Chapter 8: Making Contact
He took a deep breath and tried to keep his voice as steady as possible. "Officer Li, this is Zhang Yuanqing."
A chuckle came from the other end.
—Oh, it's you. What's got you calling me in the middle of the night?
Zhang Yuanqing's tone was grave. "I have a lead to report. The truth is, before Lei Yibing disappeared, he mailed me a card."
—Why didn't you say so earlier?
There wasn't a shred of surprise in Li Dongze's voice.
Well... Zhang Yuanqing hesitated briefly, then laid out his full theory about Bro Bing's disappearance, holding nothing back.
There was a long silence on the other end, followed by an amused laugh.
—You've got quite the imagination, kid.
Guan Ya was right. Zhang Yuanqing was actually a loner at heart. A genuinely cheerful, optimistic, well-adjusted college student would not have been this guarded.
"Sorry..." muttered Zhang Yuanqing.
He felt a pang of embarrassment and immediately changed the subject—or rather, cut straight to the point. "I experienced some rather strange things tonight, things that are hard to explain. Do you... understand what I mean?"
—So it seems you made it out of the Spirit Realm alive.
There was a hint of approval in Li Dongze's voice.
Yes. Just barely, thought Zhang Yuanqing. I nearly died in there...
Still, Officer Li's response sent a wave of relief washing over him. The man knew about the Spirit Realm.
—Congratulations, college boy. Welcome to the world of being a Spirit Realm Walker. That's what people like us are called. I'm one too. The difference is that I have an official status. You're a rogue individual.
Spirit Realm Walker... Zhang Yuanqing turned the phrase over in his mind. He had far too many questions that demanded answers. The only option was to start with the most fundamental one.
"What exactly is the Spirit Realm?" he asked.
Li Dongze's voice grew serious.
—I can't tell you that right now. If you want information about the Spirit Realm, you'll need to make a choice. The government has two approaches to Spirit Realm Walkers. The first is recruitment and training. The second is surveillance and control.
—The former means joining us and becoming an official Spirit Realm Walker. The latter means that you remain a freelance practitioner. If you choose the second path, you only have to register with us and promise not to use your abilities to break the law. We'll leave you alone after that. Of course, that also means you won't receive any help from official channels.
Zhang Yuanqing didn't hesitate for a second.
"I'm willing to join the organization. I’m ready to lay down my life for the country and the people!" he declared courageously.
Li Dongze laughed.
—As expected from someone raised in a family of law enforcement. That's very patriotic.
Zhang Yuanqing couldn't tell whether the man was mocking him or genuinely impressed.
—Get some rest then. I'll come pick you up tomorrow morning at eight.
Zhang Yuanqing was slightly taken aback. Wait, not right now?
"Tomorrow?" he echoed.
—What else? Do you know what time it is? You want to lay down your life for the organization? The organization needs to be open for business first.
He just doesn't want to explain things over the phone, Zhang Yuanqing realized. He's afraid I'll change my mind and run off with free intel. That's why he wants to meet in person tomorrow...
He could only sigh. "Alright," he agreed.
After hanging up, he glanced at his phone. It was 11 PM. Time inside the Spirit Realm flowed at the same rate as the outside world.
He had successfully made contact with the official organization. It felt as if a massive weight was lifted from his chest, and the bone deep exhaustion from fighting for survival in the Spirit Realm came crashing down all at once.
He set an alarm and lay on his bed, feeling his eyelids growing heavier and heavier until sleep swallowed him whole.
***
The next morning, at 7:15 AM, Zhang Yuanqing was jolted awake by his alarm. The shock was so intense he nearly suffered cardiac arrest and died on the spot.
He fumbled to silence it while yawning his way out of bed. His sleep the previous night had been terrible, plagued by nightmare after nightmare, every single one involving ghosts and monsters, each one jarring him awake.
In the living room, Grandpa sat on the sofa watching the news. His silver hair was thin and sparse, and his tall frame was topped by a stern, wrinkled face that never seemed to smile, radiating an air of severity.
