Illusion Report

She’d figured it out by now. Chaisi was nothing more than a hound.

And what’s on a hound’s mind? Nothing but a target and the chase. Trying to deal with him like a normal person was like pouring water down a drain—it vanished without a sound.

Anyone else in his position would have let Jin Xueli out of her cell, as a matter of both common sense and decency. But concepts like "lending a hand" or "making up for the trouble you’ve caused" seemed to be completely absent from Chaisi’s vocabulary.

But when he had a clear objective, everything changed.

When Chaisi had initially refused to help, Jin Xueli had assumed finding the key would be a huge pain. She’d been a little anxious, worried that the information she’d offered wouldn’t be worth the effort in his eyes. As it turned out, she’d barely had time to sit down before he was already back.

"Huh?" Jin Xueli asked, stunned. "Did you forget something?"

The tall figure didn’t answer, but a crisp jingle of keys sounded from his hand.

’He got the keys already?’

’Once he’s motivated by a goal, he’s just too efficient, isn’t he?’

Jin Xueli hurried to the door. By the light of her phone, she watched him slide the key into the lock, feeling both annoyed and amused. "Don’t tell me you knew where the key was all along? You were barely gone!"

"If you think it’s too soon, I can always come back later."

Jin Xueli quickly grabbed the open cell door. "No, no! I’m just surprised. How did you find it so fast?"

She hadn’t actually expected Chaisi to answer her. But to her surprise, he glanced at her and did. "This is also a form of hunting. The key is to find the right path."

’Still a hound, through and through.’

Just as Jin Xueli was about to slip out, there was a heavy THUD. Chaisi had grabbed the bars on the other side, his arm blocking the doorway.

"Now it’s your turn," he said, his head lowered.

Jin Xueli had only gotten two good looks at the person.

Even if she wracked her brain to pad her description, she had only a few sentences’ worth of information at best. It was impossible not to worry that if Chaisi wasn’t pleased, he’d lock her right back up.

But just as Chaisi needed a motive to help, he also seemed to have no reason to harm someone without a purpose.

When Jin Xueli finished, he was clearly unsatisfied, but he still moved aside. He snorted. "That’s it?"

"I was being frog-marched, you know," she said, taking the opportunity to slip past him and head up the stairs. Chaisi followed behind her. "Even if I had asked who he was, they wouldn’t have told me."

"Hardly worth the trouble of finding the key to let you out," Chaisi said.

"Speaking of which, let’s get one thing straight. You still owe me for what happened with the Vulture residents..."

As she spoke, Jin Xueli reached the first floor. She raised her phone, and its light fell upon a scene that made her freeze.

The first-floor lobby of the Central Police Station, a place she had walked through several times just a short while ago, was now completely unrecognizable. Most of the desks were stacked in high piles. Other tables and chairs had been toppled and swept against the walls. Computers, phones, filing cabinets, and other miscellaneous items were heaped on the floor in mountains of junk.

"Hey! Do you people have any idea what crimes you’re committing?!" From the holding cells below, on the other side of the lobby, someone was yelling furiously. "Who the hell are you people? How dare you attack the Central Police Station?"

By rights, they shouldn’t be able to hear anything without a phone. It was hard to say if the man was incredibly brave or just delusional, roaring into what must have been total silence for him.

"So some people haven’t been taken over?" Jin Xueli stopped in her tracks, reluctant to get any closer to the cells holding the police. "I thought—Aren’t you worried about what they’ll do afterward? Wait, don’t tell me you’re planning to..."

Several thoughts raced through her mind in a few seconds, but Chaisi walked right past her as if he hadn’t heard a thing.

"Well now, you’re out."

The woman with the tattooed neck from before peeked over the second-floor railing. She smiled and called down to Jin Xueli, "Didn’t you say you’d help find the police chief? Come on up."

Looking up from the lobby, she could see beams from several flashlights sweeping across the second floor. The endless sounds of people rummaging through rooms, going in and out, echoed through the hall. The atrium didn’t extend to the third floor, so Jin Xueli couldn’t see it, but she imagined there were just as many people searching up there.

’If I took this chance, while they’re busy searching—’

The woman seemed to catch her momentary hesitation perfectly.

"Thinking of leaving?" the woman asked. "I can’t blame you. This isn’t exactly a place you’d want to stick around."

She seemed much more reasonable than Chaisi and appeared to have a good impression of Jin Xueli. If the decision were up to her alone, Jin Xueli probably could have left the police station long ago.

The only problem was... Jin Xueli couldn’t help but glance at Chaisi’s retreating back.

"You can’t get out, you know." The woman on the second floor laughed, her voice almost gentle. "Did you think leaving your cell meant you had a chance to escape?"

Something in her tone made Jin Xueli flinch and look up at her.

"The ’Nest Communication Network’ is like a... hmm, ever read any fantasy novels? It’s like a ’barrier.’ As long as I don’t take it down, no one inside can get out, and no one outside can get in."

As she spoke, the woman from the second floor clamped the flashlight between her teeth, gripped the railing with both hands, and vaulted cleanly over. She landed, tucked into a light roll, and came up steady on her feet right in front of Jin Xueli.