I’m Actually a Bigshot

Chapter 10: Curtain Call

“A way to leave this place?” Old Mr.
Chen was relieved after hearing Su Qingxing say this.
He believed in Su Qingxing, and since Su Qingxing said that they could leave ……

Then it was definitely possible to leave.

Chen Xiongbing was an eighty-two year old man.
Even if he was now in the middle of a horrible world, his physical condition could not keep up with this fast-paced escape scenario.

It had not been easy to last up till this moment.

In Su Qingxing’s opinion, bringing an old man, who was supposed to enjoy the last years of life, into the underworld for a trial, was indeed very cruel.
He was even a man who had a long history of fighting battles and gaining military merit, so it was inevitable that Su Qingxing would take extra care of him during the trial.

“Yeah, Liu Hai’s previous remark reminded me of that.” Su Qingxing looked back at Liu Hai who had fallen into a frenzy after turning into a paper-doll, “He said that nothing in the world is set in stone, and that things will always change when the time comes.”

“Then why does the route of this car never change?” Su Qingxing let Si Si down from his arms and let him spin around on the ground, “Have you ever thought about that, sir1?”

“Because, this is the only road here.” Chen Xiongbing froze, “No matter how you drive, you will still end up back at that station …… ah, the station is right ahead!”

Right in front of the bus, the familiar station slowly appeared, and they drove again, inadvertently forming a circular route.

“That’s because no one has ever done this before.” Su Qingxing sat back in the driver’s seat.

And by this time, the bus had slowed down and the familiar sound of brakes sounded.

Even the door of the bus opened with a creak!

But at this very moment, Su Qingxing suddenly gripped the steering wheel tightly, yanked it hard to the right, and used all his strength to press down hard on the accelerator!

“Bzzzz ！！！！”

The bus let out an unpleasant and harsh sound, but in the end, under Su Qingxing’s control, it rammed straight towards the station!

“Boom!”

The moment the bus collided with the facilities inside the station, both Su Qingxing and Chen Xiongbing could not help but close their eyes.

However, apart from the sound made initially, Su Qingxing did not hear any other sound.
So after some time, he slowly opened his eyes. 

The bus was still moving forward, but this time the carriage was moving without bumps and the ride was very smooth.

It was just that the place where the bus was moving was no longer the never-ending mountain road, but darkness… Yes, it was darkness.

Apart from the pitch blackness, Su Qingxing could no longer see anything.
Not even a hint of starlight could be found!

There was darkness ahead, darkness to the left and right, and darkness to the rear!

But even so, the bus continued to move forward smoothly.

“I seem to have guessed correctly.” Su Qingxing leaned back in the driver’s seat, “But now we have a new problem; which direction should we drive in? Are we driving in the right direction now?”

“Awoo! Awoo! Awoo-“

Just when Su Qingxing was confused, Si Si suddenly howled several times in a certain direction, and in order to get Su Qingxing’s attention, he even scratched at the carriage floor with his feet.

“Are we going in that direction?”

“Awoo!”

Although it was a bit strange to follow directions from a small animal, faced with the current situation, Su Qingxing suddenly felt that Si Si might be the only being in this car who knew the correct direction ……

“Then I’ll listen to you!” Su Qingxing gave Si Si a light smile.
Although he had never driven a bus before and didn’t understand the exact method, as long as the bus didn’t stop, he would turn the steering wheel, step on the accelerator and drive forward in the direction Si Si was pointing!

“Where is this! I want to get off!”

It was at this moment that Liu Hai, who had turned into a paper-doll, rushed out unexpectedly.
Because the bus door had been open since a while ago, Su Qingxing was also holding the steering wheel tightly, so when he saw this scene, a flash of blue instantly appeared in his eyes and he freed one hand to attack Liu Hai!

However, before Su Qingxing could make his move, two figures advanced together!

“Awoo!” Si Si gave out a long howl before extending his claws and pouncing on Liu Hai.

At the same time, Old Master Chen, who had been sitting next to him, resting, surprisingly raised his walking stick and pulled out a thin-bladed sword from and stabbed it in the direction of the Liu Hai-shaped paper-doll! 

It was a scene directly out of a movie.

In the next second, Si Si’s paw pressed down on the left leg of the paper-doll, and Elder Chen’s thin sword stabbed into the Paper-doll’s neck, pinning Liu Hai dead in place, leaving him unable to move.

