The place was not far from Old Cui’s City God Temple, so I took the girl there directly, asking him to arrange a good place for her. Old Cui checked the girl’s file and found that she was a university student, pure as a blank sheet of paper in her life. She died when a car hit her while saving a junior classmate, pushing her out of the way and getting hit herself. She was considered someone with "merits."
She was assigned to Fengdu City, a place without war. I personally escorted her through the Ghost Gate, to Meng Po, bought her two cups of coffee to drink on the way, and then put her on the little train. I told her not to be afraid and that she could start a wonderful life in the underworld.
Although it was the girl’s first time being a ghost and she knew nothing, she thanked me profusely, saying that if she were to reincarnate, she would repay my kindness by being a cow or a horse for me.
"Haha, if you want to repay me, it's better to be human. I don't really like eating beef," I chuckled.
The girl blushed, stood on the train, and gave me a deep bow, "In any case, thank you, sir!"
Because the long-robed ferryman received a last-minute notice and there were two more ghosts behind us, they were delayed on the road and needed to wait a bit. I sat in the car and chatted with the girl to keep her company.
Through casual conversation, I unintentionally learned that she was a military academy student, studying the rather niche major of artillery command.
"You, a girl, studying artillery command?" I scratched my head in confusion.
"Mm-hmm, because my grandfather was a commander of an artillery regiment, and my father and uncle were also artillery officers. I don't have any brothers, only sisters. As the eldest, to fulfill my grandfather's wish, I had to study this. It's also considered inheriting the family business," the girl said with a hearty laugh, not seeming to feel any grievance. Perhaps girls are naturally interested in these sometimes cold, sometimes scorching steel machines.
"How far did you study? What year are you in?" I asked.
"I'm in my fourth year. If there hadn't been an accident, I would have officially enlisted next year," the girl spread her hands. Her hands were fair, tender, small, and delicate, but her palms were calloused. It was likely from years of practicing moving artillery shells, considered a badge of honor for military academy cadets.
"Fourth year," I lit a cigarette and nodded. "So, you’ve probably learned most of what you need to, right?"
"Mm-hmm, all the courses are completed."
"Then let me test you," I took a puff. "What is the firing range of a howitzer?"
"The firing range varies slightly depending on the howitzer. Taking our relatively advanced PLZ-07 self-propelled howitzer as an example, its elevation range is zero to seventy degrees, and its traverse is a 360° dead zone."
"Self-propelled howitzer... is that like a tank?" I didn't quite understand.
"Mm-hmm."
"Then, can you operate older artillery pieces?" I asked again, as the underworld had no advanced self-propelled artillery for her to handle.
"I can operate them all. Although I haven't seen some in person, we've studied the theoretical knowledge."
"What about ancient cannons?" I asked again.
"Ancient? Ancient cannons are simpler," she replied.
"Ancient cannons didn't have range tables, so how could they be used effectively?" I asked.
"Sights and ranges could be calculated through exercises. For any type of cannon, given half a day, I could create its range reference table by calculating the distance through the elevation angle."
"It involves trigonometry, doesn't it?" I asked.
"Mm-hmm. We don't even need calculators. Pen and paper are enough. Some can even be calculated mentally," the girl said proudly.
This I could understand. It was probably for situations in the field where, if all advanced technical equipment were destroyed, and even calculators were unavailable, how to maintain the effectiveness and combat power of weapons. This was what they needed to master. It was like how Yanxia always maintained a division of abacus calculators, whose members were outstanding young people in abacus calculation, some even children, precisely to simulate extreme battlefield conditions and ensure the ability to counterattack in such scenarios.
"That's good. Wait a moment, I'll make a call." I took off my Soul Reaping Token and called the Junior King of Hell directly. This was purely an unexpected gain.
When the call connected, the Junior King of Hell sounded as if he were sleeping. Although there was no day or night in the underworld, ghosts also needed rest and couldn't be exhausted to death.
I briefly explained the girl's situation, but the Junior King of Hell replied that they didn't have much artillery for the girl to command.