Spirit Realm

Li Dongze phrased his words carefully, saying:

"The Spirit Realm is a supernatural force. Currently, it cannot be explained by science. Although we have been trying to dissect and understand it, we still do not have a complete grasp of it. The Spirit Realm exists within reality, yet it is detached from reality; only those who are chosen can enter it."

"As for how one is chosen..." He took a sip of wine and smiled. "You should have experienced it by now."

"That card?" Zhang Yuanqing responded at the right moment.

Li Dongze nodded slightly:

"It is called a Role Card. Those who obtain a Role Card will trigger a trial mission. By passing the trial, they obtain a corresponding profession, gaining the skills and characteristics of that profession."

"The mechanism by which the Spirit Realm selects a Spirit Realm Walker has not yet been figured out, and the way it distributes Role Cards is not fixed. Sometimes it appears directly inside your body; sometimes you might pick it up on the side of the road; sometimes you might accidentally click a link online."

"Completing the trial mission is only the beginning. If a Spirit Realm Walker wants to level up and become more powerful, they must constantly accept missions and enter the Spirit Realm. However, you don't need to worry; the frequency of missions is not high, and not every Spirit Realm scenario is life-threatening. On the contrary, some Spirit Realm scenarios can be quite interesting."

"Take me, for example. As a Level 3 Scout, I have entered the Spirit Realm once a month for the past two years, but I only enter a solo Spirit Realm once every three months, and I almost died in there. The other times, I entered multiplayer Spirit Realm scenarios, which are relatively safer and more interesting. Heh, if you want to gain superpowers, you have to pay a price."

Li Dongze paused, giving Zhang Yuanqing time to ask questions.

"Is it similar to a game dungeon?" Zhang Yuanqing offered his own interpretation.

Li Dongze smiled:

"I like talking to you young people because you have strong comprehension skills and are proactive in engaging with new things."

After offering this praise, he nodded:

"That's right, it's just like playing a game, and the Spirit Realm is the dungeon. Some dungeons are solo types, while others are multiplayer team-based or multiplayer versus. The solo-type dungeons are the most dangerous and have the highest mortality rate."

"Multiplayer types are relatively better. There are death-type and penalty-type; for the latter, you only need to deduct a certain amount of experience points."

Zhang Yuanqing asked curiously, "Why does the solo type have the highest mortality rate?"

Li Dongze pondered for a moment. "In a multiplayer Spirit Realm, you will encounter Spirit Realm Walkers of other professions, but in a solo type, it is a Spirit Realm specific to your own profession. Take the Scout as an example; the Transcendence Realm abilities of this profession are Insight, tracking, and analysis."

"So the three solo Spirit Realm scenarios I encountered were, respectively: acting as a detective to solve a case; hunting each other while chasing a villain in the jungle; and wilderness survival. Furthermore, for every profession, the Spirit Realm dungeons for the Transcendence stage and the Saint stage are different."

My profession is Night Wanderer, and I entered a supernatural dungeon. Phew, thank goodness there are multiplayer dungeons, otherwise I'd be scared out of my wits in the Spirit Realm sooner or later. Will the Spirit Realm dungeons change at the Saint stage? Zhang Yuanqing nodded while listening.

"Did Lei Yibing enter the Spirit Realm when he went missing?" Zhang Yuanqing asked in a deep voice.

He desperately needed confirmation from an official figure to verify his guess. If Brother Bing had entered the Spirit Realm, then things weren't completely hopeless.

Li Dongze thought for a moment and said:

"After Lei Yibing's mysterious disappearance, the official personnel from the Hangzhou police department took over the case. Their judgment is that Lei Yibing has already died in the Spirit Realm."

Zhang Yuanqing felt his heart stop for a beat, and an uncontrollable surge of anxiety and panic welled up. "Why?"

Li Dongze explained, "Because too much time has passed. A normal Spirit Realm dungeon, at least in the Transcendence Realm, lasts a few hours at the shortest and one or two days at the longest. But Lei Yibing has been missing for four days. The Transcendence Realm represents Levels 1-3."

