Chapter 52: Chang Street Slaughterhouse
Lu Jinzhao carried the flesh and blood back to “home”.
Even before she opened the door, she had already heard the blurry sound coming from behind the door.
That was the old man craving flesh and blood.
Clearly looking at least 90 years old, yet his hearing was so sharp?
But this time, when Lu Jinzhao brought the flesh to the bedroom and the old man grabbed the flesh and stuffed it into his mouth, his action suddenly paused.
She didn’t say anything at the moment, but after eating, he used those turbid eyes covered with a thick layer of white mist to accurately find Lu Jinzhao’s position, then slowly opened his mouth and said:
“Not enough.”
“This flesh and blood is not fresh, not enough.”
The hoarse voice echoed in the dim room, inexplicably making one feel a chill.
After speaking, that old face full of gullies looked toward Lu Jinzhao, his lips slightly parted, and Lu Jinzhao saw inside not the withered gums of a normal old man, but sharp teeth like a wild animal and discomforting bloodstains.
“Tomorrow, I want double the flesh and blood.”
The evil ghost stated her demand.
After speaking, she slowly lay back on the bed and closed her eyes.
Lu Jinzhao’s heart pounded fiercely upon hearing that sentence; she realized this was a signal.
She slowly exited this bedroom emanating a foul smell, constantly thinking in her mind about what the signal given by the old man represented.
First, it could be confirmed that the mission progress was accelerating.
Secondly, the “ghost”‘s demands were gradually becoming harsher with the passage of time.
Lu Jinzhao thought that if on the first day she had only brought real rat flesh and blood, the old man would still eat it, and after eating, he would complain that the taste wasn’t good enough, prompting the player to bring the flesh and blood she truly wanted.
Moreover, even if she really kept bringing back the required “fresh flesh and blood,” the old man would eventually demand more flesh and blood, requiring double portions.
To verify this, she needed to see if the butcher would demand two animals in the broadcast on the second day.
Lu Jinzhao felt some trepidation in her heart, because she had thought of an even worse possibility.
But… this was just a normal Class C mission, it shouldn’t go that far.
Carrying this uneasy mood, the third day soon arrived.
And the butcher’s broadcast rang out with the new day.
[The customer is very dissatisfied with you!]
[Today, you must find more flesh and blood.]
[Bring the calf and the tiger here before the sun sets.]
“…Good.”
Lu Jinzhao breathed a sigh of relief.
The butcher demanded double portions, not the worst possibility she had imagined; the butcher still only wanted one animal’s direction.
She didn’t think that bringing back double weight in flesh and blood today would satisfy the old man at home.
If the butcher really only demanded one animal, then she would have to find a method to end this platform today.
Fortunately, this was just an ordinary Class C platform, and the ghost hadn’t made the demand she had feared.
“I’ve done too many abnormal missions…”
Coming to a normal platform, she was even increasing the difficulty for herself in her mind.
[This shows you have talent for being a ghost.]
Suddenly, a line of blood script floated before her eyes.
Lu Jinzhao’s steps toward the outside paused; she was slightly startled for an instant, then realized it was the parchment.
“If you’re going to play dead, stay dead—can you not appear suddenly?”
Bad luck!
The parchment disappeared again, no longer responding to Lu Jinzhao.
Her slightly relaxed mood was ruined by this ominous thing, so when Wei Ling saw Lu Jinzhao, she felt her complexion was unusually a bit sour.
“What’s wrong? Is today going to be very difficult?”
Wei Ling was a bit worried.
Lu Jinzhao shook her head: “I was just thinking about something else.”
“As for whether today will be difficult, it depends on the situation.”
The two headed toward the slaughterhouse when Wei Ling suddenly said: “By the way, have you figured out what to do today?”
Seeing no one around, Wei Ling hurriedly asked.
Lu Jinzhao paused, several thoughts flashing through her mind.
She already had a few guesses about people whose zodiac sign was calf, and with today’s “tiger” likely being the target of the glasses woman and others, finding the “calf” wouldn’t be difficult.
After thinking for a while, Lu Jinzhao’s steps suddenly stopped.
She realized a problem.
Why… hadn’t she thought of directly leading a calf to the slaughterhouse?
Just now, her mind was full of “how to kill” and how to use others to kill to achieve her purpose.
Not a single one was bloodless.
“I…” she slowly opened her mouth, but didn’t know what to say.
She wanted to ask, was I like this before?
Is it okay for me to think this way?
Inside the platform, everyone seemed to take human life as something that easily slips away by default, subtly, the passengers were all starting to lose reverence for life.
And she herself had unknowingly become so… strange.
Yes, Lu Jinzhao evaluated her current self as “strange”.
Naturally, she hadn’t experienced any major difficulties growing up; though her parents were often away on business trips, they never skimped on material needs and valued her greatly. In her twenty years of life, she had faced many small setbacks, but overcome them all.
Overall, she was a person with normal values and sound mind.
She knew her personality could be somewhat cold, but it absolutely shouldn’t be like this now.
This was too strange.
When she realized this, a chill suddenly swept through her entire body.
This wasn’t her; her thinking and personality had, in a short time, undergone an extremely abnormal change in a way she herself considered very normal.
And she was only noticing some clues now!
“…Parchment.”
Lu Jinzhao lowered her head, her expression somewhat gloomy as she looked at the ground, her mood exceptionally heavy.
Exchanging one-third of her soul had made her unknowingly make those changes she thought were “very reasonable”.
When the transaction was complete, what would she become?
A ghost wearing human skin?
At that time, would she still be herself?
She would probably have long lost any self-consciousness, becoming the parchment’s puppet, and even thinking she was still “Lu Jinzhao”!
Such a thing absolutely could not be allowed to succeed.
“What’s wrong? What sheep? Isn’t it calf and tiger today?” Walking beside her, Wei Ling hadn’t heard clearly what Lu Jinzhao said, only vaguely catching the word “sheep,” and turned her head in doubt to find Lu Jinzhao had stopped in place for some reason.
Her train of thought interrupted by Wei Ling’s words, Lu Jinzhao’s somewhat gloomy expression returned to normal in the moment she raised her head; she smiled at Wei Ling and said: “It’s nothing, I was just thinking about something else.”
“Let’s go in first.”
After speaking, she stepped toward the slaughterhouse.
Wei Ling felt something was off; she stood in place, frowning slightly.
Was it an illusion?
She always felt that in that instant just now, Lu Jinzhao was different from yesterday again!
“…What’s up with this person?”
