Bearing All Responsibility

"...You're referring to that serial murder case, right?" Gao Wei took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and was about to light one when he suddenly remembered something and looked at his subordinate. "Your home..."

"Please, smoke. I live alone here, it's fine," Zhang Zhiyuan said impatiently. "Director Gao, I haven't been in the Interpol department for that long, but think about it, have I ever done anything unreliable? Of course, when the next Paradise game starts, you can personally verify it, but we might miss our chance then. I don't know how many people know about Paradise, but there are already five participants in this round alone, from different countries. If that place is really another world, we need to prepare the higher-ups!"

This was also why he had invited his superior to his home for a private talk.

Because there were many foreign attachés from other countries in the office building.

Moreover, if other worlds were truly involved, diplomatic issues would be the first concern. Criminal investigation was simply not qualified to handle such matters, let alone him, even Director Gao wasn't qualified. But he couldn't find any other connections; his own leader was already the ceiling for reporting upwards, so meeting him alone was the most appropriate approach. After all, the fewer people who knew before the information was passed up, the better.

Gao Wei took a deep drag from his cigarette. "I understand what you mean."

"You believe me!?" Zhang Zhiyuan was overjoyed.

"What good is it if I believe you?" Gao Wei glared at him. "It's the higher-ups who need to believe! In any case, I can't report this according to your 'theory.' In our line of work, evidence is paramount."

"But--"

"However, I will attach your entire account of your experience," his superior interrupted. "Whether Paradise has super-realistic simulation technology or holds the key to another real world, it's worth investigating thoroughly. Whether they will take action is another matter—just like you've explained so much to me, I don't believe it until I see real evidence, but that doesn't stop me from notifying my superiors."

Zhang Zhiyuan breathed a sigh of relief. "I was just afraid you'd think I was crazy."

"If it turns out there's nothing to it, your police uniform career will be over."

"I'm willing to take full responsibility!"

"Mmm." Gao Wei nodded. "You don't need to be so nervous. Our organization emphasizes seeking truth from facts. No matter how unbelievable something is, once it happens, we won't deliberately ignore it. Also, we can't just report the anomaly and be done with it. Think about what we should do next."

Zhang Zhiyuan opened his mouth, hesitated, and said, "...Director Gao, wouldn't it be better to hand it over to our comrades domestically?"

"You don't want to handle it?"

"How could that be!" He straightened up, instinctively puffing out his chest. "I guarantee I'll complete the mission!"

"Enough, I'll be blunt." Gao Wei's cigarette tip glowed, like a red star in the evening living room. "If what you've said is true, this is an absolutely great achievement. There's no need to worry about law enforcement authority; I have enough influence to dispatch a few people. Since we can handle it, why should we give it to others? As for confidentiality... I can form a special task force. You decide how many people will be in the group. Oh, you can bring Officer Cui along; isn't she good with computers and networks?"

"Cui Zhenen? But she's a special envoy from South Korea..."

"Don't worry, she's not what you think. I can't go into detail for security reasons, but this person is fine." Gao Wei stood up, found a plate, and stubbed out his cigarette. "Of course, you can choose not to listen to me and do as you please. So... I guess you already have some ideas?"

"First, I want to contact another player in the game." Zhang Zhiyuan's expression turned serious. "This person is named Zhou Zhi, and he mentioned living in Jiangcheng. He's from a wealthy family and has traveled abroad this month, so it shouldn't be difficult to find him after some screening."

As a participant in the Paradise game, he was undoubtedly an important witness.

More evidence meant more credibility.

"Second, I think we should send someone to investigate the Caribbean Company." Zhang Zhiyuan paused. "I strongly suspect that the main organizer of Paradise boarded that cruise ship."

He was referring to the Heart of the Ocean, the location of Paradise's first game.

"Why?" Gao Wei asked.

"Before picking you up, I had someone examine the VR Goggles and found something strange." He opened his phone and brought up a picture. The disassembled device in the photo was the VR Goggles. "Inside the goggles, a camera was hidden."

"Explain it in more detail!" Old Gao said displeased. "How am I supposed to know what secrets the things you young people like to use have?"

"This camera is pointed at the user's eyes—and ordinary VR Goggles don't need this function. In other words, the goggles sent by Paradise were specially modified. Their sole purpose is for someone to see me when I put them on." Zhang Zhiyuan hesitated for a moment. "Although it sounds a bit far-fetched, I suspect that when Paradise sends us into that world, they need to see us in person."

Gao Wei rubbed his forehead. "The more I listen, the more absurd it gets. Fine... even if you're right, couldn't the first game on the cruise ship have used the same method?"

"I'm afraid not." Zhang Zhiyuan actually retorted. "The cruise ship wouldn't receive service provider network signals in the Atlantic. I asked the relevant personnel, and they said that although there was Wi-Fi, it was essentially satellite signal, and the communication speed simply couldn't support real-time video transmission. Plus, there couldn't have been a camera installed in the VIP box, and the Caribbean Company was completely unaware of the Paradise game. Therefore, I suspect that the main organizer of the game and the host who appeared on the cruise ship are highly overlapping. As long as we can catch him, we'll be one step closer to the truth!"

"Let's not even talk about whether the Caribbean Company is willing to provide customer lists. A ship has at least a few thousand passengers, how are you going to investigate?"

"Only Chinese nationals."

Gao Wei frowned, and his tone became a bit more serious. "Are you implying...?"

"Exactly. I suspect Paradise is a domestic organization, and they have very few people." Zhang Zhiyuan said without hesitation. "During the first game, I noticed that the participants selected by the other party all spoke Chinese. Zhou Zhi goes without saying, Asahara Naruko was nearby, and even the Russian and the American spoke it, which is quite interesting. This means that Paradise chose Chinese as the common language, considering that participants need to communicate with each other—from a psychological perspective, this should also be the most commonly used language within Paradise."

Gao Wei had already guessed what his subordinate was about to say.

If the scope was limited by their mother tongue, thousands of tourists could instantly be reduced to hundreds, or even just over a hundred!

Investigating a hundred people would still be extremely difficult, but the workload had significantly decreased compared to before!

This meant that it was feasible for their department alone to solve the case.

Gao Wei chuckled.

He patted Zhang Zhiyuan on the shoulder and walked towards the coat rack by the door. "Not bad, you've told me a good story."

"Director Gao, about that list..."

Gao Wei methodically put on his coat. "I'll make the contact."