Chapter 826: Yamada Masami
Zhang Yi smiled. He wouldn't eat the pre-made food here. Not that he was picky, but his dimensional space contained plenty of delicious delicacies - why bother with this garbage? Even the rich aroma probably came from excessive food additives and chemicals.
Zhang Yi originally intended to leave, but Liu Zhengnan's obsequious, fawning face seemed oddly familiar. At first he didn't think much of it, but his gaze inadvertently fell upon the steamers filled with pre-made dishes. Suddenly, memories surfaced in his mind.
He smiled and asked, "What's your name?"
Liu Zhengnan froze, confused why Zhang Yi would ask a nobody like him for his name. "I'm Liu Zhengnan, just a cook."
Zhang Yi's brow furrowed slightly. "Liu Zhengnan? Where are you originally from? You seem quite skilled - what cuisine do you specialize in?"
At this question, Liu Zhengnan suddenly became evasive. After several seconds, he stammered, "I'm from... uh... Guangdong. I know some Cantonese dishes."
"Then say something in Cantonese!"
Liu Zhengnan swallowed hard, sweat already beading on his forehead. "Gong tit gor, han yan lui han sau piu gor..."
The four crew members nearby immediately sensed something amiss. "Captain, is there something wrong with this guy's identity?"
Xie Changming rushed over and kicked Liu Zhengnan to the ground. "Damn it, old bastard! Who the hell are you really? Daring to pretend to be Huaxian!"
Clutching his stomach in pain, Liu Zhengnan vehemently denied it. "I really am Huaxian! I've just been away from home too long, my dialect isn't good."
Zhang Yi narrowed his eyes. "Yet your Mandarin is quite excellent."
As Liu Zhengnan tried to explain further, Zhang Yi coldly cut him off: "Enough with the act... President Yamada."
By now, Zhang Yi had fully recalled who this man was - Yamada Masami, president of the Neon Corporation Yamada Group. Their Tianhai branch's warehouse had been near Zhang Yi's workplace. Some Neon companies had the custom of printing their president's face on products or trucks, which explained why Yamada looked familiar.
Hearing this, the crew members' eyes burned with fury. "A Neon bastard!"
"You fucking dare pretend to be Huaxian? You're dead, dog!"
They rushed forward, mercilessly beating Yamada Masami with fists and kicks aimed at the most painful spots. Yamada howled in agony. "Stop! Please stop! I... I'm Huaxian in spirit! My great-grandfather was from Guangdong! I have Huaxian blood!"
This only earned Zhang Yi's cold laughter and the crew's curses. "Mutt bastard! That makes you even more deserving of death!"
Hostility toward Neons in the Jiangnan region had reached unprecedented heights after recent Ronin attacks across seven or eight cities caused tens of thousands of deaths. Merely mentioning "Neon" now made people gnash their teeth.
Zhang Yi leaned back in his chair, eyes closed, savoring Yamada's screams. The sound was music to his ears. Though he'd killed members of the Moon of Corrosion, eliminating just over a dozen perpetrators didn't feel satisfying. Why should they invade Jiangnan, slaughter countless Huaxians, while Zhang Yi's group could only kill a handful of ringleaders? This injustice couldn't end so easily.
Now that Yamada Masami had appeared on his ship, the outcome was inevitable. Among the crew, Xie Changming beat the man most viciously - since he'd selected Yamada, he needed to demonstrate his stance to avoid Zhang Yi's displeasure.
Yamada initially kept denying his Neon identity until eight teeth were knocked out, leaving him only able to whimper through bloody lips. The floor became slick with blood as Yamada could barely gasp for breath.
When Xie Changming grabbed a boning knife to finish him, Zhang Yi stopped him. "What do think you're doing?"
Xie Changming blinked, then said angrily, "Stabbing him to death! Why keep this dog alive?"
Zhang Yi eyed the knife. "That's kitchenware. Don't use it to slaughter pigs."
Hope flashed in Yamada's eyes as he looked pleadingly at Zhang Yi, but the smile he received was cruel. "Besides, dying like that would be too merciful."
Yamada trembled violently, terrified of what Zhang Yi might do next. "I... I may have Neon citizenship but I've never harmed any Huaxians!" he wailed.
Zhang Yi ignored him, gazing out at the freezing ocean winds. "Throw him to the sharks." In these temperatures, he'd freeze into an ice block within seconds - clean and sanitary.
As the crew hauled Yamada away like a slaughtered pig, they encountered Su Nuanxi leading Zhu Yunque to block their path. Seeing Yamada's condition, Zhu Yunque's pupils contracted. "What are you doing? How can you treat an innocent man !"
Su Nuanxi wailed, "Teacher Yamada!" before throwing herself at him, sobbing hysterically.
Xie Changming explained helplessly, "Miss Zhu, this man's a Neon! The captain ordered us to feed him to the sharks."
Zhu Yunque's face darkened with burning fury. "This is downright demonic behavior!"
Zhang Yi emerged from the kitchen, realizing Yamada's pig-like screams had drawn attention. Not that he cared.
His nonchalant expression further enraged Zhu Yunque and Su Nuanxi. The latter pointed at Zhang Yi, crying, "Zhang, you're too cruel! Teacher Yamada cooked for us all on Rockflow Island, caring for me like a father! How could you brutalize him without even investigating? You're not human - you're a monster!"