Illusion Report

Jin Xueli stood at the building’s entrance, tilted her head back, and counted five stories.

Most of the windows were lit, appearing as bright white squares floating in the darkness.

Within the windows, bathed in white light, she could occasionally make out the silhouettes of people: some wandered slowly through classrooms, others stood before a large blackboard.

One person even had their face pressed against a window, pounding the glass with their fists and waving their arms, as if trying to get the attention of anyone outside. And indeed, they caught Jin Xueli’s eye.

But the figure was backlit, their face and form a dark silhouette. She couldn’t tell if it was a resident, nor could she see what he (or it?) was trying to do.

From across the sidewalk, Jin Xueli could only see a small part of the lobby and a staircase.

However, the visible areas were empty and silent. For the moment, she saw neither people nor residents.

She had been worried about running into her English teacher, but now, seeing how huge the night university building was, she figured it wouldn’t be easy to run into anyone even if she wanted to.

Jin Xueli glanced over her shoulder.

Maybe it was because of the scare she’d just had at the convenience store, but the lingering fear had yet to settle. It was like a feather drifting in mid-air, tickling her nerves and making her paranoid.

’Has that clerk already followed my scent here?’

The whole way here, she’d had the nagging feeling that something was behind her in the distance.

Jin Xueli’s flashlight beam pierced the darkness several times, but she still saw nothing.

She began to feel troubled.

She had the Original Liquid now... Should she enter the night university and hide for six hours, or take a risk and continue through the Nest to the high-rise that would take her home?

The building she’d jumped from to get home was one she had carefully chosen after several close calls and nearly losing her life. Its interior could almost be described as "safe"—a rarity in the Nest.

But carefully selecting a safe building for her return meant her destination was fixed. Jin Xueli couldn’t just find a convenient spot nearby. No matter how far away she was, she had to trek through the dark Nest, step by step.

’What if the clerk catches me the moment I leave the university?’

’But if I go inside, who knows what traps are waiting in the night university?’

’Neither option is good...’

The hairs on her arms suddenly stood on end. She whipped around, but her flashlight beam only illuminated a stretch of expressionless street.

’No one... There’s no one there, right?’

’I can’t just stand out here in the open. I feel as exposed as if I were naked.’

’I’ll go to the entrance and peek inside first. As long as I don’t actually step in, it should be fine.’

At this moment, Jin Xueli even felt a little envious of the clerk. Having faces on the front, back, left, and right meant it could watch for danger in every direction. How nice. Unlike her, whose neck was getting sore from twisting it back and forth just to walk these few steps to the building’s entrance.

She was extremely cautious. Not only did she keep her feet from crossing the threshold, she even carefully swept her hair back to ensure not a single strand entered the building’s perimeter, lest it trigger a trap.

But all this caution was for nothing. With one glance, she spotted a promotional stand at the foot of the lobby stairs.

—Welcome to Rose Ridge—

With an open and enthusiastic spirit, our institution welcomes people of all ages who are eager to learn and advance themselves to visit and get to know our school. We encourage you to engage with our faculty and staff. We are confident we can provide you with a most valuable, life-changing learning experience.

Therefore, we have established the following statuses—

Visitor: You may enter and tour the premises without formal enrollment. We will provide an introduction to our curriculum and faculty, and student assistants will be dedicated to answering any questions you may have.

Even if you need time to consider and cannot enroll immediately, there’s no pressure!

As long as a visitor leaves the school within thirty minutes, they will not be subject to the restrictions placed on students and are free to come and go. (Limit one visit per 24 hours. Each person may only visit three times.)

Should a visitor decide to convert to student status when the thirty-minute time limit expires, they will receive a mysterious and delightful welcome gift!

Additionally, if you are a—

Job Applicant:

Here, the words on the sign suddenly devolved into twisted blobs of ink, without a single human word among them. It was obvious that "Job Applicant" did not include humans, so Rose Ridge Community College hadn’t bothered to write out the details in human language.

Jin Xueli squeezed her eyes shut, as if trying to scrape the inkblots from her vision with her eyelids. She then skipped the "Job Applicant" section and continued reading.

Student: Please consult an assistant for details.

Teacher: This school does not permit the consumption of students. Please keep this in mind. At the very least, consumption of students who have properly completed their coursework is not permitted. Furthermore, please refrain from using lies, traps, deception, threats, or coercion—or any other methods outside the scope of teaching—on students and visitors.

’They even made a point to write that last part in human language... I guess it’s meant to be reassuring.’

Jin Xueli had no intention of enrolling—she couldn’t imagine anyone whose life was so dull they would voluntarily sign up for this.

If she entered as a visitor, she could only stay for thirty minutes... and then what?

The Nest was treacherous, full of mockery and surprises. No one could ever know which seemingly rational, logical decision would lead to their utter ruin.