“I never thought I’d find this opportunity in the end, cough cough cough!” Only a few seconds of movement had already left Elder Chen panting and swaying on his feet, “So it was useful to go to the park every morning to practice my swordsmanship.”

“Old master is really hidden deep.” Su Qingxing looked at Si Si who had moved so swiftly, as well as Old man Chen, who had hidden his trump card, with some surprise.
“It seems that although Liu Hai was clever, he still misjudged many people.”

“This is a dream …… this is a dream …… this is a dream ……” Liu Hai, who was nailed to the ground, still kept chanting under his breath as if he thought he hadn’t woken up from the dream.

“Squeak~~~”

The bus braked again, but this time it had reached the terminal.

Su Qingxing got up from the driver’s seat and instantly all the power of the bus turned off, even the engine had been switched off.

The scene outside the bus window was no longer pitch black, instead replaced by a grey world that looked a bit like the false illusion that Su Qingxing had created for Liu Hai earlier.

“It’s time to stop.” Su Qingxing knew that his work had been successfully completed this time.

“Dead soul number MS7044, Liu Hai.” Su Qingxing walked in front of Liu Hai who had turned into a paper figure and looked at the ugly and inferior face in front of him, “Time of death April 4, 2018, death by suicide.
He died from a short circuit explosion of photocopying equipment.
When he was alive, he threw acid on women and killed himself to escape punishment.
He still has sinful karma after death ……”

“He has failed the trial of the underworld today, and he will be transferred to the 18th level of hell in the underworld, never to be reborn!”

The moment Su Qingxing’s last words fell, the originally calm carriage floor suddenly began to crumble.
A scorching hell covered with molten lava appeared.
The fires of hell had just flared up, and Liu Hai, now a paper-doll, who came into contact with the flames, instantly let out piercing screams of misery.

The fire kept spreading, burning the paper-doll into a man made of fire in the shortest possible time!

“Mute …… who the hell are you!” Trapped within the flames of the ultimate inferno, , Liu Hai seemed to finally wake up and realise that this was not a dream.

Not long ago, Liu Hai had stabbed the utility knife into the mute’s throat.

Now, however, it was the same Su Qingxing who sent him to hell.

“I am Su Qingxing, an ordinary worker, though some call me …… ‘The Underworld Guide’.” Su Qingxing watched the burning paper-doll plunge into the lava of hell and finally smiled as he waved his goodbyes.

However, as Liu Hai plunged into hell, another white figure jumped after him and merged with him into the boundless sea of lava ……

“Is that…… Chen Fangfang?” Because all three people had turned into paper figures, the presbyopic Chen Xiongbing determined the paper-doll’s identity before asking unsurely, “Didn’t she and Liu Hai not get along? Why did she jump down after him?”

“Humans are actually really complicated, sometimes even they don’t know what they’re really thinking deep down.” Su Qingxing watched as the two paper-dolls disappeared into the lava.
Their current bodies simply could not withstand the blazing fires of hell, “Undead Soul Number MS7046, Chen Fangfang, failed the trial ……”

The crumbling earth gradually returned to an ordinary carriage floor.
It was as if Liu Hai and Chen Fangfang had never existed in this world.

“What a pity, Chen Fangfang actually……” Su Qingxing wanted to say something, but in the end he said nothing.

Since Chen Fangfang voluntarily followed Liu Hai and jumped down the lava together, perhaps for her …… this was a way to escape from the horrible world forever.

“Then next ……,” Su Qingxing looked at Chen Xiongbing, then at Xu Yun who was crying because she had turned into a paper-doll.
Then he turned around in search for Si Si who had originally been following him.

But Si Si was nowhere to be seen.

When he discovered this, Su Qingxing suddenly had a feeling of emptiness in his heart, as if something important had suddenly gone missing from the life he had become accustomed to.

Su Qingxing guessed that Si Si might be a “prop” in this horror world, a “key” to help guide the trials.
However, Su Qingxing really wanted Si Si to become his important companion.

The Si Si who stood in front of him so protectively.

The Si Si who would roll around in his arms, acting cute.

The Si Si who had soft fur that rubbed against his palms ……

Was he gone, just like that?

