Chapter 65: Happiness Is Comparative
"Hokkaido - Northeast - Akita - Announcing inside the Yamagata Shinkansen train."
"The innovative and quirky group Twilight Golden Time, as you all may know, will now present a skit performed by their member Hongdou. We hope you enjoy your journey."
Listening to the announcements on the Shinkansen, Takeda Longsi, a regular office worker on his business trip to Akita Prefecture, was quite surprised.
"Oh, when did they install televisions in the regular carriages?"
"We just finished setting up not long ago." Team leader Mukai Tomoyuki sat in his seat, leisurely enjoying his coffee. "Unfortunately, we're unlucky as it's time for the Hongdou program to play. Have you heard of Hongdou?"
Takeda Longsi is not unfamiliar with this name.
"I've seen the performances of the members of Twilight Golden Time Combination before, and to be honest, I'm quite looking forward to it!"
"Did you just come out from the mountains?" Mukai Tomoyuki stared at him like he was foolish. "Even so, the broadcast just now clearly mentioned that they are strange and have been properly dealt with by the Uesugi Society!"
"Isn't that even better? After being handled by the Uesugi Society, they can still be released. There must be something unique about it. I really want to listen carefully!"
However, Takeda Longsi was disappointed as the TV on the wall suddenly lost sound, leaving only the picture.
The woman named Hongdou on the screen moved her mouth, hands, and feet, looking very devoted, but this is ultimately a comic sketch, not a silent play.
"Is the TV broken?"
Takeda Longsi looked up eagerly, but Mukai Tomoyuki stopped him in time.
"Don't move around, this is a measure for Shinkansen passengers. The sound was on at the beginning, but then the passengers reacted too strongly, so it was turned off."
"Is it that unpleasant?"
When this was mentioned, Mukai Tomoyuki's expression became conflicted.
"It's not a matter of whether it's pleasant or not, it's really that kind of rare type..."
"If that's the case, why is it still playing?"
"Maybe it's because Uesugi Society provided too much!" Mukai Tomoyuki speculated.
In a sense, his speculation was not wrong.
......…
In a certain office within the Tokyo No. 1 Shinkansen Vehicle Office, Hongdou was writing furiously.
"The Windstorm No. 165869 on the current route has severe damage, the Hope No. 526910 on the current route has horizontal grooves, and the White Eagle No. 647828 on the current route has cracks..."
The ability that even demon bosses admire greatly is truly extraordinary.
The experiment results show that the Twilight Golden Time Combination can split their soul into countless pieces and control them to work finely at the same time.
This ability can also be activated through electronic waves, even more powerfully. For this reason, they set their career goal to perform during the golden hours.
However, Uesugi Kiyoshi still felt it was settling for less.
He initially planned to push Ahge and Hongdou to pursue a medical degree. Although it takes a long time, once successful, they can achieve non-invasive surgery, remote surgery, and multiple surgeries at the same time, considered a great advancement in the medical field!
However, subsequent research revealed that soul fragments can penetrate any object except the human body, and cannot manipulate real-world tools.
There was no way around it. You can't just forcefully tear apart your purse and appendix, right?
They had to change their training direction, and railway inspection is a very good choice.
Rail tracks are prone to problems during usage due to the pressure from trains and temperature changes, which can lead to track breaks and transportation accidents if severe.
So the railway company needs to hire professional inspectors, who use ultrasound rail flaw detection devices to regularly give the rails a "physical examination". This way, they can promptly and accurately detect various rail defects, take timely corrective measures, and ensure railway transportation safety.
This job is tedious yet important, but it's a piece of cake for Hongdou and Ahge.
After all, compared to ultrasound, radiation, and magnetic induction, the soul is much more convenient to use.
By playing Twilight Golden Time programs on the trains, their soul fragments can reach the passengers and sink down to the tracks, then shuttle back and forth, making the inside of the rails clear as day.
If needed, when the soul fragments return, they can even draw schematic diagrams of the cracks inside the rails.
Even if there are some omissions, with dozens of trains passing by on average each day, it's enough to make up for occasional mistakes.
Because of this, no matter how unattractive it may seem, the railway company won't remove their programs.
From early in the morning at six o'clock until almost eleven fifty in the evening, Hongdou's day of work only ends once all the trains have stopped.
"So tired!"
She yawned and as her eyelids drooped, the Headless Sculpture in charge of supervision woke her up mercilessly with a whip.
"Can't sleep, there's extra work today, we have to inspect the Ejima Bridge for damages!"
"Ejima Bridge..."
The thought of the over 1,400 meters long steel structure, filled Hongdou's heart with a profound sense of powerlessness.
If she knew she could use her abilities like this, she would have applied to the railway company long ago, earning the salary of hundreds of people alone, why bother being a comedian, not to mention killing people!
"By the way, is it Friday yet?"
"Six more days to go!"
Hongdou let out a sigh, boarded the train to Ejima Bridge, now her only hope in life was the shift change with Ahge on Friday.
The work there would be at least a bit easier.
......
Ahge is currently working as a female anchor.
The computer brings a boost to soul fragments, not inferior to television. Every person who enters her live streaming room will have some soul fragments added to their home.
The role of these soul fragments is no longer to scratch, but to massage.
Ahge has now mastered various massage techniques such as Thai massage and Hong Kong massage. By entering her live streaming room, one can enjoy comfortable massage services without leaving home.
Because of this, Ahge's live streaming room firmly occupies the top position on the Uesugi Society streaming platform, even out of reach for those stars in artsy action films.
Even later on, they began to charge a high fee, reaching up to 2,900 yen per hour, and there were quite a few willing to pay. Especially office workers, who were loyal fans of this program.
"Thank you all for your gifts, now please lie down on the bed, apply essential oil if possible, and back massage is about to begin!"
Ahge concentrates her energy, manipulating soul fragments to pat the audience's back, ensuring they feel the comfort in their bodies.
Compared to her job inspecting railways, live streaming only requires sixteen hours a day, without any overtime needed, so she values her current job very much.
"They are not tireless strange creatures after all, they always need a balance of work and rest, some hope for the future!" Uesugi Kiyoshi explained his arrangements to Hoshimi Rie.
