Illusion Report

It took a moment for it to sink in before Jin Xueli managed to squeeze her first question into the lawyer’s speech: "Which company?"

There was a moment of silence on the line.

That brief silence was practically subtitled. Jin Xueli could clearly picture a line of text floating out of the phone—’Are there that many companies proactively transferring shares to you?’

But the lawyer was a true professional. After a slight stammer, he said matter-of-factly, "NuLife-Biotech."

She was even more bewildered.

’A biotech company? Or life sciences?’

She knew the Kai Family owned a nightclub, so she could have understood if it were some kind of entertainment industry company. But what did the Kai Family have to do with biotechnology?

’It sounds so high-tech...’

She quickly searched for it on her phone. There weren’t many results, and she didn’t have time to look closely, but a quick glance confirmed that it did, in fact, seem very high-tech.

"Who’s Scott?" she couldn’t help but ask. "Shouldn’t it be Chaisi?"

The lawyer was baffled too. "Who’s Chaisi?"

Both of them fell silent for a few seconds.

"Let me just confirm, you are... Ms. Jin Xueli? Jin as in ’gold,’ Xue as in ’snow,’ Li as in—"

"Yes, that’s me," Jin Xueli said, feeling like this could go on forever. "Why don’t you start from the beginning? Um, start with Scott."

"Mr. Scott did mention that you might have some questions about the situation..."

The lawyer didn’t finish his sentence. He probably hadn’t expected the person about to receive an equity transfer to be *this* clueless about the situation.

He cleared his throat and, just as Jin Xueli had requested, started from the beginning.

John Scott, surprisingly, was not an alias for Chaisi.

He was fifty-four years old with a stunningly brilliant resume: after graduating with a dual degree from one of the world’s top medical schools, he spent several years in research before achieving something even more difficult than graduation—he not only secured a tenured professorship at his alma mater but also rose to the position of dean. He had published revolutionary, cutting-edge theories that spawned new industries and had written three popular science books on life sciences, each of which remained on the Blackmoor Times bestseller list for over a dozen weeks. He was, by all accounts, a red-hot academic star.

’But what does this have to do with a Hunter?’

Jin Xueli felt like she was about to explode from this swelling, unaskable question.

"Mr. Scott founded this company four years ago," the lawyer explained, likely sensing her confusion and using terms a layperson could understand. "The company’s current preliminary valuation is around three hundred million, and it’s about to receive its Series A funding. Before that, Mr. Scott has decided to release three percent of his shares and transfer them to you..."

To be honest, she didn’t quite catch the last few sentences. The first thing Jin Xueli did was pull up her calculator to figure out what three percent of three hundred million was—three hundred million had so many zeros—and when the result appeared, she just stared at her phone screen, dumbfounded.

’H-how much?’

’Nine million dollars? It’s not that I look down on the Kai Family, but how many nine-million-dollar fortunes could they possibly have?’

’Why on earth would Chaisi just hand her nine million dollars?’

’Does Chaisi think his life is worth that much?’

’But he’s just the second-in-command, right? If he thinks he’s worth that much, does the Kai Family’s top dog agree?’

’What if he asks for it back in a few days?’

"Once it’s transferred to me, can it be taken back?" The shock made her blurt out the words before she could stop herself.

The lawyer, who had been explaining the situation, paused for another second.

"Not unless you agree to it..."

’Of course I wouldn’t agree.’

"C-could you say that again? From the beginning."

Jin Xueli felt she needed to hear that dry voice on the phone repeat it a few more times to make it feel real, to anchor her to the ground.

"Start from... why Scott is giving me shares."

In the lawyer’s explanation, there wasn’t even a shadow of the Kai Family or Chaisi.

In his telling, Jin Xueli became one of the core members of NuLife’s founding team, present since Scott established the company four years ago. Before the Series A funding, the core employees would receive shares proportionally—which meant she wasn’t the only one getting them. But whether the others were actual core employees or members of the Kai Family was anyone’s guess.

If the lawyer sensed that this identity was a complete fabrication, he didn’t show it at all—even though just moments ago, he’d had to explain to Jin Xueli who Scott even was.

’I never would have thought... The hush money comes with a whole new identity.’

’Why this arrangement?’

"The VCs, of course, must have a clear understanding of all current company shareholders..." The lawyer, flustered by Jin Xueli’s delicately phrased question, stammered, "Th-this isn’t out of some personal interest of Mr. Scott’s, of course. It’s common practice for core employees to hold shares..."

’Oh, so they’re packaging me as a core employee to get the venture capital deal approved.’

’They could have packaged me as Scott himself for all I care, as long as I get the money—but is this for real?’

’Can something this good really happen in the world? And the strangest part is, it’s happening to *me*?’

’No, don’t question good luck. When good luck comes, just catch it.’

"So what happens after I get the shares? Are there dividends?"

The lawyer fell silent for another second or two. "No, you’re not an investor, so there are no dividends... However, if you don’t wish to hold the stock, you can request that the company or the VC buy back your shares."

"C-calculated based on the three-hundred-million valuation?"

"Generally, yes. But it would also be subject to negotiation with the VC."

"And if I don’t sell?"

"Personally, I believe it’s not impossible for NuLife’s future valuation to multiply several times over."

Jin Xueli didn’t really understand the world the lawyer was describing.

She understood that a higher valuation meant her shares were worth more. But the things he mentioned later—a VC management team coming on board, future funding rounds, the possibility of an IPO and an earnout—were all unfamiliar, and she had no idea how they related to her.

She didn’t even know what NuLife actually did.

She only knew one thing: she was about to become a Xueli literally made of gold.

After hanging up with the lawyer, Jin Xueli sent Chaisi three messages in a row. She herself felt her tone was a bit too enthusiastic—a stark contrast to the tongue-lashing she’d given him last night. But after waiting for a while, fidgety and with sweaty palms, she still hadn’t received a reply.

’Huh? Is he putting on airs now?’

Jin Xueli thought about it and decided her pride wasn’t worth much, and certainly not nine million dollars. Her first call to Chaisi went unanswered. She considerately waited half an hour to give the "boss" some time, then called again.

This time, someone picked up, but as soon as they spoke, Jin Xueli knew something was off.

"Hm? You’re Tian Xi, right?"

She glanced at her phone screen and saw she hadn’t misdialed. "This is Jin Xueli... Yes, from last night. Um... where’s Chaisi?"

Tian Xi let out a heavy sigh.

"Han Liuyue’s situation is... not quite right," he said in a low voice. "It involves Family Faction matters, so I can’t say more, sorry. I’ll tell Brother Chaisi you called... but I don’t know when he’ll be able to get back to you."

He paused, and his next words came out with some difficulty.

"Right now... it’s very difficult for him to get away."