Am I really hallucinating?

Chapter 48 Spreading bait
Lin Yilin was sitting obediently on a small stool, looking at Teng Jun, a man sitting on the ground in front of her.

"So, Mr. Tengjun, the commission you posted on the Xixikeke mutual aid website describes that your life is in danger and you are seeking help. Could you please describe it in detail?" Lin Yilin began the routine inquiry.

Teng Jun rubbed his bearded chin and said, "As you can see, girl, I am just an individual business owner selling shoes."

"A pirate who sells fake shoes." Lin Yilin added.

Teng Jun looked at Lin Yilin in surprise.

Lin Yilin gestured with her hand: "Please don't mind it. It's not hard to tell. As long as you have a certain understanding of the materials and details of brand shoes, you will see the situation in this store and it will be obvious."

She skillfully began to apply appropriate pressure on the client.

Zheng Fan wandered around the store, getting to know the famous shoe brands in Dadu.

He has very low requirements for shoes, almost as long as they fit his feet. But as far as he knows, there are many centipede friends in the world who have other requirements for shoes.

They are bought not only for wearing, but also for collection.

There is nothing wrong with other people's hobbies. After all, Zheng Fan's hobbies of seeking excitement for no reason would definitely be the lowest level even if they were ranked.

"Bonner, Hisoka, Kaishiding, weird brand logos... Hey, this pair is pretty good-looking." Zheng Fan looked at them one by one.

On the other side, Lin Yilin continued to ask: "Sir, the pair of shoes on your feet do not belong to any brand. The material looks very ordinary. From the movement of your feet from time to time, it seems that either your socks are not worn properly or the shoes do not fit. Your whole body is very dirty but the shoes are kept clean. And you have been wearing them for quite a long time. Is it the source of your nightmares during this period?"

"Yes, yes!" Teng Jun swallowed his saliva. Lin Yilin's words and the condescending and indifferent gaze made him feel very pressured, but his belief in Lin Yilin was gradually increasing during the conversation.

"I need to go to a nearby shoe factory regularly to purchase goods for my business. I saw this pair of shoes when I was purchasing goods from the shoe factory more than a week ago. I noticed the trademark on this pair of shoes."

"The trademark of the mysterious fantasy shoes." Lin Yilin said. As a shoe merchant, she probably knew something about the rumors about this kind of fantasy shoes.

Teng Jun nodded: "When I realized it, I thought I could make a fortune. I secretly took the shoes away and planned to sell them when the time came."

"But the days that followed almost brought me to a breakdown."

"I was just holding these shoes, and I would often hear footsteps from all around me when I was walking on the road, even if there was no one around. I thought I was being followed at first, but as I walked faster, the footsteps in my ears also accelerated and became more and more frequent..."

Zheng Fan raised his head and interrupted: "A normal person would have thrown away his shoes at this time."

Lin Yilin nodded slightly.

Teng Jun looked at the shoes on his feet and said, "I originally wanted to throw them away, but on the way home, I saw news of a pair of shoes with this brand being sold in my circle. The high amount made me give up the idea. As long as I sell the shoes quickly... that's what I think."

"So I fell asleep exhausted that day, and when I woke up the next day I found...the shoes were already on my feet."

Teng Jun said dully, his tone sounding like he was mumbling to himself: "I can't take it off, and I can't sell it. Those weird noises, auditory hallucinations, and visual hallucinations make me mentally weak..."

"Why don't you try cutting it off? Together with the foot." Zheng Fan made a wise suggestion.

Lin Yilin silently took notes, then asked, "How have the symptoms developed recently?"

"It's still the same. There hasn't been much change for the time being."

"Then the life-threatening situation is..."

"Someone is targeting me." Teng Jun opened his cell phone and handed it to Lin Yilin.

Lin Yilin took a closer look and found an anonymous email.

"'I want the shoes on your feet. I'll take them even if I have to cut off your legs.'" Lin Yilin read out the content, and Teng Jun quickly put away his phone.

Seeing this, Lin Yilin said, "Has this person come to see you?" "I didn't take it seriously at first, and continued to run the store and go out as usual. I was worried about how to take off my shoes. But one night later, amid the noisy footsteps in my ears, I heard something...special and abnormal. A strange premonition, and when I looked back, a strange-looking man attacked me directly!" Teng Jun's voice trembled a little.

"Describe his appearance."

"It was a man... from the voice, he should be a little taller than me, with a strong body, wearing a hoodie and sweatpants... Mainly his face. He had no eyebrows or hair, a pair of eyes without whites, and a constant mannequin-like smile on his face. I felt that he was definitely not a human... but a monster in human skin! Luckily I ran away. One of the few benefits of this pair of shoes is that it allows me to run very fast..." Teng Jun's voice trembled as he recalled the horror at that time.

Lin Yilin's performance was still very indifferent.

Zheng Fan seemed to suddenly remember something after hearing these words.

After Teng Jun finished his story, Lin Yilin said, "I already know the general situation, so what are your specific demands?"

"Specific demands..."

Teng Jun was stunned for a moment, and cried, "Please, help me take off these shoes! I don't want these shoes! I shouldn't have touched them!"

Lin Yilin shrugged, raised her hand and said, "Please stay calm, Mr. Teng Jun."

It took many shoutings for him to finally calm down.

"As for the shoes, you can't take them off for the time being because you have been marked." Lin Yilin said.

"It's...it's an illusion!" Teng Jun's face turned pale in an instant and he understood something, as if he had been sentenced to death.

"Probably, but please calm down. I will help you take off the shoes later. Then, let's talk about the reward."

"I can pay for anything! My money is fine!"

After everything was settled, Lin Yilin asked Teng Jun to calm down while she took a quick look around his shop and the residence behind.

"Lin Yilin, I remembered something."

"Ok?"

"The person he was talking about showed up at the Banmu Office this morning. He entered secretly through the back door and seemed to be cooperating with a certain studio." Zheng Fan told what he saw in the morning.

"If you had seen it with your own eyes, Mr. Illusion, how would it have felt?"

"It's not an illusion anyway." Zheng Fan answered without hesitation, "It's a person, but I don't know how he became like this, and he is wearing a pair of shoes like this on his feet."

"The bait that struggles hard makes the fish eat it more happily..." said Lin Yilin.

"What do you mean?"

"Bait-spreading hallucinations. After the initial invasion, this kind of hallucination will choose to spread bait, creating objects similar to fantasy objects and spreading them out, so that people can obtain these things and enjoy the convenience provided by these things, forgetting everything else, but they have already been deeply labeled by it. After it has been cultivated to a certain extent, it can be harvested again, and you can get a pair of 'shoes' with good performance and adaptability that are quite suitable for your feet."

"That's a good idea." Zheng Fan hammered the palm of his other hand with one hand, feeling inspired.

Lin Yilin lowered her eyes and looked at Zheng Fan silently.

Zheng Fan smiled and said, "It was just a joke, go on. Then why would a marked bait go after another bait?"

"Among the bait-spreading illusions, some are accustomed to the form of raising poisonous insects, letting the marked objects fight each other to promote growth. This time's shoe illusion is probably like that. But this commission is not difficult, and the clues are very clear." Lin Yilin's tone was still relatively relaxed.

She glanced at her phone and said, "But...it's getting late, time to get off work. I'll go back to tidy it up a bit in the evening."

(End of this chapter)