Taking a deep breath, Zhang Yuanqing tried to keep his tone calm:
"Officer Li, this is Zhang Yuanqing."
"...So it's you," came the laughter from the other side. "What's the matter calling me so late?"
Zhang Yuanqing's voice grew serious: "I have some leads to report. Actually, before Lei Yibing went missing, he sent me a card."
"Why didn't you mention this earlier?"
There was no surprise in Li Dongze's voice.
Zhang Yuanqing hesitated briefly, then laid out all his suspicions about Yibing's disappearance in detail.
After a long silence, Li Dongze chuckled:
"You're quite the drama king, huh?"
Guan Ya was right—Zhang Yuanqing was naturally reclusive. A normally cheerful, optimistic university student wouldn't be this guarded.
"Sorry..." Zhang Yuanqing felt awkward and quickly shifted the topic, or rather, cut to the chase:
"I experienced some strange, hard-to-explain things tonight. Do you understand what I mean?"
"Sounds like you successfully escaped the Spirit Realm," Li Dongze said with some relief in his tone.
Yes, just escaped, nearly died in there... hearing this, Zhang Yuanqing felt a wave of calm.
So the other side really knew about the Spirit Realm.
Li Dongze said, "University student, congratulations on becoming a Spirit Realm Walker—that's what people like us are called. I'm also a Spirit Realm Walker, but I'm official, and you're wild."
"Spirit Realm Walker..." Zhang Yuanqing savored the phrase, then asked:
"What exactly is the Spirit Realm?"
He had too many questions to answer and had to start with the basics.
"I can't tell you everything right now. If you want to learn about the Spirit Realm, you'll have to make a choice," Li Dongze said in a low voice:
"The official stance on the Spirit Realm is twofold: absorption and training, or regulation and control. The former means joining us and becoming an official Spirit Realm Walker.
"The latter means being a rogue practitioner—you only need to register with us and promise not to misuse your abilities. We won't interfere, but you also won't get any official support."
Without hesitation, Zhang Yuanqing said, "I'm willing to join the organization, to risk my life for the country and the people."
Li Dongze laughed: "No wonder you come from a family of security officers—very conscientious."
Zhang Yuanqing wasn't sure if that was praise or sarcasm.
"Well, get some rest early. I'll pick you up at 8 tomorrow morning," Li Dongze said.
Huh? Not now? Zhang Yuanqing hesitated: "Tomorrow?"
"What else? What time is it now? If you want to risk your life for the organization, you'll have to wait until we're on duty."
Not wanting to reveal too much over the phone, maybe afraid of second thoughts or freeloading intel? So, meet offline tomorrow\... Zhang Yuanqing could only sigh and say, "Alright."
After hanging up, he glanced at his phone—11 p.m. The time flow inside the Spirit Realm matched the outside world.
Successfully contacting the official organization steadied Zhang Yuanqing's heart. At this moment, the exhaustion from struggling to survive in the Spirit Realm surged over him.
He lay down, set his alarm, and his eyelids grew heavier until he fell into a deep sleep.
...
The next morning, at 7:15, Zhang Yuanqing was jolted awake by the alarm, nearly causing a heart attack.
He turned off the alarm, yawning heavily as he got out of bed.
His sleep quality was poor—he'd had several nightmares, each about ghosts or monsters, waking him multiple times.
In the living room, his grandfather sat silently on the sofa watching the news, his silver hair thin, tall figure, and deeply wrinkled, stern face showing authority.
His grandmother was clattering away in the kitchen preparing breakfast. At the long dining table, his aunt squatted on a chair, playing with her phone, cheeks puffed out like a cute hamster.
"Up this early?" the aunt teased, scrutinizing the sluggish nephew. "Looks like you overindulged last night. Did you do something bad? I'm going to check your trash can."
Usually, Zhang Yuanqing would retort: "Looking for snacks?"
But now, his mind was on the Spirit Realm and the meeting with the officials—he had no energy to argue with her.
He slumped down beside her, staring blankly, waiting for breakfast.
Soon, his grandmother brought out steaming hot rice porridge, fried dough sticks, boiled eggs, and a basket of meat buns.
Zhang Yuanqing sipped the hot porridge and looked at his grandfather, cautiously asking:
"Grandpa, I remember when the workers disappeared in the Sheling Tunnel construction, the Security Bureau organized search teams, and you were involved back then."
Grandpa grunted, puzzled: "That's ancient history. Why are you asking?"
"I saw that story online again yesterday. Do you know what happened to the worker who was found?"
Grandpa frowned: "I forgot. It's been so long, I don't remember."
"That one disappeared again, didn't he?" Grandma interjected, interested, joining the discussion. "And it was a strange disappearance. Back then, it caused panic in the police force. The top brass even had to come down to calm things down."
"That true?" Grandpa denied it.
"Old Chen, are you getting senile? You told me that yourself," Grandma insisted.
Grandpa lowered his head and drank porridge: "Believe in science, not superstitions. You're just getting more and more nosy with age."
Found and then vanished again... Zhang Yuanqing felt gloomier as he took another sip.
Clearly, that survivor reentered the Spirit Realm after 36 hours—and this time, he didn't come out alive.
His prediction was right: the death rate at the Mountain God Temple was extremely high. The second main mission was incredibly dangerous.
To survive, relying on the officials was definitely the best choice.
After breakfast and a quick wash-up, Zhang Yuanqing took the elevator downstairs and waited outside the community gate for over ten minutes.
A black business van slowly pulled up. The sliding door automatically opened, and Li Dongze sat on a white leather sofa, legs crossed and leaning on his cane.
He wore the same outfit as yesterday: black suit, black vest, white shirt, slicked-back hair, and a neat mustache.
"Get in, university student," Li Dongze smiled.
"Alright, investigator," Zhang Yuanqing returned the smile.
After getting in, the black van merged into traffic, driving at a steady pace on the quiet morning street.
Li Dongze opened the built-in fridge and asked: "What do you want to drink?"
"Cola!"
"You'll have to buy that yourself later," Li Dongze said as he poured himself a glass of whiskey, added an ice cube, leaned back, and relaxed:
"Now, I'll take you to complete your onboarding and give you some basic training. First, a self-introduction: I'm Li Dongze, a Level 3 Spirit Realm Walker, member of the Five Elements Alliance, Songhai branch, Kangyang District Second Squad leader, and my profession is scout."
Scout? Besides the Night Wanderer, there are other professions? Zhang Yuanqing put on a serious face to listen.
Though curious, he didn't interrupt.
Being good at socializing, he knew cutting someone off was rude and wouldn't cost him points over small matters.
Li Dongze took a sip of whiskey: "Let me first explain—what exactly is the Spirit Realm!"
Zhang Yuanqing immediately perked up.