New Times, New Hell

Chapter 109 - Becoming a Hou

Because Yu Zhengdu had summoned ghosts to transport branches and giant rocks to block the skeleton and zombie army, in addition to the cooperation of the special department’s shooting squad, they finally got the situation under control.

Yu Zhengdu and the religious masters could finally catch their breaths.

In the midst of so much chaos, Ming Peiran didn’t forget to talk business with Yu Zhengdu. “Boss Yu, your company’s technology is honestly badass. After we resolve the Si Mountain Ridge situation, I’m going to file a report with the higher-ups to sign a purchasing contract with your company too.”

Yu Zhengdu: “No problem. I’ll send you a copy of our company’s list of products later.”

After seeing the governmental team’s budget and spending habits, Yu Zhengdu felt like he was already seeing a huge influx of income. Most importantly, collaborating with the special department would make it a lot more convenient to accomplish other things later on.

The religious masters were all feeling very conflicted too. Some used this brief period of calm to say to Yu Zhengdu, “Boss Yu, let’s contact each other frequently in the future……”

Yu Zhengdu didn’t reject any of these people. “Yes, let’s……”

An eminent monk subtly asked, “I don’t know if there are any……scientific Buddhists in Almsgiver Yu’s company?”

Yu Zhengdu: “……”

He thought about it. There really was one. Thus, he nodded at the eminent monk. “Our company’s vice president has opened her insight eye. I’ll have her add you on WeChat later. You guys can have an in-depth discussion.”

The insight eye was one of the five eyes of Buddhism. It was probably considered a Buddhist skill.

The eminent monk was in utter disbelief. “What? Someone at your company has opened their insight……insight eye?”

However, they currently didn’t have time to begin an in-depth discussion. The crowd hadn’t gotten to relax for long when suddenly, a shooter on the roof shouted, “Captain, the situation is dire! There are new zombies approaching!”

Ming Peiran’s expression became grave. He hurriedly picked up a pair of binoculars and looked over.

Only to see innumerous skeletons being hit by bullets under the silvery moonlight. They fell one on top of the other, but very quickly, the soil started bubbling again. Those fallen skeletons got buried in the soil once more as new zombies crawled out.

The tree branches and soil bits blocking them from advancing had collapsed after continuous biting. In the blink of an eye, this barrier was close to becoming ineffective.

The ring of copper bells became even louder as the zombies approached. It soon became deafening.

“This won’t do.” Daoist priest Mu’s expression was solemn. He stood up straight again. “Who knows how many corpses and skeletons are buried under Si Mountain Ridge. We definitely won’t be able to win through attrition warfare.”

As expected, as soon as Daoist priest Mu finished speaking, a team member reported from the roof, “Captain, we don’t have many bullets left.”

Ming Peiran turned to look at the religious masters. “Religious masters, do you guys have any suggestions?”

“To defeat the enemy, defeat their leader first,” Daoist priest Mu replied. “To end this battle, we need to take care of the drought demon first.”

At the end of the day, this mountain full of skeletons had actually been summoned by the drought demon. To take care of these zombies, the main solution was to hit the pile of dry bones.

The other religious masters expressed their agreement. “Exactly. We must first defeat the drought demon.”

Yu Zhengdu stared at the densely packed zombie army that spread far into the distance. He fell into deep thought. “But right now, we can’t even see where the drought demon is……”

“We’ll have to advance deep into the ranks of the zombies and find a way to locate the drought demon.” Daoist priest Mu heroically took a step forward. “Let me expend the last of my energy and make that trip——”

“No need. Leave it to us.” Ming Peiran waved his hands and pulled out a walkie-talkie. “Are you guys here yet? How much further is there to travel?”

Yu Zhengdu looked on curiously. He softly asked Yuan Qing, “Who is Captain Ming talking to?”

This wasn’t the first time Qinglian Temple was collaborating with the special department. Yuan Qing knew a bit of information. He quietly responded, “Most likely the support team.”

As he spoke, even he himself felt a bit confused. “However, it doesn’t matter how many more people come. Right now isn’t the time to be comparing the numbers. The main point is to find the drought demon’s location, right……”

Just as he finished speaking, a “dadadadadada” sound suddenly appeared behind them. A gust of wind blew past too. Everyone turned around to look, only to see two helicopters slowly landing. A neatly uniformed squad member leaned half his body out of the helicopter door. He made a hand gesture at Ming Peiran and asked through the walkie-talkie: “Captain, what to do?”

