Afterlife Department

Chapter 376 – Summon

"YOU BITCH!!! YOU WH*RE!!!" Mrs. Portkin shrieked in anger as she scratched the female teacher's face with her long and manicured nails. She doesn't care even if her nails cracked. As long as she sees that the female teacher suffers, she wouldn't rest. Her anger wouldn't let up! 

"I… I – " Eram's face paled as he crawled back in the ground. He continued to crawl until his back suddenly bumped against something. He turned and saw a pair of black pants. He raised his head and saw a round stomach, then a familiar face. "U – Uncle… uncle Sam – " he stammered when he saw Mr. Portkin's face. 

What greeted him back is a vicious slap. Eram felt he saw stars and his vision momentarily blackened. 

"Oh, my god! It's Mr. Portkin!" a female student exclaimed. 

"Mr. Portkin is known for his altruism. But, who can blame him for his action when faced by his son's murderer?" another student said. 

Even though they didn't see the video on that mobile phone, but from Mrs. and Mr. Portkin's reactions, they could already guess the video's content. Their son was murdered. Who could blame them both for being physical? Even a god would retaliate. Why can't they, just mere humans? 

"So, it was actually a murder? It's not the work of a ghost?" Huo Ling and Yi Bing heard those students whispered to each other. 

"I think so… there's the evidence…" someone answered. 

They all turned to see Mrs. Portkin still attack the female teacher who couldn't even fight back, making Mrs. Portkin tear her uniform more, which revealed more love marks, eliciting a disgusted exclamation from the crowd. Meanwhile, Mr. Portkin added a backhand slap on Eram. 

"Mr. Iris, this…" the police officer turned to Iris, looking helpless. The female officers were still trying to pull Mrs. Portkin away from the female teacher whose face, chest and arms were full of scratches. 

Iris didn't answer and turned to Lin Ze. "Send the students to their classrooms and start the classes. Don't let anyone come near here." He said. 

"Yes, sir." Lin Ze bowed. 

"Also – " Iris continued. " – call Mr. and Mrs. Bullone." He said, referring to Eram's parents. 

"Yes." Lin Ze said before he looked over the large crowd and signaled to the teachers he saw, including Yi Bing, to send the students to the lecture buildings to start the classes. Then, he went to a different direction to dial Mr. and Mrs. Bullone's numbers to inform them of their son's involvement in a crime. 

…

"Do I really have to attend a class?" Huo Ling asked as they went together with the large crowd towards the lecture building.

"… not necessarily." Yi Bing spoke when he saw Iris Hudgeson coming towards them. He pushed Huo Ling's wheelchair to the side to meet Iris. "Have you finished settling with Mr. and Mrs. Portkin?" he asked. 

"Already comforted them. As for the following procedures with the police, I had Lin Ze arrange it." Iris answered. "You two should come with me. I have found something yesterday that may help you two." He told them. 

Yi Bing and Huo Ling looked at each other. Although they aren't in a rush, but Huo Ling felt guilty. "Mr. Iris. Is this okay? If you have more important matters to do, we can investigate on our own first." He told him. 

Iris smiled. "My business trip before the day you arrived gave me more time to relax. Although…" he looked at the direction of the Dormitory A. The smile on his face faded. 

Life is really full of unexpected things. 

"Then… we'll gladly take your help." Yi Bing spoke. 

Iris nodded before he walked first towards his office. 

"Is this really okay? We can go to the library later to find out whether this ghost thing is real or not, and maybe we might find something about this murder case." Huo Ling said. 

"We can do that later. He already gave us an olive branch. It'd be impolite if we'd refuse it." Yi Bing said. "Furthermore…" he paused. 

"What?" Huo Ling asked as they followed behind Iris. 

"A businessman will always be a businessman. He does things with profit. He won't do so if otherwise." Yi Bing said and pushed Huo Ling's wheelchair inside. 

Although puzzled, but Huo Ling remained silent and waited for what Iris has to say about helping them. 

