Chapter 18: The Puzzling Situation

Over the past couple of days, Chaoyang had been anything but idle. He first followed Detective Zhang's lead and went to visit No. 958, which was the Sinclair Grand Theatre, to check things out. Regrettably, he found nothing out of the ordinary.

After some inquiring, he learned that there were three theatres in Magnificent Castle, with Sinclair being the largest. Apart from the regular shows performed daily, it occasionally staged custom performances for the high officials and nobility. It had even undertaken the important task of entertaining members of the royal family, and the opera troupes it worked with were also highly reputable. Logically speaking, it should be difficult to cause trouble in such a place. If Detective Zhang's judgment was correct, the murderer must have had some reason for choosing this location, but unfortunately, Chaoyang had yet to find it out.

Later, Chaoyang met with Judy to tell her that the results would likely come out in the next two days and to have her prepare in advance.

Although he was unclear about what would happen inside the theatre, whether the missing reporter was dead or alive, he had already embedded a backdoor in the contract, not limiting the missing person's status of life or death. Even if the found Kort Dane was dead, it would not hinder the completion of the contract.

Therefore, he just needed to observe this drama quietly until the end and provide some "assistance" at the right time.

...

Nocturnal city transportation was clearly not convenient, and after failing to hail a carriage, everyone decided to run as their mode of transit. After all, the city was not large; running from south to north would take at most a quarter of an hour.

At this moment, Zhang Zhiyuan tugged at Zhou Zhi's sleeve and deliberately fell behind.

"Do you know them?" He glanced at Joe James and the others, "I mean in real life."

"Uh... I've seen them once, but I'm not familiar. What about it?"

"Nothing, just asking. How did you join this game?"

"How else? Same as you," Zhou Zhi casually said.

Zhang Zhiyuan knew that this was a guarded response, indicating the other party did not fully trust him.

"I received an invitation, and, well, before coming I thought Paradise was exaggerating. I didn't expect that after arriving... they seriously understated it." He quickly changed the subject, speaking in a lighter tone, "This is hardly a simple game. If it were truly for everyone, I guarantee the city would be filled just with our own people."

Although everyone spoke Mandarin, their accents were noticeably different. Zhou Zhi glanced at him, "Bro, where are you from?"

"From Capital City," Zhang Zhiyuan said with a smile, "How are you so certain I'm older than you? Maybe I should be calling you Bro."

"That, I can tell. The way you talk and act, you're way sharper than my friends..." Zhou Zhi said halfway and then stopped himself, "Forget it, never mind."

"It's okay, I'll play the older brother," Zhang Zhiyuan waved off, "What about you? Where do you live?"

"Jiang City, maybe we can meet up in the future."

"No problem," he readily agreed, "By the way... have you all been to Paradise before? As pirates?"

"Oh man, don't get me started," Zhou Zhi sighed repeatedly, "That time, we played for less than thirty minutes, spent most of it at sea. Barely made it to land, and then got slaughtered by a bunch of maniacs. I just can't communicate with those foreigners; they find getting murdered thrilling, but I don't ever want to experience being stabbed in the gut again."

"Yet you're back? Game tickets aren't cheap, right?"

"You don't get it, it's something else that draws me..."

Zhang Zhiyuan noticed that when Zhou Zhi said this, he involuntarily looked up toward Qianyuan Mingzi's retreating figure.

"Is that so?" He did not press further, "Then you'd better keep your eyes wide open later, be extra careful. I can't guarantee everyone will make it out alive."

"What do you mean?" Zhou Zhi's face showed surprise, "Aren't we on a killer's trail? Besides, we have equipment this time, and with our prepared mindset against the unprepared, it should not end up like last time, right?"

"I hope so," Zhang Zhiyuan let out a light sigh.

"What's the matter?" Zhou Zhi slowed his pace, "Have you discovered any other problems?"

"It hit me when I went out and the sea breeze blew. Do you think the puzzle of this serial killer case is difficult?"

"Uh, well..." Zhou Zhi hesitated, "I can't figure it out. But since you could find the hidden clues the same day, it should not be a very tough case, right? Of course, it could also be because you, Brother Zhang, are particularly gifted..."

"Don't boast; let me just say it straight—it's not that hard to figure out. I'm definitely not the only one who could see the signs," Zhang Zhiyuan lowered his voice, "In fact, I suspect that the reporter saw through it too, which is why he has disappeared."

Zhou Zhi couldn't help but shiver, "This should be a part of the setting..."

"But what if it isn't?" Zhang Zhiyuan disagreed, "The criminal gang has committed a string of crimes and have left behind murder predictions, spanning several months, yet so far, not one person has been caught. Don't you find that odd?"

"Big bro, what exactly are you trying to say?"

"I'm just saying the case is probably not as simple as it looks, so you need to stay vigilant later on."

Zhou Zhi was speechless for a moment.

It wasn't until a while later that he spoke in a low voice, "But even if I die, it's just exiting the game. If something happens to me later, make sure you give me a quick end."

"What are you talking about? I don't want to lay hands on my own people."

"Please, it's just a game..." Zhou Zhi emphasized again.

But how different is it from reality?

Moreover, Zhang Zhiyuan didn't believe a game could go that far.

He thought this to himself, but did not speak it aloud.

"Speaking of which, this body is really quite good, running for so long without getting much out of breath. The theater shouldn't be far now, right?" Zhou Zhi was saying when his expression suddenly changed, and his steps slowed down, "Eh, where are they?"

It was at that moment that Zhang Zhiyuan noticed that the people who had been running ahead seemed to have vanished into thin air, and in the blink of an eye, there were no traces of them.

"Zhang bro, what do we do now—"

Zhou Zhi didn't finish his sentence before a hand suddenly reached out from the darkness and dragged him into an alleyway! Just as he was about to shout, another hand pressed tightly against his mouth.

"Be quiet," a cold female voice said.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Zhi immediately relaxed. He even wanted the person to keep their hand over his mouth for a little longer.

The one who pulled him was Qianyuan Mingzi.

Turning his head, Zhang Zhiyuan also had been pulled in, but the one who pulled him was Jason Tyler, and he hadn't been silenced.

"What happened?" Zhang Zhiyuan asked.

"There are people around the perimeter of the theater, and both of you were too far behind us, so Miss Asahara and I had to loop back to remind you," Tyler explained, "Joe and the Russians are keeping an eye on them."

"What were you guys talking about anyways, falling so far behind?" Miss Asahara's tone bore a slight hint of reproach.

"Sorry, sorry, just chatting nonsense," Zhang Zhiyuan chuckled, "What do you mean there are people outside the theater?"

"You'll see for yourself."

The four of them stuck to the shadows on the street edge and made their way quietly to the end of Golden Street. The silhouette of the Sinclair Grand Theatre loomed in the night like a small hill, seemingly darker than the surrounding street buildings. At this moment, the streets were nearly devoid of pedestrians, with only the occasional sound of a carriage wheel rolling over cobblestones echoing from a distance. Apart from that, the city was silent.

Zhang Zhiyuan immediately noticed the reason for the darkness here: the street lamps around the theater were out.

The lighting of this city was the old-fashioned oil lamps, which, though needing to be refueled manually, were stable and reliable. If nobody was deliberately meddling, it was unlikely that they would extinguish on their own at night.

And in this pitch-black night, there were actually several shadows moving around the theater—they gathered in groups of threes and twos, seeming casual, yet essentially controlled several street corners. No matter which direction one approached the theater from, it would be difficult not to be noticed by them. In other words, these people weren't just wandering vagabonds, they were purposively guarding the area.