Bug-Tier Spirit Realm

In the spacious, luxurious office, Li Dongze reclined lazily on the sofa with his legs crossed. Holding a wineglass in his left hand and a cigar between the fingers of his right, he was the picture of leisurely contentment. Just moments ago, he had reported the recruitment of a Night Wanderer to his immediate superior. Li Dongze knew that the young Centurion had just taken office and was eager to make a name for himself and cultivate trusted subordinates. To a Centurion of distinguished pedigree, a Night Wanderer with a clean background was nothing short of a godsend, arriving at the perfect moment. Sure enough, his young superior had expressed high praise and promised him a major merit. Under the White Tiger Battalion's system, military merit took precedence over everything else. *Crash!* The office's glass doors were shoved open violently, and Guan Ya strode in on high heels. Li Dongze frowned. He took a measured sip of wine and chided, "Guan Ya, this isn't very elegant of you." "Decurion, the trial instance that kid entered is Sheling Tunnel!" Guan Ya cut straight to the chase. "*Pfft!*" Li Dongze instantly erupted into a human sprinkler. Without even pausing to wipe the sprayed wine from his mouth, he shoved himself up from the desk and shrieked in a shrill voice, "Sheling Tunnel?! Oh, God! You damned fool, look at what you've done!" Grabbing his cane, he bolted out of the room and rushed toward the office area, where he found the newly recruited Night Wanderer staring blankly at a computer screen. Sensing Li Dongze's arrival, Zhang Yuanqing pulled a bitter face. "Decurion, do you think there's any hope left of saving me?" He terrified himself that the man would blurt out: *You're doomed, just wait to die, contract terminated!* Li Dongze stared at him in silence. His expression looked like that of a man who had finally won over the girl of his dreams, only to discover she was his long-lost sister. Confronted with the eager, expectant gaze of his new employee, Li Dongze took a deep breath and said in a heavy tone, "A trial instance is the very first solo instance for every Spirit Realm walker, and that is precisely what makes it so troublesome. In a solo instance, no one can help you. This is the Spirit Realm's test for you—the inevitable price you must pay to obtain supernatural power." Zhang Yuanqing nodded with a heavy heart. Li Dongze continued, "I will report this up the chain. Hopefully, higher-level archives will contain information and strategy guides for Sheling Tunnel. Otherwise, no one can save you. Head home for now and wait for news. The moment there's an update, I'll notify you immediately." Though not a Night Wanderer himself, as a veteran Spirit Realm walker, he had heard of Sheling Tunnel's terrifying reputation. To this day, across all records compiled by official organizations, not a single person had ever cleared Sheling Tunnel. The instance's 'first clear' remained unachieved. "Alright. Thank you for your trouble, Decurion," Zhang Yuanqing said, nodding stiffly. Li Dongze added, "Write down a detailed account of your experiences in Sheling Tunnel." *** After arranging a car to send Zhang Yuanqing home, Guan Ya returned to her desk. She retrieved a sticky note bearing an Aquarius watermark from her drawer and twisted the cap off a pen decorated with a Virgo motif. Everything on her desk—including the computer, notebooks, mousepad, and water mug—was printed or stickered with all kinds of zodiac signs. Evidently, she was a dedicated astrology enthusiast. Guan Ya wrote on the sticky note: *Yuanshi Tianzun. Scorpio male. Astrological traits: manipulative, vindictive, high sex drive.* *Note: extremely high probability of being seduced by women from other organizations.* Finishing her notes, the mixed-race beauty let out a soft sigh, peeled off the sticky note, and affixed it inside Team Two's personnel file. She made a habit of recording traits and evaluations for every member of the squad, including those who had resigned and those who had died in the Spirit Realm. "Hey, Wang Tai, does that kid have any hope of clearing it?" Guan Ya tilted her head and called over to the neighboring desk. Wang Tai, his hair a disheveled mess, looked up. "The Taiyi Sect might have detailed records on Sheling Tunnel, but they probably won't be of much use. If they were, the Taiyi Sect would have arranged for a Night Wanderer to clear the instance long ago. An S-rank trial quest ought to offer impressive rewards." Guan Ya frowned. Wang Tai continued, "If we could find him a few items, he might have a fighting chance. But as you know, items have diverse functions, and our knowledge of Sheling Tunnel is limited. We can't provide targeted items to solve the problem, and the end result will likely be a total loss of both life and treasure." "Nonsense!" Guan Ya rolled her eyes. Items were extraordinarily rare and precious in their own right. For a Spirit Realm walker at the Transcendent stage, possessing even a single item to carry was already quite impressive. Furthermore, unowned items could only be obtained through two methods: first, by exploring the Spirit Realm, and second, by killing a Spirit Realm walker in the real world to loot their corpse—and that only worked for items that weren't stored inside an inventory. Neither option was realistic here. Most importantly, without knowing the specific circumstances of Sheling Tunnel, who could possibly guess what type of item would help him survive? If he died inside the Spirit Realm, the item would be automatically reclaimed by the instance, resulting in a devastating loss. Wang Tai clattered away at his keyboard, pulling up a series of data streams. After staring at them for a long while, he muttered to himself, "Qingming just passed, which happens to be the window when Sheling Tunnel opens each year. Isn't this guy a little too unlucky?" *** Back in his office, Li Dongze opened his messaging software and typed out a message: *Centurion Fu, I have a matter to report regarding the newly recruited Night Wanderer I mentioned earlier. His trial instance is Sheling Tunnel—the one known as the novice bug-tier Spirit Realm for Night Wanderers.