Translator: RogueKat | Editor: RogueKat

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Zhang Yuanqing was in a daze when he felt something soft and plump pressing down on him, making it hard to breathe. Opening his eyes, he saw a round and delicate face with a sly smile.

His aunt wined and grumbled: "You little brat, you dared to stand me up. I'll sit on you until you die."

She leaned forward and sat down hard on her nephew like a duck, causing him to groan from the weight, almost suffocating.

Angrily, he straightened his back and flipped the woman over.

Amidst his aunt's cries of surprise, he noticed that it was already dark outside the window. Unknowingly, he had slept from morning until evening.

"It's time to eat!" his aunt said while lying on the bed, using a flurry of kicks to hit her nephew's butt.

"I won't retaliate, okay? I respect my elders and love the young, and I won't stoop to your level," Zhang Yuanqing said as he slipped to the edge of the bed, put on his shoes, and walked out the door.

The living room was filled with a strong aroma, and Grandpa and Grandma were sitting at the dining table having their meal. Grandpa's hair was silver-white, and he was tall and lean, with a serious expression, rarely smiling or speaking.

"So, how's the person I arranged for you this time?" Grandma asked with some expectation at the dining table.

"Not bad, with an annual salary of a million yuan and a high-ranking position in the company, I am satisfied!" Aunt nodded vigorously like a little chick pecking at rice.

"You always say that, and yet every time you end up blocking them," Grandmother pointed a finger at her daughter's head and while poking her head she scolded her severely: "Be more sensible, think about how old you are now."

"Right, right..." Zhang Yuanqing gloated on the side, then his shin was fiercely kicked by Jiang Yu’er, and the two started kicking each other under the table, causing a constant clattering sound.

"If you don't eat, then go back to your room," Grandma roared and Zhang Yuanqing and his cousin immediately lowered their heads to continue eating.

"Grandma, when will cousin be back?" Zhang Yuanqing asked.

His uncle's family lived opposite them. Recently, his aunt, who came from a wealthy family, and his uncle, who was wild and unrestrained, went abroad for a trip. During this time, his cousin would have dinner here.

"He said he's working overtime tonight and won't come back until late... He's a workaholic, completely different from his idle father," Grandma complained.

Overtime... Zhang Yuanqing couldn't hide his disappointment and just said "Oh."

After dinner, Zhang Yuanqing and Jiang Yu’er went back to their rooms, leaving Grandma to clean up the leftovers.

……

Returning to his own room, Zhang Yuanqing locked the door and picked up his phone to call his cousin.

Since he couldn't say it in person, he decided to communicate over the phone. However, he knew that talking on the phone wouldn't be as clear as face-to-face communication.

The call connected quickly, but all he could hear from the speaker were tones indicating that the phone was turned off.

"Is he in a meeting?"

Zhang Yuanqing sighed and hung up the phone, knowing that his cousin, as the captain of the police team, was always busy with work and had irregular eating and sleeping habits.

He was used to situations where he couldn't get in touch with him.

Zhang Yuanqing lay on the bed and looked up at the ceiling, letting his thoughts wander…

Assuming that Brother Bing's disappearance was intentional and that the target was the black card, Zhang Yuanqing had to be careful. The safest way was to hand the black card over to his cousin and let him pass it on to the higher-ups.

Given the administrative level of the Songhai City Police Station, the influence of the forces in Jiangnan Province is limited. 

However, the problem now is that the black card is missing, which is the most headache-inducing situation…

Zhang Yuanqing scratched his head in distress.

A black card that can disappear into thin air was terrifying. If he couldn't find it, he couldn't turn it over to the country.

I can only be honest with my cousin, have him report to his superiors, and follow their arrangements. As a mere college student, there's nothing else I can do.

Suddenly, Zhang Yuanqing felt a slight headache and a feverish sensation on his forehead. He reached up to scratch it, but the pain grew more intense.

Hmm? It's both painful and hot. What's going on?

He left the bed somewhat dazed and walked to the dressing mirror standing by the window, examining himself in the mirror.

In the mirror, he saw the face of a young man with delicate features and fair skin. There was no sign of the toughness that comes from experiencing life's challenges, nor the wisdom that comes with age. Only the vigor of a young person was exuded from him.

On his forehead, there was a black crescent moon imprint that looked vivid and realistic, with irregular patches clearly visible on its surface.

