Chapter 48 Impersonation

The disheveled skinning butcher, holding a boning knife, had his fierce expression freeze upon hearing Xu Huo’s words. "What did you say?"

Xu Huo glanced at his blood-stained apron with disdain. "Call the boss out."

"I am the boss," the skinning butcher stared at him. "Who are you?"

"You're the boss?" Xu Huo cast a dismissive glance at him, walked straight into the office, sat down on the sofa, and propped his feet up on the coffee table. "Bring out the account books. We're auditing."

Taken aback for a moment by his bluster, the skinning butcher followed him inside and said, "The taxes for this place have been fully paid on a per capita basis..."

Xu Huo chuckled and interrupted him, "Don't you know what kind of business you're running here? Who do you think you can dismiss with that meager amount?"

The skinning butcher's expression shifted uncertainly. "That's how it's always been paid."

"That was then, and this is now. The rules changed after I arrived." Xu Huo cast a sideways glance at him, tapping his index finger on the sofa.

The paper phone in his pocket vibrated. Although it made no sound, it was enough to alert the skinning butcher.

Xu Huo instinctively reached for his pocket, but stopped halfway. Instead of answering the call, he said with a hostile tone, "So you've got a stiff spine, do you?"

With that, he stood up abruptly and strode toward the hallway. Ignoring the dumbfounded players, he pushed open the front door of the workshop. Covering his nose in disgust as he walked inside, he said, "This stench! You couldn't match this even if you pickled a pair of dirty socks for three months."

"Is this even a place for humans to walk? The shoes I'm wearing are ruined just from stepping on it!"

"And these machines—tsk, tsk. Are you selling meat or insect eggs?"

"There are even rats! Is this factory an open sewer?"

"I simply can't believe anyone would still dare to buy anything shipped out from here!"

"Just breathing the air in this place means you'll have to wash your lungs when you get back!"

"These two dead pigs look utterly revolting. Can the meat from such a gruesome death actually taste good?"

"You're reeking of sweat, get away from me!"

...

Xu Huo walked all the way from the workshop to the pigpen. From major things like floor tiles and machinery down to small items like knives and aprons, he found fault with absolutely everything he laid eyes on. Not only did he berate the players as stinking as pigs, but he even remarked that the piglets raised in the pen looked so melancholy that anyone who ate their meat would surely be in a bad mood.

Tang Pei and the others were completely stunned by this routine. They had all witnessed the lethality of the skinning butcher's slaps—was this guy not afraid of being beaten to death right here?!

Xu Huo was genuinely unafraid. After tearing the factory apart piece by piece, he turned back to look at the skinning butcher and sneered, "The health department is definitely going to love a place like this. I wonder how many inspections you can actually survive."

The knife in the skinning butcher's hand had already been discarded when Xu Huo complained that it hadn't been washed in three days. The butcher's facial muscles twitched, and it took him a long while to squeeze out a practically distorted smile. "Let's talk this over. We can discuss it in the front."

With that, he politely ushered Xu Huo out first, and then roared at the players, "You heard everything he just said! Get back to work!"

Seeing the bulging veins on his temples and his eyes popping out like brass bells, the players hurriedly grabbed their brooms and water guns, scrambling to resume their previous chores. Out of the corner of their eyes, they caught sight of the skinning butcher turning his face to flash a smile at Xu Huo, and they instantly wondered if they were dreaming.

That was the skinning butcher! He had been bluffed by just a few words?

Of course, those few words alone wouldn't have been enough to bluff the skinning butcher.

He had a formidable reputation of his own, and combined with his oppressive height and imposing aura, ordinary players inevitably showed timidity when meeting him. Furthermore, the game assigned a task to complete the work he assigned, which invisibly shackled the players—when the other two tasks couldn't be accomplished, working for the skinning butcher at least guaranteed survival.

Therefore, the relationship between the players and the skinning butcher was unequal; employees found it difficult to act tough in front of their boss.

However, Xu Huo put on a grand act, demanding an audit in one breath and inspections in the next, fabricating the persona of an outsider. Even if the skinning butcher wanted to verify his identity, it would take time.

The game world possessed a complete social system, which wasn't entirely a bad thing for players.

Glancing at the tea poured by the skinning butcher, Xu Huo couldn't even be bothered to stretch out a hand.

Seeing this, the skinning butcher turned around, took several rolls of cash from his desk drawer, and stacked them neatly in front of Xu Huo. "I don't know how I should address you. I'm a newcomer here, just raising pigs in the countryside, so I'm somewhat ignorant of matters on the outside. Please forgive me for any shortcomings in my hospitality."

Xu Huo didn't even glance at the money. With a tap of his index finger, the paper phone in his pocket vibrated again.

This time, he still ignored it, looking coldly at the skinning butcher instead. "Are you trying to pull wool over my eyes? I don't care whose connections you rely on. When the people at the top change, the people at the bottom have to change along with them."

"I have no use for this kind of petty cash."

Seeing that the skinning butcher was genuinely uninterested in the paper currency, the butcher retrieved a box of cigars from a nearby cabinet.

Gold-foil-wrapped cigars were neatly arranged in a pure gold box, exuding an intensely tacky taste, but Xu Huo finally revealed a smile.

The skinning butcher lit one for him, and the two smoked cigars together, the atmosphere finally improving.

"My last name is Wang. You can call me Mr. Wang," Xu Huo exhaled a plume of smoke. "Money is just an external possession. Compared to truly fine things, it's no different from scrap paper."

"I've never thought much of it. But some things simply cannot be bought with money."

While echoing his words, the skinning butcher sized him up, his expression shifting several times.

Feigning ignorance, Xu Huo waited until the timing was right before tapping his index finger to signal Peng Fengnian to call again—this was the previously agreed-upon code.

When the call went through this time, he didn't remain indifferent. Instead, he nodded at the skinning butcher and went outside to take the call.

The moment he stepped out, the skinning butcher's expression darkened. He dialed a number on the landline, and half a minute later, he hung up and walked over to the window.

"Careful, the skinning butcher is eavesdropping." Hiding in the distance and watching the factory area, Peng Fengnian had sweat on his palms. Ever since Xu Huo went inside, he had wiped his hands several times, not daring to blink for fear of missing the signal.

"I know," Xu Huo's expression remained unchanged. The next second, he spoke in an angry tone, "Sis, you followed him without any official title or status, not for money and not for profit. I just asked him to arrange a decent position for me, and he's trying to brush me off with such a minor role?"

"…What do you mean it's inconvenient? Now is precisely the time to place our own people…"

"Anyway, I'm not coming back until I'm satisfied. Our family isn't destitute either—how dare he pull this!"

After a burst of one-sided monologue, he put away the paper phone and returned to the office as if nothing had happened.

Beaming with a wide smile, the skinning butcher handed over another cigar. "I heard the highest-ranking official at the E27 wormhole point has been replaced. Was Mr. Wang transferred from there as well?"

*E27?* Xu Huo immediately recalled the code on his return ticket. So the game world divided regions by wormhole points; his starting point was the E27 wormhole point, and since the "Good Taste Fresh Meat Supply Factory" instance had invaded reality, its location was also right there.

Narrowing his eyes, he asked in a chilling tone, "Why are you asking so many questions?"