New Times, New Hell

Chapter 42 - Nonprofitable Product

Zhan Keji was tall and lean. His appearance was youthful, his hair kept short and neat, revealing a tiny pimple on his forehead.

Without the help of outside forces, normal ghosts would maintain the way they looked at their time of death.

Zhan Keji’s spirit would always be frozen at eighteen years old.

He lowered his head and sprawled on the desk, right hand maintaining the posture of holding onto a pen. He was writing something slowly, expression dismal.

Qin Yuejian had originally still been suspicious about the ghost imaging technology Yu Zhengdu spoke of, but after seeing the scene in the camera, he became completely shocked. A loud “fuck” escaped him. “What kind of black technology is this?”

Yu Zhengdu modestly smiled, “Patented.”

Qin Yuejian didn’t dwell on this matter for too long. For him, being able to see Zhan Keji again was the most important thing. The emotions he had struggled to hold back the entire evening completely broke free. He couldn’t help but shout, “Keji!”

“Zhan Keji, I’ve come to look for you!”

But the boy sitting at the desk showed no reaction. He maintained his original posture, carefully writing stroke after stroke.

Qin Yuejian felt both excited and nervous. He glanced at Yu Zhengdu, bewildered. “Can’t he hear me?”

Yu Zhengdu didn’t understand either; he could only look to Shang Que for answers. Shang Que had his eyes lowered. He watched as the youth robotically repeated the same movement over and over, then said, “He has no consciousness.”

His gaze fell on the chain around Qin Yuejian’s wrist. “He was forcefully separated from his obsession. Under normal circumstances, the obsession should dissipate by itself naturally. His soul should have been able to release the past and head for reincarnation too……”

Perhaps, though, Zhan Keji’s obsession had been too strong and too persistent. In the end, it didn’t disappear, but made its way to the side of the person he couldn’t let go of.

Because his obsession still existed, his spirit couldn’t completely forget the events of the past either, so couldn’t reincarnate. Yet for some reason, Zhan Keji’s soul didn’t follow his obsession to Qin Yuejian’s side, but stayed here instead.

Not only this, but obsessions were a part of the consciousness. Forcefully separating the two caused his soul to become incomplete. Consequently, Zhan Keji’s spirit transformed into the way it was now. Without a whole consciousness, he could only repeat the same actions over and over again to try and accomplish his unaccomplished desires.

Yu Zhengdu was struck with a sudden realization. he rubbed his hands together and started summarizing, “I get it. This is just like deleting data. Originally, after formatting, it became a brand new hard drive. But his numbers are extremely stubborn, just like those virus softwares. You can never delete them completely and they eventually escape to other places too.”

Shang Que: “……” He’s started his scientific summaries again!

Qin Yuejian had a conflicted expression on his face too……His words sounded right, but also sounded wrong somehow.

Yu Zhengdu didn’t pay attention to the way the other two looked like they wanted to say something but didn’t dare to. His gaze landed on Zhan Keji’s hand and he asked, “What’s he writing?”

Shang Que: “We’ll know after taking a look.”

Yu Zhengdu shamelessly asked, “How would we take a look?”

Shang Que: “By throwing ash on it.”

Yu Zhengdu understood. This was the same principle as scattering ashes to view ghostly tracks. As long as the other was a ghost, in theory, Zhan Keji’s words should appear after being covered with ash. But the problem was……

He tsk’d and held his hands out. “We don’t have incense ash.” With their employee benefits, they could directly see ghosts. Besides, they used high tech ways of removing evil, so never carried such materials with them on trips.

Shang Que made a noise of acknowledgment. “No matter. What he’s writing has no relation to what we’re about to do.”

Only to see Yu Zhengdu suddenly pause and inquire, “Did you bring your pen?”

Shang Que: “……” Honestly speaking, he oftentimes needed to sign papers for the employees of Luofeng. The pen he used truly was an Underworld pen.

He held up his hand; in it, a pen had somehow appeared. It was unclear where it had come from.

Upon seeing this, Qin Yuejian’s face became filled with disdain. “You don’t mean to give him your pen to write with……Quit playing……”

Before he finished speaking, Yu Zhengdu had already sneakily stuffed the pen into Zhan Keji’s hand. There was already an open notebook on the table.

Qin Yuejian watched through the lens as Zhan Keji held onto Shang Que’s signing pen and continued his original actions. And then, on the piece of paper, a small line of words slowly appeared.

Qin Yuejian exploded, “This is your technology too?”

“No no no,” Yu Zhengdu stated modestly. “Just your average office supplies. Nonprofitable.”

Qin Yuejian: “&#k2026;&#k2026;”

His shock made him speechless, but he had no time to think too hard on it. For him, Zhan Keji was more important.

