Illusion Report

As he turned from the door, Chaisi, for some reason, felt an urge to laugh.

Yes, the situation was beyond terrible.

He was weak, powerless. Every step sent a tremor through his muscles.

The "rumor" about him had surely been exposed, and Brianna was likely not the only one who knew.

He still hadn’t had a proper conversation with Uncle Kai since the attack that injured him, and the person responsible had also recently sent a Kai Family Hunter to their grave.

He was running for his life, yet the Illusion that could grant him a Path had fallen into unknown hands.

The girl he’d met by chance, who had helped him several times, was likely now dismantled into countless, unrecognizable pieces.

His once-cheerful, reliable subordinate, Han Liuyue, was one of the reasons he was now caught between a trap and an ambush with nowhere to go—and on the phone just now, she had calmly told that assassin, "...If you have someone block him from behind now, you’ll make it in time."

Before he could even slam his finger on the screen, Han Liuyue hung up on her end.

Yes, everything was beyond terrible.

But this faint feeling inside him... ’How should I describe it?’

If he had to use an analogy, it was like a poor man’s son returning to the slums, a hyena greeting the night, an escaped convict thrown back in prison... The current chaos, absurdity, and hopelessness—this was the life Chaisi was used to.

He was like a mutated fish, born of pollution, breathing a sigh of relief upon returning to toxic waters.

Facing chaos meant he could act without restraint; he’d always survived this way.

He didn’t know when the assassin had sent his subordinate into the bar, but that didn’t matter anymore.

Chaisi walked down the steps from the door.

He headed down the corridor, his steps unsteady and wavering, but his eyes remained fixed on the end of the hall, on the door that led to the bar.

That door could be pushed open at any moment by someone with a tense expression, perhaps carrying a weapon that could crack a skull in a single blow...

’It’s fine.’

Never mind just being poisoned—even if every bone in his body was shattered, as long as he had one breath left, he would never let the person who saw him as prey stand up alive again.

Ever since deciding to kill Damian more than a decade ago, Chaisi had been prepared to trade his life for another. He just hadn’t known back then that the place he was fated to die was this unremarkable, narrow corridor with an office.

...Wait.

He stopped abruptly, one hand against the wall, and glanced at the office.

The door wasn’t shut tight; it was ajar, leaving a crack.

’That’s right...’

Tonight, Between the Backlight was busy. The waiter who had brought Chaisi’s group in and handed them off to Megan had gone back to tend to the bar.

Megan had told them that the Hunter with the lipstick had just left, and if they hurried, they could still catch them. Believing it was best for her to be present, she had quickly left with Jin Xueli.

Megan must have thought she would be back in a minute or two at most, so she hadn’t locked the office door.

Chaisi glanced quickly toward the end of the hall.

The door at the end of the hall had a round, frosted glass window. Through it, he could see a blurry figure approaching—about to push the door open and come inside.

Chaisi made a snap decision. He turned, stepped into the office, and immediately pulled the door gently shut behind him, locking it.

The moment the door locked, he caught a sound from outside—heavy footsteps passed by in the corridor, just a few paces from Chaisi on the other side of the door.

Judging from the sound and the faint vibration of the floor, the person who had just passed was another big, burly guy.

Chaisi had a keen sense of passing time. It would take about forty seconds to get from the office to the back door.

Once the guy reached the back door and saw no one was there, he’d look around, get confused, and contact his boss. That would take at least a minute. By the time he figured it out and headed back, he would definitely pick up the pace, probably reaching the office door in about twenty seconds.

That meant he had a safe window of only two minutes.

He had to come up with a plan within two minutes.

He quickly scanned the room.

Aside from a photo on the wall of Megan after hunting a Nest resident, it looked no different from any other ordinary office: a computer, a desk, a chair, a filing cabinet, a safe...

’A safe?’

A glint appeared in Chaisi’s eyes.

It was just a bit larger than the safes commonly found in hotel rooms and also used a combination lock. ’Judging by its size, it couldn’t possibly hold any powerful weapons. A handgun? Or an Illusion?’

’If it just held the bar’s cash for the day, it would be completely useless.’

However, even if Chaisi were at his physical peak, he couldn’t smash open a safe with his bare hands—he was only human, after all.

There was no point wasting time on the impossible; just a few seconds later, Chaisi dialed the number for the bar at Between the Backlight.

He had no idea if Between the Backlight was cooperating with Brianna or not, but there were also no signs to suggest any collusion between them.

It was a blind gamble.

After several rings, he once again heard the voice of the Shar-Pei-faced bartender: "Hello, Between the Backlight—"

"This is Chaisi Monroe. We met a little while ago."

The bartender was clearly taken aback. Even without seeing him, Chaisi could guess he was probably looking around. "Huh? Mr. Monroe? Weren’t you just—"

"Quiet. Listen to me."

Chaisi cut him off. "You have a safe in your office. What’s inside? An Illusion or weapons? Name your price. I’ll buy everything."