Grandma was banging around in the kitchen preparing breakfast. His aunt was crouched on a chair at the long dining table, scrolling through her phone, cheeks puffed out like an adorable hamster.
"How are you up this early?" she asked as she scrutinized her haggard looking nephew.
"You look like you've been indulging yourself way too much!" she whined. "Did you do something naughty last night? I'm going to inspect your trash can."
Normally, Zhang Yuanqing would have fired back with something like, "are you looking for a beating, old woman?" But with the issue of the Spirit Realm weighing on his mind and the meeting with the official organization looming, he wasn't in the mood for banter. He slumped into the chair beside her, his eyes glazing over, and waited for food.
Soon enough, Grandma emerged carrying a tray laden with bowls of steaming rice porridge, fried dough sticks, boiled eggs, and a bamboo steamer of pork buns.
Zhang Yuanqing took a sip of warm porridge to wet his throat, then turned to Grandpa.
"Grandpa," he asked, "I remember that after the construction crew vanished from the Sheling Tunnel, the Public Security Bureau organized a search party to find them. Weren't you a part of it?"
Grandpa grunted in acknowledgment, looking mildly puzzled. "That's ancient history. Why are you asking about that?"
"I saw the story pop up online again yesterday. Do you know what happened to the worker they found? Where is he now?"
Grandpa frowned. "Can't remember," he replied. "It was too long ago."
"Didn't he go missing again?" Grandma chimed in from the side, joining the conversation with visible interest. "And it was a bizarre disappearance too. The whole police force was rattled. It wasn't until a director from headquarters went down in person to smooth things over that people finally calmed down."
"Did that happen?" Grandpa asked, refusing to confirm her account.
"Old Chen, are you getting senile?" Grandma retorted with absolute conviction. "You told me this yourself."
Grandpa lowered his head and sipped his porridge. "Believe in science, and stop being so obsessed with superstition," he chided. "You're getting more gossipy with age."
So he was found, and then vanished again, Zhang Yuanqing mused. His mood sank as he took another sip of porridge.
It was obvious what had happened. The survivor had reentered the Spirit Realm 36 hours after. And that time, he hadn't made it out alive.
His suspicions were confirmed. The death rate in that mountain goddess temple was staggeringly high, and the second main quest was extraordinarily dangerous.
If he wanted to survive, relying on the official organization was absolutely the right call.
Once breakfast was finished, he quickly washed himself then took the elevator downstairs and waited at the front gate of the residential complex.
After about fifteen minutes, a black commercial vehicle slowly pulled up. The electric door slid open to reveal Li Dongze seated on a white leather chair inside, legs together, with his hands resting on his cane.
His outfit was identical to the day before—black suit, black waistcoat, white dress shirt, hair flawlessly slicked back, with that same pair of immaculate pencil mustaches on his face.
Li Dongze smiled. "Hop in, college boy," he ordered.
Zhang Yuanqing smiled back.
"Gladly, investigator."
Once he was inside, the black vehicle merged into traffic and cruised through the morning streets at an unhurried pace.
Li Dongze opened the vehicle's built-in mini fridge. "What are you drinking?"
"Cola!"
"Then you'll have to buy that yourself at a convenience store later," Li Dongze replied. He poured himself a glass of whiskey, dropped in a single sphere of ice, and leaned back in his seat with the glass, perfectly at ease.
"I'm taking you to handle your onboarding paperwork and run you through some basic training. But first, an introduction. Li Dongze. Level 3 Spirit Realm Walker. Five Elements Alliance, Songhai Branch, Kangyang District Second Squad, Squad Leader. I am a Scout-class."
Scout? Zhang Yuanqing wondered. There are other classes besides Nocturnal Specter?
He put on his most attentive face. Despite the questions swirling in his head, he didn't interrupt. As someone skilled in social navigation, he knew that cutting someone off mid sentence was poor form. He wasn't about to lose points over something that petty.
Li Dongze took a sip of his whiskey. "Let me start by telling you what the Spirit Realm actually is."
Zhang Yuanqing immediately perked up.
