Origin Paradise!

"Don't waste time, find them!"

The emergency doctor was at a loss, his expression as uncomfortable and contorted as if he had swallowed feces.

Everyone lowered their guns and pointed them at each other. In the next instant, the blond youth felt a strong sense of crisis and instinctively hid behind his teammates.

"Bang bang bang!"

Gunfire erupted in the night. Jiang He, positioned against the wall, held guns in both hands, unleashing a hail of bullets at the blond youth. He first blasted the outer members used as scapegoats, then riddled the target behind him with bullets. After emptying the magazine, he instantly released his grip, only to find two more pistols appearing when he gripped them again.

The counterattack began the moment the gunfire started.

A dozen or so people pulled the trigger, and a barrage of bullets rained down on someone. The invisible defense provided by the Dragon Scale Armor in the equipment slot collapsed in less than five seconds, and the Pure Azure Armor took its place.

Jiang He engaged in a firefight with the enemy. Within five seconds, his high agility stat gave him enough time to aim. After killing six people at close range, the counterattack collapsed, and the outer personnel retreated using cover.

By the time Felix staggered over, the battle was already over.

Jiang He drank a small healing potion. After the damage stopped, his invisible defense slowly recovered. He felt his stamina decreasing. The intense shooting just now, with its shock and impact, had left serious damage in his body. The Jiao Scale Armor did not have a significant energy absorption effect.

Skillfully locating the playing cards, the blond youth's code name was the Ten of Hearts. At this point, the Spades, Hearts, and Clubs had all been revealed.

“We’re still missing the ten of diamonds, or rather… I am the ten of diamonds. Rodlev and the blond youth are both members of the card club, as is Rhein Augustus.”

Jiang He entered the villa to search and took out a briefcase from his inventory bag. It had a red diamond pattern on its surface with a cross engraved in the middle, which was the initial item he found on the park bench when he arrived.

"The Card Club, at the request of its employer, attempted to murder Felix. The mission was carried out by Rhein and Rodlev. The two planned to use weapons information to secretly approach the target under the guise of a reception party, thereby achieving their goal. This method is in line with the style of the assassin organization, rather than shooting in broad daylight."

"But Rhine disappeared for unknown reasons and was actually a death row inmate. His records were lost, and Rodlev couldn't offer any bargaining chips for cooperation. Even his identity was exposed because of this. So the blond youth, Red Heart Ten, took his place and became the new Rhine. The two continued to work together, which is why there were photos of them with the same background but different roles. Everything was a fabricated illusion, including the information on the school's official website."

“At the banquet, I reappeared. Rodlev refused to acknowledge it because the new Rhine had already made a public appearance, but he did not resist the attack. After all, I am an assassin, on par with the Plum Blossom Ten, who are capable of wiping out a bodyguard team.”

"Mysteriously disappearing for a month meant I was bound to lose the organization's trust, but the first shot fired by the gunman wasn't aimed at me because I might have had the weapon information."

"But why would we rather target the second shot than kill Rodlev first? Logically, it's because my appearance led to his abandonment by the organization; otherwise, he wouldn't have attended the party."

"In summary, killing Rodlev was a higher priority than the mission objective at the time, and the reason was..."

Jiang He found the passage and entered the underground library, already having the answer in his mind—the traitor.

"Dealing with traitors is above the mission. Rhine disappeared, and his partner Rodlev is the person primarily responsible. During his disappearance, a search for members of the organization must have been launched. However, before I summarized the four elements of surveillance, he openly appeared on the streets of Shanghai."

"Unfortunately, reasoning without a complete chain of evidence is meaningless, but it does lead to the conclusion that I must kill Felix."

Jiang He discovered the personal safes of the organization's members, which showed signs of having been opened recently. The input field displayed an eight-digit number, and the initial note did not contain a birthday, but rather a password.

1999.07.25

"Dangdang!"

The safe was opened, revealing gold bars, US dollars, a pistol, ammunition, and other necessities, as well as a file containing operation reports. The records indicated that Rhine had altered the organization's plans without authorization before his disappearance, claiming he was absolutely certain of success.

Felix, holding onto the handrail, walked down the stairs.

Jiang He turned around and symbolically pulled out his Glock 17. Although he had several more modern pistols in his pouch, he was already used to this one.

"A letter, hand it over."

Felix remained calm and raised his hand to answer, "I swear I don't know anything about this. Since I came to Shanghai, I've received at least eight hundred, if not a thousand, letters or invitations. My assistant handles all of these. He can give me a call and the letter you need will be delivered to the designated location before dawn, provided it actually exists. And I don't recommend that we stay here any longer."

