Chapter 11: Bug level Spirit Realm 91

***

In the spacious and luxurious office, Li Dongze lazily leaned back on the sofa, crossing his legs. He held a glass of wine in his left hand and a cigar in his right, looking relaxed and content.

Just moments ago, he reported the news of recruiting Night Wanderer to his direct superior. Li Dongze knew that the young centurion was eager to achieve results and cultivate his own faction. Night Wanderer, with a clean background, was like a heaven-sent opportunity for the well-connected centurion. It couldn't have come at a better time. As expected, his young superior expressed high appreciation and promised him a significant achievement reward.

In the White Tiger Battalion's system, military merits were everything.

"Bang!" The office's glass door was rudely pushed open, and Guan Ya walked in wearing high heels. Li Dongze frowned, took a leisurely sip of his drink, and criticized, "Guan Ya, you're not being very elegant."

"Commander, this kid entered the Trial Spirit Realm through the She Ling Tunnel!" Guan Ya got straight to the point.

"Boom!" Li Dongze turned into a raging warrior in an instant, ignoring the spilled drink, he stood up and shouted sharply, "She Ling Tunnel?! Oh, my God! You stupid fool, you've really done it now!"

Holding his staff, he rushed out to the office area and saw the newly arrived Night Wanderer staring blankly at the computer.

Sensing Li Dongze's arrival, Zhang Yuanqing wore a bitter expression and said, "Commander, do you think there's any chance of salvaging this?"

He was afraid that Li Dongze would blurt out: "No chance, just wait for death, terminate the contract!"

Li Dongze looked at him in silence, his expression as if he had finally pursued the girl of his dreams, only to find out that she was his long-lost sister.

In the face of the new employee's eager gaze, Li Dongze took a deep breath and spoke in a low tone:

"The Trial Spirit Realm is the initial solo instance for every Spirit Realm practitioner, and it's also the most headache-inducing part. In the solo instance, no one can help you. This is the test that the Spirit Realm imposes on you, and it's the price you must bear to obtain supernatural power."

Zhang Yuanqing nodded with a heavy heart. Li Dongze continued:

"I will report this matter for you, hoping that the higher-level database will have information and strategy advice regarding the She Ling Tunnel. Otherwise, no one can save you. Go back and wait for the news; I will inform you immediately if there's any result."

Though he wasn't Night Wanderer, as a seasoned Spirit Realm practitioner, he had heard about the notorious She Ling Tunnel. So far, according to the officially recorded data, no one has been able to clear the She Ling Tunnel, and the "first kill" of this instance remains unclaimed.

"Alright, Commander, thank you for your trouble," Zhang Yuanqing replied stiffly.

Li Dongze added:

"Write down your experiences in the She Ling Tunnel in detail."

..........

After arranging for a dedicated car to take Zhang Yuanqing away, Guan Ya returned to her own desk. She took out a sticky note with the watermark of Aquarius and unscrewed the cap adorned with the Virgo symbol.

On her desk, everything, including the computer, notebook, desktop, and water cup, had various constellations printed or pasted on them. It was evident that she was a seasoned astrology enthusiast.

Guan Ya wrote on the sticky note:

"Yuanshi Tianzun, Scorpio male, constellation attributes: cunning, vengeful, sexually aggressive."

"Note: Highly susceptible to being seduced by women from other organizations."

After finishing, the exotic beauty sighed lightly, tore off the sticky note, and placed it in the personnel record of the Second Team. She had made remarks and evaluations for each team leader, including those who had resigned and those who died in the Spirit Realm.

"Hey, Wang Tai, does that guy have any hope of clearing the instance?" Guan Ya raised her head and called out to the person in the next cubicle whose hair was disheveled.

Wang Tai lifted his head and said:

"The Taiyi Sect might have detailed information about the She Ling Tunnel, but it's probably not very useful. Otherwise, they would have arranged for Night Wanderer to clear it a long time ago. There should be decent rewards for completing an S-rank trial."

Guan Ya frowned.

Wang Tai continued:

"If we can find a few items for him, there might be a chance of clearing it. But, you know, the functions of items are diverse, and our understanding of the She Ling Tunnel is limited. We can't provide targeted solutions with specific items, and the most likely outcome is losing both the person and the wealth."

"Nonsense!" Guan Ya rolled her eyes.

The items themselves were extremely precious and rare. For a transcendent-stage Spirit Realm practitioner, having one item was already quite good. And unclaimed items could only be obtained through two ways: entering the Spirit Realm to search for them or killing Spirit Realm practitioners in the real world and looting their items. The latter could only occur if the items were outside the inventory.

Both of these options were clearly unrealistic.

