Sudden Contact

Sudden Contact

"You're drunk," Zhang Zhiyuan said, shaking his head.

"Yeah, I'm drunk. I'm drunk, so I can say whatever I want!" Zhou Zhi burped. "Alcohol doesn't lie to you. It just amplifies your true feelings and makes you realize that the person you are every day is nothing but a disguise!"

"Is there anything here to sober you up? I'll get you a drink."

"Milk, green tea... The fridge has everything." Zhou Zhi lay back down and murmured at the ceiling, "Brother, you're not an ordinary person, are you?"

Zhang Zhiyuan swayed to his feet and headed for the fridge. "What makes you say that?"

"In the serial murder case, most of the ideas came from you... And burning through the chandelier cables sounds simple, but once you think about it, you realize how hard it would be to pull off. Plus... you know how to use a gun. Not like in a game, but you actually know how to kill someone with one. How could someone like that be just anybody?"

"You've got a good eye." Zhang Zhiyuan tossed him a bottle of cold milk. "Here. You've earned it."

"I'm the least promising one in the Zhou family, but I'm not an idiot." Zhou Zhi smiled, though it looked more like he was making fun of himself. "Of course, if you don't want to talk about it, I won't pry—"

"Your big brother here is with the International Criminal Police."

Zhou Zhi suddenly fell silent.

"What, scared?"

"Why would I be scared?" He stuck out his chest and shouted, "I haven't done anything illegal! And the International Criminal Police don't have law enforcement powers here, do they? I'm just relieved, that's all."

"Relieved about what?"

"Relieved I didn't ask about you in the private room. Brother, make sure you don't tell anyone about this. I know some... some people who really can't stand that sort of thing. Even if you just have the word 'police' in your title, it's a problem."

"You think I'm an idiot? I only told you because it's just the two of us." Zhang Zhiyuan shrugged.

"But... is it true or not?"

"See for yourself." Zhang Zhiyuan pulled a fake police ID from inside his jacket and tossed it to him.

"So you came to Jiangcheng to find me... but there's another reason, too?" Zhou Zhi slurred. "Could it be... you're investigating Paradise?"

"First, the Paradise organization... or company, isn't registered domestically, so it's operating illegally. Second... second... Ah, anyway, we need to find out what they're really about." Zhang Zhiyuan sat down beside the sofa. "And you're one of the few witnesses we have. I need your help. Though the main reason is that we agreed we'd meet if we ever got the chance, right?"

"Ha... hahaha..." Zhou Zhi suddenly laughed in fits and starts.

"What are you laughing at?"

"I never thought I'd be useful for something this important. But..." His voice quickly grew faint, as if all his strength were draining away. "I won't be able to go to Paradise anymore."

"Why not?"

"Obviously, it's because of the money! A million dollars for one ticket—it's more than I can afford." Zhou Zhi sighed deeply. "Even if I asked my family for the money, they wouldn't support me. They've never seen Paradise, so they'd never understand what it means."

Zhang Zhiyuan fell silent.

"Isn't it ridiculous? I've already seen that world, and yet I have to turn back into a frog at the bottom of a well. If you hadn't come to Jiangcheng to find me, I might never have had another chance to learn anything about Paradise... Now do you understand why I'm so happy?"

He paused for a moment. "Brother Zhang, can I ask you for something?"

"Go ahead."

"Don't lose touch with me. When you have time, tell me stories about Paradise. And... tell me what's going on with Asahara Naruko."

"I will."

"Then it's a promise..." Zhou Zhi's words grew increasingly slurred. "I'm sure she's not an ordinary person, either. Someone like her would never be interested in me, but I still want to see more of her..."

"Who knows? It's not like you're ugly."

"No, you don't understand... At her level, money and looks aren't the first things she cares about..." he murmured. "Forget it. Let's not talk about that... Whenever you come to Jiangcheng, I'll show you a good time. And don't forget what you promised me..."

"Are you going to make me pinky swear, too?"

"Pinky... swear..." Zhou Zhi's voice was barely audible.

"Hey, little brother."

"Hey, are you still awake?"

"Zhou Zhi?"

Zhang Zhiyuan called out several times, but got no response. The next second, all the drunkenness left his face. His sluggish movements sharpened, and he got up from beside the sofa and began searching Zhou Zhi for his phone.

Zhang Zhiyuan wasn't worried that Zhou Zhi might suddenly wake up. According to a colleague in the pharmacy department, the few drops of anesthetic he'd secretly squeezed into the milk were enough to keep someone asleep until dawn.

It didn't take long to find Zhou Zhi's phone. Zhang Zhiyuan then took a small toolkit from his suit's inner pocket and began taking the phone apart right there.

What he had to do was simple: plant a backdoor chip in Zhou Zhi's phone. With it, he'd be able to access any information on the device, including photos, emails, and call records. It wasn't that Zhang Zhiyuan suspected Zhou Zhi of anything. Paradise contacted players by text message or email, and the tech department needed more points of contact if they had any chance of finding a flaw that could reveal the sender.

Just as Zhang Zhiyuan was about to put the phone back together, two text notification chimes suddenly rang out, startling him!

"Mm..."

Zhou Zhi only let out a low groan. He didn't open his eyes.

Thank goodness. Zhang Zhiyuan decided he'd buy Lao Wei from the pharmacy department a pack of Huazi as thanks as soon as he got back.

Besides Zhou Zhi's phone, his own had rung, too—and the fact that both phones had chimed at the same time made it clear where the text had come from.

He opened his inbox and looked closely. Sure enough, it was an invitation from Paradise.

But the invitations sent to the two of them were slightly different. Zhou Zhi had received the usual message, while Zhang Zhiyuan's was a text with a phone number.

"Call: 0X0-8886953X."

Zhang Zhiyuan's heart gave a jolt!

What did this mean? Did Paradise want to speak with him directly?

Without a doubt, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

After all, the chance to trace a call's location was far better than the chance to trace a few text messages! The problem was, it was already past midnight, and no one from the tech department could still be at work. Who could he ask to trace the number?

Zhang Zhiyuan suddenly remembered what his superior had said: "I can't go into detail for security reasons, but Officer Cui is trustworthy."

In that case, he'd just have to try his luck.

He forwarded the message to Cui Zhenen, then added "#TAD." It was a code commonly used among criminal investigators that meant "trace address." If Cui Zhenen saw the message, she'd understand what he meant right away.

Then he went to the bathroom and locked the door from the inside. Following the instructions in the text, he dialed the number.

Someone picked up after just two rings.

"A new round of the Paradise game is about to begin. This time, you'll have a special challenge: complete a role-playing mission according to specific requirements."

The voice was cold and hoarse, as mechanical and devoid of emotion as a machine. It had clearly been processed. Just from hearing it, it would be difficult to tell what kind of person the speaker was.

"Why me?" Zhang Zhiyuan tried to get the other person to talk. "If I understand correctly, this means our relationship is no longer that of a game operator and a participant. It's more like a mutually beneficial partnership."

There was no response.

He pressed on. "Since it's a partnership, wouldn't getting to know each other better make it easier to work together in the future? I'm curious, too. What kind of organization is Paradise, exactly—"

"Are you finished?" The other person's next words poured over him like icy water. "You participate in the game; Paradise provides the reward. That's the full extent of our relationship. If you're unwilling to accept, I'll find someone else. Goodbye, then."