The Second Spirit Realm Opens

Find it, I left everything there. Zhang Yuanqing stared at these words, remaining silent for a long, long time.

Brother Bing, oh Brother Bing, you really have set me a difficult puzzle! Zhang Yuanqing sighed and focused his attention on the "clue."

"'One life, two brothers'—this was Brother Bing's catchphrase during his second year of middle school. If it were just an expression of sentiment, he wouldn't have hidden it in a secret code."

"6203. A string of numbers—is it a password?"

"Find it—what does 'it' refer to?"

Zhang Yuanqing frowned and pondered for a long time, rubbing his brow in frustration.

He felt like he had obtained many clues, yet it seemed as if he had gained nothing at all. He muttered to himself.

But this fit the tropes of a detective novel: to prevent secrets from leaking, the assistant, Brother Bing, left clues that only the two of them could understand for the great detective Zhang Yuanqing, waiting for him to naturally understand them once certain conditions were met in the future.

After all, the great detective was still just a weakling for now.

"The so-called 'everything' must be related to the Devil Lord Role Card that Brother Bing mailed me, his disappearance, and his abnormal behavior during college. Given that this concerns a figure of the Devil Lord's caliber, I am truly curious about what 'it' actually is."

Zhang Yuanqing tore the note into pieces, left the room, and entered the bathroom.

Flush.

The toilet bowl carried away the scraps of paper.

Uncle Lei was busy with work; work could, to a certain extent, numb him and alleviate the "pain of losing a son," which also highlighted how difficult life was for Aunt Zhou, the housewife.

Zhang Yuanqing said goodbye to Aunt Zhou and left Yinping Residential Quarter. Standing on the street outside the complex, he waited for his ride-hailing car while deep in thought:

"I definitely can't tell the Squad Leader or Old Driver about this. I have to investigate it myself. With so few clues, there's no point in rushing. The most important thing right now is the second Spirit Realm mission."

"Leveling up is what matters most."

Zhang Yuanqing became increasingly aware of the importance of strength.

"If a multi-player Spirit Realm isn't a death-type, then it's a penalty-type. Failing the mission deducts experience points; if things go poorly, my strength might even regress."

"Rewards depend on the difficulty level of the dungeon itself and the Walker's performance during the mission. My current experience is at 52%. I wonder if the second Spirit Realm will allow me to reach Level 2 directly."

Theoretically speaking, that is impossible.

He had inquired about it during this time; as long as one can survive a single-player Spirit Realm, the rewards are relatively generous, so logically, the leveling speed shouldn't be slow.

However, veteran Walkers like Guan Ya and Li Dongze—one stuck at Level 2 for a long time, the other at Level 3 for a long time—have two reasons for this. First, the Spirit Realm dungeons they enter are not high-level, and the missions aren't difficult, so the rewards aren't as exaggerated as S-rank ones.

Second, multi-player dungeons have both successes and failures. To put it in layman's terms: it's inevitable to encounter teammates who drag you down and cause you to lose points.

At this moment, the ride-hailing car arrived late. Zhang Yuanqing pulled open the door, climbed in, and returned home.

"Grandmother, I'm back from class."

Zhang Yuanqing shouted toward the balcony.

"Your uncle came by; he hopes you'll go see him when you get back," Grandmother, who was busy washing a mop, replied.

"No, I'm exhausted from class. I don't want to accompany him in singing and dancing."

"I heard your aunt gave him a sum of money recently."

"Grandmother, I'm going to Uncle's house to hang out."

Ten minutes later, Zhang Yuanqing left his uncle's house feeling satisfied. He returned to his room, opened the forum, and saw that the post reposted from the Night Wanderer official forum yesterday was still pinned, but a new post had appeared below it.

#Mourning, a colleague has sacrificed their life in a multi-player Spirit Realm#

Clicking into it, the post stated that a colleague from a certain branch had received a mission for the S-rank dungeon "Jinshui Amusement Park" yesterday and had informed his superiors before entering.

He never came out again; it had already been over 24 hours since he entered the Spirit Realm.

[Qu Ri Ku Duo: I have to enter a multi-player Spirit Realm soon, too. I'm so panicked.]

