Am I really hallucinating?

Chapter 360 Walk Your Dog
"I can only walk myself now, so people who don't like walking dogs shouldn't keep dogs. Just go and keep those low-IQ felines." Mao Mao showed its neck, and it was actually wearing a collar obediently. However, since no one was walking it, the leash could only be tied around its neck a few times and then held in its mouth.

That dog is so arrogant.

And Zheng Fan really doesn't like walking dogs, but that's okay, because the office keeps toast, not dogs.

“That’s perfect. Your observational abilities are far superior to those of the average person. If you’ve been out and about a lot lately, you must have gained quite a bit,” Lin Yilin said.

The reason Mao Mao survived was not only because Lu Chongming showed mercy, but also because its abilities were very useful in this regard.

Upon hearing this, Mao Mao said, "What do you want to know? Recently, Xixi Keke has not been very peaceful. After that earthquake, it's not just the city itself that has grown on this land."

"How much do you know about the subway incident?" Lin Yilin directly used the key words.

“The subway… lately there have been a lot of noises coming from underground, just like when the subway was still running. I don’t really like going near the subway line. When the subway passes right under my feet, my abilities can easily detect the noise,” Mao Mao said after thinking for a moment.

"You mean, even though the subway should be completely shut down now, you can still hear the sound of it running?"

"Yes, that's what they say. The time is concentrated at night, around midnight," Mao Mao said.

Lin Yilin thought for a moment, then asked, "Is anyone in the car?"

"Yes, but I can't be sure if it's a person or something else. It's very noisy, and with the sound of it running, it's all mixed up and I can't distinguish it clearly," Mao Mao replied.

"Are you fairly certain that people ride this subway? Have you investigated it? Where exactly can you catch this subway, and where is the platform, etc."

"Please, while I'm curious, I'd stop short of something after hearing that level of sound. That thing gives me a very strange feeling. I don't know what the other one behind you thinks, but it's something that's quite terrifying to me. That's about all I know, but this information should be enough for you. Now that the subway has started operating, it's bound to leave many traces in Xixi Keke. The truth will eventually come out."

Momo did not give any further answers. Its abilities could potentially go even further, but after sensing the size of the other side, it chose to give way.

Just as it was intentionally avoiding Lin Yilin and Zheng Fan. Strong intelligence gathering capabilities are a great source of security, but if someone can use intelligence to directly plant a bomb in your head or even inexplicably counter-track you, then conversely, it becomes less reassuring.

"And recently, there's been a significant increase in the amount of fantasy items and fantasy factors being smuggled from Xixi Keke's area," the human-faced dog suddenly mentioned.

"Yes, because there are more hallucinations."

“Some channels don’t seem to be so simple. Some time ago, I helped Banmu and his team find the source of a batch of fantasy items, but we couldn’t find the source in Xixi Keke. So we assumed that they were transported from outside the district, but even following this line of thought, we still couldn’t find their transportation route,” Mao Mao said.

"I see." Lin Yilin nodded. "I understand. I'll investigate in that direction."

After obtaining some clues, Lin Yilin took out a small piece of toast and fed it to Mao Mao as a thank you.

When Mao Mao saw the toast, it sniffed it warily, seemingly a little reserved. However, after confirming that the toast was indeed from a certain brand, it ate the toast in one bite and ate it with great relish.

It felt a sense of vindictive satisfaction, and then it wagged its tail happily and continued its walk.

Watching Mao Mao's retreating figure, Zheng Fan suddenly asked, "Why do you always keep toast on hand?"

Lin Yilin took out a bag from her waist pouch, which was filled with quite a few items: "It's normal to carry some energy-boosting items when you're out and about, right? Besides, perfect toast won't spoil at room temperature, so it's easy to store. Would Mr. Illusion want some?"

"What have you been doing with the toast while I was away?" Zheng Fan complained, but didn't forget to stuff a bit into his mouth.

"It's not a waste," Lin Yilin said casually, and continued back to the office with Zheng Fan.

Toast bounced over to welcome Zheng Fan, then froze when it saw Zheng Fan chewing on a piece of its own with relish.

Lin Yilin was passing by when she suddenly bent down, tore off a piece of toast, and put it in her bag to replenish her supplies.

Toast: !?

Zheng Fan casually picked up a bag of flour from the side and sprinkled some on the toast to make up for it.

