Am I really hallucinating?

Chapter 456 Peak Experts of the Third Realm

Lu Chongming accepted Zheng Fansong's credit, which increased his influence and attracted further attention from all sides, both positive and negative.

The price he paid was that his rest time was completely wasted. The bombing of the elevated road was no small matter, and he had to urgently write a report.

Dividing things into two parts, Zheng Fan, having accomplished his mission, left without a trace, concealing his merits and fame.

How dare you call his newly conjured car a "bird head"? You're asking for trouble! While it is indeed a bird head, how can you say something like that?
It feels much cleaner now.

He drove along the familiar road and arrived at the familiar, secluded bar.

The defensive lines and protective nets built during the previous earthquake have been dismantled. The bar seems to have been renovated, but it still looks unremarkable and has a simple style.

Zheng Fan pushed the door open and walked in, only to find that it was actually quite lively. Unlike when he came to see Jiang Si before, it was past 1 a.m., but half of the seats in the lobby were still occupied, and there were also quite a few people sitting at the bar.

However, only the bartender at the bar remained the same as before, and no other staff members were seen.

Zheng Fan attracted a lot of attention as soon as he entered.

The ingredients here are far too complicated.

There are no easy lamps, and even the illusion of multiple lamps exists.

Each of them would be considered a formidable figure by ordinary people, but they were unusually quiet in this bar, speaking in hushed tones, mostly enjoying the atmosphere and the drinks.

It gave Zheng Fan the feeling of a modern adventurers' guild.

He sat down near the bartender at the front desk. The seat directly in front of him was now occupied by a mature and glamorous woman who was drinking and chatting and laughing with him.

The language used was somewhat explicit, which could be considered sexual harassment.

Upon hearing this, Zheng Fan was actually less inclined to disturb the bartender's "romantic encounter."

However, the bartender didn't think so. Seeing Zheng Fan sit down, he politely said goodbye to the woman and then came to Zheng Fan: "What would you like to drink?"

"Any kind of alcohol is fine," Zheng Fan said, causing the bartender to pause in surprise.

I haven't heard this claim for a while, and the person who used to order "this kind of drink" most often was...

"you are?"

“She’ll be back in a while, so I came to check on her early. It’s been a while since I’ve been here… By the way, why do you still have Doris’s photo?” Zheng Fan saw the photo of Doris in the bar that was posted on the wall behind the bar.

It was probably left behind when they brought Doris here during the earthquake.

"I just thought that lady was very pretty, so I asked her to take pictures. I never expected that lady would become so famous later. But I already told Ms. Doris's agent beforehand that I would put the photos up for display," the bartender explained after glancing at the photos.

It was an unexpected stroke of luck. Zheng Fan didn't care about these things; as long as Doris's side agreed, it was all a minor matter.

“Take me to see the zombies,” Zheng Fan said.

The bartender looked rather grim, but he didn't hide anything and said directly, "I'm sorry, that zombie has gone missing."

“No, buddy, I was just praising you to others not long ago, saying you’re reliable.” Zheng Fan’s face fell immediately as he leaned forward and said.

"I'm investigating this because her escape was a bit suspicious. I've roughly figured out her abilities, and the reinforcement I did for that private room took into account the possibility of her escape. Normally, she wouldn't have been able to break into the room and run away." Although the bartender had been somewhat negligent, he still seemed quite reliable.

Without panicking, he calmly analyzed and explained the situation to Zheng Fan.

"You mean there was external intervention?"

"This is not an attempt to exonerate me. I am having an investigation conducted. If you are eager to know, I can share the current progress with you." The bartender remained calm and quickly handed over a hand-mixed cocktail of unknown origin.

Zheng Fan glanced at him a few times and smiled, "Okay."

Then he picked up the cocktail, took a sip, and frowned slightly: "It tastes good, but I still hate the taste of alcohol."

The bartender shrugged, glanced at the people at the bar, which made their smiles falter, and said, "Do you need me to change the water?"

Zheng shook his head and downed the drink in one gulp: "Cough cough, thankfully I've never had the habit of using alcohol to numb myself. This body is already uncomfortable enough, and I don't want to suffer any more."

"Then you've really missed out on something so wonderful." The glamorous woman ignored the bartender's gaze and struck up a conversation with a familiar smile.

“If I don’t like something, then it’s not good,” Zheng Fan casually retorted.

"Then you must have missed a lot."

