Chapter 1 A Stroke of Genius

In a spacious and luxurious office, Li Dongze leaned back lazily on the sofa, legs crossed, a wine glass in his left hand and a cigar in his right, utterly relaxed.

Just now, he had reported the news of recruiting a Night Watcher to his direct superior.

Li Dongze knew that the young centurion, newly appointed, was eager to make achievements and cultivate his own trusted subordinates. A Night Watcher with a clean background was like a godsend to the centurion with a prominent family background; the timing couldn't have been better.

As expected, the young superior expressed high praise for him and promised to record a major merit for him.

In the White Tiger Army's system, military merit outweighs everything.

"Bang!"

The glass door of the office was violently pushed open, and Guan Ya, wearing high heels, barged in.

Li Dongze frowned. He slowly took a sip of wine and criticized, "Guan Ya, that's not very elegant."

"Squad Leader, that kid entered the Sheling Tunnel for his trial instance!" Guan Ya cut straight to the point.

"Pfft!" Li Dongze instantly turned into a spraying warrior. Not bothering to wipe off the wine, he propped himself up on the table and shouted in a shrill voice, "The Sheling Tunnel?! Oh, God, you damned fool, look what you've done!"

He grabbed his cane and rushed out, running to the office area, where he saw the new Night Watcher staring blankly at the computer.

Noticing Li Dongze's arrival, Zhang Yuanqing wore a bitter face and said, "Squad Leader, do you think there's any hope for me?"

He was afraid that the other party would blurt out, "There's no hope, just wait for death, contract terminated!"

Li Dongze silently looked at him, with an expression like someone who had finally pursued his beloved girl, only to find out she was his long-lost sister.

Faced with the new employee's eager eyes, Li Dongze took a deep breath and said in a low voice, "The trial instance is every Spirit Adventurer's first solo instance. It's most troublesome because, in a solo instance, no one can help you. This is the spirit realm's test for you. It's the price you must pay to gain supernatural power."

Zhang Yuanqing nodded heavily, his mood sinking.

Li Dongze continued, "I will report this matter for you, hoping that the higher-level database has information and strategy suggestions about the Sheling Tunnel. Otherwise, no one can save you. Go back and wait for news. I will notify you immediately if there are any results."

Although he wasn't a Night Watcher, as a veteran Spirit Adventurer, he had heard of the Sheling Tunnel's notorious reputation.

So far, according to the official organization's records, no one has been able to clear the Sheling Tunnel. The "first clear" of this instance has never been achieved.

"Okay, thank you, Squad Leader," Zhang Yuanqing nodded stiffly.

Li Dongze added, "Write down your experiences in the Sheling Tunnel in detail."

.........

After arranging for a special car to send Zhang Yuanqing away, Guan Ya returned to her desk, took out a sticky note with a Aquarius watermark from the drawer, and unscrewed the cap of a pen with a Virgo pattern on it.

Everything on the desk, including the computer, notebook, desktop, and water cup, was printed with or pasted with various constellations.

It could be seen that she was a veteran constellation enthusiast.

Guan Ya wrote on the sticky note:

"Yuanshi Tianzun, Scorpio man, constellation attributes: scheming, vengeful, high libido."

"Note: extremely likely to be seduced by women from other organizations."

After writing, the mixed-race beauty sighed softly, tore off the sticky note, and pasted it into the personnel file of the second team.

She had noted the attributes and made evaluations for each captain, 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 craned her neck and shouted to the next desk.

Wang Tai, with disheveled hair, looked up and said, "The Taiyi Gate may have detailed information about the Sheling Tunnel, but it's probably not very useful. Otherwise, the Taiyi Gate would have already arranged for a Night Watcher to clear the instance. An S-level trial task should have good rewards."

Guan Ya frowned.

Wang Tai continued, "If we can find him a few items, he might have a chance of clearing it, but you know, the functions of items are diverse, and our understanding of the Sheling Tunnel is limited. We can't provide targeted items to solve the problem. The final result will most likely be a loss of both people and resources."

"Nonsense!" Guan Ya rolled her eyes.

Items themselves are extremely precious and rare. A Spirit Adventurer in the Extraordinary stage is already lucky to have one item with them.

And unowned items can only be obtained through two ways: one is to enter the spirit realm to find them, and the other is to kill Spirit Adventurers in reality and steal their treasures. And only items that are not in the item bar can be taken.

Both of these are obviously unrealistic.

