As daylight broke and the sun shone high in the sky, the number of viewers in the live stream gradually increased.
During the half-day Jiang Lin and the others spent following the sealing team, the viewers had imperceptibly divided into two groups.
One group listened with great interest, while the other thought, "Who am I, where am I? Is this something a学渣 like me can understand?"
"(•ิ_•ิ) That Lord Liu is exactly my current situation."
"Specialization, indeed, is not a lie. I was good at studying, but my head is still spinning. However, my sister is watching very attentively, more attentively than she studies."
"Upstairs, you're not alone. Even my dog is watching more intently than I am."
"Holy crap, brother, you're amazing. Maybe your dog has become a spirit!"
A spirit dog?
The viewer who mentioned his dog looked up from the screen towards the dog beside him.
It was a large Golden Retriever.
At that moment, the Golden Retriever was squatting beside him, its large eyes fixed on the screen, more intently than he was.
Suddenly, the Golden Retriever blinked its large eyes, stuck out its tongue in a goofy manner, looked at him, and then lowered its head to look at its paws.
Innocent and cute.
The viewer chuckled, patted the Golden Retriever's head, and then looked back at the screen.
He was being silly. There were so many pets online that could buy things, walk on two legs, and even count.
And his dog just liked watching the computer.
The viewer glanced at the computer screen for two seconds, then suddenly darted his gaze to the dog beside him.
The Golden Retriever was looking out the window, not at him.
"Pfft!"
The viewer was genuinely amused this time. "My dog, becoming a spirit is impossible..."
He placed his hands on the keyboard, feeling at ease as he began to reply to the live stream's bullet comments.
If his dog had truly become a spirit, there would have been no signs over the years.
Beside him,
The Golden Retriever, which had been looking out the window, its eyeballs moved. It cast a sideways glance in his direction.
Then, it slowly turned its head, its ears continuing to listen to the sounds from the live stream, and nudged its silly owner.
...
...
2:00 PM.
Xu Youzhi and Yu Baixing continued their sealing work.
The other newly promoted captains began to act separately, exploring according to their interests and professions.
Jiang Lin and Liu Buwei followed Meng Shen to observe the task of escorting departed souls.
Qin Zhouzhou from the intelligence team had disappeared somewhere, but she was definitely gathering intelligence.
The members of the Ghost Artifact Workshop had likely gone to the Ghost Artifact Workshop in the South Hall.
Everyone had their own things they wanted to do or needed to do.
"Let's go."
Meng Shen glanced at the time on the mission board and led Jiang Lin and Liu Buwei to the human world to escort a departed soul.
A good mission snatched from the Underworld Mission Center.
...
The Human World.
This was a tranquil area with wide roads, flanked by two rows of tall trees.
The old leaves had all fallen, and new buds had climbed onto the treetops, presenting a scene of new vitality from afar.
The weather was good today, with the sun high in the sky, dispelling much of the chill. The air carried a faint fragrance of grass and trees.
On the ground, people walked leisurely in twos and threes.
Occasionally, children ran past their adults, dressed in new clothes and wearing red hairbands, looking very cute.
And such cute and energetic children also had their little troubles.
They would sometimes tilt their heads to look at their adults, pouting as they spoke, or frown like little adults, then grin and giggle, full of mischief.
'Ding dong~'
A coin rolled onto the ground from somewhere, making a crisp sound.
The little girl in the red jacket ran forward a couple of steps, then stopped, the 'dada' sound of her little boots also quieting down.
She turned her head, her gaze searching the ground, then she stepped forward and crouched down to pick up the coin.
...Perhaps, this could no longer be called a coin.
The little girl tilted her head, her large eyes filled with confusion.
In the center of this one-yuan coin, there was a rather large hole, just enough to pass through the number '1'.
It looked like a whistle candy.
The little girl brought the coin close to her eyes, looking at her surroundings through the hole.
After turning around once, she suddenly spotted an adult sitting under a tree.
She looked at the person through the coin's hole, and the person was also quietly looking at her.
The little girl took the coin away from her eyes, tilted her head, and looked at the person opposite, seemingly pondering something.
Two seconds later, she walked over step by step and stopped in front of the large tree.
"Is this yours?"
The little girl asked in a clear voice, her small face flushed red by the red jacket.
"Mm."
The person was sitting in a wheelchair, with a blanket draped over their legs.
Gray and white were mixed in their hair, and their resolute face revealed a hint of weariness.
They appeared to be at most forty or fifty years old but gave off a feeling of being on the verge of death, not having long to live.
"Is this one yuan?" the little girl asked.
"It used to be," the man in the wheelchair replied.
"Then why did it become like this?" the little girl wrinkled her nose. "My mom said not to play with money."
The man in the wheelchair paused, then gave a rare smile, his voice a little hoarse.
"Perhaps, it also had reasons it had to be this way."
"Alright~"
The little girl didn't know if she understood, perhaps she just wanted to hear a reason.
Or perhaps it was a casual question.
"Then I'll give it back to you."
The little girl placed the coin with the hole on the man's blanket-covered leg and then ran off with her little boots going 'dada'.
The man in the wheelchair picked up the coin and rubbed it a few times with his fingertips.
After sitting for a while longer, he raised his hand, and a woman not far away walked over, pushing him in another direction.
...
"He was a special forces soldier, with great talent. In his early twenties, he was already an elite among special forces soldiers, having undertaken many dangerous missions."
As Meng Shen floated towards the mission location, he explained the departed soul they were about to escort to Jiang Lin and Liu Buwei.
"...His body was covered in countless scars. At the age of 27, he was severely injured during a mission and lost both his legs simultaneously."
"Five years have passed since then."
Jiang Lin and Liu Buwei listened quietly. By the time they reached the soul escort point, the former soldier had already closed his eyes on the bed.
His hair was white, his face etched with weariness, making him appear at least forty or fifty years old.
Beneath the covers, where his legs should have been, there was nothing.
He lay with his eyes closed, still, as if asleep.
Outside the room,
Several men and women stood with their backs straight, feet together, raising their right hands to the level of their eyebrows.
Each of them wore a stern expression, their movements mechanical, like emotionless robots.
Only their eyes shone with a clear light.
...