Chapter 4

In a daze, Zhang Yuanqing felt something soft and plump press down on him, making it hard to breathe.

Opening his eyes, he saw a round, delicate face and a mischievous smile.

His aunt grumbled,

"Brat, you dared to stand me up, I'll sit on you until you die."

She sat on her nephew like a duck, leaning forward, lifting her buttocks and sitting down hard.

Zhang Yuanqing let out a muffled groan, almost suffocating, and in anger, he thrust his back, flipping the woman over.

Amidst his aunt's exclamation of "Ouch," he saw that it was already dark outside the window, and he had unknowingly slept from morning until night.

"Come and eat!"

His aunt, lying on the side of the bed, kicked his buttocks with a series of rapid kicks.

"Don't take revenge, I respect the elderly and care for the young, I won't stoop to your level."

Zhang Yuanqing slipped to the side of the bed, put on his shoes, and walked out of the room.

The living room was filled with a rich aroma, and his grandparents were sitting at the dining table, his grandfather with silver hair, tall and thin, with a stern face and a serious demeanor.

"How was it? Was the person I arranged for you this time okay?"

At the dining table, his grandmother asked with some anticipation.

"Pretty good, a million-yuan salary, a corporate executive, very satisfactory, very satisfactory!"

His aunt nodded like a chicken pecking at rice.

"You always say that, but you always block them. Pay attention, think about how old you are."

His grandmother poked her daughter's head with her finger and scolded her.

"Right, right..." Zhang Yuanqing chimed in, then his calf was kicked hard by Jiang Yuer.

The two of them kicked each other under the table, making the table rattle nonstop.

"If you don't eat, get back to your room."

Grandmother's roar made Zhang Yuanqing and his aunt immediately lower their heads and start eating.

"Grandma, when is my cousin coming back?" Zhang Yuanqing asked.

His uncle's family lived next door. Recently, his aunt, from a wealthy family, and his uncle, who was carefree, went on a trip abroad, so his cousin had been eating dinner here.

"He said he's working overtime tonight and won't be back... That guy, he works like a madman, completely different from his idle father." Grandma complained.

Overtime... Zhang Yuanqing couldn't hide his disappointment and said "Oh."

After dinner, Zhang Yuanqing and Jiang Yuer returned to their rooms, leaving Grandma to clean up.

......

Back in his room, Zhang Yuanqing locked the door, picked up his phone, and called his cousin.

Since he couldn't talk to him in person, he would call him.

But communication over the phone was never as clear as face-to-face.

The call connected quickly, but the speaker only played a message indicating the phone was off.

"Are you in a meeting?"

Zhang Yuanqing hung up the phone in frustration. As the head of the security team, his cousin was busy with work, and his schedule and diet were irregular. It was common for him to be unreachable.

He was used to it.

Zhang Yuanqing lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling, letting his thoughts wander...

If Brother Bing's disappearance was intentional and the target was the black card, I need to be careful. The safest way is to hand the black card to my cousin and let him report it to his superiors.

Given the administrative level of the Songhai City Security Bureau, the influence of the forces in Jiangnan Province is limited.

But the problem is, the black card is missing, which is the most troubling... Zhang Yuanqing scratched his head in frustration.

A black card that can disappear into thin air is terrifying. Without finding the black card, there's no way to turn it over to the state.

I can only confess to my cousin and let him report it to his superiors, then follow the instructions. I'm just an ordinary college student, I can't do anything.

Suddenly, Zhang Yuanqing felt a pain and heat on his forehead. He scratched it, and the pain intensified.

Hmm? Pain and heat, what's going on...

He got out of bed, walked to the full-length mirror by the window, and examined himself.

In the mirror, a young man's face was reflected, with delicate features and fair skin, lacking the toughness of life's hardships and the沧桑 of time.

Only the vibrant energy of youth was evident.

On his forehead, there was a black crescent moon mark, vivid and lifelike, with irregular patches clearly visible.

At the bottom of the crescent moon mark, there was a progress bar showing 90%.

