Chapter 34

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Chapter 34: Bearing Full Responsibility

“… You’re referring to that serial murder case, right?” Gao Wei took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and had just pulled out a cigarette when he suddenly remembered something and looked at his subordinate. “At your home…”

“You can smoke; I live alone here, so it’s fine,” Zhang Zhiyuan hastily responded, “Chief Gao, although my tenure with the International Criminal Police Department hasn’t been long, consider this—have I ever acted untrustworthy? Of course, once the next Paradise game begins, you could personally verify it, but by then, we might miss our opportunity. I don’t know how many people are aware of Paradise, but already in this round, there are five participants from different countries. If it truly is connected to the real world, there must be adequate preparation by those above!”

This was also why he had invited his superior over for a private conversation at home.

Because within the office building, numerous foreign delegates from other countries were present.

Moreover, if dealing with another world is involved, diplomatic issues would be paramount importance. Criminal investigators have no authority whatsoever to handle such matters—not even someone like Chief Gao, let alone himself. Yet he couldn’t find any higher-ups suitable for this situation. His immediate leader represented the highest point in the chain of command for reporting upwards, making a private meeting the most appropriate approach. After all, before information reaches higher authorities, keeping the number of informed individuals minimal is ideal.

Gao Wei took a deep drag from his cigarette. “I can understand what you’re saying.”

“You believe me now?!” Zhang Zhiyuan exclaimed joyfully.

“What use is it if I believe you?” Gao Wei shot him a glare. “It’s the belief of the ‘higher-ups’ that matters! In any case, I cannot report this based on your ‘speculations.’ In our line of work, evidence is paramount.”

“But—”

“However, I will include all the experiences you’ve described,” his superior interrupted. “Whether Paradise possesses ultra-realistic technology or holds the key to another reality, both warrant substantial investigative efforts. As for whether they’ll take action, that’s another matter entirely—just like how despite all your talk, I won’t fully believe it until seeing concrete proof myself. Nonetheless, it doesn’t hinder me from informing my superiors.”

Zhang Zhiyuan sighed with relief. “I was afraid you’d think I had gone insane.”

“If it turns out there’s nothing to this, then your days wearing this police uniform would be numbered too.”

“I’m willing to bear all responsibilities!”

“Hmm.” Gao Wei nodded. “There’s no need to be so tense. Our organization values truth and facts above all else. Regardless of how implausible something may seem, once it occurs, we won’t deliberately turn a blind eye. Additionally, we mustn’t act as mere bell-ringing monks, reporting anomalies and considering our job done. Now, think about what should be done next.”

Zhang Zhiyuan opened his mouth but hesitated before saying, “… Chief Gao, wouldn’t it be better to involve our domestic colleagues?”

“You don’t want to handle this yourself?”

“How could I not!” His body tensed, and he instinctively straightening as he declared, “I guarantee i will complete the mission!”

“Alright, let me get straight to the point.” The tip of Gao Wei’s cigarette glowed brightly, resembling a red star amidst the evening-lit living room. “If everything you’ve described is true, it would undoubtedly constitute a significant achievement. There’s no need to worry about jurisdiction; I have enough influence to assign a few personnel. Since we can handle it, why should we pass it on to others? As for confidentiality… I can establish a specialized task force, and you can decide how many members it should have. Oh, and you can bring Officer choi along—she seems quite knowledgeable about computers and the internet, right?”

“Choi Jeon-eun? But she’s a special envoy from South Korea…”

“Don’t fret; she’s not what you might think. Due to confidentiality reasons, I can’t elaborate further, but there are no issues with her involvement.” Gao Wei stood up, found an ashtray, and extinguished his cigarette. “Of course, you’re free to disregard my suggestion and proceed according to your own plan. So… I assume you already have some ideas?”

“Firstly, I want to contact another player from within the game,” Zhang Zhiyuan said with a serious expression. “His name is 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 locate him by narrowing down the search.”

As a participant in the Paradise game, he undoubtedly served as a crucial witness.

Every additional piece of evidence enhanced the credibility of their findings.

“Secondly, I believe someone should investigate the Caribbean Company,” Zhang Zhiyuan paused briefly before continuing, “I strongly suspect that the main organizers of Paradise were aboard that cruise ship.”

He was referring to the Ocean’s Heart, where the first Paradise game took place.

“Why?” Gao Wei asked.

“Before picking you up, I had someone examine the VR headset and discovered something peculiar.” He opened his phone, retrieving an image. In the picture, the disassembled device was clearly a VR headset, “Inside the glasses, there’s a hidden camera.”

“Explain it more thoroughly!” Old Gao expressed dissatisfaction. “How am I supposed to know about the intricacies of gadgets favored by youngsters these days?”

“This camera was positioned towards the user’s eyes—something completely unnecessary for ordinary VR devices. In other words, the glasses sent by Paradise were specially modified with the sole purpose of allowing someone to see me when I put them on.” Zhang Zhiyuan hesitated briefly before continuing. “It might sound far-fetched, but I suspect that when Paradise transports us into that world, they need to visually observe our physical selves.”

Gao Wei rubbed his forehead, “This just gets more absurd the more we discuss it. Alright… even if your guess is correct, couldn’t the first round of games aboard the cruise ship have used the same method?”

“I’m afraid not,” Zhang Zhiyuan responded firmly. “On the cruise in the Atlantic, there would be no cellular network coverage from service providers. I’ve asked the relevant personnel; although there was Wi-Fi, it fundamentally relied on satellite signals. The communication speed simply doesn’t support real-time video transmission. Additionally, installing cameras in VIP cabins is highly improbable, and the Caribbean Company likely has no knowledge of these Paradise games. Therefore, I suspect there is significant overlap between the main organizer of the games and the Host who appeared on the cruise. If we can capture him, we’ll be close to uncovering the truth!”

“Putting aside whether the Caribbean Company is willing to provide their client list, a single cruise ship typically carries at least several thousand passengers. How do you plan to investigate?”

“Focus on Chinese nationals only.” Gao Wei’s eyebrows furrowed, his tone gaining a hint of seriousness. “Are you suggesting…”

“Yes, I suspect Paradise is a domestic organization with very few members,” Zhang Zhiyuan stated without hesitation. “During the first game, I noticed that all the selected participants could understand Mandarin. Zhou Zhi goes without saying, and Asahara Naruko was close to us, but even the Russian and American participants knew it—this is quite intriguing. In other words, considering the need for participants to communicate, Paradise chose Mandarin as the common language—from a psychological perspective, this likely indicates it’s also their most frequently used language internally.”

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

By limiting the scope to native speakers, the thousands of tourists could instantly be reduced to hundreds or even just a hundred individuals.

Investigating a hundred people still posed challenges, but the workload had significantly decreased compared to before!

This meant solving the case using solely their department’s resources became feasible.

Gao Wei smiled.

He patted Zhang Zhiyuan on the shoulder and walked towards the coat rack by the door. “Well done, you’ve given me an interesting story to ponder.”

“Chief Gao, regarding the list…”

Gao Wei calmly put on his jacket. “I’ll handle it.”