Realm Walker

Chapter 10: The S Rank Trial Spirit Realm

”Nocturnal Specter,” Zhang Yuanqing said calmly.

”I’m asking about your class,” Li Dongze responded.

”Nocturnal Specter,” said Zhang Yuanqing again.

Li Dongze blinked. Then he bolted upright, leaning forward in his seat, eyes blazing as they locked onto Zhang Yuanqing. ”You... are a Nocturnal Specter?”

”Yes,” replied Zhang Yuanqing with a nod.

Li Dongze let out a long sigh and shifted in his seat. He fell silent for a good fifteen seconds to digest the news, then raised his voice and asked once more, ”You’re a Nocturnal Specter? I... I just picked up a Nocturnal Specter?”

This was something he never could have anticipated. It was like casually commenting to someone, ”Man, I really wish I’d win a five-million-yuan lottery,” and then actually winning.

”I’ve struck gold...” Li Dongze murmured under his breath as he set down his glass and looked Zhang Yuanqing up and down repeatedly. He could barely contain his excitement.

Every Nocturnal Specter was a hot commodity, fiercely contested by Spirit Realm Walker squads and even entire factions.

Li Dongze personally knew of a young woman from the Hundred Flowers Society who, in order to poach a Nocturnal Specter from the Crimson Fire Gang, had resorted to seduction. Through a series of intimate encounters, she convinced the man to switch allegiances and willingly defect to the Hundred Flowers Society, becoming a turncoat serving two masters.

That incident had nearly sparked open conflict between the Crimson Fire Gang and the Hundred Flowers Society, and even intervention from the headquarters of the Five Elements Alliance failed to calm things down. It was only when the Nocturnal Specter in question died during a Spirit Realm quest that the matter finally settled.

”By the way, I don’t know your Spirit Realm ID yet.” Li Dongze tucked his excitement away, maintaining his composed image in front of his future subordinate.

Zhang Yuanqing puffed out his chest, gathered his breath, and declared, ”Yuanshi Tianzun!”

Li Dongze was silent for several seconds, then he clapped his hands together. ”Great name.”

That compliment sounded incredibly forced. And what’s with that look on his face, like he wants to hit something...?

”Glad you approve, Squad Leader,” Zhang Yuanqing replied modestly.

At that moment, the black commercial vehicle pulled into the Kangyang District Public Security Bureau compound and parked in a spot beside the landscaped median.

”I’ll get your onboarding process started right away. The base salary is twenty thousand a month. Mission assignments come with bonuses, and meritorious service earns additional performance pay. Any questions?”

Li Dongze seemed unwilling to waste a single second, radiating the urgency of someone trying to lock in a deal before it could slip away.

Zhang Yuanqing’s eyes lit up. A base salary of twenty thousand a month?

”No questions at all,” he replied.

Twenty thousand monthly was considered high, even by the standards of a metropolis like Songhai. He remembered that the management tier at his mother’s company pulled in fifty to a hundred thousand a month, and that was base salary alone, not counting bonuses, commissions, or equity.

He followed Li Dongze out of the car and around to the back of the bureau building, stopping in front of a two story structure.

The building was constructed from large panels of glass, giving it a trendy, upscale feel with an air of corporate elegance.

Through the front entrance, a steel staircase faced the door and led straight to the second floor.

To the left was the office area, with seven or eight women seated at desks. Some were attractive young ladies, others were mature women with a sophisticated air, and a few were seasoned, no-nonsense types.

To the right was a living area furnished with sofas, a round table, a fridge, an induction cooker, a water dispenser, and other daily necessities.

The women were variously absorbed in their work, watching shows while wearing earphones, or huddled in small groups gossiping. When Li Dongze walked in, they glanced up briefly before returning to whatever they were doing, showing none of the typical employee deference toward a superior.

This office vibe is something I can get behind, Zhang Yuanqing thought to himself.

Li Dongze didn’t linger. He led Zhang Yuanqing toward the steel staircase, then suddenly turned around. ”These are regular staff. They exist solely to support us Spirit Realm Walkers. If you need anything in your work or daily life going forward, just ask them.”

