chapter 87
Chapter 87
Just counting the two visible rows, there were over a hundred Sea Demon Corpses.
The entire Kitchen.
No one knew how many there were in total.
Lu Li observed the differences in the Corpses from the outside to the inside.
Those most severely damaged hung on the outermost racks, reduced to bare bones.
Those less damaged hung further inside.
The degrees of damage were: skinned, partial organs removed, all organs removed, flesh and bone cut.
The further in you went, the fresher they were.
Most of the Corpses had a long gash across their chests, and those with some organs left had them exposed to the air.
Song Changrong’s feet seemed glued to the floor.
He kept swallowing, feeling that the meat hanging high up smelled unbelievably delicious.
“Heart! There’s a Heart here! I found it! It must be this one!” Feng Shan cried out in delight. He reached out, only to find another Heart in the Corpse beside it.
Feng Shan’s face turned pale, “…Why are there so many?”
Looking ahead.
So many Sea Demons had Hearts in the gashes on their chests.
Which Heart needed to be crushed to clear the stage?
“Who’s touching my ingredients? The Hearts are for my main courses!” Feng Shan’s little movements were noticed, and the Head Chef roared in fury, “Touch them again and I’ll cut off your arm!”
The door they entered slammed shut behind the Players.
They walked to the end of the Corpse racks.
The Players finally saw the Head Chef.
Behind a chopping board longer than a man stood a burly man.
In front of the chopping board, oddly enough, lay an open book.
The man wore a chef’s uniform and hat, and was flipping the book to the next page.
Then he took the nearest Sea Demon Corpse from the rack.
With hands hardened by years of rough work, he pinched the Sea Demon’s skin to test its thickness, revealing a smile, “This one isn’t fully grown yet, it has two layers of skin, enough to make two pieces.”
He tossed the Corpse onto the chopping board like a dead fish.
A sharp knife split a seam from the crown, the blade sliding between skin and flesh, skillfully skinning it.
Lu Li watched the Sea Demon.
He finally understood why the Hunter’s child always praised the Sea Demon’s beauty in the Diary.
Before being skinned, the Sea Demon’s features were breathtakingly beautiful.
After being skinned, the Sea Demon’s skin lay on the chopping board, sparkling with diamond-like brilliance.
The skin was so translucent.
And so familiar.
Lu Li pondered, as if he had seen Sea Demon skin somewhere before.
“They…” Luo Jia Bai clenched his fists, unable to hold back as he stepped forward toward the Head Chef’s sharp knife, angrily saying, “How can they be so cruel…”
The Head Chef sneered, “It’s just killing a Sea Demon. Look at your indignant face-do you want to take their place and lie on the chopping board yourself!?”
The Head Chef hung the Corpse back on the rack, the cleaver leaving the board and hovering above Luo Jia Bai’s head, “I guess you’re the one who complained about me.”
Lu Li said, “It was me.”
The Head Chef sneered, shifting the cleaver to Lu Li’s head, “I’ve been cutting meat for hundreds of years, and this is the first time someone’s complained. Speak, what’s your problem?”
As the Head Chef turned, a line of words appeared above his head like a Noble Gentleman.
[Can be praised, can be flattered]
The Head Chef was impatient, his expression already extremely ugly.
Knowing that answering would only worsen his mood, he raised the cleaver to strike at Lu Li, wanting to silence this hateful guest for good.
Lu Li stared at the line above the Head Chef’s head.
Praise?
It seemed this NPC had to hear good things.
So he couldn’t voice his dissatisfaction directly.
The blade was about to fall.
Lu Li said, “If I hadn’t complained, they wouldn’t have let me into the Kitchen to broaden my horizons. I just wanted to know what kind of top-tier ingredients and top-tier chef could make chicken legs and steak taste so delicious.”
The words “top-tier” were spoken.
The chef’s knife stopped.
He narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing Lu Li, “Really?”
