NOVPUBChapter 83: Chapter 82 “Stone
Chapter 83 -82 “Stone
Thud, thud.
Knocking sounds came from outside the office.
“Come in,” Gao Wei hung up his uniform and spoke with a bit of puzzlement. He had just entered the room today; who would come to see him this early?
The door was pushed open, and Zhang Zhiyuan walked in, breathing heavily. His condition was clearly not good, his lips were somewhat dry, and there were thick dark circles under his eyes.
“Where were you yesterday? If I remember correctly, you and Officer Cui returned the day before yesterday, but when she came to work, you had disappeared. You didn’t stay up all night, did you?” Gao Wei opened his thermos, poured a cup of goji berry tea for his subordinate, “Here, drink some water first.”
“I haven’t slept for almost two days, actually.” Zhang Zhiyuan grabbed the tea cup and took a big gulp, only to scald his mouth and grimace, “I went to Jin City yesterday.”
“Leaving without reporting, your boldness is growing,” Gao Wei said with displeasure, “What exactly is going on in Chu City? I heard that you caught someone, but that person is not much related to this incident?”
“Sorry, sorry, it was truly an exceptional situation this time.” Zhang Zhiyuan hurriedly put down the cup, took out an express delivery bag from his pocket, and carefully placed it on the desk, “Reporting for a trip needs approval, and I was afraid of delays, so I left first. I will make a detailed report on the Chu City incident, but it indeed has nothing to do with Paradise, you could even say it was a wasted trip.”
“Then why did you go to Jin City?”
“To personally get this express delivery in hand.” Zhang Zhiyuan confessed, “If we waited for it to be mailed, it might take two to three days, but by flying I could make it there and back in one day. And this object… it’s the evidence.”
“What evidence?” Gao Wei asked curiously.
“The evidence of Paradise’s existence.”
Section Chief Gao’s expression immediately turned serious, he opened the plastic bag and poured out its contents.
It was a small stone.
But when he held it in his hand, he could feel its texture was noticeably different from typical silicate minerals.
“You mean… this is something from another world?”
“Yes.” Zhang Zhiyuan wasn’t actually sure what it was, but Paradise wouldn’t do anything meaningless, “Beifu has several professional inspection agencies, whether it’s a stone or some kind of compound, they can issue a report. If its composition is unprecedented, I think that would be the most compelling proof.”
“How did you get it?” Gao Wei inquired.
“An award from the Paradise game.”
“They don’t realize what this thing represents?”
“They know, or rather, they know everything… it’s just that, Paradise doesn’t care.”
Gao Wei looked at his subordinate strangely, not care? This kind of statement that heightened someone else’s prestige should not have come from his capable subordinate, “You mean they plan to appear in broad daylight?”
“No, what I mean is that Paradise’s technical prowess has reached a new level, at which we cannot apprehend them by conventional means,” Zhang Zhiyuan briefly recounted his experience in Chu City to his boss, “Since it dares to do so, it is not afraid of the chain reactions this will bring about.”
“Even the data center’s files have been replaced? Why didn’t you tell me about this earlier?” Gao Wei’s eyes widened.
“Because any network-based barrier will not be effective unless we power down the devices. And you know… they won’t do that either,” Zhang Zhiyuan pointed out.
“Let’s go,” Gao Wei stood up, redonning his uniform.
“…Where to?” Zhang Zhiyuan was taken aback.
“To the National Appraisal Center, of course,” he said in a grave voice, “I’ll go with you.”
…
The National Authentication Center was not far from the Interpol building; it was only a ten-minute drive away.
As an official cooperative unit, the two did not need to wait in line but were directly led into a special reception hall. A young man in a white lab coat greeted them, “Hello, I’m Bai Yan. What can I do for you?”
After Gao Wei introduced their identities, he handed over the express delivery bag to the other party, “It’s like this… We would like to ask your institution to help us analyze a stone.”
“Hiss…” The latter saw the bag and grimaced, clearly disapproving of the packaging method, but did not mention it out of politeness, “Are you looking for blood traces or DNA? However, the evidence might have been contaminated due to improper storage, and I’m not sure the results will meet your requirements.”
“No, that’s what criminal police would check. We just want to identify the stone itself,” Zhang Zhiyuan quickly clarified.
“Gem identification, is it?” Bai Yan put on gloves and pinched the stone, “Hmm… it might not be anything valuable.”
“Whatever it is, please produce an identification report.”
“Alright, the fee will be charged to the institution, I’ll go arrange this for you now.”
“Wait,” Zhang Zhiyuan called out to him again, “Can I join you?”
“Ah?” It was the first time Bai Yan had heard such a request, “I’m sorry, Officer Zhang, the testing room is sterile, and you can’t enter.”
“Sit down!” Gao Wei pulled him back with a tug, then said to the technician, “It’s fine, you go ahead. How long will it take?”
“About an hour. You can go back first; the report will be available to check on the APP.”
“It’s okay, we will wait here.”
Bai Yan shrugged his shoulders, seeming not to understand the behavior of the two but didn’t say any more as they were official clients.
“Calm down, kid!” Gao Wei glared at Zhang Zhiyuan.
“Sorry, I’m just worried he might lose the sample,” the latter said, clearly uneasy, “You know? After I intercepted this stone at the transfer station, it hasn’t left my side.”
“I understand. After all, if everything you say is true, then it’s the most important piece of evidence in the world,” Gao Wei said with a smile. “You’re working so hard to prove Paradise’s existence. Have you thought about what you want to do if the higher-ups start taking this seriously?”
“I want to stay in Paradise and act as a liaison between the two sides,” Zhang Zhiyuan said slowly.
“Hmm… that’s not a tall order. It should be achievable,” Gao Wei pondered, “Although, I thought you would want to join the investigation team to focus on finding Paradise’s location in the real world. Being young and capable, what you lack is experience, and such credentials would be very beneficial for your future promotion. Staying in the game won’t give you the same level of experience as the latter.”
“It’s fine,” Zhang Zhiyuan was clear on what he wanted to do, “If you ever get the chance to see Paradise, you’d also want to stay there for a few more days. Besides, I also want to tell the people sent from above that it’s best not to rush in finding the true body of Paradise—it’s our only gateway into another world, and losing it would be an incalculable loss. Moreover, Paradise itself isn’t that important, what’s important is the opportunity to explore and pioneer a new world.”
“You can offer suggestions, but how much they’ll matter is another story,” Gao Wei patted his shoulder, “Our achievement is in uncovering this big event, but if it gets too big, we’ll be limited in what we can handle!”
Zhang Zhiyuan nodded silently.
He knew his boss was speaking the truth.
After all, they were just part of the international police force, and being able to come this far was lucky. Without the chance encounter between Joe James and journalist Judy, he wouldn’t even have come across Paradise. If the higher-ups decided to intervene, they would definitely arrange a more stringent organization and assign more capable people to take command. By then, what they could do would be beyond his prediction.
Just then, the inner door of the reception hall suddenly opened, and a dozen people in white lab coats rushed in, surrounding them!
Bai Yan was among them, but he did not speak first.
The first to speak was an elderly man with graying temples. He wore thick glasses, and there were noticeable wrinkles on his forehead, but his voice was surprisingly clear and loud, “Did you bring the stone?”
“Yes… it was us,” Zhang Zhiyuan nodded.
The man leaned in close, almost face to face with him, “Is there any more of this stone? Where did you get it!?”