Jiang He nodded. There were ten bundles of US dollars in his personal safe, each bundle containing a thousand bills, each worth twenty dollars, totaling two hundred thousand dollars. It was obviously for emergency use, and now he had taken it all. At this moment, the bag was scattered with a large number of guns and ammunition, making it look like a mobile armory.

Chapter 36 Invitation to the Death Ship

The next morning.

The two drove to the international airport.

Felix's assistant delivered the letter Rhine had sent on time, a key part of the latter's confident plan, which had never actually reached the target.

Jiang He tore open the well-preserved envelope, inside was a black invitation card with neat and beautiful handwriting.

[Dear Mr. Rhein Augustus, your business acumen and dedication have caught our attention. The Death Cruise is a place where dreams come true. If you wish to gain freedom or advance your career, please proceed to the designated location to board the ship in two days and twenty hours. Don't forget to bring your invitation...]

"An interesting technique."

Jiang He stroked the black card. To be precise, this special card "stored" a hypnotic spell that allowed the cardholder to see some corresponding information reflected in their own mind. Invitees who were unaware of this were exposed to their secrets and naturally developed awe for the unknown mysterious power, thus increasing the credibility of the death cruise ship's dream-realizing ability.

The two days and twenty hours is content that changes automatically based on time.

"The technique of solidifying the spirit and will onto cards and the imagery technique that presents corresponding images are both in-depth applications of hypnosis. In comparison, my color-changing technique and blood pump technique are more like horizontal development."

For players, the development and application of skills are part of their professional competence, while the person who sends out the invitation may be a highly skilled player with an unusual purpose.

"If this card falls into Felix's hands and he's lured onto the death cruise, then Rhine's plan should be to eliminate the mission objective at sea. Two points are worth noting: first, Rhine has broken free from hypnosis; second, something on the cruise ship turned him into a death row inmate..."

Jiang He stopped his wandering thoughts as he heard the notification sound from the Origin Game.

[Main Quest 1 Completed]

[Task Name: Retrieve the Sent Letter]

[Task Rewards: ① 100 experience points and game currency ② Targeted Common Quality Scroll *1]

[Task Rating: B, 130% experience bonus to experience points and in-game currency]

[Game Coins: 1055]

[Experience Points: 305/500]

Jiang He used a scroll.

[Name: Eye of the Beast]

[Category: Active Skill]

[Quality: Average]

[Effect: Grants vision of the designated animal. Duration: 10 minutes. Energy cost: 20 points. Effective range: 1 kilometer radius.]

[Note: The duration of the maintenance will vary depending on factors such as the target's intelligence, eyesight, and obedience.]

……

[The task meets the conditions for continuing to trigger]

[Quest Name: Regret and Vengeful Spirits]

[Main Mission 2: Complete the Death Cruise Game]

[Task Rewards: ① 200 game coins and experience points. ② Targeted rare item *1]

[Task Time Limit: None]

……

The notification sounds kept coming in.

Jiang He has digested the current situation. A brand-new bodyguard team has arrived, and the private jet has been cleared for takeoff.

Felix smiled and said, "Now it's time to say goodbye."

"Shanghai is safer for you after the lockdown."

“But that’s not my reason for leaving Mexico. I have important business to attend to. The business deal in Shanghai has already been finalized at the party. Besides, life always has to move on to the next stage, even if you shot me in the foot.”

Jiang He took out the weapons information, which was originally the card club's reliance for getting closer to their target.

"Make a price."

Felix took it and looked at it, revealing just the right amount of satisfaction.

"US dollars, or cryptocurrencies?"

"Deliver the explosives here."

Jiang He marked the location of an island on his phone map, which was the same location where the real-life battle royale took place. He was indifferent to this deal, as it was possible that the other party would renege on the agreement or that Leviathan Corporation would discover the location of the explosives.

Felix nodded in agreement. "Reputation is a man's last resort. You can pick it up in a month."

Jiang He watched the other person leave, bought some paper and pen, and at the same time sent a message to Cangshan Fuxue through the Origin Game.

[Fifty animal pelts are ready; the transaction will take place at Shanghai International Airport.]

A few minutes later, I received a reply in my friends list.

[That's very sincere. I'll be there soon.]

Jiang He turned off the control panel. International airports, being strategic facilities, were bound to be on the Bureau of Order's key defense list, making a full-scale battle impossible.

He took out the phone that came with his Rhine identity, searched the map of the entire territory, and then drew circles with gradients on it, with the international airport as the origin, according to the speed of various modes of transportation.

The ideal scenario is that Cangshan Fuxue will set off immediately after receiving the news, so that he can deduce a large number of distance ranges based on time and various estimated speeds. Of course, one time is not very meaningful, but as long as there are enough models, the range can be gradually narrowed down.