The boy sprawled on the table didn’t realize anything was going on around him. He continued writing, stroke by stroke.

Yu Zhengdu rubbed his hands together: “So, let us see what he’s writing……”

Shang Que thought about it, then very seriously answered, “Maybe it’s the password for his credit card?”

Shocked Yu Zhengdu: “……”

Qin Yuejian’s mouth twitched too.

But Shang Que seemed to genuinely consider this possibility. “There are a lot of people in the Underworld who died from accidents before being able to spend all their money. Their biggest regret is that they didn’t tell their credit card password to their families.”

Yu Zhengdu: “……” No wonder famous uncle sketch actor once said: The most tragic thing in life is for one to die having failed to spend all their money.

Qin Yuejian: “……” After thinking about it in more detail, what they’re saying actually makes sense……

Yu Zhengdu very sincerely replied too. “I don’t think that’s what this situation is about.”

Shang Que: “It might be.”

Only to see the words appear one by one under Zhan Keji’s pen. They combined to form one phrase:

【Qin Yuejian, be with me……okay?】

A while later, a new set of words covered the old ones. They repeated over and over again.

【Qin Yuejian, be with me……okay?】

Yu Zhengdu reflected upon himself in shame. “We are ultimately too tasteless.”

His gaze landed on Qin Yuejian. Qin Yuejian was a bit embarrassed. “Actually, I knew a long time ago that he liked me……but……”

He hadn’t expected that the phrase he had been writing over and over was this one.

Qin Yuejian felt like he had returned to the time when Zhan Keji was still alive; a time when they had both been 18. The summer sun was unrelenting yet gentle. It peeked in with slanted rays through the classroom window. Zhan Keji never listened to lecture seriously, but really liked to sit at his desk and secretly write things.

Qin Yuejian would sometimes get curious and poke his head over to look. Zhan Keji always snapped his notebook shut and cocked an eyebrow to ask him, “What are you looking at?”

Qin Yuejian would then gently pound him with a fist, “So mysterious.”

Zhan Keji would return the favor, then stick his tongue out and make a silly face. One time, he had rested his head against Qin Yuejian’s shoulder and muttered, “This summer is so long.”

Qin Yuejian had been melancholic too. “Yeah. When will senior year end, I don’t want to study anymore……”

Zhan Keji tentatively asked, “Let’s apply for the same school?”

Qin Yuejian: “Show me what you’re writing and I’ll think about it.”

“Impossible.” Zhan Keji looked up at the sky. “After we get into the same school, I’ll show you.”

……

Zhan Keji never made it to the end of summer. He never got to attend the same university as him, and Qin Yuejian had thought that he would never know what Zhan Keji had been writing.

A sour feeling of grief rose in his heart. His emotions weren’t as strong as Zhan Keji’s. All the way until the time before Zhan Keji’s death, he had only been confused, not knowing for sure what he was feeling in his heart. Perhaps because of this, Zhan Keji had never dared to make things too clear between the two of them.

And then, everything had been too late.

Yu Zhengdu patted his shoulder in soundless comfort.

Qin Yuejian instantly returned to his senses. He turned his head to ask, “Can you guys do anything to help him?”

Shang Que held his hand out. “Give me your bracelet.”

Qin Yuejian took off his bracelet and handed it over. Shang Que grabbed it in his hand and was just about to start, when he suddenly turned to look at Yu Zhengdu. Upon seeing that the other was watching him too, an idea popped up in his head. He held the bracelet out. “You try?”

“Me?” Yu Zhengdu scratched his head. “But I don’t know how.”

“I’ll teach you.” He put the bracelet in Yu Zhengdu’s palm and used his own hand to cover it. They held hands. “I’ll say a line, then you repeat after me.”

Yu Zhengdu only felt his palm go cold with a temperature that didn’t belong to a living human.

A strange thought passed through his mind, but immediately dissipated. He only said, “We look so gay……”

Shang Que argued, “Didn’t you say there was nothing wrong with being gay?”

That was what Yu Zhengdu had told Qin Yuejian during the day. It was the truth, but wasn’t it a little weird for Boss to mention it at a time like this?

Yu Zhengdu didn’t have time to dwell on this, because Shang Que had already started chanting, “The living are guests.”

He could only hurriedly erase all other thoughts from his mind and repeat, “The living are guests.”

Shang Que: “The dead shall return.”

Yu Zhengdu: “The dead shall return.”

Shang Que: “Spirits a thousand li away.”

Yu Zhengdu: “Spirits a thousand li away.”

Shang Que: “Return to this world.”

Yu Zhengdu: “Return to this world.”

As the last sounds of their chanting rang out, Yu Zhengdu felt his hand grow cold. Shang Que let go and Yu Zhengdu saw that the silver chain and charm originally in their hands had turned into powder. The evening wind blew in, sweeping it onto the desk and floor.

