Afterlife Department

Chapter 365 - Energy

Chapter 365 - Energy

Huo Ling wanted to curse, but he could only bite his tongue to hold himself back not to curse, much less speak. He remained unmoving under Yi Bing's orders. As he waited to the police and the ambulance to arrive, he remembered that Yi Bing told him before that being a grim reaper is an easier job than being an angel.

Thinking this, he almost cursed again had he not been biting his tongue. Men are all liars! Is pretending to be dead easy?! He'd be lucky if they won't immediately send him straight to be cremated! He thought as he gritted his teeth in anger.

The sound of Huo Ling's teeth grinding against each other can be heard by Yi Bing. But, Yi Bing acted as if he didn't hear it. He put on a somber expression when he heard the incoming footsteps of the policemen and the medics while he continued to talk to Huo Ling. "Don't worry. Shen Taizi's seal on our body can imitate a regular person's vital signs." He spoke. "So, they won't know you are basically dead and send you straight to be cremated – " he told him.

Huo Ling's eyes snapped open in anger and he glared at Yi Bing. "You fu* - mmmph!" his mouth and eyes were covered by Yi Bing's hands to prevent him from speaking.

"Be on the headlines, or be obedient. You choose." Yi Bing told Huo Ling before he released him when he felt Huo Ling's eyelashes brushed against his palm, making it itchy.

Huo Ling closed his eyes and shut up as he suppressed his anger. He doesn't want to be on the headlines for still being conscious after being hit by a car that's like a rampaging bull.

"Sir, please excuse us – " the medics spoke to Yi Bing.

Yi Bing cooperatively moved away for them to check on Huo Ling's condition. "Excuse me, sir. But, what is your relationship to the victim?" he heard a police officer asked.

"I am the victim's – " Yi Bing spoke and glanced at Huo Ling who was being carried to the ambulance by a stretcher. " – teacher." He said.

Huo Ling. "… %^**#$" f*cker!!! You didn't say I am a student?!?!?! He thought and almost spat out ten liters of blood because of anger. Instead, his body twitched, which made the medics startled and alarmed after.

"Faster! Place the patient inside!" one medic said and they hurriedly entered the ambulance along with Huo Ling who is on the stretcher.

Yi Bing saw it and decided to be 'kind'. He walked towards the ambulance while placing a somber expression on his face. The police saw it and thought how caring he was, so they told him they will continue interrogating him in the hospital later before they left to check on the other victims and the witnesses, and arrest the suspect.

Meanwhile, the medics didn't stop Yi Bing who sat inside the ambulance. They just told the driver to step on the accelerator for them to reach the hospital fast.

Stable World, Afterlife Department, R&D.

"Beep! Beep! Beep…!" the sound of the machine beeping can be heard inside the silent room.

Sha Jiu raised his head and looked over. "Huh?" he muttered.

Hai Ba also rose his head from the device on the table. "What happened?" he asked.

Sha Jiu took off his goggles and walked towards his table. His white coat fluttering as he walked. "Weird." He muttered as his brows knotted.

"What is it?" Hai Ba asked as he took off his goggles and gloves.

Sha Jiu tapped on the keyboard before he pressed the 'tab' button, and then the 'enter' button. "Look." He told Hai Ba instead of answering.

Hai Ba walked beside him and looked at the monitor screen. "'Abnormal energy reading of a normal world'?" he spoke as he looked at the monitor screen.

Sha Jiu nodded. "There's nothing strange in the changing of energy of the worlds from time to time since they strive to become a Stable World." He spoke. "But, this…" he said and pointed something on the screen. "Take a look." He told Hai Ba.

Hai Ba followed his gaze before his eyes widened in shock. "What the… this can't be!" he exclaimed as he looked at Sha Jiu.

Sha Jiu nodded in agreement. "Nothing has happened like this before." He said.

Hai Ba fell into a contemplation. "Could it be a Soul Fragment again?" he asked.

Sha Jiu didn't immediately answer. "Let's take a break first." He said. "I'll go ask Gu Shi in which world did Di San, Feng Er, Liu Lin and Si Shui go to find a Soul Fragment and confirm their location. Then, I'll…" his voice trailed off.

Hai Ba nodded in understanding. "I'll go make you a coffee." He told him.

Sha Jiu smiled. The coffee he likes is special, so it would take time to make. Hai Ba understood that he will be going to see Shen Sheng after going to Gu Shi, so he sensibly said those words. "Thanks. I'll be expecting it later, then." He said and then left.

Hai Ba watched as the door closed. Worry flashed in his eyes before he turned to the monitor screen and looked at the window that popped up. "Normal World 9999, huh…" he muttered. If he remembers correctly, that was where Yi Bing and Huo Ling went to. "…" wherever these two went, that world will be worrying over.

What happened this time? He thought and heaved a sigh before he went to the kitchen to start brewing Sha Jiu's coffee.

Normal World.

Yi Bing endured Huo Ling accusing and burning gaze on him and just took it as a burning gaze of desire of him for him. "What?" he finally spoke as he watched the news of the car accident earlier. "If you've got something to say, then spill it." He told him.

Huo Ling endured the rising anger inside his chest. "You didn't tell me I will be your student in this world." He said.

"I didn't have time to inform you because of that car accident earlier, right?" Yi Bing reminded him.

Huo Ling. "…" how good is this man's timing for such events?! He thought and bit his tongue to not utter a string of curses. He looked at his leg that was plastered before he rolled his eyes at Yi Bing. "So, what is our task in this world?" he asked.

Yi Bing didn't immediately answer. "Each world functions using a certain energy. This energy sustains the world. The more the energy there is, the better the world will be." he spoke. "When the energy in the world rose beyond the threshold, it will become a Special World. Otherwise, the world is a Normal World." He explained.

"Will there be a world depleted of the energy?" Huo Ling asked.

"There is." Yi Bing answered. Before Huo Ling could ask again, he continued. "An Empty World, or a Void World." He spoke.

Huo Ling was stunned.

"The Void World is a world that has no energy left. Either it was depleted by the beings living in that world, or that there is no energy existing in that world in the first place." Yi Bing explained. Seeing his expression, he faintly smiled. "Void Worlds exist." He told him.

Huo Ling fell silent.

Yi Bing let the information sink in Huo Ling's mind before his objective. "The angels and grim reapers can pinpoint the anomalies in each world by detecting this energy." He said. "Either the energy is very strong, or the energy is weaker in that place than its surroundings. The angels rely on this strong amount of energy, since it is a boon to them. Meanwhile, this strong energy is a bane to us since we can endure only a small amount of it if it hits us. So, the grim reapers are investigating the weak energies." He explained.

"So, this place in this world that was weaker energy is the school where we are going to?" Huo Ling asked.

Yi Bing nodded. "It just so happens that there are people here from the UnION." He spoke.

"'UnION'?" Huo Ling asked.

"United Interstellar and Outerspace Nations." Yi Bing spoke.

Huo Ling's brows raised.

"It is an alliance between the leaders of all the worlds… well, only some worlds." Yi Bing explained.

Huo Ling isn't interested with these politics' topic. He changed the topic. "So, what is going on with that school?" he asked.

"There must be something." Yi Bing spoke. "Since it is the energy that sustains the world, the humans' lives are also from that energy." He said before he paused. "More specifically, the souls. The souls are also a form of energy." He explained.

"So, these souls are very important, that's why the Afterlife Department was created after the Hell was destroyed?" Huo Ling said.

Yi Bing nodded. "So – " he spoke. " – the weakening of the energy in this world… precisely, the school… there must be a story behind it." He smiled.