NOVPUBChapter 80: Chapter 79: Storm Ingestion
Chapter 80 -79: Storm Ingestion
“Are you… okay?”
On the return flight, Zhang Zhiyuan looked at his colleague, who was clearly sinking into depression, and couldn’t help but ask with concern.
“I don’t want to do this anymore.”
Cui Zhen’en muttered.
“What?” Zhang Zhiyuan was greatly startled. Not long ago, she had been encouraging herself; how could she now be thinking about resigning? “Don’t joke about this, you’ve just joined my team!”
“I used to think I was a genius, or at least a semi-genius. There weren’t many who could stump me with network technology, but now… what am I worth?” Cui Zhen’en buried her head in the tray table, “I’m nothing.”
“If you were really nothing, how could you have been recruited into the international police department? You should know there were many competitors for your position, and all of them are top-notch in the industry.”
“What top-notch? They’re nothing too.” She uttered a muffled hum, “All the people I’ve encountered in the past, whether white hats or black hats, mean nothing in front of this person!”
“Uh, you think Paradise is very powerful now?” Zhang Zhiyuan asked cautiously.
“Powerful is an understatement, do you know what this means!” Cui Zhen’en raised her head, her voice suddenly growing louder, “He completely fabricated a piece of non-existent evidence! He made an innocent person take the fall for something out of thin air! If we hadn’t contacted the Chu City police, the courts would have convicted him based on that video evidence alone!”
“I’ve been in touch with the big data center, and they have no records of being breached. Every piece of video is original data, is this something a human can do? I’ve thought about it, and there’s only one possibility, which is that Paradise altered the video data for every camera that captured this person—all the cameras that saw him followed his orders, but this is simply not an achievement that can be reached by technical means alone, do you understand?” she became more and more agitated, “In a sense, anyone who can do this could become the god of the internet!”
“He is not omnipotent.” Zhang Zhiyuan inherently resisted the word “god.”
“Right, atheism and all, I’m not saying he’s omnipotent. But trust me, if he wanted to show off his abilities online, and even just slightly crafted his image, then all the people around the world studying electronic communication technology would worship him and become his most devout disciples.” Cui Zhen’en said distressfully, “By then, I probably wouldn’t be able to resist… To prevent this possibility, the only way would be to completely give up this line of work.”
Zhang Zhiyuan was speechless.
He found that he could no longer think of any words of comfort.
His colleague’s predicament was very similar to the doubt he had once felt—after witnessing incredible abilities, one begins to seriously doubt oneself.
“So… do you now believe in the existence of Paradise?”
“I believe it.” Cui Zhen’en answered without hesitation, “Whatever you say now, I’ll believe.”
“Hey, cheer up!”
“I’m serious. Moreover, I think you’ll never be able to find Paradise in real life.”
“Why?” he asked, frowning.
“It’s simple. If all the means based on network data to catch him were to fail, how would you determine his identity? Even an ID card can be networked.” Cui Zhen’en’s head drooped again, “If we rely solely on humans to search, finding that imposter among billions of people would be no different from talking to a lunatic in your dreams.”
Then there was a long silence.
The airplane journeyed through the night sky, outside was pitch black. Most passengers were already asleep by this time, leaving only the noisy roar of the engines in the cabin.
Zhang Zhiyuan looked at his colleague, but what he saw reflected in the window was himself.
All he had learned seemed to become a joke, a blow perhaps heavier than he had imagined. Cui Zhen’en could still complain, which suggests that her mental resilience was already quite strong.
But that alone was probably not enough.
To free her completely from the disorientation brought about by the shock, there may be only one way.
“Do you want to visit Paradise?” Zhang Zhiyuan asked softly.
Cui Zhen’en’s shoulders shivered.
“Let me tell you what I have been through… If Paradise is viewed as a game, I bet it’s the most thrilling game in the world” He narrated, from the first time he saw Magnificent Castle, how he burned down a theater, directed Zhou Zhi to defeat the many with the few, robbed the train in the fog, and eventually how he perished together with numerous adversaries.
A colleague slightly turned their head, revealing half an eye.
“…that’s just too unfair.”
“Right, such an unbelievable world should not be enjoyed by me alone.”
“But the ticket costs a million US dollars… Even if I sold myself, I couldn’t gather that much money.”
“I will figure something out.” Zhang Zhiyuan winked at her, “I think you will only understand one fact after you see it with your own eyes—that no matter how mystical and powerful Paradise seems, it is not omnipotent.”
He paused, “It needs us.”
“Just don’t do anything illegal!” Cui Zhen’en finally raised her head again.
“How could I possibly do anything illegal.” Zhang Zhiyuan smiled, “I can’t guarantee it will work, but I’ll try my best. How does that sound? Of course, you must be an international police officer to have this opportunity, other jobs won’t do.”
“I can tell, you’re just coaxing me.” She pouted, her tone full of disbelief, yet a different sparkle appeared in her eyes. “Well, then I might as well give you a chance.”
…
Returning overnight from Chu City to Beifu at three in the morning, after he dropped off Cui Zhen’en at her home, Zhang Zhiyuan didn’t go back; instead, he returned to the police building.
He walked into the small booth set up specifically for the game of Paradise and turned on the lights inside the room.
Since the international police didn’t need to be on standby for emergencies like public security, no one was left on duty at night. Zhang Zhiyuan lay on the soft chair he used to enter the game before, quietly enjoying the serenity.
At this moment, his mind was in an odd place; even though he was so far from Paradise, so much so he couldn’t even touch the edge of this organization, he felt like Paradise was right by his side.
After waiting a while, he took out his mobile phone and dialed that number from last time.
But this time, he also turned on the front camera.
The dial tone echoed endlessly in the dead of night.
Just when he thought that feeling of proximity was just an illusion, the call suddenly connected.
But there was no sound from the other end.
“I know you are watching me, right? You know everything—all of it. You know I reported Paradise to my supervisor, you know I am investigating you, you know we came up empty in Chu City and apprehended a criminal who has nothing to do with you. You’ve seen it all!”
“Perhaps what I do is futile, and I might never fully understand the entirety of Paradise in my lifetime, but I still want to talk to you, just like last time… not to negotiate terms but to discuss our mutual interests!” Zhang Zhiyuan’s voice grew louder and his thoughts clearer, “The reason you approached the international police is simple, you need a detective for the serial murders! Tycoons cannot satisfy all your needs. You want more talented people to assist you! You plan to establish a medical supply production company, perhaps even transform the sanctuary into a hospital. These aren’t things ordinary people can do quickly; you need more professional talents!”
“And the people you need… we have plenty of them here!”
Suddenly, an eye opened on the phone screen!
Immediately after, Zhang Zhiyuan felt his field of vision distort, all the objects around him stretching out, and shadows wildly growing, enveloping him like a vortex.
Eventually, he was completely engulfed by darkness.
