Yama Rising

In some ways, Usonian was a very peculiar nation.

It was touted as the most advanced nation in the world, yet it didn't have a high-speed railway system.

The reason for this was also very unfortunate. During the second world war, they had taken a very simple approach to setting up their railway system. Thus, aside from the main lines, countless branch lines were also constructed, meaning that even every town and village had access to rail travel. Due to the simplicity of the system, there was insufficient planning, and these railway systems took up what were once the best roads.

Not long after the second world war, railway freight was found to be insufficient to satisfy Usonia's freight needs, so it was gradually abandoned.

Furthermore, even Usonia couldn't truly provide all villages and downs with access to the railway system. While it was true that branch lines had been constructed even to rural areas, those railway tracks were of an extremely low quality, and they had to be scrapped after just several dozen freight runs. As a result, an idea that was very good in theory was found to be lacking when implemented in real life, as was quite often the case.

After that came the high-speed rail era.

In order to upgrade these railway tracks to high-speed railway tracks, the funds required were downright unfathomable! Thus, not a single president dared to raise the matter. With the original railways taking up the prime location, new high-speed railways would have to be constructed at suboptimal locations. Furthermore, where were they supposed to begin? Due to the fact that this was a democratic nation, the voice of the people was too powerful, and choosing to begin construction on a high-speed railway system anywhere would immediately evoke objections from the rest of the nation!

At the end of the day, it was simply impossible for Usonia to replicate the efficiency of Cathay. If they decided to construct a high-speed railway system in Washington DC and New York first, then that would be met with objections from the west coast. If they decided to begin construction in Los Angeles, then that would be met with objections from the east coast. There was simply no way to satisfy everyone.

Thus, Qin Ye was stuck taking the train with Tezcatlipoca, and both of them were extremely bored.

"Why did you have to choose to travel by train?" Tezcatlipoca sighed. "The railway system of Usonia is the worst railway system in the world, and you're traveling to Mexico! Wouldn't it have been much better to travel by plane?"

Qin Ye didn't reply. Instead, he merely looked out at the scenery outside in silence.

It had to be said that the new continent was a blessed land. Its climate was quite mild, it spanned many latitudes, and it was abundant in natural resources. If the trains of Usonia weren't so goddamn slow, then this would be quite an enjoyable trip.

Of course traveling by plane would be best. However, there would be no way for him to sense the Death Star's Yin energy then.

He desperately needed the space exploration logs of the new continent, and if it weren't for the fact that there were no leads whatsoever, he was even willing to search through the entirety of the new continent!

He didn't have any high hopes that the Usonian Underworld would be able to track down the Death Star. After all, it had remained hidden right under the two ruler death gods' noses for close to 100 years, so why would he believe that they would suddenly be able to track it down now?

"Where do you think the Death Star will be hiding?" Qin Ye asked.

Tezcatlipoca's brows furrowed slightly upon hearing this. He really didn't want to answer this question, and he didn't even want to be in Qin Ye's presence at this moment.

He was once a ruler death god of the new continent, yet he was being forced to meet with the ruler of the world's most powerful underworld while he was in his weakest state, and that was very humiliating for him.

However, he had no choice but to agree to come on this trip.

He was just about to refuse to answer the question when a thought suddenly occurred to him. "You think that he could be hiding in the mortal realm?"

Qin Ye merely smiled and offered no response.

Tezcatlipoca also didn't say anything, and he fell into deep thought. The more he thought about it, the more plausible this possibility seemed to him!

Mictlantecutli and Mictetikasiwa had promised Qin Ye that they would give him a satisfactory answer within a month.

Qin Ye was the ruler of one of the four pillars, so they had to follow through on a promise made to him. With Mictlantecutli, Mictetikasiwa, Xolotl, Ah Puch, and Supay doing everything in their power to search for the Death Star, it would only take around half a month or so at most before the Death Star was tracked down.

"So you think it's more likely that the Death Star is hiding somewhere in Limbo or in the mortal realm?" Tezcatlipoca asked. "Do you think you could encounter it during this train ride?"

Once again, Qin Ye merely smiled and offered no response.

That was indeed his thought process.

Why had the Death Star given the box to him? Was it trying to find something from him? Alternatively, was it trying to strike up some type of conflict centered around him?

Qin Ye was willing to try his luck.

Right at this moment, the train entered a tunnel, and the entire surroundings fell dark.

These old trains were quite noisy, and the rhythmic clunking created quite a calming effect in conjunction with the tunnel lights that appeared at intervals of several dozen meters.

The sudden onset of darkness was a little jarring, and Qin Ye narrowed his eyes slightly to adjust. In the instant that his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he suddenly discovered that Tezcatlipoca had disappeared!

He instantly rose to his feet to inspect his surroundings with a grim expression, and only then did he discover that not only was Tezcatlipoca gone, the entire carriage had undergone a complete transformation.

Most passengers of Usonian trains were hipsters and old people, and generally speaking, the trains were always buzzing with conversation. However, there wasn't any sound to be heard at this moment!

A light had appeared above Qin Ye's head. It was a very dim, yellow light that only illuminated an area in a radius of a meter around him. Furthermore, this was a round light as opposed to the rectangular lights used in normal trains.

