Chapter 1 Chapter 1 "You died at the beginning of the month, and your ex-husband died at the end of the month..."

"035, ten-minute countdown begins. Tell me, how did you die? What obsessions are you holding on to?"

The handsome young man spoke listlessly, his pale face behind the thin-rimmed gold-wire glasses showing the dullness of a routine.

He took the number paper from the kid who had just walked in, and without bothering to confirm whether it was number 35 today, he threw it directly into the trash can beside him.

Seeing this, the little ghost who had originally wanted to seek comfort was somewhat at a loss. He sat down on the stool opposite the handsome young man, rubbed his pants with his hands, and couldn't help but confirm: "Big brother, this is the extradition office..."

The young man slumped motionless on a black lazy sofa, his face looking as if he had never seen the sun since birth. He said numbly, "Yes, this is the extradition office. I am the extradited person, You Yunyi."

"Oh, then I didn't go wrong. Thank you, big brother. My name is Liu Zichen. I died of starvation..." The child ghost said aggrievedly, "I just can't understand why my father wanted to starve me to death."

You Yunyi glanced at the clothes on the little ghost boy.

This child ghost probably died at home, and he was wearing pajamas. But even if it was just pajamas, it was obvious that the child ghost must have come from a well-off family.

"The money I used to buy you this set of pajamas is enough to feed you for a month. Your father might be sick and can't do business," said You Yunyi.

The child ghost was stunned. Although he was dead, he was still a child in the underworld. Other ghost messengers and adult ghosts he met spoke to him with more care. But this was the first time in all his life that an adult... a big ghost... had spoken to him like this.

"My...my father is not sick. He is very successful in business. We never lack food at home..." the child ghost said, "He used to be very good to me. When my mother was still alive, I never went hungry."

"But then my mother left and divorced my father. My father later brought back an aunt and said she would be my mother from now on."

"That auntie was very gentle to me, but I didn't want to call her mom, so Dad got angry. When Dad got angry, he wouldn't let me eat..."

"But before, Dad would only be angry for two days at most. This time, he was angry for three days. He wouldn't let me eat or drink, and he wouldn't let me call Mom."

"But I was really hungry. I smelled meat. Dad and Auntie had already eaten, so I wanted to sneak in to eat when they weren't home. But Dad found out and locked me back in my room. This time, he wouldn't let me leave..."

"I was so hungry. I don't know how many days had passed before I fell asleep and woke up here. The ghost uncle who picked me up said I starved to death."

The ghost child finished his nonstop chatter and asked You Yunyi, "Big brother, is it because I was disobedient that Daddy is angry? I shouldn't have eaten secretly... But I'm really hungry. I don't understand why I have to call Auntie "Mom"? I obviously already have a mom. I'm so hungry, but Daddy won't give me food..."

Before You Yunyi could give a standard answer, the child ghost started crying loudly.

You Yunyi plugged his ears with earplugs, and then, regardless of whether the child ghost heard or not, he spoke slowly: "Isn't it obvious? Your father doesn't want you anymore."

The child cried even more miserably.

You Yunyi listened heartlessly for a few minutes, then patted the bell beside him: "035, you have one last minute left. Is there anything else you want to talk about?"

The child ghost continued to cry.

You Yunyi picked up the peephole that had been casually discarded nearby and took a look. Finally, he comforted the child ghost, "Don't worry. Your father wanted to quietly dispose of your body after discovering it, but it's easier to kill than to dispose of the body. He was discovered and tried to escape before the police arrived. He ended up in a car accident and is still in the hospital. He has about half a month left to live. Soon, you two will be reunited in the underworld."

The ghost child was stunned: "Ah? My corpse... How could Dad... But, but I don't want to call him Dad anymore..."

"It's up to you. You can have him call you dad if you want." At the end of the last minute, You Yunyi reminded, "Time is up. There are ghosts waiting in line behind. I can take a break after meeting 036. Even though you are a child, you can't delay my get off work. Go out and come back next time."

The child ghost felt very aggrieved, hiccuping and sniffling. "I, I'm not coming! I'm never coming again! I waited in line for two months before I got the chance to come in here, and you didn't even talk to me properly!"

You Yunyi removed the earplugs that had been blocking out the crying and clapped his hands with resentment for working at least seventeen hours a day. "I really hope the entire underworld has your awareness."

The little ghost was so angry that he wanted to cry. For a moment, he wanted to just stay on the bench and not leave, but after thinking about it, he didn't dare to do it in the end. He could only choose between feeling cowardly and angry and ran away in a cowardly state.

