New Times, New Hell Chapter 13 - Underworld Energy Detector

Chapter 13 - Underworld Energy Detector

On this day, Yu Zhengdu was in the middle of writing code when he received Shang Que’s hara.s.sing messages.

My broke-a.s.s Boss:【I remembered a way to earn money. It’s one religious men used all the time in the past】

Yu Zhengdu:【?】

My broke-a.s.s Boss:【But only living humans can use this skill. It’s up to you if you want to sacrifice yourself for money】

Yu Zhengdu immediately became alert after reading Shang Que’s message. Ever since he had been forced to stop spending money on his games and once again re-entered the cycle of getting beaten up, Shang Que had become a bit depressed. He now spent a large amount of his energy on planning how to get rich, but it seemed that the ways to earn money differed greatly between the Underworld and mortal realm.

Yu Zhengdu:【What skill is it?】

My broke-a.s.s Boss:【Have you heard of the Five Ghosts Money Transporting spell?】

Of course Yu Zhengdu had never heard of it. But he was 120% careful everytime his boss had a suggestion, so resolutely decided to search it up online.

The supposed Five Ghosts Money Transporting spell was one that used magic to control five ghosts to transport money. The ghosts would move other people’s money into the spellcaster’s home. It was also known as the Five Ghosts Underworld Debt spell and was originally created as a way to borrow from the Underworld; the spell could easily rebound.

Yu Zhengdu:【……Isn’t this an evil spell!】

My broke-a.s.s Boss:【Yeah, but don’t you mortals normally say, riches can only be obtained from dangerous situations?】

My broke-a.s.s Boss:【Besides, my abilities are very orthodox. It’ll be a lot less dangerous than if it were cast by some random mortal.】

Yu Zhengdu read his boss’s response and somehow felt that he was reading the ad from a WeChat business: Our abilities are the best! No side effects or dangers!

Yu Zhengdu thought about it and replied:【Thanks to your idea, I just thought of a way to make money too. It’s very suitable for our company and is ethical, so there’s no danger】

My broke-a.s.s Boss:【What is it?】

Yu Zhengdu:【The Five Ghosts Money Transporting spell is too off the rails, it’s not suited for us, but you can consider changing it up to make a Five Ghosts Brick Transporting spell. We’ll try to become the boss of the construction site】

Yu Zhengdu:【If you do well, maybe you can even become the contractor】

My broke-a.s.s Boss:【……】

Soon after, Shang Que left his office and pulled up a chair to sit next to Yu Zhengdu. He crossed his legs and propped his chin on his hand; matched with his handsome features, his entire being radiated an eye-catching aura.

Yu Zhengdu remained focused on his computer screen, fingers incessantly tapping at the keyboard. He didn’t even spare a glance.

A pause later, Shang Que heavily sighed. “Will we really have to control ghosts to move bricks?”

Yu Zhengdu could only turn his head to look at him. It was true, Boss’s appearance was very elite, his clothes seemed high-end and one couldn’t tell he was poor at all. He couldn’t help teasing him, “Don’t worry, you’ll definitely be the most handsome man on the construction site.”

Shang Que: “……”

Yu Zhengdu wanted to make fun of him some more, but he got another notification on WeChat. It was from Li Tiantian, who hadn’t contacted him for a while since he gifted her a stone.

Li Tiantian:【Student Yu, does your company still have those luck-changing magnets?】

Li Tiantian:【I want to buy one for my friend】

Li Tiantian:&#k3010;She happens to be here in the park district too. If you have it, we can go pick it up from your company right now&#k3011;

Yu Zhengdu blanked out for a moment before regaining his composure. He glanced at Boss, a little disbelieving. “Someone wants to come back for more of this stuff? No wonder people who do business in selling crystals are doing so well&#k2026;&#k2026;”

Shang Que thought about it briefly and said, “Tell them they can come pick it up.”

Yu Zhengdu: “……”

Seems like Boss really doesn’t want to be a brick mover.

But even though their company was poor, Yu Zhengdu didn’t want to become a dishonest businessman. He continued talking with Li Tiantian to find out what was going on.

It turned out that Li Tiantian was unhappy about receiving a stone from Yu Zhengdu last time, believing that he was fooling around with her, so privately complained to her best friends about the strange stone-gifting man she met. She never imagined, though, that when she got home that day, her luck started to get better. Not only were her shoulders not sore anymore, her mental state became a lot better too.

Because the timing was too coincidental, and Li Tiantian already was the type of girl to believe in horoscopes and such, she obviously suspected that this was due to the stone. Afterwards, she started carrying the stone with her wherever she went, and as expected, her work and life all became smoother. Just a few days ago, she even got a pay raise.

This made Li Tiantian treasure the stone even more, and she took to sharing her experience with her best friends. But because the stone’s appearance was nothing special, despite her guarantee that it was special, her friends didn’t believe her. In comparison, they preferred beautiful crystals more.

