Chapter 1 A Year

A year might be just the blink of an eye for some.

But for most, it’s long enough for significant changes to occur.

Zhou Ze still clearly remembered,

A year ago,

That stubborn figure wearing a mask,

Standing in the void,

Persistently looking up at the sky.

Even after being knocked down three times,

He acted as if nothing had happened,

Brushed off his sleeves,

And continued to fly back up,

Continuing to gaze at the sky.

Honestly, that persistence, that "state of mind" of not caring about anything other than the goal in his eyes, was truly terrifying.

The young man was undoubtedly one of the few in all of Hell closest to the Bodhisattva,

Because the Bodhisattva's mount was Diting, and the person who spent all day with Diting was this young man.

As for why the Bodhisattva had that temple demolished, the specific reason was unknown.

Even Feng Si didn't know about it, which showed how strictly this matter was sealed off.

The young man had been taken by Lawyer An to the wax museum to exchange farming experiences, while the old Daoist had left the bookstore to continue his stroll.

He was one of the "core" people of the bookstore, but most of the time, he acted like someone with nothing to do, doing whatever he wanted. Everyone seemed to be used to it.

His knee still hurt a lot, but the old Daoist's pace remained firm.

He had contacted her on WeChat last night; he was going to comfort a big sister.

This time, it was truly to comfort, and not for anything else.

Because that big sister was leaving Tong City tomorrow.

Tong City had been cracking down hard for the past two months, making business difficult, so naturally, she had to think about a strategic shift.

The old Daoist had to see her off.

Feng Si stayed in the bookstore. After the others left, Feng Si took the initiative to sit down in front of Zhou Ze, smiling, and said:

"Boss, there's one more thing. I was originally planning to wait until he was dealt with before telling you, but now that he's been found, I'll tell you about it."

"Speak."

"Well, after this cleanup, the Judges will all return to the Hell Underworld, but a small number of Inspectors will remain stationed in the mortal realm."

"Oh?"

"The new Underworld plans to change the previous layout in the mortal realm during the Ten Kings of Hell era. In the past, there were only Ghost Messengers and Constables in the mortal realm. Inspectors rarely returned to the mortal realm unless they had a mission.

"This time, the Underworld plans to add a stationed Inspector above the original two levels of Ghost Messengers and Constables in the mortal realm, based on the designated area.

"Half of them are Inspectors who came up to carry out the cleanup mission, and half are promoted from the original group of mortal realm Constables.

"The several consecutive disturbances in Hell a year ago caused a great loss of officials in Hell, so this time, the original mortal realm Constables were given the opportunity to advance."

Few people can refuse a promotion.

However, the former Boss Zhou might have refused.

He liked life in the mortal realm, liked the newspapers in the mortal realm, liked the sunshine in the mortal realm, and the cat shit in the mortal realm.

Life in Hell was truly too boring. To trade a position as an Inspector for being tied to working in Hell, Boss Zhou really felt like it was a loss.

But now, if he could continue to guard the mortal realm after becoming an Inspector, continue to stay in Tong City, then the situation would naturally be different.

"What are the specific requirements?" Boss Zhou asked.

"The specific requirements are that there are no requirements." Feng Si pointed to himself, "I can help you handle everything, Boss. You just need to go through a little bit of procedure."

It really was easy to get promoted when you had someone in court, and this feeling of having a nominal superior take the initiative to get you a promotion was just too comfortable.

But Boss Zhou also had some concerns.

He was aware of the intentions of the ambitious people in the bookstore, such as Lawyer An and Feng Si, who both had the purpose of "supporting the future emperor."

Qing and the other two wanted revenge, but what about after revenge?

Boss Zhou thought that if he kept getting promoted, would he rebel or not in the end?

The First Ancestor clearly said that the "relationship" created by the Purple-Gold Monkey had been undone by him, but in fact, even if it had been undone, getting promoted didn't seem to be difficult for the current Boss Zhou.

Zhou Ze thought of a Korean movie he had seen before, where a police officer went undercover in a gang. Several years had passed, and the police hadn't yet closed the net. As a result, the undercover officer kept rising in the ranks of the gang because of his outstanding abilities.

In the end, the undercover officer called the police station crying, begging them to close the net quickly, or he would become the boss of the gang.

"Alright, what do I need to do?"

It was difficult for Zhou Ze to refuse. If he didn't get promoted, the people below him would only be able to continue being Ghost Messengers. Once he was promoted, Little Lori and the others could find a way to become Constables, and then they could recruit Ghost Messengers and quickly branch out.

Feng Si nodded and said, "Some formalities need to be done. Because you were in a coma for a year, Boss, this year's gap must be filled with some things."

"Catching ghosts to make achievements?"

"No need for such trouble. Do some good deeds; I can record them, and it will be easier to help you operate then."

"Good deeds?"

"Yes, good deeds."

"Not the opposite of what you mean?"

"Not the opposite of what I mean."

"What kind of good deeds?"

"This is very broad."

