Illusion Report

"You’re heading into the Nest tomorrow morning, right?" Sha Xue seemed to take a liking to her, striking up a conversation as they walked toward the exit. "Going in at a time like this... are you sure you’ll be okay?"

"I’ll be fine. Thank you."

Mai Mingle felt a little embarrassed by her concern. "As a Kai Family Hunter, do you still have to work here when you aren’t going into the Nest?"

It was a perfectly normal question for a Hunter seeking employment.

"It depends on the needs of the Family Faction. We’ve been a bit short-staffed lately, and since I was free, I came to help mind the house and assist Tian Xi with the interviewees—oh, he’s my squad leader. We Kai Family Hunters are organized into squads."

"So you’re going into the Nest tomorrow, too?" Mai Mingle asked, her ears peeled.

Without the tapping of her cane, the vast, empty building was utterly silent save for the two of them. It was as if even the dust had settled onto the floors and walls, undisturbed for a hundred years.

’The Kai Family is short-staffed... It really does seem like there’s hardly anyone here.’

"That’s right,"

Sha Xue pressed a black button on the wall beside the dark wooden main door, and the lock opened with a CLICK. "We do our best to ensure nothing happens to the Hunters during their interview missions," she said. "So we have to assign more people to accompany them. Otherwise, if word got out, it would be bad for the Family Faction’s reputation."

"In that case, I’ll be in your care tomorrow," Mai Mingle said with a smile. "I hope we’ll have the chance to work together."

After a few more pleasantries, she stepped out of the mansion and into the daylight.

The heavy door closed softly behind her. Mai Mingle glanced up and, sure enough, a camera was mounted in one corner of the doorway.

Mai Mingle hadn’t seen any cameras inside the Kai Family Mansion. ’Perhaps it’s because only trusted personnel are allowed inside—even if they are on guard, they can’t show it so openly.’

The main door was heavy and thick. On the adjacent wall was a keypad with a call button. Without the password, the only way in was to ring the bell and have someone open it from the inside. It had taken Mai Mingle a good thirty seconds just to figure out how to make the call.

She walked briskly down the driveway and positioned herself behind a row of shrubs. From across the lawn, she studied the ground-floor windows of the Kai Family Mansion.

Sha Xue returned to a side hall to the right of the main lobby and was looking down at her phone. Mai Mingle waited for several minutes but saw no one else come or go. ’It looks like the Kai Family really doesn’t have enough spare personnel to patrol the mansion right now.’

She glanced around.

A private driveway led up to the mansion. Mai Mingle would be able to spot any approaching cars from a distance.

She checked her watch. 3:15 PM.

Mai Mingle sat down beside the neatly trimmed shrubs, making sure she was out of sight in case Sha Xue happened to glance out the window.

Now, all she had to do was wait.

The next Hunter applicant was punctual. At precisely five minutes to three-thirty, an inconspicuous Citroën turned into the private driveway and slowed down. Mai Mingle shot to her feet. Ignoring the dull ache in her foot, she rushed to the door of the Kai Family Mansion and frantically pressed the bell several times before the car had even come to a full stop.

The Citroën’s engine cut out as it parked alongside the driveway, and a door swung open.

Footsteps sounded from behind the door. A moment later, Sha Xue’s voice came through the keypad’s speaker. "Mr. Li Stan?"

’She was in luck. The next applicant was a man.’

Behind her, a car door slammed shut—BANG—followed by the BEEP-BEEP of the lock.

"Sorry, it’s me," Mai Mingle said, glancing back as the man approached the mansion. "I left my cane in the restroom."

When Sha Xue opened the door, she seemed a little confused.

"My foot’s feeling so much better that I completely forgot I’d even brought a cane with me when I left."

Mai Mingle spread her hands with an embarrassed laugh. "You remember it, don’t you? The cane I had when I arrived?"

"Oh, right." Sha Xue remembered. "Huh, I didn’t notice whether you had it with you when you left..."

And there was a reason for that.

Mai Mingle had made sure to walk steadily and had used the topic of the Nest to divert Sha Xue’s attention. It was all so she wouldn’t realize on the spot that the cane had been left behind in the restroom.

