NOVPUBChapter 54: Chapter 53 “Newcomer” Joins
Chapter 54 -53 “Newcomer” Joins
Two days later.
Zhang Zhiyuan looked at his watch, the time was exactly 3:30 in the afternoon.
He picked up the VR goggles, and for the last time, he made sure all the devices around him were working properly—by now, Gao Wei had taken the matter to heart, not only setting aside a dedicated room for him but also assigning a professional doctor to monitor his vital signs. In addition to this, there were multiple cameras and network surveillance equipment in the room, recording everything he did. In a sense, this was the limit of what Gao Wei could do without confirmation from above.
Zhang Zhiyuan was, of course, aware of why his boss was so serious.
That was because the European department had sent news that Wayne James had been confirmed captured.
Almost just like what Paradise had described.
They had not only apprehended James himself but also obtained detailed evidence of his crimes, evidence that was so complete it was as if… as if James had provided it himself.
Without a doubt, Paradise had an intimate understanding of the players involved in the game. It seemed that any information transmitted over the network would inevitably end up in their hands.
So, did Paradise also have a crystal-clear understanding of his own purpose?
“Ready?” Gao’s voice came through the earpiece.
Zhang Zhiyuan put aside his distracting thoughts, nodded to his boss behind the glass partition, and then put the VR set on his head.
After counting silently to five, a familiar wave of dizziness suddenly rushed to his brain!
The pressure of the VR against his face gradually faded, until it disappeared completely, replaced by humid and warm air.
He knew that everything had changed.
Zhang Zhiyuan opened his eyes and found himself in the living room of an old house, and upon closer inspection, he realized it was exactly where the last game had ended.
“Big brother Zhang!” an excited shout came.
He turned his head and saw a stranger running towards him, his face full of joy. Judging by the address, this person should be Zhou Zhi, but how did he recognize that he was Zhang Zhiyuan?
“What do I look like now?”
“Of course, almost the same as last time, otherwise how would I recognize you?” Zhou Zhi approached and examined him closely, “Uh, but if you look closely, there are still some differences… like the nose is sharper?”
Right, this time he was supposed to be playing the role of Zhang Zhiyuan’s brother, Zhang Qiang, and probably for this reason, Paradise had reconstructed his body based on his appearance from last time.
But if the two of them looked so similar, wouldn’t that seem to outsiders like they were identical twins?
That would be much harder to portray than unrelated brothers.
Yet Zhou Zhi didn’t give him time to scoff inwardly, still excitedly rambling, “That day when I saw the invitation from Paradise and your farewell note, I thought we wouldn’t meet for a long time, but guess what happened? Someone paid the entrance fee for me! Seven million, Big brother Zhang, does this have anything to do with you?”
“I did mention to the organizers of Paradise that the fees were too high, maybe they made some adjustments.”
Zhang Zhiyuan certainly wouldn’t reveal the intervention of his department. What he needed was Zhou Zhi as an independent observer, not someone who believed he had become a temporary employee of Interpol because of his second-generation heir status.
“As per the rules, let’s introduce ourselves first, since once again our bodies don’t match.” A new voice interjected, “Anthony Chekhov.”
“Qianyuan Mingzi,” Another slim woman also stepped into the living room.
Both of their figures had changed considerably since last time; the Russian now seemed much younger, and aside from a bit of a belly, he was essentially a strong and healthy middle-aged man. Qianyuan even looked like a demihuman, with pointy ears and patterns on her shoulders, bearing a striking resemblance to the prisoner they had seen in the theater last time.
After Zhang Zhiyuan and Zhou Zhi had also reported their names, Anthony shrugged indifferently, “So Joe James and Tyler are absent this time? I had bad luck and was eliminated early last time, and this time I really wanted to seriously compete with them, but now…” He glanced around at everyone, “…it turns out we’re only left with women and Mr. Justice Envoy.”
“Without Mr. Justice, we probably couldn’t even walk out of the theater’s front door, let alone complete the task,” Mingzi replied in her ever unflustered tone, “I hope you can put on an equally impressive performance this time.”
“Heh… Little girl, no one in Ross City dares to talk to me like that.”
“But this isn’t Ross City, is it?” Qianyuan retorted unwaveringly.
“It seems everyone is in good spirits.” Suddenly, a familiar voice interrupted the standoff, as the host walked through the door into the hall, clad as always in a black and red coat with a Sichuan opera mask, “Welcome to Paradise, everyone here is a regular, so I’ll spare you the introduction of contents. Also, there’s a newcomer joining the game this time, I hope you all get along well.”
He then gestured with a hook of his hand behind him, “Come on out.”
As a petite figure emerged from the shadows, the room instantly fell silent.
“Hello everyone… I am Fiend.”
Ailuodi spat out through gritted teeth.
“Wow… what kind of body is this, it’s too cute!” Mingzi couldn’t help but exclaim, “It’s just like a doll from a painting…”
This was also what Zhou Zhi and the others were thinking at that moment.
The girl was utterly different in style from them!
She had flaxen short hair, fluffy and curly at the tips, inspiring an urge to reach out and scratch it. Her skin was also smooth and fair, a stark contrast to the sunburnt local people, appearing like a young lady who had snuck out from someone’s home. Even her clothes were much more refined than those of ordinary people, and on her slender neck hung a black silk choker, giving off a touch of modern style.
“Is this a premium skin? Host, I want one too!” Mingzi showed no restraint in her fondness for the girl, her previous calm demeanor completely gone.
“So this guy does care about his appearance after all,” Zhang Zhiyuan commented in a low voice to Zhou Zhi.
“That’s a bit much, brother, no matter what, Mingzi is still a lady,” Zhou Zhi muttered, “But that skin must not be cheap, right? Probably another million?”
“Sorry, Paradise isn’t offering any beautification services for the time being,” Chaoyang replied with feigned regret, “Of course, as our technical department improves, your requests may well be satisfied in the future.”
Nonsense, of course, you can’t change; in fact, assembling these bodies was already quite a challenge. Ailuodi appeared special simply because she didn’t need to rely on a host body to move; standing before everyone now was Ailuodi herself.
“Host, this is too unfair.” Mingzi still sounded reluctant, “If we can’t change our skins, then at least the bodies shouldn’t be worse than last time, right? This time, not only do I feel my body is more sluggish, but it even has a strange smell.”
“Indeed,” Anthony chimed in with agreement, “Is a good body expensive? If the ticket money isn’t enough, I can add more. This time my legs feel as if they’re filled with lead.”
“Really? There might be a problem somewhere,” Chaoyang boldly asserted, completely guilt-free, for such a procedure saved a great deal of wishing power. In fact, this game was an entirely new experiment for him—apart from Zhang Zhiyuan’s specially made body, the other three players were using fresh bodies provided by Yeni Temple. Typically, these bodies had been dead no longer than four hours, and he only needed to inject a tiny bit of wishing power to get the ceased organs moving again.
He called this preservation method “Substitute Soul.”
