Chapter 14: Work Permit
Lin Huai quickly pointed to the ash brick resting on the counter, guiding the conversation back to the matter at hand.
“Sister, you haven’t mentioned what this is yet.”
Sister Hanba carefully took the green yin energy crystal from her hand and locked it inside the safe beneath the counter.
Sure enough, just as Lin Huai had learned in her previous life, underworld coins were a currency used only among human players; ghosts and monsters had no interest in them. But when yin energy crystals were used instead of paper money, monsters became remarkably friendly.
Looking at Sister Hanba’s actions, the yin crystals she had received from Lin Huai went straight into her private pocket, while the crystals produced from cremating bodies had to go into the official safe. It seemed one was for the public account, and the other was for personal profit.
Once she finished locking up the official crystal, Sister Hanba pointed toward the gray brick and explained, “Oh, that’s just the bone ash from the body we burned. I have way too much of this stuff piled up. The back storage room is completely full, and nobody is buying it.”
She smiled warmly. “Why? Do you want some? I’ll give you a few. You can even use them as heavy bricks to bash people over the head!”
Before Lin Huai could refuse, several solid, heavy bricks were pushed right into her hands. How could an item that would become so rare later in the game fail to sell during the early days?
Then again, it made sense. Most players did not yet own a workbench, let alone know how to forge their own equipment. Furthermore, thanks to the Newbie Protection Period, nobody had faced large swarms of zombies yet. Naturally, they had no clue how useful bone ash could be.
Sister Hanba tapped on a tablet beside her and announced, “I’ve transferred ten underworld coins to your balance. That’s your official reward for bringing in the corpse.”
Lin Huai had not expected to get paid for delivering a body to the furnace. Ten underworld coins was not a fortune, but if she brought in a steady supply… Lin Huai paused to imagine it, quickly realizing she might end up with the horrible title of “Killer of Thousands,” so she promptly dropped that thought for now.
When it was time to leave, Sister Hanba cheerfully walked Lin Huai all the way to the front doors of the crematorium, waving goodbye with a wide grin. “Little sister, come back soon! If you run into any more bodies in the future, bring them straight to me. We can always negotiate a good price!”
As she spoke, she handed Lin Huai a flat bone tablet tied with a bright red cord, designed to be worn around the neck.
“This is an Undertaker’s work permit. As long as you wear this, you can come directly to me whenever you collect a body.”
Lin Huai accepted the bone badge with gratitude and slipped the cord over her head. “Thank you, Sister! Don’t worry, if I find any bodies out there, I’ll definitely bring them to you to help boost your performance!”
With that, she stepped through the main entrance.
The moment her foot touched the road outside, the entire crematorium building vanished without a trace, as if it had never existed at all.
Lin Huai continued along the road. It had been just like this in her previous life: other players ran into regular stations like gas stations, inns, or photo studios, but because she pushed a coffin, she always unlocked unusual locations tied to the business of the dead—places nobody else even knew about. This time, because her coffin happened to hold a dead body, it had taken her straight to the crematorium.
While it didn’t shower her with mountains of common supplies like other stations might, earning an official work permit made the detour entirely worthwhile.
When night fell, horrifying monsters wandered beyond the golden shield, filling the dark highway with an eerie, lively clamor.
Inside the protective barrier, however, Lin Huai kept her head down, completely absorbed in her work.
She had received a beginner workbench from the green ghost box, and it would easily become her most valuable tool moving forward.
Taking a steady breath, Lin Huai carefully pulled the long-awaited workbench out from her inventory. During the daytime, the open road was far too dangerous to risk crafting. She had waited until nightfall so she could work safely inside her vehicle’s protective zone.
The beginner workbench was made of solid stainless steel. It featured built-in mechanical equipment, including a gear machine and a small angle grinder, along with a rack of basic hand tools—pens, rulers, and bottles of glue—that could be removed and used at any time.
Next, she took out the blueprint for low-tier talisman paper.
The blueprint she had found was for a Dust Cleansing Talisman. Just as the name suggested, it was a utility talisman meant for clearing away dirt, blood, and grime.
Lin Huai slid the paper into the workbench’s blueprint scanner. Then, checking the list of required ingredients, she placed the raw materials into the storage cabinet beneath the table.
She pressed the start button. The machine hummed to life with a steady mechanical click, and after scanning the blueprint, it smoothly pulled the necessary materials from the cabinet onto the work surface.
A message popped up on her screen:
[Crafting Low-Tier Dust Cleansing Talisman. Quantity: 6. Estimated time: 60 minutes.]
The Dust Cleansing Talisman was a very basic item, so it consumed few supplies. Making six of them used only six sheets of yellow talisman paper, twelve units of cinnabar, six vials of black dog blood, and two blocks of aged ink. Lin Huai had plenty of materials in stock; the only downside was that the beginner workbench worked slowly, taking a full hour to finish the batch.
Still, six utility talismans were more than enough for her current needs, especially since she would surely find blueprints for combat talismans later on.
When the hour was up, she pulled out one finished talisman and used it on her tricycle and coffin. A soft pulse of energy washed over them, leaving the wood and metal spotless. Satisfied, she climbed into the coffin to rest for the night.
Before going to sleep, she opened private chat windows with Milk Tea Seven Parts Sugar, Dragon Emerging from the Sea, and Old Wang from Building Materials, asking if they would like to trade materials or underworld coins for a Dust Cleansing Talisman.
Because she had so few, Lin Huai had no interest in selling them publicly in the main lobby. Offering valuable items directly to these three trusted contacts felt mutually beneficial.
The moment the three saw the talisman’s properties, they agreed to trade without a second thought.
[Milk Tea Seven Parts Sugar]: Hehe, thank you so much, Boss Bone Ash! If you make more useful things like this later, I’ll definitely trade with you again—I can even pay extra coins! My ambulance was covered in dirt, but now it’s totally clean. It feels so comfortable.
[Old Wang’s Building Materials]: Thank you, Boss, for keeping me in mind whenever you have good items. I really appreciate it! Whenever I find rare materials, you’ll always be the first person I contact.
[Dragon Emerging from the Sea]: Thank you, Boss. If you don’t mind me asking… do you already have a workbench?
Lin Huai raised an eyebrow. Did Dragon Emerging from the Sea already know what a workbench was?
It seemed he was holding onto something very interesting.
Lin Huai did not bother hiding it and replied honestly.
[Bone Ash Mixed with Rice]: Yes, I have a beginner workbench. Why? Did you find a talisman blueprint?
[Dragon Emerging from the Sea]: I opened a box today and got a blueprint for a low-tier Teleportation Talisman. The item description says it requires a workbench to make.
A Teleportation Talisman! That was an incredible item that allowed the user to teleport directly to the side of a chosen player. It was the ultimate tool for hunting down targets, setting ambushes, or regrouping with allies.
[Bone Ash Mixed with Rice]: Name your price. I’ll buy it from you!
Dragon Emerging from the Sea paused for a moment before sending his reply.
[Dragon Emerging from the Sea]: You saved my life earlier. I can just give you the blueprint for free. But once you craft them, could you spare one for me? I’ll provide all the required materials myself.
