Right, I almost forgot about that kid.
Li Dongze's words reminded the captains that the Kangyang District Spirit Realm Team had already recruited a Nightwalker, eliminating the need to borrow one from the Taiyi Sect.
Big Muscle's face lit up with delight. "Then what are we waiting for? Contact that kid immediately! This proves we need to cultivate our own Nightwalkers. In critical moments, our own people are the most reliable."
The other captains' brows relaxed.
Big Muscle's point was valid. While the Taiyi Sect's Nightwalkers had always been cooperative in official matters, they were still outsiders. Using their own personnel would undoubtedly be more convenient.
Li Dongze glanced at Fu Qingyang, who gave a slight nod. He immediately pulled out his phone and left the conference room.
"I'll contact him now."
After finishing his morning classes, Zhang Yuanqing slung his backpack over his shoulder and left the classroom. He planned to skip his afternoon classes and head to the Kangyang District Spirit Realm Squad Second Team's office.
In the future, his primary social interactions and focus would shift to the Spirit Realm Squad.
Zhang Yuanqing had never been particularly fond of school, nor was he deeply interested in studying. The youth of Songhai possessed an inherent laziness, lacking the wolf-like drive and relentless ambition.
In this world, only two types of people truly strive: those who have cultivated a proactive mindset from childhood, and those forced to by life's harsh circumstances.
After becoming a Spirit Realm Walker, Zhang Yuanqing finally rediscovered his long-lost fighting spirit.
Partly driven by the threat to his life, and partly by the chance to fulfill his childhood dream of wandering the world as a heroic swordsman.
The Spirit Realm was fraught with danger and mystery, but once he tasted its rewards, he could no longer be content as an ordinary mortal.
As he descended the stairs, preparing to rent a shared bicycle, his phone rang.
It was Li Dongze calling.
"Chief?" Zhang Yuanqing answered.
"Where are you right now?" Li Dongze asked urgently, cutting straight to the point.
"At school."
"Songhai University, right? I'll have Guan Ya pick you up immediately."
Pick me up? Sensing the urgency in Li Dongze's voice, Zhang Yuanqing cautiously asked, "What's going on?"
"A colleague has been murdered. We need a Nightwalker to devour the Spectral Entity and retrieve their memories. You're up for this, right?" Li Dongze asked, his tone uncertain.
Well, I should be able to... Zhang Yuanqing replied, "I'll give it a try?"
Devouring Spectral Entities was easy—a natural talent for Nightwalkers. His mind told him he could do it. But retrieving memories was another matter. Having never actually devoured a Spectral Entity before, he lacked experience and couldn't guarantee success.
"That's settled then," Li Dongze said, ending the call without further explanation.
Zhang Yuanqing pocketed his phone and began walking toward the school gate.
A few minutes later, Zhang Yuanqing stopped at the school gate, silently waiting for Guan Ya to pick him up. As he waited, he noticed a girl in a pleated maxi skirt standing by the roadside, clutching a designer handbag as if waiting for someone.
Xu Yingying?
Zhang Yuanqing scrutinized the "class beauty" for a few moments. Her attire was meticulously curated, from her bracelet, necklace, and earrings to her handbag—all seemingly expensive, a stark contrast to the average female student at Songhai University.
Girls from ordinary backgrounds couldn't pull off this look.
Sensing Zhang Yuanqing's gaze, Xu Yingying smiled faintly, tossing her hair back and straightening her posture to strike her most alluring pose, a subtle sense of superiority swelling within her.
This guy was quite handsome, so she instinctively showcased her beauty.
But she was no longer in the same world as ordinary college students, and her heart swelled with superiority.
Her entire ensemble was worth a year's living expenses for an average college student.
Just then, Xu Yingying spotted a blue sports car approaching, slowing to a stop at the school gate.
The woman behind the wheel wore a crisp white shirt and sunglasses, obscuring her face. Yet her fair, sharp jawline and exquisitely sculpted lips hinted at a stunning beauty.
Xu Yingying pursed her lips, shifted her posture, and turned the logo of her designer handbag toward the sports car.
