Illusion Report

Fu Han was handsome, silver-tongued, and charming. On first impression, he seemed very intelligent.

Even though he never held a steady job, was always dreaming big, and constantly searching for a chance to strike it rich, he still managed to attract all sorts of people who were happy to be his friends and companions. Before Fu Tailan became an Illusion Hunter, he always felt that even when his dad was home, he still had one foot out the door.

"...But that’s all in the past."

Without even glancing at Carter, Fu Tailan said in a low voice, "After I became an Illusion Hunter, things started to change. A single trip into a Nest earned me more than Fu Han could make in half a lifetime... His big business deals and grand ventures with all sorts of motley crews began to pale in comparison."

No business was as profitable as his son.

From the corner of his eye, Fu Tailan could see Carter still sitting there silently, showing no reaction.

"Even if he managed to steal a priceless Illusion from me, or secretly withdrew a huge sum from our joint account—and don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying he wouldn’t. He probably would if he had to. But I’m saying that even if he did all that, he would never just vanish without a trace, without leaving me so much as a word."

’Money eventually runs out. Fu Han isn’t that stupid.’

Besides, he was not without affection for his own son.

If Fu Han had been completely heartless, only using Fu Tailan as a cash cow, it would have actually been a relief—he could have finally breathed a long sigh.

Carter seemed to have picked up on this as well.

"That’s a rather cold way to put it. Fu Han does love you," he said with an affable smile. "Fathers can be bad at expressing themselves, but take it from me, his affection for you isn’t purely transactional."

Fu Tailan couldn’t even bear to look at him.

"...I know."

Whether from an emotional or a practical standpoint, Fu Han had no motive to suddenly vanish into thin air. In other words, his current disappearance was very likely not by choice.

Of course, Fu Tailan had one other detail to support this theory.

If he hadn’t been unconscious for two days, waking up with his head in a fog, he probably wouldn’t have taken a full hour to realize it.

"Let me guess... after Fu Han fell into your hands, he held out for about three or four hours before spilling everything to you?"

For the first time since he’d walked into the hospital room, the affable mask Carter wore finally cracked, revealing a sliver of genuine, human surprise.

"Let me think," he said, his somewhat cloudy, blue-gray eyes looking up. "Yes. Three and a half hours."

It was as if Fu Tailan had just asked him how long it takes to drive from Blackmoor City to the next state.

"How did you know?" Carter asked, his interest piqued.

Fu Tailan stared motionlessly at the snow-white duvet, feeling as if his entire body had become a single, thrumming nerve. If someone were to reach out and pluck it, he felt he would shatter from the vibration, turning to dust.

He knew his father was surely still alive, but this brought him no comfort. He subconsciously reached into his pocket, looking for a cigarette to numb the unfamiliar bewilderment and terror of the moment.

Carter held out a neatly rolled cigarette, wider at one end than the other.

"Had someone buy it on the way," he said, almost sympathetically. "I thought you might need one."

Fu Tailan stared hard at the cigarette. He wanted to snatch it away and throw it in Carter’s face. He wanted to rip it to shreds and shove it down Carter’s throat.

After a long moment, he finally reached out and took the cigarette. It trembled slightly in his hand. Fu Tailan leaned forward, lowered his head, and let Carter light it for him.

Fu Tailan didn’t have the luxury of refusing anything that could numb his nerves.

He glanced at the smoke detector on the ceiling, knowing he couldn’t take more than a few puffs before it might trigger the alarm. He took a deep drag, and then another, before stubbing it out.

"...How is Fu Han?"

"Rest assured, he’s fine," Carter said softly. "Aside from the original injury to his leg, not a single hair on his head—oh dear, that’s not quite right."

He laughed, as if at his own clever joke. "He did lose some hair, actually. Quite a bit. I told the lad who pulled it to be as polite as he could, but I’m afraid it was still a bit painful."

Fu Tailan stared fixedly at him.

"And not just from his head," Carter said. "Some pubic hair, too."

’...What?’

"It was all necessary, I’m afraid. Things that had to be done. I was very reluctant to do it, you know."

Carter shook his head, as if finding it difficult to bring up.

"It’s rather classless, saying this to his son. But you need to know the facts, so it can’t be helped... Let’s put it this way. Besides pulling some hair, I also provided him with a stack of pornographic magazines. I told him that if he didn’t... produce something in a cup, he was in for a world of hurt.

"It’s not easy to get it up when you’re in pain, scared, and surrounded by people. But your father, he completed the mission. Good for him, eh?"

’Why did I put out the cigarette?’

’If it were still lit, I’m certain I could have shoved it right in Carter’s eye.’

Fu Tailan couldn’t tell if what he felt was pain or humiliation, or some mixture of the two that went beyond them—a kind of punishment, a torture inherent to being human.

"...Why?"

Carter shook his head and smiled.

"Have you ever heard the expression, ’Everything is part of fate’s master plan’? I’ve been alive for nearly fifty years, and I’m convinced that saying was written just for me. God has a soft spot for me, because He’s also a white man at the top of the food chain. This world is His good ol’ boys’ club."

