Am I really hallucinating?

Chapter 478 Arrival

As Lu Chongming was about to leave the hospital, he suddenly noticed a black sparrow hand puppet on the handrail of the corridor wall.

"...No, Mr. Illusion, I know you are incredibly powerful, but this is really a bit scary." Lu Chongming looked around and, after confirming that no one was paying attention, stepped forward and took down the black sparrow puppet.

"What? Seeing a cute doll like me in a hospital should make you feel healed, right?"

"I don't think I would feel that way."

"Tsk, you're not very perceptive."

Lu Chongming left the hospital with the black sparrow hand puppet and drove off. This car was a new one that Xiao Zhao and the others had prepared for him—they would make do with two sturdy vans, but Lu's public image absolutely couldn't be lost, that's what they said.

It's the same model as the previous white car, but the body is black.

On the way, Lu Chongming also told Zheng about the fingertip nuclear bomb.

Wow, there are such fun things?

"I don't think it's fun... but if that's what Mr. Illusion thinks, then so be it." Lu Chongming had already mastered the Zheng Fan Shun Mao technique passed down by Lin Yilin.

Regardless of whether it's perfunctory or not, as long as Zheng Fan agrees, he will be happy.

“It’s February 26th now, which means there are only a few days left until the end of February,” Lu Chongming said.

"That means the New Year is almost here." Zheng Fan, like a child, was most concerned about the upcoming holidays when the month was mentioned.

"...Chinese New Year, yes, March is the Spring Festival in most parts of the country." Lu Chongming realized this as well. His family hadn't had a get-together in a long time.

The New Year... I guess there still won't be a chance.

With Zheng Fan around, there's no doubt he can get through the end of the year smoothly. But if it just ends at the end of February, where will the Bureau of Justice find time to reunite with their families? Instead, it might be another busy period.

And Mother doesn't have much time left...

“If you don’t go back, your mother will worry,” Zheng Fan said, as if he had seen through Lu Chongming’s thoughts.

"There's nothing we can do about it..."

"It's okay, maybe you'll get a Spring Festival holiday then?"

Zheng Fan's tone was relaxed, but Lu Chongming couldn't be so easily happy: "Let's get through this steadily before that happens. I don't know what that bastard Wang Shizhong is plotting. I need to investigate. If he gets the fingertip nuclear bomb, he'll have to use it eventually. We can't let our guard down lately."

Boom——

Lightning illuminated the gloomy sky, and a torrential downpour began.

"When will this rain finally stop..." Lu Chongming muttered to himself.

"I don't know, it will probably take a long time." As they passed through a tunnel, the black sparrow puppet in the passenger seat had transformed back into Zheng Fan's appearance and was even wearing a seatbelt.

"However, it will eventually stop."

……

Lin Yilin, wearing an umbrella and rain boots, stood at the rural bus station, holding a transparent umbrella, with her suitcase beside her.

Looking around, both in front and behind, the rain and fog were so thick that visibility was extremely poor.

"Looks like the bus isn't coming..." She took out her phone and glanced at it.

The signal is very weak.

Binary, who rarely visits the countryside, felt uncomfortable.

She is now in Honghua Street, where the poisoning death incident occurred before. Just like the investigation she conducted before coming here, it is a rural area in the mountains.

Previously, following smuggling leads from other streets in Xinjiang, they had visited several neighborhoods, including Nicole Street, where a terrorist attack had previously occurred.

The last stop on this visit was Honghua Street.

Under the overcast sky, she walked into a remote mountain town in Honghua Street, a remote street in the middle of a remote area. She had just been to the police station to find out where the incident occurred and was about to take a bus, which was said to be very infrequent, to her destination.

Then came the heavy rain, and even though the departure time at the nearby bus stop had clearly passed, the bus still hadn't arrived.

The only explanation is that the service was suspended due to weather conditions.

There's nothing we can do; driving in this weather, especially on these mountain roads, is indeed very dangerous.

Footsteps sounded from the side. Lin Yilin looked in the direction of the sound and saw a young man in a police uniform running to the platform, holding a tattered umbrella.

"Hey, this weather, you'd think it was summer if you didn't know better. It's only February." The young man saw Lin Yilin, smiled broadly, nodded to her, and said.

Lin Yilin nodded in response: "But the climate here is quite nice. It's not very hot in winter, so you don't need to wear too many clothes and you won't feel cold."