Everyone: “……” A modernized team was truly exceptional!

Ming Peiran turned to ask Daoist priest Mu, “May I ask how one would determine which one is the drought demon when looking down from up in the air?”

Daoist priest Mu, who had just been preparing to heroically sacrifice himself, gulped. In the end, he said, “The drought demon will burn everything. Though the zombies are following the drought demon’s commands, they’re also scared of the heat and drought that appears with the her. Thus, there should be an empty space that has naturally formed around the drought demon……”

“Perhaps it’s not that complicated.” Yu Zhengdu pointed into the distance. “There’s light over there.”

Amidst the mountain full of skeletons, a flash of rainbow colored laser light occasionally appeared. Only, it was too far away, rendering it impossible for the naked eye to accurately place its location.

Ming Peiran nodded. He relayed their words to the team members in the helicopters and said, “After finding the drought demon, come up with a way to place a tracker on her. We’ll figure out a method to take care of her based on her location.”

Daoist priest Mu hurriedly stopped him. “This drought demon isn’t to be underestimated. It’s too dangerous to have a team member place the tracker.”

“There’s no other option, though,” Ming Peiran said solemnly. “If we don’t take this risk, there will be more people in danger. By then, nobody will be able to safely retreat.”

Daoist priest Mu sternly responded, “But Householder, do you realize that this might result in someone’s death……”

The people in the helicopter heard their conversation through the walkie-talkie. That person replied, “We’ve mentally prepared ourselves.”

“Um, let me try?” Yu Zhengdu interrupted.

Ming Peiran hurriedly waved his hands. “That won’t do……”

“No no no, I don’t mean going personally,” Yu Zhengdu explained. “Rather than assigning a living person to this risky task, why not simply have someone who’s already dead do it……”

A question mark appeared over Ming Peiran’s head.

Yu Zhengdu activated the heart seal and immediately summoned two Underworld spirits. They respectfully looked at him. “Boss Yu, what other orders do you have?”

Yu Zhengdu pointed at the helicopters and explained to them, “I want to ask you guys to go put a tracker on the drought demon.”

The two ghosts stared at the helicopters. Their voices slowly became more excited. “Oho, we never even got to sit in a helicopter when we were alive!”

Only now did Yu Zhengdu turn to ask Ming Peiran, “Captain Ming, there’s nothing wrong with this arrangement, right?”

Ming Peiran: “&#k2026;&#k2026;”

Ming Peiran silently handed the two ghosts walkie-talkies and other related equipment. The two ghosts excitedly climbed onto the helicopter and pleasantly shook hands with the team members on it. “Please take care of us.”

The team members instantly felt choked up. Even though they had resolved matters involving creatures from the Underworld in the past, this was their first time collaborating with Underworld spirits&#k2026;&#k2026; It had to be said that they felt a bit panicked.

As everyone watched, the helicopters flew off in the direction the skeletons were coming from. They passed through densely packed white bones and, under the moonlight, advanced deep into enemy territory.

The “dadadada” of the helicopters’ blades garnered the attention of the skeletons and zombies on the ground. They all looked up. Their sunken and empty eye sockets blankly stared at the strange metal machines flying overhead.

They seemed not to recognize this strange modern technology, but still, they instinctively sensed danger. In an instant, they became even more agitated. They wildly bit and clawed at the wood and dirt in front of them.

Biting sounds could be heard throughout the mountain.

“Oh no, the zombies have become even more inflamed. Hurry and open the altars to cast spells!” Daoist priest Mu yelled.

The religious masters, who had gotten slight breaks, all stood up and opened their altars once more.

Yellow talismans rose into the air. Copper bells started ringing. Magical instruments flew forward in sync.

Ming Peiran didn’t stop working either. While giving orders, he went over the situation with the team members on the helicopters. “Oh right, is there black dog blood on the helicopter? Pour it down for me along the way. Don’t be stingy……”

Following his orders, they could see the helicopters furiously spraying black dog blood down on the zombie army like they were spraying pesticides.

The pained howls of zombies sounded out from the areas the helicopters flew over.

Yu Zhengdu couldn’t help applauding again. “Impressive, impressive……”

But the black dog blood didn’t get sprayed for too long. The air had suddenly become extremely hot, almost as if it could ignite at any time. A report from the helicopter sounded out through Ming Peiran’s walkie-talkie. “Captain, the black dog blood has all evaporated……”

Ming Peiran: “Then start throwing grenades……”

Yu Zhengdu turned to look at him. “Captain Ming, what a forceful way of fighting zombies!”

