Am I really hallucinating?

Chapter 482 Feeling the Weight of Merit

February 28th.

It was still a cloudy day.

Before midnight, various omens, large and small, had already appeared throughout the gray streets of the capital. The power of hallucinations and fantasy objects had been amplified to some extent.

People who absorb too much hemoglobin have begun to feel irritable, which is accompanied by an increase in physical abilities.

It will be another painstaking and exhausting battle, with local authorities making preparations step by step.

……

"Here." Zheng Fan, holding Cheng Fei's arm, handed the short sword in his hand to Lu Chongming.

"Wait, how did it turn into a short sword?" Lu Chongming looked at the electric sword, which was now half-shortened, with a bewildered expression.

“Because I also need to track it.” Zheng Fan took out the original section and gestured. “I had Lin Yilin enchant it. It will fail if it goes too far away. Occasionally it will give vague guidance, like a bad signal. It will only have a clear reaction when it gets within a thousand meters. It can provide precise guidance within five hundred meters.”

"Aren't we going together?" Lu Chongming asked while memorizing the mechanism.

“Of course not together. Can you keep up with my speed? Because we need to be within a kilometer to give a vague location indication, we still need to investigate the places where he might detonate the nuclear bomb. I’m much faster by myself.” Zheng Fan raised his eyebrows, his words causing Lu Chongming to shrink back.

"Ah, the gift that Chief Shiraishi gave me..."

"So this sword was a gift from Bai Shi?" Zheng Fan thought to himself, "Why does the design of this conductive sword look so familiar? Wasn't Bai Shi the last person to use a conductive weapon?"

"Yes, after Xixi Keke learned about my situation, he came to see me before leaving, asked about my affairs, and then gave me this sword."

"Being the chief is much better than Zhang Xue. If he finds out about anything, big or small, whether it's related or not, he can help out whenever he has time," Zheng Fan said. "In short, it's good to make the best use of resources. Besides, it's not like I broke it for you. I'll fix it for you later."

Wouldn't breaking a sword in half be considered damaging it?
"I know." Lu Chongming kept his complaints to himself, not daring to say them aloud.

Seeing Lu Chongming's serious expression, Zheng Fan added, "Although it's not certain, even if I'm faster than you, you'll probably meet him before I do."

"Hmm?" Lu Chongming asked, puzzled.

“Our action plan is based on simple rationality, but the connection between his fortune and yours is another matter. According to Lin Yilin’s speculation, although he can also draw strength from ‘evil deeds’, when he carries out ‘evil deeds’, the good fortune accumulated from ‘good deeds’ will fluctuate. So during this period, you will feel that although Wang Shizhong can always turn danger into safety, there seems to be too much ‘danger’ on him.”

Wang Shizhong skillfully turned danger into safety on many occasions, but don't ask how those dangers came about.

"Then why didn't you find him first, Mr. Illusion?" Lu Chongming asked, puzzled.

"He knows I exist and will definitely try to deal with me, even using up a lot of his luck to avoid me. My luck is a vast and overwhelming force, and to me he is just a ship in a whirlpool. In other words, to me he is no different from an ordinary person, which creates a strange error, causing our relationship to probably become more ordinary."

Zheng Fan shrugged, somewhat helplessly.

Then he looked at Lu Chongming: "But you are different. This incident started because you interfered with his plan, then you met his avatar at the sanatorium and discovered his true identity, and then yesterday, you were the only one who naturally followed him, actually met him, and interacted with him."

"This might sound a bit old-fashioned, and I don't really believe it myself, but Lu Chongming, you and he might just be destined rivals."

Lu Chongming swallowed.

"It seems like it's almost time. Three days of revelry, how exciting!" Zheng Fan looked up at the sky. Although it was a cloudy day, the sky was darkening much faster than usual in February. At the same time, starlight could even shine through the clouds, twinkling with a red glow.

