Taking a deep breath, Zhang Yuanqing tried to keep his voice calm.
"Officer Li, this is Zhang Yuanqing."
"Oh, it's you." The person on the other end chuckled. "What do you need at this hour?"
Zhang Yuanqing said gravely, "I have a lead to report. Actually, before Lei Yibing disappeared, he sent me a card."
"Why didn't you mention this earlier?"
There was not a hint of surprise in Li Dongze's voice.
Zhang Yuanqing hesitated briefly, then told him everything about his suspicions regarding Brother Bing's disappearance.
There was a long silence on the other end before Li Dongze chuckled.
"You sure know how to make yourself the main character, kid."
Guan Ya was right. Zhang Yuanqing was actually quite withdrawn. An ordinary, cheerful, optimistic college student wouldn't be so wary.
"Sorry."
Feeling a little awkward, Zhang Yuanqing immediately changed the subject—or rather, got to the point.
"Some strange, hard-to-understand things happened to me tonight. Um, do you understand what I mean?"
"Sounds like you made it out of the Spirit Realm." There was a note of relief in Li Dongze's voice.
Yes, I just got out. I almost died in there. Zhang Yuanqing felt much more at ease hearing that answer.
The other party really did know about the Spirit Realm.
Li Dongze said, "Congratulations on becoming a Spirit Realm Walker, college student. That's what people like us are called. I'm a Spirit Realm Walker too. The difference is that I'm with the government, while you're unaffiliated."
Spirit Realm Walker. Zhang Yuanqing mulled over the term, then asked,
"What is the Spirit Realm?"
He had so many questions that he wanted answered. He could only start with the basics.
"I can't tell you right now. If you want to learn about the Spirit Realm, you'll have to make a choice." Li Dongze's voice grew solemn.
"The government takes one of two approaches to Spirit Realm Walkers: recruitment and training, or supervision and control. The former means joining us and becoming an official Spirit Realm Walker.
"The latter means becoming an independent practitioner. You just need to register with us and promise not to use your abilities to break the law, and we'll leave you alone. Of course, you won't receive any help from the government either."
Without hesitation, Zhang Yuanqing said, "I'm willing to join the organization and lay down my life for my country and its people."
Li Dongze laughed. "You certainly have the right attitude for someone from a family of public security officers."
For a moment, Zhang Yuanqing couldn't tell if the remark was praise or mockery.
"Then get some rest. I'll pick you up at eight tomorrow morning," Li Dongze said.
Huh? Not now? Zhang Yuanqing hesitated. "Tomorrow?"
"What else? Do you know what time it is? If you want to lay down your life for the organization, you'll have to wait until it opens for business."
He doesn't want to discuss it over the phone. He's afraid I'll change my mind and get the information for free, so he's waiting until we can meet in person tomorrow. Zhang Yuanqing could only say helplessly, "All right."
After hanging up, he glanced at his phone. It was eleven at night. Time passed at the same rate in the Spirit Realm as it did in the outside world.
Now that he'd successfully contacted the official organization, Zhang Yuanqing felt much more at ease. At that moment, the exhaustion he'd brought back from struggling to survive in the Spirit Realm swept over him.
He lay down, set his alarm, and soon his eyelids grew heavy. He fell into a deep sleep.
The next morning at 7:15, the alarm jolted Zhang Yuanqing awake. His heart nearly stopped, and he almost died on the spot.
He turned off the alarm and got out of bed, yawning repeatedly.
He hadn't slept well. He'd had several nightmares, all of them about ghosts and monsters, and each one had woken him up.
In the living room, his grandfather sat on the sofa watching the news. His hair was thin and silver, his build tall, and his deeply wrinkled face was stern and unsmiling.
His grandmother was clattering around in the kitchen, making breakfast. At the long dining table, his aunt was crouched on a chair, playing on her phone with her cheeks puffed out like a cute little hamster.
"Up so early?"
His aunt scrutinized her listless nephew and grumbled, "You look like you've been overdoing it. Were you up to no good last night? I'm going to check your trash can."
Normally, Zhang Yuanqing would have shot back, "Looking for something to eat?"
But his mind was on the Spirit Realm and his meeting with the official organization. He had no mood to trade barbs with his aunt.
He listlessly sat down beside her and stared blankly ahead, waiting for breakfast.
Soon, his grandmother came out carrying steaming rice porridge, fried dough sticks, boiled eggs, and a basket of meat buns.
Zhang Yuanqing took a sip of hot porridge to soothe his throat, then looked at his grandfather and ventured, "Grandpa, I remember that after the construction crew disappeared in the Sheling Tunnel, the Public Security Bureau organized a search party. You were part of it."
His grandfather grunted in acknowledgment, looking a little puzzled. "That was ages ago. Why are you asking about it?"
"I saw the story online again yesterday. Do you know what happened to the worker they found?"
His grandfather frowned. "I've forgotten. It was so long ago that I can't remember."
"Didn't he go missing again?" His grandmother chimed in, clearly interested in joining the discussion. "And it was a bizarre disappearance. Back then, it caused a panic in the police force. It wasn't until a leader from the police headquarters came down in person to reassure everyone that the matter was put to rest."
"Did that happen?" His grandfather denied it.
"Old Chen, are you getting old and senile? You told me about it yourself." His grandmother was adamant.
His grandfather lowered his head and drank his porridge. "Believe in science. Don't get carried away by superstition. You get more and more gossipy as you age."
He disappeared again after they found him. Zhang Yuanqing drank a mouthful of porridge, his mood sinking.
It was obvious that thirty-six hours later, the survivor had entered the Spirit Realm again, and this time, he hadn't made it back alive.
His prediction had been right. The death rate at the Mountain God Temple was extremely high, and the second main quest was incredibly dangerous.
Relying on the authorities was the best way to stay alive.
After breakfast and a quick wash, Zhang Yuanqing took the elevator downstairs and waited outside the complex for about ten minutes.
A black van slowly pulled up. The electric door slid open automatically, revealing Li Dongze seated on a white leather sofa, his legs together and a cane in hand.
He was dressed just like the day before: black suit, black vest, white shirt, slicked-back hair, and a neatly groomed little mustache.
"Get in, college student."
Li Dongze smiled.
"Sure thing, Investigator." Zhang Yuanqing smiled back.
After he got in, the black van merged into traffic and drove at an easy pace through the morning streets.
As he opened the mini fridge in the car, Li Dongze asked, "What would you like to drink?"
"Coke!"
"Then you'll have to buy one at a convenience store later." Li Dongze poured himself a glass of whiskey, dropped in an ice ball, and leaned back in his seat with the drink in hand. "I'm taking you to complete your hiring paperwork, and I'll give you some basic training while we're at it. First, let me introduce myself. Li Dongze, Level 3 Spirit Realm Walker, Songhai Branch of the Five Elements Alliance, Squad Leader of the Second Squad in Kangyang District. My profession is Scout."
Scout? So there were other professions besides Night Wanderer? Zhang Yuanqing settled into an attentive listening posture.
Though curious, he didn't interrupt.
As someone good at socializing, Zhang Yuanqing knew that interrupting people was rude. He wouldn't lose points over something so trivial.
Li Dongze took a sip of whiskey and said, "Let's start with what the Spirit Realm is!"
Zhang Yuanqing immediately perked up.
Before you continue