Chapter 46: Second Spirit Realm Opening

 Chapter 46: Second Spirit Realm Opening

Having found it, I left everything there... Zhang Yuanqing stared at this sentence, remaining silent for a long time.

"Brother Bing, you've really given me a difficult problem!" Zhang Yuanqing sighed, focusing his attention on the "clues."

"A lifetime with two brothers, this was Brother Bing's catchphrase back in junior high. If it's merely expressing emotions, it wouldn't be hidden in a code."

"Two-zero-three... a series of numbers, is it a password?"

"Having found it, what does 'it' refer to?"

Zhang Yuanqing furrowed his brow, pondering for a long time, and then massaged his forehead, feeling a headache coming on.

He sensed that there were many clues, yet it seemed like he hadn't gained anything at all... He silently complained, but this matched the pattern of detective novels. To prevent secrets from being leaked, Assistant Bing had left behind clues that only the two of them could decipher. When certain conditions were met in the future, Zhang Yuanqing would naturally understand.

After all, for now, the great detective was still somewhat inexperienced.

"The so-called 'everything' should be related to Brother Bing sending me the role card of the Demon Lord, his disappearance, and his unusual behavior during his college years. It's about the Demon Lord, a character of that level, but what exactly is 'it'? It truly arouses curiosity."

Zhang Yuanqing tore up the note, left the room, and entered the bathroom.

"Gurgle..."

The toilet flushed away the shredded paper.

...

Uncle Lei was busy with work, which could numb him to a certain extent and alleviate the "pain of losing a child." This also highlighted how difficult life was for Aunt Zhou as a housewife.

Zhang Yuanqing bid farewell to Aunt Zhou and left the Yinping residential area. While waiting for a ride-hailing car on the street outside the community, he contemplated.

"I definitely can't tell Squad Leader and Old Sishi about this. I can only investigate on my own. There are only a few clues, and I can't rush it. Right now, the most important thing is the second Spirit Realm mission."

"Leveling up is the most crucial."

Zhang Yuanqing became more aware of the importance of strength.

"If the multi-player Spirit Realm isn't a death-type, it must be a punishment-type. Failing the mission will deduct experience points, and if things don't go well, my strength might regress..."

"The rewards depend on the difficulty level of the instance and the performance of the traveler in the mission. Right now, my experience points are at 52%. I wonder if the second Spirit Realm can directly promote me to level 2."

Theoretically, it's impossible.

He inquired about this during this period. As long as a solo Spirit Realm traveler can survive, the rewards are quite substantial. Therefore, the leveling speed shouldn't be slow.

However, people like Guan Ya and Li Dongze, both experienced travelers, got stuck at level 2 and level 3 for a long time. The reason was twofold. Firstly, the Spirit Realm instances they entered were not of high levels, and the missions were not challenging, so the rewards were not as exaggerated as those of S-level missions.

But for experienced travelers like Guan Ya and Li Dongze, one stuck at level 2 for a long time, and the other at level 3, there were two reasons for this. Firstly, they entered lower-level Spirit Realm instances with relatively easy missions, which resulted in rewards not being as extravagant as those in S-level missions. Secondly, in multi-player instances, there were both successes and failures... In simpler terms: it's inevitable to encounter teammates dragging down your progress.

At this moment, the ride-hailing car finally arrived, and Zhang Yuanqing got in, returning home.

"Grandma, I'm back from class," he called out towards the balcony.

"Your uncle came by, hoping you would go find him after coming back," his grandmother responded while cleaning the mop.

"No, I'm tired after class. I don't want to accompany him to sing and dance."

"I heard that your uncle's wife gave him some money recently."

"Grandma, I went to my uncle's house to visit..."

...

A little over ten minutes later, Zhang Yuanqing came out of his uncle's house, feeling satisfied, and returned to his room. He opened the forum, and the post reposted from the Night Wanderer's official forum was still pinned, but a new post appeared below.

#Mourning, a colleague sacrificed in a multi-player Spirit Realm#

Clicking on it, the post said that a colleague from a certain branch received the S-level instance "Golden Water Amusement Park" as a mission. He informed his superiors before entering. But he never came out, and it had been over 24 hours since he entered the Spirit Realm.

