"Night Wanderer!"
Zhang Yuanqing said calmly.
"I'm asking about your profession."
"Night Wanderer."
...Li Dongze was stunned for a moment, then suddenly straightened his back and leaned forward, his eyes burning as he stared at Zhang Yuanqing. "You… you are a Night Wanderer?"
"Yes," Zhang Yuanqing nodded.
"Hiss..." Li Dongze shifted on his seat. He was silent for over ten seconds to digest this news, then raised his voice to ask again:
"You are a Night Wanderer? I… I just picked up a Night Wanderer?"
He never expected this—like just saying out loud how he wished to win a 5-million lottery jackpot, then actually hitting the jackpot.
"Found a treasure..." Li Dongze put down his wine glass, repeatedly scrutinizing Zhang Yuanqing with an excited face.
Every Night Wanderer was a highly sought-after figure.
They were the prize targets fought over by all major Spirit Realm Walker squads and even rival factions.
Li Dongze knew of a young woman from the Hundred Flowers Society who seduced a Night Wanderer informant from the Scarlet Fire Gang, convincing him to defect by sleeping with him. He became a two-family servant—serving both sides.
Because of that incident, Scarlet Fire Gang and Hundred Flowers Society almost came to blows, and even the Five Elements Alliance headquarters couldn't mediate.
That Night Wanderer later died on a spirit realm mission, and only then did things calm down.
"By the way, I still don't know your Spirit Realm ID," Li Dongze lowered his excitement to maintain a steady image in front of his future subordinate.
Zhang Yuanqing straightened his chest and raised his head, concentrating on his tongue: "Primordial Celestial Venerable!"
...Li Dongze was silent for a few seconds, then clapped his hands: "Good name."
Hey, that compliment was a bit forced, and why do you look like you want to hit me? Zhang Yuanqing said modestly:
"If the squad leader likes it, that's good."
At that moment, a black business car drove into Kangyang District Security Bureau and parked in the greenbelt parking lot.
"I'll arrange your onboarding now. Salary is 20,000 yuan a month, with additional allowances for missions and performance bonuses for merits. Any questions?"
Li Dongze seemed eager to seal the deal without wasting a moment.
A base salary of 20,000 yuan a month? Zhang Yuanqing's eyes lit up. "No problem."
20,000 yuan a month, even in a big city like Songhai, counted as a high salary.
He recalled his mother's company's management salary was only 50,000–100,000 yuan per month, not counting bonuses, commissions, and shares.
He followed Li Dongze out of the car, going around to the back of the security bureau, stopping before a two-story small building.
The building was made of huge glass panels, giving a refined, upscale, elite vibe.
Entering through the front door, a steel staircase was directly opposite, leading to the second floor.
The left side of the first floor was the office area, where seven or eight women sat—some young and pretty, some mature and charming, others professional and reliable.
The right side was the living area, furnished with sofas, round tables, a fridge, induction cooker, and water dispenser.
They either focused on work, wore headphones watching shows, or chatted gossiping in groups of two or three.
When they saw Li Dongze enter, they barely glanced up before returning to their activities, showing no typical fear of leadership.
"I like this office atmosphere..." Zhang Yuanqing muttered quietly.
Li Dongze didn't stop and led Zhang Yuanqing to the steel stairs, then suddenly turned around and said:
"Those are ordinary staff who serve us Spirit Realm Walkers. If you ever need anything in life or work, just tell them."
A work-and-life secretary? Zhang Yuanqing nodded.
They reached the second floor; the noisy chatter subsided significantly. The layout was simpler.
The entire left side was Li Dongze's personal office; the right side held nine desks.
Most were empty, only two had people sitting.
They were the investigators who had visited Zhang Yuanqing's home the day before—the long-legged woman and the disheveled, dazed science guy.
"Guan Ya, help him with the onboarding paperwork," Li Dongze called from afar with a smile. "I've hired you a new colleague."
The science guy glanced at Zhang Yuanqing, nodded slightly, then went back to his work.
The mixed-race beauty smiled, stood, and said:
"Looks like you successfully completed your trial mission, little brother with an older sister complex."
Older sister complex? Zhang Yuanqing froze for a moment, then heard Li Dongze beside him:
"Guan Ya likes to joke, just get used to it."
He then scolded his female subordinate: "Don't say weird things in front of our young university student. He's still a kid."
The kid glanced at the approaching mixed-race beauty.
She wore an OL suit skirt, shirt tucked neatly in, outlining a slender waist, with long smooth legs wrapped in black stockings. Her slightly curled long hair swayed gently as she walked.
Her face was sharp and exquisite like a Westerner's, with pale, delicate skin.
"Squad leader, I want to ask about the trial spirit realm," Zhang Yuanqing remembered his mission.
"If you have questions, ask Guan Ya. I have other things to handle," Li Dongze said warmly.
His tone was like a teacher praising a top student.
After giving instructions, he hurried back to his office, eager to report the news of recruiting a Night Wanderer.
"Is squad leader off his meds today? He's walking on air," Guan Ya muttered, then looked at Zhang Yuanqing with a smile:
"Come with me to fill out a form, and give me your ID number."
"I don't have my ID with me."
"Then just tell me the number."
She took Zhang Yuanqing to an empty desk and handed him a form. After noting his ID number, she went downstairs.
Zhang Yuanqing opened a pen and looked over the form.
This wasn't an ordinary onboarding form—it was a Spirit Realm Walker's attribute panel.
Besides basic info like profession and level, there was a section for the trial mission spirit realm.
Perfect, he thought, I'll ask about the She Ling Tunnel dungeon later...
He filled out the form truthfully.
Guan Ya returned with two contracts and sat next to him on a rolling chair, her round hips pressing the cushion deeply.