Because Lin Yilin has been living at the agency for the past three months, Toast's wonderful nightlife has naturally been squeezed out, leading to frequent conflicts between the two. Toast is accused of being bullied by Lin Yilin on one side.

Toast had considered revenge, but it was shocked to discover that even without the anti-boss, it was no match for Lin Yilin.

After the earthquake, Lin Yilin's body underwent a miraculous change.

Even without absorbing any blood-red or fantasy factors, or even receiving any singularities from Zheng Fan, she inexplicably found herself living the same life of leveling up as Jiang Si, alongside Zheng Fan.

In terms of magnitude, it wasn't as exaggerated as Jiang Si's, but the leap from "weak melee" to "strong cluster" in three months is already quite exaggerated in the eyes of normal people.

Not to mention that Lin Yilin did nothing at all.

She neither studies combat techniques nor deepens her ability application, making her incredibly relaxed. Toast, who could originally have slightly surpassed Lin Yilin, is now completely inferior to Binary Girl in every aspect, except for the powerful output ability gained from absorbing the blood drops of the murderer.

Because it was torn to pieces by the binary girl so many times, the torn parts are now being preserved so as not to waste them.

This is how toast became Lin Yilin's food reserve.

The office also keeps several bags of flour on hand, so they can use them as needed and make up for the lost toast immediately, which is quite convenient.

"Awoo~." Toast went back to play with Lulu Shoes and the Blanket Spirit, looking aggrieved.

Lin Yilin sat back down in front of the computer, thought for a moment, and then began searching for relevant information on the keyboard.

Following the information she had just received from the human-faced dog, Momo, she first searched for related terms such as "midnight" and "subway".

Sure enough, she soon saw related discussions on some local forums she frequented.

These forums saw a bizarre surge in activity after the earthquake, and numerous urban legends about the earthquake and its aftermath emerged. While a little investigation reveals supernatural elements behind these urban legends, a closer examination is usually sufficient to uncover their existence.

Lin Yilin discovered an interesting post.

[A man, drunk after a social gathering, forgot the time and the subway was shut down due to the earthquake. He mistakenly entered Platform Zero and boarded the non-existent Line Zero subway, traveling overnight from Xixi Keke Street to Jiangwen Street.]

This seemed to be the content of the first pending case she had accepted that afternoon.

But the details were even more detailed than what she got from her client, the man's family.

Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that the poster was an administrator of this forum, with the username "Sunday Fog".

There is also much discussion below.

Lin Yilin directly contacted the original poster via private message: "Tell me about your recent posts. Is there some kind of rumor going on again?"

The other party responded quickly: "Oh? What is Miss Number One investigating now?"

Because she frequently browsed this forum and gathered information, Lin Yilin had become quite familiar with the other party online.

"What are Platform Zero and Subway Zero, as you mentioned in your post?"

"Ah, interesting. This is very interesting, but I can't reveal the details right now. We might be competitors in this matter."

"Is 'Secret Transmission' going to compete with a small firm?"

"It's not targeting small firms, but after our investigation, we found that this matter involves quite a lot of people, so we can't disclose anything at the moment. Sorry, Miss Number One."

"This guy is so annoying, he's doing it on purpose, isn't he?" Zheng Fan said, watching from the side.

If it's truly inconvenient to disclose, then why would this person specifically post on their forum to show off?
"That's just how he is; he's got connections with the Secret Service to some extent. But if Secret Service is going to get involved in this investigation after all this time, then things will definitely get interesting," Lin Yilin said.

The Secret Service had long since shifted its business to intelligence trading rather than on-site investigations, yet it was mobilized again this time. Whether they were genuinely interested in this matter internally, or the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics extended a lucrative invitation after noticing something amiss, it all proves that this is no ordinary matter.

Combining the perceptions of Mr. Illusion and Momo, Lin Yilin's curiosity grew.

"Seriously, your usernames are completely useless," Zheng Fan couldn't help but complain.

Xixi Keke is quite large, but it is very small to people with intelligence networks.

It's not hard to tell from their conversation that Lin Yilin and "Sunday Fog" on the other end of the line are aware of each other's identities, even if they don't know each other inside and out.

"Well, using a nickname on these kinds of forums is just following local customs. But Mr. Illusion is right, showing off clues while pretending to be profound and playing the riddle-solver is indeed a bit annoying." As she spoke, Lin Yilin opened her email.

"What are you going to do?"

"Find him in person."

"Fuck..."

The terrifying binary girl.

(End of this chapter)