After leaving the restaurant, Liu Zheng headed straight for the street with the plane tree.

The growth ring contract was an unstable bomb—better to complete it sooner rather than later.

"Did you get the thing?"

The moment it saw him, the plane tree asked impatiently.

"I got it."

Liu Zheng nodded and took out the Era Oak acorns.

The plane tree snatched them over and stuffed them into its mouth.

A vast, ancient aura immediately emerged, spreading outwards from it as the center.

Liu Zheng seemed to see an oak tree almost as tall as the sky and as large as a mountain range standing amidst an endless sea of trees, with countless elves praying devoutly at its feet.

But soon, the illusion vanished.

He looked at the plane tree, whose expression now looked somewhat constipated.

"Evolution failed?"

"No, I just didn't expect there would be choices for evolution."

The plane tree replied.

"What choices? Tell me, I'll help you consider them."

"With you, a mere human, what the hell can you help me consider?"

The plane tree took the opportunity to scorn Liu Zheng, but still told him.

"Right now I have two evolution paths. One is to evolve into a tree demon, the other is to evolve into a phoenix."

"What's the difference?"

"I don't know either, the Era Oak acorns only contain very little memory inheritance. Anyway, a tree demon is basically a more advanced tree, with some mobility, but still needs to be rooted in the earth. Becoming a phoenix allows complete freedom from the land, gaining true freedom."

The plane tree said.

"Then definitely choose the phoenix."

Liu Zheng said without hesitation.

"Stupid human. To become a phoenix, I first need to build a nest, then lay an egg, then incubate the egg, and finally break out of the shell. This process takes at least a month, during which I have almost no ability to protect myself. How is that any different from suicide?"

The plane tree said.

"But deep down, you desire to become a phoenix, right?"

"How do you know?"

"With such harsh conditions, if you weren't truly eager, why would you be conflicted? And you've mentioned birds several times;

you must envy their ability to fly, right?"

Liu Zheng stared into its eyes.

"Who, who's envious."

The plane tree's mouth was harder than its roots.

"If you're worried about safety, I have an idea. Want to hear it?"

"Hmph, say what you want, it's none of my business."

The plane tree turned its face away.

"Bullhorse wants to get out of the restaurant to do smuggling and happens to need a helper. I can have him protect you until you break out of the shell, and then you help him with smuggling. How about it?"

"Him? A piece of trash selling fake alcohol, I can't trust him."

The plane tree shook its head directly.

"If you don't trust him, don't you trust me?"

"With your measly strength, if Bullhorse breaks the contract, could you stop him?"

"With such harsh conditions, if you weren't truly eager, why would you be hesitant? And you've mentioned birds several times;

you must envy their ability to fly, right?"

"Don't you have the growth ring contract? Just have Bullhorse sign one too."

Liu Zheng came up with a solution.

"I can only form one growth ring contract right now, and I've already signed it with you. To increase the number, I need to evolve to a higher level."

To sign a contract, it needs to evolve first;

to evolve, it needs to sign a contract.

A classic dead loop.

"Besides, do you really dare to let me evolve into a phoenix?"

The plane tree suddenly said.

"What do you mean?"

"If I evolve into a phoenix, I'm no longer a tree, and the growth ring contract automatically becomes void. The first thing I'd do then is eat you."

The plane tree said with a mocking smile.

"Is that so? Then forget I said anything. You should just evolve into a tree."

Liu Zheng shrugged.

"Hmph, knew humans were unreliable. Get lost quickly, seeing you annoys me."

The plane tree shooed him away.

"Then think it over slowly yourself."

He left the Tequila and SB Calcium Milk and walked towards the direction of the "Red Witch" board game shop.

Behind him, the plane tree's gaze turned towards the sky.

"Being able to fly isn't necessarily a good thing either."

It murmured softly, its gaze seemingly piercing beyond the atmosphere.