Zhang Yuanqing nodded. Work assistants and life secretaries in one? he thought.

As they reached the second floor, the chatter from below faded. The layout on the second floor was much simpler. The entire left-hand side was Li Dongze’s personal office, while there were nine desks on the right-hand side.

Most were empty—only two were occupied.

The individuals sitting there were the same investigators who had visited his home the day before—the long-legged beauty and the disheveled, glassy-eyed individual resembling an engineer.

Li Dongze called out with a grin, ”Guan Ya, help him with the onboarding paperwork. I’ve recruited a new colleague.”

The individual resembling an engineer looked up, gave Zhang Yuanqing a brief nod, and went back to his work.

The mixed-heritage beauty broke into a smile and rose from her chair. ”Looks like you cleared your trial successfully, little boy who likes mature women,” she teased.

Zhang Yuanqing’s expression froze momentarily. Little boy who likes mature women?!

”Guan Ya tends to joke around,” Li Dongze, who was still beside him, said. ”You’ll get used to it.”

He turned his attention to his subordinate. ”Don’t say strange things in front of our young university student,” he scolded her. ”He’s still a child.”

Said child took the opportunity to sweep his gaze over the mixed-heritage beauty approaching him. She wore a typical OL skirt suit with her blouse tucked into the waistband, accentuating her slender waist. Her long, shapely legs were clad in black stockings, and her loosely curled hair swayed gently with each step.

Her face was sharp and delicate, with the sculpted precision of Western features, yet her skin was fair and flawlessly smooth.

”Squad Leader,” he said to Li Dongze, ”I’d like to ask about my trial Spirit Realm.”

He hadn’t forgotten his purpose for being there that day.

”Guan Ya can answer any questions you have. I’ve got something I need to handle first,” Li Dongze replied warmly. His tone was like a homeroom teacher addressing a star student.

With that, he hurried into his office, eager to report the recruitment of a Nocturnal Specter to his superiors.

”Did Squad Leader take the wrong medication today? He seems to be practically floating,” Guan Ya muttered, then turned to Zhang Yuanqing with a smile.

”Come with me. Fill out a form and give me your ID card.”

”I didn’t bring it,” replied Zhang Yuanqing.

”Recite your ID number for me then.”

She led him to an empty desk, tossed him a form, jotted down his ID number, and headed downstairs.

Zhang Yuanqing grabbed a pen from the holder, uncapped it, and studied the form. It was different from a standard onboarding document. The fields on the form corresponded to a Spirit Realm Walker’s attribute panel.

Besides basic information like class and level, there was a field for the applicant to indicate the trial quest Spirit Realm.

Perfect,he thought as he filled out the form honestly. He’d be able to learn how to clear the Sheling Tunnel dungeon in a moment.

By the time he finished, Guan Ya returned with two contracts in hand. She pulled up a chair beside him and sat down, her round backside pressing into the seat cushion and causing it to sink noticeably.

”The Squad Leader has already run you through the basics, right?” she asked as she leaned back lazily, a posture that put her impressive figure on full display.

Zhang Yuanqing caught a whiff of a subtle, enticing fragrance, and snuck a quick glance. In an era where most people barely reached C-tier, encountering an E-tier powerhouse was truly moving.

”Your onboarding is done. Here’s the contract, plus a confidentiality agreement.”

After Zhang Yuanqing signed both, Guan Ya dropped her playful smile.

”There are a few things you need to know,” she said in a serious tone. ”Starting today, your original ID card is no longer valid. The organization will issue you a new one. It’ll be ready within three days, and can be used as per usual for high speed rail and airline tickets, with priority green channel access. Also, a new SIM card will be ready for you by tomorrow.”

Zhang Yuanqing didn’t understand the reasoning behind this.

”Why?” he asked.

”When you named your character, the Spirit Realm warned you not to use your real name, correct?”

He nodded.

Guan Ya’s tone turned grave. ”There’s a reason for that,” she explained. ”Spirit Realm classes are split into two categories. The first is lawful classes, also known as orthodox classes. The second is evil classes.

