Suspicious Circumstances

These past two days, Chaoyang hadn't been idle. Following Detective Zhang's deductions, he first went to check out location 958, the Sinclair Grand Theatre. Unfortunately, he found nothing out of the ordinary.

After some inquiries, he learned that Glorious Fortress had three theaters, with Sinclair being the largest. Besides the regular daily performances, it occasionally hosted custom shows for officials and dignitaries. It had even been entrusted with hosting royal members, and several opera troupes it partnered with were renowned. By all logic, such a place would be hard-pressed to cause trouble. If Detective Zhang's judgment wasn't mistaken, the culprit must have had a reason for choosing this location, but unfortunately, he didn't know what it was yet.

Afterward, Chaoyang met with Judy, telling her that results were likely in the next couple of days and to be prepared.

Though he didn't know what would happen at the theater or whether the missing reporter was alive or dead, he had already planted a backdoor in the contract, which didn't specify the missing person's survival. Even if the found Kort. Dane was thoroughly dead, it wouldn't prevent the contract's completion.

Therefore, all he needed to do was quietly watch the play unfold and offer some "help" at the appropriate time.

The city's transportation was clearly inconvenient at night. After failing to hail a carriage, everyone decided to run there. After all, the city wasn't that large; it would take at most fifteen minutes to run from south to north.

At this moment, Zhang Zhiyuan tugged at Zhou Zhi's sleeve, deliberately falling behind.

"Do you know them?" he asked, his gaze sweeping over Joe, James, and the others. "I mean in real life."

"Uh... I've met them once, but I'm not familiar. What's up?"

"Nothing, just asking. So how did you join this game?"

"How else? Same as you," Zhou Zhi replied casually.

Zhang Zhiyuan knew this was a defensive response; the other person didn't trust him enough.

"I received an invitation letter. How should I put it, before coming, I thought Paradise was exaggerating, but after arriving, I realized... they were actually downplaying it," he immediately changed the subject, speaking in a relaxed tone. "This is hardly a simple game. If everyone could play, I guarantee this city would be full of our people."

Although they were all speaking Chinese, the accents made the differences clear. Zhou Zhi glanced at him. "Brother, where are you from?"

"The capital," Zhang Zhiyuan said with a smile. "How are you so sure I'm older than you? Maybe I should be calling you 'brother'."

"I can tell from that. Your way of speaking and handling things is much more advanced than my friends..." Zhou Zhi stopped himself mid-sentence. "Never mind, forget I said anything."

"It's fine, I'll consider you my elder brother," Zhang Zhiyuan waved his hand. "What about you? Where do you live?"

"Jiangcheng. Maybe we can meet up in the future."

"I'm fine with that," he readily agreed. "By the way... have you guys been to Paradise once before? And you were pirates?"

"Sigh, don't even mention it," Zhou Zhi sighed repeatedly. "That time, we played for less than thirty minutes, and more than half of it was spent at sea. We finally made it ashore, only to be slaughtered by a bunch of lunatics. I really can't get along with those foreigners. They think getting killed is incredibly thrilling, but I really don't want to experience being stabbed through the stomach again."

"Then why did you come back? The ticket for this game isn't cheap, is it?"

"You don't understand, what attracts me is something else..."

Zhang Zhiyuan noticed that Zhou Zhi unconsciously looked up at Asahara Naruko's retreating back as he said this.

"Is that so?" He didn't press further. "Then you'd better keep your eyes wide open later and be extremely careful. I can't guarantee everyone will make it out alive."

"What do you mean?" Zhou Zhi's expression turned surprised. "Aren't we tracking down a killer? Besides, we have equipment this time. With careful planning against the unprepared, there's no way it'll be like last time, right?"

"I hope so too," Zhang Zhiyuan sighed softly.

"What's wrong?" Zhou Zhi gradually slowed his pace. "Did you discover something else?"

"It wasn't until the sea breeze hit me after we came out that I realized, do you think the puzzle of this serial murder case is difficult?"

"Uh, this..." The other person paused. "I can't figure it out, anyway. But you found the hidden clues on the same day, so it shouldn't be too difficult a case, right? Of course, it's also possible that you, Brother Zhang, are exceptionally talented..."

"Stop flattering me. I'll be direct: it's indeed not difficult. Anyone who can figure it out will definitely not be just me," Zhang Zhiyuan lowered his voice. "In fact, I suspect that reporter also saw through something, which is why he disappeared."

Zhou Zhi couldn't help but shiver. "This must be a setting..."

"But what if it isn't?" Zhang Zhiyuan was dismissive. "A group of murderers committing crimes consecutively and even leaving murder notices, spanning several months, yet no one has been caught so far. Don't you find that a bit strange?"

"Brother, what exactly are you trying to say?"

"I'm just saying the case might not be as simple as it looks, so you must be vigilant later."

Zhou Zhi was speechless for a moment.

After a short pause, he spoke in a low voice, "But even if I die, I'll just be kicked out of the game. If something happens to me later, remember to give me a quick end."

"What are you saying? I don't want to lay a hand on my own people."

"Please, it's just a game..." Zhou Zhi emphasized again.

But how different was it from reality?

Moreover, Zhang Zhiyuan didn't believe a game could reach this level.

He thought this to himself but didn't voice it.

"Speaking of which, this body is really good. I haven't been out of breath after running for so long. The theater shouldn't be far now, right?" Zhou Zhi suddenly changed his expression and slowed his steps. "Huh? Where did they go?"

Only then did Zhang Zhiyuan notice that the people running ahead had vanished as if into thin air, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

"Brother Zhang, what do we do now--?"

Before Zhou Zhi could finish, a hand suddenly reached out from the darkness and dragged him into the alley! Just as he was about to shout, another hand clamped tightly over his mouth.

"Hush," a cool female voice said.

Hearing this, Zhou Zhi immediately relaxed. He even wished she would keep her hand there for a while longer.

The one pulling him was Asahara Naruko.

Turning his head, he saw Zhang Zhiyuan being pulled in as well, but it was Jason Taylor who pulled him, and he wasn't gagged.

"What happened?" Zhang Zhiyuan asked.

"There are people around the outer perimeter of the theater, and you two fell too far behind us, so I could only turn back with Miss Asahara to remind you two. Taylor explained, "Joe and the Russian are watching them."

"What were you two talking about to fall so far behind?" Asahara Naruko's tone held a hint of blame.

"Sorry, sorry, just rambling." Zhang Zhiyuan chuckled. "What do you mean there are people outside the theater?"

"You'll know when you see for yourself."

The four of them stuck to the shadows along the street, tiptoeing to the end of Golden Street. The silhouette of the grand theater loomed like a small mountain in the night sky, appearing darker than the surrounding buildings. At this moment, almost no one was walking on the street, and the occasional sound of carriage wheels rolling over the stone pavement could be heard in the distance. Other than that, the city was silent.

Zhang Zhiyuan immediately discovered the reason for the increased darkness: the streetlights around the theater were out.

The city's lighting still relied on old oil lamps. Although they required manual refueling, they were stable and reliable. Unless someone was deliberately tampering with them, it was unlikely they would extinguish on their own at night.

Even in this pitch-black night, there were still several shadows moving around the theater—they gathered in small groups, seemingly scattered, but they essentially controlled several street corners. It would be difficult for anyone approaching the theater from any direction not to be noticed by them. In other words, these people were not idle wanderers but were purposefully guarding this area.