At the bottom of the crescent moon imprint, there was something similar to a progress bar that showed "90%". 

Zhang Yuanqing was shocked and staggered back. He rubbed his forehead hard, but the mark was like a tattoo and wouldn't disappear no matter how hard he tried.

Why do I have this on my forehead? When did it appear? Chaotic thoughts flashed through his mind, mixed with panic and confusion.

"Wait! Isn't this pattern the same as the black moon on the card?" He was startled at first but then suddenly realized what was happening.

The black card didn't disappear, it entered his body and transformed into an imprint on his forehead in a way he couldn't comprehend.

As he was still in confusion, he noticed that the progress bar under the black moon imprint had changed to "92%" with the numbers flashing, and his forehead felt hot.

What is this, a supernatural phenomenon? High technology? Hallucination?

At this moment, the contents of the letter surfaced in Zhang Yuanqing's mind once again: “this is a gift that can change one's life…”

"The black card is really precious, so my previous guess was correct. Someone coveted this card, and Brother Bing didn't want them to succeed, so he sent it to me, and he disappeared because of it..."

While worrying about Brother Bing, Zhang Yuanqing stared at the progress bar with anticipation.

What would happen when it reached 100%? Having witnessed the mystical sight before him, he was full of curiosity about what would happen next.

After a few more moments of burning pain, the progress bar at the bottom of the black moon finally reached “100%”.

The next moment, a voice without emotion or feeling sounded in Zhang Yuanqing's ear:

【Character card reboot complete...】

【Name: To be named (please name immediately)】

【Race: Human】

【Class: Night Walker】

【Level: 0】

【Skills: None】

【Experience Points: 0】

【Moral Value: 60 (initial value)】

Under the moral value, there was a line of remarks:

【Do not let your moral value drop below 60. You may not have had a choice before, but now, please be a good person.】

Staring at the glowing blue character attribute panel in front of him, Zhang Yuanqing was stunned for a moment and thought to himself, What is this thing?

He cautiously spoke: "System?"

As an adept internet surfer, being knowledgeable about various things was a necessary skill.

The voice without emotional fluctuations echoed in his ear once again:

【Please name your character immediately!】

The frozen blue panel suspended in mid-air displayed a handwriting box.

If it wasn't a system, then its intelligence was too low to communicate... With a step-by-step approach in mind, Zhang Yuanqing extended his finger and wrote his name:

Zhang Yuanqing

【Warning, do not use your real name.】

Cannot use my real name? Zhang Yuanqing was stunned, then wrote down a second name:

Yuanshi Tianzun

【Naming successful! The spirit realm will be opened in ten seconds. Yuanshi Tianzun, good luck!】

Hearing the voice echoing in his ear, Zhang Yuanqing was confused.

What's going on? The spirit realm is being opened? Shouldn't you explain what the spirit realm is first?

Before he could recover his composure, the ten-second countdown had already ended.

【Ding, Spirit Realm Map fully activated, welcome to “Night Walker - She Ling Tunnel", Number: 0079.】

【Difficulty Level: S】

【Type: Single Player (Death Mode)】

【Main Quest 1: Survive for three hours.】

【Main Task 2: Explore Spirit Realm 0079, Current Exploration Progress: 0%】

【Note: Non-Spirit Realm items are not allowed to be brought in.】

【Introduction to Spirit Realm 0079: Do you know about the She Ling Tunnel, one of the top ten legends of the Songhai region?】

【The She Ling Tunnel was built in the late last century. During the construction, a team of workers disappeared into the tunnel on a rainy night and were never seen again.】

【The Police Department organized search teams, and after searching for several days, found one worker who participated in the excavation that night, but the others disappeared without a trace.】

【Although the survivor lived through the ordeal, he was mentally affected by some unknown stimulus and became crazy... no matter how the police officers questioned him, he kept repeating one sentence.】

【He said: Don't go into the temple, don't go into the temple...】

The sound in Zhang Yuanqing's ears gradually became lower and lower, gradually becoming inaudible, and the scenery in front of the eyes appeared to be like ripples on the surface of a lake, distorted and blurry.

In a moment, the picture gradually stabilized, and the dim yellow light shone on the uneven walls. Underfoot was a road paved with fine pebbles.

"Where am I?"

Zhang Yuanqing looked around in astonishment and found himself in an old tunnel. The old-fashioned xenon lamp on the arched dome emitted a faint orange halo.