"Grey fog layer? Inner world?" Wen Wen mumbled the two terms twice, both were new to him.
"That's right, the grey fog layer and the inner world," Lin Zhe Yuan nodded and said.
"Outside of the real world, there exists a world that overlaps with it, that world is called the 'inner world'. The inner world and the real world are very close, and the boundary is very blurry.
Neither espers nor creatures of the inner world can directly reach the opposite world, no matter how powerful they are.
However, between the real world and the 'inner world', there is an overlapping zone called the 'grey fog layer', which exists in both worlds simultaneously. Creatures from the inner world and some espers can manifest in the grey fog layer."
"Then the shadow!" Wen Wen exclaimed, clapping his hands.
"That's right, it's the shadow. When an esper clearly sees another shadow, that line of sight forms a space-spanning passage within the grey fog layer, and beings from the inner world can descend into the real world using this passage."
"So, control your eyes, don't casually look at things you shouldn't."
Wen Wen's expression was somewhat dejected. He liked excitement, but he also had his reason. Excessive excitement was annoying.
"So, this world is so dangerous… If I'm unlucky and see a monster boss."
"Then you're really overthinking it," Lin Lu snorted and said, "You can't clearly see monsters that are much stronger than you. The more powerful the monster, the more stringent the conditions required to descend into reality."
Wen Wen's eyes lit up. He couldn't summon overly strong monsters?
Could he then set up traps in advance, guide monsters over, and then capture them?
He seemed to see a beautiful future where he caught one monster every day, gaining more and more authority in the Disaster Containment Facility.
"But even if you can't summon very powerful monsters, you must control your eyes in the grey fog layer. Some existences, although you can't see them clearly, the very act of trying to see them can completely destroy you!"
Seeing Wen Wen's bright eyes, Lin Lu added.
Wen Wen sighed, putting away his unreliable thoughts. Looking at something could potentially kill him? The monsters in the inner world were truly a bit terrifying…
"Alright, Xiao Lu, don't scare him anymore. He will learn about these things. Let's go back and rest."
It turned out that while they were talking, they had already brought Wen Wen to the outside of the accounting office of the mental hospital.
Pushing open the door, a middle-aged man with a receding hairline sat inside. Well, a young man…
Around the young man were computers, printers, and many other machines of unclear purpose. On the desk was a thermos cup filled with goji berries.
"He is Ding Ming Guang, the dispatcher for our Furong River Hunter Association. You can discuss the next steps with him. Remember, no matter what choice you make, don't think about going back on it." With that, Lin Zhe Yuan exited the room.
"Hello, I was brought here by Lin Zhe Yuan…"
"I heard from Captain Lin. You're Wen Wen, the freelance detective, right? You're already in the Hunter Association database, and I've printed your credentials. As long as you don't violate the Esper Covenant, the Hunter Association won't bother you."
Ding Ming Guang interrupted Wen Wen and pushed two small booklets towards him. One was his identification, and the other was the Esper Covenant, which outlined some requirements for espers.
"How did you get so much of my information?" Wen Wen looked at the credentials, a bit dazed. All the information was filled in without any errors, and there was even a photo. He had only just been brought here by Lin Zhe Yuan.
"It's not difficult to obtain. Also, I've written down things that some espers should know at the back of the Covenant. You read it first, and then we'll proceed with other matters."
Ding Ming Guang leaned back, took a sip from his mug, and the monitor in front of him automatically started playing anime from the Sakura District. The anime seemed to be related to orthopedics.
"Mysterious and strange."
Wen Wen muttered a couple of words and started looking through the Esper Covenant.
The Esper Covenant was essentially the unwritten rules among all espers.
Article 1: Espers shall not use their powers for wrongdoing.
Article 2: Espers shall not intentionally reveal their superpowers in front of ordinary people.
Article 3: Intentional communication with the inner world is not permitted.
…
After reading it, Wen Wen rubbed his forehead. In addition to gaining more understanding of esper-related matters, he had a deeper insight into the parallel worlds.
The inner world was a twisted and desperate place, where all creatures were bloodthirsty demons, not a single one was normal.
When people in the real world died, their souls entered the inner world. When something happened in the real world, or for some other reason, souls would return from the inner world to the real world, becoming the ghosts in folk legends.
These were also the beings that most easily entered the real world from the inner world, as ghosts were very weak, so weak that they could barely affect reality.
It was very difficult for other monsters to enter the real world. The specific difficulties were not explained; here, espers were only told to control their eyes.
Whether it was ghosts or any other monsters, after their first entry into the real world, there would be a period of assimilation.
The duration varied, but during this period, they could not interfere with reality, and could only affect espers, meaning they could not cause harm to ordinary people, nor could ordinary people detect their presence.
However, those in the ordinary population with stronger intuition could sense their existence and were more likely to be targeted by monsters.
The Hunter Association would try its best to eliminate monsters during this period, but it was difficult to achieve this completely.
Seeing Wen Wen put down the booklet, Ding Ming Guang paused the anime and continued, "Finished reading? Then tell me, what are your plans for the future? You have a few options."
"First, if you like hunting monsters, then join our Hunter Association, go to headquarters for training, enhance your strength, and you can also enjoy many conveniences provided by the association."
"Second, don't join the Hunter Association, keep everything as it is, but don't actively get involved in supernatural events anymore, to avoid interfering with us."
Wen Wen was very tempted by the prospect of receiving esper training and enjoying the conveniences of the Hunter Association.
But he knew very well that his Disaster Containment Facility was not something that could be seen by others. If anyone saw him 'eating' monsters, he would definitely be dealt with as a threat.
However, not joining the association meant not being able to hunt monsters, which was equivalent to halting the development of the Disaster Containment Facility. From how easily Lin Zhe Yuan found him, Wen Wen knew that trying to hunt monsters behind the Hunter Association's back was basically not feasible.
"Then, if I want to hunt monsters… but I don't want to be bound by the association?" Wen Wen asked tentatively.
"Then you can choose to become a freelance hunter. We won't train you, but we can grant you the qualification to hunt monsters. You can also use the monsters you hunt to exchange for resources here. However, in this case, you will have to report to the association after each successful hunt."
Ding Ming Guang said without looking up, it seemed that Wen Wen's choice was not uncommon among espers.
"Okay, then I choose to become a freelance hunter."