The most crucial point was that without knowing the specific situation of the She Ling Tunnel, who could tell which type of item could help him clear it?

If he died in the Spirit Realm, the items would be automatically retrieved by the Spirit Realm, resulting in a huge loss.

Wang Tai clattered on the keyboard, displaying a series of data, and stared at it for a while, muttering to himself:

"It's just after Qingming, which happens to be the period when the She Ling Tunnel opens every year. Isn't this guy just a bit too unlucky?"

In the office, Li Dongze opened the chat application and typed a message:

"Captain Fu, I want to report something related to the recently recruited Night Wanderer. His Trial Spirit Realm is the She Ling Tunnel, which is known as the newbie bug level instance for Night Wanderers."

"The She Ling Tunnel first appeared during the construction of the tunnel in the last century when a construction team accidentally entered it and died in the Spirit Realm. Afterwards, the officials found one survivor. That survivor was transported back into the Spirit Realm again after thirty-six hours.

"Yes, the trial mission in the She Ling Tunnel consists of two stages, which is different from the one-time trial missions for other professions and Spirit Realms. I'm sorry; my surprise clouded my judgment. I was misled by my habitual thinking when I saw him return to reality from the trial Spirit Realm, subconsciously thinking that he had already passed the trial.

"I know that the Taiyi Sect's database contains the most abundant and comprehensive information about Night Wanderers' Spirit Realms. Their Sect Master is the strongest Night Wanderer in the current era. Perhaps, the Taiyi Sect might have information about the She Ling Tunnel. If Captain Fu personally intervenes, I believe the Taiyi Sect would give some face.

"Not abandoning or giving up on comrades is the principle of the White Tiger Battalion. Now that he has joined, I can't easily give up on him. I hope Captain Fu can assist."

After editing the message, Li Dongze reviewed it several times to ensure its accuracy before clicking the send button. He held the wine glass, gazing at the screen, and let out a sigh.

.........

Zhang Yuanqing returned home with a heavy heart, entered the password, and opened the anti-theft door. In the living room, his grandmother was mopping the clean and bright floor, and sitting by the dining table was a middle-aged man in a black jacket. He had handsome features with jet-black hair. The deep wrinkles between his eyebrows and the fine crow's feet around his eyes showed the signs of aging.

From the appearance, there was no doubt that he was a charming old handsome guy, probably very popular among mature women and some younger women who have a thing for older men.

However, this middle-aged man was not Zhang Yuanqing's uncle; he was his cousin.

The cousin swallowed the freshly made porridge and looked at Zhang Yuanqing. "Grandma said you came to see me last night?"

His expression was serious, seldom smiling, resembling a younger version of their grandfather.

..... Zhang Yuanqing opened his mouth, shook his head, and said, "It's nothing."

Yesterday's problem had been resolved, and the new difficulty was something his cousin couldn't help with, so it was better not to mention it. Moreover, he had signed a confidentiality agreement.

The cousin glanced at him, calmly drank the porridge, and said, "It's about Lei Yibing, right? I heard that Li Dongze personally visited yesterday, which means his case is unusual. Even if it were you, I wouldn't be able to help."

It turned out that the cousin had already inquired in advance! Zhang Yuanqing made a sound of agreement.

Seeing that he was not in a high spirit, Chen Yuanjun stopped talking about it and assumed that his cousin was worried about Lei Yibing.

At this moment, Jiang Yubai, dressed in cute bear-print pajamas, came out from her room, holding a stack of face masks. "Here, these are anti-wrinkle and anti-aging ones, used once in the morning and once at night. They should work well. Your grandma insisted that I buy them for you."

The cousin's face darkened, frowning with deep wrinkles. "Little Aunt, I don't need these."

His aunt shrugged nonchalantly. "It's up to you, then."

The grandmother, who was mopping the floor, glared at her grandson without good temper and said, "You don't need face masks, so you want your grandmother to use a hot iron to smooth out all the wrinkles on your face?"

Due to her son being unreliable, the grandmother had given up on him long ago and shifted her focus to cultivating the next generation - her two grandsons. Currently, her grandson had been admitted to Songhai University, and her granddaughter's son worked in the Security Bureau, both having bright futures.

However, the grandmother had always been concerned about one thing - her grandson seemed too mature and composed for his age, looking like a 40-year-old at the age of 30.

Two years ago, a long-lost old friend of the grandfather visited Songhai and met Chen Yuanjun. Astonishingly, he said to the grandfather, "I didn't know you had another son." The grandfather hesitated for a long time before saying, "This is my grandson."

The old friend was a straightforward person and blurted out in surprise, "Your grandson looks so mature..."

Decades of friendship nearly destroyed in an instant.