However, if Sha Xue had simply told her to wait outside while she went to fetch the cane herself, the plan would have been a complete failure. That was why Mai Mingle had specifically timed her return for the next applicant’s arrival. Hearing the footsteps approach from behind, she immediately stepped aside and gestured for the newcomer to enter.

The man, Li Stan, glanced between the two women in confusion before saying to Sha Xue, "I’m here for the interview..."

Sha Xue replied instinctively, "Mr. Li Stan? Please, come in."

Mai Mingle cheered inwardly. ’Perfect.’

With the next applicant already inside, it would be awkward for Sha Xue to ask him to wait outside, even if she caught on. Mai Mingle quickly followed him in, repeating, "So sorry, I’m just so forgetful," as she slipped through the door.

In truth, she knew she’d only managed to get in because Sha Xue didn’t view them as potential threats. The mindset of ’we might be colleagues in the future’ had inadvertently lowered many barriers for Mai Mingle.

"I can just grab it myself," she said to Sha Xue apologetically. "You seem busy."

Now that she was inside, things would be much easier.

Whether Sha Xue let Mai Mingle get the cane or went herself while leaving Mai Mingle and Li Stan to wait, it wouldn’t hinder the next step of her plan. Luckily, Li Stan was a man; it would be awkward for Sha Xue to bring him along while escorting Mai Mingle to the restroom.

Sha Xue’s gaze darted between the two of them.

"Make it quick," she told Mai Mingle. "I’ll wait for you here. And don’t wander off."

Mai Mingle let out a silent sigh of relief and promised, "Right, I won’t."

Ignoring the dull throb from her foot, she strode quickly to the restroom, snatched the cane from beside the door, and immediately turned back. The entire trip took less than half the time it did before—because she needed to use the time she’d saved in the side hall.

Thankfully, the Kai Family Mansion wasn’t one of those modern buildings where figuring out how to open a window was impossible.

Mai Mingle quietly undid the window latch, leaving it open just a crack.

When she returned to the foyer, Sha Xue and Li Stan were still waiting. They seemed to be forcing an awkward conversation. Mai Mingle had returned quickly enough that Sha Xue’s suspicions weren’t aroused.

"Thanks," Mai Mingle said, giving the cane a small lift. "Got it. I’ll be on my way, then. See you tomorrow."

A moment later, the heavy door closed behind her for the second time.

She didn’t have much time.

It would probably take Sha Xue a little over a minute to lead the applicant to Tian Xi and return. In that time, Mai Mingle had to circle around to the side of the mansion and climb through the window into the side hall. She had to get deeper into the mansion and hide before Sha Xue got back.

From the outside, the bottom of the windowsill was about chest-high.

Gritting her teeth against the pain in her foot, Mai Mingle gripped the windowsill with both hands, planted a foot against the wall, and with a huge effort, finally tumbled inside. She landed with a muffled THUD that nearly scared her stiff. She had no time to worry about whether a camera had recorded the whole thing.

’What now?’

Her heart was pounding so hard it ached in her chest. She didn’t dare to think about what would happen if she got caught; she had seen the fate of those who crossed the Kai Family.

’Where would the Kai Family keep an Illusion?’

’After Chaisi got the lipstick, did he bring it into the Kai Family Mansion?’

’No, what if the lipstick never even ended up in Chaisi’s hands?’

’Thinking about it, there were too many possibilities for where the lipstick could be. What if this was all for nothing? What if she got caught, or lost her chance to join the Kai Family...?’

Before Sha Xue could return, Mai Mingle carefully slipped into a corridor.

She had to stop to calm her racing heart, forcing down the countless sharp-edged doubts, the confusion, and the fear that were churning in her mind.

’No. No matter what, I have to search the Kai Family’s mansion first.’

’Based on that phone call with Tian Xi before the interview, Chaisi seems to be tied up with something and can’t get away. If I’m going to find that lipstick, now is the perfect time.’

’Alright, let’s do this—’

Suddenly, someone lightly bumped into Mai Mingle’s shoulder.

It was just like being jostled by a passerby on a crowded street; her shoulder rocked from the impact, and then it was over.

Mai Mingle’s scalp prickled with terror.

She stared down the empty corridor, forward and back. For a long moment, she was utterly unable to move.