But nothing happened to the youth by the table. He maintained his original position, slowly writing.

Qin Yuejian felt like someone was squeezing his heart. “It didn’t work?”

Yu Zhengdu shook his head, then turned to look at Shang Que. Shang Que lowered his gaze to glance at the desk. “We’re missing something still……”

Qin Yuejian: “What?”

Shang Que said, “His obsession has yet to be fulfilled.”

Qin Yuejian was bewildered, “But……how should we fulfill it?”

Shang Que shook his head. “Perhaps only he knows the answer to that.”

Surprisingly, Yu Zhengdu laughed. “His obsession……Isn’t it very obvious?”

Qin Yuejian turned to look at the desk, heart beating erratically in his chest. He reached a hand out and gently caressed the words on the paper. Those words were still appearing, overlapping with each other.

【Qin Yuejian, be with me……okay?】

Qin Yuejian’s voice was extremely low. He seemed to be replying to Zhan Keji, but also to himself.

He said, “Okay.”

By the desk, the youth who had been continuously repeating the same move over and over suddenly stopped. He paused, then slowly raised his head. His dark, dull eyes that no longer contained the light of life were filled with confusion and doubt. A long pause later, he finally regained his wits. He looked around and asked, “Yi? Why am I in the classroom? Who are you guys?”

Yu Zhengdu finally released the breath stuck in his chest. He smiled and held a hand out in greeting. “Hello classmate.”

Qin Yuejian excitedly said from through the lens, “Zhan Keji, you’ve finally regained consciousness! Look at me, hurry, look at me!”

Zhang Keji was in the middle of shaking Yu Zhengdu’s hand, bewildered. At this time, he finally realized that something was wrong. He forcefully turned around to look at Qin Yuejian and shouted in shock, “Qin Yuejian? It’s you? How come you’ve suddenly aged so much?”

Qin Yuejian: “……” I’m a little angry now!

Yu Zhengdu calmly patted Zhan Keji’s shoulder. “Classmate, it’s already the year 8102.”

Zhan Keji who was four generations behind on Internet slang: “……What??” Six thousand years had passed since he last opened his eyes?

Yu Zhengdu saw his bewildered expression and sweated. He hurriedly explained, “I mean, 2018……”

Zhan Keji: “……” He still didn’t understand.

……

Zhan Keji’s soul had been incomplete for too long, so he was dazed for a while after regaining consciousness. His reactions were quite slow. After speaking with Qin Yuejian, he finally recalled the events of the past.

Including the fact that he was already dead.

“I’m surprised that so much time has passed,” Zhan Keji sighed. He looked at Qin Yuejian and teased, “Lao Qin is even a celebrity now. Not bad ah. You must have a lot of little girl fans, right?”

Qin Yuejian really wanted to punch him, but sadly could only glare at him through the phone screen. He pouted and said, “Why do you have so much useless stuff to say?”

Though Yu Zhengdu was also happy that these two best friends could reunite, he couldn’t help but butt in at this critical time to remind them, “Hurry and get to the point you guys. The phone’s almost out of batteries.”

Qin Yuejian finally realized the most horrifying thing of the evening: the battery percentage of the ghost imaging phone that Luofeng had provided was only at 10%.

He immediately complained: “Why didn’t you completely charge it?”

Yu Zhengdu was very innocent. “Mainly because I hadn’t expected you guys to be so talkative.”

Qin Yuejian: “……”

Though there was still a lot he wanted to say to Zhan Keji, there were more important things to deal with now. He hurriedly asked, “Keji, why did you suddenly die back then?”

Zhan Keji had been happily chatting previously, but after hearing this question, his expression changed and he remained silent.

Qin Yuejian was extremely unsatisfied and confused by the occurrences of the past. Upon seeing this, he urged, “Say something.”

Zhang Keji turned to look at him. “Nothing. It was an accident.”

Yu Zhengdu patted him on the shoulder, tone heavy. “Classmate Zhan, people about to die should speak the truth. Besides, you’ve already been dead for so long, but still try to hide things. There’s really no need.”

Zhan Keji: “……”

Qin Yuejian suddenly added, “Was it related to me?”

Zhan Keji looked up at him, surprise evident in his eyes.

At this critical moment, Yu Zhengdu handed a notebook to him. “You already bravely wrote it out, so there’s no need to hide it anymore.”

Zhan Keji: “……”

Qin Yuejian’s face was filled with admiration. “Your company is truly amazing. You even have stationary that ghosts can use.”

“Ey, there are just products off to the side. They aren’t our main technologies,” Yu Zhengdu expressed humbly. “You two chat first. After, I’ll send you the entire product description list for our company.”