Chapter 12 A Member of the Team

Taking a deep breath, Zhang Yuanqing tried his best to keep his tone calm, "Officer Li, this is Zhang Yuanqing."

".....Ah, it's you." The other side chuckled, "What's up with calling me in the middle of the night?"

Zhang Yuanqing said in a deep voice, "I have a clue to report. Actually, before Lei Yibing disappeared, he sent me a card."

"Why didn't you say so earlier?"

There wasn't a hint of surprise in Li Dongze's tone.

This... Zhang Yuanqing hesitated for a moment and told the other party all his guesses about Brother Bing's disappearance.

The other side was silent for a long while, then laughed and said, "You're quite the drama king, kid."

Guan Ya was right, Zhang Yuanqing's personality was actually quite aloof. A normal college student who was cheerful, optimistic, and positive wouldn't be so wary.

"Sorry..."

Zhang Yuanqing was a little embarrassed and immediately changed the subject, no, he cut to the chase, "I encountered some rather strange and incomprehensible things tonight. Uh, can you understand what I mean?"

"So, you successfully came out of the Spirit Realm." There was a hint of relief in Li Dongze's tone.

Yes, I just came out, and almost died inside... Zhang Yuanqing felt relieved when he heard this answer.

The other party really knew about the Spirit Realm.

Li Dongze said, "College student, congratulations on becoming a Lingjing Walker, that's what we call people like us. I'm also a Lingjing Walker, the difference is that I'm with the official organization, and you're a wild one."

Lingjing Walker... Zhang Yuanqing savored the phrase and asked, "What is the Spirit Realm?"

He had too many questions to ask, so he could only start with the most basic ones.

"I can't tell you now. If you want to know about the Spirit Realm, you have to make a choice." Li Dongze said in a deep voice, "There are two official attitudes towards the Spirit Realm, one is to absorb and cultivate, and the other is to supervise and control. The former means joining us and becoming a member of the official Lingjing Walkers.

"The latter is to be a rogue cultivator. You only need to register with us and promise not to use your abilities to violate the law, and we won't interfere. Of course, you won't be able to get any help from the official organization."

Zhang Yuanqing said without hesitation, "I am willing to join the organization and shed my blood for the country and the people."

Li Dongze laughed, "As expected of someone from a family of public security officers, you have a great sense of responsibility."

Zhang Yuanqing couldn't tell whether the other party was mocking him or praising him.

"Then get some rest early. I'll pick you up at eight o'clock tomorrow morning." Li Dongze said.

Huh? Not now? Zhang Yuanqing hesitated for a moment, "Tomorrow?"

"Or what? What time is it now? If you want to shed your blood for the organization, you have to wait until the organization is at work."

He doesn't want to talk about it on the phone, afraid that I'll go back on my word and get free information? So he's waiting to meet in person tomorrow... Zhang Yuanqing could only helplessly say, "Okay."

After hanging up the phone, he looked at his phone. The time showed 11:00 p.m. The passage of time in the Spirit Realm was the same as in the outside world.

Having successfully contacted the official organization, Zhang Yuanqing felt relieved. At this moment, the exhaustion from struggling to survive in the Spirit Realm surged over him.

He lay on the bed, set the alarm, and his eyelids became heavier and heavier, falling into a deep sleep.

.........

The next morning, at 7:15 a.m., Zhang Yuanqing was awakened by the alarm, almost suffering cardiac arrest and dying on the spot.

He turned off the alarm and got out of bed, yawning incessantly.

He didn't sleep well last night, and had several nightmares, each one related to ghosts and monsters, waking up several times.

In the living room, his grandfather was sitting on the sofa watching the news. His hair was silver and sparse, his body was tall, and his wrinkled face was stern and unsmiling.

His grandmother was busily preparing breakfast in the kitchen. At the long dining table, his aunt was squatting on a chair playing with her phone, her cheeks puffed out like a cute hamster.

"Up so early?"

His aunt scrutinized her listless nephew and hummed, "You look like you've been overindulging. Did you do something bad last night? I'm going to check your trash can."

Usually, Zhang Yuanqing would retort, "Looking for something to eat?"

But now, he was thinking about the Spirit Realm and meeting with the official organization, so he wasn't in the mood to argue with his aunt.

He sat down next to the woman listlessly, staring blankly while waiting for breakfast.

Soon, his grandmother brought out steaming rice porridge, fried dough sticks, boiled eggs, and a basket of meat buns.

Zhang Yuanqing took a sip of the hot porridge to moisten his throat, looked at his grandfather, and tentatively said, "Grandpa, I remember that after the construction team of the Sheling Tunnel disappeared, the Public Security Bureau organized a search team to find them. You were in it at the time."

His grandfather "hmm"ed and asked with some confusion, "Those are all old stories, why are you asking about this?"

"I saw this story online again yesterday. Do you know how the worker who was found is doing now?"

His grandfather frowned and said, "I forgot, it was so long ago, I can't remember."

"Didn't they say he disappeared again?" His grandmother interjected from the side, joining the discussion with great interest, "And it was a bizarre disappearance. This incident caused panic in the police force, and the leaders of the Public Security Bureau came down to appease everyone before it was over."

"Is that so?" His grandfather didn't admit it.

"Old Chen, are you getting old and senile? You told me about this yourself." His grandmother said plausibly.

.....Grandfather lowered his head and drank his porridge, "You have to believe in science, don't be so enthusiastic about these superstitions. You're getting more and more gossipy as you get older."

He disappeared again after being found... Zhang Yuanqing took a sip of porridge with a somewhat depressed mood.

Clearly, that survivor entered the Spirit Realm again 36 hours later, and this time, he didn't make it out alive.

His prediction was correct, the Mountain God Temple had a very high mortality rate, and the second main quest was very, very dangerous.

To survive, relying on the official organization was the most correct decision.

After finishing breakfast and quickly washing up, Zhang Yuanqing took the elevator downstairs and waited at the entrance of the residential complex for more than ten minutes.

A black commercial vehicle slowly pulled over. The electric door slid open automatically, and Li Dongze was sitting on a white leather sofa, leaning on a cane with his legs together.

He was dressed the same as yesterday, black suit, black vest, white shirt, his oily hair neatly combed back, and he had a neat mustache.

"Get in the car, college student."

Li Dongze smiled.

"Okay, Investigator." Zhang Yuanqing returned the smile.

After he got into the car, the black commercial vehicle merged into the traffic, driving slowly and steadily on the morning streets.

Li Dongze opened the car refrigerator while asking, "What would you like to drink?"

"Coke!"

"Then you'll have to go to the supermarket to buy it yourself later." Li Dongze poured himself a glass of whiskey, dropped an ice ball into it, and leaned back in his chair with his drink, leisurely saying, "I'm going to take you to complete the entry procedures now, and give you some basic training by the way. First, let me introduce myself, Li Dongze, Level 3 Lingjing Walker, Kangyang District Second Squad Leader of the Five Elements Alliance Songhai Branch, my class is Scout."

Scout? Besides Night Watchers, there are other classes? Zhang Yuanqing put on a listening posture.

Despite his doubts, he didn't interrupt.

As someone who was good at socializing, Zhang Yuanqing knew that it was impolite to interrupt others, and he wouldn't let himself be penalized for these small things.

Li Dongze took a sip of wine and said, "Let me tell you about what the Spirit Realm is first!"

Zhang Yuanqing immediately perked up.

......

ps: This chapter is an extra.