Chapter 7 The system said that He Zhao was going too far and was nowhere near as good as its previous hosts, while...
The system was both saying that He Zhao was going too far and was not as good as its previous host, and it was also furious and powerless, and could only watch as He Zhao gave away the rice for nothing.
The system's impotent rage was somewhat pathetic. He Zhao hesitated for a moment and said, "Alright, stop yelling. It's kind of pathetic. I'll just pay for this myself and deduct ten yuan from my pay."
"...It's not impossible."
He Zhao was satisfied.
But she repeatedly told the system, "You can only deduct ten yuan from my account. I bought this as a human being. Don't deduct 100 yuan from my account, or I'll never forgive you!"
The system was truly enraged and completely ignored He Zhao.
The system remained silent, and He Zhao ignored it, instead taking out a clean bowl and serving the ghost another bowl.
The ghost was overjoyed to receive a free bowl of rice. However, being a man of principle, it didn't immediately begin eating. Instead, it sat in its seat, watching He Zhao, seemingly waiting for her to ask her questions. It would only start eating after she had finished asking them.
Because ghosts don't have much brain capacity, if you don't finish asking the questions quickly, they might forget about it and choose to eat in silence, forgetting to answer the questions.
He Zhao nudged Qiao Yanyu with his elbow, signaling her to ask her question quickly. Qiao Yanyu gave He Zhao a grateful look, took out her notebook, and wrote as she asked, "Why were you frequently appearing at certain intersections at night a few days ago? Your actions have frightened many ordinary people. You are already a mature, powerful ghost, capable of influencing reality. Your actions will greatly affect ordinary people. If this continues, we will have no choice but to eliminate you."
The ghost paused, seemingly unable to process Qiao Yanyu's long speech. After a long silence, it seemed to understand Qiao Yanyu's question, and then slowly said:
"I didn't mean to hurt anyone, I was just looking for someone."
Who are you looking for?
Faced with this question, the ghost's skinless face showed a hint of confusion. It thought for a long time before answering Qiao Yanyu: "I forgot."
Qiao Yanyu didn't react in any other way, just nodded to indicate that she understood, and then continued to ask: "Do you remember how you died?" This question would sound cruel to most people, but when she asked it, Qiao Yanyu didn't show any extra expression on her face, she was just doing her job.
He Zhao stood to the side watching, thinking that Qiao Yanyu was so cool! A woman is most beautiful when she's working!
He Zhao was swooning a little, while the ghost who heard Qiao Yanyu's question frowned and thought hard. After a long while, it nodded and answered, "I remember, I was burned to death."
One sentence silenced the two of them.
Every minute of every second, countless people die in this world, but the vast majority die from illness or old age. Of course, there are also those who die in car accidents, commit suicide, or are even murdered. With so many people, there are all sorts of ways to die, and the ghosts they become are also diverse, resulting in a great many ghosts.
However, being burned to death is really rare in today's society.
People with severe burns do exist, and generally they can be saved; those who die from burns are extremely rare.
But after the ghost answered, Qiao Yanyu immediately lowered her head and quickly checked the case on her phone. Their city wasn't particularly big or small; it was just an ordinary second-tier city. Fires that could burn people to death were not common, and since the victim was a girl, the search was actually quite simple.
Before long, Qiao Yanyu had found the case of the ghost's death.
He Zhao leaned over to take a look, and Qiao Yanyu didn't hide it from her. He Zhao looked at it through Qiao Yanyu's hand.
Then she fell silent as well.
The ghost in front of you looks terrifying, but after reading the details of the case, probably no one would think it's a scary ghost. The case is very simple: in an old residential building in a neighborhood where an old electrical line caught fire, a 23-year-old woman rescued eleven people who hadn't left the building, but eventually succumbed to exhaustion and couldn't escape.
In the end, she threw the child in her arms out of the stairwell, but she was trapped inside the apartment building.
Because it's an old residential area with no designated parking spaces, many vehicles were parked haphazardly, preventing fire trucks from entering and delaying rescue efforts. The woman, a college graduate working as a freelancer, possessed excellent rescue knowledge. After initially escaping the building, she heard cries for help from upstairs and rushed back in, covering her mouth and nose.
The ghost before me was not a terrifying creature, but a hero worthy of respect.
Qiao Yanyu sighed and clearly told the ghost what had happened before its death and the cause of its demise. Upon hearing this, the ghost first showed a somewhat astonished expression, and then, as if it had gained some power, much of the skin on its face, which had been hanging halfway off and about to fall off, miraculously stuck back on.