It was like a series of eerie eyes watching the street below.

"By the way, Mr. Illusion, if Miss Lin Yilin arrives, will you still need to use... Cheng Fei's body?"

"Ah, this. Because we have to pick up other people in the next three days, Binary Girl refused to come with me, but she will support us from behind." Zheng Fan chuckled and scratched his head.

Lu Chongming roughly knew why: Mr. Illusion's other host wanted to take this opportunity to come back from somewhere else.

Zheng Fan's ability to manipulate illusions into having multiple partners is a level of skill that Lu Chongming can only dream of.

Gripping the short sword tightly, Lu Chongming's machine began to vibrate.

He got up, picked up the uniform from the processing bureau on the sofa next to him, and put it on.

Before tracking Wang Shizhong, he still needed to do what the action team leader was supposed to do, and first go to guard the key points.

……

Before the overlap, the processing bureau had already identified several key areas on the periphery of Jiangwen Street that needed to be guarded by relevant testing agencies.

The only slightly encouraging aspect is that the buffer layer formed by this triple overlap will be significantly larger and stronger than in other months, thus increasing the fault tolerance rate for the processing bureau.

Within the buffer zone, you don't need to worry too much about the damage caused; in fact, in the strongest areas of the buffer zone, even the line between life and death can be blurred. The resurrection coins are real!
Police lights flashed everywhere, urging people to go to bed early and even offering free specially made, highly effective sleeping pills, trying to prevent ordinary people from getting into trouble during those three days.

In the past, if I accidentally stumbled into the end of the month when it didn't exist, I could just hide in a safe corner and endure it for a day. But this time is different.

The flashing red and blue lights, interspersed with the red starlight in the sky, spread a sense of tension like ambient lighting.

It's almost time.

zero point.

February 29th, which never existed, arrived.

It was as if some being had inflated a balloon and descended, first spreading red light to every corner of the street, then a large black hand swept across it.

In an instant, even if there seemed to be no other significant changes to the naked eye, the feeling around you was completely different.

Zheng Fan stood alone on the edge of a tall building, adorned with a red star, before leaping into the night sky and disappearing.

"Mr. Illusion, the portability and stealth of the fingertip nuclear bomb are its greatest advantages. Even if you have a fast movement speed, please concentrate and be wary of the possibility of the opponent being able to create clones to carry out their actions."

Lin Yilin is currently in contact with Zheng Fan.

“No, I don’t think he would waste his energy using a diversionary tactic, at least he wouldn’t create too many avatars. His avatars require power, so concentrating his forces to deal with my appearance might be a better option,” Zheng Fan offered a different perspective.

“That makes sense. I’m currently monitoring the overlapping detection team in Jiangwen Street. Besides a few stable but ambiguous locations, there are other ambiguous locations that might shift, disappear, or reappear. These unstable locations could also be exploited. Wang Shizhong should also be monitoring the same information in real time,” Lin Yilin continued.

Zheng Fan darted quickly along the edge of Jiangwen Street. It was the first time he had ever conducted such extensive information reading. A large amount of information flooded into his mind, which he filtered one by one. He would stay in each place for a while before moving on to the next.

Lin Yilin helped with reporting the locations, which made things much easier for the two of them not to act together this time.

"The next location is the border between Jiangwen Street and Haijiu District. Haijiu District is the arsenal of Jiangwen Street, with multiple military factories and a large cargo terminal. Many weapons and equipment are filtered for risks in Haijiu District before being transported to other regions from the Haijiu Wharf." Lin Yilin announced the location while also acting as a tour guide, introducing the local features.

During her introduction, Zheng Fan also arrived at this place.

Ding!
He immediately took out the broken sword, which spun at his fingertips, directly pointing him in the right direction.

Are we getting closer?
Suddenly, a whooshing sound came from afar. An air-to-air missile was heading straight for Zheng Fan. Zheng Fan raised his hand and drew a red line, cutting the missile in halfway. The missile then stopped in mid-air, and the information reading found a conspicuous target.

