Illusion Report

She had already braced herself.

When Tian Xi recognized her as one of the people present at the rainy alley shootout, Mai Mingle had a pre-rehearsed story ready to go. She would do her best to convince Tian Xi that she genuinely needed a job and had no other motives—though she couldn’t say what her chances of success were.

After all, having been caught up in the Kai Family’s shootout just the other night, for her to show up for an interview a day later was too much of a coincidence.

But to her surprise, when Tian Xi saw her, he only faltered for a moment before inviting her to sit down.

’Why wasn’t he surprised?’

’It’s as if he didn’t recognize me... Is that even possible?’

Mai Mingle watched him press the phone back to his ear, her mind racing as she replayed the scenes from the alley on the night of the shootout.

The alley had been unlit, shrouded in a dark curtain of rain. She had been crouched on the ground, pressed tightly into a corner, with a massive, man-high dumpster between her and the two men, Chaisi and Tian Xi.

The one shooting from atop the dumpster lid had been Chaisi, with Tian Xi a few steps behind him. ’Ah, now that I think about it, I didn’t get a clear look at Tian Xi’s face that night, either.’

The only reason she knew that this man, the one with the long braid falling over his chest, had been in the same alley with her in the early hours of the 22nd was because she had heard Chaisi call out his name. Furthermore, just before being led into this room, the Hunter who escorted her had told her, "Tian Xi will see you shortly."

’Thinking about it, no one has said the name "Mai Mingle" out loud from start to finish—’

"...I’m hanging up."

Tian Xi’s final words before ending the call yanked Mai Mingle’s attention back to the present.

"My apologies," Tian Xi said, glancing at her. As she suspected, he didn’t seem to recognize her, though a faint hint of doubt lingered in his expression. "Have we met before?"

"Not that I recall," Mai Mingle said cautiously.

It was possible to have a vague impression of someone’s build or presence, even without seeing their face. So, she added, "The Hunter community isn’t that big. We might have crossed paths somewhere without realizing."

After falling out of the Black Cube, Mai Mingle hadn’t said a single word, slipping away early with the other two people. She was certain Tian Xi had never heard her voice.

He nodded, seemingly accepting her explanation.

"Would you like something to drink?"

Mai Mingle was taken aback. "No, thank you."

Afternoon sunlight streamed through the tall window panes, illuminating the center of the room like a stage covered with a thick carpet. Motes of dust danced in the light before vanishing into the shadows of the room’s corners.

Mai Mingle never imagined the difference between the Kai Family and the Morgan Family would be so vast.

The word "interview" had given her the false impression that she would be walking into a corporate office. But after actually arriving and stepping inside, she found herself in a state of faint, dazed wonder.

Noticing Mai Mingle’s gaze roving around the room, Tian Xi sat in another chair a few paces away and explained with a smile, "This building was commissioned by a wealthy merchant in 1889, during the Queen Anne revival period, and took ten years to complete. I heard the architect’s design was quite bold, blending several continental European styles. In some of the details, you can even see a hint of Victorian influence."

Aside from a few chairs, the carpet, a fireplace, the tall arched-glass windows, and the decorative paintings on the walls, the room—several times larger than a typical living room—was otherwise empty.

The Kai Family had performed only the most minimal renovations on this building, which felt less like a house and more like a church—no, a nobleman’s manor. Looking at the dark wood paneling and the high ceilings, Mai Mingle felt as if she had stepped back in time.

"The head of our Family Faction, Mr. Kai, has rather retro tastes."

"It’s truly beautiful," Mai Mingle said sincerely. "Modern architecture just doesn’t have this kind of intricate, exquisite detail anymore."

"It’s more than just aesthetics," Tian Xi said, seeming to resonate with her words. "The Kai Family holds to certain principles that are rare these days. For instance, we’re one of the few Family Factions that hasn’t adopted a corporate structure. In our eyes, the Hunters who join us are never just employees. They’re partners we can entrust with our lives."

He paused, making a small gesture with his hand. "After all, you can’t trust a mere ’coworker’ with your life, right?"

Mai Mingle couldn’t help but nod.

"However, trust isn’t something to be given blindly. That’s why, when choosing future partners, we do our best to fully understand and verify a person’s background and past. The more responsibility you’re expected to bear, the more detailed our investigation. It’s standard procedure for the Kai Family." Tian Xi glanced at her. "Your coming to this interview today means you consent to our background check, correct?"

This time, Mai Mingle’s nod was much more difficult than the last.

She hoped he couldn’t see how unnerved she was.

A Hunter clean-up organization might have had plenty of ready-made identities to choose from, but her biggest problem was that she couldn’t afford one.

’The identity of "Mai Mingle, the eighty-six-year-old woman" would only create more problems if I revealed it.’ And with time being so short, the best solution she could come up with was to use "Mai Mingle, the eighty-six-year-old woman" to fabricate a new identity for herself.

