Chapter 10: S-Class Trial Spirit Realm
"Night Walker!"
Zhang Yuanqing calmly said.
"I'm asking about your profession."
"Night Walker."
Li Dongze was stunned at first, then suddenly straightened his back, leaned forward, and stared at Zhang Yuanqing intently, saying: "You... are a Night Walker?"
"Yes." Zhang Yuanqing nodded.
"Hiss..." Li Dongze shifted in his seat. He remained silent for over ten seconds to digest this news, then raised his voice and asked again:
"You're a Night Walker? I... I just picked up a Night Walker?"
This was something he never expected, like casually wishing to win a 5 million lottery ticket.
And then actually winning.
"I've struck gold." Li Dongze put down his wine glass, looking Zhang Yuanqing up and down repeatedly, his face excited.
Every Night Walker was a hot commodity.
They were sought-after targets for spirit realm explorer teams and even gangs to recruit.
Li Dongze knew of a young madam from the Hundred Flowers Association who, in order to poach a Night Walker informant from the Red Fire Gang, didn't hesitate to use seduction. Through bedroom tactics, she got him to switch allegiances and willingly defect to the Hundred Flowers Association, becoming a servant of two masters.
Because of this incident, the Red Fire Gang and Hundred Flowers Association nearly came to blows. Even mediation from the Five Elements Alliance headquarters was ineffective.
Later, that Night Walker died during a spirit realm mission, and the matter finally settled down.
"Oh right, I don't know your spirit realm ID yet." Li Dongze hid his excitement, maintaining a steady image in front of his future subordinate.
Zhang Yuanqing puffed out his chest, gathering qi at the tip of his tongue: "Primordial Heavenly Lord!"
Li Dongze was silent for a few seconds, then clapped his hands: "Great name."
Hey hey, your praise sounds too forced, and why do you look like you want to hit me? Zhang Yuanqing humbly said:
"I'm glad the Captain likes it."
At this moment, the black business car drove into the Kangyang District Public Security Bureau, parking in a spot next to the landscaping.
"I'll arrange for you to complete the onboarding procedures now. The salary is 20,000 a month, with additional allowances for missions. There are separate performance bonuses for meritorious service. Any problems?"
Li Dongze seemed unwilling to delay even a moment, revealing an eagerness to secure the deal.
A base salary of 20,000 a month? Zhang Yuanqing's eyes lit up, "No problem."
A monthly salary of 20,000 was considered high-income even in a big city like Songhai.
Zhang Yuanqing remembered that at his mother's company, management-level employees only had base salaries of 50,000 to 100,000 per month. Of course, that didn't include bonuses, commissions, and stock options.
He followed Li Dongze out of the car, walking around to the back of the Public Security Bureau building, stopping in front of a two-story structure.
This small building was constructed of huge glass panels, giving it a stylish and elite feel.
Entering through the main door, directly opposite was a steel staircase leading to the second floor.
The left side of the first floor was an office area, with seven or eight women seated at desks. There were pretty young ladies, mature and charming young wives, as well as capable and steady aunties.
The right side was a living area, furnished with sofas, round tables, refrigerators, induction cookers, water dispensers and other household items.
They were either working with their heads down, watching shows with headphones on, or gathered in small groups chatting about gossip.
Seeing Li Dongze enter, they only glanced up briefly before continuing with their own activities, showing none of the typical employee fear towards a leader.
I like this office atmosphere, Zhang Yuanqing muttered to himself.
Li Dongze didn't linger, leading Zhang Yuanqing towards the steel stairs. Suddenly, he turned back and said:
"These are ordinary staff, here only to serve us spirit realm explorers. In the future, if you need anything in your work or daily life, just ask them."
Work and personal secretaries? Zhang Yuanqing nodded.
The two arrived on the second floor, where the bustling chatter diminished. The layout upstairs was much simpler - the entire left side belonged to Li Dongze's personal office, while the right side had nine desks arranged.
Most were empty, with only two desks occupied.
They were the investigators who had visited his home yesterday - the long-legged sister and the disheveled, vacant-eyed engineering type.
"Guan Ya, help him complete the onboarding procedures."
Li Dongze called out from a distance, smiling, "I've recruited a new colleague for you."
The engineering guy looked up, glanced at Zhang Yuanqing, nodded slightly, then lowered his head to continue with his work.
The mixed-race beauty smiled, standing up while saying:
"Looks like you successfully completed the trial mission, little boy who likes mature women."
Little boy who likes mature women?! Zhang Yuanqing's expression froze for a moment, then he heard Li Dongze beside him say:
"Guan Ya likes to joke around, you'll get used to it."
He then reprimanded his female subordinate: "Don't say such strange things in front of our young college student, he's still a child."
The "child" took the opportunity to glance at the approaching mixed-race beauty. She wore an OL suit skirt, with the shirt tucked in, outlining her slender waist. Her long, shapely legs were wrapped in black stockings, and her slightly curled long hair swayed gently with each step.