However, the skin was still red and somewhat ulcerated, so it didn't look quite normal.
The ghost was very happy: "Wow, I'm so amazing!"
He Zhao couldn't help but agree: "You're really amazing."
If it were her, she definitely couldn't do it. He Zhao is a bit selfish; her own life is the most important thing, and she would never risk her life for someone else. But she can't help but feel genuine respect for the ghost in front of her, this shining example of humanity.
Hearing He Zhao's praise, a smile appeared on the ghost's face. However, the ghost's smile was stiff, and coupled with the skin on its face, it looked somewhat frightening. But to those who knew the situation, its skin wasn't frightening at all, but rather its medal.
The two of them were in a good mood, but the "heartless" Qiao Yanyu still had to break the atmosphere and asked, "So, are you looking for those residents who stopped the fire truck and caused your death?"
Qiao Yanyu has experienced too much. The fact that she became a ghost proves that she still has unfulfilled wishes, and for most ghosts, their wish is revenge. No matter how wonderful their life was, after becoming a ghost, they may become something that harms the living.
Even if the ghosts before us are extraordinary, and the people who have done bad things are despicable, the human world has its own laws, which are not a reason for ghosts to commit evil deeds.
If she could, she wouldn't want to harm the ghost in front of her, so she really hoped that the ghost would give her a denial.
The ghost hesitated for a moment, tilting its head as if in thought. It had said from the beginning that it had forgotten who it was looking for, but a persistent thought kept running through its mind that it had someone it wanted to find.
After Qiao Yanyu's reminder, its mind cleared up considerably. It was lost in its memories, and after a long while, it finally answered Qiao Yanyu, "I don't want to look for them." It raised its hand and spread its ten fingers.
There was hardly any skin left on its hands; the skin all over its body had been charred and ulcerated in the fire. Even though it had become a little more solidified because it was remembering things from its previous life, the skin on its hands was still quite sparse.
Beneath those patches of skin lay stark white bones.
It looked at its fingers, somewhat troubled.
He Zhao asked, "What's wrong?"
"Not enough, we're one short."
He Zhao didn't hesitate for a moment. He raised a finger, braced himself on the table, leaned forward slightly, and placed his finger next to the ghost.
Seeing her actions, Qiao Yanyu's brows twitched involuntarily. Even though the ghost in front of her seemed benevolent, ghosts were still cunning creatures, and He Zhao's actions were still too dangerous. She mentally assessed the strength of herself and the ghost in front of her, but ultimately did not try to dissuade her.
It's alright, it's alright, I can protect He Zhao!
Seeing another finger appear next to his hand, the ghost laughed: "That's enough."
When He Zhao stretched out his finger, he already guessed that the person the ghost wanted to find was the eleven people he had saved. The ghost held up the finger in front of it and answered Qiao Yanyu, "I want to see them. I want to know if I helped them, and I want to see if they are doing well."
Qiao Yanyu closed the notebook, and He Zhao withdrew his fingers.
Qiao Yanyu pursed her lips. If the ghost wasn't lying, then it really was a good ghost. But it couldn't keep running around like this. Luckily, it had stayed near He Zhao's stall for the past two days and hadn't been seen by ordinary people.
Otherwise, if you bump into it again, you might get sick, feel unwell, and have bad luck because of encountering a ghost.
Qiao Yanyu thought for a moment and said, "I will help you investigate. If you really want to see them, I will also find a way. But you can't run around at night anymore. After your wish is fulfilled, I will recite the Rebirth Mantra for you, and you can be reincarnated."
The ghost nodded and said thank you.
After confirming that Qiao Yanyu didn't intend to ask it any more questions, the ghost lowered its head and began eating its second bowl of rice. The ghost really liked this bowl of rice; it tasted just like the osmanthus rice cake its mother used to make, and the ghost loved the flavor.
It was really enjoying its meal, especially now that it had more skin on its face, making its features much clearer. As it ate, its eyebrows and eyes couldn't help but curve, as if this bowl of white rice was the most wonderful food in the world.
Watching it eat, Qiao Yanyu instructed He Zhao, "If it comes around recently, try to keep it occupied and prevent it from running around."
"Huh? You're relying on me?"
He Zhao was completely stunned. The ghost in front of her seemed much more approachable than the male ghost who had stared at her with disgusting eyes before, and its sacrifices in life were also admirable. But He Zhao just couldn't believe that she could keep this ghost in check.
It has legs, so it can leave whenever it wants. And who do you think you are to stop it?
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