The Gentleman at the End

Between the seas like ink, numerous ships drifted.

Single-person canoes, multi-person ferries, and occasionally large ships carrying hundreds of people could be seen, yet regardless of the vessel, everyone aboard was in a state of bewilderment, their memories slowly being stripped away by the sea; no one knew where they would end up, and no one realized they were already dead.

However, a lighthouse, half-shrouded in fog, emerged in the sea that should lead to the realm of death.

Its light from the apex happened to fall upon a wooden boat, the shining beam pulling it, toward the lighthouse with the young man on board.

As the light grew more intense, the pitch-black pupils embedded in the youth's face slowly began to fade, growing more expressive.

Feeling the burn from the light, when the boat drew close enough, a searing pattern pierced through his head. It carried a voice that seemed to call from the world of the living.

Buzz!

No longer was there an inky sea before his eyes,

but rather an old wooden desk lined with wrinkles,

and as the youth's eyes gradually opened, his pupils fixed on an old-fashioned kerosene lamp in the top right corner of the desk, its flame coinciding with the lighthouse beacon in his mind.

Besides, underneath his arms, which propped up his head, he could feel the rough texture of paper, corresponding to a yellowed sheet with scribbled handwriting.

To the left of the desk was a glass of water with a strange-smelling transparent liquid remaining inside.

Faced with such an unfamiliar scene, the first thought that came unbidden to the youth was neither fear nor curiosity… but an incredibly crucial realization:

"My thesis!"

The last memory in his mind was of revising his graduation thesis all night in the lab.

At the same time, this last memory also came with intense heart pain and blurry consciousness, and thinking of this, the youth realized the problem at hand.

"Did I die suddenly?"

He examined his own hands.

The yellowed palms were covered in numerous signs of wear, with many calluses on his fingers and nails clogged with something resembling dirt, he recognized at a glance that these were not the hands of the long-time bachelor he had been.

"I… I've transcended?"

The youth was named Yi Chen, a miserable graduate student majoring in chemical engineering.

He enjoyed reading various genres of novels and playing games, and the first term that came to his mind was "transcend."

Upon reaching this conclusion, there was no anxiety, no panic.

instead, a look of utter relief appeared on his face, and his entire body relaxed… because not having to write a thesis, not having to worry about reviews and subsequent defenses felt incredibly liberating.

Having come from the orphanage, he had lived twenty-four years of solitary life and didn't have much attachment to the original world.

However, this relaxation did not last long, as the rotten smell in the air tensed his nerves again.

"I need to figure out what's going on quickly…"

Yi Chen shook his head and stood up to look around the wooden hut that was no more than forty square meters.

To the left of the desk, there was a single wooden bed pushed against the wall.

The foot of the bed showed noticeable mildew marks, largely due to the humidity in the hut.

Besides, there were no windows in the whole hut.

The only connection to the outside was a thick gray iron door which was tightly sealed in the frame.

Old gray paint and a rough, bumpy texture were apparent, probably painted some forty or fifty years ago.

The key to the iron door hung on Yi Chen's waist belt.

Next to the door, on the wall, was an old-fashioned landline telephone.

In Yi Chen's memory, this type of telephone was only seen in the orphanage during his childhood… later utterly phased out as smartphones became prevalent.

The rubber-coated telephone wire extended upwards, drilling out of the roof to connect to the outside world.

Another point worth mentioning is, there was no light source in the entire hut, the only illuminating device being the portable kerosene lamp on the desk.

Such a simple, sealed design of the hut, combined with the smell of decay in the air, led Yi Chen to think of something unlucky—a "coffin."

It was as if he were sealed inside a coffin made to look like a wooden hut.

Returning to the desk, without a phone or a mirror to inspect his own looks, he vaguely touched his face, noting that apart from the unclean stubble, the overall feel of his features was quite nice, seemingly better-looking than his former self.

Judging from the skin, he figured he must be no more than thirty years old.

Next was the search for detailed information.

His gaze returned to the initial wooden table, staring at the [letter] left on top.

"English? Is this a foreign country?"

Yi Chen brought out his academic reading skills, used for perusing papers, and quickly scanned the contents,

The first sentence of the first line was written with an unsettling word—[die].

As he delved deeper into the letter, the words on it seemed like maggots crawling into his body, making him feel uneasy all over.

≮I'm going to die, I'm certain of it.

But at least, I still have the right to choose the way I die.

When I really think about it, there doesn't seem to be anything in this world worth clinging to. The only person I feel sorry for is Director Fran. I messed up the first job I took after leaving the orphanage.