"Roar~".

The opponent made no attempt to hide anything, so the broken sword was essentially useless.

"Mr. Illusion, are you under attack?"

"We've found the moth." Zheng Fan looked at the all-black Mothman standing atop a pagoda in a temple not far away.

This is not on the same level as the white incarnation we saw before. Just as Zheng Fan thought, the other party has chosen the path of concentrating its strength.

"I didn't expect you to show up in front of me on your own initiative. What gives you this confidence? The nuclear bomb hasn't been detonated yet, has it?" Zheng Fan shouted from afar.

“It’s you, the one who truly interferes with my destiny,” the Mothman said in a deep voice.

"It's me, so what?"

"Today is the day I overcome fate. All my efforts so far have been to overcome my own destiny! A weak destiny will naturally be carried along by a strong destiny, and the greatest destiny in this world comes from that endless darkness! I realized this a long time ago, whether it was me, 'Moth' or Wang Shizhong... We studied the direction of fate together and finally came to this conclusion. Then we had an unshakable common goal, which led to this synchronized unity!"

Mothman opens his arms, then clenchs them into fists, and points his fingers at Zheng Fan.

"The interference you bring is precisely the predicament I must overcome before I can transcend fate! This is a test that fate has given me! Therefore, I must confront you!"

"This is what they call destiny!"

A loud explosion occurred in the distance, illuminating Zheng Fan's gloomy face.

“Commendable courage.” Then he grinned and praised.

The next moment, the two disappeared from their spot, their figures colliding as they tore through the black sky.

Boom!

A powerful shockwave spread outwards, and Mothman was immediately blasted away. Zheng Fan redialed his phone, calling Lu Chongming while kicking Mothman even further away in mid-air.

"Hello!? Mr. Illusion?" Lu Chongming was dealing with the fierce attacks of the inhabitants of the Red World and the illusions of the Black World, but Zheng Fan answered the phone immediately.

"Hey, you seem pretty busy over there too?" Mothman's fists danced wildly, and Zheng Fan parried with one hand while making a phone call.

"Mr. Illusion, it's windy over there, I can't hear you very well..."

"I've run into the Mothman." "What? You've already met Wang Shizhong?!"

"No, just the Mothman."

Lu Chongming immediately realized, "Is it just an avatar?"

"Yes, a very powerful avatar. And it doesn't have any nuclear weapons; it came specifically to challenge me. So you can't let your guard down yet; Wang Shizhong's main body is still active. And this is a good opportunity for you. He may have poured almost all of the power of 'misfortune' into this avatar, and he himself is definitely in a 'weak' state right now. But conversely, without the interference of 'misfortune,' his luck will improve again. That's the strategy he adopted on February 29th."

"I...I understand!"

Just as Lu Chongming finished speaking, the Mothman's movements suddenly accelerated. He feinted a punch, causing Zheng Fan to tilt his head and dodge. The next moment, a whip kick swept across Zheng Fan's cheek, shattering the phone.

Zheng Fan waved his hand dismissively: "Don't rush, I was just saying it's already over. How can you be so impatient if you want to overcome fate?"

Mothman's scarlet eyes flashed, and a damaged fighter jet suddenly appeared from behind the clouds, diving down toward Zheng Fan.

Zheng Fan could clearly see the driver's panicked expression.

He turned and raised his hand to block the oncoming fighter jet, while the Mothman accelerated towards him, its blood-red thorns forming a large net that enveloped him.

As Zheng Fan tossed the fighter jet onto the roof of the building next to him, his fingers deftly flipped a rope, the red thread flashing in mid-air to form the outline of an iron tower, tearing through the unromantic thorns.

shhhhh!

"Hahaha, it's so lively! Count me in!" A strange bird illusion suddenly swooped down from below and immediately targeted Zheng Fan, who looked more human-like.

