Am I really hallucinating?

Chapter 623 The mantis stalks the cicada?

"Your sculpting style is really impactful," Mo Mang said as he ran. "Have you considered doing character design for horror-themed works?"

“Actually, my main source of income now does come from this... but I still consider myself a sculptor,” Chassilu stammered.

In modern art, as long as you don't stubbornly stick to one particular style, you can always find a way to succeed.

Even in the realm of horror art design, there's a severe shortage of talent. If Chassilu had focused on this area, he might have become a master in the field long ago. However, he probably doesn't consider his inspiration to be "horror," and he likely wouldn't have ventured into this area if it weren't for his financial situation.

The sculpture following behind now has a horror game feel to it.

Toast followed along, yelling, "Awoo!"

"Huh?" Mo Mang stopped and looked back after hearing Toast's voice, only to find that the sculpture had disappeared.

“It’s gone,” Mo Mang said.

Chasilu immediately looked around: "It must be hiding somewhere watching us!"

Mo Mang contacted Zheng Fan and Lin Yilin by phone. Although the appearance of that strange sculpture was a bit tense, it wasn't as urgency as being caught up in a bizarre bank robbery.

While making contact, I led Chasilu across the road back to the office entrance. Standing here, I felt very safe.

Toast paced back and forth at the entrance of the office, like a patrolling guard, only this guard was a little too small.

Mo Mang looked up and put down his phone: "Mr. Zheng Fan should be back soon... Mr. Chaxilu, that sculpture is one of your works, isn't it?"

Chaxilu nodded quickly: "Yes, it is one of the works I sculpted after the earthquake, in a state of turbid inspiration."

"I don't think I'm being very credible, but its aggression shouldn't be as strong as people think," Mo Mang suggested.

“But it just got right behind me!” Chasilu shook his head in disbelief.

"Speaking of which, how did you discover you were a super-inspired person before your inspiration started to get out of control?" Mo Mang didn't dwell on that feeling and instead asked this question.

Chaxilu looked rather grim, but he still frankly recalled: "When I was a child, I was sent to work as an apprentice under a sculptor. At first, I imitated his works, but I was able to do them better than him. For a long time, he used me to improve his works, and when the matter was exposed, he was disgraced and took his anger out on me... Just as he was about to hit me, he was the one who got hit."

Mo Mang took notes diligently.

Chasilu continued, “I didn’t see it clearly, but it must have been my sculpture that hit him, in the blink of an eye. It was a hard hit; he bled a lot, staining the sculptures red. Based on his statement, the police investigated me, even bringing in some law firms, but the result was that there was absolutely nothing unusual. The sculptures were all unremarkable, and I only had marks from the beating, not any signs of retaliation. In the end, he was sent to prison. Since then, I have stopped following the rules.”

"Perhaps it's because I've developed a fear of those seemingly ordinary portraits that I feel at ease with a more explicit style. I know I possess a power, but I don't know how to unleash it. And once unleashed, how do I control it?"

After saying that, Chaxilu shook his head.

"The current situation is the worst possible outcome," Mo Mang sighed softly.

Extrasensory beings are really troublesome, much more troublesome than ordinary fantasy factors. Luckily, he's not an extrasensory being, otherwise, his peaceful daily life would obviously be far removed from what he desires.

"At this point," Chasilu said bitterly, "I'm not even sure if I can carve any more works now."

His body trembled incessantly, not because of the cold weather at sunset, but because of fear of himself and his creation.

Mo Mang turned his gaze away from Chaxilu.

After waiting in silence for a moment, Zheng Fan returned, now in the body of the great Cheng Fei, with a donut in his mouth.

"I couldn't resist stopping at the dessert shop on Dongding Road. Want some?" Zheng Fan handed over a bag of desserts, which Mo Mang took.

The little toast wagged its tail and went to greet it, and then Zheng Fan took out a piece of toast from his bag and handed it to it.

As Chasilu watched the moving piece of toast supporting another piece, he couldn't help but think that this strange little thing was actually quite cute...

Sizzle! Perfect Toast roughly pushed the toast that Zheng Fan had placed on its head to the ground and tore it into pieces, then ate it all up.

Chaxilu: "..."

very scary!
Zheng Fan looked at Qiaxi Lu: "I have a general understanding of the situation. You can call me Cheng Fei or Zheng Fan. Take us to your house."

"Do...do we want to go home?" Chasilu snapped out of his daze, still terrified: "My home is full of my sculptures."

“We have to go back eventually,” Zheng Fan replied casually, then looked at Mo Mang and said, “You’ve worked hard, you can rest now.”

After thinking for a moment, Mo Mang said, "Can I watch the whole process? Consider it as gaining experience."

Having come all this way, and having taken on this case, he wanted to see it resolved with his own eyes. That way, he could feel at ease; the strange sculpture that suddenly appeared was still a bit frightening.

Zheng Fan did not refuse: "Okay."

The three of them, along with a loaf of toast, hailed a taxi on the roadside to head to Fish Eye Alley in Zoom Plaza.

Inside the car, Zheng Fan sat in the passenger seat, holding a loaf of toast. Suddenly, Mo Mang looked in the rearview mirror and asked, "Is there a car following us?"

Zheng glanced at the black sedan driving behind their taxi.

"Then surely the person sitting in that car isn't a sculpture, is he?" he joked, but Chasilu didn't find it funny at all.

Chasilu: "I don't know that..."

He was only thinking about how to fix his sculpture that had suddenly started moving, and he never expected to be targeted by others.

Zheng Fan then thought of the Super Intuitive Hunter, wondering if someone had set their sights on Chashilu at this critical juncture.

The taxi driver then asked, "Brother Fei, what do you mean?"

That's right, the taxi driver was one of their own. Banmu's business expansion is very extensive, and the staff of Black Sparrow Studio remaining in the Xixi Keke area are also developing steadily, permeating every aspect of the street.

"Just drive, I'll handle it." Zheng Fan's gaze returned to the rearview mirror.

……

Inside the car behind were four people dressed in unremarkable clothing and who looked quite ordinary.

"Instead of going to the authorities or a more powerful firm, they chose this small firm... which saves us some trouble," the driver said as he drove.

"Don't be careless. This is Zero One Agency, a relatively new agency. Although it's small and only has one permanent staff member, it's one of the agencies designated as a partner by the Shishikoko Disposal Bureau, and its track record is outstanding," the person in the passenger seat reminded them.

"It's just a small firm at best; we just need to follow the steps..."

Why follow the established procedures?

A voice abruptly interrupted their conversation.

Everyone on the bus was stunned, only to find that the person they had seen sitting in the taxi in front was now sitting in the middle of the back seat.

They are about to make a move.

Boom!
The vehicle suddenly tilted backward, with the front end lifting up, as if the rear of the vehicle had been crushed by a heavy object.

Zheng Fan: ?
He hasn't even made a move yet.

Looking back, through the rear window, he saw the eerie sculpture sitting at the back of the car, pressing it down, its cold, unfeeling gaze fixed on Zheng Fan.

(End of this chapter)