The young man said, “Our Honghua Street is a great place. Although it’s not as nice as the city, that’s the charm of the rural scenery. The villagers are also very friendly. When I was first transferred here, I thought I was having the worst luck. Now I’m thinking that I can live here when I retire.”

"Poor signal and internet connection are already unacceptable to me," Lin Yilin casually stated, offering a realistic and uninteresting reason.

"Haha, but it's not bad to come here and enjoy yourself once in a while."

"I don't think so. I've been waiting for the bus for an hour."

"Once the roads are repaired and better in the future, this kind of thing won't happen again." The young man didn't seem to be discouraged by Lin Yilin's words at all.

He was still as cheerful as ever.

"I just came out of the police station, I didn't see you," Lin Yilin said, looking at the rainy scene ahead.

"Is that so? I was probably busy at the station at the time. Miss, is there anything I can help you with in this weather?"

"I am investigating matters concerning Shanren Village."

"Mountain Village..." The young man frowned, seemingly wanting to say something but stopping himself.

"You know, it happened in August of the year before last," Lin Yilin said expressionlessly.

"Of course I know... Three hundred people... It's impossible to forget..." The young man's voice was somewhat low as he slowly lowered his head, making it impossible for Lin Yilin to see his face for a moment.

Just then, the sound of vehicles driving by could be heard in the rain.

Like a monster suddenly emerging from the fog, an old bus sprang out of the fog in the blink of an eye and stopped in front of the station.

The car door opened, and the elderly driver with white hair turned to look at Lin Yilin with a kind expression.

The young policeman next to her got into the car before Lin Yilin.

After glancing at the vehicle, Lin Yilin followed the police officer and got into the car.

There were a few passengers scattered on the bus, but there were plenty of seats.

However, she still sat down next to the young policeman who was nearby.

Apart from the faint sounds of rain and engine outside the window, the car was very quiet, with only occasional bumps when the vehicle drove over uneven roads.

Perhaps because it was too quiet, the police officer spoke up: "I can't believe who would have such malicious intentions towards such a remote village."

"Didn't you notice anything unusual? Like suspicious people or anything like that?" Lin Yilin asked.

The policeman shook his head: "Our station is located on this road leading from the town to the village. We can track almost anyone who passes by using the surveillance cameras. There's nothing suspicious. Maybe it's some kind of villain fleeing from the mountains and wilderness..."

"It's hard to gain the trust of those above with such baseless speculation. Most police stations in the capital find it troublesome, and the case-handling department doesn't handle non-supernatural matters," Lin Yilin said bluntly.

The police officer gripped the armrest of the seat in front of him tightly: "Yes, otherwise why would I have applied for so long and still not heard anything..."

"You're the police officer who's still investigating this matter?" Lin Yilin looked at him, not particularly surprised.

"My name is Chu Xiuping," the young policeman introduced himself.

"Lin Yilin." Lin Yilin also gave her name and took out her phone: "Have you found any clues after investigating for so many years?"

"The poison was a type of vesicant that was added to the water source near Shanren Village. If we hadn't reacted quickly, the poison could have spread down the river to the town or even the entire street below."

Chu Xiuping's eyes reddened, and he gritted his teeth: "I watched helplessly as one by one, my fellow villagers were carried away, including many young children... The poison caused their skin to fester and swell, leaving them a bloody mess. Many didn't die on the spot; they were taken to the nearest hospital in the White City, but even then, it was too late to save them, and they eventually died in agony from the torment of the poison..."

As Lin Yilin listened to his conversation, she looked up and glanced out the window.

A long-haired woman dressed in plain clothes flashed by in the rain and mist, standing with her head down in the rain.

The vehicle drove by, and the other party disappeared into the rain and fog.

Lin Yilin casually looked away and paced around inside the car.

Most of the passengers were elderly, and whether they were genuinely bored or not, they mostly stared blankly ahead or out the window.

The car was covered with some rather outdated advertisements.

Suddenly, Lin Yilin noticed a promotional poster: Sunshine Primary School is newly built.

“There’s a school in the village,” she said.

Upon hearing this, Chu Xiuping composed himself slightly, followed her gaze, and nodded, saying, "Yes, although Shanren Village is quite far away in the mountains, it has a large population, including many children. It's time to build a school, but the village and town don't have much money. We're so grateful for the donations from outside."

"A donation? Is it from which charity project?" Lin Yilin asked.