[Please Call Me Queen: I'm afraid there won't be a guide available in the short term. You'll have to pray for your own luck. However, there are so many multi-player Spirit Realms, you won't be that unlucky.]

[Lai Ri Fang Chang: Queen, although the probability isn't high, once you encounter one, it's certain death. Besides, S-rank Spirit Realms are extremely difficult to clear. If it drags on for a year or half a year, who knows how many people will be doomed.]

This news caused quite a bit of panic and discussion on the forum.

[Guan Ren You Ji: During the Extraordinary stage, are there any particularly brilliant colleagues? Wild rogue cultivators count too. Such people have good resumes, and the probability of them being assigned to an S-rank by the Spirit Realm is higher. They might just be able to clear an S-rank. Qu Ri Ku Duo, you just need to keep a close eye on these people.]

[Qu Ri Ku Duo: Good idea!]

Given the massive base of Walkers, there were quite a few others like "Qu Ri Ku Duo" who were about to enter the Spirit Realm. They liked the comment one after another, feeling that this was a good method.

In their eyes, genius players of the same level were more important than Deacons or Elders, because the latter could not enter low-level dungeons.

"Yinshan Ghost School and Xinfeng Reservoir have already been cleared, and Jinshui Amusement Park is a multi-player Spirit Realm open to all professions. Although it's S-rank, theoretically, the probability of it being cleared is higher than a Night Wanderer-exclusive Spirit Realm. This Lai Ri Fang Chang clearly didn't do well in math."

Zhang Yuanqing scrolled through the comments and posted his own opinion.

Just then, he saw a notification pop up on his chat app. Wang Qian, the informant from Stop-Killing Palace, had sent a message.

Wang Qian: "Can you get your hands on the old version of the guide for Jinshui Amusement Park?"

Zhang Yuanqing: "Are you entering a Spirit Realm soon?"

Wang Qian: "My next Spirit Realm is a Musician-exclusive one, and it's not in the near future. I just wanted to tell you that if you can get the old guide, you could make a small fortune."

"How so?"

"The anomaly in the Night Wanderer-exclusive Spirit Realm is something I surely don't need to repeat. Jinshui Amusement Park is a multi-player Spirit Realm at the Transcendental stage with the widest audience; on the black market, its old-version guide has already sold for three hundred thousand."

Spirit Realm dungeon guides are "strategic resources," one of the foundations of the official organization, and the accumulated heritage built upon the blood and sacrifice of countless official Walker.

Zhang Yuanqing had never seen three hundred thousand in his entire life.

Wang Qian continued sending messages:

"A channel I'm in contact with is currently buying old-version guides. You're a member of the official organization; if you can get your hands on one, I can help you sell it, 7-3 split."

"I have one!"

Seventy percent would be two hundred and ten thousand. Zhang Yuanqing replied subconsciously, then immediately retracted the message.

Wang Qian sent a question mark, expressing confusion.

Zhang Yuanqing: "I have an old version, but I'm not selling."

Wang Qian: "Why?"

Zhang Yuanqing: "Don't want to earn that kind of money."

Wang Qian didn't press the issue. It was clear that Primordial Heavenly Venerable came from a decent background and had a high moral baseline, which was a good thing—after all, no one wanted to deal with cold-blooded, ruthless, or wicked people.

"How much is the new version of the Jinshui Amusement Park guide worth?" Zhang Yuanqing asked via message.

"S-rank Spirit Realm dungeon guides are priceless, but there's no unified pricing. The specific amount can be negotiated with the buyer. However, I suspect that with your clearance, you shouldn't be able to access S-rank dungeon guides."

An S-rank at the Transcendental stage is not the same as a trial mission.

Wang Qian: "I have a patient now, let's chat when I'm free. If you change your mind, remember to contact me; I'm short on money lately."

Wang Qian had been very short on money recently. A doctor's salary wasn't high, and due to the restrictions of moral points, most ways to make a fortune were cut off.

After this idle chat, Zhang Yuanqing remembered the Jinshui Amusement Park dungeon guide that Li Dongze had given him.