"There are extraordinary effects, and we also have to take the erroneous data into account. However, even if we find out the identity, it seems difficult to use it as a threat to turn the target into a tool of the talisman. At the very least, the Bureau of Order is a way out that we can accept by holding our noses."

The international airport was bustling with people. Jiang He passed the time as he entered the Rodlev villa. There were definitely a lot of hidden surveillance cameras. With the experience of the assassin organization, they could easily be placed in unexpected places. In other words, his current disguise had already entered the card club's field of vision.

At some point, a message appeared in the friends list.

[This airport is too big, where is your seat?]

[The intersection of the two lines, directly east of the terminal and control tower]

Jiang He got up and went to the restroom. When she came back, she had two boxes that she had previously used to store assault rifles.

Not long after, a young woman wearing sunglasses appeared. She was slender but dressed in a loose white tracksuit, making it difficult to tell whether she was hiding a weapon underneath. Her high ponytail was quite neat, and the jade bracelet on her wrist was as white as mutton fat.

Jiang He opened the box, revealing fifty cleaned animal skins stacked together. People around occasionally glanced at them, but seeing that both sides were acting openly and honestly, they quickly lost interest.

The snow-covered Cangshan Mountain stretched out its hand to gently caress the goods. This batch of goods consisted of monkey skin and sheepskin. The former was susceptible to damage from sunlight and was not on the protected list.

"That's enough to take several bullets."

Jiang He cautioned, "These sheepskins come from a different species of argali sheep, which is far superior to ordinary wild animals. I climbed the cliff to capture them, a process that was fraught with peril."

Cangshan Fuxue laughed and said, "You want to pay more? Your goods are indeed of very high quality. For twenty-four rock goat skins, I can give you an extra twelve yellow paper talismans, on the condition that the quantity and quality of the next transaction are no less than this one. If they are all different species of skins, one for one."

Jiang He nodded. "Let's take a look at the types of talismans first."

"Tower runes for defense, lightning runes for using electric current to attack, spirit runes for protecting the mind, and slash runes for temporarily increasing the sharpness of weapons."

The snow-covered Cangshan Mountain refused to reveal any further details.

Jiang He took a sheet and examined it.

[Name: Yellow Tower Symbol]

[Type: Consumable]

[Quality: Average]

[Effect: Activated by consuming a certain amount of stamina, manifesting a tower shadow to protect the user for ten minutes]

[Note: Don't have too high expectations for the effect of a single talisman]

"Two of each of the first three types, and then six more talismans related to water," Jiang He said. His Long-Hate Spear was a miracle of sheer force, and the enhancement of its sharpness was not so important for the time being.

"You're planning to replenish your fresh water supply, right?" Cangshan Fuxue handed over twelve talismans and a cinnabar mirror. "The water talisman is as powerful as a high-pressure water gun, and it can fill about ten buckets of drinking water. Payment is settled. When is the next transaction?"

"Let's talk about it in a month."

Jiang He packed up his things and left, while Cangshan Fuxue also took two boxes with him. Offline transactions between players carry certain risks and are usually quick and decisive.

Chapter 37 Boarding the Ship

Two days later, late at night.

Thick fog blanketed the sea outside Shanghai Harbor, obscuring the moonlight and casting long shadows over the water—a prelude to an impending storm.

A giant cruise ship slowly emerged from the layers of mist, resembling a moving island.

The New Las Vegas, the largest modern ship, is 505.9 meters long and 80.4 meters high. Its hull width reaches 26 rows of containers, exceeding the limits of ordinary crane operation. It is environmentally friendly, advanced, highly automated, and fully monitored by a computer system, which reduces the necessary crew size to thirteen people.

However, according to public information, the ship was confirmed to have sunk to the bottom of the sea a year ago, with none of the more than 7,000 passengers on board surviving, shocking the world.

At the port, there was more than one person waiting for the cruise ship to dock. Hundreds of invitees had gathered here. The young waiter who had been standing guard at the entrance of the Xuanbin Hotel saw an acquaintance and went over to greet him.

“This ship might be suspicious. Why don’t we lend a hand? By the way, my name is Gong Chen.”

Jiang He nodded and said, "It's already called the Death Cruise, so my suggestion is to remove the 'maybe,' but it seems you have a compelling reason to go on."

Gong Chen shrugged and replied, "Of course it's because the invitation said it would help me realize my dreams. This ship should have sunk by now, but it's suddenly reappeared. Even though I originally just wanted to give it a try, I can't help but believe it a bit more now. Besides, I heard that it provides food and lodging, and I just happened to lose my last job."

"I have no interest in ripping you off."