“What’s wrong?” Hearing that Su Qingxing had not said anything all this time, Chen Xiongbing asked somewhat strangely.

“It’s nothing.” Su Qingxing withdrew his sight from the ground, a light smile appearing at the corners of his mouth, covering up the fluctuations in his heart, “I’ll send you guys out of here.”

With that, Su Qingxing beckoned to Xu Yun, who was still sitting in the back row, and the paper-doll flew up from her seat and floated all the way to Su Qingxing.

Su Qingxing stretched out his finger and gently touched the paper-doll’s forehead, and a blue dot of light instantly merged into the paper-doll’s body.

Then, Xu Yun, who had turned into a paper-doll for a long time, unexpectedly changed back to her original appearance little by little.

“I, I changed back?” Xu Yun looked at her hands with dazed eyes filled with tears, somewhat unable to believe that the nightmare that had been going on for so long had finally ended at this moment.

Looking at the girl in front of him, who was laughing while shedding pearly tears, Su Qingxing sighed and said, “Your life has not yet ended, so even I, as the guide, cannot judge you.”

“Qingxing ……” Xu Yun cried and looked at Su Qingxing, as if she wanted to say something.

“Miss Xu, if you follow this lamp all the way, you should be able to return to your original world.” Su Qingxing lifted his finger and a blue paper lamp appeared quietly, floating in front of Xu Yun.

“But please remember, if Miss Xu commits a sin that cannot be erased in life, then one day we will meet here.”

“When that time comes, perhaps I will personally send Miss Xu …… to hell.”

Under the blue light, although Su Qingxing’s face had a smile on it, Xu Yun couldn’t help but shiver and take a step backwards.

“Let’s go, the longer you stay here, the worse the effects this place will have on your living body.” After Su Qingxing explained once again, he saw that Xu Yun was no longer watching himself.
Feeling slightly horrified, she left the bus and, led by the blue paper lamp, she rushed all the way into the grey fog.

“It looks like I can neither go to hell nor return to the world of the living.” Old Chen had been watching Su Qingxing’s work, so he understood some of it, “Then where can I go.”

“There is a special place for you.” Two more lanterns appeared around Su Qingxing, and blue points of light floating out from them surrounded him and Old Chen, “There, you will meet many former friends, some who have lived as long as you, some who died a little earlier, and some …… but have been waiting there since the war .”

“In short, you should meet your friends there, old master.” Looking at the old man in front of him, Su Qingxing bent slightly, “When we meet later, help me to deliver a message…..
Thanks for your trouble.”

Su Qingxing had never been to the human world, but he had read many books on human history.

Old Man Chen was only a small part of the progression of human history, but it was because there were too many such people who would rather be tainted with sin to guard their country and the people around them, that history could move forward so smoothly ……

Even the guides from the underworld would never call this glorious past “sinful karma”.

“Will we meet?” Old Mr.
Chen did not know what came to his mind, but his eyes suddenly reddened, “Good, good, this is good, it is not in vain that I have lasted so long on this bus!”

“Come on, let’s go now, let’s go and meet those old people! I’ve been waiting for this moment for…… far, far too long.”

“Please.”

Surrounded by blue dots of light, the figures of Su Qingxing and Elder Chen faded away.

It was a curtain call for the story of the ghost bus.

    ×××××

After properly settling old Mr.
Chen down, Su Qingxing, who had finished his work, once again showed up on the streets of the ghost town.

This ghost town had schools, hospitals, communities, shopping malls, parks and even mental hospitals …… Apart from the gloomy skies and lifeless streets, it was not much different from many cities.

Perhaps the biggest difference was: the residents of this ghost town were all dead spirits!

Zhang Biao, the former gangster, as well as many of the ghosts brought back by Su Qingxing, were arranged to live in Ghost City and would be regularly assigned jobs, such as guest appearances in various horror worlds and the like…..

After completing jobs for a certain duration of time, they could go forward to be reincarnated as human beings again.

That was why many of the ghosts Su Qingxing met during the trials were familiar with him and showed him the highest respect.

Going all the way along the straight streets of the ghost town, even in the eyes of a guide like Su Qingxing, the streets seemed endless, as if there was no end to them.

But Su Qingxing had no interest in the scenery at the end of this street, and after walking forward for ten minutes, he stopped in front of what looked like a bar.