For example, with the decision to "stay in the university for thirty minutes," Jin Xueli could imagine two outcomes. One: the clerk fails to find her nearby and moves on, allowing her to head home after the thirty minutes are up. That would be the best-case scenario.

Two: the clerk waits outside the university for thirty minutes and grabs her the moment she steps out.

’What should I do?’

Those momentous, life-altering events, when traced back to their roots, often stem from a single, unintentional, even insignificant choice.

At this moment, Jin Xueli simply called into the doorway, "Hello, is anyone there?"

***

Brianna slid the upper half of her body back into Jacqueline’s, securing it firmly. Only then did she finally release the breath she’d been holding tight in her chest.

’Thank goodness. The body is fine.’

Perhaps because it was recently deceased, it hadn’t started to rot, nor had a resident spawned from it.

Although she had specifically chosen a deserted spot and propped Jacqueline up high on a tree branch, how could she possibly relax?

Accidents and risks were called such precisely because one could never foresee them, no matter how hard one tried to imagine what might happen. So, until she had hurried back to Jacqueline’s side, her nerves had been stretched taut, terrified that she would return to find the tree empty.

...Of course, she couldn’t go see Jin Xueli while wearing Jacqueline.

Anyone who glanced behind "Jacqueline’s" feet would see Brianna’s long, endless body dragging on the ground.

If Jin Xueli saw that, she would know Jacqueline had been killed by a resident and would naturally become wary and guarded—getting her to take off her vest would be even more difficult then.

"Honestly, how could you just toss my uniform here like that..."

As Brianna finally stood upright and walked out of the community park on Jacqueline’s two feet, the convenience store clerk was nearby, muttering as it picked its vest up off the ground.

Hearing the noise, the clerk straightened up, and the face on the back of its head met Brianna’s gaze for a moment.

"You can shapeshift?"

As it spoke, teeth that grew from its lips trembled and swayed. "What, you plan to keep getting in my way after changing forms? But you’re weak, so weak, so, so weak, barely better than a human."

’Because I am human, I am human, I’m not a resident, I’m not.’

Brianna took a deep breath.

"Hasn’t that girl already gone and disappeared?" she said, trying to sound calm. "You can’t keep following her now, can you?"

She hoped Jin Xueli had actually listened to her and found a territory with rules to hide in. Even if that came with its own risks, the chance of survival was still greater than being hunted by a resident.

"She has gone far," the clerk said, having put its vest back on. It still had its back to her, speaking with the face on the back of its head. "Logically speaking, I’ve already driven that Hunter out of the gas station. I have no need for revenge..."

Brianna held her breath, waiting.

"But I must have revenge I must I must this is my solemn eternal vow I will kill the one who killed me and how dare you look down on me."

"Enough," Brianna interrupted, extremely impatient. "I’m not looking down on you."

The convenience store clerk paused, then nodded suspiciously. "It’s not your place to look down on me anyway."

"Be my guest," Brianna said with a wave of her hand. "Go ahead and track her. I won’t get in your way."

While holding off the clerk, she had sustained countless injuries. Even now, wearing Jacqueline’s body, her nose and mouth were filled with the thick, sticky, metallic tang of blood.

Semi-residents didn’t bleed like humans.

What flowed from her body was the memory and pain of every time she had been injured and bled, from childhood to the present, all layered together. It was as if she were being burned by the flames of countless yesterdays, her nerves twitching through time.

She couldn’t smell anything but the painful scent of memories seeping from her own wounds; she had no way to find which way Jin Xueli had gone.

Since the convenience store clerk refused to give up, it actually made things easier for her. She could follow it to find Jin Xueli.

Before she had resolved to find Jin Xueli, Brianna had been able to barely maintain her sanity.

But not anymore she couldn’t stand it, she couldn’t bear it, not for a moment no no no, couldn’t stand not wanting couldn’t bear the thought of Jin Xueli leaving her sight for a single second, she wanted to watch her watch her keep watching her watch her forever

Until Jin Xueli’s face appeared in the mirror before Brianna.

Until Jin Xueli’s face was reflected in Morando’s eyes.

"That Hunter is so cunning."

The convenience store clerk’s voice abruptly shattered the countless scenes swirling in her mind: Morando’s soft laugh, Morando sitting on the edge of the bed and leaning down toward her, Morando’s tightly bitten lower lip... and after parting the night, the smog, the dust and smoke, to finally see that free, ice-and-snow blue once more—to finally be able to breathe again—

"...What?" Brianna slowly returned from that distant future.

"I went and asked,"

The clerk seemed to have completely forgiven Brianna for getting in its way, as if it automatically assumed she wanted to find Jin Xueli for the same reasons. It pointed at the building behind it and said, "She enrolled."

Brianna stared at it for a few seconds.

Brianna turned her head and stared at the entrance of Rose Ridge Community College for a few more seconds, the information not quite sinking in.

...’That son of a bitch, Jin Xueli, enrolled?’