Chapter 13: Drought Sister
They skillfully opened the coffin lid and carried out the charred corpse.
Then they entered an adjacent side door that led straight into the operating room of the crematorium.
Seeing that they had indeed carried in a body, Sister Hanba let out a long breath. Her appearance changed in an instant; her massive, imposing frame shrank down, and her frightening, savage face melted away.
Right before Lin Huai’s eyes, a beautiful woman with a fiery red ponytail emerged.
She tossed her hair with a pleased smile. “So you’re a colleague! Why didn’t you say so earlier?”
She looked toward the door and added, “That coffin of yours has such a lovely color.”
Lin Huai was taken aback by Sister Hanba’s sudden shift. She paused for just a second before catching on, quickly offering a warm compliment in return. “Sister, your hair looks wonderful, and your presence is so stylish!”
Sister Hanba was clearly delighted. She turned and walked behind the front desk in the main hall, resting a sun-kissed hand on the counter as she looked at Lin Huai. “Alright, hand over the deceased’s death certificate and your work permit. Once I log them, we can proceed with the cremation.”
Lin Huai felt a wave of helplessness. While secretly planning an escape route just in case, she answered with total honesty. “Sister—dear, beautiful, stylish sister—where would I even get a death certificate? And where do I get a work permit?”
She gave an appealing smile. “You’re the very first stop I’ve run into out here. Could you please help me out this once?”
As she spoke, she reached into her bag and pulled out item after item: underworld banknotes, yin energy crystals, stylish modern clothes, and pairs of high heels. Anything she thought Sister Hanba might like, she laid out on the counter.
As the old saying goes, money makes the world go around—even among ghosts.
Sister Hanba barely glanced at the underworld paper money, as if finding the amount unimpressive. But her hand moved naturally to slip the few yin energy crystals into her sleeve.
When her eyes fell upon the dresses, outfits, and high heels, her face lit up instantly.
With a hint of bashfulness, Sister Hanba picked up a bright red dress and held it against herself to check the size. She waved her free hand dismissively. “Oh, my! It’s such a small favor, little sister, you really didn’t need to be so formal.”
She smoothed the fabric against her waist. “This dress is gorgeous! Tell me, does it suit me?”
Lin Huai nodded repeatedly, offering praise straight from the heart. “You look amazing! Truly stunning, sister. With your figure, you can pull off any style.”
Sister Hanba was bold and carefree. Right there in front of Lin Huai, she slipped into the red dress and stepped into a pair of matching high heels.
“Now, I’m definitely the prettiest station manager on this entire highway.”
Lin Huai’s eyes gleamed as she continued to shower her with flattery. “Without a doubt! No one can compare to your beauty, sister.”
She leaned in slightly. “By the way, are there many service stations along this highway? I’m sure the managers at the other stops aren’t nearly as gorgeous as you, right?”
Sister Hanba smiled with pride. “Of course! Places like the gas station, the inn, the roadside diner, the clothing boutique, and the morgue all have female managers, but none of them can match me.”
She grinned and went on, “And what’s more… Ouch!”
Before she could finish, she accidentally bit her tongue.
After a sharp wince, Sister Hanba snapped back to attention. She shut her mouth about the other stations, quickly changing the topic. “Right, you needed a death certificate and a work permit, didn’t you?”
She smoothed her dress. “I can take care of both right here.”
She glanced through the large glass window into the next room. The charred corpse was still resting across the shoulders of the two furry zombies, who stood waiting for her signal to slide it into the furnace.
“Do you have a picture of this person?”
Lin Huai remembered snapping a photo of the man earlier. She transferred the image over to Sister Hanba right away. “The body was burned pretty badly. Can you still use this photo?”
Sister Hanba nodded as she uploaded the file to the computer terminal on the counter. “Never mind being charred—even if he were ground into minced meat, the system would still take it. The Book of Life and Death doesn’t rely on simple face scans.”
The Book of Life and Death system?
Lin Huai couldn’t resist leaning forward to peek at the monitor. As soon as the image uploaded, a full personal profile popped onto the screen. The profile picture showed the tattooed bald man exactly as he had looked in life.
Right next to it, in the “Post-Mortem Record” slot, the photo of his burned remains appeared.
The record was quite long. Beyond basic details like his real name and date of birth, it listed his complete life story, separating his deeds into good and bad actions.
Lin Huai noticed that his list of good deeds held only a few brief notes, while the record of his bad actions stretched down so far it ran past the bottom of the screen.
Looking at the monitor, she could not help but wonder what her own record might say. Still, she knew better than to ask; looking up one’s own file had to be strictly against the rules.
Sister Hanba did not bother scrolling down to read the man’s history, showing no interest in his past. She pulled a blank card labeled “Death Certificate” from a pile on the counter. Glancing at the screen, she neatly wrote down his real name and player ID number with a fountain pen. Under “Cause of Death,” she wrote “Struck by Lightning,” and under “Final Disposition,” she filled in “Cremation.”
She scanned the completed card into the system, filed the paper copy into an organizer, and pressed a large red button on the desk.
Through the glass wall, a red light turned on above the furnace in the operating room. The heavy iron door slid open on its own. The two furry zombies tipped the burned body off their shoulders and into the chamber, stepping back to wait.
Just one minute later, the deep humming of the furnace quieted down. A green light flashed above the door, and a small metal tray popped open at the base of the unit.
The two zombies stepped up, collected the items from the tray, and carried them through the glass door into the main hall, placing them gently in front of Sister Hanba.
Lin Huai took a quick look at the two objects. One was an emerald-green yin energy crystal about the size of a thumb.
The second item was a dense, rectangular brick of compressed bone ash, roughly the size of an open palm.
Lin Huai’s eyes widened. Wasn’t that the bone ash brick only sold at the Ghost Market and rare secret shops? Ground bone ash was a vital ingredient for crafting weapons, and rubbing the dust over oneself during a zombie swarm could hide a player’s presence completely.
It was always sold at high prices in the market; she had never guessed that it was manufactured right here in the crematorium!
Sister Hanba did not seem to mind her staring. She casually began to explain, “When a body is cremated, all the lingering grudges, corpse energy, and dark yin gathered inside are released into the flames. The furnace gathers that energy automatically and compresses it into a yin crystal.”
She picked up the small green stone to let Lin Huai see it, furrowing her brow with a soft mutter. “Did this person die with no regrets at all? Why is the crystal so tiny?”
Lin Huai heard every word, but she kept a straight face and pretended not to notice.
