Chapter 18
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Chapter 18: Suspicious Circumstances
Over these past two days, Chaoyang has not been idle. Based on Officer Zhang’s deduction, he visited No. 958—the Sinclair Grand Theater—to assess the situation. Unfortunately, he found nothing out of the ordinary.
After some inquiries, he learned that Glorious Fortress had three theaters, with Sinclair being the largest. Apart from regular daily performances, it occasionally hosted shows commissioned by high-ranking officials and nobles. The theater even played a crucial role in hosting members of the royal family, collaborating with renowned opera troupes. Logically, attracting trouble at such a prestigious venue seemed unlikely. If Officer Zhang’s judgment was correct, there must be a specific reason why the culprit chose this location; however, Chaoyang had yet to uncover it.
Afterwards, he also met with Zhu Di, informing her that results might emerge within the next couple of days and advising her to be prepared.
Although he wasn’t certain what would transpire at the theater or whether the missing journalist was alive or dead, he had cleverly included a loophole in their contract without specifying the condition of the missing person. Even if they found Kurt Dunn deceased, it wouldn’t hinder the fulfillment of the agreement.
Therefore, all he needed to do was quietly observe the unfolding drama and provide some “assistance” at the appropriate moment.
***
The nighttime city traffic was clearly inconvenient; realizing they couldn’t hail any carriages, the group decided to run towards their destination. After all, the city wasn’t large, and running from south to north would take at most fifteen minutes.
At that moment, Zhang Zhiyuan tugged on Zhou Zhi’s sleeve, intentionally falling behind the others.
“Do you know them?” His gaze swept over Joe James and the rest of the group. “I’m asking about in real life.”
“Uh… I’ve met them once, but we’re not familiar with each other. Why do you ask?”
“Just curious, nothing specific. So how did you join this game?”
“What else, just like you,” Zhou Zhi replied casually.
Zhang Zhiyuan recognized this as a guarded response, indicating that Zhou Zhi didn’t fully trust him yet.
“I received an invitation letter, and let me tell you, before coming here, I thought the Paradise might be exaggerating. But after arriving, I realized… they actually understated it.” He swiftly changed the topic, speaking in a relaxed tone, “This isn’t merely a simple game. If it truly were accessible to everyone, I dare say the entire city would be filled with our kind.”
Despite everyone conversing in Mandarin, noticeable differences in accents could still be heard. Zhou Zhi glanced at him, “Brother, where are you from?”
“From the capital city,” Zhang Zhiyuan said with a smile. “How did you determine that I’m older than you? Maybe it’s me who should call you ‘brother’.”
“I can tell from your manner of speaking and handling things; it’s more refined compared to my group of friends…” Zhou Zhi paused midway through his sentence and then continued, “Never mind, forget I mentioned it.”
“It’s alright, I’ll just consider myself the elder brother.” Zhang Zhiyuan waved his hand dismissively. “What about you? Where do you live?”
“Jiangcheng. Perhaps we can meet up sometime later.”
“No problem,” he promptly agreed. “By the way… have you entered Paradise before? And as a pirate?”
“Eh, don’t even mention it.” Zhou Zhi sighed repeatedly. “That time, I barely played for thirty minutes. Most of the duration was spent at sea, and after finally reaching land, we were brutally slaughtered by a bunch of lunatics. I really couldn’t connect with those foreigners; they found getting killed incredibly thrilling, but honestly, I didn’t want to experience having my gut pierced again.”
“And yet you came back? This game’s entry fee isn’t cheap, is it.”
“You don’t understand; what attracts me here is something else…”
Zhang Zhiyuan noticed that while saying this, Zhou Zhi unconsciously glanced at Asahara Naruko’s figure.
“Is that so?” Zhang Zhiyuan didn’t press further and simply said, “Then you better keep your eyes open later and be extremely cautious. I can’t guarantee everyone will make it out alive.”
“What do you mean?” Zhou Zhi’s expression showed surprise. “Aren’t we here to solve the murder mystery? Besides, this time we even have equipment. With preparation on our side, there’s no way it’ll be as challenging as before, right?”
