A day In the Life of an Undead

Chapter 1

All of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone. If this is true, then surely Tan Shihong was the world's most unproblematic man. He wasn't quite sure who had taught this, but he had to think in contrast, humanity's greatest strength was the ability to talk in a room together with other people.
    Day after day, the dark, incomprehensible void had driven him to near madness. His memory had faded with time, as well as his will to ponder or even think. He had no company, no sound, none of his senses at all. Like he was floating forever in a sensory deprivation tank. This was, afterall, death.
    Tan Shihong vaguely remembered having a physical form. He was eloquent in his speech, and competed well in debate and oratory tournaments. He had hoped to go to law school. He was a bright, quick-witted youth with just enough passion and temper to be charismatic instead of condescending. But, everything faded away with time, and he became indifferent, dissociating while one memory looped on repeat in the back of his mind:

"Your master... truly you want to stay with him forever, right?" A flash of hands invaded Tan Shihong's vision, wiping the blood from his eyes, and forcefully pushing his jaw up to meet his gaze.

Tan Shihong's pupils spasmed, his entire body twitching in fear and shock. Deep within him, something already broken shattered to splinters. Despite the body's fear of death, he knew he had already given up.

A sharp nail drew across his neck, gore dripping down onto his robes. It was sticky... and warm. Tan Shihong could only subconsciously note the sensation as he slowly relaxed in the man's grip, his eyes glazing over like a fish's.

The man grinned wildly, immediately sealing Tan Shihong's remaining vitality and skill. Tan Shihong's eyes widened as a sudden passion to protect overwhelmed him.

"Although he's already dead... he would appreciate you safeguarding his things well." The man smirked, and Tan Shihong drowned in darkness, holding onto that passionate feeling and memory.

    Tan Shihong couldn't help but depend on that emotion. It expanded to every part of himself. As everything else faded with time, that feeling never did. All he remembered was flashes of his years as a Highschool student, then the day he woke up to an impossible situation and was murdered, and now he was dead. Tan Shihong truly could never come to terms with it, it was just too strange!
    And now he was forever sunken in nothing, eyelids lulled, worn down by indifference. Until suddenly, the passionate need to defend surged in his belly like a wildfire. His muscles tightened, and his whole body shook from anger. Who had offended him, for his soul to boil enough for him to come back from the dead!?
    Between the flashes of movement in front of him, the blinding sunlight, and reflection of color stimulating Tan Shihong's eye rods for the first time in forever, the sounds of the movement, the feeling of his hands gripping a saber, his muscles subconsciously relying on the odd surge of cutthroat killing intent to attack and defend, even the sensation of his feet holding him steadily up... he was far too disoriented! He let his body subconsciously continue to attack whatever had angered him, almost flinching from the grunt of his opponent as his leg kicked the man into a rocky wall. Tan Shihong spaced as the man slid down, blood spurting from his nose and sullying his white robes.
    In the midst of his stupor Tan Shihong only knew one thing; no matter who that was, no matter why they were here, he must kill him. He swung down his saber. He must protect--

    [OUI OUI! HEY! YOU'RE ALIVE?!?!?!], a mechanical exclamation cut through Tan Shihong's head painfully, [You haven't shown signs of life for over 500 years! And now, after I find that you've just been slacking off for so long, I find you're also trying to kill my new protagonist?! Do you even know how hard it's been to find a suitable transmigrator?!!]

   'Who..?' Tan Shihong's eyelid twitched, his saber stuck in midair as he tried to come to terms with the fact only after coming back to life had he turned crazy enough to start hearing voices.

[I'm the system! Usually transmigrators meet me before they die! But unfortunately, you weren't competent enough to last for even five minutes! The story has been changed so much because of you... The story about the protagonist going on a quest to seek revenge for his master is all ruined! We had to change the plot completely which is like, suuuper troublesome! And it's all! Your! Fault!!]

Tan Shihong slipped back into his habit of not thinking.

[Because you've been dead and absent so long, I couldn't remove your soul before the new protagonist arrived. I dare you, aim just a bit more lethal intent at my new MC and you're done for bucko! I didn't know you had any vitality left, but now that I do I'm going to make sure you either put it to good use or I torture you to make up for the hundreds of years of suffering I've gone through looking for him! Now, either you will help me or I'll make you suffer and completely eradicate your soul! Pick now!]

Tan Shihong's head spun. After not conversing with anything or anyone for over 500 years, his ability to listen was completely gone, in the midst of being pelted with words Tan Shihong came to have one goal: get the system to shut up. Thus, he quickly agreed to help. Just to make the words stop.

[Good choice! Now, stop murdering him, get your act together! Allow him to now grab all the magical items, and your master's old snake lance, and horse-chopping saber and you'll be forgiven! He's what woke you from your grave, afterall!], the System commanded arrogantly.

So the original soul in his body's master... they were going to rob his grave?
While Tan Shihong was struggling internally, the new protagonist sat with his back against a cave wall, staring blankly at the undead person in front of him. Clearly, someone had sealed the last of his vitality in his body before he died by using a forbidden technique, and had ordered his soul and body to gallantly protect the formation and the items inside. Only, Chang Fa had just recently transmigrated over, and thus he didn't yet have a good enough grasp on the world to notice before he had already triggered the trap. He was preparing to defend himself against his opponent's next strike, but was stunned as the other simply froze in the middle of battle, his expression spacey.
Chang Fa, in confusion just sat staring. His attacker had the appearance of a 16 or 17 year old, but who knew how many thousands of years he had been dead... He had thick black hair that almost went halfway down his back. It was untied and flung disorderly over his shoulders. Blood seemed to drip down his face without source or stop, and a talisman trapping the soul within the body stuck on his forehead. Luckily the man's robes were black with red trim, or who knows what countless number of bloodstains would show up. His opponent fought with unending passion in order to protect the magical artifacts inside... Only, according to the system, in order to conquer the world he needed the weapons and items inside! This was truly too difficult!

"Er... Mr. Zombie, sir..." Chang Fa grinned, attempting to negotiate. Shivers trailed down his back as the Undead's fish eyes sunk down to look at his face. Maybe he just shouldn't have said anything, his hand tightened on his mediocre sword in anticipation.

Tan Shihong struggled to not cut down the protagonist as his subconscious begged. Instead, he spoke in a strained, ear-splitting voice,  "What is it you want?"

(Quick sketch of Tan Shihong!)