He developed a slight interest in this dungeon.

He exited the chat app, opened his email, and downloaded the attachment.

[Jinshui Amusement Park, Spirit Realm ID: 6203, Difficulty Level: B, Type: Multi-player (Punishment)]

[Main Mission: Experience two or more amusement park attractions.]

"After entering the dungeon, the Spirit Realm will prompt you on which attractions to play. The park includes a roller coaster, a giant pendulum, a pirate ship, a haunted house, a Ferris wheel, and a detective reasoning hall."

"Most attractions test team cooperation skills; the gameplay is..."

"The most dangerous is the Haunted House Ghost Marriage. The Ghost Bride will choose the most handsome male player to be her husband, and the person chosen is immediately eliminated. Therefore, after entering the haunted house, you must repeat incessantly: I am an ugly monster!"

"When all male players shout 'I am an ugly monster,' the Ghost Bride will choose randomly, and at that point, it's up to luck. Female players are the safest and can clear this attraction directly."

Zhang Yuanqing carefully read through the gameplay for each attraction. When he saw the Ghost Marriage, he thought to himself, is it just elimination? This Ghost Bride was far less brutal than the one in the trial mission.

Although the old version was only for reference and shouldn't be relied upon, it was still valuable for quickly understanding the situation in the dungeon.

No wonder some people were willing to spend a massive sum of 300,000 to buy it.

Suddenly, Zhang Yuanqing's expression changed. He swiped the screen rapidly, pulling the document to the very first page.

Jinshui Amusement Park, Spirit Realm ID: 6203.

Six-two-zero-three?!

He froze, stunned for a long time.

Was it a coincidence?

"Six-two-zero-three refers to Jinshui Amusement Park? Brother Bing has something hidden there? No, impossible." Zhang Yuanqing shook his head.

Spirit Realm dungeons are assigned randomly; this alone didn't make logical sense. What if he hadn't entered Jinshui Amusement Park? Then Brother Bing's arrangement would have been in vain.

Unless Brother Bing could predict which Spirit Realm he would enter.

If the Spirit Realm he would enter in the future could be predicted, then his Spirit Realm missions weren't random, which made his entry into Sheling Tunnel terrifying to think about. Zhang Yuanqing suddenly felt his scalp tingle.

After dinner, Zhang Yuanqing washed up early, drew the curtains, turned off the lights, locked his bedroom door, and lay on the large bed, staring blankly at the digital clock on the nightstand.

Before midnight, the Spirit Realm mission would definitely arrive.

He held five or six small blue pills in his hand, feeling time slowly slip away.

He didn't know how much time had passed when a familiar notification sound rang in his mind:

[Ding, Spirit Realm map is opening. Entering the Spirit Realm in 60 seconds. The Spirit Realm you are entering this time is "Jinshui Amusement Park", ID: 6203.]

[Difficulty Level: S]

[Type: Multi-player (Death)]

[Main Mission: Experience two or more amusement park attractions.]

[Note: Non-Spirit Realm items cannot be brought in.]

[Introduction to Spirit Realm No. 6203: One day, an indescribable figure came to Jinshui Amusement Park. She was surprised to find that after a long slumber, such interesting toys had appeared in the world. She happily experienced all the attractions and decided not to destroy the place. Before leaving, she instructed the spirits in the amusement park to find a young man for her, whose name is XXXX.]

It really was Jinshui Amusement Park; it was indeed Jinshui Amusement Park. Zhang Yuanqing felt as if ten thousand grass-mud horses were galloping through his heart.

There was no time to think; he swallowed the small blue pill and dialed Guan Ya's phone number.

According to the regulations, he had to report the Spirit Realm dungeon so that his superiors and colleagues would be informed, especially during this sensitive period.

The call connected quickly, and Guan Ya chided playfully:

"Every girl whose beauty sleep is interrupted requires a grand meal as compensation."

"Tell the Squad Leader that I am about to enter the Spirit Realm. The dungeon is Jinshui Amusement Park."

"What?! Your multiplayer Spirit Realm is Jinshui Amusement Park? Hey, Yuanshi? Hello, hello?"

Guan Ya received no further response.