”Evil-class Spirit Realm Walkers are either bloodthirsty and savage or twisted and cruel. They share a common obsession, which is hunting down lawful class Walkers—us. Having your real world identity exposed as a Spirit Realm Walker is extremely dangerous.”

Zhang Yuanqing’s expression grew heavy. It sounded like some sort of factional PvP game. He’d found it strange when the naming process rejected his real name.

Did that mean ”Li Dongze” and ”Guan Ya” weren’t their real names either?

”Don’t worry though,” Guan Ya reassured him. ”We’re considered the official organization. Under normal circumstances, we’re the hunters and they’re the prey.”

Zhang Yuanqing relaxed slightly and lobbed a compliment her way. ”I’m sure Sis Guan Ya is a formidable hunter.”

Smooth talker, isn’t he...? The corners of Guan Ya’s mouth curved upward even further. She clicked her tongue.

”You’ve got a silver tongue, don’t you? How many girlfriends have you had?”

”I’ve only ever been single!” Zhang Yuanqing protested.

Guan Ya looked genuinely surprised. ”But your trash can was so clean! I assumed you had a girlfriend.”

The trash can again. Do women have some kind of bizarre fixation on trash cans? Zhang Yuanqing complained silently.

Guan Ya giggled. ”Do you want Sis to order you a girlfriend online?”

Enough. This woman... no, this veteran degenerate...!

”No thanks,” Zhang Yuanqing shot back. ”I prefer realistic ones.”

Guan Ya laughed so hard her whole body shook. ”I like you, kid.”

She quickly composed herself. ”Alright, jokes aside. Back to business. The entire Kangyang District has ten Spirit Realm Walker squads. We’re Squad Two. There are currently five Walkers on the team, six including you. Of the five, only the Squad Leader and I belong to the White Tiger Legion. You were recruited by the Squad Leader, so once you’re officially confirmed, you’ll be White Tiger Legion as well. Keep that in mind.”

Based on how she phrased that, it seemed the factional tensions within the Five Elements Alliance ran deeper than he’d imagined.

”I’ll be following Sis Guan Ya’s lead from now on,” Zhang Yuanqing responded.

He deliberately left out Li Dongze’s name, knowing it would earn more favor with her. And sure enough, Guan Ya’s smile grew even brighter.

”Besides me and Wang Tai, the other Walkers don’t usually come in to clock hours. You’re a student, so you don’t need to show up daily either. Don’t be too uptight. The Squad Leader is a good person. He just gets a bit... theatrical when he’s excited. And he has an intense obsession with elegance.

”As for Wang Tai, he is of the Scholar class. He specializes in learning and research. Think of him as our desk jockey. If you have questions about anything, ask him. When you graduate, you can even get him to help write your thesis. But he hates socializing and is terrible at it. Don’t bother engaging him on a personal level. Just treat him like a useful device.”

”As for me,” she said with a grin, ”I very much enjoy spending time with energetic young men.”

Zhang Yuanqing couldn’t tell if she was being sincere or just messing with him.

He quickly assigned mental labels to his new teammates. An elegance-obsessed Squad Leader who occasionally slipped into over-the-top drama dialogue, a socially-allergic engineer... and a veteran degenerate.

”Oh, what’s your zodiac sign?” Guan Ya asked suddenly.

”Scorpio,” Zhang Yuanqing answered honestly, even though he had no idea why she was asking.

Guan Ya studied him with a peculiar look.

”You really don’t have a girlfriend?” she pressed him.

What did that have to do with his zodiac sign? Zhang Yuanqing stared back blankly.

Guan Ya clearly didn’t believe him but dropped the subject. She picked up the form he’d filled out.

”Yuanshi Tianzun... 21 years old... Heh, that’s quite the ambitious ID. Aren’t you afraid of getting beaten up...? Nocturnal Specter...” The features on her alluring face short-circuited visibly. ”You’re a Nocturnal Specter?!”

Zhang Yuanqing thoroughly enjoyed her expression.

