Illusion Report

Something that can pull a life back from the brink of death is the most precious thing of all.

People would spend millions without a second thought; they would flock to anything that offered even the slightest increase in their chances of survival—like that bottle of sports drink.

But erasing a person’s life? That’s cheap.

The tools of murder are often worthless.

Jin Xueli glanced at the purple soda can in her hand again.

’If it were just about killing someone, a knife would be enough. Even if I couldn’t do it myself, twelve thousand dollars is enough to hire a desperado.’

But using worldly methods meant Jin Xueli would have to bear worldly risks and consequences. Blackmoor City was, after all, a real society with rules and laws. ’What if someone investigates Anthony’s death or disappearance and traces it back to me?’

The Nest residents hadn’t even managed to catch her. It would be far too ironic if she ended up in a human prison.

She had to take care of this cleanly, without a hint of suspicion falling on her. She still had so much money, so much life yet to enjoy.

The real reason this can of soda was so expensive wasn’t just because it could cause a person’s death—to be honest, she wasn’t even sure if the result could truly be called death.

But she was sure of one thing: using an Illusion to deal with Anthony would leave no loose ends for her to worry about.

As Jin Xueli stared blankly at the soda can, a line of small text on its bottom just switched from "Countdown: 6 hours 25 minutes" to "Countdown: 6 hours 24 minutes".

It was only valid for eight hours total, and she had already wasted an hour and a half. The most infuriating part was that, aside from the first few phone calls, she had spent the rest of the time just waiting.

’Did I catch Anthony off guard? Did he not expect me to contact him first?’

Just as the thought crossed her mind, the brand-new burner phone on the table began to buzz. Jin Xueli glanced at the screen and immediately snatched up the phone. "Anthony?"

The other end of the line was silent for a second or two.

Then, the voice spoke as if nothing was wrong. "Ah, it really is you."

"Of course it’s me. Didn’t I leave you a voice message?"

"You suddenly said you lost your phone and told me to call this number. It’s a little suspicious." Anthony’s speech was slow and deliberate, but his tone was like that of a rodent sniffing around in the shadows. "...When did you lose it?"

Jin Xueli thought for a moment, naming a time before he had posted her phone number on adult websites. "The morning before last."

Anthony paused.

When he spoke again, his tone had warmed up. "Why the sudden call? It’s been so long..."

"Can we meet and talk?" Jin Xueli asked, cutting straight to the point. "At the bar where we first met?"

She chose a public place to put Anthony at ease; he was surely afraid she’d hired people to jump him.

"What’s this about?" The stalker was cautious, as expected.

In that moment, Jin Xueli channeled every romantic movie heroine she had ever seen, mimicking their light, earnest voices. "I... I don’t like the way things ended between us. I don’t think it’s completely hopeless for us. It doesn’t have to be like this. Whatever you want, we can talk it over..."

’Does such a stupid woman really exist in this world?’

’After being harassed with endless calls in the dead of night, left countless abusive and threatening messages, and told "I’ll find someone to kill you," would she really be dumb enough to want to "talk it over" with her stalker?’

Jin Xueli didn’t think so, but Anthony seemed to—or at least, he wanted her to be.

"Now?" There was a restless eagerness in Anthony’s voice that made her skin crawl, even over the phone. "It’ll be at least an hour before I can get away..."

Jin Xueli said through gritted teeth, "No problem. I’ll wait for you."

After hanging up, she placed the phone and the purple soda can on the table in front of her and stared at them for a while.

A group of men and women at the next table suddenly burst into loud laughter. They seemed to be colleagues out for a drink after work, all raising their glasses and clinking them together in mid-air.

The waitress approached the table and asked with a smile, "How about it? Is the person you’re waiting for coming?"

"It’ll be a little while." Jin Xueli pulled a few bills with Franklin’s face on them from her wallet and handed them to the waitress, along with the purple soda can. "Just like we discussed. After he gets here, I’ll have to trouble you."

The waitress stared at the bills, clearly startled by the size of the tip, and asked in disbelief, "Are you sure?"

Jin Xueli leaned back slowly in her chair and smiled at her.

"...I’m sure."

It was almost nine o’clock, and the bar was starting to fill up.

The smell of alcohol in the air, mixed with perfume and the scent of tobacco that rushed in every time the door opened, hazed the lights.

With only 3 hours and 41 minutes of validity left, just as Jin Xueli was starting to consider her backup plan, Anthony finally pushed open the bar door. His eyes scanned the room and quickly found his target, but he didn’t walk over immediately.

He stood at the entrance, surveying all the patrons inside before slowly making his way over and plopping down in the seat across from Jin Xueli.

"You look tired," he said, his first words feigning concern. "Having a rough time lately? Man, I haven’t been sleeping well either. I think about you all the time."

Jin Xueli considered herself worldly, but faced with this level of shamelessness, devoid of any self-awareness, she was still too astonished to speak.

"You know," Anthony said, tapping a hand on the table, "before I came, I called your lost phone."

Before Jin Xueli could react, he was already speaking self-righteously. "Just as I thought, someone found it. How can someone find a phone and not return it?"

"Wait, someone answered?" Jin Xueli asked quickly.

"Yeah, a man," Anthony said.

’Morando’s voice was deeper than the average woman’s, so he had indeed mistaken her for a man. Still, the fact that she could answer the phone means Morando and the others are back in Blackmoor City.’