"Squad leader should've given you basic training," she leaned lazily on the backrest, showing off her impressive chest.
Zhang Yuanqing smelled a subtle fragrance and tensed slightly.
In this era when average levels barely reached C-rank, an E-rank powerhouse was impressive.
"Your onboarding is done. Here's the contract and a confidentiality agreement."
After signing, Guan Ya's smile faded and she spoke seriously:
"A few things to tell you. From today, your original ID is invalid. The organization will issue a new ID within three days, which you can use to buy high-speed rail and plane tickets via a green channel."
"The new SIM card will arrive tomorrow."
"Why?" Zhang Yuanqing didn't understand.
"When you named yourself in the spirit realm, you should've been warned not to use your real name."
Zhang Yuanqing nodded.
Guan Ya said seriously:
"There's a reason. We divide professions in the spirit realm into two categories: Order professions, the orthodox kind, and Evil professions."
"Evil profession Spirit Realm Walkers are either violent and bloodthirsty or twisted and cruel. They share one hobby—hunting down orthodox Spirit Realm Walkers like us. Exposing your identity in reality is very dangerous."
Like faction conflict in a game? Zhang Yuanqing's face darkened.
Last night when naming, he found it strange he couldn't use his real name.
So Li Dongze and Guan Ya probably aren't real names either?
"But don't worry, we are an official organization. Usually, we are the hunters, and they are the prey."
Seeing the kid's smile fade, Guan Ya comforted him.
"Guan Ya must be an outstanding hunter."
Zhang Yuanqing relaxed and threw a little sugar-coated compliment.
"You speak well... How many girlfriends have you had?"
"Single!"
Guan Ya was surprised. "Your trash bin looks so clean, I thought you had a girlfriend."
Trash bin again? Do women have some obsession with trash bins? Zhang Yuanqing silently complained.
Guan Ya chuckled: "Want me to buy you a girlfriend online?"
Enough, you woman—no, you old matchmaker... Zhang Yuanqing snapped:
"No thanks, I like realistic girlfriends."
Guan Ya laughed wildly: "I like you, little guy."
"Alright, no more jokes, back to business. There are ten Spirit Realm Walker squads in Kangyang District. We are the second squad, with five members. With you, that's six. Among the five, only I and the squad leader belong to the White Tiger Soldiers faction. You were recruited by the squad leader, so when you become official, you'll be White Tiger Soldiers too. Remember that."
Sounds like faction grudges within the Five Elements Alliance are deeper than I thought... Zhang Yuanqing quickly said:
"I'll stick with Guan Ya, then."
He didn't mention Li Dongze to win the beauty's favor.
Sure enough, Guan Ya's smile became brighter.
"Besides me and Wang Tai, other Spirit Realm Walkers usually don't clock in. You're a student; no need to come every day. Don't be too rigid. The squad leader is a good person, just weird when emotional and obsessed with elegance."
"Wang Tai's profession is 'Scholar', good at study and research, he's an office worker. Ask him if you need help. When you graduate, he can help with your thesis."
"But he hates socializing. You don't need to care about him; treat him like a tool."
"As for me," she smiled, "I like dealing with energetic little boys."
Zhang Yuanqing couldn't tell if she was serious or teasing.
He quickly labeled the team members mentally:
Squad leader obsessed with elegance and weird moods; socially anxious science guy; old matchmaker.
"By the way, what's your zodiac sign?" Guan Ya asked.
"Scorpio!" Zhang Yuanqing didn't know why she suddenly asked but answered honestly.
Guan Ya gave him a strange look: "You really have no girlfriend?"
What does that have to do with zodiac? Zhang Yuanqing was confused.
Guan Ya didn't press further and took the form he filled.
"Primordial Celestial Venerable... 21 years old... Hah, the ID sounds impressive, aren't you afraid of getting beaten up outside... Night Wanderer..."
Her charming face froze for a moment, then blurted out:
"You're a Night Wanderer?!"
Zhang Yuanqing enjoyed her expression.
"No wonder the squad leader walks like he's floating..."
Guan Ya muttered, then happily said:
"Now our team has a Night Wanderer too. Don't run off with some wild woman from another group."
Zhang Yuanqing noticed Wang Tai nearby looking over at them.
"Primordial, hmm, I'll just call you Primordial from now on," Guan Ya said happily, then stopped at the zero level on the form. She was about to ask something when she noticed the trial mission entry:
She Ling Tunnel!
Her mind buzzed loudly, lips parted, expression frozen, completely stunned.
After a moment, she looked at him with a very complicated expression: "Your trial spirit realm is She Ling Tunnel?"
Seeing her reaction, Zhang Yuanqing's heart skipped.
"I wanted to ask about the trial mission. Since it's a dungeon, there must be a walkthrough."
He looked over at the science guy, who raised his head with an expression full of sympathy and pity.
"Wait a moment..." Guan Ya's face turned sour as she left the office area toward Li Dongze's office.
What was with her deathly stare just now? Zhang Yuanqing felt uneasy.
At that moment, Wang Tai spoke calmly:
"There is a walkthrough, true. Submitting your own Spirit Realm details is every official walker's duty, and the organization rewards accordingly. But She Ling Tunnel is different. See for yourself..."
He handed over a laptop.
Half curious, half confused, Zhang Yuanqing accepted it.
On the screen was a document titled:
Summary of Songhai Night Wanderer Trial Spirit Realms:
[Wang Village Ruins, C-rank, Task: Survive until dawn.]
[Danger comes from hanging ghosts and the wild graves outside the village. To avoid death by hanging ghosts, walkers must invert their bodies. Those with weak stamina can only pray.]
[At midnight, the resentful spirits from the wild graves enter the village. Walkers must quickly find incense at the convenience