The bar had a neon-lit sign board with the words “Ghost City Management office” written on it.

However, the lamps for the words “Ghost” and “Office” seemed to have been damaged, and only the words “City Management” were still flashing in bright neon colours.

Apart from the street lamps on both sides of the street, this was the only instance where other lights appeared in the ghost town.

Su Qingxing did not knock; he simply reached out and pushed the door open.

Although it looked like a bar from outside, the interior of the “Ghost City Management Office” looked more like a normal three-room apartment.
A living room with sofas and a large dining table greeted him as soon as he entered, with several doors leading to different places.

After walking straight towards a door on the left, Su Qingxing knocked a few times on the door, and since there was no response from the other side, he simply twisted the handle and opened the door to walk in.

“Zhu Sha2, how long has it been since you tidied up your room?!” As soon as he entered, Su Qingxing was shocked by the appearance of the entire room.

There was a bed in the corner of the room, except that there were nearly a hundred books stacked on the bed, making it look more like a bookshelf than a bed.

The floor was also littered with books, blueprints as well as many hand-painted landscape paintings and the like.

On the other side of the room was a super large desk.
Three large screen computers on it were all turned on, running programs that Su Qingxing could not understand at all.

The three walls around the desk were also covered with bookshelves, filled with books of all types and fields, giving the impression that the person living in this room only needed to read books to survive.

“Zhu Sha?”

Dressed in a casual plaid shirt and jeans, the owner of this chaotic room was napping on his desk.
His long, slightly curly crimson hair was casually coiled on top of his head and held in place by a pencil.

“Zhu Sha?” Su Qingxing sighed and walked over to nudge his colleague and best friend’s shoulder, “I remember the last time we met, you promised you would let the bed function the way it should.”

“Qingxing?” The young man known as “Zhu Sha” finally woke up, and when he raised his head in a daze, the creases of his clothes were still printed on his cheeks.

He fumbled around on his desk for a while, then found a pair of large red-rimmed glasses and put them on, yawning comfortably before lazily saying to Su Qingxing, “Our great model worker is finally back!”

Zhu Sha looked very lean and had a slightly older appearance than Su Qing Xing, like a 25 or 26 year old homebody; the good-looking kind.

“Sorry.” Su Qingxing also smiled in embarrassment, “I’m so sorry that I sent you alone to greet that big shot from the underworld.”

“It’s alright!” Zhu Sha waved his hands in a righteous manner, “We are brothers, who follows whom3!”

“Besides, that bigshot from the Underworld is still here!” Zhu Sha sat comfortably cross-legged on his own chair, “I heard that that bigshot has been designated to supervise the work of the guide, you are back just in time now, so I will leave this difficult task to you!”

Su Qingxing: “……”

“By the way, I heard that the bigshot from the Underworld is none other than his highness Si Shen, the God of Death4!” Zhu Shu’s expression was a little excited, “This is the first time I’ve seen such a big shot!”

Su Qingxing: “……”

Footnotes:

1. 老爷子 lǎo yé zi my (you etc) old father; polite appellation for an elderly male, I decided to use ‘sir’

2. The zhu sha here is 朱砂 aka cinnabar or vermillion.
I thought it was an interesting fact, cuz his hair is the colour of vermillion….
So this name might be a nickname

3. 谁跟谁 It’s like a famous slang/saying.
This is the closest translation

4. 死神 Sǐ shén Death personified; Azrael (Angel of Death of Jewish and Islamic mythology); the Grim Reaper; Bleach (Japanese cartoon series by KUBO Taitō 久保帶人|久保带人)
sǐ shén mythological figure (such as the Grim Reaper) in charge of taking the souls of those who die; (fig.) death
I have 3 options to name ML: Azrael, Si Shen or God of death/Death.
Kindly let me know which one you prefer.
(Also, I am leaning towards Si shen due to Si Si)

5027 Chinese characters(without spaces), 3187 English words.

My back hurts QAQ
But at least this arc is over…..
the next arc (which starts after 2-3 chapters) is what I consider to be a movie date…..
We will also get a first look at the ML and the backstory of the two in the next few chaps…

A lot of y’all might be thinking “MC seems bland/powerless”…..
wait till the 12th and 13th chap hehe.

So….
Are you ready for the dog food? ehehehehe

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