Chapter 152: Chapter 152: Roaming Fengdu Ghost City, a Civil Service Exam in the Ghost World Too?
BZZZT!
A white light flashed before her eyes.
Yun Zhenyue steadied herself and looked around, exclaiming, "What a huge city."
She was standing in the middle of an unfamiliar street.
The setting sun was the color of blood, bathing the entire ghost city in a viscous, dark red.
The red mist in the city was growing thicker, to the point that it obscured her vision.
The street was lined with all sorts of bizarre shops.
Not far in front of Yun Zhenyue, a strange tavern was bustling with a steady stream of customers. Dim, yellow paper lanterns swayed in the wind, casting distorted shadows, while the shopkeeper smiled and greeted guests at the door.
She saw ghosts walking up and down the streets.
There were peddlers on tricycles and farmers selling the fruits and vegetables they had grown.
The sounds of hawking and haggling filled the air.
A massive, peculiar mountain range loomed behind the ghost city.
Even through the shroud of red mist, she could still vaguely make out the distant scenery.
It was larger than all the instances she had ever experienced combined!
However...
There was one thing that was different from what Yun Zhenyue had expected.
She had initially thought Fengdu Ghost City would be an ancient city.
She never expected it was actually quite a modern city.
’The City Lord must be a ghost from the Dragon Country, right?’
"Excuse me, sir, how much is one stick of tanghulu?"
Yun Zhenyue asked with interest, spotting an old man selling tanghulu in a corner.
"One Ghost Coin..."
The old man didn’t look down on Yun Zhenyue for being human. Instead, he spoke in a low voice, treating her like any other customer.
"I’ll take one. Here you go!"
Yun Zhenyue bought a stick of tanghulu.
She strolled through the ghost city, eating as she went.
Soon, she discovered what made this ghost city so special.
The city seemed to have its own unique set of operating rules.
Ghosts weren’t allowed to attack people indiscriminately.
At least, as Yun Zhenyue walked past various restaurants, small clinics, and schools, neither the Residual Souls nor the Crimson-robed Ghosts went out of their way to give her trouble.
This was something she could have never imagined before.
’The one who made this rule must be the City Lord, right?’
’They must be incredibly powerful. Otherwise, they couldn’t make all the ghosts obey them.’
Yun Zhenyue’s legs were sore from walking. It was only then that she learned from a kind ghost passing by that if she wanted to secure an official position in the city, she had to go to the examination hall in the city center to register for a test.
Yun Zhenyue was dumbfounded when she heard this.
’I was already preparing for the civil service exam in the real world!’
’I can’t believe I came to the Ghost World just to take another civil service exam!’
’Is there going to be a written test and an interview, too?!’
"Oh, right. Today happens to be the last day to register. If you miss this chance, you’ll have to wait until next year!" the kind ghost added.
"What?!"
Hearing this, Yun Zhenyue’s eyes widened. She didn’t even have time to finish her tanghulu.
She stuffed the last two pieces into her mouth, shouted a "thank you," and immediately took off running toward the city center.
However, she hadn’t gotten far.
BAM!!
She was running so fast that she accidentally knocked over a ghost!
"I’m so sorry! Are you okay?!"
Yun Zhenyue had bumped her head, but she didn’t feel any pain, as if she had run into a pile of cotton.
She quickly moved to help the ghost up.
As she helped the ghost to their feet, Yun Zhenyue’s eyes instantly lit up!
"So pretty~"
she couldn’t help but murmur.
It was a girl with black hair and red eyes, a head shorter than herself.
Her raven-black hair fell to her waist, her red eyes were like pure amber, and her skin was like fine porcelain, with faint blue veins visible beneath it.
But from the moment she was knocked down to when she stood up, the girl hadn’t made a single sound.
She was like an exquisitely carved doll.
She seemed extremely quiet and reserved, her face devoid of any expression, making it impossible to guess what she was thinking.
’Like one of those "three-no" girls from an anime?’
Yun Zhenyue’s mind raced as she hurriedly asked, "Are you hurt anywhere?"
"..."
The red-eyed girl shook her head.