She just needed a foot in the door; this new identity didn’t have to hold up for long.

"I’ve been in Blackmoor City for less than a year, and I’ve been a Hunter for an even shorter time, so I’m afraid there isn’t much information of value," Mai Mingle said. "I originally came to Blackmoor City to find work and, incidentally, to care for my elderly great-aunt... Oh, her name is also Mai Mingle."

Tian Xi raised an eyebrow. It wasn’t uncommon for people to be named after a parent, but a great-aunt was a rarity.

"She raised my mother when she was a child, so they were very close," Mai Mingle explained with a smile.

"How old is she?"

"Eighty-six," Mai Mingle said. "If you need, she can vouch for me and provide you with my background information. I haven’t done anything wrong. She’s lived in Blackmoor City her entire life; you’ll find that out as soon as you check."

As she spoke, she did her best to adopt the tone of someone who had just arrived in Blackmoor City from a small town.

If the Kai Family really did call the landline at her apartment, she had a plan for that, too. Even if it meant temporarily undoing the Snake Belt, she would have to use her elderly voice to vouch for her younger self.

Tian Xi nodded. "I see. We’re not the police; we don’t care if you’ve done anything illegal in your past... In our line of work, very few of us are law-abiding citizens. In fact, it’s not a requirement—it’s better if you aren’t. We’re more concerned with what your history tells us about the kind of person you are."

"I heard," Mai Mingle probed, "that you’re in a bit of a rush to hire this time?"

The feelers the Kai Family had put out a few days ago only said they needed to absorb a new batch of manpower quickly, with no further details—nothing about the specific work or requirements. Only rumors circulating in Hunter circles suggested the Kai Family had made a powerful enemy and urgently needed to bolster their forces.

’...And that enemy is probably the Westley Team and Brianna, right?’

Chaisi and Brianna were both competitors in the Domination Game. Combined with the shootout in the early hours of the 22nd, the source of this conflict seemed clear. Mai Mingle had only learned of the attack on the Kai Family while gathering intelligence, and she felt it was inextricably linked to that game.

"That’s right. The situation has been unusual lately."

Tian Xi nodded. "We don’t have time to complete background checks before testing a Hunter’s abilities. So this time, we’re taking a different approach. We’ll organize a group to enter a Nest first, and then decide what’s next based on their performance."

"Enter a Nest?" Mai Mingle exclaimed in surprise.

The look Tian Xi gave her made her instantly regret her outburst.

"If we don’t send you into a Nest, we have no way of knowing a person’s talent, adaptability, or skills." He raised his eyebrows. "You didn’t know? Every Family Faction makes its final hiring decisions based on performance in a Nest."

’That did make sense when you thought about it. Without seeing someone in a Nest, how could you gauge whether they were worth recruiting?’

Maybe it was such common knowledge that neither Hai Luwei nor Megan had thought to mention it to her.

Mai Mingle gave a silent, wry laugh.

After discovering her lipstick had disappeared, she and Hai Luwei had spent a long time agonizing over it. They eventually concluded it had to be related to the Black Cube, the one that had disassembled everyone. And if it was related to the Black Cube, then it was related to the Kai Family.

Chaisi Monroe had a reputation for being both fierce and generous. If he had really found the lipstick, she wouldn’t have to worry about him simply keeping it for himself. But there was another problem—he also wanted to buy it.

Since he wanted it and it had already fallen into his hands, the best-case scenario was probably that he would just pay Mai Mingle for it. But right now, no amount of money was as important to her as the Illusion Report.

No, it wasn’t about who had it. As long as there was even the slightest chance they wouldn’t return it, Mai Mingle didn’t dare approach them directly to negotiate, for fear of tipping her hand.

After thinking it over and over, the only viable—if a bit fanciful—plan she could come up with was to infiltrate the Kai Family, get a feel for the situation, and then find an opportunity to steal the lipstick back.

’Is it really stealing if you’re just secretly taking back what’s yours?’

To help her blend in with the Hunters at this interview, Hai Luwei and Megan (who thought Mai Mingle just wanted the job for the money) had both gone to great lengths. They’d gathered intel for her, given her a crash course on the basics, and helped her rush the application... Time had been tight and there was so much to do that they had somehow overlooked something everyone else knew.

"I know, I know. It’s just that I have a minor injury on my foot," Mai Mingle said, trying to cover her slip-up. "So I wasn’t sure if we had to enter a Nest right away..."

Tian Xi glanced at his watch.

"Tomorrow morning at ten, the Hunters who pass the initial screening will form a team and enter a Nest. I will be leading them myself. If you are unable to participate, then there’s no need for a screening. You can go home now. The choice is yours."