No. 036 then walked in cautiously. When You Yunyi took the number paper, he glanced at her. Like the little ghost kid just now, she was a new face that he had never seen before.

This was a middle-aged woman, much more composed than the child ghost, but she was clearly nervous. "Master, Meng Po said I'm still obsessed and can't drink the Yellow Spring Soup. But I don't really have any obsessions. I just miss my husband and child. But I know that even if I'm gone, my husband will take good care of the children, so I'm not really worried. I don't think this counts as an obsession, right? My husband is a very reliable man..."

You Yunyi adjusted his posture comfortably on the lazy sofa, knowing that he could relax and daydream during the meeting with 036.

However, before 036 could say much, there was a knock on the door of the Extradition Office. Several ghost officers came in carrying equipment and said straight to the point, "Mr. You, His Majesty the King of Hell said that we should also introduce modern office systems in the underworld, and we'll start with the Extradition Office as a pilot. So we're going to install live broadcast equipment here right away."

"From now on, every time you meet a ghost, it will be broadcast live. Any ghost in the underworld can watch it if they want. His Majesty the King of Hell thinks this will relieve some of your stress. Some ghosts might see similar situations as themselves and won't bother to queue at the extradition office. So, can we start the installation now?"

You Yunyi: “…”

No. 036, whose meeting was interrupted, saw the extraditionist, who had been lazy just now, suddenly sit up from the gloomy black sofa, and his pale face became a little more lively at this moment.

"He's sick! This old stubborn guy who refuses to even change into modern clothes from his thousand-year-old black robes is talking about introducing modernization? And he's targeting the Extradition Department! Is he targeting the Extradition Department, or me? I work at least three hours of overtime every day from 6pm to 9am. If I were in the mortal realm, I would have died of overwork a thousand times. Can you people with a salary have a little conscience?"

After You Yunyi finished expressing his indignation, he fell back into the lazy sofa like a boneless person.

The ghost messenger carrying the equipment said: "Mr. You, you've worked hard. Can we start installing it now? There's a ghost meeting you right now. Once we're done, we can debug it right away to avoid any problems."

You Yunyi: "...Where is the beloved Lord Yama?"

Ghost Messenger: "His Majesty the King of Hell said he was afraid you would get angry and go on strike, so he went on a business trip."

You Yunyi: "...Reduce him to ashes!"

The ghost messenger asked simply, "Can we start installing the live broadcast equipment now?"

You Yunyi wanted to bargain: "I think the live broadcast involves the privacy of ghosts."

Ghost Messenger: "Ghosts have no privacy in the underworld."

You Yunyi: "...Calm down, calm down! By the way, will this livestream be shut down because of the bloody violence or even pornography?"

Hearing what the extradition officer said, the ghost officer and No. 036 who was still waiting could not help but stare.

The ghost was silent for a few seconds before saying, "Anyway, His Majesty the King of Hell means that Mr. You needs to live stream for at least two hours every day. On that basis, you can choose the time to start and stop the live stream yourself."

He had inexplicably received another job, and this damned underworld not only exploited ghosts but also had performance appraisals. You Yunyi didn't want to be at the bottom and be broadcasted by the entire underworld for a whole year, so this meant he couldn't slack off during the live broadcast. After all, work attitude had always been the focus of performance appraisals...

I really want to rebel and become the King of Hell.

The ghost installed the camera and handed the hand mirror that controlled the live broadcast room to You Yunyi. The King of Hell was unwilling to bring a "mobile phone" to the underworld, but reluctantly agreed to make a substitute "hand mirror", which was a handheld mirror that was more obvious than it was intended to be. Its functions were roughly copied from the mobile phone in the world of the living, but when it was disassembled, it was just a mirror. It did not have parts such as the battery, chip circuits, etc. of the mobile phone in the world of the living, and there was no place to insert a phone card.

You Yunyi glanced at the hand mirror connected to the live broadcast room. The live broadcast had already begun, and the mirror showed the area where he and No. 036 were sitting face to face.

Perhaps because he knew that he was being broadcast live, No. 036 seemed a little nervous.

Ghost Messenger: "Mr. You, just continue working. We will go back to our office and keep an eye on it. If there are any problems, we will come and deal with them immediately."

You Yunyi nodded reluctantly, then looked at No. 036: "Where were we just now? Let's continue."

No. 036 hesitated and said, "Is this... really live? Can all the ghosts see it?"