I'm always like this, careless. I made mistakes in the orphanage just the same.

Rule three in the Handbook... Even though I reviewed it every day, I still made a mistake.

There's nothing more to say, I only hope that the person who sees this letter can forgive my cowardice and incompetence. I simply can't face the [consequences] of my mistake.

If possible, please burn my body.

Do not bury me here!≯

"A suicide note?"

Yi Chen grabbed the water cup at the corner of the table, smelling the residue of the liquid inside.

He could now fully ascertain the basic situation of the body's original owner.

"Did this guy spend his childhood in an orphanage too? Because of similar experiences, similar looks and build, and the overlap of death, did I just happen to transcend into his body?

Knowing that he would die, he chose to poison himself?

Just because he didn't follow a certain rule, he had to pay with his life? What kind of hellish place is this?"

His in-depth analysis alerted Yi Chen to an air of unease and crisis that permeated the space, while also pondering his own 'predicament'.

"Since I've transcended here, I naturally have to deal with this [mess]... This guy could've at least written something useful in his suicide note.

After making a mistake, what kind of danger will I face?

Will an assassin from some organization come to clean me up? Or will some strange thing come knocking?"

With these thoughts, Yi Chen once again looked around the room.

Even if the entire cabin was sealed up tight like a coffin, there was still not a hint of safety to be felt.

"Calm down~ I've already died once, there's nothing to be afraid of.

First, let's see if I can find the [Handbook] mentioned in the suicide note to see what exactly this guy did wrong, and what his job was."

He opened the drawer of the wooden table, inside lay a map made of parchment and a special Handbook bound with black fur.

According to the map, this place was a [graveyard].

The cabin was situated right in the middle, with gravesites numbered 1-6 arranged clockwise around it, and in a corner of the map, a strange No. 7 gravesite was set apart, accessible only by traversing a path hundreds of meters long.

"This place is a graveyard? Was this guy's identity a Tomb Guardian? No wonder even the cabin has a subtle rotten smell."

Yi Chen then picked up the Handbook that contained important information.

[Employee Handbook (Easton Town Graveyard)]

The first page detailed the work schedule.

The Tomb Guardian has to inspect the numbered gravesites at specific times, for example:

Gravesite No. 1 inspection time is from 7:00 to 9:30.

Gravesite No. 2 inspection time is from 1:00 to 3:00.

And so on

Furthermore, No. 7 gravesite had no inspection times and did not require inspections; it was a special area.

The schedule was barely normal.

When Yi Chen turned to the second page of the Handbook, his expression immediately grew somber.

The very first thing was a set of brightly colored, red characters marked with asterisks,

*Please read the following rules for each gravesite carefully and memorize them. Failing to adhere to any of these or making mistakes will invite disaster, and you will pay a price that goes beyond death.*

I. [Strictly follow the schedule when inspecting the gravesites, with the start and end times being less than one minute off.]

II. [When inspecting Gravesite No. 2, ensure that the cross headstones are not inverted, or adorned with objects resembling goat skulls.

If such issues arise, you must restore the headstones and clear the debris within the inspection time frame.]

III. [During the inspection of Gravesite No. 4, ensure that the number and order of headstones remain unchanged.

If anomalies in number or order occur, you must remove the surplus graves or reorder any headstones that have been misplaced or inverted during the inspection period.]

*For convenience, the appendices of the Handbook contain a thumbnail of the Gravesite No. 4 layout.

IV. [Before starting the inspection of Gravesite No. 5, be absolutely sure there are no sounds coming from inside.

If any strange noises are heard, delay the inspection for one hour. If the noises persist after an hour, report the information to the Manager.]

V. [If a new body is found at the entrance of the graveyard, inspect the hearse carefully, ensuring that it bears the correct 'Organizational Mark' on its underside.

If the mark is correct, transport the body to the entrance of the corresponding gravesite based on the numeric cuts on the body's surface, the body will be interred on its own.

If no mark is found, or if the mark is incorrect, please take the hearse and the body on it to Grave No. 7 during daylight hours.]

*Details of the Organizational Mark can be found in the appendices.

VI. [Other gravesites only require basic inspections to ensure that the graves are not damaged or infiltrated by foreign entities.]

VII. [Outside of the inspection times, stay in the Safe House as much as possible to reduce the chances of accidents occurring.]

VIII. [If an error occurs in your work, resulting in a disastrous event, the Organization is willing to give you a chance for survival.

Pry open the floor under the bed, retrieve the Self-defense tool, and deal with and resolve the problem.]