Her face was delicate, with the three-dimensional features of Westerners, yet her skin was fair and smooth.
"Captain Li, I'd like to inquire about matters related to the trial spirit realm," Zhang Yuanqing didn't forget his purpose for today.
"You can ask Guan Ya any questions. I have some business to attend to first." Li Dongze said warmly.
His tone was like that of a class teacher addressing a top student.
After giving instructions, he hurried back to his office, intending to report the news of recruiting a Night Walker to his superiors.
"Did the Captain take the wrong medicine today? He's walking on air,"
Guan Ya muttered, then turned to look at Zhang Yuanqing, smiling:
"Come with me to fill out a form, and give me your ID card."
"I didn't bring my ID card."
"Then tell me your ID number."
She led Zhang Yuanqing to sit at an empty desk, tossed him a form, wrote down Zhang Yuanqing's ID number, then went downstairs.
Zhang Yuanqing took a pen from the pencil holder, unscrewing the cap while examining the form.
This form was different from ordinary onboarding forms, corresponding to the attribute panel of spirit realm explorers.
Besides basic information like profession and level, there was also a column for the trial mission spirit realm.
Perfect, I'll ask about how to clear the Sheling Tunnel dungeon later. Zhang Yuanqing filled it out truthfully.
By the time he finished the form, Guan Ya had just returned, holding two contracts in her hand. She pulled over an office chair to sit beside him, her round buttocks sinking into the seat.
"The Captain should have given you basic training, right?" She leaned back lazily in the chair, a posture that fully displayed her impressive chest.
Zhang Yuanqing caught a whiff of an enchanting fragrance, secretly sneaking glances.
In this era where the average level was only C-class, an E-class expert was enough to move people.
"Your onboarding procedures are done. This is the contract, and there's also a confidentiality agreement."
After Zhang Yuanqing signed, Guan Ya's smiling expression turned serious:
"Let me explain a few things. From today on, you can't use your original ID card anymore. The organization will give you a new ID card. It will be ready within three days, and you can use it normally to buy high-speed rail tickets and plane tickets, with access to the green channel.
"As for the new phone card, you'll get it tomorrow."
"Why?" Zhang Yuanqing didn't understand this procedure.
"When you named yourself, the spirit realm should have prompted you not to use your real name."
Zhang Yuanqing nodded.
Guan Ya said solemnly:
"There's a reason for this. We divide spirit realm professions into two categories. The first category is lawful professions, also known as orthodox professions. The second category is evil professions.
"Spirit realm explorers with evil professions are either violent and bloodthirsty, or perverse and cruel. They have a common hobby - hunting spirit realm explorers of orthodox professions, which is us. It's very dangerous for spirit realm explorers to expose their identities in reality."
Like faction conflicts in games? Zhang Yuanqing's expression grew serious.
Last night when naming himself, he was told not to use his real name, which he found strange.
So this means Li Dongze and Guan Ya aren't their real names either?
"But don't worry, we're an official organization. Usually, we're the hunters and they're the prey."
Seeing the young man's smile disappear, Guan Ya offered some reassurance.
"Sister Guan Ya must be an amazing hunter." Zhang Yuanqing relaxed, while also firing a sugar-coated compliment at her.
Quite the smooth talker, Guan Ya's smile deepened, clicking her tongue:
"You speak so well, how many girlfriends have you had?"
"I'm single!"
Guan Ya was surprised, "But your trash can was so clean, I thought you had a girlfriend."
Again with the trash can, do you women have some special fetish for trash cans? Zhang Yuanqing silently complained in his heart.
Guan Ya giggled: "Want big sister to help you order a girlfriend online?"
Enough, you woman, no, you old driver. Zhang Yuanqing said irritably:
"No need, I prefer realistic girlfriends."
Guan Ya laughed heartily: "I like you, little guy."
"Hmm, no more joking, let's continue with business. There are a total of ten spirit realm explorer teams in the entire Kangyang region. We're the second team, with five spirit realm explorers in our team. With you, it'll be six. Among the five explorers, only the Captain and I belong to the White Tiger Army. You were recruited by the Captain, so after you become official, you'll also be part of the White Tiger Army. I hope you remember this."
Sounds like the factions within the Five Elements Alliance have deeper grudges than I imagined, Zhang Yuanqing immediately said:
"From now on, I'll follow Sister Guan Ya."
He didn't mention Li Dongze, as this approach would better gain the young lady's favor.
Sure enough, Guan Ya's smile grew even more radiant. She said charmingly:
"Apart from me and Wang Tai, the other spirit realm explorers don't usually come to clock in for work. You're a student, so you don't need to come every day either. Don't be too formal, the Captain is a very nice person. It's just that when he gets emotional, his way of speaking becomes quite strange, and he has a strong obsession with elegance.
"As for Wang Tai, his profession is 'Scholar'. He excels at learning and research, and is office staff. If you don't understand something, ask him. When you graduate from university in the future, you can ask him to help write your thesis.
"But he's not good at socializing, and hates it too. You don't need to pay attention to him normally, just treat him as a tool."
