Am I really hallucinating?

Chapter 446 Self-awareness
“I don’t know, I’ve been here since I became conscious. My first impression is of a dark place. The first human I saw was Ike, and I’ve been following him ever since… Ike and I aren’t very compatible, but I haven’t met any better options over the years…”

After relaying Hua Huanjue's words, Ike simply shook his head and didn't say anything more.

"You came from the Hackch mine?"

"Although I have no recollection of that place, based on what you've said, it's probably the place that connects the Dark World and this world."

The rabbi nodded, seemingly lost in thought.

"Is there anything else I can help you with?" Ike asked after waiting a moment.

The rabbi said, "No need, thank you. Remember to look carefully next time."

Since things had come to this point and there was no sign of lying, she lost interest in pursuing the matter further. Ike slowly stood up and pointed to the cabinet next to him: "There are some supplies I collected in the village there. Please feel free to take them if you need them. I'm going for a walk."

"Where are you going?"

"Flower field".

Ike left the house in a daze.

Zheng Fan looked at him thoughtfully.

A long silence fell over the room.

The potted plant remained on the table. Although Ike was gone and Rabbi could no longer see the flower illusion through him, Zheng Fan was also watching from the side.

The flower illusion dared not make any rash moves.

"Is the Kabbalah royal family intentionally erasing any trace of alchemy?" Rabbi asked, offering his opinion. "Originally, I thought alchemy was simply hidden away. But considering what Ike just said, it seems there's a different story. I've read many books related to alchemy, and the point at which alchemy began its large-scale decline and disappearance was roughly around the time of the unification of Scalova."

"I originally thought it was just a matter of war and the changing of the times."

“Maybe after you go to the Hakchu mine, you should go back to Kabala,” Zheng Fan said.

"The Hakchu mine is currently within Durazon's territory. However, due to the mine's unique nature, Durazon hasn't completely occupied it; the Kabbalah army still exists there, and they're currently maintaining a state of mutual restraint. We should be able to figure things out eventually," Rabbi said.

The Dream Alloy that appeared during the Kabbalah Incident was processed locally in the mines by the Royal Military Industry.

As they were talking, the flower illusion in the potted plant in front of them suddenly straightened its branches and shouted, "Ike!"

Upon seeing this, Zheng Fan turned around, pushed open the door, and went out.

Rabbi was taken aback and quickly followed, while Radish grabbed the potted plant and followed behind.

When they returned to the flower field in the woods, they could no longer see anything.

To be precise, the rabbi could see where Ike was, but it was pointless now. His body lay in the flower field, alchemy working its final magic after death, transforming his body into part of the flower field…

“Why…” Rabbi stared in astonishment at the scene before him.

Ike committed suicide.

She stepped into the flower field and came to the flower that Ike had transformed into. She watched as the last bit of Ike's flesh and blood turned into delicate and fresh flowers. She reached out her hand, but then froze in place.

"His final alchemical act was swift; the fatal wound was likely the most direct one—a slit throat—followed by immediately transforming his own body into flowers and plants. He probably anticipated the possibility that you might arrive quickly and use more sophisticated alchemical techniques to heal him; his will was extremely resolute," Zheng Fan said, approaching the rabbi.

The flowers in the potted plant are hallucinatingly cursing.

The only host I've had for so many years is gone! I finally thought we could deepen our connection and maybe I could get my hands on the body, but why did I have to commit suicide like this?!

What happened to the promised revenge?! It could take him on his quest for revenge!

What if it becomes an illusion now? If it can't find anyone to contact, it's just a wandering ghost, destined to disappear from this world sooner or later.

“Mr. Puppet, you figured it out, didn’t you?” Rabbi turned to look at Zheng Fan.

Zheng Fan, hands in his pockets, said calmly, "The look of despair on his face is very obvious. I've seen many people like him in war-torn areas, the youngest being no more than five years old. Their loved ones died in the chaos, leaving them to eke out a living. For most people, there's no reason to live anymore, is there? If it weren't for this illusion giving him a glimmer of hope for revenge, he probably would have died long ago."

“But…” “The fact that his indiscriminate revenge affected innocent people not only made him realize that his power was insufficient to achieve true revenge, but also that his emotions might get out of control and affect the future of more innocent people. He is just an ordinary person, even with alchemy.”

The rabbi looked somewhat sad.

“If he didn’t have the information you wanted, you and Radish wouldn’t have held back and would have killed him on the spot in this flower field. He’s just putting his trajectory back on the original path,” Zheng Fan continued. “Little Potato, you’re kind and simple-minded, which isn’t a bad thing, and I don’t dislike that. But the expansion of power doesn’t mean you can control everything; different people’s trajectories are just like that.”

"Beep beep..." Carrot came to Rabbi's side.

Rabbi gently shook his head: "Mr. Doll, have you seen many things like this?"

“Many,” Zheng replied. “Some even begged me to give them a bullet.”

Will Mr. Puppet help them find relief?

"Yes," Zheng Fan answered without hesitation.

With a sigh of relief, Rabbi stood up: "I understand."

She looked at the small flower field in front of her, remained silent for a long time, and then turned and left.

After taking the meager supplies from Ike's house, they didn't linger, ending this little incident that had arisen on a whim, and continued driving towards their destination.

As for the Flower Illusion, although it begged Zheng Fan Rabbi to take it with him, it was too noisy and annoying, so it was planted in the flower field as well.

As for whether it will be lucky enough to find a suitable host in this desolate wilderness, or whether it will simply be forgotten in this world, that is not something Zheng Fan and the rabbi care about.

They soon left Cabron County, where New Mou City was located, and continued their journey towards Embi County, where the Hackch mines were located.

As the rabbi said, the road conditions deteriorated rapidly after leaving Shin-mu City and continuing toward the goal.

The development of Cabron County has been relatively good, but the situation in the subsequent areas is hard to describe.

During this period, news that Shinmu City had been occupied by the Mechanical Heart and used as its base finally began to spread amidst the chaos.

Many people were shocked and asked what kind of organization Mechanical Heart was.

Of course, the actual situation was not like that. Mechanical Heart was a relatively well-known civilian organization, but this civilian organization suddenly armed itself, raised a considerable armed force, and even directly captured a city with excellent conditions.

This has clearly aroused unease among some forces.

Meanwhile, the Mechanical Hearts community throughout Scalova was extremely excited.

Many talented and ambitious people who had a yearning for mechanical innovation but still had reservations set off for Xinmou City, embarking on this journey of transformation.

……

The journey was long and there was no rush, so Zheng took some time to return to Zero One Office to rest.

It was getting late, but Lin Yilin was just returning from outside.

"Why are you back so late? What kind of commission are you investigating this time?" Zheng Fan asked curiously.

"It's a direct request from the processing bureau, so the situation has become a little complicated," Lin Yilin said directly.

"How complicated is it?"

"Mr. Illusion, you mentioned that illusions can be like a 'golden finger' for ordinary people, allowing them to defy fate, right?"

"I did say that, and it really does seem like it. Isn't it like I'm a golden finger that fell from the sky for you guys?" Zheng Fan shrugged.

"That's it, the real 'golden touch' has arrived. The clues behind the 'young genius list' that Jiajia and I investigated before are becoming clearer."

"Oh?" Zheng Fan's interest was piqued. "How so?"

"Just like the 'system' commonly referred to in online novels, many people in the capital today have obtained such things out of thin air."

(End of this chapter)