Am I really hallucinating?

Chapter 355 No Need to Add More Than That
Back at the firm, Zheng Fan and Lin Yilin saw Lu Chongming huddled on the floor, his life hanging in the balance.

Toast was bouncing around on his back, occasionally biting at Lu Chongming's clothes from behind.

LuLu's shoes and the blanket spirit tried to pull, but were domineeringly thrown aside by the toast.

"Ouch!"

"What are you doing?" Lin Yilin asked coldly.

"Awoo..." Toast, who was happily bullying Lu Chongming, froze upon hearing the sound. He stared blankly at Lin Yilin and Zheng Fan at the door, and loosened his grip on Lu Chongming's clothes, which were now torn in the back.

The seemingly dying Lu Chongming suddenly reached out his hand tremblingly: "I... I've protected her..."

Zheng Fan rushed forward to grab Lu Chongming's hand, but missed, and could only kneel down in front of Lu Chongming, deeply moved: "What is this...?"

Lu Chongming was too weak to lift his head; the light in his eyes had faded. He finally managed to squeeze out a few words: "The...donuts you wanted..."

It turns out that the important thing he had been curled up and protecting under his body was the donut that Lin Yilin had asked him to bring!

"Little Lu—!" Zheng Fan cried out in despair, looking up and letting out a long howl.

End!
Lin Yilin stepped forward and kicked the Toast, which had entered a dormant state and was pretending to be dead, off Lu Chongming's back. She then gave Lu Lu's shoes and the blanket spirit a cold look, causing them to shrink back into the corner.

Then she lifted her foot and turned Lu Chongming over, taking the bag of donuts from his arms.

"Here you are, Mr. Illusion, a donut."

Zheng Fan immediately raised his head. The wailing that had just been like that of the last survivor of a bad ending in a movie had never existed. His eyes were full of the brilliance of hearing his own story and being able to make a second part.

……

“Toast, do you remember this shop? ‘Highly Rated Dessert Shop’.” Zheng Fan picked up the toast and pointed to the trademark on the paper bag on the coffee table.

"Ouch..."

"This is your hometown, the place where you were born."

"Ouch..."

"So these are your brothers and sisters." Zheng Fan moved and looked at the few donuts placed on the plate next to him.

"Ouch?"

"So you were just about to harm your own brothers?! Is this the kind of wicked toast you are?! I really misjudged you!" Zheng Fan's expression changed instantly, and he questioned fiercely.

"Ouch!" Toast cried out and struggled, repeatedly saying that it wasn't it, and besides, it wasn't like it hadn't been eaten before...

Zheng Fansong released the toast, which was terrified and quickly returned to Lulu Shoes and the Blanket Spirit's embrace, curling up into a ball and transforming from a square piece of toast into a pineapple bun.

Zheng Fan had already used Lin Yilin's body, and the remaining few pieces were Lu Chongming's tip.

Lu Chongming picked up a piece and ate it.

Toast glanced over furtively: Could this be considered Xiao Lu harming his own brothers and sisters?
Lin Yilin, who was passing by with a cup of coffee, glanced at it again, and it quickly shrank back, hiding its little thoughts.

"Thanks. Has your work been relatively stable lately?" Lin Yilin said to Lu Chongming.

Lu Chongming swallowed the donut and shook his head repeatedly: "I have to thank Boss Qingye for his appreciation, and Miss Lin for her help."

He has now escaped the life he used to lead, where he worked multiple jobs at once but the job was completely unstable, and he could only save money by living frugally.

At least during the current phase of the neighborhood's post-disaster reconstruction, he worked with Banme's office and, thanks to his outstanding performance, gained the appreciation of Kiyono Goji and even the authorities.

Business is going quite smoothly at the moment. Banme Detective Agency had just undergone a round of restructuring and its strength was somewhat weakened. However, the earthquake hit Dadu City hard. Banme Detective Agency, which restructured in time and cooperated closely with the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics, has also gained better development opportunities, similar to Zero One Detective Agency.

This time, I shouldn't lose my job for no reason.

"Have you checked on your parents' condition?" Lin Yilin asked casually. The number of relatives who perished in the earthquake was unknown, but Lu Chongming seemed alright.