Chen Yuanjun reluctantly accepted the face masks, putting them into his pocket, and said, "Okay, grandma, don't nag me. I have to go to work. I'm busy with a missing person case recently."

A missing person case? Zhang Yuanqing became sensitive and asked, "What about it?"

"What's the situation?" Chen Yuanjun took a bite of pickled vegetables and said, "Two people disappeared in the She Ling Tunnel, and they still haven't been found. We checked the surveillance, and the cameras outside the tunnel showed them entering, but there's no footage of them entering the tunnel in the interior surveillance..."

His cousin suddenly interrupted, warning him, "Don't spread this information." He had signed a confidentiality agreement.

Upon hearing this, the grandmother's gossip-loving heart was ignited instantly. She asked mysteriously, "Is there something supernatural happening again? Hm, why hasn't that place been sealed off? Every year, there are a few people who disappear in the tunnel."

The aunt also perked up her ears, wearing the same gossip expression as her mother.

"Grandma, please don't ask." Chen Yuanjun tried to dissuade her.

"Could it be that they, like me, accidentally entered the Mountain God's Temple? Damn, these two unlucky guys. I wonder if he can survive for three hours..." Zhang Yuanqing sympathized with them but also felt a sense of comfort in knowing that he wasn't the only unlucky one.

He now had a deeper understanding of the Spirit Realm. Li Dongze had mentioned that the Spirit Realm had always existed, and perhaps some of the missing people each year had disappeared in the Spirit Realm.

..........

In the capital city, in a quadrangle courtyard, the branches of the large scholar tree were lush, like an open green umbrella. Under the umbrella, an old man with gray hair lay on a rocking chair. He wore a white sweatshirt and baggy shorts, holding a folding fan, leisurely taking a nap.

The old man had a thin face, and there was a mole on his forehead, exuding an indescribable aura of nobility. A gentle breeze blew, shaking the leaves and scattering spots of light on the ground. Faint laughter of children came from the scholar tree.

"Senior Sun, Fu's boy sent you an email." A middle-aged man in black approached the courtyard. Whether they were members of the Wuxing Alliance or the Taiyi Sect, becoming an elder meant being a renowned Spirit Realm practitioner.

"Fu Qingyang?" The old man chuckled but didn't open his eyes. He flicked the folding fan a few times and asked, "What's the matter?"

"He recruited a Night Wanderer under him in Songhai City. The trial Spirit Realm is the She Ling Tunnel, and he wants some related information about the tunnel. Additionally, he hopes you can give some advice." The middle-aged man conveyed the contents of the email.

The old man's hand holding the folding fan paused, and a few seconds later, he realized something, saying, "It's just past Qingming Festival. Considering the time, it's just when the She Ling Tunnel opens. Recently, quite a few people will luckily receive Night Wanderer character cards, but unfortunately, no one can pass the She Ling Tunnel."

"We can provide the information. Besides, the Sect has already given up on exploring the She Ling Tunnel, so the confidentiality level of the related data has been lowered. By the way, tell Fu's boy that the place is an S-level trial Spirit Realm itself, and it has become even more difficult due to some mishaps during the process. It has long surpassed the scope of a trial Spirit Realm."

"My advice is to give up on that Night Wanderer; there's no need to invest in someone who's doomed." The old man said indifferently.

The middle-aged man nodded lightly. As a steward of the Taiyi Sect, he knew well about the eerie and ominous nature of the She Ling Tunnel in Songhai. S-level trial Spirit Realms were already the most challenging for beginners, and the She Ling Tunnel was even more bizarre than ordinary S-level Spirit Realms.

Every S-level trial Spirit Realm inevitably contained something extraordinary, be it rare props or crucial information, both having immense value. In order to decipher the She Ling Tunnel's Spirit Realm, the Taiyi Sect specifically sent two level 1 Night Wanderers to be stationed in Songhai for a long time, as S-level trial Spirit Realms occasionally opened to 1st level practitioners of the profession.

After waiting for several months, the two level 1 Night Wanderers finally received the mission of the She Ling Tunnel. However, the results were that one Night Wanderer never returned any information after entering the Spirit Realm, and the other successfully completed the first task but died during the second task. Both of them had props with them.

Since then, the Taiyi Sect's Elder Council reevaluated the She Ling Tunnel and decided to completely give up exploring it.

"If there really is someone who can pass the She Ling Tunnel and obtain the information inside, it would also resolve our Taiyi Sect's long-standing worry," the middle-aged man said with a smile.

The old man remained silent and slowly said, "In a few days, the Sect Master will summon all the Night Wanderers to gather in Beijing. There's an important announcement. Prepare and call back all the kids under your command."

After saying that, he waved the folding fan, signaling the man to leave.

........

(End of the chapter)

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