"I don’t know if you can still understand human speech,"
Liu Zheng lowered his head, his bright gaze stinging the beast’s murky eyes.
"All I want now is to eat a normal meal in peace. If you bother me again, I’ll roast you on a fire and eat you right here."
The tentacles around the beast’s neck tightened slightly, and its deformed cervical spine made an overburdened noise.
The beast whimpered, trying to break free from the terrifying tentacles, but to no avail.
"It seems you still know fear, good. Now get lost,"
With a light flick, the beast’s head was thrown out through the doorway.
Through the doorway, the fallen beast could be seen struggling to get up and then quickly fleeing.
"All right, let’s continue with the meal."
Liu Zheng shifted his body, once again blocking the doorway.
"Oh, okay, let’s eat."
Anke used the serving of soup to mask the shock in his heart.
Truth be told, in terms of strength alone, this foreigner didn’t surpass his understanding.
Whether it was the hunters from the Blood Healing Church or the knights from the former Suffering Church, there were many terrifyingly strong people among them.
They could easily swing weapons that weighed hundreds of pounds and jump from buildings over a dozen meters high without a scratch.
What truly exceeded Anke’s comprehension was this foreigner’s attitude towards the beasts.
Although Liu Zheng knew these beasts were transformed from humans, his attitude was casual, devoid of pity, disgust, or fear.
It was as if they were merely a group of troublesome hooligans, or like he was dealing with a bunch of clueless stray dogs.
Such nonchalance, Anke had never seen on anyone else.
What on earth is the outside world like?
Anke, who had lived in Yate for over forty years, for the first time felt both fear and curiosity about the outside world.
Because they wanted to reach the Suffering Church as soon as possible, Anke and his wife Marian ate quickly.
Although they didn’t speak up to hurry, influenced by their parents, the sisters Niya and Nina also picked up the pace.
Liu Zheng wasn’t affected, but he naturally ate quickly, so the meal was finished in no time.
"That was so satisfying, it’s been a long time since I’ve had a normal dinner."
He patted his belly and said contentedly.
"Don’t you work at a restaurant? Don’t they provide food?"
Marian asked curiously.
"Well, there is staff food, but how should I put it, the ingredients are... complicated,"
Not to mention the food made from humans, can you believe there’s staff food that can even poison you? More like a staff cull meal.
"Indeed, I’ve heard of such heartless employers too. May God punish these sinful people,"
Marian said sympathetically.
In her mind, the staff meals Liu Zheng mentioned were probably something like spoiled food or rat meat.
"I’m afraid the gods can’t really punish the Bloody Restaurant,"
Liu Zheng muttered inwardly.
Even Mr. Li could dispel a god’s gospel, let alone the higher-ranked Bloody Restaurant.
Unless it’s some omniscient and omnipotent true God.
But such a true God wouldn’t be involved in something as trivial as staff meals.
Speaking of which, what kind of entity is behind Hell’s Game? It feels like it should be much higher-ranked than the Evil God who brought down the gospel.
"Let’s set off now, boss,"
"Could you please wait a moment, we just need to pack our luggage,"
His original idea was to travel light, as long as they could get there.
Now that he realized the foreigner’s strength far exceeded his expectations, he wanted to bring more things.
After all, no one knows how long the Pale Night will last, and people still need to eat, drink, and take care of their needs.
"Of course, you can,"
Liu Zheng consented to his request.
"Thank you, kind sir."
Anke thanked him and immediately got busy with his family.
They seemed well-prepared, so packing up was quite fast. In about half an hour, they had loaded up a full handcart.
The cart was stocked with potatoes, jerky, sundried vegetables, beer, drinking water, and various household items, enough to sustain a family of four for ten to fifteen days.
"Isn’t that too much?"
Anke looked at Liu Zheng’s expression and said somewhat embarrassedly.
"It’s fine. Are you ready?"
He opened the front door, and the pale moonlight immediately flooded in.
Shadows cast by buildings wavered along with the distant beastly howls, sending chills down one’s spine.
Anke bit his lip and pushed the handcart out of the house.
His wife Marian and their two daughters helped push alongside him, looking as though they were struggling.
Meanwhile, Liu Zheng walked behind and didn’t offer to help.
He even leisurely took in the city’s nocturnal view.
The ubiquitous pointed arches and windows, the exquisite reliefs and the stained-glass rosettes, as well as the widespread use of iron decor, gave the city an atmosphere that was both opulent and somber.
This style, if corresponding to reality, would probably be like London during the Victorian era.
Except that Yate had neither the drizzling rain nor the dense fog and even the air was somewhat dry.
"I’m curious, why does everyone hang a red lantern outside their houses?"
Liu Zheng suddenly asked.
"It’s a sign of safety, indicating that the people inside are conscious and not beastified."
"What happens if someone does turn into a beast?"
"The red lantern would automatically go out."
"Really? How does that work?"
He asked in surprise.
"I don’t know about that, the lanterns were all uniformly produced and installed by the Church.
"Is it the Suffering Church we’re heading to?"
"No, it’s the Blood Healing Church."
Anke said. Newest update provided by noveⅼfire.net
"What’s the difference between the two churches?"
"The Suffering Church was once the only church in Yate, but their doctrines were too extreme, so when the Blood Healing Church came along, they quickly declined and now there’s only one chapel left."
"The Blood Healing Church is a church that rose up several decades ago; they specialize in using blood for healing diseases. Their doctrines are very simple, so they quickly gained support and became the rulers of this city."
"Specialize in using blood to treat diseases? Bloodletting?"
At first thought, Liu Zheng recalled the medieval barbers’ trio: bloodletting, amputation, and enema.
"No, it’s blood transfusion."
Anke hesitated before adding.
"Blood transfusion..."
He glanced at Yate’s cityscape, which, while not filthy, was also far from clean.
It was hard to imagine that such a level of technology could provide any reliable blood transfusion techniques—did they even know the differences between blood types?
"Surely not everyone here has received such blood treatments?"
Liu Zheng asked offhandedly.
"Almost all adults have undergone it."
He remembered that all the beasts he had come across on the way were adults or larger than the average adult in size.
"Do you think it’s possible that the beastification of the Yate people is because of Blood Healing?"
Liu Zheng stopped in his tracks and looked at Anke.