【Gorikuduo: I'm going to enter the multi-player Spirit Realm soon. I'm so anxious...】

【PleaseCallMeQueen: There probably won't be a strategy in the short term. You'll have to rely on luck, but with so many multi-player Spirit Realms, it shouldn't be that unlucky.】

【FutureIsLong: Queen, although the chance is not high, once you encounter it, it's certain death. Moreover, S-level Spirit Realms are extremely difficult to conquer. It could take many years, and who knows how many people will fall into the pit.】

This piece of news caused a considerable panic and discussion on the forum.

【SickAndTired: At the Transcendent stage, are there any exceptionally talented colleagues? Even wild cultivators can be considered. Such people have excellent qualifications, increasing their chances of being assigned to S-level instances. Maybe they can conquer the S-level Spirit Realms. Gorikuduo, keep an eye on these people.】

【Gorikuduo: Good idea!】

Among the vast number of travelers, there were still quite a few individuals like "Gorikuduo" who were about to enter the Spirit Realm. They all agreed with this method since players of the same realm were considered more important than stewards or elders since the latter couldn't enter lower-level instances.

"The Yinshan Ghost School and the Xinfeng Reservoir have already been conquered, and the Golden Water Amusement Park is a multi-player Spirit Realm, open to all professions. Although it's an S-level instance, theoretically, the chances of it being conquered are higher than the exclusive Night Wanderer's Spirit Realms. FutureIsLong's comment clearly shows that he's not good at math."

Zhang Yuanqing scrolled through the comments and shared his own thoughts.

At this moment, he saw a pop-up notification on his messaging app. It was a message from Wang Qian, the informant from the Stop Killing Sect.

Wang Qian: "Can you get your hands on the old version of the strategy for the Golden Water Amusement Park?"

Zhang Yuanqing: "Will you be entering the Spirit Realm soon?"

Wang Qian: "My next Spirit Realm is a musician-exclusive instance, but it won't be in the near future. I wanted to tell you that if you can get your hands on the old version of the strategy, you can make some small money."

Zhang Yuanqing asked, "What do you mean?"

Wang Qian explained, "An anomaly occurred in the Night Wanderer's exclusive Spirit Realm, and I guess I don't need to repeat this matter. The Golden Water Amusement Park is a multi-player Spirit Realm at the Transcendent stage, with the widest audience. Its old version strategy has already been sold on the black market for 300,000 yuan."

Spirit Realm instance strategies are considered "strategic resources" and form the foundation of the official organization, accumulated through the efforts and sacrifices of countless official travelers.

Zhang Yuanqing had never seen 300,000 yuan in his life.

Wang Qian continued to send messages, "A source I'm in contact with is collecting old version strategies. Since you're an official organization member, if you can get an old version strategy, I can help you sell it for 73% of the price."

"I have one!"

70% is 210,000 yuan... Zhang Yuanqing subconsciously replied, but then immediately retracted the message.

Wang Qian sent a question mark, expressing confusion.

Zhang Yuanqing replied, "I have an old version, but I'm not selling it."

Wang Qian asked, "Why not?"

Zhang Yuanqing said, "I don't want to earn money this way."

Wang Qian didn't insist, showing that Zhang Yuanqing's family background was pretty good, and he had a relatively high moral bottom line. That was a good thing because no one wanted to deal with ruthless and evil people.

"How much is the new version of the Golden Water Amusement Park strategy worth?" Zhang Yuanqing sent a message to inquire.

"S-level Spirit Realm instance strategies are extremely expensive, but there's no unified price. The specific amount can be negotiated with the buyer. However, I guess with your level of access, you probably won't have access to S-level instance strategies."

S-level at the Transcendent stage is different from trial tasks.

"I have a patient now. Let's talk later. If you change your mind, remember to contact me. I need money lately."

Wang Qian was currently short of money. His doctor's salary wasn't high, and the moral restrictions had eliminated the possibility of making a fortune for most of the practitioners.