"What about above the Transcendence Realm?"

"I'm not entirely sure, but there should be dungeons that last longer."

Maybe Brother Bing is a powerful Spirit Realm Walker. Zhang Yuanqing could only comfort himself with that thought.

Regarding Brother Bing's disappearance, at his current stage, he was destined to be of no help, whether in terms of ability or insight.

By comparison, joining an official organization and then saving himself was the most important thing right now.

"...By the way, before I introduce the official organization to you, there is one more very important thing." Li Dongze took a sip of wine to moisten his throat. "What is your Moral Value?"

"60 points, the initial value." Zhang Yuanqing answered honestly.

Li Dongze nodded: "For a newcomer like you, the Moral Value is the biggest trap. You must keep this in mind."

"Why do you say that?" Zhang Yuanqing did not hide his confusion.

"Do you remember the note under the Moral Value?"

I remember, it told me to be a good person. Zhang Yuanqing almost made a "Wah-Jai" face.

Li Dongze said sternly:

"The initial value of Moral Value is 60. If it falls below this value, it will trigger the Spirit Realm's punishment mechanism. It will report your location to all Spirit Realm Walkers in the same city and issue a mission to eliminate you."

Zhang Yuanqing was dumbfounded and blurted out:

"Doesn't that mean I can never do anything bad for the rest of my life?"

Well, I don't mean I want to do bad things, but being a saint is just too exhausting.

Besides, what is the standard for measuring Moral Value? If doing crafts or posting lewd pictures counts as moral decay, then his life is over.

Li Dongze laughed, seemingly enjoying the expression on the newcomer's face, and said slowly:

"Don't be so nervous. According to our observations, if a Spirit Realm Walker steals, robs, or harms others, 1-5 points of Moral Value will be deducted depending on the severity. Killing someone deducts 10 points. If it causes serious consequences or multiple casualties, the corresponding Moral Value will be deducted based on the severity."

"As for some lapses in private morality, it will not affect your Moral Value. Furthermore, Moral Value can be deducted, but of course, it can also be accumulated. That is why I told you to be a good person."

This mechanism sounded like it was deliberately designed to restrain Spirit Realm Walkers, but why would the Spirit Realm want to restrain the Walkers?

Whether it is morality or law, they are things created by humans to maintain order. In the natural world, other than humans, no other living beings need these things.

In other words, unless the Spirit Realm's stance is human, the existence of Moral Value is somewhat unreasonable.

But the Spirit Realm is a supernatural phenomenon.

Zhang Yuanqing instinctively felt this restriction was unreasonable, but since Li Dongze didn't explain it, it meant he didn't know the reason either.

It wasn't hard to see from their conversation just now that the authorities had limited knowledge of the Spirit Realm.

Zhang Yuanqing realized, "I see. No wonder it's a huge pitfall for newcomers. So, how does one accumulate Moral Value?"

After obtaining superpowers, novices often use their abilities to do things they previously wanted to do but couldn't, such as seeking wealth.

And the methods for making quick money are all written in the Criminal Law.

What else was there? Hmm, I wonder if supporting impoverished young ladies would lower one's Moral Value? In the definition of the Spirit Realm, does that count as a moral failing or a violation of the law?

Zhang Yuanqing didn't dare ask this question; after all, they weren't that familiar yet, and he didn't want to leave a bad impression on his future boss.

"Accumulating Moral Value is as simple as lowering it: just do good deeds. In fact, many Spirit Realm Walkers from Evil Profession organizations are keen on charity and donations because it's the fastest way to accumulate Moral Value. As long as you have enough money, you can kill people with impunity." Li Dongze scoffed:

"It's ironic, isn't it? You never know what kind of faces those philanthropists hide behind. And what's even more ironic is that human life can be measured by money. That's how reality is, and that's how the Spirit Realm is."

"Additionally, killing between Spirit Realm Walkers does not deduct Moral Value."

After Zhang Yuanqing had initially digested this information, Li Dongze continued:

"Next, let's talk about the official organizations."

