and said with elaborate politeness.

"I—I can't possibly sign for this in my condition."

Lying flat on the floor, Manager Wang spoke in a half-dead wheeze.

"No worries, I'll help you."

Liu Zheng grabbed it, using its body as a pen and its blood as ink to scrawl the three characters for "Manager Wang" onto the delivery slip.

Even though deliveries didn't strictly require such procedures, life always called for a touch of ritual.

"Ca—can we stop now?"

At this point, Manager Wang was practically three-quarters dead.

He glanced back at the conference room; the bugs inside hadn't given chase, merely lingering by the doorway to watch the spectacle.

Their expressions were complex—some looked displeased, some amused, and others wary.

"What are you staring at? Watching the show costs money, you know."

Liu Zheng walked over and shut the conference room door.

He stood by the doorway in thought for a moment, then hauled Manager Wang over to Wang Manni's side.

"He's dead. Can you take over as manager now?"

Liu Zheng asked in a low voice.

Hearing his words, Wang Manni's pupils dilated violently.

She cast a fearful glance at the giant isopod, yet the flames of ambition spontaneously ignited within her eyes.

A moment later, she nodded lightly.

"Bitch!"

Manager Wang seemed to realize what was happening and burst into a stream of vicious curses.

But it only managed a single utterance before Liu Zheng smashed its mouthparts to pieces.

"I'll need your delivery bag as well."

Wang Manni's complexion turned pale for a second, but her gaze grew even more resolute.

"Alright, take it."

Liu Zheng handed her the delivery bag without a moment's hesitation.

"This is my personal number."

Wang Manni recited a string of digits, putting heavy emphasis on the word "personal."

He smiled faintly and shrugged.

"One day, or perhaps that day will never come."

"I will dial this number."

"But until the telephone rings on that day, please accept this piece of cake."

Liu Zheng retrieved a slice of raw coconut lotus seed cake and handed it to Wang Manni.

"As a gift for your promotion."

The nozzle of the insecticide can was depressed all the way down, and amid the excessive spray, Manager Wang dissolved into a puddle of thick pus and blood.

He tossed away the empty can, trailing drops of blood every step of the way as he walked out of Office 403.

Wang Manni watched him leave, then ripped the paper bag off her head.

Beneath the paper bag, there was nothing at all.

Fumbling blindly, she placed the delivery bag around her neck.

Blood-red irises blossomed upon her newly grown face.

And Wang Manni's hands, before she even realized it, had transformed into a pair of jointed limbs.

-----------------

"I'm back."

Liu Zheng stepped into the breakroom.

"Are you out of your mind, buying all that coffee and cake? You almost worked me to death."

Niu Ma scolded the moment he saw him.

"Wasn't it you who told me to send some to the kitchen staff as well? If I'm sending it, I might as well send it to everyone, otherwise I'd end up offending people."

Liu Zheng defended himself.

"You sure have a lot of devious little tricks up your sleeve. *Burp~*"

Niu Ma let out a resounding, satisfied burp.

"Did you eat the delivery guy from Misfortune Coffee?"

Liu Zheng asked, speechless.

"Duh, why wouldn't I eat someone who walked right up to my door? Who would've thought the employees at Misfortune Coffee taste pretty good too, not a bit worse than their coffee."

Niu Ma said with a beaming smile.

"Do you realize that single mouth of yours cost me 1,200?"

Liu Zheng squinted at it.

"The money was already spent, not eating it would've been an even bigger waste."

Niu Ma retorted righteously.

"Besides, I'm not eating your stuff for free. Here."

It tossed a boning knife to Liu Zheng.

He caught it steadily, then checked the item description.

"Name: Fastidious"

"Type: Equipment"

"Quality: Excellent"

"Effect: Upon hitting a target, deals additional damage based on the target's grade as an ingredient."

"Remarks: Such a fine back, it's a real shame not to turn it into tenderloin."

"Can be brought out of the instance: Yes"

The blade was about four fingers wide at the base and tapered narrower toward the tip, gleaming as bright as snow, its brilliance making Liu Zheng's eyes sting faintly.

"Where'd you get this?"

He asked.

"Weren't you planning to take sick leave? I borrowed this knife from Napoleon to give you some self-defense."

"Take good care of it. Lose it, and you might as well just die out there, because otherwise Napoleon is still going to skin you alive when you get back. *Burp~*"

Niu Ma let out another satisfied burp; it appeared that the delivery guy from Misfortune Coffee had truly hit the spot.

"Thanks. By the way, Boss, could you let me make another trip to the kitchen?"

Liu Zheng asked after carefully stowing away the boning knife.

"What are you up to now?"

Niu Ma instantly grew vigilant.