Chapter 78

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Chapter 78: The Nonexistent Person

How dangerous is he? Zhang Zhiyuan pondered this question himself.

If this man truly was the Host of Paradise, his powera were almost unimaginable. Not only could he create objects out of thin air, but also overwrite memories and even distort time. Even the missions assigned to them were filled with bloodshed and combat; where a single mistake could result in instant death.

Yet, despite everything, why didn’t Zhang Zhiyuan feel any sense of danger when he was near such a person?

The people who had received help from Paradise—Dunn, Zhu Di, Sister Jeanne, and the freed slave laborers—they likely wouldn’t see Paradise as a dangerous organization either, right?

“I don’t know,” Zhang Zhiyuan finally replied. “You can proceed cautiously, but if possible, I hope he can be captured alive.”

“Understood.” Lu Ming nodded and didn’t ask anymore questions.

Thirty minutes later, the van arrived at the residential area and parked directly beneath the suspect’s building unit.

The undercover officers, who had kept watch since last night, reported that they still haven’t observed any unusual activity. Everything was quiet.

“Everyone’s familiar with the suspect’s photo, correct?” Lu Ming glanced at his wristwatch. “Let’s sync our time. It’s 9:15 A.M. Teams Two and Three, you have fifteen minutes to clear out all residents on the sixth floor of this building. Team One will join me for the breach. we move at 9:30 sharp. Our priority is capturing the target alive. Clear?”

The special forces officers nodded in unison.

“Move!” At Lu Ming’s command, the doors of the van slid open, and everyone rushed out, quickly moving into the residential building. It was past the morning rush hour, so few people were visible in the neighborhood. The disguised transport company van further concealed their presence, ensuring no one suspected the sudden operation underway.

Zhang Zhiyuan and Choi Jeon-eun followed Lu Ming up to the third floor. Lu Ming then took out a small device and gently pressed it against the door. To Zhang’s amazement, an image of the room’s interior gradually appeared on the backside of the instrument.

“Wow…” Choi Jeon-eun couldn’t help but whisper, “Is that a thermal imaging device? It can even see through walls!”

“They must have one hell of a budget,” Zhang Zhiyuan muttered quietly, feeling slightly envious.

“There seems to be only one person inside,” Lu Ming noted as he studied the image. “They’re in the third room from the front door. Hmm… judging by their posture, they’re currently using a computer and seem quite relaxed.”

Being alone with just a computer fit perfectly with the profile of someone working in game development.

“It must be Huang Zining.” Zhang said, his pulse quickening. His heart pounded harder with every second.

Untill now, he could only encounter this individual through their online persona, But now, there was no digital mask, no endless layers of anonymity.

As the minute hand struck thirty, the breaching team swung their battering ram, smashing the not-so-sturdy security door with ease. At almost the same moment, Lu Min and another special forces officer charged into the house with their weapons drawn, heading straight for the third room. The entire operation was lightning-fast—from breaking the door to entering the room, it took no more than two or three seconds. Before Zhang Zhiyuan could fully register what was happening, shouts of warning and commands echoed from within the house.

“Don’t move!”

“Hands behind your back!”

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! don’t shoot!”

The last voice was clearly from the suspect.

Zhang Zhiyuan rushed into the target’s room to see a young man, about twenty year old, pinned down by one of the officers. The computer mouse dangled limply off the edge of the desk, swinging slightly.

“Uh… is that it?” Choi Jeon-eun studied him suspiciously, “He doesn’t look like some mastermind.”

“I’m not a mastermind!” The suspect whimpered, “Why are you treating me like this?! Economic crimes don’t warrant the death penalty, right?!”

Zhang Zhiyuan’s instincts kicked in. Something felt off. Stepping closer, he asked, “What’s your connection to Paradise?”

“Huh? What paradise? Officer, I have no idea what you’re talking about!” The suspect’s confusion seemed genuine.

“Then why were you planning to go to Europe? On the Starglow cruise ship?”

“I wasn’t! I’ve barely left my neighborhood these past few days!”

“Liar!” Zhang grabbed his collar, his voice tightening with frustration. This was the same face captured by countless surveillance cameras—he was sure of it. “We have evidence. After disembarking from the cruise, you flew from Europe to Jiangcheng, then took the high-speed train here to Chucheng. We’ve got captured footage of you throughout the journey!”

