Am I really hallucinating?

Chapter 433 Living and Dying for Others
"Isn't it easy to meet someone online?" Lin Yilin said casually.

“…Hmm, that’s true.” Shang Xia paused for a moment, then realized that it seemed to be true.

The internet is so convenient.

"Although I don't really know how to use it, it feels too complicated. When I look up information, I often get stuck on advertisements. Also, a while ago someone called me saying that there was a problem with my account at Dadu Bank and that I needed to handle it. But I don't know what a bank is, and I couldn't give them my bank card when they asked for it."

"Is this a scam?" Lin Yilin felt that the swindler trying to cheat Shang Xia must be exhausted. A swindler who only follows a set pattern is unlikely to fool a fool.

"That's what the person who brought me said too. She said she would handle it and everything would be fine. Anyway, it's good that the bank is okay. It's a place where you deposit money, right?" Shang Xia said.

Lin Yilin: "..."

Shang Xia looked at Lin Yilin and said, "You have a very powerful fantasy factor, similar in nature to an earthquake, but it's quite old, though it seems to have been recently updated."

She can also see fantasy elements, and even understand their properties?

However, this actually relieved Lin Yilin.

Even so, she couldn't see anything related to Mr. Illusion. Otherwise, she should have been able to see more clearly the influence of Mr. Illusion on Lin Yilin, rather than just the most superficial elements of fantasy.

"I underwent a complete transformation during the earthquake," Lin Yilin explained ambiguously at first, then asked, "Are you from... the central capital?"

Shang Xia showed no sign of anything amiss: "You seem to know a lot of things."

"I'm just a little better informed than most people."

Shang Xia didn't hide anything: "Yes, I come from the central capital of Dadu."

"This is really rare. I thought people over there were too lazy to come out."

"Actually, it's not much different from the White City, just with a few more high-rise buildings. Although they are all people with important positions, they don't have much time or energy to come out," Shang Xia said, blinking.

"So what are you doing out here?"

"Investigate something."

"Is it related to the previous earthquake?"

"This cannot be confirmed."

"I see. If you don't mind, I can help you. If you've looked up my information, you should know that I'm quite well-known and capable at Xixi Keke." Lin Yilin's words progressed gradually.

"You are indeed very capable. It's rare to see such a small-scale project achieve a high level of cooperation rating," Shang Xia acknowledged Lin Yilin's words.

A highly cooperative rating is essentially the highest rating an agency can receive from its local processing authority.

This rating, often shortened to "always available," is typically found only in large firms.

"That's all thanks to my adoptive father and good luck." At least half the credit for this highly cooperative rating goes to her adoptive father, and the rest is due to the fact that the shortage of personnel after the earthquake led the Bureau to relax the conditions and raise the cooperation level for many agencies. Lin Yilin took the opportunity to boost her reputation and reach this rating.

"However, this matter already has a professional investigation team from the Academy and the full cooperation of the handling bureau. I won't trouble you. Rather than all that, I'm still curious about the original question."

Lin Yilin was not surprised by Shang Xia's refusal. After all, it was impossible for her small firm to participate in such a thing. She was just trying to see if Shang Xia would dare to say it.
Moreover, Lin Yilin felt that Shang Xia wasn't actually stupid, just lacking some common sense.

She was very perceptive. People who are good at observing can often sense how others are observing them. Lin Yilin probably realized that Shang Xia had become suspicious of her after discovering her interactions with Doris.

Although Doris and her friends' backgrounds were largely unnoticed due to a series of coincidences and their careful handling, their meteoric rise to fame made it difficult for them to go unnoticed.

But considering Doris's attitude just now, it seemed she had handled it quite well, and Shang Xia remained only at the level of suspicion. "Why is it more difficult to be born as a human being than to die as a human being?" As she pondered this, Shang Xia asked again, "Isn't death the most terrifying thing for humans?"

Lin Yilin snapped out of her daze and replied directly, "Death is the most terrifying thing, but not the most difficult."

Is living difficult?

“Living is not difficult, but living for others is very difficult,” Lin Yilin said. “However, if you can find someone or something you are willing to live for, it is probably a bittersweet thing.”

Shang Xia was somewhat puzzled; this kind of discussion seemed a bit too difficult for someone like her who lacked even basic common sense.

“If you, Miss Shang Xia, are someone who has been around for no more than a few months and are still full of curiosity about this world, you might as well take a closer look and deepen your thinking,” Lin Yilin said.

Shang Xia's eyes widened involuntarily as she looked at Lin Yilin and opened her mouth.

"Don't ask me how I know. Even without information, there can be obvious information, and besides, you're not good at hiding yourself. You have your own specific responsibilities, so it's better to be more careful in this regard. However, thinking about this isn't a bad thing. Now, do you think you still need my help? My business is actually quite extensive."

As she spoke, Lin Yilin handed her business card to Shang Xia.

After Shang Xia accepted the gift in a daze, Lin Yilin didn't linger and turned to leave without looking back.

That's enough.

Lin Yilin wouldn't assume Shang Xia was an easy person to deal with just because of this. Shang Xia was pure and innocent, but the person who sent her out was not.

Shang Xia's investigation was just a side project. Her eyes might have seen more, but those deep inside the capital knew better about her instability.

Despite knowing the situation was unstable, they still chose to send Shangxia, and the reason is obvious.

The fighting strength of Shangxia.

Her ability to handle black branches is most likely related to logging.

Although Lin Yilin didn't think Mr. Illusion had anything he couldn't defeat—this trust had reached a blind level since the earthquake—vigilance was still necessary.

On the other side, Shang Xia watched Lin Yilin's retreating figure, thought for a moment, and then carefully put away her business card.

There is another mysterious person that Lin Yilin and Doris both know, but neither of them answered this truthfully.

However, according to Lin Yilin, if it's just an online friend, then there's nothing that can be done and an investigation cannot be conducted.

Similar to Doris, a positive public figure, Lin Yilin is the head of a highly cooperative rating agency with a clean background, so she can't just randomly grab people to investigate.

Shang Xia doesn't have many investigative resources on her own. It's already quite good that all the various databases and archives are completely transparent to her. Generally, she can only assist the investigation team and provide suggestions.

The people there were all afraid of her, but they also saw her as a troublesome burden. Some even seemed to have ill intentions towards her. Apart from Professor Liu, none of them were very nice. Their cowardly yet arrogant attitude made Shang Xia quite annoyed.

From what I've gotten to know so far, Doris and Lin Yilin are both really nice people.

Shang Xia knew she was easily swayed by simple emotions, but that was just how she did things, and she couldn't change it, because if she did, she wouldn't know how to think.

"She's really amazing. Even though it was just for a moment, I still felt like she saw right through me..." Shang Xia recalled Lin Yilin's eyes, pondered as she turned around, and then suddenly froze.

"Ah, which way is the Xixi Keke's processing bureau...? Is it also a white building? No, why are there no landmarks around here?"

The once bustling Xixi Keke, which had become even more prosperous after its reconstruction, was lost.

(End of this chapter)