Chapter 8

Taking a deep breath, Zhang Yuanqing tried to keep his tone as calm as possible:

"Officer Li, this is Zhang Yuanqing."

"It's you." The other side laughed, "What do you want at this hour of the night?"

Zhang Yuanqing said in a solemn voice, "I have some information to report. Actually, before Lei Yibing went missing, he sent me a card."

"Why didn't you mention this before?"

Li Dongze's tone showed no surprise at all.

Zhang Yuanqing hesitated for a moment, then recounted his speculations about Lei Yibing's disappearance in detail to the other side.

There was a long silence, then the other side laughed, "You sure know how to add drama to your life."

As Guan Ya said, Zhang Yuanqing is actually a very introverted person. A normal, cheerful, and optimistic college student wouldn't have such a high level of caution.

"Sorry," Zhang Yuanqing felt a bit awkward and quickly changed the subject, "I encountered something quite strange and hard to understand tonight. Um, do you understand what I mean?"

"From the looks of it, you successfully came out of the Spirit Realm." Li Dongze's tone carried a hint of relief.

Yes, he had just come out, almost dying inside. Hearing this response, Zhang Yuanqing felt a sense of relief.

The other side indeed knew about the Spirit Realm.

Li Dongze said, "College student, congratulations on becoming a Spirit Realm Walker, that's what we call people like us... I am also a Spirit Realm Walker, the difference is that I am official, and you are wild."

Spirit Realm Walker. Zhang Yuanqing pondered over these words and asked, "What is the Spirit Realm?"

He had too many questions and could only start with the basics.

"I can't tell you now. If you want to know more about the Spirit Realm, you have to make a choice," Li Dongze said in a serious tone.

"The official stance on the Spirit Realm is divided into two: one is to absorb and cultivate, the other is to monitor and control. The former means joining us and becoming an official Spirit Realm Walker.

"The latter means being a solitary practitioner. You just need to register with us and promise not to misuse your abilities to break the law. We won't interfere. Of course, you won't get any help from the official side either."

Zhang Yuanqing said without hesitation, "I am willing to join the organization and dedicate myself to the country and the people."

Li Dongze laughed, "No wonder you come from a family of security officers, you have a strong sense of duty."

Zhang Yuanqing couldn't tell if the other side was mocking or praising him.

"Get some rest early. I'll pick you up at 8 AM tomorrow morning," Li Dongze said.

Ah? Not now? Zhang Yuanqing hesitated, "Tomorrow?"

"Or what? It's what time now? You want to dedicate yourself to the organization, but the organization has to be in session first."

He probably doesn't want to talk about it over the phone, afraid I might change my mind and get the information for free. So he wants to meet in person tomorrow. Zhang Yuanqing could only say, "Alright."

Hanging up the phone, he glanced at his phone. It was 11 PM, and time in the Spirit Realm flowed the same as in the outside world.

Successfully contacting the official organization, Zhang Yuanqing felt a great sense of relief. At this moment, the fatigue from struggling for survival in the Spirit Realm came rushing over him.

He lay on the bed, set the alarm, and his eyelids grew heavier as he fell into a deep sleep.

The next morning, at 7:15 AM, Zhang Yuanqing was jolted awake by the alarm, almost having a heart attack.

He turned off the alarm and got out of bed, yawning continuously.

The quality of his sleep last night was not good, and he had several nightmares, all involving ghosts and monsters, waking up multiple times.

In the living room, his grandfather was sitting on the sofa watching the news. His hair was silver and sparse, his tall figure, and his face, full of wrinkles, showed a stern expression.

His grandmother was in the kitchen, clattering dishes to make breakfast. At the long dining table, his aunt was sitting on a chair, playing with her phone, her cheeks puffed out like a cute hamster.

"Up so early?"

His aunt scrutinized her listless nephew and said, "You look like you've been overindulging. Did you do something bad last night? I'm going to check your trash."

Normally, Zhang Yuanqing would retort, "Looking for something to eat?"

But now, with the Spirit Realm and the meeting with the official organization on his mind, he had no mood to argue with his aunt.

He sat down next to the woman, staring blankly as he waited for breakfast.

Soon, his grandmother brought out steaming hot rice porridge, fried dough sticks, boiled eggs, and a basket of meat buns.

Zhang Yuanqing took a sip of the hot porridge to moisten his throat and looked at his grandfather, tentatively asking:

"Grandpa, I remember that after the construction team disappeared in the She Ling Tunnel, the Security Bureau organized a search team, and you were part of it."

His grandfather "hmm"ed, somewhat puzzled, "That's old news. Why are you asking about this?"

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

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

"Didn't he go missing again?" His grandmother interjected, joining the discussion with great interest, "And it was a mysterious disappearance. It caused a lot of panic in the police force back then. It was only after the chief of the police bureau came down to calm everyone that things settled down."

"Is that true?" His grandfather denied it.

"Old Chen, are you getting senile? You told me this yourself," his grandmother argued.

His grandfather lowered his head to drink his porridge, "Believe in science, don't be superstitious. You get more gossipy as you get older."

Found and then disappeared again. Zhang Yuanqing felt a bit down as he sipped his porridge.

Clearly, the survivor entered the Spirit Realm again after 36 hours and didn't come out alive this time.

His prediction was correct; the death rate at the mountain temple was extremely high, and the second main mission was very, very dangerous.

To survive, relying on the official organization was the right decision.

After breakfast, he washed up and took the elevator down to the neighborhood entrance, waiting for about ten minutes.

A black minivan slowly pulled up, and the electric door slid open. Li Dongze was sitting on a white leather sofa, holding a cane and crossing his legs.

Dressed the same as yesterday, in a black suit, black vest, white shirt, with a neatly combed back hairstyle and a pair of neatly trimmed mustaches.

"Get in, college student."

Li Dongze smiled.

"Sure, Investigator." Zhang Yuanqing smiled back.

After he got in, the black minivan merged into the traffic, driving at a steady pace on the morning streets.

Li Dongze opened the car's mini-fridge and asked, "What would you like to drink?"

"Cola!"

"You'll have to buy it yourself at the supermarket later." Li Dongze poured himself a glass of whiskey, added an ice cube, and leaned back in his seat, saying leisurely,

"I'm taking you to complete the onboarding procedures and give you some basic training. Let me introduce myself first: Li Dongze, a Level 3 Spirit Realm Walker, part of the Wuxing Alliance's Songhai branch, Captain of the Kangyang District's Second Squad, and my profession is Scout."

Scout? Besides Night Walker, there are other professions? Zhang Yuanqing adopted a serious listening posture.

Despite his curiosity, he didn't interrupt.

As a skilled socializer, Zhang Yuanqing knew that interrupting someone while they were speaking was impolite, and he wouldn't let himself lose points over such trivial matters.

Li Dongze took a sip of his drink and said, "Let me explain what the Spirit Realm is first."

Zhang Yuanqing immediately perked up.

PS: This chapter is an extra update.