You Yunyi opened the live broadcast room and glanced at the factory configuration: "Well, everyone who wants to see can see it."

Considering that the underworld is so boring, there should be only a few ghosts who don't even take a look at such a sudden live broadcast, unless they can't afford the special hand mirror for the underworld and don't have any ghost friends.

"Then...why don't I just stop here today? I really don't think I have any obsessions." No. 036 looked at the "mirror" and other equipment that acted as cameras a little uncomfortably.

It's okay to chat with the extraditionist, after all, that's his job. He sees and hears so many ghosts every day and doesn't take it to heart. When No. 036 was alone with You Yunyi, he even wanted to talk and share.

But she still felt a little embarrassed when she thought about other ghosts hearing about her life during the live broadcast.

If it weren't for the live camera, and there wouldn't be direct evidence of "passive slacking" captured on camera, You Yunyi would have been happy to fulfill No. 036's wish and advance the break time.

But this isn't live streaming.

You Yunyi sat up straighter. "The line outside my door is so long it's almost like a square. It must have been difficult for you to win the lottery and get in here today. How long did it take?"

No. 036 replied embarrassedly, "It took three years... I'm unlucky. I've been dead for three years. As soon as I arrived in the underworld, I was suggested to come here to extradite my obsession. I didn't think it was necessary..."

"But Meng Po said that because I have an obsession, I can only queue on this side of the bridge. I can't drink the Yellow Spring Soup and can't cross the river to the other side. The queue at the extradition office is very difficult. Meng Po suggested that I digest the obsession while queuing. Maybe I can digest it before I win the lottery... But I won the lottery today, and Meng Po still said I have an obsession."

…

It was one o'clock in the morning, and the entire underworld was very lively. The square outside the extradition office was filled with a large number of idle ghosts.

Some ghosts are so bored that they start fighting with the ghosts next to them.

As the fight was going on, some ghost officials came over, but this time they were not there to stop the fight. Instead, they pushed over a mirror that was three meters long and two meters wide, embedded in a wooden frame that could be placed upright on the ground.

The mirror was placed in the middle of the square, so that the image could be seen from both sides.

"What's this?"

"Why does it look like a live broadcast room?"

"Has the King of Hell finally realized the underworld is boring and is planning to show us TV?"

"It really looks like a livestream, and this guy... isn't this Mr. You from the Extradition Department's office? That's him sitting on the black sofa. I went to talk to him before."

"The lady sitting across from him, I just saw her walk in. She seemed to have been waiting in line for a long time, and only got lucky today and got the lottery. I don't know if talking to the extradition officer will help."

"Brother Ghost Messenger, what on earth is this for?"

After the ghost officers fixed the mirrors on the live broadcast screen, they explained to the people around them, "You guessed it right. It's the live broadcast from the Extradition Department. It's at least two hours a day. Mr. You can arrange the details himself. Those who don't have hand mirrors can watch the big screen. Those who have hand mirrors can open the live broadcast room and post comments. The live broadcast room has been installed on everyone's hand mirrors by default. Everyone, please use it as a pastime and entertainment. Don't fight all the time. It's very troublesome."

The underworld finally has new entertainment, and the ghosts are very supportive.

Those who are more introverted and have hand mirrors will post comments, but most ghosts are happy to gather near the big screen and talk directly with people -

"So we can see other ghosts chatting with the extraditionists, right? How embarrassing! Wouldn't that mean we'd be overhearing all their private information? Hahaha. I'm really looking forward to it!"

"Ah, yeah, I just realized it when you said that. If that's the case, wouldn't it also be broadcast live if I went to chat with the extradition officer someday?"

"Then don't bother looking for the extradition officer. It'll free up a spot and increase my chances of winning! Didn't you hear what the woman in the extradition officer's office said? She waited three years before getting a spot! Do you think it's that easy to see an extradition officer?"

"Oh, why think so much? We're all dead, sitting here doing nothing every day. Even if there weren't this live broadcast, there would be plenty of ghosts who would be happy to talk about their past lives to pass the time."

"That's right. Anyway, knowing what happened to other ghosts in their past lives won't do them any harm. Once they drink Meng Po soup, they'll forget everything. When they reincarnate, they won't carry any memories of their time in the underworld with them!"

"I'm not afraid of you hearing my privacy! Please let me go when the number drawing is held at the extradition office tomorrow. I really want to get rid of my obsession and drink soup! It's so boring here!"

"But it seems that even if you drink Meng Po soup, you still have to queue up on the other side of the bridge. Reincarnation doesn't happen that quickly."