"Actually, I spent more time on what I considered truly beautiful. Speaking of which, you were beaten up this morning, yet you can calmly come here to relax with a thick layer of makeup on tonight. Your mindset is certainly good. Apart from your face, your posture is a bit unnatural. Although it seems like you're trying to appear elegant, some details show that you're actually quite awkward. Your waist also looks injured. Oh, as I'm saying this, you subconsciously covered your left upper arm again. There's an injury there too."

Zheng Fan chuckled as he described the woman's injuries. "The concentration of blood-red factor in your body is quite high, while the fantasy factor is very faint. Some of it isn't even your own, making it quite mixed. You're more adept at using fantasy objects in combat; you've used at least five different types in the last twenty-four hours. However, judging from the marks, you're not exactly a martial arts expert. The calluses on your fingers indicate that you still retain a lot of handwriting habits even in the information age. The bartender glanced at you when he mentioned asking someone to investigate; are you one of the people helping with that investigation?"

The woman's smile froze.

Seriously, is this guy who analyzes everything and half-opens the box after meeting someone crazy?
Her face fell, and she turned to the bartender, saying, "Don't tell me he's my potential client?"

"Beco, keep your mouth shut. A lot of people don't buy into your act," the bartender said, resorting to slightly harsher language.

The woman named Beck looked displeased, but her professionalism was evident; she didn't say anything more, just tilted her head back and drank her wine in silence.

She could actually tell that the bartender was warning and protecting her.

Judging from the bartender's attitude towards Zheng Fan, she knew this guy was no ordinary person. The bartender had been working here for so long, and he treated most of the people coming and going in the bar with the same ordinary attitude. This was the first time she had ever sensed a hint of restraint from the bartender towards others, which inevitably aroused her curiosity.

This person is not someone to be trifled with; don't go probing unnecessarily.

It's true that Bei knows when to stop, and it's understandable that she's upset that her true feelings were seen through. However, this superficial and straightforward behavior is also something she's doing for the benefit of others.

"Alright, what intelligence do you have to show me?" Zheng Fan asked again.

The bartender handed Zheng Fan a note.

Zheng Fan glanced at it and then raised an eyebrow.

"Is Jiangwen Street so lively lately?" Zheng Fan couldn't help but ask.

The note was written in delicate handwriting, unlike the usual handwriting of the woman next to Becky, and contained very detailed information.

The prime suspect is an unknown individual among the rising stars of Jiangwen Street.

The title is "Stain Hunter". As everyone knows, there are all sorts of strange hunters in the capital, so it's normal for someone to specifically hunt such rare creatures as tainted creatures.

However, being able to directly use "stain hunter" as an exclusive title naturally requires some skill.

This person is also presumed to be a system holder.

He hunts and captures tainted creatures not to collect them or to sell them for money, but to transform them into his own power so that he can control them.

Many previously inconceivable powers and methods have gained considerable traction after the system's emergence.

Zheng Fan came to Jiangwen Street tonight, and in just one hour, aside from Lu Chongming, he had already directly contacted and killed one system holder, and also learned about the information of two other system holders.

Before coming here, I only heard about how wild the environment of Jiangwen Street was from the news and from the girl in binary code, and I didn't really understand it. Now that I'm here, I can truly appreciate it.

"Any clues about their whereabouts?" Zheng Fan asked again.

"We are preparing to have someone track them down."

"I'll do it myself." Zheng Fan put the note away. "How much did you pay this lady?"

"Auntie? I'm only twenty-nine!"

"You're approaching the peak of the third realm. You've worked hard."

"Fortunately, I've always had a good mindset... no, what peak...?" Beck looked at the vicious man with disbelief.

The bartender ignored Beck and replied, "Usually it's information for information, but in our line of work we're used to owing a few orders as favors."

Zheng nodded.

"You—!" Beck pointed at Zheng Fan, about to say something, but Zheng Fan slapped the bar: "This stuff is anti-aging. If you eat it, you'll only have a few wrinkles even after fifty years. It can also prevent your face from being marked when you get beaten up. It's up to you whether you eat it or not."

"What a generous and kind person!" Beck quickly changed his tune, his face beaming with smiles.

After leaving a red and black bead on the bar, Zheng Fan got up and left without paying any attention to the commotion behind him.

Beco carefully picked up the bead: "Bartender, do you think this is real?"

"You could share some with the dog and let it try it for you."

"Never mind then, I'll eat it myself. Although that kind of person may seem harsh to others, they won't deceive or fool those they look down on in this situation." Beck thought for a moment, then ate it on the spot without any suspicion.

The bartender didn't say anything, but he seemed to agree with what Beck said.

Beke didn't feel anything after eating the beads, but at least there were no negative effects. Even if she was tricked, as long as she didn't suffer any harm, it was considered a success.

(End of this chapter)