Mystery Paradise: Wishing Power Demon

Chapter 50: Chapter 49 Sudden Contact Chapter 50: Chapter 49 Sudden Contact “You’re drunk,” Zhang Zhiyuan shook his head and said.

“Yes, I’m drunk, and only when I’m drunk do I spill everything!” Zhou Zhi burped, “Alcohol doesn’t lie to you; it just magnifies your true feelings, making you realize that your usual self is nothing but a disguise!”

“Is there anything here for sobering up? I’ll go get you a cup.”

“Milk, green tea… there’s everything in the fridge.” Zhou Zhi lay down again, murmuring as he looked at the ceiling, “Big bro, you’re not just an ordinary person, are you?”

Zhang Zhiyuan staggered to his feet and walked toward the fridge, “What do you mean?”

“In the serial killer case, most of the ideas were yours… and burning through the chandelier might sound simple, but just thinking about it, you know how difficult it is to execute. And… you can use a gun, not the kind in games, but you really know how to use a gun to kill. Such a person… how could they be just a normal character?”

“You’ve got a good eye.” Zhang Zhiyuan tossed him a bottle of iced milk, “Here, your reward.”

“In the Zhou family, I was the least promising one, but I’m not an idiot.” Zhou Zhi smiled, as if in self-mockery, “Of course, if you don’t want to talk, I won’t pry—”
“Your big bro here is an international detective.”

Zhou Zhi suddenly shut his mouth.

“What, scared?”

“Why should I be afraid?” he retorted, neck stiffening, “I haven’t done anything illegal! And the international police have no jurisdiction here anyway, I’m just relieved, that’s all.”

“Relieved about what?”

“Relieved that I didn’t ask about your situation in the private room. Remember never to reveal this identity, big bro. I know some… some people who are extremely wary of this kind of thing, even just the word ‘police’ is enough to set them off.”

“You think I’m stupid? I would only say it when it’s just the two of us.” Zhang Zhiyuan shrugged.

“But… are you telling the truth or not?”

“See for yourself.” Zhang Zhiyuan pulled out a fake police badge from his pocket and threw it to him.

“So you came to Jiang City to find me… for another reason?” Zhou Zhi slurred, “Could it be… you’re looking to investigate Paradise?”

“First, the Paradise Organization… or the company is not registered domestically and operates illegally. Secondly… well, in short, we need to unravel their inner workings.” Zhang Zhiyuan sat back on the couch, “And you… you’re one of the few witnesses we have, I need your cooperation. But the main reason, didn’t we agree that if there was a chance, we should meet up?”

“Ha… haha…” Zhou Zhi suddenly chuckled intermittently.

“Why are you laughing?”

“I never thought I could be so important one day. But…” his voice dropped quickly, as if all the energy drained out of him like water, “I won’t be able to go to Paradise anymore.”

“Why not?”

“Of course, it’s because of money! A ticket that costs a million US dollars each time isn’t something I can afford.” Zhou Zhi sighed deeply, “Even if I ask my family for money, they wouldn’t support me, because they’ve never seen Paradise and naturally wouldn’t understand its significance.”

Zhang Zhiyuan fell silent.

“It’s funny, isn’t it? Even though I’ve seen that world, I have to go back to being a frog in a well. If you hadn’t come to Jiang City to find me, I might never have had the chance to know about Paradise again… Now you see why I’m so happy, right?”

He paused for a moment, “Zhang bro, can I ask you for a favor?”

“Go ahead.”

“Don’t lose touch with me, and when you have time, tell me stories of Paradise, and… news about Qianyuan Meiko.”

“I will.”

“That’s a promise…” Zhou Zhi’s words gradually became slurred, “I think she’s definitely not ordinary either. People like her won’t care about someone like me, but I still want to see more of her…”

“Who knows, you’re not ugly.”