"Yes, but I don't remember it very clearly. It was a large-scale charity project. It helped build a lot for the town. The people involved in this charity project were truly good people who did practical things. Miss, you don't know, the town used to be even more backward. It was thanks to their help that the town and villages were able to get electricity and running water smoothly..."

Speaking of this, Chu Xiuping's mood became slightly more positive.

But halfway through his sentence, his expression suddenly changed, and his face turned deathly pale. Lin Yilin followed his gaze and looked ahead, discovering that the bus seemed to have arrived at another stop along the way, and there were people standing on this open-air platform.

She had just seen that woman with her head down, getting soaked in the rain.

The bus stopped in front of her and opened the door.

"You should get off the bus now," Chu Xiuping said to Lin Yilin as he turned around.

"Why? This isn't a mountain village, is it?"

"It's just a few steps away, it'll be quick. You can get out of the car first." Chu Xiuping was a little anxious, and reached out to press Lin Yilin's shoulder and gently push her.

The long-haired woman lowered her head and slowly stepped into the car, the raindrops dripping from her hair onto the ground with a "drip-drip" sound.

"I don't want to travel in the rain." Lin Yilin's attitude was very firm. Chu Xiuping got up and pushed Lin Yilin to stand up, intending to take her away from the car.

Lin Yilin's gaze swept over the surrounding passengers, and she suddenly broke free from Chu Xiuping's shoving, grabbing a drowsy old lady to help her up.

"Grandma, sit up straight, you're about to fall."

Chu Xiuping was stunned. All the eyes of the surrounding passengers were focused on Lin Yilin, including the woman who had boarded the bus.

"Lin Yilin!" Chu Xiuping called out anxiously.

Lin Yilin seemed not to hear her and, under the watchful gaze of the sleepy old lady, pulled up her sleeve.

The skin was eroded and swollen, bloody and mangled, emitting a putrid stench.

The woman who got on the bus raised her head, revealing her face, which was also covered in red blisters and was rotting away. She then strode forward and rushed towards Lin Yilin.

"Ouch!"

Lin Yilin's suitcase moved.

The zipper was pulled open, and the toast suddenly jumped out, its red cross-shaped light flashing at a high frequency, directly shredding the woman's body.

A blanket also crawled out of the suitcase and wrapped around Lin Yilin, keeping her alert for any possible attacks.

The woman's severed fingers were still moving, and her hands crawled strangely like insects as she rushed towards Lin Yilin, only to be kicked away one by one by Lu Luxie.

"Stop! An En!" Chu Xiuping shouted to the woman, standing in front of Lin Yilin.

The woman could only let out a low groan as she struggled to get up.

Meow!
The bullet grazed Chu Xiuping's cheek from behind and struck the woman's head, shattering it.

Chu Xiuping stood there stunned for a long while, then turned around blankly. Toast darted past his feet and back to Lin Yilin's side, tilting its head back and whimpering to indicate that Lin Yilin should quickly express her gratitude. Then, the blanket spirit picked it up and stuffed it back into the suitcase.

Lin Yilin touched the cat gun in her hand and sighed.

"A ghost bus that felt like a death replay, I never thought I'd encounter something like this. What do you think, Mr. Chu Xiuping?"

……

The driver closed the car door and silently continued driving.

Chu Xiuping sat back down in his seat, while Lin Yilin sat in another empty seat, holding a cat gun.

“I’ve looked into the bus routes here. This direction only goes as far as Shanren Village and there are no other stops. But no one has survived in Shanren Village long ago. Why are there still buses going that way? Why are so many people still going to the village?”

Chu Xiuping shook his head.

Lin Yilin added, "I noticed the signs of decay on their bodies when I got on the bus."

"You noticed it a long time ago, so why did you still follow me?"

“If we don’t follow, we’ll miss out on valuable clues,” Lin Yilin said matter-of-factly.

Chu Xiuping sighed, "This is... my hallucination."

He looked around the bus, taking in everyone inside: "I like the mountain village. I often take this bus during my breaks to visit it. As you can see, I'm very young. I originally wanted to try to get into the police station, but I didn't meet the requirements. I settled for being a policeman, but I was targeted and randomly assigned to this place."

“At first, I was really in pain and miserable, and I wanted to escape from here. But... but this place wasn't as bad as I thought... Everyone was so kind, they accepted me and welcomed me. The children in the village remembered my birthday and gave me presents, and the elderly people would give me vegetables and fruits they grew no matter how much I declined, and even knitted sweaters for me…”

"I love this place..."