”No wonder the Squad Leader seemed to be floating about,” Guan Ya muttered, then broke into a delighted grin. ”So our squad is getting its own Nocturnal Specter. Don’t you dare run off with some hussy from another faction.”

Zhang Yuanqing noticed that even Wang Tai had lifted his head and was looking their way.

”Yuanshi Tianzun... I’ll just call you Yuanshi from now on.”

Guan Ya happily continued scanning the form. When her eyes landed on Level 0, she paused, about to ask something, when she caught the line below it.

Trial Quest: Sheling Tunnel.

Zhang Yuanqing almost heard an audible buzz signaling her mind going blank. Her lips parted, and her expression froze. She sat there, completely stupefied.

After a long silence, she looked at him with a complicated gaze that was difficult to read. ”Your trial Spirit Realm is the Sheling Tunnel?”

Seeing that expression, Zhang Yuanqing’s stomach dropped.

”I was actually hoping to ask about my trial quest,” he replied. ”Since it’s a dungeon, there must be a walkthrough, right?”

He caught the engineer lookalike, the one supposedly indifferent to everything, lift his head to look over as well. This time, the man’s eyes were filled with sympathy and pity.

”Just... give me a moment...”

Guan Ya’s face darkened as she left the office area and headed for Li Dongze’s office.

Zhang Yuanqing felt a knot forming in his chest. What was with that look she’d just given him? Why did it look like she was staring at a dead man?

At that moment, Wang Tai spoke up from his seat at the neighboring desk.

”There are walkthroughs, yes,” he said, his voice devoid of emotion. ”Submitting detailed accounts of Spirit Realm experiences is an obligation for every official Walker, and the organization rewards you for it. But Sheling Tunnel is... different. See for yourself.”

He slid a laptop across to him.

Zhang Yuanqing took it with a mixture of curiosity and unease. On the screen was an open document.

【Songhai Nocturnal Specter Trial Spirit Realms — Compilation:】

【Wang Village Ruins, C Rank. Objective: Survive until dawn.】

【Dangers include a hanging ghost and the barren graves outside the village. When the hanging ghost comes for your life, the Walker must stand on their head to avoid danger. Those with poor stamina can only pray. The spirits from the barren graves swarm the village at midnight. The Walker must immediately locate candles and incense at the village convenience store. Lighting them prevents the Walker from being torn apart by the ghost horde.】

. . .

【Lingang Reservoir, B Rank. Objective: Swim across the reservoir.】

【During the crossing, water ghosts will attempt to drag you under. Do not resist. Hold your breath and stay submerged for two minutes, after which the water ghosts will leave on their own.】

. . .

【Ghost Bride, A Rank. Objective: Spend the wedding night with the Ghost Bride until dawn.】

【The Ghost Bride is a stunningly beautiful temptress. She treats every groom with wild enthusiasm and will not harm her groom, so long as he can satisfy her. But theoretically, no man can last until morning. This is an almost certainly fatal Spirit Realm. To date, only one brave soul has survived, but he developed an intense aversion to women afterward.】

. . .

【Xiangshui Amusement Park, B Rank. Objective...】

The further down the document Zhang Yuanqing progressed, the more something felt off, and the more confused he became.

These are too easy, are they?

These trial quests were way too simple. Apart from the Ghost Bride, which demanded high vitality and physical ability as prerequisites... the survival rates for the other Spirit Realms were remarkably high.

And across the entire document thus far, the highest difficulty rating was A Rank. His trial, Sheling Tunnel, was S Rank.

He scrolled further until he finally found it.

【Sheling Tunnel. Difficulty: Unknown. Objective: Unknown.】

【The initial incident occurred during the tunnel’s construction, when a work crew accidentally entered the Spirit Realm. Twelve people went in. Only one survived, but the experience caused severe psychological damage. 36 hours after the initial incident, the survivor reentered the Spirit Realm and died inside.】

【WARNING: This Spirit Realm is extremely dangerous. To date, no successful completion of the Sheling Tunnel has been recorded.】

That final line was highlighted in vivid red.

Zhang Yuanqing’s expression went completely blank.