In the Hall of Yama.
Yan Luo sat before the desk, propping her chin on her hand.
Her eyes were tightly closed, her brow furrowed, as if she were dreaming of something unpleasant.
Scenes flickered through her dream, both blurry and clear.
An emotion she had deliberately forgotten was stirred up once more.
Just then, her eyes snapped open.
Her pupils were black, like bottomless black holes.
They contained a strange power, captivating and soul-stirring.
A cleaning ghost, just emerging from a pillar opposite, met those dark eyes head-on.
Before it could react, its entire body erupted in purplish-blue flames, vanishing from its spot in an instant.
Perhaps, in its last moments, it was still thinking of emerging to forage, completely unaware of its demise.
The eyes, filled with terrifying power, blinked. The black pupils gradually returned to their normal appearance.
Slightly brownish, with a glint of light.
Yan Luo came back to her senses and rubbed her temples.
Ever since becoming Yama, she hadn't dreamt for a long time.
And such an old dream at that…
Was it a premonition of something?
"Master, two captains were here just now."
Seeing Yan Luo awake, the ghost guarding the entrance to the Hall of Yama spoke.
Clearly, these were ghost soldiers recruited by Yan Luo.
Yan Luo had been resting earlier, so the captains who came had handed over the information to the guards at the door to pass on.
They weren't afraid of the ghost soldier leaking secrets. Anyone Yan Luo trusted enough to guard her would surely be reliable.
Moreover, once a ghost soldier formed a contract, an unbreakable will was born.
A ghost soldier capable of destroying Yama's contract might not have been born yet.
"What did they come for?" Yan Luo asked, seated at her desk.
"They brought two sets of documents."
The ghost soldier at the door spoke, then walked into the hall and presented the files.
They had all sensed the fate of the cleaning ghost just now.
This power of Yama was beyond their reach.
As soon as the files were handed over, they automatically opened and flew obediently to Yan Luo, making them convenient for her to read.
"... 'My King'? What kind of chuunibyo nickname is this?"
Yan Luo muttered as she read.
After handing over the documents, the ghost soldier who delivered them retreated as a matter of course.
Keeping its eyes on its nose and its nose on its heart, it dared not listen further.
After finishing one page of the document, the next page floated over.
These two sets of documents essentially reported the same thing.
The number of ghosts missing from the Ghost Market, and the whereabouts of the Ghost Shopkeeper.
And about the 'My King' mentioned by the Ghost Shopkeeper.
Yan Luo tapped her fingers lightly on the desk, and images of powerful ghosts who had appeared before flashed through her mind.
My King?
Had such a person appeared before?
"Forget it, it's probably just some silly nickname they came up with."
In Yan Luo's heart, there was only one person worthy of the title of King.
Supreme.
Everyone else was unworthy!
…
Welcoming the return of My King…
Was it a ghost that had been sealed before?
Or a great ghost about to rise?
Within a few minutes, several possibilities appeared in Yan Luo's mind.
At her level, dreams were no longer simple occurrences.
That dream must have been a premonition of something.
But…
No matter the situation, wouldn't it be enough to guard against it?
With this thought, Yan Luo summoned the Ghost Doll.
"Tell the first-rank ghost messengers to come over."
"Okay, I'll be right back~"
The Ghost Doll, wearing a red bellyband and with its hair tied in pigtails pointing upwards, swiftly rushed into the Hall of Yama and then nimbly rushed out.
This was a big job!
Yama was very generous with her rewards!
……
"Another day of overtime~"
"Doesn't the streamer ever take a break? (leg-kneading jpg.)"
"... I think I see my future, a corporate slave in life, still having to work overtime and feel down after death..."
"Hahaha, please don't think too highly of yourself, upstairs. Whether you can even become a ghost messenger is still uncertain."
In the live stream, viewers came and went.
The streamer had been busy recently and hadn't paid much attention to them. Upon entering the stream, they all naturally set up their stalls or munched on snacks.
It was like binge-watching a drama.
No, they weren't even as enthusiastic when watching dramas.
"I just got off work and opened the stream. Seeing the streamer still busy makes me feel like I can do a bit more work."
"Students, I'm ashamed. The streamer is so diligent, what excuse do I have for not working hard?"
"Students ahead, have you started on the 'Five Three' exercises?"
"Um... I've got the 'Five Three' out, just need to find a restroom first."
The current situation was that the streamer was busy with their work, and the viewers were entertaining themselves.
The atmosphere was very harmonious.
Perhaps there wasn't a more harmonious live stream on the entire internet.
Of course, they sometimes worried about the big boss who hadn't appeared yet.
But what was the point of worrying?
It was useless!
Since that was the case, it was better to drink a bottle of mineral water to calm their nerves, and then go back to looking at the bullet comments.
After all, everyone in the bullet comments was a talent. Even without checking information themselves, they could learn a lot just by reading the comments.
Many poor students and those with severe procrastination couldn't help but praise their own cleverness upon thinking of this.
"Experts, go ahead and think of solutions. Don't worry about us weaklings!"
"What's wrong with being a weakling? Weaklings also shout 66666!"
"999999, you're awesome!"
"... Is the streamer in the east? I'm in the north, and I feel like there's chaos here. Should the streamer consider coming here to provide support... (shivering)"
"Holy crap, the person above has yin-yang eyes, are they a chosen one?!"
……
Jiang Lin didn't pay too much attention to the lively atmosphere in the live stream.
After dealing with the Ghost Shopkeeper, he had returned to the Eighteenth Hall.
First, he inspected the shop he had brought back, from the inside out.
Then, he questioned all the sentient ghost artifacts within to see if he could glean any more information.
However, sentient ghost artifacts were mostly in a dormant state. When they awoke, it was to 'execute their tasks.'
They didn't know much about the Ghost Shopkeeper.
Among them, there was one sentient ghost artifact with keen senses.
It said that sometimes it would smell the scent of sea breeze in the shop, and sometimes it would smell a volcanic scent.
Those were likely places the Ghost Shopkeeper had visited.
Although this wasn't much of a clue, Jiang Lin still noted it down.
He planned to find time to visit the seaside and volcanic areas.
After questioning them, he packed up the shop and handed it over to the logistics team of the Underworld.
He wanted to see if they could find a way to help the ghosts within these sentient ghost artifacts break free.
After leaving the logistics team, he went to the Hall of Yama and submitted the information about 'My King.'
…
By the time Jiang Lin finished dealing with the shop, a new day had dawned.
The members of the Eighteenth Squad arrived at the Eighteenth Hall, handed over their tasks, and set out again.
At this moment.
Jiang Lin was reviewing the documents newly submitted by the patrolling intern ghost messengers, as well as the completion status of the team members' various tasks.
One was to analyze information, and the other was to assess the team members' execution capabilities.
By the time he saw the bullet comments in the live stream, half a day had passed.
"The streamer finally has time to rest!"
"Quick, the viewer from the north, come out!"
…………………………
(ps: Everyone, get some rest early. My head hurts~ *covers face*)