original

Afterlife Department

Chapter 1: A Hardworking Soul

Huo Ling wiped the sweat off his forehead as he raised his head and stared at the glaring sun. He pinched the front of his shirt and fanned himself. "So hot!" He exclaimed as he felt his cheeks burning because of the heat.

Just as those words left his mouth, a tall and handsome man wearing a black suit and holding a black case in his hand with an expensive black watch around his wrist stopped in front of him.

Huo Ling lowered his gaze and looked at the man with black hair tied by a red string. His¹ pair of black eyes are staring at him. His skin is fair and his nose is tall. His lips were red, and his ears were pierced by black earrings.

"What?" Huo Lingasked when he noticed the man staring at him for a long time. He was wearing the fast food chain's cap and uniform and his brown curly hair was peeking out of its edges. His left ear was pierced by a silver earring. His hazel brown eyes stared vigilantly at the man.

Are office workers so free nowadays that they're offering insurance plans to a delivery man as their part-time job? Huo Ling thought. He was still wearing the bright yellow long-sleeved uniform of the fast food chain where he was working, making him look like a human-shaped egg yolk. Any longer and he'll be cooked under the sun. He can feel his uniform sticking on his back due to sweat. He thought and grimaced.

"Please be careful with meeting strangers today." the man's deep voice woke Huo Ling from his thoughts.

"Huh?" Huo Ling said, feeling confused by the man's words. But you're also a stranger... he thought and didn't have the chance to speak when the man left. "Weirdo." He muttered. How can I not meet strangers since I am a deliveryman? His phone suddenly rang and he immediately answered the call. "Hello? Fast and Faster Food delivery." He answered.

"H-help..." a woman's voice spoke from the other line. Her voice was too weak it was almost a whisper. And then he heard her suddenly gasp.

"Hello...?" Huo Ling called. But, he didn't hear the woman speak again. His brows knitted. He felt a chill earlier despite the heat when he heard the woman's voice.

Suddenly, the surroundings became dark. He raised his head and saw the clouds covering the sun. ... this isn't a good sign, is it? He bitterly thought and remembered the black-clothed man's words earlier. "Was it a warning...?" He muttered.

He almost jumped out of his skin when he felt a cold water touched his hand. He almost screamed had he not covered his mouth. He lowered his gaze and saw it was just a drop of water that fell on his hand. "That scared me..." he muttered as he sighed in relief while he patted his chest. Then, he saw a black cat pass by him and meow-ed at him. Next to it is a peel of banana. Black lines covered his face. "This is an omen, right?" He muttered as he sighed heavily and carried the foods that were ordered from the fast food chain. Then, he walked towards the apartment building that looked old and suddenly it looked creepy.

The silence as he walked up the stairs felt eerie. "If this is a thriller movie, I would be inside the elevator now and then the elevator would suddenly stop as it mysteriously malfunctioned. The light inside would flicker and then a cold hand would come out of nowhere and grab me. A woman wearing a white dress and her bloody face covered by her long and dry hair would scare me and then she'd pull me into a weird distorted space..." he sighed as he stopped by room 202. Yep. There's no need for him to use the elevator since the place he'll be going to is just on the second floor.

He stopped in front of the door and then pushed the doorbell. However, no one answered from inside. "Hello?" He called, then pondered as he waited for a noise from inside.

If this was a thriller movie, he would have opened the unlocked door and would find a corpse lying on the floor - a knife sticking out of the corpse's chest, and its body is bathed in blood. Then, he'd fall on his back as he screamed, catching the attention of the neighbors and then they'd suspect him as the murderer. He would run away to escape, increasing their suspicion of him as he ran in panic. Then, a police car would appear before him and then they would catch him as the suspect.

Yes. He was framed up like any cannon fodder in the movies.

He chose to stay outside and looked at the closed door. He didn't dare try to turn the doorknob to find if the door was unlocked. He'll just leave his fingerprints and would provide the real suspect an evidence to use against him.

He sighed and then walked to the next unit and knocked. "Excuse me!" He called.

The door opened and a man appeared. "What?" He said.

"Hello. I am here to deliver the food ordered by the woman in 202. May I trouble you to call her for me?" Huo Ling said and gave the man his signature smile.

The man frowned and then walked out of the door. Then, he walked next door and knocked. "Hey!" He called. But, no one answered. "Is she asleep?" He muttered, puzzled.

Huo Ling felt disappointed. "What about the food now...?" He muttered and looked at the food in his arms. They already turned cold.

The neighbor turned to him. "You can only eat it yourself and pay for it." He told him and walked away.

"What? But..." Huo Ling muttered and shook his head. He turned around to leave. But, when he took a step, he heard the sound of his shoe stepping on a liquid. "Hm?" He said and lowered his head to look down.

He shouldn't have. If this is a thriller movie, he'd see a puddle of red liquid flowing out of the foot of the door. Then, a knife would suddenly pierce his chest from behind...

He should rephrase it. This is a thriller movie. There was indeed blood flowing out of the door and he stepped on the blood. Then, he felt a pain in his chest as a knife stabbed him from behind.

He forgot one important thing in a thriller movie: the suspect for an apartment-themed thriller movie is the neighbor. A hardworking person like him, he just delivered food yet he unwittingly delivered himself to his death.