“It’s a unique flavor. I thought there were a dozen chefs, but it turns out you’re the only one preparing the entire Masquerade Ball. You…” Suppressing the urge to vomit from lying, Lu Li closed his eyes briefly, “You are an outstanding chef.”
The Head Chef’s expression eased, and he withdrew the cleaver.
Seeing this, Luo Jia Bai finally relaxed his tense body.
“Have you ever eaten meat? There are only rotten fruits in the Rich District, right?” The Head Chef snorted, proud, “I know you’ve just come up from the Rich District, you must never have tasted anything this good before. Of course, it’s not chicken or beef, but Sea Demon meat!
Besides the meat, the skin and organs are great tonics! Whether eaten or worn, they keep us from getting sick or aging. Under King Braud’s leadership, we have finally achieved immortality!”
Seeing that Lu Li could converse with such a fierce NPC, Feng Shan refused to be outdone and asked, “Where is the King?”
Poor, rich, Nobles, King.
Their destination must be the King.
The Head Chef ignored him, flipping another page of the book in front of him, then splitting the skin in his hand into two pieces.
Feng Shan raised his voice, “I’m asking you! Why do you answer him but not me?”
The Head Chef finished dividing the skin and swung his knife fiercely at Feng Shan, “Watch your attitude!”
Feng Shan clung tightly to Song Changrong, hiding behind him.
Song Changrong took the blow, blood streaming from his shoulder.
The Head Chef looked at Song Changrong in confusion, “Why do you smell like Sea Demon?”
Song Changrong quickly redeemed healing medicine from the Shop to stop the bleeding.
Once the wound disappeared, the Head Chef’s suspicion was dispelled.
Feng Shan always hiding behind him was irritating, so Song Changrong looked up and gazed at the wall behind the Head Chef.
There was a door in the wall.
Through the small window in the door, he could see the outside.
He saw a Giant Tree towering outside.
The leaves swayed.
As if calling to him.
The image in the small window shifted.
From a tree, he returned to the world he once belonged to.
He was completely absorbed in seeing his own future.
One who clears the Necromancer Game and smoothly leaves, exchanging the gold bricks and Feng Shan’s gems hidden under the bed for money.
Money that would never run out.
He looked at himself in that small window-not only had he paid off the debt to the Feng Family, but he also hurled the extra money hard at Feng Shan, that young master.
Song Changrong showed a thoroughly satisfied smile.
Outside, the leaves rustled softly.
A distant voice echoed, “Is this what you want?”
Song Changrong nodded vigorously.
“There is an opportunity here to clear the game first. I can help you turn the gems and gold bricks into money,” the voice continued. “Come quickly, walk toward me, come to my side, and all your desires will be fulfilled.”
So he took a step toward that tree.
–
Lu Li continued to ask the Head Chef, “You are such an excellent chef, yet you work in the Kitchen for the Nobles. Why haven’t you gone to cook for the King?”
Hearing the word “excellent,” the Head Chef’s ears twitched, and his expression softened. “No one knows where the King went after leaving the Noble District. All we know is, if you want to find the King, you must pass through the Forest. All tributes for the King have to be placed beneath the largest tree in the Forest.”
“You haven’t seen that tree, nor do you know how lush and spreading it is. Its branches stretch from the Noble District into the Rich District. All wishes and desires prayed to the tree are answered. They all say that tree is a monster-a good monster.”
All the Players’ Wristbands vibrated.
[Congratulations, Player, you have discovered Key Clue 3.]
[The King who possesses power, wealth, and eternal life, revered and worshipped by all-who are you, really?]
[Step by step, as you climb upward-what good deeds did you do to become the supreme existence in this world?]
Luo Jia Bai glanced at his Wristband, then at Lu Li, and sucked in a breath.
It appeared again.
From a life-or-death situation where the NPC interrogates the Player-
to Lu Li single-handedly extracting information from the NPC.
