Chapter 535: The Living Dead (1)

25 September.

“Sir… are you feeling alright?” A stewardess asked a man who sported unbelievably pale complexion.

The stewardess continued to size him up for another moment, before asking softly, “Sir, would you like a cup of hot tea, or some hot coffee?”

The stewardess pursed her lips. Then, just as she was about to press further, another stewardess walked past with a knowing look, and promptly shook her head. It was only then that the first stewardess bowed gently and walked away.

The stewardess strutted along the aisle in her bright red heels until she arrived at the staff lounge. There weren’t any other stewards or stewardesses around apart from one man dressed in a black suit seated in the lounge.

“Senior Kim.” The stewardess shut the door with a look of concern plastered all over her face. She rubbed her fingers in front of her body, anxiously tugging her clothes, “Earlier this month… Daehan Air issued a notice to all stewards and stewardesses, directing that all sightings of slurred speech, slumped postures and loss of mental capacity aboard our flights should immediately be notified to the special agents.”

The headlines read - The President sends his condolences to the disaster-fraught region of Gyeonggi Province experiencing the widespread proliferation of an unknown virus. All citizens are to take the necessary precautions. The most severely-affected city of Gwangju City in Gyeonggi Province may soon be put under complete lockdown. Meanwhile, there are reports that the Usonian virologists who have arrived in Daehan a month ago might have hit a breakthrough in their research…

The stewardess gently bit her lips. It was peculiar that Daehan Air would suddenly require all flights to and from Daehan to include an “observer”. Furthermore… she had previously heard rumours that some airplanes that had reported incidents… simply vanished without a word.

“I’ve noticed that… the passenger seated at H32 doesn’t look too good. His complexion is unusually pale. I wonder if Senior Kim would mind taking a look?”

………………………………………….

It’s far too troublesome to even take a plane right now… I’ll need to get Hell’s transport network going as quickly as I can…

Even then, the process was absolutely tortuous.

And then, once crunch time arrived and his identity was exposed, everything that he did would necessarily be subject to the scrutiny of all stakeholders around. He would never be able to achieve his ancillary purposes thereafter, much less make contact with Lee Jung-sook to return the favour.

“It’s all done.” Wang Chenghao had been well-trained as Qin Ye’s personal assistant. He was now dressed appropriately, replete with a thick pair of squarish glasses as he responded with pride, “At last month’s general meeting, every single department reported that there’s been a surge in the new initiatives in Hell, and it would be good to give people some time and space to process and digest all of the new information. Everyone’s still trying to work their way through these changes, so it wouldn’t be good to overwhelm them with even more.”

These were obviously good policies, but should he proceed with its implementation? He hadn’t even managed to gather feedback on the success of the existing policies on the ground right now. Should he roll out more policies right away, the failings of the earlier policies might easily roll over into the latter policies, leading to a chain collapse of policies implemented thus far! Thus… it was only at this moment that he truly appreciated how short a span of time 150 years was when it came to matters of governance.

“What about the matters to follow-up on?”

“Additionally, Hell’s Media Group has already begun to lay out the groundwork for conscription of Yin soldiers moving forward. To that end, the old generals have already rolled out a welfare scheme for the veterans. Everything in Ashmound City that needs to be done has already been done. What’s left is for us to let it run on its own, and give it the time and space for resource accretion. Every ministry has their own tasks to follow-up on, and we’ll be receiving periodic reports on a monthly basis. We’re still within Cathay’s territory right now. Would you like to take a look at these reports?”

So long as the foundation was laid properly, cities were meant to run on their own with clockwork precision. The officials in charge of each city had two roles. Firstly, they were to keep oversight of the machinations undergirding the city. So long as a problem arises, they have to deal with it swiftly so that things can continue to run as they always have. Secondly, they were to think of new ways to replace the working parts so that the machinations of the city would run with greater efficacy.

They would wait for Ashmound City to grow from strength to strength, until it was finally time for the next great expansion!

Wang Chenghao thought for a moment, and then responded softly, “We’re currently facing a serious shortage of Yin soldiers. After what happened at the last Hungry Ghost Festival, we’re left with just enough resources to send out some freshly-trained agents to Breakwaters Province, Fulling Province, and Insignia Province for scouting missions. To this end, I’m afraid that we’ll only receive updated intelligence on these regions six months later. Let’s hope that we can see some returns on the groundwork laid by Hell’s Media Group, and we’ll have more troops to send out by then. Speaking of which, Brother Qin, Li Jixi doesn’t have an official conferment of title just yet. Shouldn’t we--...”

That said, he was keen on reviewing Li Jixi’s role in Hell.

Wang One Tail paused for some time, before slowly returning to his senses, “Ah… right… I’m already dead…”

With intellect like that… how can I possibly entrust him with more important things in future? Speaking of which, why haven’t those more reliable folks such as Lin Han, Su Feng and Zhou Xianlong kicked the bucket yet? Even the Book of Life and Death is slowly becoming dumber as a result of existences like Mr Wang One Tail…

A doctor wearing a white lab smiled as he approached them along the aisle.

“Kim Sang-woo.” The man approaching them smiled faintly as he bowed slightly, “I’m a doctor. The stewardesses have informed me that there’s a passenger on board that didn’t seem to be well.”

Oda Nobutada couldn’t help but roll his eyes at the statement. It’s not that I’m feeling uncomfortable… Rather, I’m just afraid you might be scared witless if I truly let loose right now…

“I’m alright. My blood sugar was just a little bit low.” Oda Nobutada smiled back.

The man secretly heaved a sigh of relief as soon as he made physical contact.

No signs of a zombie. Excellent.

Is there… something right outside the window?

We’re on a plane…

We’re thousands of meters high in the air, and yet… something… appears to be out there, knocking on our window?

It was a pen.

However, it exuded the aura of an Anitya Hellguard!

It was written in the Cathayan language.

And what’s it doing looking for us?

Qin Ye also discreetly released a wisp of Judge-class Yin energy through the glass panel. At once, the ballpoint pen trembled fearfully. Several seconds later, it wrote back, “Lee Jung-sook…”

No sudden movements were made.

The ballpoint pen promptly wrote, “I… am Lee Jung-sook’s guardian spirit. I’m a spirit pen, and I happened to answer Lee Jung-sook’s summons back when she was dabbling in these things. I… wanted to control her, but then soon discovered that she’s a being that transcends the mortal realm. Rather than controlling her, I ended up being trapped in her body, having no choice but to remain boarded in her! I was there during the Hungry Ghost Festival as well. Please, I beg you… take me back to Daehan. I… will perish if I’m not reunited with her…”

“Definitely!” The spirit pen responded at once, “We can’t be separated. I’d lost all hope when I first discovered that I was trapped in Cathay and unable to return to Daehan. Who would’ve thought that I’d serendipitously run into you… You’re practically like a godsend to me!”

“There’s something wrong with this plane!”