Chapter 11: BUG-Level Spirit Realm
In a spacious and luxurious office, Li Dongze lounged lazily on the sofa, legs crossed, holding a wine glass in his left hand and a cigar in his right, looking completely at ease.
Just moments ago, he had reported the news of recruiting a Night Walker to his direct superior.
Li Dongze knew that the young centurion, newly appointed and eager to make achievements and cultivate his own faction, would see a Night Walker with a clean background as a godsend, coming at just the right time for the centurion from an illustrious family.
Sure enough, the young superior expressed high praise for him and promised to record a major merit for him.
In the system of the White Tiger Army, military merits were above all else.
"Bang~"
The glass door of the office was violently pushed open as Guan Ya strode in on high heels.
Li Dongze frowned slightly. He took a leisurely sip of wine before criticizing:
"Guan Ya, that's very unladylike of you."
"Captain, this guy's trial spirit realm is the Sheyu Tunnel!" Guan Ya got straight to the point.
"Pffft!" Li Dongze suddenly became a human fountain, not even bothering to wipe away the wine as he pushed himself up from the desk, exclaiming in a shrill voice:
"The Sheyu Tunnel?! Oh God, you damned fool, look at what you've done."
He grabbed his cane and rushed out, running to the office area where he saw the new Night Walker staring blankly at the computer.
Noticing Li Dongze's arrival, Zhang Yuanqing said with a bitter expression:
"Captain, do you think there's any chance of saving me?"
Zhang Yuanqing was afraid the other would blurt out: "No hope, just wait for death! Contract terminated!"
Li Dongze looked at him silently, with an expression like someone who had finally won over the girl of his dreams, only to discover she was a long-lost sister.
Faced with the new employee's eager gaze, Li Dongze took a deep breath and said in a low voice:
"The trial spirit realm is the first solo instance for every spirit realm walker. That's also what makes it the most troublesome. In a solo instance, no one can help you. This is the spirit realm's test for you, the price you must pay to gain supernatural powers."
Zhang Yuanqing nodded gravely.
Li Dongze continued:
"I'll report this matter for you. Hopefully, there will be information and strategy suggestions about the Sheyu Tunnel in higher-level databases. Otherwise, no one can save you. Go back and wait for news. I'll notify you immediately if there are any results."
Although not a Night Walker himself, as an experienced spirit realm walker, he had heard of the Sheyu Tunnel's infamous reputation.
So far, according to official records, no one had ever cleared the Sheyu Tunnel. This instance's "first kill" remained unachieved.
"Alright, thank you for your trouble, Captain." Zhang Yuanqing nodded stiffly.
Li Dongze added:
"Write down your experiences in the Sheyu Tunnel in detail."
After arranging a special car to send Zhang Yuanqing away, Guan Ya returned to her desk, took out a notepad with an Aquarius watermark from the drawer, and unscrewed the cap of a pen decorated with the Virgo symbol.
Everything on the desk, including the computer, notebook, desktop, and water cup, was printed or decorated with various zodiac signs.
It was clear that this was an avid astrology enthusiast.
Guan Ya wrote on the notepad:
"Primordial Heavenly Lord, Scorpio male, Zodiac traits: scheming, vengeful, strong s**ual desire."
"Note: Extremely high probability of being seduced by women from other organizations."
After writing, the mixed-race beauty sighed lightly, tore off the note, and pasted it in the personnel record of the second team.
She had notes on the attributes of every team leader, including those who had resigned or died in spirit realms.
"Hey, Wang Tai, does that guy have any hope of clearing it?" Guan Ya raised her head and called out to her neighbor.
Wang Tai, with his messy hair, looked up and said:
"Taiyi Sect might have detailed information about the Sheyu Tunnel, but it probably won't be of much use. Otherwise, Taiyi Sect would have already arranged for Night Walkers to clear that spirit realm. An S-class trial mission should have decent rewards."
Guan Ya frowned.
Wang Tai continued:
"If we could find him a few artifacts, there might be hope of clearing it. But you know, artifacts have various functions, and our understanding of the Sheyu Tunnel is limited. We can't provide targeted artifacts to solve the problem. The end result would likely be a loss of both people and resources."
"Nonsense!" Guan Ya rolled her eyes.
Artifacts themselves were incredibly precious and rare. For a spirit realm walker at the supernatural stage, having even one artifact was quite good.
Unclaimed artifacts could only be obtained through two methods: either by entering spirit realms to search for them or by killing spirit realm walkers in reality and looting their possessions. And only artifacts that had left the item slot could be taken.
Neither of these options was realistic.
