Afterlife Department

Chapter 203 - Contact

"Oh - !" Mary Jackson cried as she almost fainted from the grief she felt after she heard Huo Jinghua\'s news about Howee\'s death. "Howee!!!" she sobbed as she buried her tear-stained face in her hands and cried.

Howee Jackson died with even no bones left of him.

"There was a Zerg queen in that planet." Harry Walter said. "I guess, Howee used all of his spiritual strength to take down the Zerg queen with him." he sighed. They have found the place where Howee Jackson died because of the remnants of Howee\'s spiritual strength.

An S-rank spiritual strength is no joke. As Harry Walter stated, it could kill a Zerg queen. Even if it can kill only just one Zerg queen, but that is already a great achievement.

However, Howee didn\'t leave them even just a bone. How can they bury him? Honor him? They could only press down their anger in their stomach. Be it then, or now, Howee always gives them a headache for being troublesome. However, because of this trait of his, that made them endear him more.

Harry Walter, who is the most rational at present, spoke to break the sorrowful silence. Everyone have gathered in Huo Jinghua\'s residence. Jiang Ce, or Jaycee Jackson, was pacifying Mary Jackson, his biological younger sister.

"Let\'s talk about where did things start." Harry Walter said. "The time our contact with Howee was cut off and was lost – " he said as he looked at Lewis Johnson, a colonel along with Gerard Jackson, and Huo Jinghua, a general.

"13:45." Huo Jinghua answered. "It was the time Howee was flying back with his unit that the communication suddenly stopped and I lost contact with him. He called me, telling me they have exterminated a group of Zergs obstructing the merchant ships in the Y belt." He explained.

Lewis Johnson and Gerard Jackson nodded in agreement. "We were about to call him around 14:00, calculating the time he and his unit fly back home. But…"

Kale, who has been silent since earlier with Sam, spoke. "Someone tampered with his mech." He said. "Howee is talented. He can\'t make a mistake. It was his mech that failed, not him. Because someone tampered with his mech – " his tears fell.

They all fell silent. They knew, since they are all highly intelligent individuals. With their last call with Howee, they can guess his mech has failed and it was tampered with.

"Assuming Howee\'s communication was cut off at 13:45, then was reconnected at 14:44 – " Harry Walter said.

It was a minute short to an hour they lost contact with Howee. And when Howee finally reconnected with them, it was his last call with them. A farewell. How cruel can fate be? After an hour, everything changed.

What happened in that one hour?

Yi Bing, who was silently listening to their conversation, remained his silence. He turned to look at the orange, ball of fire pendant attached to a red thread and is hanging on his neck.

"Who are they?" Huo Ling, whose soul was inside the pendant, spoke. He stared at Huo Jinghua and the others, before his gaze landed on Mary Jackson who was crying on the side. He felt his heart ached, but he doesn\'t know why.

"They are a family who recently lost their treasured family member." Yi Bing answered. "He is their pride and joy, but he died two hours ago in a planet inhabited by Zergs." He explained.

"That\'s unfortunate." Huo Ling sympathetically said. "Zergs… why does it sound familiar?" he muttered as his brows scrunched up. He felt disgust and hatred towards the word. "Are the Zergs the humanity\'s enemy?" he asked.

Yi Bing nodded. "They are monstrous aliens that the humans faced when they evacuated in the space after their home planet died from continuous destruction." He explained. "Of course, in order to fight against the Zergs, the humans evolved." He told him.

"If the enemy is the Zergs, then why would their family member went there? To die?" Huo Ling asked.

Yi Bing. "…" why are you sarcastic towards yourself? "Naturally not." He answered. "He was schemed against. The perpetrator is still unknown, and the family of the deceased is still figuring it out." he told him.

Huo Ling nodded to indicate that he understood. "I am rooting for them." he said.

Yi Bing secretly sighed as he suddenly felt tired. Because Huo Ling lost his memories after he exhausted his soul, he naturally had many questions to ask. However, what Yi Bing didn\'t expect is for Huo Ling to ask a new question every minute.

What\'s worse, if he would refuse to answer, Huo Ling would look at him with that stern and disapproving gaze that makes Yi Bing feel he is a useless scum. Yi Bing can\'t stand that. And, even if he has a teasing attitude towards Huo Ling, wanting to play with Huo Ling by not answering his queries, in this world, Yi Bing can\'t do it. It was his turn to be played at by Huo Ling, this tyrant in this world.

"I\'ll investigate the fourth unit, his unit." Gerard Jackson said. He is Huo Ling\'s direct superior, and his biological father. Meanwhile, Mary Jackson is Huo Ling\'s biological mother. Huo Ling was a test tube baby.

They had a political marriage ordered by their parents. After Huo Ling was born and then later grew up, Gerard Jackson has already made achievements in the military while Mary Jackson achieved a doctoral degree and built her own clothing and perfume business. Their parents are powerless against them after they had grown their own wings enough for them to fly.

They divorced, and Mary Jackson married Huo Jinghua while Gerard Jackson was pursued by Lewis Johnson, his comrade-in-arms. Huo Ling was already old enough to understand his parents\' decision, so there was no disagreement from him. Instead, he enlisted himself in the army and rose in ranks through his own efforts and without using his biological father\'s connection.