People from Carter’s class always operate under the delusion that every word they utter is some pearl of wisdom, some profound truth ordinary people have never heard and should listen to with rapt attention. Because that’s how they’ve lived their entire lives.

Fu Tailan said coldly, "Get to the point."

"Alright, alright. You’re so capable, I keep forgetting you’re still young and lack the patience of an adult," Carter said placidly. "Let me think... it was a couple of days ago, I believe? A friend of mine was just hosting a little get-together, a bit of fun, when an... incident occurred."

He glanced back at the door of the hospital room.

Remy had closed the door on her way out. A sliver of light from the corridor now crept in from under it. The light lay still, undisturbed by the sound of footsteps.

But Carter still lowered his voice.

"There was a woman. Seemed she didn’t know how to play along. I’m not too clear on the details, but long story short, she ended up dead. This kind of thing... it can be a big problem or no problem at all, depending on how you handle it. My friend knew I had experience, so he came to me, asking what to do. The body was still lying right there."

Fu Tailan already understood.

"It wasn’t my son who got into trouble, so at the time, I wasn’t really willing to get involved. But what a coincidence, right? Just then, Fu Han gave me a call. He was beating around the bush, being vague, but I could tell he had something incredible on his hands.

"I was a little surprised. Logically, any Illusion a Hunter from the Morgan Family brings back goes through a set procedure. Why call me? But according to Fu Han, this Illusion had nothing to do with the Morgan Family; it fell into his hands by a twist of fate. Because of this, a major Family Faction was after him, ready to kill him for it. He wanted to sound me out, see if I was willing to pay a high price to buy it off him.

"He said that way, you two, father and son, would be out of danger. See? I told you Fu Han loves you. I wasn’t wrong, was I?"

’Fu Han must have thought I’d simply gotten my hands on an extremely valuable Illusion, one that Chaisi was willing to get violent to obtain.’

’I could practically spell out his logic for him: Since it’s an Illusion, it has to be sold for cash eventually. So what does it matter who buys it?’

’Carter Morgan is so affable and generous, and he’s my boss. Wouldn’t it be much better to sell it to him than to anyone else?’

"...He didn’t know. That you’ve been digging into Westley’s secrets."

Fu Tailan stared at the blank wall and muttered, "Chaisi, Westley’s subordinates, and me... all three of us are locked in a life-or-death struggle. How could you possibly think that what we’re fighting over is just some ordinary Illusion?"

"Exactly. Of course, Fu Han was wary at first, all vague and mysterious, and wouldn’t give me details. But it didn’t take much effort for me to find out two keywords... ’the Kai Family,’ and ’key.’"

Carter smiled. "I didn’t want things to get this ugly, you know."

Fu Tailan closed his eyes.

"If you had kept your end of the bargain, properly investigated Westley’s secrets for me without getting any other ideas, then you would never have had to know what happened when Fu Han disappeared.

"But I, of all people, understand human greed. I knew there was a good chance you wouldn’t be so honest... See? This little extra preparation of mine came in handy, didn’t it?"

Carter patted the bed lightly. "Right, which brings us back to the woman’s body."

Fu Tailan opened his eyes.

He studied Carter’s face, watching his facial muscles, his lips, forming different shapes as they produced different syllables. In a daze, a sudden feeling came over him.

’So this is what a human being is... such a strange creature,’ he thought. ’It’s as if I’ve never really seen one before.’

Carter said a woman’s body had been dumped in the most chaotic and dangerous part of Blackmoor City.

An incident that had nothing to do with him, of course.

Naturally, someone quickly discovered the body and called the police.

And somehow, Fu Han’s saliva, semen, hair, and fingerprints... all happened to end up on her right before the body was dumped. He’d also put his hands on some things he shouldn’t have.

"You’ve always been called a young genius. Do I really need to spell it out for you?"

Fu Tailan’s throat was as dry as sandpaper. "...Spell it out."

"Between Fu Han the free man, and Fu Han the criminal arrested, prosecuted, and sent to the electric chair, there is only one barrier. And that barrier is me."

Carter adjusted his posture.

In a friendly, almost instructive tone, he asked, "Tell me, what is Westley’s secret?"

Fu Tailan lowered his head. For some reason, a spasm started deep in his gut. The spasm traveled upward, shaking his body, and turned into laughter that grew louder and louder.

"You’re one step too late, you pig. I’ve already been disqualified. And it’s all thanks to you."

"What?"

When Fu Han disappeared with the kitten painting, it was around one in the morning.

But Fu Tailan wasn’t disqualified at one o’clock. He knew this because later, just before four in the morning, he had still received the notifications about Jin Xueli and Chaisi acquiring their Illusions.

This meant that before four in the morning, Fu Tailan was still a contender.

When Fu Han took the kitten painting, the Nest did not register it as a failure for Fu Tailan. This meant that when the Nest truly considered the key lost to Fu Tailan, the kitten painting had already fallen into the hands of someone other than Fu Han.

It was Carter who had gotten him disqualified.