* *Sheling Tunnel first appeared during the tunnel's construction in the previous century, when a construction crew stumbled into it and died inside the instance. Afterward, the authorities found a single survivor. That survivor was transported back into the Spirit Realm thirty-six hours later.* *Indeed, the trial quest of Sheling Tunnel is divided into two stages, unlike the one-and-done trials of other professions and Spirit Realms.* *I apologize; I was overwhelmed by excitement and misled by habitual assumptions. Seeing him return to reality from the trial instance, I subconsciously presumed he had already cleared it.* *I know that the Taiyi Sect's archives hold the richest and most comprehensive records on Night Wanderer Spirit Realms, and their Sect Master is the strongest living Night Wanderer. Perhaps the Taiyi Sect possesses records pertaining to Sheling Tunnel.* *If you personally intervene, Centurion Fu, I believe the Taiyi Sect will grant you some face.* *Never abandoning a comrade is a core principle of the White Tiger Battalion. Since he has already joined us, I cannot simply give up on him. I hope you will lend your assistance, Centurion Fu.* After drafting the message, Li Dongze reviewed it several times to ensure there were no errors before clicking send. Grasping his wineglass, he stared at the screen and let out a heavy sigh. *** Zhang Yuanqing returned home with a troubled mind. He entered his passcode and pushed open the security door. In the living room, his grandmother was mopping the glossy, spotless floor. Sitting at the dining table was a middle-aged man wearing a black jacket. He had handsome features and jet-black hair. The deep vertical furrow between his brows and the fine crow's-feet at the corners of his eyes lent him an air of weathered maturity. In terms of appearance, he was undoubtedly a charming older gentleman, the sort likely favored by mature women and adored by young girls with a soft spot for older men. Yet this middle-aged man was not Zhang Yuanqing's uncle, but his older cousin. Swallowing a mouthful of freshly reheated porridge, his cousin looked up at Zhang Yuanqing. "Grandma said you were looking for me last night?" His expression was stern and unsmiling, like a younger version of their grandfather. Zhang Yuanqing opened his mouth, then shook his head. "It's nothing now." Yesterday's problem had already been resolved, and this new hurdle was something his cousin couldn't help with anyway, so there was no point in mentioning it. Besides, he had signed a confidentiality agreement. His cousin glanced at him and took a measured sip of porridge before speaking. "It's about Lei Yibing, isn't it? I heard Li Dongze personally paid a visit yesterday. That means his case is out of the ordinary. Let alone you, even I wouldn't be able to help." *So my cousin already looked into it beforehand!* Zhang Yuanqing gave a soft "Mm." Seeing that he was in low spirits, Chen Yuanjun said no more, assuming his younger cousin was simply worried about Lei Yibing. Just then, Jiang Yu'er emerged from her bedroom wearing cute bear pajamas, holding a stack of facial sheet masks in her hands. "Here, anti-wrinkle and anti-aging. Once in the morning, once at night—should work pretty well. Your grandma insisted that I buy them for you." Chen Yuanjun's face darkened, the furrow between his brows deepening. "Auntie, I don't need these." His young aunt gave a nonchalant shrug. "Suit yourself." Nearby, their grandmother leaned against her mop and glared at her grandson with annoyance. "You don't need face masks? What, do you need your grandma to take an iron and press the wrinkles out of your face instead?" Because her son was unreliable, Grandma had long since given up on that main account, focusing instead on raising the two alternate accounts of the next generation. For now, her maternal grandson had been admitted to Songhai University, and her paternal grandson worked at the Public Security Bureau; both had bright futures. Yet Grandma harbored a chronic grievance: her grandson was far too staid and mature, sporting the face of a forty-year-old at age thirty. The year before last, an old friend of Grandpa's whom he hadn't seen in years visited Songhai. Upon laying eyes on Chen Yuanjun, he had exclaimed to Grandpa in surprise, "I never knew you had another son!" Grandpa had hesitated for a long time before choking out, "That's my grandson." The old friend was a blunt man and blurted out in astonishment, "Well, your grandson's looks certainly grew with a mind of their own..." Decades of friendship had nearly fallen apart right then and there. Resigned, Chen Yuanjun took the face masks and stuffed them into his pocket. "Alright, Grandma, stop nagging. I still have to head to work. I've got a missing persons case on my hands lately, and things are hectic." *A missing persons case?