Lin Yilin quietly watched him and listened to his story, while at the same time she saw the woman standing outside the window, head down, getting soaked in the rain.

Chu Xiuping noticed it too and said, "Her name is An En... a girl from the village, and also my... lover."

"She isn't; she's hallucinating."

"Yes, she was my hallucination. She came to me after I kept seeking help from the police station and the investigation department without any results." Tears welled up in Chu Xiuping's eyes.

“It’s normal for you to harbor resentment. No one is helping you. After your safe haven was destroyed by bad people, even your colleagues are turning a blind eye to your pleas.” Lin Yilin thought of the impatient and dismissive attitude of the police officers when she was questioned at the police station down the mountain.

"Do I resent it..." Chu Xiuping was somewhat stunned.

"If it weren't for resentment, how could your hallucinations present themselves in this way?"

The bus stopped again at the same platform, and the woman, soaked by the rain, boarded the bus.

"Mr. Chu Xiuping."

As the woman slowly stepped into the car, the rain pattered on the ground. Lin Yilin continued speaking:
"You are already dead."

Chu Xiuping stared blankly ahead.

The car started moving again, but the woman did not approach again, and only silence remained inside the car.

Lin Yilin faced the rotting woman: "And how long do you intend to keep Mr. Chu Xiuping trapped in this distorted space of phenomena you created?"

……

After a long silence, the woman spoke in a low voice: "I am the way he wants to be, the bus he wants I can make run forever... I can fill his emptiness... I told him to stop investigating that matter... to forget that tiny connection he thought of... but... he wouldn't listen..."

"A moth... a humanoid moth... killed him. Almost... killed me too..."

Lin Yilin understood: "Wandering like a ghost, just like what you did for him, he experienced the illusion you gave him, and you also created a cycle of self-deception for yourself."

"Stop talking, Miss Lin Yilin," Chu Xiuping said, his voice trembling.

Lin Yilin ignored all that and turned to him, saying, "I came here to find you. You only appeared before me because I asked for your name at the police station. Please don't let me leave empty-handed."

"Stop talking..." "An En" stepped closer and grabbed Lin Yilin. Cat Gun stood up, but was calmed down again by Lin Yilin's other hand.

"Stop investigating...that horrible...moth..."

The desperate pleas were heart-wrenching.

“A detective has no reason to fear criminals. You can’t protect your host, but my illusion can. I love him, and he loves me.” Lin Yilin stated this matter-of-factly in a calm tone.

After speaking, she looked at Chu Xiuping again: "Mr. Chu Xiuping, you appeared before me because you have something to convey, right?"

Chu Xiuping's body trembled, and his face began to rot. Images of his own death flashed through his mind.

In the dense forest, a burly figure stood, with a pair of eerie red eyes that filled his entire face, and the flapping of his wings brought a fear that eroded his very being.

Even if he died and became a ghost in an illusion, he could not escape the shadow brought by death.

"I promise that the murderer will be punished," Lin Yilin said, emphasizing each word.

Finally, Chu Xiuping's trembling stopped.

“There was a participant in the charity project who came here before. He was a very gentle person, and the children all liked him. He brought them candy and taught at the newly built primary school himself… His name is…”

"Wang Shizhong..."

“I discovered… he did so many good things… I shouldn’t have doubted him… doubted such a good person. But I had no other choice, I’m sorry… I had to think, to doubt a good person. And then, why… why did everything he’d ever been to end up… everything that happened…”

Chu Xiuping's face was contorted with rage, and he practically forced the words out through clenched teeth.

After a long while, he calmed down and slumped weakly in his seat.

Lin Yilin listened quietly, and An En walked over and sat down in the seat next to Chu Xiuping, gently patting his back.

"I see."

The car stopped.

Lin Yilin glanced out the window, then got up and went to the car door.

"Please... Miss Lin Yilin... I'm sorry to bother you..." Chu Xiuping's voice came weakly.

Lin Yilin did not turn around, and her tone remained unchanged from beginning to end.

"Don't mind it. Actually, it was a good experience." After saying that, she walked down the steps and left the car that wasn't hers.

The rain has stopped, and the mountains are fresh after the rain.

The quiet mountain village was deserted.

Yet it seems as if they are quietly waiting for an outcome.

(End of this chapter)