It was a yellow light covered by a metal dome, and this type of light only appeared in several types of places, namely mines, jails, and interrogation rooms.

"Looks like I'm in luck," Qin Ye murmured to himself. "You really dared to come and find me? Are you not afraid of death?!"

Right as his voice trailed off, the light above his head suddenly flickered slightly, and Qin Ye looked around to find that the walls of the train had become yellow with age, and countless curses were inscribed upon them with blood. At the same time, bloody handprints had also appeared all over the windows.

The train carriage had suddenly transformed into a room of the same size, and there was blood everywhere. If a normal person were in Qin Ye's shoes, they would've most likely already been driven insane!

Qin Ye cast his gaze toward the glass, upon which he was greeted by the sight of a completely different scene.

The interior of the tunnel was pitch-black, but inside the pane of glass was a bright, blue sky. A group of men and women wearing professional suits were seated behind a rectangular wooden table, looking directly ahead in an expressionless manner.

They seemed to have sensed Qin Ye's gaze, and all of them turned toward him in unison.

Their faces were deathly pale, and their bodies were covered in green and purple patches of livor mortis. They had no eyes, and their eyelids had been sewn shut, but all of them were looking directly at Qin Ye.

Standing face-to-face with so many evil ghosts in a pitch-black tunnel was an extremely terrifying experience, but Qin Ye had become accustomed to things like this long ago.

In the next instant, a light was switched on up ahead, illuminating a narrow passageway that resembled the entrance to hell.

After this light was switched on, seven or eight more lights were switched on one after another, and the final light illuminated a metal door, one that belonged to a jail.

It was also right at this moment that a gust of Yin wind suddenly swept through the entire passageway, and an ice-cold hand that was deathly pale gently laid itself onto Qin Ye's shoulder, following which something slowly pressed against his back.

"Guilty." A raspy voice rang out behind him, and it was impossible to tell whether the voice belonged to a man or woman.

It was like a ghostly wail drifting out of a graveyard, and the icy hand slid down Qin Ye's body, following which another voice rang out. "Guilty."

As soon as the voice trailed off, an earth-shattering boom rang out, as if something had crashed heavily into the metal door, and the entire passageway trembled slightly.

However, the voices didn't end there.

"Guilty."

"Guilty!"

"Guilty!!"

Around a dozen voices rang out behind Qin Ye one after another, and all of a sudden, it was as if an entire jury had gathered behind him!

This was a jury of the dead.

As the guilty verdict was delivered, the metal door swayed and trembled violently, as if there were an immensely powerful giant behind the door refusing to accept the verdict.

A crimson eye suddenly lit up in the darkness, and all of the lights along the entire passageway began to flicker erratically. All of them were lit aside from the one that was closest to the metal door.

It was as if the light didn't dare to switch on in fear of revealing the horrors that lied beyond the metal door.

"Piss off!" Qin Ye slowly raised a hand, and a flurry of Soul Shackles erupted behind him. A string of anguished howls rang out, following which the thing that was pressed against his back instantly vanished.

Thus, the passageway fell silent again, but the silence wasn't absolute. Instead, the sound of heavy breathing could be heard. It was an extremely unsettling sound, as if countless people were standing within the surrounding darkness, watching him from the shadows.

The sound of breathing grew louder and louder, but also more strained and strangled. It was like the sound of someone trying to breathe with all their might, but their mouth and nose had been covered up, and suffocation was inevitable.

Several seconds later, the light above the metal door finally lit up.

The dim light illuminated a series of heavy, black bars, and behind the bars stood an inky-black figure. Everything was so eerie and disturbing.

The figure was a boy, one of Alkebulan-Usonian descent.

Blood was flowing out of all of his orifices, and his entire body had been charred black. He was strapped to a chair with a silver, semi-spherical helmet on his head, and his mouth and nose had been covered by transparent glass covers. He was breathing heavily, and around a dozen ropes could be clearly seen, strapped to his body.

He was sitting on an electric chair.

The inky-black tunnel had transformed into a dimly lit execution chamber, and the door between carriages had transformed into an electric chair. The charred boy sitting on the electric chair wore a sinister and bloodthirsty smile as he stared directly at Qin Ye.

He was very young, only around 13 to 14 years of age at most, and in the instant that he appeared, the entire space warped slightly.

The potency of his Yin energy and killing intent were far above even those of Ryu Changmin and Kwon Kyung-ho!

It was also in this instant that countless horrified screams rang out throughout the entire passageway. All of the voices were weeping and howling, striking one with a bone-chilling sensation.

"I'm sorry..."

"I was wrong, please forgive me..."

"I'm sorry... I really am sorry..."

"I didn't want this to happen... Please forgive me..."

Qin Ye watched the boy with a smile before opening his mouth to speak. "George Stinney, the boy who convinced 36 states of Usonia to abolish the death sentence. Your name will forever be recorded in the history books. I don't want to have to destroy you, so tell me who you're serving. Back when you were about to evolve into a Death Star, who was it that was powerful and resourceful enough to save you from the underworld emissaries of the new continent? Tell me!"