"Yes, I checked many times after the earthquake. The hospitals in Jiyun City are doing well and haven't been greatly affected by the earthquake. My mother is fine at the hospital, and my father was lucky enough to be taken in by a nearby camp." When he mentioned his parents, Lu Chongming quickly calmed down.

“Dad can’t go back to work recently, so I have to work even harder. Thank you for the donuts, I have to go back to work now.” After saying that, Lu Chongming stood up and thanked him.

After Lin Yilin nodded slightly, Lu Chongming left the firm.

Grandpa Zheng leaned back on the sofa and asked, "What's wrong with his mother's condition?"

“It’s not an illness caused by natural biological factors,” Lin Yilin said. “'Factor deficiency syndrome' has no biological pathology. The patient simply becomes physically weak for no reason, even though no matter how comprehensive the physical examination, no abnormalities can be found. On the mental level, there may be sudden depression and negativity, and the body and mind will weaken in all aspects, eventually dying from any cause. It is commonly seen in sudden organ failure, or asphyxiation caused by respiratory arrest, or even heart abnormalities.”

"Is this a terminal illness?"

"It's not an incurable disease, but it's extremely difficult to treat and cannot be completely cured. Currently, even the cause and pathology are unclear, since patients with the deficiency syndrome are completely healthy from a medical perspective. From a supernatural perspective, it is caused by the absence of factors in the white world. The world factor we usually talk about is a manifest and prominent pure factor, but in most other understandings, the existence of 'impurity factors' has been proposed. These factors cannot be manifested, but they are the basis of the general world."

“The reason people get sick is because they lack this factor,” Zheng Fan said.

“That’s right.” Lin Yilin nodded with her eyes closed.

"You said there are ways to maintain treatment for this illness. What are those ways?" Zheng Fan asked curiously.

"Find the Pure White Lighthouse, or the Lightbearer, and obtain the power from the highly activated Pure White Factor to sustain its existence," Lin Yilin gave her answer.

Zheng Fan immediately understood why Lu Chongming worked so much. On the one hand, the hospitalization expenses required continuous expenditure, and most importantly, the party with the ability to maintain treatment had a very high status.

Even if we could get them to help maintain it, the price would probably not be cheap.

"He and his father worked day and night. His father also worked for a large company in Xixi Keke. He was good at operations and earned a good salary. Originally, their assets and clean resumes a few years later could have even secured them a ticket to the White City and the treatment of ordinary citizens in the capital. This benefit would have continued to their descendants starting with Lu Chongming's generation." Lin Yilin sipped her coffee and spoke in a calm tone.

"They could have easily abandoned Lu Chongming's mother and continued down that path. But once they made that choice, that future was already fading into the distance. Most of his father's savings were used to pay for the maintenance treatment over the years. Even so, their resources were still limited. The Lighthouse Keeper wouldn't directly participate in this treatment; the power of treatment could only come from the Lighthouse. And while that money would be enough to ensure a worry-free life for an ordinary person, it could only guarantee, at the very least, that a loved one wouldn't die mysteriously one day."

Zheng reflected on his actions.

He does possess the power of the Lamplighter and even the Pure White Lighthouse, and he can also draw upon the power of the White World through his own channels.

In theory, he could also help Lu Chongming's mother.

But he won't do it.

The "white bars" he originally received from a lighthouse were pitifully few. After killing Chegodoa in the mechanical world, even a lamplighter couldn't help increase his white bars much. The biggest help he received from absorbing Chegodoa was that it directly strengthened Zheng Fan's panic ability. The white power added points to his black ability, which really left Zheng Fan puzzled.

Besides, it did initially give him a huge boost in the "IOU", but it was completely depleted in the brief confrontation with the lumberjack.

In such a precarious situation, Zheng Fan was asked to use his limited resources to save someone else's mother, and to help her until she died of old age.

Obviously it is impossible.

Lu Chongming's situation is now stable and improving. He should continue to maintain his good habits, rely on his connections with Banmu Detective Agency, Lin Yilin's occasional assistance, and the attention from the Bureau of Justice.

Whether it's accumulating wealth or connections, he will eventually achieve his goal.

This appropriate assistance is sufficient; there's no need to overdo it.

(End of this chapter)