“I hope so too.” Zhang Zhiyuan sighed softly.
“What’s wrong?” Zhou Zhi gradually slowed down his pace. “Did you discover something else troubling?”
“It hit me only after feeling the sea breeze earlier—do you think the puzzle of this serial killer case is difficult?”
“Uh, well…” The other hesitated momentarily. “I certainly couldn’t figure it out. But since you managed to find hidden clues on the first day, it probably isn’t too challenging, right? Of course, it could also just highlight your exceptional skills…”
“Don’t flatter me; let me be blunt—it indeed isn’t very hard, and I’m sure I’m not the only one who noticed.” Zhang Zhiyuan lowered his voice, “In fact, I suspect that reporter saw through it too, which might be why he disappeared.”
Zhou Zhi couldn’t help but shiver, “That must be part of the game setup…”
“But what if it isn’t?” Zhang Zhiyuan remained nonchalant. “The criminal group has been committing continuous crimes and even leaving murder warnings for several months, yet so far, not a single member has been apprehended. Don’t you find this somewhat peculiar?”
“Brother, what exactly are you trying to say?”
“I’m just suggesting that the case may be more complex than it appears. So, you need to stay vigilant from now on.”
Zhou Zhi momentarily fell silent.
After a brief moment, he softly spoke up, “But even if we die, it’s merely exiting the game. If anything happens to me later, remember to give me a quick end.”
“What are you talking about? I don’t want to harm my own people.”
“Please, it’s just a game…” Zhou Zhi emphasized once again.
But how different was it really from reality? Zhang Zhiyuan didn’t believe a mere game could reach such depths.
He held these thoughts but chose not to voice them aloud.
“You know, this body is quite impressive—running for so long without much heavy breathing. The theater shouldn’t be too far away now, right?” As Zhou Zhi continued speaking, his expression suddenly changed, and his pace slowed down slightly. “Huh, where did they go?”
Only then did Zhang Zhiyuan notice that the individuals running ahead of them seemed to vanish into thin air, disappearing instantly before their eyes.
“Brother Zhang, what should we do? Just now—”
Before Zhou Zhi could finish speaking, a hand suddenly emerged from the darkness and dragged him into an alleyway! Just as he was about to scream, another hand firmly covered his mouth.
“Be quiet,” a cool female voice whispered.
Hearing this, Zhou Zhi instantly relaxed, even contemplating letting her keep her hand over his mouth for a bit longer.
The one who pulled him was Asahara Naruko.
Turning around, he noticed Zhang Zhiyuan had also been brought into the alley by Jason Tyler, though without his mouth being covered.
“What’s happening?” Zhang Zhiyuan asked.
“There are people outside the theater, and you two strayed too far ahead from us. Naruko and I had to double back to warn you,” Tyler explained. “Joe and the Russian are keeping watch on them.”
“Why have you fallen so behind? What were you discussing?” A hint of reproach crept into Asahara Naruko’s tone.
“My apologies, just some idle chatter,” Zhang Zhiyuan laughed it off. “What does ‘people outside the theater’ mean?”
“You’ll understand once you take a look yourself.”
Sticking close to the shadows along the street, the four cautiously approached the end of Golden Street. The outline of the grand theater loomed like a small mountain in the night, appearing darker than the surrounding buildings. At that moment, hardly anyone walked the streets; occasionally, the distant sound of horse-drawn carriages rolling over cobblestones echoed, but otherwise, the city lay silent.
Zhang Zhiyuan immediately realized why it was darker here—the streetlights around the theater were not lit.
The city’s lighting still relied on ancient oil lamps, which required manual refilling but offered stability and reliability. Unless someone deliberately tampered with them, they were unlikely to go out by themselves at night.
Despite the pitch-black darkness, Zhang Zhiyuan noticed several shadows moving near the theater—gathered in small groups of two or three. Although seemingly disorganized, they effectively controlled key street intersections. Anyone approaching the theater from any direction would find it difficult to do so unnoticed. In other words, these individuals were not aimlessly wandering vagrants; they appeared to be purposefully guarding this area.
