Chapter 90

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Chapter 90: Evacuation

With this thought, Chaoyang closed his eyes and and began to follow the thread, trying to sense its other end. Earlier, he had noticed that he could vaguely sense Dunn and Zhu Di’s presence. This feeling was not as direct as the connection established by their contract, and it felt rather hazy but it was still worth trying.

Gradually, he felt like he wasn’t confined to his body anymore, like he was floating up. This experience was somewhat similar to creating a clone, except that in a clone form, everything was very clear, and he could quickly end his astral projection and open his eyes from the clone’s perspective. However, this time was different; he could only rely on his intuition to guide him to the thread’s endpoint, but he couldn’t find any solid ground to land on.

It must be said that this feeling was truly unsettling, like being thrown into space without a safety tether.

Despite this discomfort, Chaoyang resisted his instinctive uneasiness and continued to drift forward.

Suddenly, he felt like he was being enveloped by something, and his body suddenly regained its weight!

In the hazy white light, he faintly saw a stove with burning firewood and a pot of thick soup with indistinguishable ingredients. In the background, he heard a cheerful melody playing softly. He immediately realized that he was seeing Zhu Di hard at work in her kitchen.

“Get out now! Someone’s watching you!”

“Get out now! Someone’s watching you!”

Chaoyang mentally repeated this warning several times, but there seemed to be no reaction from Zhu Di. In desperation, he separated out a portion of the Wish Power and sent it along the thread while shouting the warning over and over again.

Clang!

Zhu Di suddenly flinched violently, causing the ladle in her hand to fall to the ground.

She looked around in surprise but she couldn’t see anyone else in the kitchen. Was it just an illusion…? She stared at the fallen ladle for a moment before quickly dismissing the idea.

No, someone had definitely warned her just now!

And it was not through sound, but rather… some kind of memory fragment, like a brief flashback. Still, she was sure that wasn’t just an illusion!

Zhu Di hurriedly ran into the living room, grabbed her coat and hat, and prepared to leave through the small alley behind the house. But after taking only a few steps, she stopped again.

Her eyes fell on scattered documents and maps lying on the low table.

These documents contained plans for the evacuation of His Excellency the Divine Messenger, along with information she had gathered about the Gaotian Mining Corporation. If they were to seen by an unrelated person, there wouldn’t be much risk. However, if those watching her were targeting Mr. Chao, these documents would inevitably tip them off.

But taking all these files with her was impractical, as rushing off with a large bundle of papers would draw too much attention.

After thinking for a moment, Zhu Di made a quick decision.

She quickly rushed to the kitchen, pulled some firewood from under the stove, and threw it on the low table in the living room. Flames soon erupted from the paper, sending smoke billowing into the air. Worried that it was not burning fast enough, she grabbed more wood and threw it into the bookcase.

Before long, thick smoke filled the living room, making it hard to breathe

Only then did Zhu Di open the back door, slipping into the small alley. She quickly ran around two corners, making sure no one was following her. Once she was sure, she lowered the brim of her hat and walked out of the alley, blending into the bustling crowd on the busy street. A few minutes later, she looked back and saw black smoke rising steadily into the sky from the direction of 375 Oak Street.

***

In the North Hall, in the main office of the Sentinel Department.

Zhang Zhiyuan was waiting to greet the newly selected individuals.

“I have to go to the restroom,” Choi Jeon-eun said suddenly as she stood up.

“Ah…” He nodded blankly. This was her fourth trip to the bathroom in the last two hours. Before going to Chucheng, she hadn’t taken the Paradise game seriously at all. However, when she found out that she’d be going there, her face showed how nervous she was.

Speaking of nerves, Zhang Zhiyuan was also feeling quite anxious. It was not because of Paradise itself, but because he had become the leader of the Paradise Trio. It was a great responsibility that had been thrust upon him. And, as their leader, he’d have to start fulfilling his duties today and help these new people adjust to a different world. This was definitely a challenge for him.

Who were these people? They were talented individuals who had been selected by the higher-ups through many layers of selection!

In contrast, he was just an ordinary officer of the International Criminal Police Department. In terms of status alone, there was no comparison between them.

However, since Gao Wei had entrusted him with this task, regardless of whether he was worried or not, he could not shirk his responsibility.

Just as these thoughts were swirling around in his head, a black sedan slowly pulled up to the entrance of the hall. A security guard quickly approached and opened the car door.

Zhang Zhiyuan jumped to his feet, making one last adjustment to his appearance.

A man in his thirties stepped out of the car and took a quick look around before walking through the entrance. He was not very tall, around 170 cm, and wore a formal suit with sunglasses perched on his face. Zhang Zhiyuan quickly went through his mental list of famous business geniuses, but he couldn’t find a match for this individual.

However, the man’s age matched with his expectations – neither too young nor too old, which Zhang Zhiyuan felt was crucial for this mission. Faced with a completely new world, older people might find it difficult to adapt easily.

“Hello, I am Zhang Zhiyuan, the temporary leader and Peach Blossom Spring One.” Zhang Zhiyuan proactively extended his hand. “Welcome to our group.”

“Peach Blossom Spring” was chosen as the new project’s codename during a meeting, inspired by the idyllic paradise depicted in an ancient Chinese story. The purpose for the codename wasn’t for secrecy, but rather because it seemed inappropriate for a prestigious national department to use terms associated with video games.

“Hello,” the man replied with a warm smile. He took off his sunglasses and shook hands firmly. “My name is Xue Quan, nice to meet you.”

“Hi…” Choi Jeon-eun who came back at that moment, feeling slightly unsure, she instinctively waved at them while greeting them.

“Cough, cough, let me introduce you to each other. This is Comrade Choi Jeon-eun, Peach Blossom Spring Two,” Zhang Zhiyuan said hastily. “Comrade Choi, this is Peach Blossom Spring Three, Comrade Xue Quan.”

“Ha ha ha ha…” Xue Quan couldn’t help but burst out laughing. “There’s no need to be so formal. On the contrary, I think ‘hey’ works just fine. Sure, I may be a bit older than you, but let’s just treat each other as equals.”

Having said that, he looked up at the ceiling which was covered with a silver metallic film. “Speaking of which, the level of secrecy for this mission seems to be quite high… It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a department where even the buildings need special shielding.”

“It really is something else,” Zhang Zhiyuan agreed.

“Oh… could you give me more details about what we’re getting into?”

Zhang Zhiyuan was slightly taken aback for a moment. “They didn’t tell you anything beforehand?”

Xue Quan shook his head. ” I just received a letter telling me to report here immediately. To be honest, everything happened suddenly. With such a tight deadline, I barely had any time to prepare. All I brought along is what’s in here.” He tapped his forehead. “Alright, which hotspot region are we going to this time?”

“Can I ask something?” Choi Jeon-eun chimed in curiously. “Where were you working before?”

“I was in Iraq, dealing with oil.”

Both Zhang Zhiyuan and Choi Jeon-eun looked at him with newfound respect.

Then Zhang Zhiyuan cleared his throat. “This time, we won’t be on Earth.”

“Huh?” Xue Quan grinned. “Are we finally going to the moon?”

“No… We’re going to a completely different world,” he replied slowly, emphasizing each word clearly.