"Um~"
Yun Zhenyue stared at the girl, bewildered. ’Could she be deaf and mute?’
"You... can’t you speak?"
"I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to run into you. I’m in a bit of a hurry to go register for today’s exam."
Hearing this explanation, the girl looked up, her eyes twitching slightly.
Then, in a very, very soft voice, she said, "I’m fine... You can go."
’Did she just speak?’
’If I hadn’t been watching her closely, I would have thought I’d misheard.’
’So she can speak after all!’
Yun Zhenyue breathed a sigh of relief, but she didn’t just leave it at that.
She could see that the girl’s fingertips seemed to be slightly scraped.
Yun Zhenyue was about to use her Purifying Hand to heal the girl’s injury, but the girl immediately took a step back, looking very wary.
There was nothing else she could do.
Yun Zhenyue could only extend an invitation. "Do you have anything to do today? If not, why don’t you come with me to the examination hall in the city center? After I’m done with my test, I’ll take you to a hospital to get treated. And you can ask for anything you want after that."
"..."
The red-eyed girl didn’t answer.
She seemed to be pondering something.
Finally, she looked up and introduced herself, "My name is Xiaoying."
...
With just ten minutes left before registration closed, they finally made it to the examination hall in the city center.
"Thank goodness we made it."
A light sheen of sweat had formed on Yun Zhenyue’s forehead.
But Xiaoying, who followed behind her, was perfectly composed. She hadn’t broken a single drop of sweat, and her face wasn’t flushed in the slightest.
It was all thanks to Xiaoying leading the way!
She seemed to be very familiar with the ghost city.
She had led Yun Zhenyue through several narrow alleys, and they had finally taken a "ghost bus" to the examination hall.
However, a small incident occurred along the way.
Yun Zhenyue ran into some ghosts who tried to rob her.
But as soon as those ghosts saw Xiaoying, they all immediately fled.
Although she didn’t know much about Xiaoying, Yun Zhenyue could still sense that her identity wasn’t simple.
But Yun Zhenyue couldn’t be bothered to think too deeply about it.
’After all, wherever there are people, there is conflict.’
’It’s only natural for there to be rebels under the City Lord’s absolute rule.’
...
「Meanwhile.」
Watching as Yun Zhenyue led away the red-eyed girl, Xiaoying, the Dragon Country audience clicked their tongues in amazement.
[How does Xiaoyue manage to spirit someone away in every mission?]
[It must be her personal charm.]
[Holy crap, you have to take an exam for a job in this ghost city? It’s just like the real world.]
[Wait a minute, Fengdu Ghost City has rules, so how can there be robbers?]
[I think some veteran players said there’s a rebel organization in the city called "Embers." Their goal is apparently to return the city to a state of lawlessness. They crave the dog-eat-dog world that exists outside the city.]
[What the hell? Are they crazy? If they want a dog-eat-dog world, why don’t they just leave?]
[Who knows? Maybe they’re just a bunch of lunatics who went crazy because they couldn’t pass the exam to become officials.]
...
"Wait here for a moment. I’m going to register..." Yun Zhenyue said to Xiaoying beside her, catching her breath.
"Mm."
Xiaoying nodded.
Her crimson eyes watched Yun Zhenyue’s retreating back.
’I’m actually the sister of the leader of Embers.’
’I rarely speak.’
’That’s because my sister worries that my pure heart will be taken advantage of.’
’A moment ago, I was on my way to complete a mission for the organization.’
’But then I was accidentally knocked over by Yun Zhenyue.’
’I’m terrible at refusing people, so I had no choice but to be dragged along.’
’But I don’t think Yun Zhenyue can pass.’
’The probability of passing the exam for a position in the ghost city on the first try is almost zero!’
’To become an official in the ghost city, you have to pass a strict written test and interview.’
’You also have to go through several rounds of screening to ensure you won’t betray the City Lord.’
’Embers has tried to win over city officials before.’
’Unfortunately, almost all the officials look down on Embers, seeing us as a bunch of rats living in the sewers.’
’I’ve taken the exam three times myself, but each time I was far from passing!’
’A human who looks like she just entered the city...’
’How could she possibly pass?’