Today’s situation was due to the fact that one of Li Tiantian’s best friends had recently acquired a bout of bad luck for some unknown reason. Her mental state wasn’t that great either, which was somewhat similar to what had happened to Li Tiantian before. Thus, Li Tiantian strongly recommended the magnets from Yu Zhengdu’s company. But her best friend didn’t believe in such things and ignored her recommendation. Coincidentally, she had some business in the area today and so met with Li Tiantian for lunch, which is why Li Tiantian was adamant about bringing her over.

After Yu Zhengdu figured out this reason, he was still a bit unsure of what to do. It was important to know that Li Tiantian’s prior bad luck was because a ghost was hara.s.sing her. After the ghost was arrested, she naturally became better; it had nothing to do with the stone. It was unlikely that her best friend coincidentally was also being hara.s.sed by a ghost. That would mean that there was an overabundance of ghosts.

Shang Que didn’t have the worries he did, eloquently explaining, “Humans don’t get bad luck out of nowhere. Even if it isn’t an evil ghost bothering them, it’s more than likely they ran into something. We can solve these problems too.”

Yu Zhengdu glanced at his boss out of the corner of his eye, only to see Boss lightly smile, “Of course, they’ll have to pay.”

Li Tiantian and her best friend arrived very soon. Yu Zhengdu and Shang Que greeted them together.

Upon entering the company, the two girls had very different reactions. Li Tiantian and Yu Zhengdu were familiar with each other, so after exchanging greetings, she joked, “Your company is so lowkey, I almost didn’t find it.”

Yu Zhengdu: ……You can simply say our company is small!

Li Tiantian’s best friend was called Chen Siyu. One could tell that she came from a well-off family: she was dressed from head to toe in brand-name clothing. The company was obviously much smaller than she had imagined, and the distrust oozed out from her eyes quite obviously.

Yu Zhengdu understood her. A company of this size, working in this environment, and claiming they sold luck-changing magnets? If it were him in this situation, he probably would have already called the police.

He could tell that Chen Siyu was uninterested in the luck-changing magnets Li Tiantian was strongly recommending. Seeing as she was already there and also didn’t want to embarra.s.s her friend, she reluctantly asked, “How much for one of your luck-changing magnets? Give me one. I still have something after this so I need to leave soon.”

Chen Siyu didn’t seem to be in good shape, but there also weren’t any ghosts following her around. Her situation was clearly different from Li Tiantian’s.

Yu Zhengdu didn’t know what was up with her either, so could only say, “There’s no rush. We don’t sell our magnets randomly; it’s dependent on different situations.”

Chen Siyu seemed a bit impatient. “Then guess what situation you think I have and give me that stone.”

Li Tiantian currently had a bit of blind trust for Yu Zhengdu’s company, so after hearing her best friend’s words, she hurriedly tapped her shoulder, and said placatingly, “Aiya, Siyu, don’t be in such a hurry. Student Yu and his company are very professional, just listen to him.”

Chen Siyu secretly glared at Li Tiantian. She didn’t understand why her best friend, who had received higher education, was so brainwashed.

She had never believed in these random things that couldn’t be scientifically proven. In her eyes, what Li Tiantian said about a stone changing her luck for the better was just a coincidence and purely psychological.

But Li Tiantian had always liked to talk about horoscopes and such, so after encountering such a situation she became even more obsessed. The two reasons Chen Siyu had come with her were because she knew that her best friend meant well and because she wanted to take this opportunity to prove that this company wasn’t magical at all, only a group of scammers.

Yu Zhengdu pretended he didn’t see Chen Siyu roll her eyes. He elbowed Shang Que and said, “Boss, take a look at what’s wrong with Miss Chen.”

Shang Que hadn’t spoken a word since the two girls had walked in the door. Right now he was currently leaning against the back of his chair and looking very apathetic. Upon hearing Yu Zhengdu speak to him, he finally lifted his eyes and declared indifferently, “I don’t really want to.”

Yu Zhengdu: “……?”

Yu Zhengdu turned to look at him and saw he was very reluctant. “She has a poor att.i.tude.”

Yu Zhengdu paused momentarily, and then finally understood. Shang Que wasn’t someone who needed to bow to others. He was someone born as the Ghost King, never experiencing the sufferings and hards.h.i.+ps of being human. Even though he was slightly poor in the mortal realm, he still had an image to uphold.

According to legend, humans in the past wors.h.i.+pped him. No one ever dared to speak to him with such an att.i.tude.

The fact that Shang Que hadn’t eaten Chen Siyu then and there was a testament to his good temperament.

Chen Siyu didn’t know what an honor she had received. Upon hearing Shang Que’s words, her face became dark. “If you don’t want to then you don’t need to. Tiantian, let’s go.”

Li Tiantian never imagined the scene would play out like this. She hurriedly grabbed her. “Ey, we’re already here. You won’t lose anything if you let them take a look.”

Chen Siyu’s tone of voice wasn’t so great. “What do you mean I won’t lose anything. That stupid stone costs money.”