* Zhang Yuanqing's ears pricked up immediately. "What's the situation?" Chen Yuanjun picked up a bite of pickled vegetables with his chopsticks. "Two people went missing in Sheling Tunnel. They still haven't been found. We pulled the surveillance footage, and the cameras outside the tunnel showed them entering, but the cameras inside don't show any footage of them coming in at all..." His cousin broke off abruptly, warning, "Don't spread that around." He had signed a confidentiality agreement himself. Hearing this, Grandma's gossip-loving spirit flared to life, and she asked in a hushed, mysterious voice, "Is it haunted again? Honestly, why haven't they blocked that place off yet? Every year, a few people go missing in that tunnel." His aunt perked her ears up too, wearing the exact same gossiping expression as her mother. "Grandma, please stop asking." *Could they have blundered into the mountain god temple just like I did? Fuck, those two poor bastards... I wonder if they can survive three hours...* Zhang Yuanqing felt both pity and a subtle sense of comfort that he wasn't the only unlucky one. He gained a deeper understanding of the Spirit Realm. As Li Dongze had said, the Spirit Realm had always existed. Perhaps a portion of the people who went missing every year had simply vanished into the Spirit Realm. *** In the capital, inside a traditional quadrangle courtyard. A large scholar tree in the yard possessed lush, flourishing foliage, resembling an unfurled canopy of jade green. Beneath its shade, an elderly man with white hair lay on a rocking chair, clad in a white undershirt and baggy shorts. Holding a cattail leaf fan in hand, he was taking a leisurely nap. The old man had an emaciated countenance, with a fleshy mole centered between his brows, exuding an indescribable nobility. A gentle breeze swept past, rustling the leaves and scattering dappled patches of sunlight across the ground. From up in the scholar tree came the faint, tender laughter of children. "Elder Sun, the Fu family lad sent you an email," a middle-aged man dressed in black said as he stepped over the threshold and entered the courtyard. Whether in the Five Elements Alliance or the Taiyi Sect, anyone who achieved the rank of Elder was an illustrious Spirit Realm walker. "Fu Qingyang?" The old man chuckled softly without opening his eyes, fanning himself a few times with the cattail fan. "What does he want?" "His subordinate in Songhai City recruited a Night Wanderer whose trial instance is Sheling Tunnel. He wishes to request information related to the tunnel from you. In addition, he hopes you can offer some advice," the middle-aged man relayed the contents of the email. The old man's hand fanning the cattail fan paused. A few seconds later, comprehension dawned. "Qingming has just passed. Counting the days, it is indeed the period when Sheling Tunnel opens. Quite a few lucky souls will obtain Night Wanderer character cards around this time. Alas, it is impossible for anyone to clear Sheling Tunnel." "The records can be given to him. In any case, the sect has already abandoned attempts to conquer Sheling Tunnel, and the confidentiality rating of the related files has been lowered. While you're at it, tell the Fu boy that the place was originally an S-rank trial instance, but something went awry midway through. It's difficult beyond measure and has long since ceased to fall within the scope of a trial instance. "My advice is to give up on that Night Wanderer. There is no need to invest in a dead man." The middle-aged man nodded gently. As a deacon of the Taiyi Sect, he was well aware of the uncanny and ominous nature of Songhai's Sheling Tunnel. An S-rank trial instance was already the pinnacle of difficulty for novices, but Sheling Tunnel was far more bizarre than ordinary S-rank instances. Every S-rank trial instance inevitably harbored extraordinary treasures, whether rare items or crucial secrets of immense value. To unravel the Sheling Tunnel instance, the Taiyi Sect had deliberately stationed two Level 1 Night Wanderers in Songhai for an extended period, as S-rank novice trial instances occasionally opened to Level 1 walkers of the corresponding profession. After months of bitter waiting, both Level 1 Night Wanderers successfully received the Sheling Tunnel quest. Yet the outcome was grim: one Night Wanderer was never heard from again after entering the instance, while the other successfully completed the first objective, only to perish immediately during the second. And both of those Night Wanderers had been equipped with items. Ever since then, the Taiyi Sect's Council of Elders had reevaluated Sheling Tunnel and completely abandoned all efforts to conquer the instance. "If someone truly could clear Sheling Tunnel and retrieve the information within, it would resolve an old knot in our Taiyi Sect's heart," the middle-aged man remarked with a smile. The old man offered no comment, saying slowly, "In a few days, the Sect Master will summon all Night Wanderers to the capital for a gathering. There is a major matter to announce. Make your preparations and recall all the lads under your command." With that, he waved his cattail fan to dismiss him. The middle-aged man bowed and withdrew.