"The official organization we belong to is called the Five Elements Alliance, composed of five major forces: the Hundred Flowers Society, the White Tiger Corps, the Red Fire Gang, the Water God Palace, and the Central Court. These five major forces represent five professions: Wood Demon, Scout, Fire Master, Water Ghost, and Earth Monster."

Zhang Yuanqing couldn't help but complain internally: Why is the official organization full of demons and monsters?

"Besides the Five Elements Alliance, there are several other organizations with official backgrounds. I'll sync them to your files later." Li Dongze fiddled with his wine glass and said:

"The five major organizations within the Five Elements Alliance only formed an alliance in the last twenty years. Before that, they each did their own thing, and their relationships were not harmonious. This involves the mutual generation and restriction of the five elements, as well as the differences in habits between the various professions."

Li Dongze took a sip of wine and shrugged, "Take the Wood Demons of the Hundred Flowers Society as an example. They are a group of extreme environmentalists and members of animal protection associations. My god, they actually tried to push the Five Elements Alliance headquarters to issue a regulation banning members from eating dog meat. Not even God is as outrageous as them. Every time I see their sickly, animal-loving faces, I just want to kick their butts hard with my leather shoes."

Next, Li Dongze harshly criticized the four major professions other than the White Tiger Corps.

This gave Zhang Yuanqing a more intuitive understanding of the other organizations in the Five Elements Alliance, such as the Red Fire Gang, who would never talk if they could just use their fists; or the Water God Palace, whose members had gloomy personalities and loved cultivating viruses and bacteria.

And the Central Court, the "earth bosses" engaged in real estate and mine development.

"Only we Scouts of the White Tiger Corps are wise, calm, and courageous—the perfect profession," Li Dongze concluded.

Zhang Yuanqing thought to himself, do the other four organizations agree with your assessment?

"Heh, the more we talk, the more it sounds like a game, right? Some people within the Five Elements Alliance call the Spirit Realm a 'game server.' Spirit Realm Walkers have character panels, items, and tasks to complete, and the various Spirit Realms are like dungeons. Furthermore, it has different professions: the people of the Red Fire Gang are reckless and impulsive, fond of promoting violence, just like Berserkers. The people of the Water God Palace possess water-control abilities and are Water Mages. The Hundred Flowers Society can raise pets and heal injuries; they are Priests and Summoners. The people of the Central Court have thick skin and high defense, typical MTs."

Zhang Yuanqing couldn't help but tease:

"Then are you Scouts the 75-gold-coin wards in the game?"

Li Dongze was stunned. He couldn't help but tighten his grip on the handle of his cane, saying expressionlessly:

"If I were a Fire Master from the Red Fire Gang, I would have already smashed your dog head with a club."

"I'm sorry!" Zhang Yuanqing apologized decisively.

After the joke, the atmosphere between the two became more harmonious. Li Dongze smiled:

"After passing the Transcendence Realm, Scouts will possess extremely strong individual combat capabilities. When I say this is a perfect profession, I'm not bragging."

"Of course, among the orthodox professions, the Night Wanderer is recognized as the strongest. Well, I'm talking about orthodox professions, not including the Evil Profession. Even we Scouts have to admit that the Night Wanderer is more perfect than us."

Ah? Is the Night Wanderer very strong? Can they take on ten people at once? Zhang Yuanqing felt a surge of joy: "Could you tell me about the Night Wanderer profession?"

Li Dongze laughed, but he understood the young man's admiration for strength and said:

"At the beginning of the Transcendence Realm, the Night Wanderer can display extremely strong assassination capabilities, and their burst power is also quite considerable. In addition, they possess the ability to communicate with souls and refine corpses to control spirits. Their skills are diverse and their combat power is formidable."

"However, the number of Night Wanderers is extremely scarce. Currently, the Songhai City branch does not have any Night Wanderers. This is because there are too few Night Wanderer Trial Spirit Realms in Songhai, and the Taiyi Sect in the Capital City keeps absorbing Night Wanderers from all over the country."

Speaking of this, he naturally asked about his new employee's profession:

"What is your profession? I hope you aren't a Fire Master; I hate rude and irritable young people the most."