-----------------

Liu Zheng arrived at the entrance of the "Red Witch" board game shop.

It was a four-story Gothic-style building, with a huge bronze statue on the spire of the roof.

It was a witch riding a broomstick, wearing a wizard's hat and an overly large cloak.

And the very tip of the spire was pointed directly at her asshole.

Yikes, it looked painful just seeing it.

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A bolt of lightning descended from the sky, striking Liu Zheng squarely.

The aroma of roasted meat spread around, and wisps of black smoke rose from his body.

Liu Zheng didn't even have time to react before he was completely paralyzed.

Several minutes later, after newly grown flesh pushed off his charred shell, he finally recovered from the paralysis.

"I didn't even swear an oath, why did I get struck by lightning?"

He was utterly perplexed.

Liu Zheng looked up and saw the witch's eyes, which had been looking straight ahead, now glancing sideways at him.

Alright, he knew the reason.

This statue could read minds, and was also petty as hell.

"Sorry, my brain has issues, I offended the great Witch. You are magnanimous, please let me off this time."

Liu Zheng put his hands together prayerfully, his tone sincere.

The statue remained unmoved.

"Maybe you could strike me a few more times to vent your anger?"

He suggested.

As soon as the words left his mouth, three lightning bolts struck down simultaneously.

This time he was thoroughly cooked.

After a long while, Liu Zheng, now shrunk to dwarf-size, crawled out from the pile of ashes.

"Cough, cough, cough."

He coughed violently, choked by the rising ash.

"Hehehe."

Liu Zheng seemed to hear a delighted laughter.

He looked at the statue again;

the witch was now looking forward once more.

"Whew."

He let out a long sigh.

Beaten up by the signboard before even entering the shop—what kind of situation was this?

Liu Zheng was speechless.

But this also served as a reminder: in the future, don't speak carelessly when seeing statues or similar things;

who knows if they're alive?

He first ate a handful of dried fish to restore his body to normal size, then walked through the shop door.

Entering the board game shop, the first floor was a lobby.

There were some sofas, chairs, and tables placed inside.

There were also many cabinets around, filled with boxes containing various murder mystery games and board games.

All the furniture was in antique style and looked quite valuable.

Liu Zheng even suspected these might be genuine antiques.

"Welcome to the 'Red Witch' board game shop. What activity would you like to participate in?"

The front desk clerk, wearing a pure black maid outfit, asked with a smile.

Her skin was so pale it was almost transparent, with red blood vessels faintly visible.

This was strange because normally, what you see through skin are veins.

And veins are purple or blue in color.

But Liu Zheng didn't dwell on it too much;

maybe she was a vampire who had just finished feeding?

In this world, the least strange thing was strangeness itself.

"Hello, I'm a delivery guy from the Bloody Restaurant, here to deliver an order."

He introduced himself.

"Okay, can you tell me the name of the person who placed the order?"

The front desk clerk asked.

"Mermaid."

"So it was ordered by Mermaid. She's currently gamemastering a session right now, so she probably can't pick it up. Would you like to wait for a while, or shall I pass it to her?"

The front desk clerk said.

"How much longer until she finishes this session?"

Liu Zheng asked.

Having played many board games himself, he knew "gamemastering" meant being the Dungeon Master for a murder mystery game.

"This is an emotional-themed game, relatively short. It should take about another hour or so."

The front desk clerk checked and said.

"Alright, then I'll wait for a while."

Liu Zheng nodded.

"Okay. During this time, which activity would you like to participate in?"

The front desk clerk asked.

"Uh, thank you, I don't really feel like playing."

"I'm sorry, but if you're not playing board games, you cannot linger inside the premises."

The front desk clerk said with a smile.

"Then I'll wait outside, is that okay?"

Liu Zheng said, starting to get up.

"I'm sorry, but if you're not playing board games, you cannot leave the premises either."

The front desk clerk smiled even more brightly, revealing two sharp fangs.