Iris sat on his swivel chair and waited for Yi Bing to sit on the sofa before he started. "I don't yet know what you are investigating about for you to come to this world, but I guess it got something to do with this world's energy?" he said. 

Huo Ling blinked. He just realized that Yi Bing really hasn't mentioned anything regarding their task to Iris before. 

"It's really nice to talk with intelligent people." Yi Bing said and smiled, filled with appreciation. 

Iris smiled back before he turned serious. "You already must know that my businesses are related to energy source?" he said. 

Huo Ling nodded. No need for Yi Bing to answer. "Yes." Huo Ling spoke. 

"The thing is, a subordinate of mine called me yesterday that one of our power plants encountered a problem, and the residential areas near it were affected." Iris said. 

"So that's why you left yesterday." Huo Ling said. 

"Yes." Iris nodded. 

"What's that got to do with us?" Yi Bing asked. 

"Because this power plant is in Liyone, precisely in Zirope, near Fughlia." Iris answered. Before Yi Bing could speak, he continued. "The Fughlia's power source is connected to the power plant." He said. 

"But there was no power source that happened last night?" Yi Bing asked. 

"There is." Iris spoke. "Precisely at 11:47:01 pm, last night." He said. 

"'last night'?" Huo Ling muttered. Then, his eyes widened when he realized something. He looked at Iris. "You don't mean… this got something to do with Yule Portkin's death?" he said. 

"You seem to have an idea about our purpose for coming here." Yi Bing stared at Iris. 

Iris calmly looked back at him. "The world energy source is the only thing common among all the worlds." He spoke. "Our world has nothing special about it, aside from this world energy, which we don't even know about before, until you people from the Stable World came here." He said. "After that, you never came here again until yesterday. And, you only requested to stay in Liyone, and enter Fughlia High. Am I wrong to say that your objective for your visit is this school?" he asked. 

So sharp! Huo Ling sharply gasped. 

Meanwhile, Yi Bing remained calm. "You're right. Our objective is this school." He admitted. 

Iris smiled. "Since you are investigating our world energy, and Fughlia is connected to the power plant, then you might as well have a look at our power plant in Zirope?" he asked. 

"You want us to help you solve this problem of yours… as if you needed it?" Yi Bing asked. 

Iris chuckled. "I really do need your help. And, this might be a clue to your investigation, so this is a win-win situation, right?" he said. 

Yi Bing helplessly sighed. "Alright. We accept." He said. 

"Tomorrow is Friday, and Friday is our school's holiday. It is the designated rest day for the students." Iris said. "I'll have Lin Ze pick you up tomorrow." He told them. 

"Sure." Yi Bing said. 

"Oh, right." Iris muttered when he remembered something. Then, he pulled two boxes from under his table before placing them on top of his table. "These are the teacher's kit and student's kit." He said and beckoned them over. 

Yi Bing pushed Huo Ling's wheelchair before they took a box each assigned to them. 

"The school provides the basic supplies a teacher needs – class record, pencil kit, coloring materials, and even music sheets." Iris spoke as he tapped the box of Yi Bing. 

Yi Bing opened the box. 

"Meanwhile, the students will have the books from first year up to the third year, as well as the standard notebook, paper, pen, etc.." Iris continued. 

Huo Ling opened the box and his face turned green when he saw the unified design. 

"The Fughlia has its own brand." Iris smiled. "Oh. There are also the guides for teachers and students. Please check it, since you will be staying here, although for a disguise." He told them. 

Yi Bing and Huo Ling looked at each other. Holding back the urge to throw the boxes away, Huo Ling place his box on his lap while Yi Bing placed his box beneath Huo Ling's seat. "… can we not attend the classes?" they both asked. 

"Pft!" Iris laughed. "Alright. I'm not that heartless to inconvenience you both to stick with your disguises." He said. "I already have another teacher to replace Sandro." He is referring to that teacher who has hit Huo Ling with his car. "As for the student…" he looked at Huo Ling, then smiled. "The Decathlon is coming up. You can use the excuse of studying for Decathlon to stay in the library." He told him.