"Then you have to go and queue up first!"

"Well... let me be honest... I didn't expect the extraditioner to be so young and so handsome!"

"The sound is also very nice..."

"The hands look great too! One more reason to be eager to see the extraditionist!"

"They look lifeless. It's not good for young people to look like this!"

"Come on, why would you want to be energetic when you're already dead? Are you kidding me?"

"The lazy sofa the extraditionist sits on is so unique. Is it sold in the underworld? Can I send a comment to the extraditionist and ask for the link?"

…

In the extradition office, You Yunyi continued to say to No. 036, "You've spent three years trying to digest this obsession, but it still hasn't gotten over it. Today, you finally came to my place, and now you're leaving like this. Who knows, you might have to wait another three years outside, and then find yourself having to come back to me again. Don't you think it's troublesome?"

No. 036 hesitated.

You Yunyi then asked, "How about this? First, tell me how you died. I see you weren't very old, and your clothes were quite clean before you died. Did you die of starvation?"

No. 036 quickly waved his hands: "No, no, it's such a long time now, how can people still starve to death? I... well, I was sick and died of illness."

You Yunyi picked up the mirror that could peek into the world of the living and said slowly, "Oh, he died young. What terminal illness did he have?"

No. 036 said awkwardly, "Actually...it's not a terminal illness, but it's expensive. Even if it's cured, it doesn't guarantee recurrence. Even if it doesn't recur, I can't do heavy work. My family isn't wealthy. I haven't paid off my mortgage yet, and my car is a long-standing model. I have two children, one in middle school and one in high school, and they're both struggling financially. My husband, while ambitious, works a modest job and earns a meager monthly salary."

"My husband's and my parents both passed away early, so they couldn't help much. But we both worked before, and although we had two children, they were older and generally in school. We had plenty of time and money, and our family lived in harmony. Until I got sick..."

"Although my husband said he would sell his car and house to pay for my treatment after I was hospitalized, I thought it was hard for our family to save money, so I didn't have surgery and went home for conservative treatment, thinking I had to save money for my husband and children's future."

In front of the live broadcast screen in the square, the audience ghosts talked a lot after hearing what No. 036 said.

"Isn't this stupid! It's not a terminal illness, but it's incurable? Oh, how stupid! There's hope only when you're alive!"

"That's not what she said. Didn't she say the family is broke? The two kids are struggling, middle school and high school are all in need of money. The old car won't sell for much, and the house still has a mortgage. If she really sells the car and house to pay for the treatment now, she might still owe money later. Even after she's cured, she won't be able to work, and her husband can't support the family on his own... Well, it all comes down to money!"

"No wonder he's still obsessed with me even after three years of death. His death was so unjust."

"If this happened in a wealthy family, it wouldn't be a problem at all. How could he die so young? He looked only forty."

"Isn't that stupid? Oh my, she's not going to spend money on medical treatment when she's sick and is leaving it to her husband and kids. Come on, her husband will definitely marry a stepmother the next year. With a stepmother, there will be a stepfather. The money saved on medical treatment will definitely not be used for her two kids."

"That's not the case. The man is dead, so it's normal for him to remarry. If the stepmother is a good person, two children are better than having only one father."

"My stepmother is very nice. Don't generalize."

"What's this about having a stepmother and a stepfather? To put it bluntly, isn't it that the biological father is a bad stepfather to begin with? Otherwise, how would those stepmothers dare to do bad things? Even if the biological father really made a mistake and chose someone with bad character, wouldn't he stop the stepmother when he found out about her mischief?"

"Alas, a child without a mother is like grass. If I were the eldest sister No. 036, I would survive no matter what."

"You haven't experienced it, so it's easy for you to say it. But if you really have experienced it, would you dare to say that you want your husband and children to accompany you and spend all your money to get treatment?"

…

Number 036 continued, "I've been in the underworld for three years now, and I don't know how my husband and children are doing. Could you please help me check on them, sir? You should have a way to check on them, right? It would be even better if you could send me a dream. I want them to stop thinking about me and just live their own lives."

"If I had to say I had any obsessions, I think it would be this at most. Actually, I'm quite open-minded. Going home for conservative treatment was my own decision, so there's nothing to worry about..."

You Yunyi put down the peephole and replied calmly, "Don't worry. You died at the beginning of the month, and your ex-husband remarried at the end of the month. He had a new child before the New Year. Your children are all doing well too. They don't go to school and work like slaves, so they don't have time to think about you."