“No, you don’t understand… at her level, money and looks aren’t the first thing she cares about…” he murmured softly, “Let’s not talk about that… next time you’re in Jiang City, I’ll show you a good time, and don’t forget what you promised me…”

“You don’t expect us to pinky swear, do you?”

“Pinky… swear…” Zhou Zhi’s voice was so faint, it was nearly inaudible.

“Hey, little bro.”

“Hey, are you still awake?”

“Zhou Zhi?”

Zhang Zhiyuan called out several times, but he couldn’t elicit a response. The next second, the tipsiness on his face had completely vanished, and his sluggish body turned agile as he stood up from beside the sofa and began searching for Zhou Zhi’s mobile phone.

Zhang Zhiyuan wasn’t worried about him suddenly waking up. According to his colleague from the pharmaceutical department, the few drops of anesthetic he had secretly added to the milk were enough to keep a person asleep until dawn.

It didn’t take much effort for him to find Zhou Zhi’s phone, then Zhang Zhiyuan took out a small toolkit from the inside pocket of his suit and began to dismantle the phone on the spot.

What he was doing was simple, implanting a backdoor chip into the other’s phone. Through this chip, he could directly access any information in Zhou Zhi’s phone, such as photos, emails, and call logs. It wasn’t that Zhang Zhiyuan suspected Zhou Zhi of being up to anything, but the Paradise Organization contacted players through text messages or emails, and the tech department needed more tracking points to stand a chance of finding a flaw in the sender.

Just as Zhang Zhiyuan was about to snap the phone back together, two message alert tones suddenly went off, startling him!

“Ugh…”
Zhou Zhi just moaned softly, without opening his eyes.

Close call, close call. Zhang Zhiyuan decided that when he got back, he would buy a pack of cigarettes to thank Old Wei from the pharmaceutical department.

The phones that had sounded just now included not only Zhou Zhi’s but also his own—and the simultaneous ringing of both phones already signalled the origin of the messages.

He opened the inbox and took a close look; indeed, it was an invitation from the Paradise Organization.

However, there was a slight difference between the two invitations; Zhou Zhi’s was still the standard message, while his own was a text with a number.

“Dial the number: 0X0-8886953X”.

A jolt went through Zhang Zhiyuan’s heart!

What did this mean? Could it be that the Paradise Organization wanted to speak directly with him?

This was undoubtedly an opportunity of a lifetime!

To think that tracking a call’s location offered a much bigger opportunity than a few text messages! The problem was that it was already past midnight, and it was impossible for the tech department to still be at work. To whom could he turn for tracing the number?

Zhang Zhiyuan suddenly remembered what his superior had said, “For confidentiality reasons, I can’t go into details, but there’s nothing wrong with Officer Cui.”

With that in mind, he decided to try his luck.

He forwarded the message to Cui Zhen’en, then added another message with #TAD. This short code was commonly used within the police force, meaning “trace address.” If Cui Zhen’en saw this message, he would surely understand immediately what he meant.

Afterward, he went to the bathroom, locked the door behind him, and dialed the number from the message.

The call was picked up after only two rings.

“A new round of the Paradise Game is about to begin, and this time, you will have a special challenge, which is to complete a role-playing task according to specific requirements.”

The voice was cold and hoarse, as if mechanically devoid of any emotion. Clearly, it was an audio effect that had been processed post-production, making it very difficult to discern anything about the person based on listening.

“Why me?” Zhang Zhiyuan tried to probe indirectly, “If I’m not misunderstanding, this arrangement makes us less like game organizers and participants but more like partners in a mutually beneficial relationship.”

There was no response on the other end.

Seizing the moment, he pressed on, “Since it’s a partnership, getting to know each other further would make subsequent work more convenient, wouldn’t it? I’m also very curious about what kind of organization Paradise really is—”
“Are you finished?” However, the next words from the other end were like a deluge of ice water, “You participate in the game, Paradise provides the reward. That’s the entirety of our relationship. If you’re unwilling to accept, I’ll find someone else. Goodbye.”