"As for me," she said with a smile, "I really enjoy interacting with energetic young men."
Zhang Yuanqing couldn't tell if she was being sincere or just teasing.
He quickly labeled the team members based on his understanding:
A Captain particular about elegance who occasionally bursts into translated speech; a socially awkward engineering nerd; an experienced flirt.
"By the way, what's your zodiac sign?" Guan Ya asked.
"Scorpio!" Zhang Yuanqing didn't understand why she suddenly asked this, but answered truthfully.
Guan Ya looked at him with a strange expression: "You really don't have a girlfriend?"
What does this have to do with zodiac signs? Zhang Yuanqing looked confused.
Guan Ya clearly didn't believe him, but didn't dwell on the topic. She casually picked up the form Zhang Yuanqing had filled out.
"Primordial Heavenly Lord. 21 years old. Heh, is your ID imposing enough? Aren't you afraid of getting beaten up when you go out? Night Walker..."
Guan Ya's charming face visibly froze, blurting out: "You're a Night Walker?!"
Zhang Yuanqing quite enjoyed her expression.
"No wonder the Captain was walking on air." Guan Ya muttered, then said happily: "From now on our team has a Night Walker too. You're not allowed to run off with wild women from other organizations."
Zhang Yuanqing noticed that Wang Tai in the distance also looked up, glancing this way.
"Primordial Heavenly Lord, hmm, I'll call you Primordial from now on." Guan Ya happily looked down the form, pausing when she saw the level was zero. Just as she was about to ask, she glimpsed the next line which read, Trial Mission: Sheling Tunnel!
Guan Ya's mind went blank, her lips parting slightly, expression frozen in shock.
After a while, she looked at him with an incredibly complex gaze, "Your trial spirit realm is Sheling Tunnel?"
Seeing her expression, Zhang Yuanqing's heart skipped a beat. "I was just about to ask about the trial mission. Since it's a dungeon, there must be strategies, right?"
After saying this, he saw the so-called indifferent engineering guy raise his head to look over again, and this time, the other's eyes were full of sympathy and pity.
"You... wait a moment," Guan Ya said with an unpleasant expression as she left the office area and walked towards Li Dongze's office.
What's with that look in her eyes, like she's looking at a dead person? Zhang Yuanqing felt a bit uneasy.
At this moment, Wang Tai at the next desk said calmly:
"There are strategies, that's correct. Submitting details of the spirit realms one has experienced is the duty of every official explorer, and the organization will provide corresponding rewards. But, Sheling Tunnel is a bit different. See for yourself."
He passed over a laptop.
Zhang Yuanqing, half curious and half confused, took the computer. On the screen was an open document.
Songhai Night Walker Trial Spirit Realm Summary:
[Wang Village Ancient Ruins, C-rank, Mission requirement: Successfully survive until dawn.]
[The sources of danger in the village come from hanged ghosts and the wild graves outside the village. When faced with the life-claiming of hanged ghosts, spirit realm explorers need to stand on their heads to avoid danger. But those with weak physical strength can only hope for the best.
[The vengeful spirits in the wild graves will collectively enter the village at midnight. Spirit realm explorers need to go to the small shop immediately to find incense and candles. Lighting the incense and candles can prevent being devoured by the group of ghosts.]
[Lingang Reservoir, B-rank, Mission requirement: Cross the reservoir.]
[During the crossing of the reservoir, water ghosts will try to pull you to the bottom. Do not resist at all. After diving and holding your breath for two minutes, the water ghosts will leave on their own.]
[Ghost Bride, A-rank, Mission requirement: Spend the wedding night with the ghost bride until dawn.]
[The ghost bride is a beautiful and alluring creature. She will wildly treat every groom. She won't harm her own groom, as long as you can satisfy her. But theoretically speaking, no man can fight until dawn. This is almost certainly a fatal spirit realm. So far, only one brave man has successfully survived, but he has since developed a strong aversion to women.]
[Xiangshui Amusement Park, B-rank, Mission requirement...]
Zhang Yuanqing felt more and more uneasy as he read on, more and more confused.
Too simple, isn't it?
These trial missions are too simple, aren't they? Except for the Ghost Bride requiring iron kidneys, the survival rates of other trial spirit realms are quite high.
And looking through the whole thing, the highest mission difficulty is A-rank, but his trial mission is the S-rank Sheling Tunnel.
He looked further down and finally saw Sheling Tunnel.
[Sheling Tunnel, Difficulty unknown, Mission requirements unknown.]
[The initial incident was a construction team that mistakenly entered the spirit realm during tunnel construction. A total of twelve people entered the spirit realm, with only one surviving, but he was severely stimulated and in an abnormal mental state. 36 hours later, he re-entered the spirit realm and died within.]
[Note: This spirit realm scene is extremely dangerous. Currently, there are no known cases of successfully clearing Sheling Tunnel.]
The last sentence was marked in bright red.
Zhang Yuanqing's face was frozen in shock.
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(End of chapter)
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