Illusion Report

The young man’s last few words were indistinct and hazy, tinged with a misty white, as if a single breath could scatter them.

Mai Mingle was still in a daze, as if part of her soul refused to believe what was happening. She heard footsteps from the end of the hall and mechanically turned her head. ’Besides me,’ she thought, ’no one could have heard Fu Tailan’s last words clearly.’

Mai Mingle had never seen any of the four people who rounded the corner of the hallway.

She didn’t have much experience with fighting in her life, but even she could tell these people were most likely experienced Hunters from the Morgan Family. They stood there, sealing the hallway exit tight. It felt like every escape route was cut off; she couldn’t get through, and she could barely breathe.

’...To gain something only to lose it again. Is there anything in the world more bitter, more agonizing?’

Mai Mingle subconsciously gave a slight tug, trying to pull her wrist back.

But despite the young man’s lean frame, he was surprisingly strong. Her wrist didn’t budge an inch. She didn’t dare try again with real force—in front of five Hunters, she didn’t want to give them any reason to think violence was necessary.

"Our supervisor is asking you a question," said the woman in the lead. Her hair was dyed raven-black, and she had several silver studs in her lip, nose, and eyebrow.

Her tone wasn’t harsh. Instead, she sounded like a bit player reading lines for whatever scene she was in, her heart not really in it. "Don’t just stand there gawking. If you really took the Illusion, being pretty won’t help you. I’m a loyal Morgan, you know."

’What’s this about being pretty?’

Mai Mingle froze for a second, but the comment actually snapped her out of her daze. She glanced at Fu Tailan, straightened her back, and took a deep breath.

"What is wrong with you, child?"

She launched right into it. "I don’t mind you lying to me. Whether your name is Fu Tailan or Fu Tai-hong, that’s your business. But don’t you understand the situation? How can you not have your priorities straight? For your Family Faction, isn’t a human life more important than some object?"

The misty, hazy look on Fu Tailan’s face from moments ago gradually faded, replaced by uncertainty.

"If I had taken your ’thing,’ I just wouldn’t have come here, right? None of you even knew I existed, so where would you have looked for me? In that case, Jonah from your Family Faction would have died for nothing. That’s a human life we’re talking about. Are you youngsters so naive you don’t understand the weight of a single life?"

This wasn’t entirely a bluff to get herself out of trouble; Mai Mingle had been holding these words in for a while now.

"I clearly told you about Jonah’s condition and location. Hours have passed since then, and what have you all been busy with?"

This time, she didn’t just scold Fu Tailan. With a sweep of her hand, she gestured to include the Hunters who had just appeared in the hallway, pointing at each of them. Fu Tailan, likely not expecting this, was so stunned that he let her pull her hand back.

Mai Mingle didn’t have any children of her own, but this wasn’t her first time scolding a junior. Don’t be fooled by her usually good-tempered, gentle, and kind demeanor; when she got worked up, she had once even scolded her cousin’s grandson to tears.

"You all should think about it. If I had really taken your ’thing,’ would I have dared to come to your Family Faction’s headquarters alone to deliver a message? You need to get your priorities straight. If Jonah dies because of this delay, will you, his comrades, be able to sleep at night?"

The female Hunter in studs, black leather, and fishnets shot a helpless glance at Fu Tailan.

"We will go save him, of course," the young man said, his tone now sounding like he was stubbornly talking back. "...But first, I need to know if you have what I want."

"Don’t be a blockhead," Mai Mingle said. "I’ve even changed clothes since I got here. Even if I had it, I couldn’t possibly be carrying it on me."

She felt a little guilty saying that, but after more than eighty years of life, she’d told her fair share of guilt-ridden lies. By now, she could deliver one quite casually.

"If you truly have nothing to do with the Illusion we want, I will personally apologize and make it up to you."

Having been on the receiving end of her tirade, Fu Tailan couldn’t help but let his face fall. The way he unconsciously put on a sulky expression really did suit his age.

"But what needs to be cleared up must be cleared up. Logically speaking, an ordinary person who took our Illusion would just let Jonah die. They wouldn’t come here to report it.

"However, there are many people in this world who are driven by principle to the point where it becomes instinct. Whether that principle is ’a life is at stake,’ ’money is everything,’ or ’live for the moment’... once it becomes instinct, they act without thinking. Such people often only consider how to achieve their goal, but rarely stop to think if it’s what they should truly be doing. I believe you are that kind of person."

Mai Mingle let out a breath.

She couldn’t say Fu Tailan was wrong. She truly did feel, from the bottom of her heart, that with a life about to be lost, how could she not at least cry out for help on his behalf?

It was true, it would have been in her best interest if Jonah had died and no one knew she’d taken the Illusion... It wasn’t that the thought hadn’t occurred to her; she just hadn’t dwelled on it, letting it flash past in an instant.

’Isn’t asking for help for him the right thing to do?’

But hearing Fu Tailan say it like that left a sour taste in her mouth.

"You’re still so young," she said with a bitter smile. "Why do you see the world with such cold cynicism?"

Fu Tailan turned a deaf ear.

"So, first, I need to confirm whether you have the Illusion on you. Second, I need you to stay here as a guest of the Morgan Family for a while. I’ll bring Jonah back, and we’ll check his testimony against your story. Third, if Jonah is also unsure whether you’re connected to the Illusion, then to be cautious, I’ll have to ask you to take a trip with me to the Nest to ensure you haven’t hidden the Illusion somewhere inside."