Illusion Report

A gloved Mercenary carried a large bundle of iron chains. With a loud RATTLE, he dumped them all by the main entrance of the police station, clearly preparing for the coming lockdown.

"Get me a few men, a radio, and a car. Have them follow me."

Chaisi snatched up the gun he’d left on the lobby table, along with his personal effects retrieved from the police lockup, and said to Mercury, "I’m leaving this to you. We’ll settle up afterward."

"What’s wrong? In such a hurry to leave?" Mercury sat cross-legged on a table. In her irrepressible excitement, her eyes shone as if they were burning. "Any special requests for the cleanup?"

"Just handle it. I don’t want any loose ends."

"Got it. One deluxe, super-sized package, coming right up," Mercury was in a good enough mood to joke. She snapped her fingers and tossed a set of car keys to Chaisi.

As she turned to pick her people, Chaisi strode toward the station entrance.

He had no idea where the police had taken his car, but Mercury’s convoy was brazenly parked across the station’s courtyard. Even with their modifications, you could still see the telltale signs of their original military armor.

After unlocking one of the trucks, Chaisi turned his head.

"How long are you going to keep following me?" he asked, glancing at Jin Xueli.

’This woman was a clever one.’ Chaisi wasn’t stupid; he could guess why she had followed him this whole time without saying a word.

’She’d clearly realized that he had something urgent to take care of and couldn’t care less if she left, where she went, or what she did. That made following him the safest option.’

’If she didn’t stick with him, she’d inevitably run into someone like Ashley, or get detained by Mercury... and escaping then wouldn’t be so easy.’

"Ah, I think this is far enough. I’m out," Jin Xueli said, glancing back at the police station. "Good luck. I should be on my way."

Without another word, Chaisi pulled open the truck door. But before he got in, something gave him pause. He remembered the moment in his car when Jin Xueli had subconsciously touched her neck.

She had been talking about Vulture’s attack... The lingering fear in her expression made it look as if she’d once suffered a fatal injury there. It was as if she didn’t even realize she was stroking an old wound.

But when Chaisi had looked, her neck had been smooth and clean, without so much as a single mark.

’...He didn’t have time to dwell on it, but he had a nagging feeling there was more to that little detail.’

"Wait," he said, leaning back out. Suppressing his impatience despite the urgency of the situation, he added, "You don’t need to worry about the fingerprint records."

Jin Xueli froze. "Why?"

The rain had stopped. Underneath the heavy clouds, the daylight was still clinging to life. Her hair had dried at some point, and it was only then that Chaisi realized it wasn’t black.

Now that it was dry, her hair was a shade lighter. It was strange—just a subtle change in color, one or two shades brighter, yet it made her look like a completely different person. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

The reason such an out-of-place thought occurred to Chaisi now was that this lighter-haired version of Jin Xueli looked vaguely familiar.

’He was certain he’d never met Jin Xueli before.’

’No, it was more that her current appearance reminded him of someone else... As for when, where, or who that person was, the details were lost to him, dismissed by his mind as unimportant.’

And so, the feeling of familiarity was gone as quickly as it came.

"I’ll take care of all the records they collected today."

With that, Chaisi slammed the door shut with a THUD. He paused for half a second before finally speaking again through the window. "...Consider it my way of saying thanks."

He didn’t know why she’d chosen to call him instead of working with Ashley, but Chaisi wouldn’t forget the favor.

"Huh?" Jin Xueli clearly caught on. As he started the engine, she pressed, "This is separate from that other favor you owe me, right?"

Having already wasted precious seconds talking, Chaisi wasn’t about to stop and settle the account with her.

On the way to the cemetery, Chaisi broke every traffic law in the book. And if there were any laws not yet written, he probably broke those, too.

As he drove, he tried to contact the Household Hunters. Just as he’d expected, he couldn’t get ahold of any of them—the most skilled and experienced ones, the very people Uncle Kai would have called for backup in his stead.

Chaisi took a deep breath, wrenched the steering wheel, and charged onto the small road at the foot of the mountain where the cemetery was.

’Those Hunters are probably in the middle of a fight.’

’Then again... something has gone wrong, but it’s probably not over yet. Nothing is set in stone. That means this isn’t the worst-case scenario.’

As he raced toward the cemetery, Chaisi suddenly cursed himself for being an idiot.

’Of course he couldn’t reach the people who were most likely in combat. But the logistics personnel, the ones who distribute weapons and Illusions before a mission, they would know exactly what was going on—’

’Why hadn’t he thought to call them?’

The instant Chaisi glanced down to grab his phone, a rapid succession of CRACKS echoed through the cab. Something tore through the air and zipped past his head. A small hole appeared in the bulletproof windshield, from which a spiderweb of fine cracks spread in all directions.

Amid the sharp, ear-piercing SCREECH of tires, the military truck swerved violently to the side of the road.

Chaisi ducked down in his seat. The initial shock of the near-miss sent a jolt of adrenaline through him that faded just as quickly. Though his heart still hammered in his chest, he once again entered that serene, detached state, his hand reaching out to grasp his gun.

’...Uncle Kai must still be in the cemetery,’ he thought. ’He’s still alive.’

’That’s why the mastermind planted a sniper on the road to the cemetery.’

And a damn good one, at that.

Even as he was speeding, the shooter had managed to aim for his head, time the shot perfectly, and fire two clean, consecutive rounds from a .44 through the bulletproof glass, followed by a third aimed right at his forehead. Not many people in Blackmoor City had that kind of skill.

’If he hadn’t ducked his head at that exact moment to grab his phone...’

"You’ve got some incredible luck, senpai."

A vaguely familiar voice called from outside the truck, tinged with a tone of exasperated helplessness.

"People used to say you were lucky, but I never really believed it. And yet, you just had to duck your head at that precise instant. Are you carrying some kind of luck-enhancing Illusion?"

Chaisi closed his eyes and let out a soft breath.

"Long time no see," he said coolly. "I didn’t realize you moonlighted as an assassin in your spare time as a Hunter."

"My apologies, but it would’ve been better for everyone if you’d just stayed at the station. I didn’t want to have to assassinate you, senpai."

Chaisi reached out and gripped the door handle.

After a pause, he spoke.

"It seems you’ve forgotten the lesson I taught you last time we crossed paths, Morando."