"What's the relationship between being an Inspector and doing good deeds?"

"It reflects a sense of responsibility. The Underworld is adding permanent Inspectors in the mortal realm this time to strengthen its control over the grassroots level of the Underworld in the mortal realm. Therefore, this aspect is also an important indicator for measuring permanent Inspectors in the mortal realm.

"No need to be too deliberate, just be ordinary, but it must be meaningful."

"Oh."

Zhou Ze frowned.

Suddenly wanting to do good deeds was really a bit baffling.

He hated this kind of troublesome thing, but Feng Si had already put it so bluntly, and the difficulty had been reduced to the lowest level. It would be really unreasonable if he didn't cooperate.

Fortunately,

He had experience in this area.

Zhou Ze took out his phone,

And dialed the number marked as "Politically Correct."

The call was answered after a while.

Lao Zhang was currently in the university staff dormitory building. The suspect who threw the plastic bag of urine last night had been caught. It turned out to be a university professor, a man in his fifties. No one expected him to run out and do such a thing late at night.

DNA test results and surveillance videos had already come out, confirming that it was him.

"Hello, Boss."

Lao Zhang had obviously found a quiet corner, watching his subordinates negotiate with the school officials while answering Zhou Ze's call.

"Lao Zhang, have there been any cases recently?"

"Huh? Boss, what do you mean by this?"

"Oh, no other meaning. I'm just bored and want to make a contribution to society."

"I…………"

Lao Zhang touched his head.

He felt like he might have a fever.

Otherwise, how could he explain the information he had just heard on the phone?

He knew that in the past, he had to beg and pester Zhou Ze to help him solve a case, and he had to sacrifice his old face. Even then, it depended on Boss Zhou's mood.

Did the sun rise in the west today?

"Um, Tong City has been very safe recently."

"Nothing at all?"

"Basically, it's been peaceful and safe during the year you were in a coma."

"…………" Zhou Ze.

"What are you planning to do this afternoon?"

"This afternoon, I'm going to give a legal education class to students at an elementary school."

Zhou Ze on the other end of the phone reached out and patted his forehead, hesitated for a moment, and said:

"Then I'll go with you."

"Ah?"

"Is that not allowed?"

"Yes, yes, it's okay, it's okay."

"Then you come pick me up this afternoon."

"Okay, Boss."

After hanging up the phone,

Zhou Ze looked at Feng Si,

And said:

"Does this count as doing a good deed?"

"It still depends on the specific effect." Feng Si replied.

"Oh." Zhou Ze nodded.

"Actually, the Underworld will send us an evaluation report. Looking at the specific data, of course, the better your data, the easier it will be for me to help you operate."

"Then thank you."

"Don't mention it, don't mention it, Boss, you're too polite."

Zhou Ze smiled, threw the phone on the coffee table, and said, "It's really interesting. The Gates of Hell were closed for a year, and how many innocent souls were scattered during that year.

"But this time, when choosing Inspectors, we have to choose responsible ones."

Zhou Ze "ummed" once, "Right, understandable."

…………

While the bookstore was busy discussing the matter of promotion,

The old Daoist on this side had already arrived at his destination.

A small foot massage shop, the storefront was very small, just a glass sliding door for entry and exit, but the light sign at the door had already been taken down.

After pushing the door open and walking in, the old Daoist saw two middle-aged men lying side by side on foot massage sofas.

One had a "Mediterranean" hairstyle, and the other had a bald head.

The bald man was excitedly talking to the Mediterranean man:

"This project is absolutely reliable, and it also conforms to the national new energy development direction. Think about it, the molecular formula of water is H2O. As long as water can be turned into hydrogen, hydrogen can burn and be directly turned into energy. The development prospects are really very promising.

"The rate of return, the return on investment, and the social impact are all very high. If you invest the money, I dare to guarantee that you will see a return in less than half a year!"

The old Daoist was stunned for a moment.

Yo,

Did he run into a pyramid scheme?

The Mediterranean man was obviously confused by what he was hearing.

The bald man continued to press on, saying, "H2O, you know that, right?"

The Mediterranean man nodded ignorantly, "I learned a little bit of junior high school chemistry."

"Isn't that right? Then what are you hesitating about…………"

The old Daoist was looking around for the big sister he was going to see off, but he couldn't find her. Seeing the two men chatting so enthusiastically while getting their feet massaged, the old Daoist couldn't help but laugh in his heart.

He had traveled north and south for most of his life; what kind of situations hadn't he seen?

He immediately said to the Mediterranean man:

"Hey, brother, his project is outdated. I have a better project here. You know carbon dioxide, right?"

The Mediterranean man nodded, "I know."

"Carbon dioxide is CO2, it's all over the streets. My project is to convert carbon dioxide into carbon to burn as energy.

"There's also a chance of popping out diamonds. Diamonds are originally minerals composed of carbon elements; they are allotropes of carbon elements.

"Then the profit will be even greater. Invest in mine; the prospects are better!

"The most important thing is that my project doesn't even need to pay for water!"