The call timer showed that ten seconds had passed.

"Huh? Wait, I don’t understand, how are you—are you in—"

"I don’t have time," Chaisi said emphatically. "Answer my question."

When he wasn’t facing Han Liuyue, his threatening tone was still quite effective.

The bartender, as expected, suppressed his confusion and answered the question first. "Uh, for security, there are no weapons or Illusions in the safe. Actually, it’s not a problem if you want to buy what’s inside, but I’d ask that you please be discreet about it afterward."

When the bartender said, "no weapons or Illusions," Chaisi froze. The possibility had existed, of course, but when it became reality, anyone would be momentarily stunned.

He barely heard the bartender’s next few words. It was only when he suddenly heard the name "Jin Xueli" that he snapped back to his senses.

"...She ought to know, because she comes here often and has me mix her drinks with central nervous system depressants."

Chaisi blinked.

’Jin Xueli has been coming here to buy drinks laced with central nervous system depressants?’

He glanced at the screen and saw that forty seconds of the call had passed. The assassin’s subordinate must have realized by now that he wasn’t at the back door.

’One minute and twenty seconds left.’

"You just said... the safe is full of drugs?"

"That’s right," the bartender said. "Some hard-to-get, prescription-only drugs that Hunters might need from time to time."

’Wait... maybe there’s still a chance.’

"Do you have amphetamines?" Chaisi asked.

The answer was yes.

Since they had central nervous system depressants, it was only natural they’d have central nervous system stimulants too.

He knew that his and the Kai Family’s reputations weren’t entirely positive. Still, even Chaisi himself was a little surprised that he could half-convince, half-coerce the bartender into giving him the code first and settling the bill later, all within a few sentences.

"We have both short-acting and long-acting types—"

The bartender had just started his introduction when Chaisi, staring into the safe, cut in, "Which one is short-acting?"

When he hung up, the call had lasted exactly two minutes and fourteen seconds.

He tilted his head back and forced down several pills dry.

No one knew what the consequences would be of mixing Fu Tailan’s poison with amphetamines.

Chaisi sat on the desk, quietly waiting for his body’s reaction. ’Will I pass out? Vomit? Or start to feel a rush of euphoria?’

Of course, Chaisi didn’t care if it brought him pleasure; he only needed it to do one thing.

Give him back his strength.

In the hallway outside, a set of heavy, rapid footsteps charged toward the office. He was finally here, arriving much later than Chaisi’s two-minute estimate.

’Looks like that guy’s not too bright... Only being confused about where I went could have made him waste over a minute.’

The office doorknob twisted but didn’t open. It was followed by a loud THUD as someone kicked the door hard.

"Chaisi Monroe? You in there?" a low, unfamiliar voice demanded through the door.

Chaisi remained seated on the edge of the desk, unmoving. ’Even a short-acting drug won’t take effect this quickly.’

Chaisi didn’t speak, and neither did the person outside, who began to ram the door, again and again. The office door wasn’t very solid; after just a few hits, the frame was already starting to give way, with splinters of wood jutting out.

Chaisi watched quietly as the door was finally rammed open and a burly figure crashed inside. Their eyes met, and the newcomer flinched, stopping short and raising a handgun.

"I’ve heard all about you. They say you’re ruthless and cruel, that no one wants to cross you."

The man sized him up for a few seconds, then laughed, the muzzle of his handgun still aimed at Chaisi.

"I see. You can only act so high and mighty because you have subordinates to back you up, right? When you’re alone, you’re not so brave, are you? Hiding in a room and locking the door—are you really that scared of dying?"

Chaisi raised his hands and slowly stood up from the desk.

His leg muscles didn’t tremble. He managed to stand up straight.

’But it’s not enough.’

"Let’s go," the man said, gesturing with his gun and tilting his head toward the door.

Chaisi looked at the man and slowly broke into a smile. "...Where are you taking me?"

"Enough with the damn questions. Get out," the man said, grabbing Chaisi’s arm with one hand while holding the gun in the other. He pushed him out the door. "To the back door!"

"Alright, alright, I’m going," Chaisi said, obediently stepping into the hallway.

The two of them walked through the corridor, one in front of the other, heading for the back door. As they went, Chaisi explained to the man who kept hurrying him, "I’m injured. I can’t walk fast."

"Go on up."

At the bottom of the steps by the door, the man gestured with his gun, indicating for Chaisi to go up first.

Chaisi slowly climbed the few steps and stood once again in the open doorway. Outside in the night, a fine, thread-like rain was still falling; he didn’t see Han Liuyue.

’Perhaps she and the assassin are waiting nearby.’

He felt the man approach from behind and reach out for him.

As the man grabbed him, Chaisi whipped his hand back and seized the man’s arm in the same motion.

In truth, he hadn’t fully recovered his strength. After all, he had only taken prescription drugs, not an Illusion.

...If the man, now stumbling away uncontrollably with eyes wide in rage, were to learn this, he would probably be unable to rest in peace even in death.