Chapter 84
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Chapter 84: Government Efficiency
When Zhang Zhiyuan entered the new cafeteria at the appraisal center, he couldn’t help but gasp in surprise. In just one day, he hadn’t expected that even the interior decoration to be changed!
The long benches for waiting had been completely replaced by rectangular tables like those found in school cafeterias, each capable of accommodating around twenty people. The surveillance cameras hanging from the ceiling were nowhere to be seen. Even the walls and ceilings were covered in shiny silver tape, not even sparing the windows.
He pulled out his phone to check, and as he had expected, there was no signal.
“The cafeteria, meeting rooms, and appraisal areas have all been equipped with signal jammers to prevent eavesdropping,” Gao Wei said. “According to the higher-ups, they have also started developing a new communication tool too. Its operating principles will be very different from today’s smartphones. It remains unclear whether Paradise can still control it.”
“I feel… Paradise doesn’t really want to interfere with reality too much,” Zhang Zhiyuan said after a little hesitation. “Just by controlling the Internet, they could cause shocking damage to this world if they wanted to.”
To his surprise, Gao Wei readily agreed, “The intelligence analysts said the same thing. They believe that Paradise’s focus lies in another world, and he doesn’t seem to be interested in things like money or power, since Earth certainly doesn’t lack them. At the moment, they’re guessing that it could be some kind of unique resource which is exclusive to the other world.”
“We already have our own intelligence analysts now?” Zhang Zhiyuan asked in surprise.
“What else did you think we were doing all day in those meetings?” Gao Wei led him into a small private booth which was made of temporary plastic partitions, only about 80 square meters in size, but even the seams between the panels were carefully lined with soundproofing material.
“The truth is that the higher-ups have acted quite quickly. The framework for a new organisation has already in place. Its public name will be the Sentinel Department.”
“And what about internally?” he asked involuntarily.
“There’s no internal name for now. Everyone knows what we’re dealing with, so not having a name is the best way to keep things secret.” Gao Wei pressed a bell on the table, and within thirty seconds, a server entered the booth and presented them with a menu to order from.
Zhang Zhiyuan took a closer look and noticed that the menu cover surprisingly bore the words “State Banquet.”
The way they had to order food had also reverted to the old fashioned way. They had to use a pencil to tick off the items on the menu.
After placing their orders, Gao Wei said, “We’re really pressed for time today, so there wasn’t much time to print new menus. So we’re using what’s available. There are still a lot of things that need to be fixed here.”
“Are you guys even changing the cooks?”
His superior nodded. “The kitchen staff has been specifically brought in from the military’s field catering vehicles.”
“I definitely have no complaints eating at a state banquet; it’s certainly better than instant noodles!” Zhang Zhiyuan replied with feigned nonchalance. “So… did the higher-ups talk about me during the meeting?”
He didn’t even bother to ask who exactly was in charge of this so-called Sentinel Department or who those leaders were who had first arrived rushing to the Appraisal Center were… As his superior had mentioned, once the government got involved, there would be many aspects that would be no longer be accessible to him.
“Don’t worry, you haven’t been banned from entering Paradise,” Gao Wei said with a smile. “In fact, the higher-ups have repeatedly praised you, even saying that you are highly responsible and sensitive, ams have given you credit for handling this matter well.”
“Oh, come on… It’s all thanks to your excellent guidance!”
“Hm?” Gao wei looked at him with narrowed eyes. ” Are you trying to butter me up now?”
Zhang Zhiyuan hastily dropped his joking demeanor. “So I don’t have to give up my spot?”
“Yes, for the time being, your background checks out, and your abilities are obvious to all. Additionally, you are the most familiar person with the world of Paradise,” Gao Wei said slowly. “Therefore, the higher-ups have decided that you should remain as the main participant of Paradise. One of our main focuses during these recent meetings was that we tried to analyse the ‘game reports’ you submitted and try to predict the next steps that Paradise would take.”
“Paradise wants to set up a company which provides medical supplies, which in turn would help Yeni Cathedral break free from the web of corporate companies.”
“On the surface, it may seem that way, but we need to look at the specifics of each issue—for example, the coastal city you mentioned. We don’t know anything about its history, who’s in charge, how strong its economy is, or what challenges it faces. If you don’t understand these aspects, you won’t be able to get to the root of the problem, and your subsequent missions might fail because of that.”
Zhang Zhiyuan was surprised and asked, “Did the analysts have the same opinion too?”
“What, did you think they knew nothing about games? Besides, this isn’t even a real game.” Gao Wei let out a scornful laugh. “They even think that this mission is very different from the ones you’ve done before , so there’s a high chance that you guys will fail.”
“What kind of changes?” Zhang Zhiyuan eagerly questioned.
“For the first time, you are moving from underground battles to direct confrontations.” His superior paused briefly before continuing, “In the past, you you relied on the powerful items provided by the Paradise and the element of surprise to fight the enemies from the shadows. Even though you were clearly outnumbered, your fighting strength wasn’t weak at all, which helped you to achieve continuous victories. But this time is different…”
“The team will be out in the open as a real entity, unlike the covert missions you have been running, which makes it easily vulnerable to destruction. You cannot rely on individual skill to win like you could before. Also, running a business is not something the average player is good at. If you make a mistake, you might collapse on your own and your enemy won’t have to do anything either.”
Zhang Zhiyuan fell silent, he couldn’t find any fault in these conclusions based on his own insights.
“However, the higher-ups also see this as an opportunity for us. Or rather, the fact that Paradise itself was willing to send this ‘stone’ shows their attitude—they believe that we can find solutions to problems that they they consider as a thorny. As long as we choose the right players, it’s possible to turn this situation into a guaranteed victory!”
This was also the outcome Zhang Zhiyuan was hoping for.
“So… have they decided on someone other than me yet?”
“There’s already drawn up a preliminary list. If everything goes smoothly, they’ll finalise the selection by tomorrow.”
There were several names that involuntarily popped up into Zhang Zhiyuan’s mind. These were the people who had been famous since they were young, self-made examples of success, and widely recognised as prominent business tycoons.
But would these people really be willing to venture into another world?
Zhang Zhiyuan then asked, “Among the other individuals, is there a medical expert?”
“No, the second spot is reserved for you.” Gao Wei shook his head. “You mentioned that although the other world is very similar to reality, the experience provided by Paradise still contains many game-like elements. Having someone with extensive gaming experience om the team might be more beneficial. They have agreed with your suggestion.” At this point, he chuckled slightly, “I guess your choice for this role is Choi Jeon-eun?”
Zhang Zhiyuan dropped his pretence and exclaimed incredulously, “I did suggest her, but Choi Jeon-eun’s medical expertise is on par with mine. Won’t this choice…”
“I won’t hide it from you; the analyst believes that medical expertise is the least important factor at this stage,” Gao Wei responded nonchalantly. “After all, as you mentioned, boiling water could already help the nuns, right? In a single day, experts can create a simple guide for making basic medical supplies that anyone can follow. Besides, this will probably be a long-term task, so if it really doesn’t work out, we can always replace people.”
There was some truth in that…
Zhang Zhiyuan felt slightly relieved.
“In any case, there’s only one thing you need to know from the first stage of the meeting is simple. You must to do your best to accomplish the tasks assigned by Paradise.,” Gao Wei summarised. “The benefits the players receive are directly tied to how well they complete the assigned task, so how much benefit we receive is entirely up to you.”
Just then, their ordered banquet dishes arrived at the table.
“Let’s eat first,” Gao Wei gestured, “We won’t have the energy to work if we don’t fill our belly. We’ve got a busy night ahead of us.”