Chapter 66 Finger Lickin' Chicken

The cow-horse didn't even deign to look, lazily curling back up on its pile of hay.

Liu Zheng looked at the Ghost Hand and felt somewhat at a loss.

Unable to speak, the Ghost Hand didn't even have facial expressions—how was one supposed to communicate with it?

However, the Ghost Hand quickly sprang into action.

It raised a single finger and pointed at the paper bag beside Liu Zheng.

The paper bag contained precisely the Bad Luck Coffee.

He understood the Ghost Hand's intent and shook his head.

That cup had already been promised to the novelist.

In this world, keeping one's word seemed to hold considerable importance.

Still, aside from the coffee, he had other items.

Liu Zheng pulled a strawberry pudding from his pocket and handed it to the Ghost Hand.

This had originally been reserved for his own consumption, but he had no choice now but to part with it.

Glancing at the bright, juicy strawberries on top of the pudding, Liu Zheng swallowed hard.

Sugar was a fundamental human necessity, and studies had shown that sugar was even more addictive than tobacco and alcohol, truly earning the title of a "legal narcotic."

Some psychiatrists even prescribed candy and chocolate to their patients because sufficient sugar intake effectively reduced feelings of depression and melancholy.

Liu Zheng felt that he was rather depressed right now.

Seeming to notice his expression, the Ghost Hand suddenly flicked out a sharp tip of a nail from its fingertip.

The cow-horse, eyes closed, gave a start, and Liu Zheng was also taken aback.

Yet the Ghost Hand had no intention of attacking him; instead, it made a swift cut across the pudding container.

The entire pudding was perfectly split in two.

A mouth grew once more in the palm of the Ghost Hand, swallowing half of the pudding along with the cup, before it strolled leisurely away.

Liu Zheng scooped up the remaining pudding and tipped it into his mouth.

The sweet-and-sour taste of the strawberries combined with the smooth, tender texture of the pudding brought a faint smile to his face.

"Are you actually a succubus, kid?"

The cow-horse couldn't help but make a sarcastic remark.

"We may be close, but watch it or I'll sue you for slander, big guy. I'm a proper 'human'."

"Bollocks on being a proper 'human'. I've never seen any human manage to get along this well here," said the cow-horse.

"Then you just haven't seen enough. That legendary deliveryman Li gets along exceptionally well."

"You even know his name?"

The cow-horse's eyes widened.

"Dialogue told me."

"What else did that tree tell you?" asked the cow-horse with curiosity.

"The rest is paid content."

Liu Zheng extended a tentacle.

"Ptooey."

Liu Zheng sidestepped the cow-horse's thick glob of phlegm.

"If you're not going to tell me, I couldn't care less. But I advise you, kid, to ask around less. Things regarding Li are a bit murky," it warned.

"Got it."

Liu Zheng nodded in acknowledgment.

If he told the cow-horse that he not only knew Li was dead but had personally buried his skeleton, would it jump in shock?

Yet Liu Zheng truly had no intention of delving deeper.

A lethal trap that even the legendary deliveryman couldn't survive would only turn him into teppanyaki if he rashly blundered in.

Liu Zheng picked up the delivery order and looked at the details.

"Item: Extra Large Portion of Finger-Licking Good Fried Chicken"

"Address: 4-606, Crazy City, Green Laurel Garden"

"Time Limit: Three hours"

Seeing the three-hour time limit, he nodded in satisfaction.

The novelist was reliable after all, not to mention attractive and wealthy.

If Liu Zheng hadn't strongly suspected that this woman harbored ill intentions, he might have just surrendered to her.

Wait...

Could it be that she wanted to eat him to inherit his talent?

Connecting this to the case of the calico cat eating its master, Liu Zheng felt this was highly likely the truth.

"Good thing my willpower is strong."

He broke out in a cold sweat of lingering fear as he stepped out of the lounge.

He glanced at the delivery cart; thankfully, the Ghost Hand was not waiting for him.

Liu Zheng knew there had to be a continuation regarding the skeleton, but he hoped it would come as late as possible.

As long as he could stall until he returned to reality, all these grand, shadowy conspiracies would have nothing to do with him.

