For three consecutive days, I stayed in the basement, quietly contemplating how I could finally construct a power system that truly belonged to me.
Nowadays, firearms are my unique means of attack. But what about the sword? I don’t actually know how to use one. According to Ray Lin, my sword technique is clumsy—if a real swordsman saw me, they’d think I was just a child waving a stick.
Speaking of swordsmanship, I’ve witnessed plenty of people wield swords before. Compared to their skills, my own style is chaotic and rough—especially in how I use the blade.
"Ya, it’s time to eat."
Susan Zhou walked over. I responded with a simple 'oh'. In this world, eating is one of our few pleasures. The food here isn’t any different from what I ate as a human—it tastes pretty good.
These past few days, Susan Zhou has come down every day, watching me use Deathbane Aura to build up my own power. Every time I see her face, I get the sense she wants to say something to me.
"Miss Zhou, is there something you want to talk about?"
At the top of the stairs, I asked. Susan Zhou shook her head.
"It’s nothing, just a minor thing."
I reached out and grabbed Susan Zhou’s hand. She turned to look at me.
"It’s not just a minor thing, Miss Zhou. If something’s weighing on your mind, and you want to talk but can’t find anyone, just say it. If there’s anything I can do to help, let me know."
Susan Zhou sat down, head lowered, looking dejected. She kept hesitating, as if she wanted to speak but couldn’t. After a long pause, she looked at me.
"I once had a mentor in this world. But later, he was taken away by the Imperial Police."
"You want my help to rescue your mentor?"
I looked at Susan Zhou with interest. Her mentor must have been strong enough to teach her how to restore herself as a ghost.
"He was just an ordinary person. This was before I joined Crimson Night."
I was startled and stared at Susan Zhou.
"Even in a world like this, there are people like my mentor. He came here, still took in children, taught them things. Even adults who wanted to learn could go to him—whether it was ancient or modern knowledge, he’d teach it all."
Susan Zhou spoke, glancing at me. I took a seat.
"Go ahead, Miss Zhou. I’ll listen."
This world is the realm where spirits go after death. No one knows when it came into existence, but by the time Susan Zhou woke up here, it was already formed—society was mature.
In this world, only those with real ability can live well. For newcomers, it’s brutal. People don’t age here, and almost everything from human society exists. Anything people could do before, they can do here—except for having children. And if you die, there’s no coming back.
To survive, newcomers either join established companies or become part of criminal gangs, doing shady work. Susan Zhou chose the latter.
To stay alive, Susan Zhou turned to theft. In this world, crime is a profession—it's allowed, but if you get caught, you’re sentenced and sent to prison. As long as you aren’t caught, no matter what crime you commit, you can get away with it.
In such an extreme society, Susan Zhou followed her criminal group—from petty theft to arson and murder. Anything that made money, she did.
Eventually, the group was wiped out by the Imperial Police. Susan Zhou managed to escape. With no real skills, she went back to her old ways. After fleeing to a poor district, she planned to hide out and steal from the rich.
But when Susan Zhou arrived, she found that the people here, though poor, seemed happy. There was a makeshift school built from wooden planks. Not just children—adults came too, to listen to an old man named Eli Lear give lectures.
With her skills, Susan Zhou quickly stole a lot of money. But inside, she felt empty. Even eating at fancy restaurants and buying beautiful clothes didn’t help—she felt like a walking corpse.
Every day, laughter from the school caught Susan Zhou’s attention. One day, after eating out, she came back in a foul mood. Now a wanted criminal, the police were after her. Fear filled her constantly—she knew if caught, she’d be executed in public for her crimes.
Living in constant fear, Susan Zhou went to the school and saw, on the big platform, an old man with dark green hair, hunched over, bearded, lecturing about everything—from major historical events to the smallest details of daily life. People listened as if it were a storytelling session, not a class.
But for some reason, Susan Zhou stayed behind. Even after everyone else had left, she remained. After tidying up, Eli Lear noticed her.
"Young lady, what’s wrong? Is there something you want to ask?"
Almost as if guided by fate, Susan Zhou walked over.
"Excuse me, how do you survive in this world?"
"That’s a tough question, young lady. Let me ask you—what you’re living right now, is it really living?"
Susan Zhou looked at Eli Lear, confused. After a long while, she shook her head.
"No, it’s not. My life is a complete mess."
Once upon a time, Susan Zhou couldn’t remember anything from before she arrived in this world. Sometimes she’d recall bits and pieces, but they were gone—she couldn’t see or touch them anymore. She used to be able to laugh, but now she was numb.
(This chapter is not finished ^.^, please click next page to continue reading!)
"If you want to survive, you first need to understand what you are. So let me ask you again, young lady—what are you?"
"For now, I guess I’m still human."
Susan Zhou replied. Eli Lear burst out laughing, genuinely happy.
"Then just live like a human. Choose the way of life you love. Maybe the answer has always been inside you."
For several days, Susan Zhou remained confused. She went to the school every day, watching Eli Lear’s cheerful demeanor. On the fifth day, she was still the last to leave.
"Teacher Eli, are you satisfied with your life now?"
"Very satisfied. I used to be a teacher, and even in this world, I can still teach people interesting, fun, and meaningful things. That’s enough for me."
Susan Zhou sat down and slowly told Eli Lear about her ten years in this world. As she spoke, she began to cry.
"Young lady, you have no reason to be sad. Whether alive or dead, whether we become ghosts or not, people often forget one important thing: we are human. This world may have order, but it’s a twisted order—it allows people to do inhuman things. It’s tragic, but as long as you still think of yourself as human, it’s never too late to start over."
Eli Lear’s words helped Susan Zhou reclaim something she’d lost. She quit her old ways and started working in restaurants, washing dishes and serving food. After two or three years living this way, she began to smile again.
Susan Zhou went to hear Eli Lear’s lectures every day, living happily and freely. But those joyful days didn’t last. One day, a group of more than ten newcomers arrived, took over the poor district, and began committing crimes.
People died resisting—they were killed by the newcomers. Susan Zhou was furious and wanted to reclaim her old life, but everything had changed. More and more people bowed to power. Susan Zhou was captured—these people wanted to use her as a tool to make connections, but she refused.
After enduring torture, Susan Zhou was about to give in. But then Eli Lear arrived with a squad of police, capturing the criminals. He held Susan Zhou and brought her back to the school, then told her to leave because she was still a wanted fugitive. Before she left, Eli Lear said one last thing.
"Young lady, you really are one of the fortunate ones. You’ve survived so many disasters and never died. Things will get better."
Susan Zhou left for a new place, kept working odd jobs, and sometimes returned to visit Eli Lear. But one day, when she came back, she saw the police arresting Eli Lear—accused of having ties to Crimson Night.
Susan Zhou was powerless as she watched Eli Lear taken away. She didn’t know what had happened, but soon learned about Crimson Night—a rebel group in the territory ruled by Emperor God.
Eventually, through a twist of fate, Susan Zhou found Crimson Night. At first, she just wanted a way to rescue Eli Lear, but after joining, she learned many things—this world was like Emperor God’s plaything, everyone was created for his amusement.
Thinking about this world, Susan Zhou devoted herself to Crimson Night, trained hard, regained some of her ghost powers, and started doing assassinations. Little by little, she rose through the ranks.
She never stopped wanting to rescue Eli Lear. She told Crimson Night’s leader about it, but the leader said, 'What matters now is more important. You’re a key member. For the greater good, we must let go of the smaller things.'