Zheng deflected the sharp feathers thrown by the bird with his finger, glanced at it coldly, grabbed its neck and threw it forward.

Mothman smashed the illusion of the strange bird to pieces with a single punch.

The next moment, the high-altitude airflow changed direction, scattering all the fragments of the strange bird in front of Zheng Fan.

Zheng Fan took out a lighter and set it ablaze, burning it to ashes and wrapping it around his body. But Mothman broke through the flame barrier and grabbed Zheng Fan by the neck, slamming him downwards.

Zheng Fan blinked, but did not struggle.

With a loud thud upon landing, Mothman leaped out of the smoke and landed on the artificial hill in the nearby garden.

Zheng Fan stood up and repaired Cheng Fei's body.

They fell into the temple they had just been below. It was a well-maintained temple, probably a minor tourist attraction, but they were just unlucky today.

After all, it was visited by the Mothman.

"You're still getting stronger," Zheng Fan said. The Mothman was indeed getting stronger with each battle, and this power was even more like that of a protagonist in a shonen manga.

"Why do you think I chose the end of February? I've spent most of my life in Jiangwen Subdistrict. This way, even if I don't actively commit any evil deeds, Jiangwen Subdistrict will only suffer a large-scale disaster, and my 'inaction' will still bring me a considerable income. It was the same with the previous earthquake. Such a good opportunity is truly something I'm reluctant to leave..."

Mothman spreads his sharp claws, the black fur on his neck flutters in the wind, and the misfortune on his body seems to materialize, as if black flames are burning behind him.

"I have poured out all the 'misfortune' I have accumulated in my life in this moment, along with the current Jiangwen Street, and even the countless areas I have arranged in Dadu. The 'misfortune' of everyone in these three days will be transformed into my power. This is the ultimate within the realm of fate, the price I must pay to overcome such a formidable enemy as you!"

With a flick of its wrist, it stirred up a storm that leveled the courtyard to the ground.

Mothman spreads his arms with satisfaction: "Though it's only temporary, once the nuclear bomb is detonated, this power will become my constant state! Until then, you dangerous fellow humans, die!"

Zheng Fan lit a fire and summoned several fireballs, but the Mothman extinguished them all with a wave of his hand.

The large eyes swept quickly across the surrounding Martian surface: "Here!"

As the crimson thorns swept past, Zheng Fan appeared on Mars, his suit torn to shreds by the thorns. Mothman caught up and threw a punch, and Zheng Fan raised his hands to block but was still sent flying.

In another hall, a golden Buddha statue gazes benevolently ahead, while incense and candles illuminate the dim yet still magnificent hall.

The shadow cast on the Buddha statue suddenly transformed into the shadow of the Mothman.

It caught up with Zheng Fan, and misfortune struck like a demonic claw.

As Zheng Fan dodged, he reached out and grabbed the Buddha statue, crying out, "May Buddha protect me!"

Duang!

The Buddha was flattened beneath the Mothman's seat.

But then the Buddha statue was lifted up by the Mothman.

Zheng Fan watched this scene, beads of sweat forming on his face: "What exactly is this Buddha made of?"

The Buddha statue only lost a little paint after he hit it like that. Is your Buddha statue made of titanium alloy?

"My merits and karmic burdens are beyond your comprehension!" the Mothman roared, using the Buddha statue as a hammer to relentlessly pound on Zheng Fan.

With a final, powerful throw, the Buddha statue struck Zheng Fan, sending him flying and sliding a long distance across the ground until it crashed into the wall before coming to a stop.

Zheng Fan was caught between the Buddha statue and the broken wall, and a sense of exhaustion kept washing over him.

Great.

Cheng Fei's body was about to give out. He had used Cheng Fei's body to temporarily boost his strength by inserting "pills" into it for a short time, but that was almost the limit. He was no match for the dark Mothman who had the support of the majority of the unfortunate people.