However, Liu Zheng's gaze quickly sharpened once more.

Because on the delivery cart, alongside the takeout boxes, lay a pure gold card.

"Name: Chaos Club Membership Card"

"Type: Sundry"

"Quality: Perfect"

"Effect: None"

"Remark: Courage, wisdom, health, happiness—everything you desire can be found here."

"Can be brought out of the instance: No"

"Fake."

A cold, weary voice suddenly sounded beside his ear.

Liu Zheng was startled.

At that moment, pale white flames abruptly ignited on the gold card.

A searing, soul-deep pain caused him to instinctively release his grip, and the gold card dropped to the floor with a crisp clatter.

Instead of picking up the card immediately, Liu Zheng looked at his tentacle.

A golden mark shaped like a human skull had appeared upon it.

He stared at the mark for two seconds, then drew his bone-cleaving knife.

With a swift flash of the blade, the marked tentacle was severed cleanly at the base.

It seemed his ingredient grade was quite high.

Liu Zheng stared at the severed tentacle as the mark upon it gradually faded away.

A premonition of bad luck struck him, and he looked back at his remaining tentacle.

Sure enough, the mark was slowly manifesting there, positioned in the exact same spot.

"Fine then."

Liu Zheng shrugged.

If it couldn't be removed, so be it. He had far too many troubles already, so one more didn't matter.

Liu Zheng picked up the gold card and tucked it into his pocket.

For even a membership card to be of perfect quality—as expected of the Chaos Club, an entity even the City Hall couldn't deal with.

He wondered what kind of dragon's pool and tiger's den lay inside.

Of course, curiosity was one thing, but he certainly wasn't going to visit.

With his current strength, let alone a dragon's pool and tiger's den, even a toilet bowl could drown him.

Liu Zheng opened the delivery box and inspected the contents.

He could have simply placed it straight into the delivery container, but the name of the dish had aroused his curiosity.

"Damn it! I actually guessed right."

When Liu Zheng clearly saw the contents of the food container, a curse escaped his lips.

A pile of varying sizes and types of dicks was stacked together.

Although coated in a layer of crispy batter, their unmistakable shapes, complete with every detail, allowed him to recognize them at a glance.

What had the novelist ordered last time?

Ah, right, Mermaid Testicle Fried Rice.

She seemed to have a rather peculiar obsession with this category of food.

Was this woman's kidney function truly that deficient?

Speechless, Liu Zheng packed the delivery box securely and walked down the corridor.

Without the Ghost Hand to lead the way this time, the corridor had reverted to a straight path.

Emerging from the restaurant, he broke into a brisk jog and arrived before the London plane tree.

"Did you get the Epoch Acorn?"

The London plane tree waved its branches excitedly.

"No."

"Then why are you here? Get lost, get lost, get lost."

The London plane tree raised its middle finger.

"Did you evolve arms just to do that?"

Liu Zheng narrowed his eyes at it.

After drinking the milk of the wood elves, the London plane tree had not only reversed the aging caused by the Hound of Tindalos, but had also grown a pair of arms.

Its face was far more refined than before, making it look much more human.

"These arms grow on my body; I'll do whatever I damn well please," the plane tree snorted.

"Fine. But this mouth grows on my body, so if I have good news, I can choose not to say a word of it."

Liu Zheng made a motion to leave.

"What good news? Tell me, tell me quickly!" the plane tree urged excitedly.

"Put your middle finger down first."

"Tch."

The London plane tree retracted its arm back into the trunk.

"Happy now? Hurry up and spill."

It pressed him for answers.

"The head chef is willing to give me the acorn, but only in exchange for a giant-mouth whale."

"What on earth is a giant-mouth whale?" asked the London plane tree.

"It's this."

Liu Zheng showed it a photograph.

"Never seen it."

The plane tree shook its head.

Hearing this, half of his hope died instantly.

Yet since he had already come this far, he would definitely have to head down and check it out.

"I plan to try fishing for one in the sewers. Can you protect me?" Liu Zheng asked.

"I don't have any objections. But didn't the cow-horse tell you?"

"Tell me what?"

"The sewers are alive," said the London plane tree.