NOVPUBChapter 51: Chapter 50 Extra Rewards
Chapter 51 -50 Extra Rewards
“Wait, wait, wait… I didn’t say I was unwilling!” Zhang Zhiyuan hurriedly said, “Forget I asked if I could do it? Hey, are you still listening?”
‘Listening.’
“Alright…” He let out a breath, “First, tell me what the special challenge is, that’s alright, isn’t it?”
What a cold fellow, Zhang Zhiyuan cursed inwardly, realizing he had still underestimated how well Paradise knew about having an advantage; they even dared to dismiss an Interpol officer just like that. He had no clue what these people were made of.
But he had to admit, he really couldn’t afford to gamble right now.
If he were blocked by Paradise, he wouldn’t know where to find another clue. More importantly, the players recruited by Paradise were from all over the world; even if he felt humiliated, he couldn’t let national security fall behind others.
The existence of “another world” was simply too important, after all.
‘The requirements have been sent to your phone, you now have five minutes to review them and ask any questions.’
Five minutes!
That was no short amount of time for tracking down an address!
“I’ll look at it right now.” Zhang Zhiyuan suppressed his excitement and opened the new text message, “Uh… I’m supposed to play a guy named Zhang Qiang, who is also Zhang Zhiyuan’s brother?”
‘Because Zhang Zhiyuan died in the last round of the game. As for who Zhang Qiang specifically is, Paradise imposes no restrictions.’
Well, this is blatantly careless!
If it were just a game, what would death matter? It would just mean reloading a save.
He had inquired before; the first round of the game didn’t at all restrict players’ names, using real names was perfectly fine, but, curiously, Paradise began to fuss over the issue of names this time, the only reason being they must have had contact with locals!
“Wait a minute… proficient in medicine? That’s not my forte. You know who I am, shouldn’t investigating and solving crimes be enough?”
‘Solving crimes was the task of the previous round, and you don’t need to be extensively knowledgeable—basic skills like sterilizing with boiling water will do.’
“Huh?” Zhang Zhiyuan was dumbfounded, is boiling water also considered medical skill? That’s more like common sense!
At that level, any player would suffice!
‘You will understand in due time.’ The person on the phone didn’t seem inclined to explain further, ‘The next round of the game starts the day after tomorrow at three in the afternoon, you have one more day to prepare.’
“Fine, I’ll take on this challenge.” Zhang Zhiyuan knew he had no option to refuse and straightforwardly accepted, “But with an increased difficulty of the task, shouldn’t the rewards be higher as well? It won’t just be more points, will it?”
‘How about Wayne James?’
“What?” He didn’t catch on for a moment.
‘Wayne James is the reward. Not just the man, but I will also provide all the criminal evidence against him. You’ve been wanting to catch him, haven’t you?’
At that moment, Zhang Zhiyuan was truly shocked!
Paradise knew even this much explicitly!
“But Joe James… isn’t he a player?”
‘You said it yourself, that’s in the game. Paradise promises to offer the best enjoyment for everyone in-game, but what happens outside is a different story.’ The person paused, ‘The reward will be handed over in City L, remember to arrange your people in advance. Once everything is ready, I’ll contact you again.’
“Wait a minute—” Zhang Zhiyuan wanted to ask more, but the call had already been disconnected.
Seconds later, the phone rang again, this time displaying Cui Zhen’en’s number.
“Hey, what the hell are you up to? Pulling off a surprise drill this late?” The moment he pressed the answer button, his colleague’s loud complaint came through, “If I wasn’t still going for the first victory, there’s no way I would have gotten your message!”
“Did you check it?” Zhang Zhiyuan asked impatiently.
“Checked it, yeah. The number belongs to a landline in our department, to be more specific, it’s the third backup phone of the security section.” Cui Zhen’en replied impatiently, “What’s the deal, are you putting on some kind of act with someone?”
“Dammit!” He swung his fist fiercely through the air.
The fact that someone could use a phone from inside the International Criminal Police Organization’s building to call the detective investigating the case was a stark showcase of Paradise’s power and means!
The problem was that after the last invitation incident, the technical department had conducted a comprehensive overhaul of the department’s network and claimed it was foolproof, yet now it all seemed like a joke.
“Are you gonna say something?”
“No… It’s nothing now.” Zhang Zhiyuan replied listlessly, “I owe you one, I’ll treat you to hairy crabs next time.”
“Oh? Now that’s more like it. Well, I’m hanging up, and next time you want to run a surprise drill, pick office hours. Yawn…” Cui Zhen’en then ended the call.
It seemed catching Paradise’s tail wouldn’t be so simple… Zhang Zhiyuan looked at himself in the mirror, suddenly feeling a sense of powerlessness. Could he really trace Paradise’s whereabouts? The power of this mysterious organization seemed to have gained an almost mystical quality, not only could they easily penetrate the virtual iron walls of the network, but they could also create things out of thin air in another world… even distort time.
After a long silence, he suddenly lifted his head, fiercely slapping his cheeks!
What are you doing, Zhang Zhiyuan, thinking of giving up just as you’re getting started?
Where did the tenacity and the never-say-die attitude he’d learned in the army go?
As a defender of national security, the one thing he couldn’t do was surrender!
With this in mind, Zhang Zhiyuan took out his phone again and dialed his supervisor, Gao Wei’s number.
“Kid, do you know what time it is?”
Gao Wei’s calm voice came through the earpiece.
“Sorry to disturb your rest, but I have something important to report,” Zhang Zhiyuan said in a lowered voice.
“You would too, if it wasn’t important you wouldn’t be calling at this hour. Wait for me a second, I’m going to the living room so as not to wake the missus,” Gao Wei paused for a moment, “…Okay, go ahead.”
Zhang Zhiyuan recounted in detail the incident of Paradise directly talking to him.
“They caught Wayne James? And they’re willing to hand him over to Interpol?” Gao Wei’s voice sounded quite surprised, “You really believe what Paradise is saying?”
“Mostly, I think the likelihood is quite high. The main reason is, Paradise has no reason to tell a lie that could be exposed immediately,” Zhang Zhiyuan said bluntly to his superior, “And it’s easy for us to verify, we just need to notify our European colleagues and have them contact the local police.”
“That makes sense…” Gao Wei pondered, “I’ll arrange it first thing tomorrow morning. Anyhow, catching James would be a great achievement.”
“That’s not all, it would be best to bring him back to our country for trial.”
“Why?”
“Because he has seen Paradise,” Zhang Zhiyuan said without hesitation, “Didn’t you say that to convince the higher-ups of the reports about Paradise, the most important thing is to present evidence? This man is living evidence!”
Although Wayne James couldn’t be considered physical evidence, he could prove the existence of Paradise from another angle—after all, it’s not likely that Interpol would be in cahoots with the criminal they’re pursuing. And the criminal has no reason to support the captor’s lies, as whether he goes to jail or not has nothing to do with confessing about Paradise. Under such circumstances, if a set of statements that matches his own report could be obtained from James’s mouth, the persuasive power of his case would significantly increase!
Once the higher-ups start to seriously consider the possibility of Paradise’s existence, the intensity of the investigation would certainly surge several levels. At that time, he wouldn’t be fighting alone anymore.
