In the end, Jiang Qin didn’t buy anything. She took the two of them for a walk nearby, watching the busy robots shuttle through the streets.

Since all the bars were closed for three days, she didn’t get a chance to make it up to the resident performer she’d stood up for the gig.

As she wandered around, she realized that besides Tianwen Company, she had nowhere to go.

Passing an empty lot, she was surprised to find people burning paper offerings.

However, the joss paper wasn’t actual paper, but a holographic projection.

...

’Are people writing bad checks to the Underworld now?’

She was wearing a mask, so when she drew closer to watch, no one noticed that she was Jiang Qin.

Passersby looked on in confusion at the people who seemed to be performing some kind of ritual. One asked, "Does anyone know what they’re doing?"

"I know. They’re making offerings to the dead.

It’s an ancient funerary rite. I heard that burning joss paper allows the deceased to have money to spend in the Underworld.

Burning incense guides the souls of the dead so they can come and receive the offerings."

"Huh? But... none of it is actually burning?"

The joss paper was a looping holographic video, and the incense was electronic—just a light in the shape of an incense stick.

’Isn’t this the kind of thing only kids would play with?’

"There’s no other way. In this day and age, those things are luxury items, and besides, no one knows how to make them anymore!

Making a video or electronic incense is one thing—you just need the shape. But making the real deal, like in Strange Tales? Who could do that?"

They didn’t even know what joss paper or real incense actually smelled like.

Was it the smell of burning paper? Or the tranquil scent described in the show?

That’s why they could only use fakes.

This rite, too, was something they had learned from Strange Tales. It was a ceremony for the souls of those who had died on the Frontline Star.

Before, everyone was just sleepwalking through life; who would have cared about a ritual like this?

After all, they weren’t even aware of the concept of an afterlife.

In the eyes of the Interstellar People, dead was dead.

The deceased were all cremated, their ashes scattered over the research institute’s botanical gardens as a final contribution to nature.

They had a clear-eyed view of death and were accustomed to people they knew suddenly passing away at any time.

This was also why most people’s relationships and emotional bonds were never too deep.

They simply couldn’t comprehend the emotions in some of the story arcs from Strange Tales.

Take, for example, the "Little Xie" story arc, which was recently made available to binge-watch ahead of schedule.

They couldn’t understand why Little Xie would fall in love with a destitute scholar who had nothing. Likewise, they couldn’t understand why a scholar with nothing wouldn’t choose the rich young heiress, but instead pick a female ghost who didn’t even have any body heat.

By choosing the heiress, he would have gained a powerful backer, a bright future, and a beautiful, high-status partner.

Someone of flesh and blood who loved him, no less.

Her temper might have been awful, but in the eyes of the Interstellar People, a female having a bad temper was the most insignificant of flaws.

Even a bad character wasn’t a dealbreaker; there would always be someone willing to stoop to her level.

The only thing they couldn’t accept was their female master being a mere soul.

What was the difference between that and a holographic person?

That’s why they didn’t understand why the male protagonist was willing to die for Little Xie.

And why Little Xie, in turn, was willing to have her soul scattered to the winds for him. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

But it had to be said that thanks to Strange Tales, a show so full of passion and genuine emotion, their own emotional lives had been greatly enriched.

At the very least, they had started to worry about whether the dead would be prosperous in their next life.

That was why they had gathered here to make offerings.

They felt they had to do something, anything, to feel a little better.