“I’m innocent! Did you guys get the wrong person?” the man cried out indignantly, “I’ve never been to Europe in my life! I’ve only traveled to Southeast Asia—my visa can prove it!”

“Your name is Huang Zining?”

“Yes…”

Zhang Zhiyuan suddenly felt his legs weaken. Slowly, he loosened his grip and stepped back, the exhaustion washing over him. Without another word, he turned and walked toward the door.

“Comrade Zhang? What’s going on?” Lu Ming frowned, his voice filled with confusion.

“Uh… well, he’s still a suspect. Could you please take him back to the police station first? We’ll catch up shortly,” Choi Jeon-eun hastily bowed towards the special forces officers before rushing after Zhang.

In actuality, Zhang Zhiyuan hadn’t gone far. He simply moved to the living room and slumped onto the sofa.

“Hey, what’s wrong with you?” Choi Jeon-eun approached, questioning him sternly.

“He’s not the one we’re after.” Zhang Zhiyuan sighed and shook his head.

“Are you sure? Come on, surveillance cameras don’t lie! After all the overtime I did last night, are you seriously saying it was for nothing? He claims he hasn’t been to Europe, but what kind of criminal would openly admit his crimes right away?” Choi Jeon-eun expressed her confusion, “Honestly, this isn’t like your usual self.”

Zhang Zhiyuan rubbed his forehead. He had considered various possibilities, such as missing their target completely and not catching any suspects; or perhaps engaging in a life and death struggle with the suspect, or even having them disappear right in front of their eyes. He even imagined the possibility of the individual calmly sitting in a chair, awaiting their arrival.

But he never expected this scenario—where they had mistaken the target from the very beginning.

“Zhou Zhi once told me that once a person has seen Paradise, he will become fundamentally different from others. I am not saying i agree with his view, but this person’s understanding of Paradise… is like a blank sheet of paper,” Zhang Zhiyuan murmured. “He really doesn’t know what Paradise is, which is hard to fake. It’s like if I told you that the sun really doesn’t exist. Your initial reaction would be hard to fake convincingly, since you’ve seen the sun all your life.”

“Alright then, since we’re at this point, let’s let the evidence speak for itself.” Choi Jeon-eun held out her hand to him. “If it’s real, no matter how hard you try, you can’t call it fake. And if it’s fake, no matter how much you insist, it can’t be true. Haven’t you said these words to me many times before? So, have you suddenly started believing intuition over evidence now?”

“You’re right…” Zhang Zhiyuan lightly slapped his cheeks, took her hand, and stood up. “The capture operation isn’t over yet.”

Choi Jeon-eun laughed. “Excellent, let’s continue our investigation and see who this Huang Zining really is!”

***

“What?! Are you sure?” Officer Choi shot up from her seat, slamming her hand on the table “His visa records really only show travel to Southeast Asia?”

“Uh, we’ve double-checked it several times,” the Chucheng police officer in charge for their reception scratched his head and replied. “In addition, he is suspected of involvement in several cases of electronic fraud involving large sums of money. We found evidence on his computer, but as for the European trip you mentioned, we cannot confirm it.”

“Are these two from North Hall?” At that moment, an elderly policeman entered the office and shook their hands warmly. “Ah, thank you for your hard work! I’m Deputy Chief Wei Jianguo, and it’s fantastic that you’re here! This Huang Zining is someone we’ve been investigating all along, but he’s very cautious and often commits crimes abroad. We couldn’t even find him. Yet as soon as you arrived, you brought us an important gift—we are truly grateful!”

“Do you have any customs clearance records for him? I mean… especifically the ones with video footage.” Choi Jeon-eun gritted her teeth.

“No, we don’t have any footage, but there are photos and stamped entries and they can’t be faked. His last departure was a year ago.”

“And within the last month?”

“He’s been hiding in Chucheng under an alias. If it weren’t for the identity information you brought, we wouldn’t have known that he returned here two months ago.”

Choi Jeon-eun’s face turned pale!

Completely unaware of her reaction, Deputy Chief Wei, clapped his hands and laughed heartily, “Once the cases involving him are closed, I’ll definitely send you both a commendation banner for sure!” He chuckled heartily. ” This is indeed a great accomplishment!”

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