bookpub Chapter 30 Cross-border law enforcement, do you think I'm joking?
Chapter 30 Cross-border law enforcement, do you think I'm joking?
Chu Jiang played with the death-exemption talisman sent by King Qin Guang; it felt warm and smooth to the touch, like a piece of fine jade.
He casually tucked it into his pocket, already quite used to King Qin Guang's leadership style of "slapping someone and then giving them a sweet treat."
As for the message about the person from Heaven, he glanced at it and crossed it out.
Anyone here? Even if you come, you'll have to wait in line.
"boom--"
A blinding golden light descended from the sky above the ferry crossing, landing precisely on the open ground in front of it.
As the light faded, a figure clad in golden chainmail with a cloud-patterned cloak fluttering behind him appeared.
On this day, he was handsome but expressionless, his eyes sweeping over the swarming ghosts around him with disdain.
He strode forward and headed straight for the spirit boat to the underworld.
"Sir, please queue up."
Bruch, dressed in a tailcoat, gracefully glided forward and reached out to stop him.
That day, he frowned, golden light flowed around him, and an aura of celestial power spread out.
"You mere foreign brat, how dare you stop me?"
Bruch's face paled, and he was forced to take two steps back by the oppressive aura, but he still kept his back straight.
"Excuse me, sir, this is our boss's rule."
Just as the heavens were about to unleash their fury, Chu Jiang's yawning came from not far away.
"From Heaven?"
Chu Jiang walked over and looked the golden-haired fellow up and down.
"You have to queue too. The underworld is currently working on becoming a civilized city, which emphasizes fairness, impartiality, and transparency."
Tian Jiang turned his gaze to Chu Jiang, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes, which then turned into contempt.
"How dare you, a mere ghost general, point fingers at me? I am the vanguard officer under Li Jing, the Heavenly General patrolling the Southern Heavenly Gate, here by the Jade Emperor's decree..."
"Stop." Chu Jiang picked at his ear. "Even the Jade Emperor's decree has to go through procedures. First, go to that stone tablet over there, scan the QR code, download the 'Three Paths Fast Crossing' APP, register, and then book an appointment for an 'Executive Meeting'."
"Our company is very busy and we do not accept in-person meetings."
The vanguard officer was completely baffled by Chu Jiang's rhetoric.
He had been fighting across the Three Realms for thousands of years, and this was the first time he had ever seen a ghost dare to speak to the people of Heaven like that.
"You...how dare you!"
Just as he was about to make his move and teach this arrogant ghost general a lesson about the inviolability of heaven's might, a mournful cry came from the end of the road to the underworld.
"Lord Chu! Lord Chu, save me!"
A ghost messenger dressed in the robes of the Soul-Catching Bureau, his soul dim and covered in charred marks from being burned by yang fire, tumbled and crawled over.
He knelt down in front of Chu Jiang with a thud and burst into tears.
"What happened?" Chu Jiang frowned.
"Something terrible has happened in the mortal realm...!" The underworld official cried, breathless. "In the Hundred Thousand Mountains of Southern Xinjiang, there's a heretical cult called the 'Blood God Cult.' They've somehow acquired some evil magic and created some kind of blood sacrifice array!"
"Our Soul-Collecting Division went to collect the souls of the unjustly deceased as usual, but... but the great formation activated, and the yang energy was like a furnace. Our team of brothers suffered over three hundred casualties! Even their souls were burned away, their spirits scattered!"
The cries of the underworld messengers echoed throughout the entire ferry crossing.
The ghosts in line fell silent instantly, their faces filled with terror.
For ghosts, being completely annihilated is the most complete form of death.
Chu Jiang's face darkened.
He ignored the still-shocked Heavenly Vanguard Officer, and instead took out his Soul-Nourishing Wood phone and opened his background data.
On the background map of the "Three Paths Crossing" APP, the area representing the southern border of the mortal realm, where the light spots representing "souls waiting to be harvested" should have been lit up, has now dimmed in large swaths.
"This is maliciously disrupting the Underworld's raw material supply chain." Chu Jiang's voice turned cold. "Cutting off our KPIs is cutting off our lifeline."
He put away his phone and looked around at the underworld officials who were still queuing up.
"Everyone, now is not the time for internal strife."
"This is due to vicious competition in the external market. Someone is trying to monopolize the market and destroy the livelihood of our entire underworld."
The old apothecary and the other department heads looked at each other, clearly not quite understanding Chu Jiang's business jargon.
However, the Heavenly Vanguard Officer let out a cold snort.
"A mere mortal cult has rendered your underworld helpless, causing you to suffer heavy losses. You are truly incompetent."