The most important thing is, without knowing the specific situation of the Sheling Tunnel, who knows what type of item can help him clear it?

If the person dies in the spirit realm, the item will be automatically taken back by the spirit realm, resulting in a huge loss.

Wang Tai tapped the keyboard, pulled up a series of data, stared at it for a long time, and muttered to himself, "Qingming has just passed, which happens to be the time of year when the Sheling Tunnel opens. Is this guy just too unlucky?"

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

"Centurion Fu, I have something to report, which is related to the newly recruited Night Watcher I mentioned earlier. His trial instance is the Sheling Tunnel, the Sheling Tunnel known as the Night Watcher's newbie bug instance.

"The Sheling Tunnel first appeared during the tunnel construction in the last century. A construction team accidentally entered it and died in the spirit realm. Afterwards, the authorities found a survivor. And that survivor was transferred to the spirit realm again thirty-six hours later.

"Yes, the Sheling Tunnel's trial task is divided into two stages. This is different from the one-time trial tasks of other professions and other spirit realms.

"I'm sorry, I was overwhelmed by surprise and misled by inertial thinking. Seeing him return to reality from the trial instance, I subconsciously thought he had passed the trial.

"I know that the Taiyi Gate's database has the richest and most comprehensive Night Watcher spirit realm data. The sect leader is the strongest Night Watcher of our time. Perhaps the Taiyi Gate has relevant information about the Sheling Tunnel.

"If it is Centurion Fu you who comes forward, I think the Taiyi Gate will give you some face.

"Not abandoning or giving up comrades is the principle of the White Tiger Army. Since he has already joined, I cannot give up easily. I hope Centurion Fu can help."

After editing the message, Li Dongze looked at it repeatedly, confirmed that it was correct, and clicked send.

He held his wine glass, stared at the screen, and sighed.

.........

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 a middle-aged uncle in a black jacket was sitting at the dining table, with handsome features and black hair. The deep lines between his eyebrows and the fine crow's feet at the corners of his eyes together precipitated the vicissitudes of time.

In terms of appearance, there was no doubt that he was a very charming old handsome man, probably very popular with mature women, and some "uncle-loving" girls were obsessed with him.

But this middle-aged uncle was not Zhang Yuanqing's uncle, but his cousin.

The cousin swallowed the reheated porridge and looked at Zhang Yuanqing, "Grandma said you were looking for me last night?"

He looked serious and unsmiling, like a younger version of his grandfather.

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

Yesterday's problem had been solved, and his cousin couldn't help with the new difficulty, so it was better not to say anything.

Besides, he had signed a confidentiality agreement.

The cousin glanced at him, sipping the porridge slowly, and said, "It's for Lei Yibing's matter, right? I heard that Li Dongze came to visit in person yesterday, which means his case is unusual. Not to mention you, even I can't help."

So his cousin had already found out in advance! Zhang Yuanqing said "Mm" .

Seeing that he was in low spirits, Chen Yuanjun stopped talking and only assumed that his cousin was worried about Lei Yibing.

At this time, Jiang Yuer, wearing a cute bear pajama, came out of her boudoir, holding a stack of facial masks, "Here, anti-wrinkle and anti-aging, once in the morning and once in the evening, the effect should be good. Your grandma insisted that I help buy them."

The cousin's face darkened, and he frowned, "Aunt, I don't need these."

The aunt shrugged indifferently, "Whatever."

The grandmother, who was mopping the floor, leaned on the mop and glared at her grandson unhappily, "If you don't need facial masks, then does Grandma need to use an iron to flatten the wrinkles on your face?"

Because her son was unreliable, the grandmother had long given up on this large account and instead cultivated the next generation's two small accounts.

Currently, her grandson had been admitted to Songhai University, and her grandson worked in the Public Security Bureau, both with bright futures.

But the grandmother always had a knot in her heart, that was, her grandson was too steady and mature, with the age of 30 and the face of 40.

Two years ago, an old brother of her grandfather's who had not seen each other for many years came to Songhai as a guest. When he saw Chen Yuanjun, he said to the grandfather in surprise, "I haven't heard that you have another son."

The grandfather held back for a long time, and said, "This is my grandson."

The old brother was a straightforward person and blurted out in surprise: "Your grandson is quite willful....."

Decades of friendship were almost ruined.

Chen Yuanjun helplessly took the facial mask and stuffed it into his pocket, and said, "Okay, Grandma, stop nagging, I have to go to work. I have a missing person case on my hands recently, very busy."

