Am I really hallucinating?

Chapter 370 Selling Yourself

An anthropomorphic illusion with the ability to write paper, whose basic host is Jiang Si's childhood friend, and who still operates in this form, is named "Xi Cai".

It is an extremely dangerous ability that can blur the boundaries of color and combine the power of a "painter" among super-inspired artists with his own hallucinations.

Agui's ability to achieve such a feat of impacting the earthquake was inseparable from her help.

In the three months following the earthquake, Agui's Ash Life Clan was thoroughly wiped out on a large scale, although the process is not yet complete and many members remain missing. Among them is Yusai.

During the earthquake, no trace of this hallucination was found. Even after the earthquake, when a group of Ashbringers were captured, these Ashbringers knew nothing about the mysterious helper by their leader's side.

Some suspect that she may have left Dadu and gone into hiding in another world.

After the earthquake, Jiang Si asked Zheng Fan if he knew the whereabouts of Xi Cai and hoped that Zheng Fan could help keep an eye on her. Zheng Fan naturally agreed and handed it over to Binary Sister.

However, after paying attention to relevant internal and external intelligence, Lin Yilin concluded that she should no longer be in Dadu. She could have gone anywhere, but it was probably somewhere violent.

Now, thanks to Metro Line 0, they are able to relive the scene and make an unexpected discovery.

Zheng didn't know much about what happened in Jiangwen Street during the protests, since he was probably still singing "Miracle Again" while looking for Lin Yilin at this time. He only learned about the later events from the retellings of the various mechs.

Therefore, the current discovery is very meaningful.

Even though this world is full of unofficial histories, for the time being, they are directed at Zheng Fan, while the other parts seem to have some credibility.

“When the illusion of the Longevity Society was dispelled, there was still someone hiding to help. In this short time, she definitely hasn’t gone far,” Lin Yilin said quickly.

"Chase them," Zheng Fan immediately ordered.

Although in terms of timing, "Losher" and "Lin Yilin" are about to descend upon Jiangwen Street to engage in an earth-shattering battle, this part is really not very interesting.

After all, Zheng Fan and Lin Yilin actually experienced it firsthand, so why should we watch a lousy guy impersonate them and do it all again?

At most, he would only have a heightened desire to make Zheng Fan personally dismantle the counterfeit goods.

Lin Yilin quickly set up the ritual and followed up.

Since the second stage of possession was nearly complete, in addition to the gradual changes that occurred in Lin Yilin herself, another important aspect of her life also changed.

She felt that she might have been synchronized with Mr. Illusion's supernatural inspiration.

This led to a significant improvement in her ability to grasp the intricate connections during rituals, resulting in enhanced efficiency and intensity.

What made her slightly uneasy was that the source of her supernatural inspiration was like a dam that had been releasing water after a long period of stagnation, and it was rapidly growing and expanding in her mind.

She is changing, both physically and mentally, but the physical changes are more subtle and gradual, while her inspiration seems to be growing exponentially.

She might become a supernatural being. Lin Yilin had a premonition of this.

Putting those things aside for now, she is now making efficient use of this fruit of growth to trace the source of the paper.

After confirming the direction, Lin Yilin used an earthworm to lift Mo Mang, and the three of them sped up towards their target.

……

"Ancestor, you were decisive enough. If I hadn't put a label on it, seeing such a clean scene would probably have made people think that it, as a bait-type illusion, was already dead."

On the edge of the central district, Yui drifted through the streets, avoiding all possible eyes and ears, her paper body changing colors to blend into her surroundings.

Like a gust of wind, she was impossible to detect in the chaotic streets of Xinjiang.

As things developed to this point, she was somewhat surprised by the school's response, feeling that there was probably a mastermind behind it. Apart from that, nothing was beyond her expectations.

Although she was prepared to betray the ancestor to prevent it from interfering with Yagui and "Losevier", Jiang Si's appearance still slightly disrupted her rhythm.

She intervened early to help resolve the issue with the ancestor, and even though she tried her best to clean up the mess afterwards, she wasn't sure if she had left any loopholes.

She didn't want to be tracked down by the capital; it was already troublesome enough that her existence had been exposed this time.

“‘Lossevi’ is about to descend, so there shouldn’t be any problem. Once she comes down, all traces will be easily wiped away by her destructive strikes…” Xi Cai looked up and saw the aurora gradually dissipating, while a black shadow was rapidly expanding on the horizon. She felt a little more at ease.

A piece of paper suddenly floated past her field of vision.

"..." She paused for a moment, then her heart, which had just settled, jumped again. "When?!"

These papers are all part of her body, so why would they float in front of her when she was unconscious?
Yusai, who possesses an extremely precise perception of the paper covering her entire body, felt a tremendous sense of unease at this moment.

Something was wrong with her whole body, as if a period of blank time had been ripped out of her consciousness...

"Reconstruct!"

She immediately searched for the records on the paper on her body. Even though her consciousness did not record them, the paper itself would spontaneously record everything around her.

Relying on this ability, Yuzai's reconnaissance skills can be expanded to an extremely high level, which gives her great confidence in her reconnaissance and counter-reconnaissance abilities.

Even if attacked at the level of mental consciousness, they will not be helpless...

Her paper quickly provided the answer.

Yuzai saw the image she had redrawn on her paper, and in her unconscious blank moment, that figure had already touched her side!
A man in a black trench coat whom I had never seen before, and another twisted black being connected to him!
What is this thing?! A human? Or a hallucination?!