Most crucially, without knowing the specific situation in the Sheyu Tunnel, who knew what type of artifact could help him clear it?
If he died in the spirit realm, the artifact would automatically be reclaimed by the spirit realm, resulting in a huge loss.
Wang Tai typed rapidly on the keyboard, pulling up a series of data. After staring at it for a while, he mumbled:
"Qingming Festival just passed, which happens to be the time period when the Sheyu Tunnel opens each year. Is this guy just extremely unlucky?"
In the office, Li Dongze opened a chat software and typed a message:
"Centurion Fu, I need to report something related to the newly recruited Night Walker I mentioned earlier. His trial spirit realm is the Sheyu Tunnel, known as the bug spirit realm for new Night Walkers.
"The Sheyu Tunnel first appeared during the tunnel construction period last century. A construction team accidentally entered it and died in the spirit realm. Afterward, officials found one survivor. That survivor was transported back into the spirit realm thirty-six hours later.
"Yes, the Sheyu Tunnel's trial mission is divided into two stages, unlike the one-time trial missions of other professions and spirit realms."
"I apologize, I was carried away by excitement and misled by habitual thinking. Seeing him return from the trial spirit realm, I instinctively assumed he had passed the trial.
"I know that Taiyi Sect's database contains the most extensive and comprehensive information on Night Walker spirit realms, and their Sect Leader is the strongest Night Walker of this era. Perhaps Taiyi Sect has relevant information about the Sheyu Tunnel.
"If you, Centurion Fu, were to make the request, Taiyi Sect would likely show some consideration.
"Not abandoning or giving up on comrades is a principle of the White Tiger Army. Since he has already joined, I cannot easily give up. I hope for Centurion Fu's assistance."
After composing the message, Li Dongze read it over several times. Once satisfied that there were no errors, he clicked send.
Holding his wine glass, he stared at the screen and sighed.
Zhang Yuanqing returned home with a heavy heart, entered the password, and opened the security door.
In the living room, his grandmother was mopping the shiny floor. At the dining table sat a middle-aged man wearing a black jacket, with handsome features and black hair. Deep frown lines between his brows and fine crow's feet at the corners of his eyes together conveyed the vicissitudes of time.
In terms of appearance, there was no doubt that this was a very charming older gentleman, likely popular among mature women and some young girls with a thing for older men.
But this middle-aged man was not Zhang Yuanqing's uncle, but his cousin.
The cousin swallowed some freshly heated porridge and looked at Zhang Yuanqing, "Grandma said you were looking for me last night?"
His expression was serious and unsmiling, like a younger version of their grandfather.
Zhang Yuanqing opened his mouth, then shook his head and said:
"It's nothing now."
Yesterday's problem had been resolved, and his cousin couldn't help with the new challenge, so it was better not to mention it.
Besides, he had signed a confidentiality agreement.
The cousin looked at him, slowly sipping his porridge while saying:
"It's about Lei Yibing's case, right? I heard Li Dongze personally visited yesterday. This means his case is unusual. Not just you, even I couldn't help with it."
So his cousin had already inquired about it beforehand! Zhang Yuanqing nodded with an "Mm."
Seeing his low spirits, Chen Yuanjun didn't say more, assuming his younger cousin was just worried about Lei Yibing.
At this moment, Jiang Yuer, wearing cute bear pajamas, came out of her room holding a stack of face masks. "Here, these are for anti-wrinkle and anti-aging, use one morning and night. They should work well. Grandma insisted I buy them for you."
The cousin's face darkened as he frowned:
"Auntie, I don't need these."
The aunt shrugged indifferently, "Suit yourself."
Grandmother, who was mopping nearby, glared at her grandson in exasperation:
"If you don't need face masks, does that mean you need grandma to iron out all the wrinkles on your face with an iron?"
Because of her son's unreliability, grandmother had long given up on that account and focused on cultivating the next generation's two smaller accounts.
So far, her grandson had been admitted to Songhai University, and her granddaughter was working at the Public Security Bureau, both with bright futures.
But grandmother always had one concern: her grandson was too mature and steady, with a 40-year-old face at the age of 30.
Two years ago, when an old comrade of grandfather's, who hadn't visited in years, came to Songhai, he was surprised to see Chen Yuanjun and said to grandfather:
"I didn't know you had another son."
Grandfather struggled for a while before managing to say: This is my grandson.
The old comrade was a straightforward person and blurted out in surprise: Your grandson looks quite... willful.
Decades of friendship nearly ended right there.
Chen Yuanjun helplessly took the face masks and put them in his pocket, saying:
"Alright, grandma, stop nagging. I need to go to work. We have a missing person case recently, it's keeping us busy."
