Taking a deep breath, Zhang Yuanqing forced his voice to remain calm.
"Officer Li, this is Zhang Yuanqing."
"Ah, it's you," the officer chuckled. "What's so urgent that you're calling me in the middle of the night?"
Zhang Yuanqing said gravely, "I have a lead to report. Before Lei Yibing disappeared, he sent me a card."
"Why didn't you mention this earlier?" Li Dongze's tone held no surprise.
This... Zhang Yuanqing hesitated briefly before relaying his suspicions about Bing Ge's disappearance case in detail.
After a long silence, Li Dongze laughed. "You're quite the drama queen, kid."
Guan Ya had been right. Zhang Yuanqing's personality was inherently withdrawn. A normal, cheerful, optimistic, and ambitious college student wouldn't harbor such deep-seated mistrust.
"I apologize," Zhang Yuanqing said, feeling awkward. He quickly changed the subject—no, cut to the chase:
"I encountered some bizarre and incomprehensible events tonight. Um, do you understand what I mean?"
"So, you managed to escape the Spirit Realm," Li Dongze replied, his voice tinged with relief.
Yes, just barely. I almost died in there. Hearing this response, Zhang Yuanqing felt a wave of reassurance wash over him.
The other party clearly knew about the Spirit Realm.
Li Dongze said, "Congratulations on becoming a Spirit Realm Walker, college student. That's what we call people like us. I'm also a Spirit Realm Walker, but the difference is I'm official, while you're a freelancer."
Spirit Realm Walker. Zhang Yuanqing savored the term, then asked, "What exactly is the Spirit Realm?"
He had so many questions he wanted answered, but he had to start with the most basic one.
"I can't tell you that right now," Li Dongze said gravely. "If you want to learn about the Spirit Realm, you'll have to make a choice."
"The official stance on the Spirit Realm is twofold: assimilation and cultivation, or regulation and control. The former means joining us and becoming an Official Spirit Realm Walker."
"The latter means remaining a freelancer. You'd simply need to register with us and promise not to misuse your abilities to break the law, and we'd leave you alone. Of course, you wouldn't receive any official assistance either."
Without hesitation, Zhang Yuanqing declared, "I'm willing to join the organization and shed blood for my country and its people."
Li Dongze chuckled. "Just as expected from someone from a family of law enforcement officers. You're quite enlightened."
Zhang Yuanqing couldn't tell if the other man was mocking him or genuinely praising him.
"Then get some rest," Li Dongze said. "I'll pick you up at eight tomorrow morning."
"Huh? Not now?" Zhang Yuanqing hesitated. "Tomorrow?"
"What else? What time is it? If you want to shed blood for the organization, you'll have to wait until we're on duty."
He probably doesn't want to discuss this over the phone, afraid I'll back out and get the information for free. That's why he wants to meet in person tomorrow. Zhang Yuanqing sighed. "Alright."
After hanging up, he glanced at his phone. The time was 11 PM. Time flowed at the same rate in the Spirit Realm as in the real world.
Now that he had successfully contacted the Official Organization, Zhang Yuanqing felt a wave of relief. At that moment, the exhaustion from his struggle for survival in the Spirit Realm surged over him.
He lay down on the bed, set his alarm, and drifted off to sleep, his eyelids growing heavier and heavier.
The next morning, at 7:15 AM, Zhang Yuanqing was jolted awake by his alarm, nearly suffering a heart attack on the spot.
He shut off the alarm and yawned as he dragged himself out of bed.
His sleep had been restless, plagued by nightmares, each one involving ghosts and monsters. He had woken up several times in a cold sweat.
In the living room, his grandfather sat on the sofa, watching the news. His silver hair was thinning, and his tall frame was stooped with age. His deeply lined face, stern and unsmiling, radiated an air of strictness.
Grandmother clattered around the kitchen, preparing breakfast. At the long dining table, Aunt squatted on a chair, playing with her phone, her cheeks puffed out like an adorable hamster.
"Up so early?" Aunt scrutinized her listless nephew, humming and grumbling, "You look like you've been indulging too much. Did you get up to no good last night? I'm going to check your trash can."
Normally, Zhang Yuanqing would have retorted, "Looking for snacks?" But with his mind preoccupied with the Spirit Realm and his upcoming meeting with the Official Organization, he lacked the energy for banter. He slumped down next to her, staring blankly as he waited for breakfast.
Soon, Grandmother brought out steaming bowls of rice porridge, fried dough sticks, boiled eggs, and a bamboo steamer filled with meat buns.
Zhang Yuanqing sipped the hot porridge to soothe his throat and turned to Grandfather, probing cautiously, "Grandfather, I remember after the She Ling Tunnel construction crew disappeared, the Public Security Bureau organized a search team. You were part of that team, right?"
Grandfather grunted in acknowledgment, his brow furrowing. "That was ancient history. Why are you asking about it now?"
"I saw the story online again yesterday. Do you know what happened to the worker who was found?"
Grandfather frowned. "I've forgotten. It was so long ago. I can't remember."
"Didn't they say he disappeared again?" Grandmother interjected, joining the conversation with keen interest. "And it was a bizarre disappearance. The whole thing caused panic in the police force back then. It took the Police Headquarters' leaders personally coming down to calm everyone down before it finally blew over."
"Was there really such a thing?" Grandfather denied.
"Old Chen, are you getting senile? You told me about this yourself!" Grandmother retorted emphatically.
Grandfather lowered his head and sipped his porridge. "We should trust science, not indulge in these superstitions. You're becoming more gossipy with age."
Zhang Yuanqing's mood darkened as he took another sip of porridge. After being found, the survivor had vanished again.
It was clear: the survivor had re-entered the Spirit Realm within 36 hours, and this time, he hadn't made it out alive.
His prediction had been right—the Mountain God Temple's mortality rate was terrifyingly high. The second main quest was exceptionally dangerous.
To survive, relying on the Official Organization was the wisest decision.
After finishing breakfast and a quick wash, Zhang Yuanqing took the elevator downstairs and waited at the residential complex's entrance for about fifteen minutes.
A black van slowly pulled up, its electric doors sliding open automatically. Li Dongze sat on a white leather sofa inside, leaning on his cane with his legs neatly crossed.
Dressed as he had been the day before—black suit, black vest, white shirt, neatly combed-back hair, and a meticulously groomed mustache—Li Dongze greeted Zhang Yuanqing with a smile.
"Get in, college student," Li Dongze said.
"Alright, Investigator," Zhang Yuanqing replied with a smile.
After Zhang Yuanqing entered the vehicle, the black van merged into the morning traffic, moving at a steady pace through the city streets.
Li Dongze opened the car's mini-fridge and asked, "What would you like to drink?"
"Cola!"
"Then you'll have to buy that yourself later at a convenience store," Li Dongze said, pouring himself a glass of whiskey and dropping an ice sphere into it. Leaning back in his seat, he said casually, "I'm taking you to complete your onboarding procedures and give you some basic training. First, let me introduce myself: Li Dongze, Level 3 Spirit Realm Walker, Songhai Branch of the Five Elements Alliance, Chief of the Second Squad in Kangyang District. My profession is Scout."
Scout? Zhang Yuanqing thought. Besides Nightwalkers, there are other professions? He adopted a posture of attentive listening, though inwardly curious, he refrained from interrupting.
As someone skilled in social interactions, Zhang Yuanqing knew it was impolite to interrupt others. He wouldn't let such minor lapses cost him points.
Li Dongze took a sip of his whiskey and said, "Let's start by explaining what the Spirit Realm is."
Zhang Yuanqing immediately perked up, his attention fully focused.