Ming Peiran nodded calmly. He replied with his usual, “They’ve all been blessed. Blessed……”

Yu Zhengdu observed the quantity of their equipment and thought to himself, religious masters could probably die from exhaustion just by blessing your stuff, right?

Daoist priest Mu hurriedly stopped him “Captain Ming, don’t use explosives for now. It’s too dry; they’ll cause a forest fire.”

Only now did Ming Peiran realize this. He hurriedly stopped his team members. Fortunately, his team members very quickly replied too. “Captain, we’ve discovered the drought demon’s location!”

On the helicopter, the team members pulled out the safety rope and hooked the two ghosts onto it. They didn’t forget to say, “Be careful!”

“It’s fine. We’ve already died once.” The ghosts threw up peace signs. Under the team members’ speechless gazes, the two of them jumped down.

The two Underworld spirits were both holding walkie-talkies in their hands. Thus, Yu Zhengdu could hear them: “Aaaah, so hot so hot so hot!”

“My goodness, even my soul is about to dry up!”

“These zombies keep passing through my body. I’m about to get torn apart!”

Yu Zhengdu agitatedly asked, “How are you two now? Retreat immediately after you put the tracker on her!”

The two ghosts sounded like they were close to tears. “Boss Yu, the area around the drought demon is too hot. We can’t get close!”

Ming Peiran thought about it. “Is throwing dry ice useful?”

Yu Zhengdu couldn’t help looking at him. He muttered, “I’ll figure it out……”

He activated the magical seal once again, borrowing the power of all the ghosts of Luofeng Mountain to protect those two Underworld spirits.

The ghosts’ voices sounded out through the walkie-talkie: “We’re good now. We’re approaching her!”

“We’ve finished placing the tracker!”

Yu Zhengdu heaved out a slight sigh of relief. Ming Peiran hurriedly ordered the team member in the helicopter: “Quick, pull those two ghost friends back up!”

But before they could do anything, the terrified screeches of the Underworld spirits sounded out once more: “Aaah——the drought demon has discovered us!”

Immediately after came the voice of the team member in the helicopter. “Oh no, Captain! The safety rope has been burned off by the drought demon!”

Ghost: “My goodness, this drought demon can eat ghosts!”

“She’s crazy! She’s going to eat us!”

The ghosts’ terrified shouts caused everyone to go on high alert.

The team members in the helicopter said, “Though they’re already dead, we can’t let their spirits get eaten too!”

“Captain, we’ll send someone down to save them!”

Ming Peiran was incredibly hesitant. Yu Zhengdu hurriedly waved his hands around. “No need, no need.”

He activated the heart seal. The next second, both ghosts had already appeared in front of them. However, the two ghosts temporarily hadn’t yet realized that they were out of danger. They still had their eyes closed as they yelled, “Drought demon, don’t eat me——”

“Boss Yu is the one who told us to come. Go find Boss Yu instead——”

Yu Zhengdu: = =

After the two ghosts finished shouting, it seemed like they had suddenly noticed that their surroundings weren’t so hot anymore. Only now did they open their eyes, just in time to make eye contact with Yu Zhengdu. The latter looked quite speechless.

The two ghosts smiled in embarrassment. “Boss Yu, you didn’t hear anything, right?”

Yu Zhengdu: “……No.”

Ming Peiran was rendered temporarily speechless. In the end, he could only say, “Your company is honestly quite impressive in regards to summoning ghosts……”

One problem had been resolved. Ming Peiran hurriedly ordered the helicopters to leave. “Now, it’s time to fight the drought demon.”

Yu Zhengdu asked curiously, “How?”

Though the drought demon had been located, could the religious masters be so precise in their spell-casting?

Just as he finished asking, he heard an eardrum-rattling roar. A squad member on the roof yelled, “The zombies have broken through the barrier!”

Immediately after, multiple crackling sounds could be heard. The altar tables and yellow talismans before them all caught on fire.

The air had practically solidified. Each breath inhaled seemed to burn one’s nose and throat.