Missing person case? Zhang Yuanqing immediately became alert and asked:
"What's the situation?"
Chen Yuanjun picked up some pickled vegetables and said, "Two people went missing in the Sheyu Tunnel. We still haven't found them. We checked the surveillance footage. The cameras outside the tunnel show them entering, but the cameras inside the tunnel don't show them entering at all."
The cousin suddenly stopped and warned, "Don't spread this around."
He had signed a confidentiality agreement.
Grandmother, upon hearing this, immediately lit up with gossip interest and said mysteriously:
"Is it haunted again? Hey, why don't they just close that place? Every year there are those few people who disappear in the tunnel."
The aunt also perked up her ears, with the same gossipy expression as her mother.
"Grandma, stop asking."
Could they have accidentally entered the Mountain God Temple like me? Damn, these poor souls. I wonder if they can survive for three hours... Zhang Yuanqing felt both sympathy and a sense of comfort that he wasn't the only unlucky one.
He gained a deeper understanding of spirit realms. As Li Dongze had said, spirit realms had always existed. Perhaps among the annual missing persons, some had disappeared into spirit realms.
Beijing, in a traditional courtyard house.
In the courtyard, a large locust tree stood with lush branches and leaves, like a giant green umbrella.
Under the "umbrella," an old man with graying hair lay in a rocking chair, wearing a white undershirt and loose shorts, holding a palm-leaf fan, leisurely taking a nap.
The old man's face was thin and clear, with a mole between his brows, giving him an indescribable air of nobility.
A gentle breeze blew, shaking the leaves and scattering patches of light on the ground.
From the locust tree came faint sounds of children's laughter.
"Elder Sun, the Fu boy sent you an email," a middle-aged man in black clothes stepped over the threshold and entered the courtyard.
Whether in the Five Elements Alliance or the Taiyi Sect, those who could become elders were all renowned spirit realm walkers.
"Fu Qingyang?" The old man chuckled without opening his eyes, fanning himself a few times. "What's the matter?"
"His subordinate in Songhai City recruited a Night Walker whose trial spirit realm is the Sheyu Tunnel. He wants to request related information about the tunnel from you. Also, he hopes you can give some advice." The middle-aged man relayed the email's content.
The old man's hand, which was waving the fan, paused for a few seconds. Then, he said with sudden realization:
"Qingming Festival just passed. Calculating the time, it's exactly when the Sheyu Tunnel opens. Recently, quite a few people will be lucky enough to get the Night Walker role card. Unfortunately, it's impossible for anyone to clear the Sheyu Tunnel."
"We can give him the information. After all, the sect has already given up on clearing the Sheyu Tunnel, so the confidentiality level of related information has been lowered. Also, tell young Fu that the place itself is an S-class trial spirit realm, and some complications occurred midway, making it even more difficult. It has long surpassed the scope of a trial spirit realm.
"My advice is to give up on that Night Walker. There's no point in investing in someone who is destined to die."
The middle-aged man nodded slightly. As a steward of the Taiyi Sect, he was deeply aware of the eerie and ominous nature of the Sheyu Tunnel in Songhai.
An S-class trial spirit realm was already the most difficult spirit realm for beginners, and the Sheyu Tunnel was even more bizarre than ordinary S-class spirit realms.
Every S-class trial spirit realm invariably contained something extraordinary, be it rare artifacts or some crucial information, of extreme value.
To decipher the Sheyu Tunnel spirit realm, the Taiyi Sect had specifically sent two Level 1 Night Walkers to be stationed long-term in Songhai, as S-class novice trial spirit realms occasionally open to Level 1 spirit realm walkers of that profession.
After months of patient waiting, the two Level 1 Night Walkers successfully received the Sheyu Tunnel mission.
However, the result was that one Night Walker entered the spirit realm and was never heard from again, while the other Night Walker successfully completed the first task, only to die in the second task.
And both of these Night Walkers had artifacts with them.
Since then, the Taiyi Sect's council of elders had re-evaluated the Sheyu Tunnel and completely abandoned attempts to conquer that spirit realm.
"If someone could really clear the Sheyu Tunnel and obtain the information inside, it would also resolve a lingering concern for our Taiyi Sect," the middle-aged man said with a smile.
The old man offered no comment, slowly saying:
"In a few days, the Sect Leader will summon all Night Walkers to Beijing for a meeting. There's a major matter to announce. Prepare yourself and recall all your subordinates."
With that, he waved his palm-leaf fan to dismiss the man.
The middle-aged man bowed and withdrew.
(End of chapter)
Read ahead on karmahunter<.>cc