"I asked him, ’How much money do you want to return the phone to my girlfriend?’"

At that moment, Jin Xueli felt like she’d gone to a socialite’s party, taken off her shoes, and discovered she was wearing a sock with a hole in the toe.

"What did she—... what did he say?" she asked, rubbing her face hard.

She had come here today to kill a man, but right now, she wished she could just hang herself from the rafters first.

"You wouldn’t believe his greed!" Anthony was filled with righteous indignation. "He said, ’Twelve thousand, and she can have it back.’ Can you believe that? I got so angry. I was about to threaten him a little, scare him..."

"...And then?"

"The guy just laughed and hung up." As he spoke, Anthony leaned in closer and said comfortingly, "Don’t worry. If you need me to, I’ll keep calling and get your phone back for you."

Jin Xueli lowered her head for a few seconds before sitting up straight again.

Before answering, she first raised a hand and gestured to the waitress, then let her gaze fall on Anthony’s face.

As if examining a newly discovered insect, she looked at Anthony and said in a low voice, "Yes, making endless harassing phone calls is certainly something you’re good at."

If Anthony had argued or flown into a rage out of humiliation, it would have at least shown he had some sense of shame.

He only faltered for a moment, then smiled and said, "I knew you’d hold a grudge. I admit, I did go a little too far... but that’s because I’ve never cared about someone this much before."

The waitress came over with a tray and placed a glass filled with ice in front of each of them.

With a FIZZ, she popped the tab on the soda can and poured half of it into the glass in front of Jin Xueli. A thick layer of white foam floated on top of the purple liquid.

Just as she was about to pour some for Anthony, he reached out and covered his glass.

"You bought this soda?" Anthony looked at the purple can on the tray and gestured for the waitress to put it down. He picked it up and examined it for a moment, then said to Jin Xueli, "I’ve never seen this brand before... You always have the strangest things."

Though he was reluctant to admit it, Anthony had a certain intuition—it was that same intuition that had allowed him to single out Jin Xueli from a bar full of people.

"It’s imported," Jin Xueli said, not wanting the Illusion to stay in his hands for too long. She held out her hand. "It’s pretty good. Want to try it?"

"No thanks, you have it." Anthony pushed the soda can back in front of her and turned to the waitress. "A gin and tonic."

Jin Xueli, without showing any emotion, pushed the soda can to the side as if it were unimportant.

Only after the gin and tonic was served did Anthony speak again. "So, you asked me here today because..."

"There were a few things I wanted to say to you."

Anthony took a sip of his drink, in no hurry to ask what she wanted to say. He glanced at her glass of soda. "Go on and drink it. Don’t you like it?"

Jin Xueli looked down at the soda and brought it to her lips.

Anthony also held his glass, his eyes peering at her over the rim. She opened her mouth and let the cold liquid slide down her throat.

As soon as he heard her swallow, Anthony seemed to relax. He looked at the diminished level of the soda and said with a smile, "I’ll try some later. I’ve never seen it before. So, what did you want to say?"

Jin Xueli set down her glass and said slowly, "There’s something wrong with you."

Anthony’s face suddenly turned cold.

"I don’t know if it’s a genetic defect or if your upbringing turned you into a pervert. Maybe no one has ever told you this before, but I have to tell you today: you are scum.

"You think the world, especially women, owes you something, right? That life is unfair to you, that others have stolen what should be yours? Why should I have money when you don’t? Why won’t I be with you? For a narcissist like you, rejection is the ultimate insult... You do everything you can to harass and get revenge on me, yet you’re so pathetic and cowardly you only dare to post my number on websites."

Anthony froze, his face flushing red.

Jin Xueli smiled, picked up her glass, and drained the rest of the soda. "What you get today is what you deserve."

"What?" he asked, stunned.

"I’m leaving," Jin Xueli said, standing and moving to get out from behind the table.

"Wait," Anthony leaped up and reached for her arm. "Finish what you were—"

The moment he drew near, Jin Xueli gently blew a puff of air in his face.

A strong grape scent filled the air between them.

"People are watching. What are you doing?" she asked softly.

As expected, Anthony reluctantly let go of her arm. His eyes darted to Jin Xueli’s seat, where he saw her handbag. A twitch of a smile appeared on his face, and he sat back down.

He had misunderstood; Jin Xueli was just going to the restroom.

She stood by the sinks, not using the toilet or washing her hands, which drew the gaze of a blonde woman. The blonde woman was a little drunk. She looked at her, then suddenly smiled and asked, "Why are you wearing rain boots?"

Jin Xueli was in a good mood. She tapped her toes on the floor a few times as if doing a tap dance for the woman and replied with a smile, "The forecast calls for rain."

When she felt enough time had passed, she walked back out to her table. The seat by the table was empty. No one was there.

The chair was soaked, and a large patch of purple liquid was dripping onto the floor. DRIP, DRIP. A puddle had already formed on the ground, as if someone had accidentally knocked over a can of soda—or two.

Jin Xueli stepped right into the liquid, splashing it onto her boots. She bent down, picked up her bag, and grabbed the soda can from the table.

As she walked out, she called out to the waitress.

"My friend already left," she said with an apologetic smile. "I accidentally knocked over the drink just now..."

"No problem, don’t worry about it!" the waitress said enthusiastically. "I’ll go mop it up right now."