Extra Commission

How... was that possible!?

Chaoyang blinked, unable to get a single word out for a long while.

"Um... are you all right? Did I ask something I shouldn't have?"

It was Judy's voice that finally pulled him out of his daze. Chaoyang instinctively touched his cheek to hide his surprise. "No. I have my own sources of information, but please forgive me for not being able to disclose them."

"Is that so? I understand." Judy sounded somewhat disappointed.

"Now that the contract has been fulfilled, there is nothing more to do here for the time being. I will leave this place at daybreak tomorrow."

"Actually... there's no need for you to be in such a hurry."

"I have other matters to attend to." Chaoyang smiled. "Don't worry. Before I leave, I'll take care of everything in the house and make sure the client has no cause for concern."

Judy understood that he was seeing her out.

Clearly, this little house belonged to Dane, yet somehow, hearing those words from the Detective made them strangely convincing.

"Then I'll leave it to you." Judy walked to the door, turned back, and bowed to Chaoyang once more. "Thank you, Mr. Chao. May your career prosper from this day onward."

Perhaps her blessing truly worked. Chaoyang looked at the unconscious woman. "Just who are you? Someone on the verge of death shouldn't still possess such immense Wish Force."

"Do you mean... I have something you need?" The voice in her mind immediately sounded much more spirited.

"Yes, and quite a considerable amount." Chaoyang admitted it. As the object designated by a contract, he could not tamper with such matters. How much was given and how much was taken had to be stated truthfully; that was the foundation of a contract.

In a sense, Demons were more honest than merchants.

"I can give it all to you!" she said at once. "My name is Haia Mila. I am a daughter of Lalachi Island, and the Chieftain's daughter as well. I wish to make a contract with you and entrust my final wish to you!"

Another place name he had never heard before, Chaoyang thought. Still, her claim of being the Chieftain's daughter was interesting... perhaps that identity was precisely why she possessed such powerful Wish Force.

"Wait! I never said I agreed to make a contract." He coughed twice. "After all, I need to hear what your request is first. I'm only a Detective, not nearly as miraculous as you imagine. If your wish is too grand, I suggest you pray to God instead."

This was the first time he had experienced someone begging him to make a contract. But Chaoyang did not get carried away. He knew it was a double-edged sword; if he failed, it would be an absolute disaster for him. So no matter how tempting her Wish Force was, he had to understand her request first.

"If praying to God could bring an answer, how would we have ended up like this..." The woman paused before continuing, "My wish is simple: kill Kuiqi, chief of the North City Police Station, and avenge my compatriots who died in Black Prison!"

It truly was a simple and straightforward wish.

...But simple did not mean easy to accomplish.

Especially when the one making the wish was already on the brink of death.

If he had a week or two, Chaoyang would definitely agree without hesitation. After all, he had the strongest players, as well as the advantage of striking first from the shadows.

"I'm afraid that..."

"He is currently in a villa in the Inner City." The woman calling herself Haia seemed afraid he would refuse, and hurriedly added, "There are guards there, but definitely not many—because the subordinates he trusts have all been sent to the theater, and the Inner City is usually the safest place."

"How do you know?" Chaoyang asked curiously.

"Because I was imprisoned there before. Not just me—many people they wanted to dispose of in secret were held there as well. Rather than a villa, it was more like Kuiqi's private prison! Its basement was bloodier and more terrifying than any prison. Before every slaughter, Kuiqi would visit the place and watch Ghost drag the chosen people out of their iron cages... He would not leave until dawn."

A villa in the Inner City was Black Prison... this police chief was truly bold and meticulous. Chaoyang's thoughts raced. Based on the information he currently possessed, there was no nighttime isolation between the Inner and Outer Cities, and they were not far apart. The Inner City usually had patrol officers, and once an alarm was raised, the police could arrive more quickly. But as long as he could storm the villa in an extremely short time, none of that would be a problem.

"Is there anything else I need to know?"

"That is all I know. Detective, I understand what you are worried about... but rest assured, I can hold on until the end." Her eyelids trembled slightly, as though she wanted to open them. "Before I see his head, I... will not die!"

After weighing it for a long while, Chaoyang made his decision.

"In that case, let us make a contract."

"Would you like some water?" Zhou Zhi handed Taylor a porcelain cup.

"Ah... thank you." Taylor took the cup and drained it in one gulp. "I didn't even realize I was this thirsty."

"I saw you staring off into space earlier." Zhou Zhi smiled and sat back down on the bench. "Were you thinking about something?"

"I was." Taylor nodded.

"Me... too." Zhou Zhi lowered his head, gazing at the oil lamp on the table as he spoke softly. "I never expected the two of us to be the ones who made it out alive. When Brother Zhang said he would handle the fire, I knew he had no intention of coming back. But I never thought your friend and Naruko would also..."

The enemy's fighting spirit had indeed collapsed.

But while the blaze crushed their will to fight, it also shattered their minds. Many went completely insane after catching fire, charging desperately at the group of three blocking their path.

Zhou Zhi had never faced such a mad battle before and was clearly struggling to hold his own. Just as a bayonet was about to pierce him, Naruko cut down the attacker for him—and took the blow in his place.

She blocked it with her body.

He clearly knew that his companion would not truly die, that she was merely leaving the Paradise game for a time. Yet Zhou Zhi still felt deeply shaken.

For one brief instant, his heart had been filled with rage, as though he had truly lost her.

Thinking back on it now, his reaction had indeed been excessive. After all, when he first entered the game, he had helped Naruko out as well—though it had not done much good. This time, she was probably just returning the favor. There was no need to take it so much to heart. Yet even after explaining it to himself that way, Zhou Zhi found that whenever he quieted down, he always returned to that theater, to that place of farewell consumed by roaring flames.

Likewise, Taylor had lost his friend Qiao James.

This game was not affecting him alone.

"Oh, you mean Qiao. It wasn't surprising that he died. That kind of life-risking style, fighting purely for thrills—he was bound to get himself killed sooner or later. I saw it coming long ago." Taylor shrugged. "I was thinking about something else."

"Uh..." Zhou Zhi's expression froze. "I see... then what were you thinking about?"

Taylor clasped his hands together and looked at him with interest. "On the carriage, you said they mentioned the Detective... Aren't you curious who this person is?"