This was the first time since he had transmigrated to Dadu that he had been beaten for so long, to the point where he was powerless to fight back.

As expected of you, Master Cheng Fei!

And people at this temple, please be more careful! Your Buddha is too inflexible!

Zheng Fan mustered his strength to move the Buddha statue that was pressing down on him, when he suddenly heard a noise above.

After reading the information, it turned out that the Mothman seemed to have brought another Buddha statue of the same size from the next hall, and then flew into the air carrying the Buddha statue as it rapidly swooped down towards Zheng Fan!
"Feel the weight of merit!"

Is this some kind of good deed you're talking about?!
Zheng Fangang lifted the Buddha statue on his body slightly, and the powerful pressure slammed down, causing him to spit out a mouthful of blood and widen his eyes.

The swan-like figure frantically struck the Buddha statue with both hands, relentlessly applying the impact to gradually press the statue down. Zheng Fan took a deep breath, finally administering a "pill" to Cheng Fei's body, and with the last surge of power, lifted the Buddha statue and then unleashed his own full-force punches to resist.

It initially rose slightly, but as the black flames on Mothman's body expanded again, the heavy pressure returned.

"I won! Die! My greatest calamity!" Mothman shrieked, and with a final, powerful punch, he slammed down.

The Buddha statues crashed down completely, and with a loud bang, the ground beneath them sank. The terrifying force poured onto the surface and spread outwards, completely overturning the temple. A huge crater, as if it had been hit by a meteorite, appeared beneath the two overlapping Buddha statues.

Mothman stands on the Buddha statue's face, which it has wrecked by hammering, and his body continues to grow stronger.

"Ahhh~, what a wonderful feeling. Today is the perfect day! This is an auspicious sign! I will overcome all obstacles and defy fate!"

"Tsk tsk tsk..."

A soft "tsk" sound came from behind.

Mothman's swollen and distorted body immediately straightened, and he turned to look behind him.

A figure appeared behind it at some unknown time, standing atop the Buddha statue's head. Wearing a military-style uniform with black and red trim, her black hair, dyed magenta, cascaded down her shoulders. The unfamiliar woman's skin was so pale it seemed inhuman. She slightly raised the brim of her hat, her pale red eyes sweeping towards the Mothman.

"Who...are you?" Mothman asked in surprise.

"Even though it's in a different body, this is the first time I've seen Mr. Demon get beaten up. It's kind of funny. And, you must be the bastard who bullied my little pet, right?" Jiang Si said calmly.

Jiang Si had already returned to Dadu. She casually tossed the mangled mess of Cheng Fei aside with a red thread, then hung up the phone call where Lin Yilin had helped her with directions along the way. Jiang Si clapped her hands.

"You..." Mothman didn't understand, but a strong sense of foreboding was overwhelming.

Suddenly, tear tracks appeared at the corners of Jiang Si's eyes, and her pupils turned a familiar grayish-white.

"And..." a blurred male and female voice said, "Congratulations on passing the first tribulation. The second tribulation is coming next."

"Playing tricks!" Mothman thrusts out thorns.

Jiang Si raised her hand and pierced out the red line.

They're both red lines, but they're completely different!

The moment the two, so different in thickness, collided, the red thread shattered the thorns and continued its advance, while Mothman flapped his wings and soared into the sky, escaping the red thread's strangulation.

As it slowed down and looked down, the two large Buddha statues defied gravity and rushed towards it.

"This is for you. Now feel the weight of your karma!"

One after another, they crashed into the Mothman's back. Cheng Fei, having taken some medicine on the spot, used a force that no amount of medicine could match, shattering the Mothman's wings and causing it to spurt blood.

"Ugh! How could this be...!"

The giant Buddha, carrying the Mothman, flew across the border of Jiangwen Street and crashed into the port of Haijiu District, leaving behind a series of loud noises.

(End of this chapter)