Missing person case? Zhang Yuanqing became sensitive at once and asked, "What's the situation?"

Chen Yuanjun clipped a mouthful of pickles, "Two people went missing in the Sheling Tunnel, and they haven't been found yet. The surveillance was called up, and the surveillance outside the tunnel showed that they entered the tunnel, but the surveillance inside the tunnel didn't show them entering the tunnel at all....."

The cousin suddenly stopped and warned, "Don't spread it."

He had signed a confidentiality agreement.

When the grandmother heard this, she immediately ignited her gossip heart and said mysteriously, "Is it haunted again? Hey, why hasn't this place been blocked yet? Every year, several people disappear in the tunnel."

The aunt also pricked up her ears, with the same gossip expression as her mother.

"Grandma, don't ask."

Could it be that I accidentally entered the Mountain God Temple, damn, these two unlucky guys, I don't know if he can survive for three hours..... Zhang Yuanqing felt sympathy and pity, and also a sense of comfort that "it's not just me who's unlucky".

He had a deeper understanding of the spirit realm. Li Dongze said that the spirit realm has always existed. Perhaps some of the missing people every year disappeared in the spirit realm.

.........

Beijing, courtyard house.

The large locust tree in the courtyard had lush branches and leaves, like an open green umbrella.

An elderly man with gray hair was lying on a rocking chair under the umbrella, wearing a white undershirt and shorts, holding a palm-leaf fan in his hand, leisurely taking a nap.

The old man's face was thin, with a mole between his eyebrows, and had an indescribable noble air.

A gust of breeze blew, and the leaves trembled, shaking broken spots of light on the ground.

The childish laughter of children faintly came from the locust tree.

"Elder Sun, the Fu family's boy sent you an email." A middle-aged man in black clothes stepped over the threshold and came into the yard.

Whether it was the Five Elements Alliance or the Taiyi Gate, those who could become elders were all famous Spirit Adventurers.

"Fu Qingyang?" The old man chuckled, without opening his eyes, and patted the fan a few times, "What's the matter?"

"His subordinate in Songhai City recruited a Night Watcher. The trial instance is the Sheling Tunnel. He wants to ask you for information about the tunnel. Also, he hopes you can give some advice." The middle-aged man relayed the contents of the email.

The old man's hand shaking the fan paused. After a few seconds, he suddenly said, "Qingming has just passed. Calculating the time, it's just the time when the Sheling Tunnel opens. Recently, many people will be lucky enough to get the Night Watcher role card. Unfortunately, no one can clear the Sheling Tunnel."

"You can give him the information, anyway, the sect has given up on clearing the Sheling Tunnel, and the confidentiality level of the relevant information has been reduced. By the way, tell the Fu boy, that place itself is an S-level trial instance, and some accidents happened in the middle, making it even more difficult, and it has long been out of the scope of the trial instance.

"My advice is to give up on that Night Watcher. There is no need to invest in a person who is bound to die."

The middle-aged man nodded lightly. As an executive in the Taiyi Gate, the middle-aged man knew the strangeness and ominousness of the Songhai Sheling Tunnel.

The S-level trial instance itself is the most difficult instance for novices. The Sheling Tunnel is even more strange than the ordinary S-level instance.

Every S-level trial instance must contain something unusual, such as rare items or some important information, which is of great value.

In order to crack the Sheling Tunnel instance, the Taiyi Gate specially sent two level 1 Night Watchers to be stationed in Songhai for a long time, because the S-level novice trial instance will occasionally be open to level 1 Spirit Adventurers of that profession.

After waiting for several months, the two level 1 Night Watchers successfully received the task of the Sheling Tunnel.

But the result was that one Night Watcher disappeared after entering the instance, and the other Night Watcher successfully completed the first task and then died in the second task.

And these two Night Watchers both had items with them.

Since then, the Taiyi Gate elders have re-evaluated the Sheling Tunnel and completely gave up on clearing the instance.

"If someone can really clear the Sheling Tunnel and get the information inside, it will also solve a knot in our Taiyi Gate."

The middle-aged man said with a smile.

The old man did not comment and said slowly, "In a few days, the sect leader will summon all the Night Watchers to Beijing for a meeting. There is a major event to announce. You prepare and call back all the boys under your command."

After speaking, he waved the fan to drive people away.

The middle-aged man bowed and retreated.

.....

ps: The public period updates seven or eight thousand words a day, and some people say that there are fewer updates? Doesn't your conscience hurt? sob.