This... Zhang Yuanqing stepped back in shock, rubbing his forehead, but the mark was like a tattoo, impossible to rub off.

Why is there such a thing on my forehead? When did it appear? His mind was filled with chaotic thoughts, mixed with panic and confusion.

"Wait! This pattern, isn't it the black moon on the card?"

He was initially stunned, but then his thoughts connected.

The black card wasn't lost; it had entered his body and transformed into the mark on his forehead in a way he couldn't understand.

As he was pondering, the progress bar under the black moon mark changed to 92%, and his forehead felt scorching hot.

What is this, a supernatural phenomenon? High technology? An illusion?

At that moment, the content of the letter came to mind: This is a gift that can change your life...

"The black card is really a treasure, so my previous guess was right. Someone coveted the card, and Brother Bing didn't want them to get it, so he sent it to me, and he disappeared because of it..."

Zhang Yuanqing worried about Brother Bing while staring at the progress bar with a mix of anticipation.

What will happen when the progress bar reaches 100%? Witnessing the strange phenomenon before his eyes, he was filled with curiosity about what would happen next.

After several more scorching pains, the progress bar under the black moon finally reached 100%.

The next moment, a voice without emotion or feeling echoed in his ears:

"Character card reactivated..."

"Name: To be named (please name immediately)"

"Race: Human"

"Occupation: Night Walker"

"Level: 0"

"Skills: None"

"Experience: 0%"

"Moral Value: 60 (initial value)"

Under the moral value, there was a note:

"Do not let your moral value drop below 60. You may have had no choice before, but now, please be a good person."

Staring at the floating, cyan character attribute panel, Zhang Yuanqing was stunned, wondering what this was.

He tentatively called out, "System?"

As a seasoned internet user, he was well-versed in various things.

The emotionless voice echoed in his ears again:

"Please name your character immediately!"

The attribute panel, which had been frozen in mid-air, displayed a cyan text box.

Not a system, otherwise it would be too low-tech and unable to communicate... With a step-by-step approach, Zhang Yuanqing extended his finger and wrote his name:

Zhang Yuanqing

"Warning, do not use your real name."

Not using his real name? Zhang Yuanqing was taken aback and wrote a second name:

Yuanshi Tianzun

"Naming successful! The spirit realm will open in ten seconds, Yuanshi Tianzun, good luck!"

Hearing the voice in his ear, Zhang Yuanqing was stunned, wondering what was happening. The spirit realm? Shouldn't you explain what the spirit realm is first?

Before he could regain his composure, the ten-second countdown was over.

"Ding, the spirit realm map has been activated. Welcome to 'Night Walker — She Ling Tunnel,' Code: 0079."

"Difficulty Level: S"

"Type: Solo (Death Type)"

"Main Quest 1: Survive for three hours."

"Main Quest 2: Explore the 0079 spirit realm, current exploration rate: 0%"

"Note: Non-spirit realm items cannot be brought in."

"0079 Spirit Realm Introduction: Do you know the She Ling Tunnel, one of the ten strange tales of Songhai?"

"The She Ling Tunnel was built at the end of the last century. During its construction, a construction team entered the tunnel on a rainy night and disappeared, never to be seen again."

"The Security Bureau organized a search team, which found one of the workers who participated in the night's excavation in the mountains, but the others were nowhere to be found."

"The surviving worker, although alive, suffered some unknown trauma, leading to mental issues, and he became delusional... No matter how the security officers questioned him, he only repeated one phrase."

"He said: Don't enter the temple, don't enter the temple..."

The voice in his ear grew fainter and eventually faded away. The scene before his eyes, like a rippling lake, began to distort and blur.

After a moment, the picture stabilized, and the dim yellow light shone on the uneven walls, and the ground was covered with fine gravel.

"Where am I?"

Zhang Yuanqing looked around in surprise, finding himself in an old tunnel. The old xenon lamps on the arched ceiling emitted a weak orange glow.

......

PS: We're now 11th in the monthly votes, thank you all, you're amazing.

Since this is a modern setting, some elements are fictional. In this world, there is only the Security Bureau. As long-time readers, you should understand.