Lu Li watched as the Head Chef rinsed the Sea Demon skin by the sink. “I didn’t expect you to be so meticulous when skinning. You managed to peel it off so completely.”
The Head Chef complained, “It’s all because those Noble Ladies are so picky. If the skin is torn or damaged, they say it’s not beautiful or complete enough for making dress veils, and insist on redoing it! At first, when we caught lots of Sea Demons, we could indulge them, but in recent years, we’ve barely caught any Sea Demons, so I make those Noble Ladies line up and wait!”
He shook the water off his hands and turned another page of the book in front of him.
“Maybe we caught them too quickly, too many-even the juveniles! Maybe the Sea Demons are about to be wiped out by us! But the juvenile Sea Demons haven’t undergone the Coming-of-Age Ceremony, so they have two layers of skin. Catching them for skinning is the most cost-effective!
So what if all the Sea Demons go extinct? We’ve already caught so many, we can eat for another few hundred years!”
Lu Li looked around and asked, “Are all the Sea Demons in the Kitchen caught by you? I heard other people only catch one every twenty years. Why are you so skilled?”
The flattery made the Head Chef narrow his eyes in satisfaction. “It’s not me who’s amazing, it’s King Braud.”
“Do you know how to fish? As long as you have Bait, there will be an endless stream of foolish fish biting the hook.”
“Our great King has Bait in his hands.”
The Head Chef lowered his voice, “He has the Heart of the Sea Demon Prince! He uses this Heart to lure the Sea Demons to come one after another to rescue the Prince.”
He praised, “Our King is so clever! I’m reading his autobiography!”
He flipped another page of the book.
“King Braud is my role model! The book says that hundreds of years ago, he was once one of the Third-Class Nobles in the Kitchen, even a Hunter from the Poor Village, but through his own efforts, he shed his dirty and backward status, benefited the people, and brought us an endless supply of meat! What an inspiring story!”
Lu Li leaned in slightly and saw the book title:
“The successful life of a king” (Part 2)
Suddenly, Feng Shan’s shout came from nearby, “Song Changrong! Are you crazy?!”
Turning around, he saw Song Changrong slice open Feng Shan’s hand with a knife. Song Changrong’s skin aged rapidly, growing dense wrinkles. “Give me the gems! I’m about to clear the game!”
“What nonsense are you talking about?” Feng Shan let go in pain, his hands covered in blood, furious. “Damn it, you dare attack me with a knife! The Feng Family won’t let you off after you leave the game!”
“Then I’ll just kill you. The Feng Family won’t know how you died.” Song Changrong stabbed Feng Shan directly in the chest. Under Feng Shan’s shocked gaze, he finally blurted out all the words buried deep in his heart:
“I’ve put up with you long enough! Useless! Coward! I don’t want to be your servant anymore. I didn’t come into the Necromancer Game to risk my life for you of my own will! It was the Feng Family that forced me!”
Feng Shan exchanged to obtain a knife in return and stabbed at Song Changrong, then dropped to his knees, desperately searching for a Life-Saving Item.
Song Changrong clutched his wound and ran forward, his pupils unfocused, hugging the gems. He was unnaturally deranged. “I’m about to get rich! I want to leave this game!”
His blood once again caught the Head Chef’s attention.
“It really is the scent of Sea Demon. Are you a Sea Demon too?” The Head Chef grabbed Song Changrong, threw him onto the chopping board, sliced open his skull, and tore off his skin alive. Amid Song Changrong’s screams, he split open his chest and dug out the still-beating Heart.
“The skin can’t be used, it’s all wrinkled together.”
“Let me taste the Heart.”
The Head Chef chopped off a piece of the Heart and stuffed it into his mouth, then spat it out in disgust. “Damn! Not a Sea Demon! Just an ordinary human who drank sea-demon broth!”
“Sean! Throw this useless Corpse onto the Kitchen’s trash rack!”