Numerous warnings from the Life and Death Accounts system popped up on Yu Zhengdu’s phone one after the other:【Extensive animal deaths at Si Mountain Ridge.】

【Human population of Si Mountain Ridge under threat of dropping sharply.】

【Ecological environment of Si Mountain Ridge is about to collapse.】

At the same time, all the employees in the company group chat were discussing in panic:【What’s wrong with Si Mountain Ridge? How come so many animals died so suddenly?】

【The system’s backend server is sending out red alerts!】

Some employees were also sending screenshots of the key search results for Si Mountain Ridge on Weibo:【Several different places in Si Mountain Ridge have caught on fire?】

【There’s no water at all, so firefighters can’t do anything either???】

【What is actually happening at Si Mountain Ridge?】

The drought demon in cyan seemed to feel like she had been insulted. She felt even more furious. Accompanied by her deafening growls, the skeletons flooded in the direction of the villa and surrounded it.

Bullets kept flying, but they could only slightly slow the zombies down.

The religious masters incessantly chanted and made hand seals. Magical instruments flew forward, yet could only barely keep the skeletons at bay.

This was practically physical combat.

Yu Zhengdu didn’t know any magic. In only an instant, he had become the target for the skeletons’ attacks. Just as Ming Peiran was about to arrange for someone to protect him, the temperatures around them suddenly dropped. A huge group of Underworld spirits appeared out of nowhere, encircling Yu Zhengdu completely. “Don’t worry, Boss Yu. We’ll protect you!”

But this group of ghosts was greatly different from the group that Yu Zhengdu had summoned himself by using the heart seal. All of them were composed and looked well trained.

Yu Zhengdu jumped in shock. “Who are you guys?”

“Boss Shang sensed that you were in danger. He sent us here,” the ghost in charge said.

Daoist priest Mu looked over using his peripheral vision. Surprised, he asked, “These……these are Underworld soldiers?”

The ghost in charge chuckled. He pulled out a brick. “We just happened to attend some military training before dying.”

The religious masters: “……” Why did these Underworld soldiers seem like the ruffians who took part in street fights?

Yu Zhengdu looked at the Underworld soldiers that had suddenly appeared. Then, he looked at the mountainside full of monsters. His heart immediately skipped a beat.

The situation at Si Mountain Ridge had completely surpassed their expectations. Also, what was going on with Shang Que right now? Could he handle the situation he was in?

However, he currently didn’t have enough time to ponder these questions. The religious masters were endlessly chanting incantations, not pausing at all. Still, they couldn’t stop the advance of the skeletons. Very quickly, someone could no longer keep up and got attacked by a skeleton.

“Ah——”

“Careful——”

Shrieks continuously sounded out. Many of these zombies and skeletons contained corpse poison. If one got scratched by them, their flesh would immediately turn blackish-purple and start rotting. Yu Zhengdu was greatly agitated. He told the Underworld soldiers, “Don’t worry about me right now. Hurry and help the religious masters! That’s more important!”

The Underworld soldiers didn’t dare to disobey his commands. After leaving enough ghosts to ensure Yu Zhengdu’s safety, the other ghosts headed off to protect the religious masters.

The religious masters: “……” They had always been on opposing sides with ghosts. Never in their wildest dreams had they ever thought that one day, they would be getting protected by ghosts. Their moods were quite conflicted.

However, with the Underworld spirits’ protection, everyone could finally manage to relax a bit. Ming Peiran took this opportunity to say, “Everyone, hang on for just a bit longer. Our secret weapon is going to be here soon!”

Yu Zhengdu asked in surprise, “There’s another weapon?”

The members of the special department could be heard moving around inside the villa. Yu Zhengdu turned around to see……a shoulder cannon?

Yu Zhengdu: “……”

For some unknown reason, he actually wasn’t surprised at all. He could even calmly ask, “Captain Ming, what other surprises does your department have that I don’t know about?”

Ming Peiran laughed cheekily. “It’s been blessed.”

Yu Zhengdu: ……How many religious masters did you guys tire to death?

Ming Peiran, expression serious: “Religious masters, please help strengthen and protect our cannon!”

The Underworld soldiers and Peashooters used up the last of their energy to force the skeletons to retreat a few steps back. Ming Peiran used this opportunity to quickly determine the drought demon’s location. After, at his command, the religious masters chanted in synchronization. In the darkness, a faint golden light surrounded the shoulder cannon.

The “pow——” of a cannon. The cannonball shot out, leaving a long tail behind it. It landed in a pile of skeletons far away.

With an enormous “boom——”, the forest in the distance exploded in a mess of stones and dirt. White bones and zombies got flung high up into the air too.

The earth started shaking.

“Ah——ah——” The drought demon’s shrieks echoed throughout the mountainside. “I’m going to kill you guys——”

The drought demon’s screams slowly quieted.