Shang Que took out his phone and started playing games.

Li Tiantian: “……”

Yu Zhengdu: “……”

It was over. Boss had gone on strike.

Li Tiantian subtly tugged on the corner of Yu Zhengdu’s s.h.i.+rt. “Student Yu, it’s alright if you’re the one who takes a look, too.”

Yu Zhengdu looked at Li Tiantian’s naive expression. He really wanted to say I really don’t know how.

He paused, and then suddenly thought of something. He hurriedly called for Chen Siyu, “Miss Chen, how about this. Let me do a health a.s.sessment for you first.”

Chen Siyu was so mad she almost laughed. Wasn’t this the usual trick vendors selling healthcare products used?

She mocked, “What kind of health a.s.sessment? Are you going to take my blood pressure?”

Yu Zhengdu didn’t get angry, only smiling as he said, “It’s a new program that our company just created. It can a.s.sess your recent health and luck score.”

Chen Siyu: “……”

Li Tiantian looked at him in confusion, “You guys have that kind of technology?”

Even Shang Que also put his phone down and lifted his head to look at him.

Yu Zhengdu didn’t bother going into detail. He ran back to his own seat and grabbed the work phone that the company had given him. He opened an app in the phone and pointed the camera at Chen Siyu, “Don’t move yet, let me just scan you first.”

Now even Li Tiantian thought this was a bit unreliable. She asked suspiciously, “Why does it feel like you’re scanning a barcode?”

Yu Zhengdu smiled, “It’s different. Our app utilizes unique technology belonging to our company that can use an image of a person to a.n.a.lyze their recent condition. It can also be used to examine one’s health and luck.”

Chen Siyu finally couldn’t hold herself back. She dragged Li Tiantian to her side and quietly scolded, “I told you that this was a scam company but you refused to believe me. Using an app to a.n.a.lyze luck, do you think that sounds reasonable?”

Li Tiantian’s expression was a little awkward too. She temporarily didn’t know how to face Yu Zhengdu, stammering out, “Student Yu, how about, we just won’t buy it……”

Before she finished speaking, Yu Zhengdu looked at his phone screen and started talking. “Miss Chen’s current condition isn’t very ideal. Her back and side are a little bit chilly, but it’s nothing severe. You won’t need to go to the hospital. Your luck score is also a bit low, so be careful when you’re out and about, as it’ll be more likely for something to go wrong.”

Following his words, Chen Siyu’s previously angry expression slowly changed, but she still refused to give in. She asked carefully, “That’s what Tiantian told you, right?”

Li Tiantian made an “ah” noise. She sounded uncertain, “I told him a little bit, but not with so many details.”

Yu Zhengdu continued, “Your situation isn’t that serious. You don’t need to change your luck, just to rest for a few days and to go get some more sunlight.”

Chen Siyu saw that he had nothing else to say so decided it must have been a stroke of luck. She was just about to continue mocking him, when the very indifferent boss next to him spoke up. “Her situation isn’t serious, but someone in her family’s situation is very serious.”

Chen Siyu was shocked and lifted her head to look at Shang Que.

Shang Que had already put down his phone, but didn’t look at her. Instead, he grabbed Yu Zhengdu’s phone. “When did you develop this? How come I never heard about it?”

He looked at the app named “Underworld Energy Detector” on the phone. The app displayed Chen Siyu’s picture. Her back and part of her side were of a slightly darker color than everywhere else, and the according stats were displayed on the side. The bottom of the page even had a little square with the a.n.a.lysis of the numbers and a comprehensive luck score.

Previously when Kang Jin and the others captured the female ghost that had been hara.s.sing Li Tiantian, they mentioned that they had found a certain amount of “ghostly energy” on Li Tiantian. Thus, Yu Zhengdu learned that when humans and creatures of the Underworld came into contact, Underworld energy would more or less be left on them. This Underworld energy could disturb a human’s mental state, causing them to unknowingly become confused. To take it a step further, the energy could also change one’s luck for a limited period of time.

He was inspired by this, and on the side of developing the Life and Death Accounts, came into contact with some “special technology” not belonging to the mortal realm. Thus, he made this little program along the way.

He had just developed it for fun, and so never brought it up with Shang Que. He didn’t imagine that he would have a use for it today.

Yu Zhengdu answered, “I just wanted to try it. It’s still in the test phase now. How accurate were the results?”

Shang Que nodded. “Pretty accurate. She’s fine, because she was only in the vicinity. The true unlucky person is someone in her family.”

Chen Siyu was completely shocked by this. She had never told Li Tiantian that there was something wrong with someone in her family.

She bit her lip and twisted in place awkwardly before saying, “Um, are you still selling those stones?”

Shang Que glanced at her coldly. “For double the price.”

Yu Zhengdu: “……”

Boss’s vengeful heart……

Li Tiantian: “……”

Who raised the price so directly these days?

She was just about to ask Yu Zhengdu for help, when Chen Siyu said softly, “I’ll pay it.”