Chapter 15: "Illusions Like Flowers in a Mirror, Moonlight on Water."
After being chosen by the "Paradise of the Gods," he found himself unable to leave. To survive long enough, he needed to join a strong enough team—relying solely on himself would never suffice.
Chen Jiang’s team was excellent.
Yet...
How to join them was a dilemma.
The middle-aged man pondered this while starting to search online for any information about the "Paradise of the Gods."
...
In Chaoge City.
Chen Jiang drove his McLaren sports car, license plate "Chao A·88888," cruising through the city streets. The sun hung high in the sky, and in reality, he was fairly law-abiding on the roads.
Along the way,
No pedestrians were harmed.
Soon—
The vehicle entered the parking lot of "Wanxiang Mall." The security guard at the gate respectfully saluted and lifted the barrier to let him through. After parking in his reserved spot, Chen Jiang strode with purpose into a basement on the third underground level.
Pushing the door open,
It was not a cramped space but rather a vast and impeccably tidy office area. The walls were lined with numerous screens, and multiple computers were arranged throughout.
Dozens of staff moved busily inside.
Upon seeing Chen Jiang enter, they all stood, greeting him with respectful expressions: “Good morning, Brother Jiang.”
Chen Jiang waved his hand lightly. This was one of his teams—a top-tier hacker group.
They also helped manage some of his assets, like the "Wanxiang Mall," which was one of his holdings. They did not handle basic business operations such as leasing; dedicated teams handled those.
Additionally, they took care of laundering some of the funds.
After all, while some of his master’s money came from magic tricks, in worldly terms, it wasn’t exactly legal.
The manager here was called "Uncle Ji," someone the master had adopted from an orphanage and trained from a young age.
“Brother Jiang.”
A middle-aged man with graying temples approached. His respect was genuine. Chen Jiang was the successor designated by Master Ji, and they fully understood his capabilities.
“Hm.”
Chen Jiang nodded slightly, remaining silent. The "Paradise of the Gods" had no rule forbidding external disclosure of its information. Since there was no prohibition, it was permissible.
Yet he had never encountered any news about the "Paradise of the Gods" online.
...
That could only mean one thing.
The Federation had imposed strict censorship on the subject.
This was also why he hadn’t rashly searched for it online—if censorship was in place, the Federation’s Cyber Surveillance Bureau would receive alerts whenever someone searched those four characters.
Professional matters were best left to professionals.
“Gather all intelligence related to the term ‘Paradise of the Gods.’ This phrase is most likely a red line for the Cyber Surveillance Bureau. Be careful to leave no trace during collection.”
“Understood.”
Uncle Ji nodded and continued, “Ten minutes ago, someone on the intranet was collecting information about you, Brother Jiang. Our people have traced the location to the 31st floor of the ‘Wanxiang Office Building’ in Chaoge City, at Nongchuang Trading Co., Ltd.—just above our floor.”
Chen Jiang’s eyes narrowed slightly. That location belonged to the father of the chubby man they had encountered in the dungeon. After a pause, he said, “I see.”
“This person might rashly search for information on the ‘Paradise of the Gods’ online. I’ve shielded his information for now. I don’t want the Cyber Surveillance Bureau sniffing around.”
“Yes.”
...
After finishing these matters, Chen Jiang left Wanxiang Mall and headed toward Chaoge University.
The Federation’s regime was stable.
It hadn’t undergone significant changes due to the existence of the "Paradise of the Gods." He believed the Federation’s top echelons were fully aware of its presence. After all, the things he had brought out from the dungeon also existed in reality.
If all players were locked down by the Federation,
It would be tantamount to handing their fates over to others.
Of course,
The Federation likely possessed a wealth of classified information about the "Paradise of the Gods," which he desperately wanted to obtain. Yet he didn’t want to extract such secrets bit by bit through being co-opted.
His home planet was Blue Star.
The year was 2025.
Legend had it that during the Fifth Ice Age, a human civilization had flourished on Blue Star, only to be utterly destroyed during the Sixth Ice Age. When an interglacial period arrived, human civilization revived.
Today, archaeology primarily focused on uncovering traces left by the former human civilization on Blue Star.
After numerous wars,
Blue Star’s current structure was a federation government coexisting with over thirty small countries. There was only one continent where the federation’s government resided, while the other small nations were scattered across island groups beyond the mainland.
He arrived just in time.
To catch the first class of his archaeology major. The bell had not yet rung.
...
Upon entering the classroom, the class monitor Jiang Min strode over, carrying a clearly homemade breakfast, her eyes filled with expectation as she looked at Chen Jiang.
“Chen Jiang, the school has scheduled the freshman welcome party for September 15, just ten days away. Can you represent the class and perform a magic trick on stage? Please, I’m begging you...”
Chen Jiang glanced down at the breakfast in Jiang Min’s hand and waved his hand casually.
“No.”
At that moment—
His phone suddenly rang. Chen Jiang raised a hand to stop Jiang Min from speaking further, then stepped out to answer. On the other end was Uncle Ji’s voice.
“Brother Jiang.”
“The Federation’s control over information about the ‘Paradise of the Gods’ is extremely strict—highest-level censorship. There’s not a trace of it even on the government’s intranet. All related data is stored offline physically.”
“The only clue so far is that some information about the ‘Paradise of the Gods’ is stored offline within the Chaoge City government, sealed and tightly guarded with no one allowed near.”
“On the night of September 15, officials from other cities will come to Chaoge to carry out a mission—taking away the stored information. That will be the last time this safe has contact with the outside world.”
“This is a sensitive matter, Brother Jiang. If anything goes wrong, it could be a huge problem.”
...
Chen Jiang didn’t respond immediately. After long contemplation, he quietly said, “Keep me informed.”
...
After hanging up,
Chen Jiang slowly lit a cigarette. Gazing at the glowing red tip and the wisps of white smoke rising, he pondered for a moment before pinching out the ember and turning back into the classroom.
He smiled gently at the slightly disappointed class monitor Jiang Min.
“I suddenly think that performing a magic trick at the freshman welcome party isn’t such a bad idea.”
“You’ve really agreed!” Jiang Min’s excitement made her dash over. “I’ll report to the counselor about your performance. Are you going to do that card-guessing trick from last time?”
“No...” Chen Jiang shook his head lightly, smiling warmly.
“This time, it will be a more interesting and grander magic performance.”
“The tentative title is—”
“Ephemeral Illusions.”