Following this, those skeletons that were causing the religious masters great pressure fell over too. They returned to their dead state.

The pressure had abruptly disappeared. The exhausted individuals held each other up, still a bit lost.

Only rough panting could be heard around them.

After an unknown amount of time, someone whispered, “We’ve taken care of……the drought demon?”

Everyone stared at the motionless bones and zombie piles around them. Some still couldn’t process what had just happened. “I th-think so?”

They all looked into the distance. Ming Peiran barely managed to catch his breath. He waved his hand and called his team members over. “Let’s go investigate.”

“Wait.” Daoist priest Mu reached a hand out and stopped him.

Ming Peiran turned his head, confused. “What’s wrong?”

Daoist priest Mu didn’t know either. He only hesitantly stated, “It still hasn’t started raining.”

Everyone looked up at the sky. The sky was completely clear. The moon was as bright as before; even the heat in the atmosphere hadn’t decreased in the slightest.

Someone asked, “Maybe we have to wait a bit before……”

Before he could finish his question, a bright white flash appeared in the sky. Immediately after, there was a huge “boom.” A thunderstorm began abruptly.

“Is it about to rain?” Someone inquired in delight.

“No.” Daoist priest Mu solemnly stared into the distance. That was the direction the drought demon was probably in. Panic could be seen in his eyes. “It’s still a dry thunderstorm.”

Another roar of thunder: “honglong——”. The lightning directly struck the location of the drought demon.

Brilliant flames.

The mountain had caught on fire.

“The mountain’s on fire.” Ming Peiran widened his eyes and looked ahead. “How could this be? Haven’t we already gotten rid of the drought demon?”

The wildfire burned very quickly. There were dry trees everywhere. A crackling could be heard everywhere. Those skeletons were giving off phosphine gas. Very quickly, they caught on fire too.

In the flames, a corpse slowly rose up and flew into the air. Heat waves rippled off her body, filling up the surroundings.

Thunder rumbled in the Heavens. Strike after strike of lightning landed on her body, causing her to incessantly tremble.

An unknown person suddenly asked, “What’s the situation? What’s the drought demon doing? Getting struck by lightning?”

“No——” By now, Daoist priest Mu finally understood everything clearly. “We’ve been wrong this whole time……”

“The drought demon’s true purpose in summoning all those skeletons wasn’t to fight us. Instead, her goal was to absorb the energy they had gathered after hundreds and thousands of years underground.”

“She’s already done it.”

Ming Peiran asked nervously, “What has she already done?”

Daoist priest Mu looked up into the sky. The bright moon was like a spot of silver. Thunder was rumbling. His voice was filled with tragedy, “That’s not dry lightning at all……”

“It’s heavenly tribulation lightning……”

“This drought demon is going to become a Hou……”

Hou, a vicious ancient beast. It looked like a horse, but had scales. It could spit fire and was extraordinarily aggressive. It could eat dragons.

According to legends, Hous were the evolved forms of drought demons – they were the most powerful types of zombies.

The religious masters all held their hands together in prayer. They silently lowered their heads.

Daoist priest Mu: “I had never expected that another Hou would appear in the mortal realm. I fear that all living beings are really going to suffer now……”

The drought demon’s cackles echoed everywhere:

“I’m going to flatten every inch of dirt I pass over——”

“Wherever I go, all life will become ash——”

The wildfire raged on, practically causing half the night sky to turn red.

But at this time, the wildfire was perhaps the least of their worries.

Despair spread amongst the crowd. Even Ming Peiran had stopped giving orders.

In this solemn atmosphere, an agitated voice suddenly sounded out. “Hurry hurry hurry! Hurry and transport the lightning rods here!”

Everyone turned their heads in sync, only to see that Yu Zhengdu was in the middle of nervously speaking into his phone. “Transport as many as there are. The bigger the better!”

Question marks appeared over everyone’s heads. Ming Peiran asked, voice hoarse, “Boss Yu, you are?”

“Finding ghosts to transport lightning rods over ah!” Yu Zhengdu said while pointing at the drought demon who was in midair. “Doesn’t she want to get past her heavenly tribulation? Hurry and block the lightning in the sky from landing!”

Everyone: ?????

You can do that?

The author has something to say:

Do you feel the power of technology?

Xiao Kui shows up in the next chapter! Nobody is allowed to secretly miss Xiao Kui in Boss Yu’s stead!