Take a deep breath, Zhang Yuanqing tried his best to keep his tone calm:
“Li Officer, this is Zhang Yuanqing.”
“…It’s you,” the other smiled. “What brings you here at night?”
Zhang Yuanqing spoke firmly: “I have some leads to report. In fact, before Lei Yibing went missing, he had sent me a card.”
"Why didn’t you mention this earlier?"
Li Dongze’s tone showed no surprise at all.
Well… Zhang Yuanqing hesitated slightly and then fully shared with him his growing suspicions about the case of Bing Brother's disappearance.
The other remained silent for a while before chuckling:
“You’re really good at adding drama to your own story.”
Guan Ya was right—Zhang Yuanqing, in fact, had always been rather reserved. A typically cheerful, positive, and energetic college student wouldn’t have such strong caution.
“Sorry…” Zhang Yuanqing felt slightly embarrassed, quickly shifting the topic—or rather, steering directly toward it:
“I’ve encountered some quite odd, hard to explain incidents tonight. Um, do you understand what I mean?”
“So it seems you've successfully emerged from the Spirit Realm,” Li Dongze said with a tone of satisfaction.
Yes—just after stepping out, he had almost died inside… Hearing this response, Zhang Yuanqing felt reassured.
Indeed, the official clearly understood the Spirit Realm.
Li Dongze explained: “As a college student, congratulations on becoming a Realm Walker—that’s our designation for people like you. I’m also a Realm Walker, though I'm an official one. You're considered a wild one.”
Realm Walker… Zhang Yuanqing pondered this, then asked:
“What exactly is the Spirit Realm?”
He had so many questions he wanted to ask—so he began from the very basics.
“I can’t tell you that yet. If you wish to learn more about the Spirit Realm, you’ll have to make a choice,” Li Dongze said seriously.
“The official stance toward the Spirit Realm falls into two categories: one focuses on integration and development, the other emphasizes oversight and control. The former signifies joining us as an official member of our ranks.
The latter means becoming a freelance practitioner—only requiring registration with us and making a promise not to misuse your abilities in violation of rules. Of course, you won’t receive any assistance from the official side.”
Zhang Yuanqing said without hesitation: “I would like to join the organization—to sacrifice for the nation and its people.”
Li Dongze smiled: “No surprise—coming from a family of police officers, you clearly have strong dedication.”
For a moment, Zhang Yuanqing wasn’t sure whether he was being praised or teased.
“So, let’s go home now, I’ll pick you up at eight tomorrow morning,” Li Dongze said.
Ah? Not now? Zhang Yuanqing hesitated: “Tomorrow?”
“Otherwise, what time is it now? You can't offer your life and energy to the organization right now—wait until they’re open.”
Ah—so he doesn’t want to talk about this over the phone, afraid I might change my mind or take advantage of the information. He wants to meet in person tomorrow… Zhang Yuanqing could only sigh and say: “Alright.”
After hanging up, he checked his smartphone—the time read 11 p.m., matching the time flow inside the Spirit Realm with that outside.
Now connected with the official organization, Zhang Yuanqing felt at ease. The exhaustion from fighting for survival in the Spirit Realm surged back strongly.
He lay down on the bed, set the alarm, and soon his eyelids grew heavier as he drifted off to sleep.
…
The next morning at 7:15 a.m., Zhang Yuanqing was awakened by the alarm—his heart nearly stopped; he almost died on the spot.
As he turned off the alarm, he yawned repeatedly and slowly rose from bed.
His sleep had been poor—he’d woken up several times due to vivid dreams involving ghosts and spirits.
In the living room, Grandfather sat in the sofa watching news, his hair silver and sparse, tall in stature, with deeply etched lines on his face—his expression stern and serious.
Grandmother was bustling around in the kitchen preparing breakfast. At the long dining table, Aunt sat cross-legged on a chair, tapping her cheeks like an endearing little hamster.
“Getting up so early?”
Aunt observed Zhang Yuanqing’s weary appearance, sighed softly: “Looks like you’ve been overdoing it lately. Did something bad happen last night? I’m going to check your trash can.”
Normally, Zhang Yuanqing would have retorted—what about food?
But now his mind was occupied with the Spirit Realm and the meeting with the official organization; he didn’t feel up to arguing with Aunt.
He settled down beside her, eyes blank, waiting for breakfast to be served.
Soon, Grandmother brought out steaming rice porridge, fried dough sticks, boiled eggs, and a basket of meat buns.
Zhang Yuanqing sipped the warm porridge to soothe his throat, then turned to Grandfather and asked cautiously:
“Grandfather, I remember after the construction team of She Ling Tunnel went missing, the police department organized search teams to find them—you were among those who worked there.”
Grandfather nodded gently: “It’s all just old history now. What brings this up?”
“I saw this story again online yesterday,” Zhang Yuanqing continued. “Do you know how the worker who was eventually found is doing now?”
Grandfather frowned: “I’ve forgotten—it’s been so long.”
“Didn’t they say he went missing again later?” Grandmother interjected, showing genuine interest in joining the conversation. “It was a very strange disappearance—back then it caused quite a stir throughout the police department, even prompting leadership from headquarters to personally visit and offer reassurance.”
“Is that true?” Grandfather hesitated to admit.
“Oh, Old Chen—you’re getting old now, aren’t you? You might be developing early-onset dementia. I heard this story straight from your mouth,” Grandmother insisted with conviction.
…Grandfather lowered his spoon and said: “Trust science—don’t get too enchanted by superstitions. You keep growing more curious as you grow older.”
Found, then disappeared again… Zhang Yuanqing felt a bit subdued as he took another sip of porridge.
Clearly, the survivor had re-entered the Spirit Realm 36 hours later and hadn’t made it out alive this time.
His prediction was correct—the mortality rate at the Mountain God Temple was exceptionally high, and the second main task line was extremely hazardous.
To survive, dependence on official support was the most sound decision.
After breakfast and a quick wash-up, Zhang Yuanqing took the elevator down to the ground floor and waited at the entrance of the community for about fifteen minutes.
A black business sedan gradually pulled up, its electric doors sliding open automatically. Li Dongze sat in a white leather sofa, holding a cane and keeping his legs together.
Wearing the same attire as yesterday—black suit, black vest, white shirt, with neatly combed hair and a pair of well-groomed side whiskers.
“Please get in,” Li Dongze said with a warm smile.
“Certainly, Officer,” Zhang Yuanqing replied with a smile.
Once he settled into the car, the black sedan joined the flow of traffic, moving steadily through the morning streets.
As Li Dongze opened the refrigerator, he asked: “What would you like to drink?”
“Cola!”
“So you’ll have to buy it at the supermarket later,” Li Dongze said as he poured himself a glass of whiskey and dropped in an ice ball, then leaned back against the chair with calm ease.
“I’m going to take you through onboarding procedures now and conduct some initial training. Let me introduce myself—Li Dongze, Level 3 Realm Walker, member of the Five Elements Alliance, at the She Ling Tunnel Branch, Kangyang District’s Second Small Team, position: Chief. Profession: Scout.”
Scout? Besides the Night Wandering Deity, there were other professions? Zhang Yuanqing sat fully attentive.
Although he had questions in his mind, he didn’t interrupt—being a good socializer, he knew that interrupting someone mid-speech was considered impolite; he didn’t want to lose points on such small details.
Li Dongze took a sip of his drink and said: “Let me explain what the Spirit Realm is!”
Zhang Yuanqing immediately perked up.
…