Chu Jiang glanced at him.
"If you're so good, why don't you do it yourself?"
"You..." The vanguard officer was speechless, choked with emotion.
Enforcing the law across boundaries is a grave offense under heaven. For a celestial general to interfere in human affairs without the Jade Emperor's explicit decree is a crime greater than swimming in the River of the Underworld.
Chu Jiang ignored him and turned to walk onto the high platform.
He cleared his throat and activated the "Three Paths Fast Crossing" APP's all-underworld broadcast function.
"Hey, hey, testing, testing."
"Santu Ferry Management Co., Ltd. hereby issues a Level 1 mobilization order!"
His voice, carried by the magical artifacts in the hands of every ghost who had installed the app, spread throughout every corner of the underworld.
"All current and prospective employees of the company who have a merit score of 80 or higher must immediately assemble at the Three Crossings Ferry!"
"This operation is a special cross-sector mission, fraught with danger, but overtime pay will be plentiful, and compensation will be generous! Those who sacrifice their lives will be granted a 'Chosen One' luxury package for their next life, and their families can inherit their company stock options!"
The broadcast caused an uproar throughout the underworld.
"Holy crap! A cross-dimensional mission? To the mortal realm?"
"Overtime pay! And a deluxe meal! Who wouldn't want such good fortune!"
"Charge! For the boss! For the KPIs!"
In less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the open space in front of the Three Crossings Ferry was filled with a dark mass of ghosts.
There were tens of thousands of them.
They were no longer the listless, resentful people they used to be.
Each ghost stood straight, automatically forming a neat square formation according to their respective credit scores.
Leading the group were Li the coder and Bruch.
The Soul-Devouring Beast wagged its tail excitedly, its enormous body radiating the terrifying aura of an ancient ferocious beast.
This army of ghosts was quiet and chilling, their eyes devoid of resentment and confusion, filled only with something called "rules" and "discipline".
The vanguard commander of the Heavenly Court was shocked as he looked at the ghost army that was even more disciplined than the heavenly soldiers and generals.
Is this the hell?
When did that ragtag bunch from the underworld, who couldn't even stand in formation, become so capable of fighting?
"Chu Jiang, what... what do you want to do? Are you trying to incite a rebellion?" the vanguard officer shouted, though his voice trembled slightly, a tremor he himself was unaware of.
Chu Jiang shouldered the Gatling gun, pointing it skyward.
"Don't be nervous, comrade. We're just going to the mortal realm to protect our company's legal rights."
He turned to Li, the coder, and said, "Notify all employees involved in the operation to open the 'Underworld Labor Law' in the app, turn to Chapter 3, Article 7, the clause about 'legitimate self-defense,' and study it all."
After saying that, he waved his hand dismissively.
"Map revealed! Target: the mortal realm, southern Xinjiang, the Ten Thousand Mountains!"
The Yellow Springs Spirit Boat emitted a golden light, tearing open a spatial rift leading to the mortal realm.
Chu Jiang took the lead, leading tens of thousands of ghost soldiers, and stepped into the crevice in a grand procession.
……
The mortal realm, the southern frontier.
Deep within the Ten Thousand Mountains, a massive crimson magic array is in operation.
At the center of the magic circle, the bones of countless living beings piled up like a mountain, and resentment and bloodlust soared into the sky, dyeing the sky an eerie dark red.
A priest dressed in black robes was chanting incantations with fervor.
Just then, the sky suddenly darkened.
A massive spatial rift was forcibly torn open, and endless Yin energy poured down like a waterfall.
Chu Jiang, dressed in a black official robe and carrying a merit Gatling gun on his shoulder, was the first to emerge from the crack.
Behind him were tens of thousands of ghosts holding various magical artifacts, their eyes cold and piercing.
A chilling wind howled, and ten thousand ghosts followed.
The temperature in the entire valley suddenly dropped, and the soaring blood energy seemed to be doused with cold water in the face of this pure power of underworld order, instantly withering away.
"Who goes there!" The black-robed priest looked up in shock and anger.
Before Chu Jiang could speak, the ground beneath his feet suddenly began to tremble.
An old man dressed in the robes of the City God, with white hair and beard, crawled out of the ground.
When he saw Chu Jiang and the army of ten thousand ghosts behind him, especially when he saw the token on Chu Jiang's body that represented "Order Inspector", his legs went weak and he knelt down.
"I, Li Chunfeng, a minor deity, am unaware of your esteemed presence and have failed to properly welcome you, revered mountain gods, local deities, and city gods of the eight hundred li of southern Xinjiang!"
The old City God buried his head in the ground, his soul trembling like a leaf in the wind.
"He deserves to die!"