At the same moment, she saw Zhang Yuanqing jog toward the car, pull open the door, and slip inside.
The wealthy woman floored the accelerator, speeding away with her "Little Milk Dog" in tow.
Xu Yingying's jaw dropped, her face a mask of astonishment.
For a moment, she couldn't decide whether her male classmate was a low-key rich kid or one of her own kind—a seafood merchant or a steel wool salesman.
Kangyang District Public Security Bureau, morgue.
Zhang Yuanqing stood beside the morgue slab, lifted the white sheet, and revealed a gruesome corpse.
The deceased's body was covered in bruises and knife wounds, the gaping chest wound exposing raw flesh in a horrifying spectacle.
Two days ago, seeing such a corpse would have triggered a visceral reaction in Zhang Yuanqing. But after enduring the brutal beating at the Mountain God Temple, corpses no longer stirred his emotions.
"We can begin now," Li Dongze said expectantly, leaning on his cane nearby.
Zhang Yuanqing nodded. He scrutinized Zhao Yingjun's corpse, sensing the lingering spirit within the icy body gradually stirring, gradually reviving.
The Nightwalker's aura possessed a fatal attraction for spectral entities, capable of awakening dormant spirits.
Silently channeling his Lunar Power, Zhang Yuanqing's eyes turned completely black, his pupils and irises merging into a void. He reached out and made a grasping motion toward Zhao Yingjun's body, pulling forth a spectral entity.
The entity bore Zhao Yingjun's features, but its expression was vacant, its eyes hollow.
After death, ninety percent of a person's consciousness dissipates, leaving the Spectral Entity in this dazed state. With the loss of consciousness, memories naturally fragment, leaving only the most deeply ingrained recollections.
Memories from the moments before death often remain vivid, preserved by their proximity to the final moment.
After extracting the Spectral Entity, Zhang Yuanqing felt an overwhelming urge to "feed." He instinctively opened his mouth and gently inhaled.
Zhao Yingjun's Spectral Entity dissolved into blue smoke, swirling into his mouth.
A sharp pain surged through his forehead, as if his consciousness were expanding, filling with foreign fragments.
Zhang Yuanqing heard soft sobbing, whimpering cries, and a harsh, sinister voice ringing in his ears:
"I don't have much patience. You'd better answer me properly."
Realizing he was accessing the Spectral Entity's final memories, Zhang Yuanqing slowly "opened" his eyes. The surroundings sharpened into focus: a lavishly decorated suite.
He found himself slumped on a plush king-sized bed, completely naked. Clothes lay scattered across the floor—trousers, shirts, and women's lingerie.
Nearby, curled up at the head of the bed, was a young woman, equally nude. Her fair skin, slender legs, taut abdomen, and full breasts showcased her youthful, alluring curves.
The sobs were coming from her.
A woman? Naked? The sight stunned Zhang Yuanqing. Why didn't the Chief mention the crime scene's details? How could he let me see something so inappropriate? I'm still a kid!
Through the victim's perspective, he looked at the man by the bed. The man had a fierce face, a half-finger-long scar on his left cheek, sparse eyebrows, and a cruel, sinister gaze.
He held a gleaming yanagiba knife in his hand.
Zhang Yuanqing stared intently at the killer's face, memorizing every detail.
At this point, half of his mission was complete.
The man pressed the knife's tip against "Zhang Yuanqing's" chest and snarled, "Where's the Holy Grail? Where's the Roster?"
He seemed to have asked this question many times, his expression brimming with impatience, his eyes radiating murderous intent.
"I don't know! I swear, I don't know! Please, spare me!" Zhang Yuanqing heard his own voice begging for mercy.
The man crouched by the bed, his patience completely exhausted. He rubbed his face wearily and muttered, "I gave you a chance, but you wasted it. I gave you a chance, but you wasted it."
With that, he plunged the yanagiba's tip into "Zhang Yuanqing's" chest.
Agonizing pain surged through him, his consciousness blurring instantly. Zhang Yuanqing collapsed limply to the floor, watching as the man unbuckled his belt, grabbed the beautiful woman's ankle, and yanked her violently toward himself.
The scene abruptly cut off with the woman's scream.