8 Contact

Taking a deep breath, Zhang Yuanqing tried to sound calm.

"Officer Li, this is Zhang Yuanqing."

"… It's you." The other man laughed. "What do you want from me in the middle of the night?"

Zhang Yuanqing said in a low voice, "I have a clue to report. In fact, before Lei Yibing disappeared, he sent me a card."

"Why didn't you say so before?"

There was no surprise in Li Dongze's voice.

This… Zhang Yuanqing hesitated for a moment and told the other party his guess about Brother Bing's disappearance in detail.

After a moment of silence, he laughed.

"You sure know how to act, kid."

Guan Ya was right. Zhang Yuanqing was actually a very reclusive person. A normal university student who was cheerful, optimistic, and positive would not be so wary.

"I'm sorry…"

Zhang Yuanqing was a little embarrassed and immediately changed the topic. No, he cut to the chase:

"Something rather odd and incomprehensible has happened to me tonight. Well, can you understand what I mean?"

"It seems that you have successfully left the Spirit Realm." Li Dongze sounded a little relieved.

Yes, he had just left and almost died inside… When Zhang Yuanqing heard such an answer, he calmed down.

The other party indeed knew about the Spirit Realm.

Li Dongze said, "College student, congratulations on becoming a Spirit Realm Walker. This is the title for people like us. I'm also a Spirit Realm Walker. The difference is that I'm an official, and you're a wild one."

Spirit Realm Walker… Zhang Yuanqing thought about this phrase and asked, "What's the Spirit Realm?"

He had too many questions to ask. He had to start with the most basic questions.

"I can't tell you now. If you want information about the Spirit Realm, you have to make a choice."

"Officially, there are two attitudes towards the Spirit Realm Walkers. One is to absorb and nurture while the other is to supervise and control. The former represents joining us and becoming a member of the Official Spirit Realm Walkers."

"The latter is to be a rogue cultivator. All you have to do is file a report with us and promise not to use your abilities to break the law, and we won't do anything. Of course, you won't be able to get any help from the authorities."

Without hesitation, Zhang Yuanqing said, "I'm willing to join the organization and lay down my life for the country and our people."

Li Dongze smiled. "No wonder you come from a family of officers. You're very sensible."

Zhang Yuanqing could not tell if the other party was mocking him or praising him.

"Then get some rest. I'll pick you up at eight tomorrow morning," said Li Dongze.

"Huh? Not now?" Zhang Yuanqing hesitated. "Tomorrow?"

"What else? What time is it? If you want to lay down your life for the organization, you'll have to wait until it's office hours."

He probably doesn't want to explain over the phone because he's afraid that I will go back on my word. He thinks I just want free information so he's waiting until tomorrow to meet me in person.

Zhang Yuanqing could only reply helplessly, "Alright."

After hanging up, he looked at his phone. The time was 11 PM. The flow of time in the Spirit Realm was the same as in the outside world.

After successfully contacting the officials, Zhang Yuanqing felt relieved. At this moment, the fatigue from struggling to survive in the Spirit Realm surged over.

He lay on the bed and adjusted the alarm clock. His eyelids grew heavy and he drifted off to sleep.

…

The next morning, at 7:15, Zhang Yuanqing was awakened by the alarm clock. His heart almost stopped in shock.

He yawned as he turned off the alarm.

Last night, the quality of his sleep had not been ideal. He had several nightmares, each one related to ghosts and monsters, causing him to wake up a few times.

In the living room, Grandpa sat on the couch, watching the news. His hair was thinning silver, and he was tall. His wrinkled face was unsmiling and stern.

Grandma was banging away in the kitchen, making breakfast. At the long dining table, his aunt crouched in a chair, playing with her phone. She puffed out her cheeks like a cute hamster.

"You're up early?"

Aunt examined her listless nephew and groaned, "You look so drained. Did you do something bad last night? I'm going to check your trash can."

Normally, Zhang Yuanqing would retort sarcastically, 'To find food?'

However, he was thinking about the Spirit Realm and meeting with the official organization. He was not in the mood to argue with his aunt.

He sat down listlessly beside the woman and waited for dinner with dazed eyes.

Soon, Grandma came out with a basket of hot porridge, fried dough sticks, and boiled eggs.

Zhang Yuanqing took a sip of the hot porridge to moisten his throat. He looked at his grandfather and probed.

"Grandpa, I remember that after the construction team for the She Ling Tunnel disappeared, the Security Bureau organized a search and rescue team. You were involved."

Grandpa grunted. "That's ancient history. Why do you ask?"

"I saw the story online again yesterday. Do you know what happened to the worker who was found?"

Grandpa frowned. "I forgot. It's been so long, I can't remember."

"Didn't they say that he went missing again?" Grandma interrupted and joined the discussion with interest. "It was a strange disappearance. This matter caused panic in the police force back then. It was only when the leader of the police headquarters personally came down to comfort him that it was over."

"That happened?" Grandpa denied it.

"Old man, are you old and senile? You told me this yourself," Grandma argued.

Grandpa lowered his head to eat his porridge. "You have to believe in science and not be obsessed with these superstitions. The older you are, the more gossipy you become."

After finding him, he disappeared again… Zhang Yuanqing took a sip of porridge in a gloomy mood.

Clearly, the survivor had entered the Spirit Realm again 36 hours later. After that, he hadn't made it out alive.

He was right. The Mountain Temple had an extremely high mortality rate. The second main quest was very, very dangerous.

To survive, relying on the authorities was the right decision.

After breakfast and a simple wash, Zhang Yuanqing took the elevator down and waited at the entrance of the neighborhood for more than ten minutes.

A black car eased to a stop and the electric doors slid open. Li Dongze sat on the white leather couch, leaning on his cane and closing his legs.

He was dressed the same as yesterday, in a black suit, black vest, and white shirt. His greasy hair was neatly combed back, and he had a clean mustache.

"Get in, college boy." Li Dongze smiled and said.

"Of course, Mr. Investigator." Zhang Yuanqing returned the smile.

After he got into the car, it entered the traffic and drove at a moderate pace through the early morning streets.

As he opened the car refrigerator, Li Dongze asked, "What would you like to drink?"

"Coke!"

"Then you'll just have to buy it yourself at the supermarket later." Li Dongze poured himself a glass of whiskey and dropped an ice ball into it. He held the wine and leaned back in his chair.

"I'll take you to the recruitment office now and give you basic training. First of all, let me introduce myself. I'm Li Dongze, a Level 3 Spirit Realm Walker. I'm the Kangyang District's Second Chief of the Songhai branch of the Five Elements Alliance. My class is Scout."

'Scout? There are other classes besides the Night Wanderer?' Zhang Yuanqing assumed a serious listening posture.

Despite his doubts, he didn't interrupt.

As someone who was good at socializing, Zhang Yuanqing knew it was rude to interrupt. He would not allow himself to have his impression points deducted on such trivial matters.

Li Dongze sipped his wine and said, "Let me tell you what the Spirit Realm is!"

Zhang Yuanqing immediately perked up.

...