After this chat, Zhang Yuanqing remembered the Golden Water Amusement Park instance strategy that Li Dongze had given him. He became somewhat interested in this instance.

He exited the chat app, opened his email, and downloaded the attachment.

【Golden Water Amusement Park, Spirit Realm ID: 6203, Difficulty Level: B, Type: Multi-player (Punishment-type)】

【Main Quest: Experience two or more amusement park projects.】

"After entering the instance, the Spirit Realm will prompt you on what projects to play in the park. The park projects include roller coasters, swing rides, pirate ships, haunted houses, Ferris wheels, detective reasoning pavilion..."

"Most projects test the team's cooperation ability. The gameplay is..."

"The most dangerous one is the Ghost Wedding in the Haunted House. The ghost bride will choose the most handsome male player as her groom, and the chosen person will be eliminated immediately. Therefore, after entering the Haunted House, one must keep repeating: 'I am an ugly duckling!'"

"When all male players shout 'I am an ugly duckling,' the ghost bride will randomly choose. At this point, it's all about luck. Female players are the safest and can directly clear this project."

Zhang Yuanqing carefully read through the gameplay of each project. When he saw the Ghost Wedding, he thought to himself, "Is it just an elimination? This ghost bride is far less vicious than the one in the trial task."

Although the old version was only for reference and couldn't be entirely relied upon, it still had significant value in providing a quick understanding of the instance.

No wonder someone was willing to spend 300,000 yuan to buy it.

Suddenly, Zhang Yuanqing's expression changed. He quickly scrolled through the screen, pulling the document to the top page.

Golden Water Amusement Park, Spirit Realm ID: 6203...

203?!

He was stunned, remaining in that state for a long time.

Was it a coincidence?

"Does 203 refer to the Golden Water Amusement Park? Does Brother Bing have something to do with that place? No, it can't be," Zhang Yuanqing shook his head, trying to dismiss the idea.

The allocation of Spirit Realm instances is random, so based on this alone, it doesn't make sense. What if I don't enter the Golden Water Amusement Park? Then Brother Bing's arrangement would be in vain. Unless Brother Bing can predict which Spirit Realm I will enter.

If it's possible to predict which Spirit Realm I will enter in the future, then my Spirit Realm missions wouldn't be random. This makes me deeply uneasy about entering the She Ling Tunnel... Zhang Yuanqing suddenly felt a bit nervous.

...

After dinner, Zhang Yuanqing prepared for bed early. He closed the curtains, turned off the lights, locked the room door, and lay on the large bed, staring blankly at the digital clock on the bedside table.

Before midnight, the Spirit Realm mission would surely come.

He held five or six small blue pills in his hand, feeling time passing slowly.

After an unknown period, a familiar notification sound echoed in his mind:

【Ding, Spirit Realm map opening, enter the Spirit Realm in 60 seconds. This time you will enter the Spirit Realm "Golden Water Amusement Park," ID: 6203】

【Difficulty Level: S】

【Type: Multi-player (Death-type)】

【Main Quest: Experience two or more amusement park projects】

【Note: Non-Spirit Realm items cannot be brought in.】

【Introduction to Spirit Realm 6203: One day, an indescribable character came to the Golden Water Amusement Park and was surprised to find such interesting toys in the world after a long slumber. She joyfully experienced all the projects and decided not to destroy this place. Before leaving, she entrusted the spirits in the amusement park to find a young man for her. His name is XXXX.】

It really is the Golden Water Amusement Park, just as I suspected... Zhang Yuanqing felt like ten thousand grass-mud horses were racing through his mind.

Without much time to think, he quickly swallowed the blue pill and dialed Guan Ya's phone number.

According to the regulations, he had to report the Spirit Realm instance to let his superiors and colleagues know, especially during this sensitive time.

The call was quickly answered, and Guan Ya scolded, "Every girl whose sweet dream gets disturbed needs a big meal as compensation."

"Tell the captain, I'm about to enter the Spirit Realm, and the instance is the Golden Water Amusement Park..."

"What?! Your multi-player Spirit Realm is the Golden Water Amusement Park? Hey, Yuanshi? Hello, hello..."

Guan Ya never received a response again.