The scene came to life, and Yuu saw what the other person had done during that blank period of time. In the present reality, she turned her head and saw that person.

Immediately afterwards, a strong arm grabbed her from behind and choked her neck. She tried to break free by turning her body into pieces of paper, but was shocked to find that her body was covered in an unknown black substance, causing her pieces of paper to stick together and lose their ability to be controlled.

"It's been a long time, or you could say this is our first official meeting, even though it's on this occasion. Yu Cai, the little zombie really can't do without your help. The bond between you two is truly enviable," Zheng Fan said politely.

Yuzai's original "camouflage" instantly disappeared, and the helpless duck sat on the ground, its body stained with black as if it had been bullied and splashed with ink, looking quite helpless.

He also knew that Zheng Fan in front of him was more like an evil bully.

“It’s you…” she said calmly, without any hint of avoidance or panic.

“It’s me,” Zheng Fan said with a smile.

Lin Yilin and Mo Mang arrived late.

Looking at the scraps of paper in Lin Yilin's hand, Xi Cai couldn't help but smile bitterly: "In the end, she still got caught."

"In fact, you did manage to escape undetected." (According to official historical records.)

If they didn't start over, Zheng Fan and Lin Yilin would never have realized that Xi Cai had once "passed by" them.

Xi Cai didn't understand any of this; she only felt that Zheng Fan was mocking her.

Without much resistance, she glanced at Lin Yilin before turning her gaze back to Zheng Fan. Looking at Zheng Fan's real body, she asked with some curiosity, "Is this your other host besides Jiang Si? But it doesn't feel quite right... You're really amazing. Even though you were pretending to be a motorcycle when we first met, I already noticed how powerful you were as an illusion."

Zheng Fan rubbed his face and said, "No, this is something I did. And to be honest, I don't really look like myself. My face is a bit too pale, and my eye color is weird."

Then, naturally, he reached to the side and rubbed Lin Yilin's face: "This is my host. She is very good-looking and has a unique personality."

Lin Yilin remained expressionless, showing no reaction to Zheng Fan's sudden act of rubbing her face, and even nodded in agreement with Zheng Fan's words.

Watching their interaction, Xi Cai didn't know what to say, so she changed the subject: "So now you're going to take me to Jiang Si?"

"No, I've already killed the shredded potatoes here."

"Shredded potatoes?" Yu Cai asked, puzzled.

Lin Yilin offered an explanation for Zheng Fan: "Because in everyday dishes, shredded ginger is often used to impersonate shredded potatoes, and conversely, shredded potatoes can also impersonate shredded ginger, so the fake ginger is actually 'shredded potatoes'."

"what?"

“It’s okay, it doesn’t matter if you don’t understand or have a sense of humor. I just wanted to ask where you plan to go next and what your specific arrangements are. I’m not taking you to Jiang Si; she can come find you herself later.” Zheng Fan squatted down and asked Xi Cai.

"...I'm afraid I won't have a good ending if I refuse to answer."

"I wouldn't feel guilty if I killed you here." Since it's all fake anyway, even if Zheng Fan accidentally killed you, Jiang Si probably wouldn't react much.

“I’m going back to the violent world. My family, whom I’ve taken refuge in, is there. Things are over here in Agui, and I have nothing left to miss in Dadu.”

"Retired already?"

“There is no retirement in the world of violence. If I go back, I must be prepared to fight for the rest of my life and continue to protect Yuzai’s family, as 'we' originally wished,” Yuzai replied.

“Dadu will investigate sooner or later. Dadu also has its own forces in the Red World, and the relationships are entangled. However, I think there is also a large number of Graylings there. Yagui should have handed those subordinates over to you, right?” Lin Yilin said.

Xi Cai remained silent and did not answer, but the answer was obvious: Lin Yilin's guess was correct.

Zheng Fan tore a small note off a piece of paper stuck to Xi Cai's hair and handed it to her: "Leave an address, and I'll let you go."

Having come this far, it was only natural that Yuzai wouldn't refuse.

Whether or not it is exposed to this person is irrelevant.

At most, Jiang Si might come knocking on our door later, and we'll talk to her then.

Zheng Fan put away the address slip and released Xi Cai from her restraints. Xi Cai did not leave immediately but stared at Zheng Fan and asked, "I was worried that you might lead Jiang Si to the same situation as me, but it seems that I was overthinking it."

"So you know the true nature of your actions, huh? But I'm not as good as you make me out to be." Zheng Fan raised an eyebrow.

“You’re all influencing each other, whether it’s with Jiang Si or with other people.” Xi Cai glanced at Lin Yilin again.

"However, this amount of color is still too little to render you. Even the color on your own body is constantly changing, getting darker and darker."

Yusai slowly got up.

"I'm really looking forward to seeing what you and Jiang Si will be like when we meet again." After saying that, she transformed into countless pieces of paper, their colors changing as they drifted away in the wind and disappeared without a trace.

After a brief silence, Zheng Fan turned his head and waved the address slip of paper: "Although she left so nonchalantly, when I go back to reality and find her with this slip of paper, she'll probably be completely bewildered and startled."

"Probably," Lin Yilin replied.

After all, Miss Yuzai, who thought she was hiding very well and was indeed very well hidden, probably never dreamed that the person who sold her out would be her past self.

(End of this chapter)