Chapter 18: Through a Public Performance Destined to Be Remembered.
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Chen Jiang stood outside the mayor’s office and pushed the door open.
A middle-aged man in a traditional tunic was leaning against the desk, flipping through the documents in his hands. He looked up at Chen Jiang, pointed toward the cabinet behind him, and said casually, “The second door from the left often fails to spring back. I suspect the damper is broken.”
“Let me take a look.”
Chen Jiang crouched in front of the cabinet, took some tools from his repair kit, and stood again a moment later.
“Sir, it’s fixed. I replaced the damper.”
“Good.”
The man took the Mute Snake with him and left without another word.
...
The van was still waiting for them outside the municipal government building. The two of them climbed in, and as the engine started, the vehicle soon drove away.
The repair company belonged to him as well.
It had the contract for all maintenance work in the municipal government building. Payments were settled between the two organizations annually, without needing to pass through the repairmen.
Only in Chaoge City did he have a chance of stealing that confidential document.
After all, this city contained a vast amount of his and his master’s accumulated resources. If he were in another city, he would not even consider such a plan. A direct assault might actually have a higher chance of success.
Back at the courtyard, Chen Jiang removed his makeup and sat at the table, leafing through the years of business records belonging to the “repair company.”
In truth, if this had been a dungeon, none of this trouble would have been necessary. He had countless ways to complete the mission there.
After all, inside a dungeon, there was no need to worry about the aftermath.
Just as in his first “Beginner’s Dungeon,” he only needed to enjoy himself. There was no need to concern himself with consequences. Once the dungeon ended, he would simply leave.
But reality was different.
He had to consider what came afterward.
His objective was not to steal the original document. That would create far too much commotion. What he needed to do was copy the document without a sound, without letting anyone discover what had happened. Naturally, that made the difficulty of the mission rise without limit.
Now that he knew of the existence of the “Gods’ Paradise,” he strongly suspected that the staff sent to Chaoge City on September 15 to retrieve the document might well be players from the Gods’ Paradise.
Who knew what strange methods those players possessed?
His understanding of the Gods’ Paradise was still far too limited. He had to be sufficiently cautious.
His objective was simple.
To use a public performance destined to be remembered to conceal a theft that would never be discovered.
Soon—
Chen Jiang narrowed his eyes slightly. He had found a clue.
Over the years, the “municipal government building” and his repair company had maintained countless business connections. Yet there was one category of maintenance work that had never once been entrusted to his company.
Elevator repairs.
His company was fully licensed to repair elevators.
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The elevators in the municipal government building could not possibly have remained trouble-free for so many years. If that assumption was correct, then the secret room could only be hidden in one place—
The elevator shaft.
A secret room concealed in an elevator shaft?
It was indeed an exceptionally concealed location, easy to defend and difficult to attack. Infiltrating it without being discovered was practically impossible.
“Brother Jiang.”
The Mute Snake stood beside the square table and spoke. “Do you need me to infiltrate the elevator shaft of the municipal government building tonight and take a look?”
“No.”
Chen Jiang shook his head. “The elevator shaft must be covered with surveillance cameras, infrared beams, and other monitoring equipment. The moment we enter, we’ll trigger the alarm. We have no way to scout ahead this time. We only have one chance.”
“One chance that’s somewhat risky, but has a very high probability of success.”
Countless thoughts collided like threads in the center of his mind, and his line of reasoning gradually became clear.
According to the information obtained from Uncle Ji, the mayor was the most powerful person in the city. Yet even the mayor had no authority to inspect the documents concerning the Gods’ Paradise inside the “safe.”
The safe was secured by fingerprint locks.
It required the fingerprints of two people: the mayor and the special envoy.
Only when both fingerprints were activated simultaneously could the safe be opened. Neither person could open it alone.
After pondering for a long while, Chen Jiang finally took a sheet of white paper from the drawer and rapidly wrote down the plan for the operation. Thirteen minutes later, he handed the page, now covered in writing, to the Mute Snake.
“Some specially designed magic props need to be prepared immediately. As for the other critical timing details, ask Uncle Ji.”
“Understood.”
...
At first, there had been only an objective. By the end, the plan had gradually taken shape and been refined.
The next step was preparation.
Just as he had said before, a magician’s performance onstage accounted for only one percent. The remaining ninety-nine percent consisted of preparation behind the scenes.
Of course, the most important thing was to prepare a “Joker.”
Every magician had to possess a Joker capable of bringing any uncontrollable situation to an immediate end.
That was the magician’s first principle.
Today was September 5. Ten days remained before September 15. Chen Jiang had no intention of entering the Gods’ Paradise again during that period. Instead, he planned to devote himself entirely to preparing for the “Mirror Flower, Water Moon” magic show on September 15.
Beneath the calm surface of Chaoge City, hidden currents had begun to surge.
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The first sign was—
The warm-up surrounding Chen Jiang’s upcoming performance on the Chaoge University forum had begun to spiral out of control. Large numbers of students posting from campus IP addresses flooded the forum with messages expressing their anticipation, while rumors about Chen Jiang spread everywhere.
Some claimed he was the illegitimate son of a federal tycoon.
Others said he was an ancient human revived from the Fifth Ice Age.
The recording of Chen Jiang’s “Ace of Hearts” magic performance in the classroom had also become extraordinarily popular online.
Little by little, it even broke beyond the university.
Soon, people outside Chaoge University were talking about it as well.
...
Time quickly reached noon on September 15.
At nine o’clock that evening, Chaoge University’s freshman welcome gala would begin.
“My dear daughter, can’t you try to understand your father?”
The middle-aged man sitting in the mayor’s office spoke helplessly into the phone. “I truly can’t get away tonight. There are some extremely important people I have to receive personally. I can’t tell you much—only that they hold very high positions.”
“Next time, all right? Next time.”
“I promise I’ll go next time!”
When he finished speaking, a tearful voice came through the phone.
“No! I don’t love you anymore!”
“Ah.”
The middle-aged man hung up and leaned back in his chair. With a soft sigh, he lit a cigarette and gently rubbed his temples.
He very much wanted to witness his daughter’s first performance with his own eyes. He knew how eagerly she had been looking forward to university life.
After entering university, she had enthusiastically run for class monitor. She had also gone to considerable trouble to invite Chen Jiang to arrange a magic performance that had attracted considerable attention. As one of the performers sharing the stage, she naturally hoped that he would be there to witness it.
He had been young once, too.
He knew what was in his child’s heart.
But tonight, he truly could not go.
If it were any other day, no matter how important the matter at hand was, he would put it aside to watch the performance his daughter had prepared so carefully.
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