Illusion Report

Chapter 338: Chapter 294: Fu Tailan: Breaking the Law, Message and Phone Call

Fu Tailan’s authority as Hunter Chief was still active in the security system, so the door unlocked with a light press of his finger on the sensor.

Before walking into the Morgan Family’s waiting area, Fu Tailan took a moment to recall where he had been and what he had been doing in the early hours of the 16th.

For someone constantly plagued by Nest Dissociation Syndrome, memory was never reliable. He could recall major events, but if you asked what he was doing at a specific time ten days ago, Fu Tailan wouldn’t be sure.

’...This really is a bit of a hassle.’

Not only did he have to completely avoid his past self, but he also had to do his best to avoid anyone who had interacted with him. Otherwise, if someone told his past self, "Hey, I saw you over at so-and-so place," the past Fu Tailan would surely grow suspicious and take action.

And the fate set for him by the Nest Hospital did not allow for his past self to discover his present one.

Therefore, if the past Fu Tailan took any action that deviated from history, that too would be considered an "attempt to change fate."

He had asked and been told in no uncertain terms during his first visit to the Nest Hospital at the age of fifteen: anyone who tried to alter the fate ordained by the Nest would suffer unimaginable punishment and pain, only to discover it was all for naught. In the end, nothing would change.

’Two Fu Tailans, moving along two completely parallel timelines for the same period...’

’To think that ten days ago, when I thought everything was proceeding as normal, a future version of me was secretly lurking right beside me.’

The fact that his memories of the past ten days perfectly matched the history ordained by the Nest proved he was truly powerless against the will of the Nest Hospital. The Nest Hospital had gotten its way.

’Now, I just have to grab the Illusion while doing my best to avoid the punishment for "changing fate."’

Fu Tailan let out a soft sigh and walked into the waiting area.

What he didn’t expect at all was to find the receptionist sitting silently in the pitch-dark room. When he flipped on the light, they both jumped, startled by each other.

"Ch-Chief?"

The receptionist—’what was her name again?’—had her wet hair plastered to her face and was dripping all over. She stammered, "Um, I thought you... you went home?"

’Oh, so my self from the morning of the 16th is at home?’

"What are you doing sitting here in the dark?" Fu Tailan had never imagined that his efforts to avoid people would fail at the very first step. "You scared me. Why are you soaking wet?"

The receptionist opened her mouth, as if she had something difficult to say.

Fu Tailan walked over for a look and saw a bucket and a pair of scissors beside the desk. On top of that, the receptionist was wearing two pairs of shoes: one pair on her feet, and another on her hands.

"...Are you testing for a Path?"

If that wasn’t the reason, the only alternative was a mental breakdown.

The receptionist’s face flushed red.

"S-Sorry... I heard that if a person gets a strange, intuitive feeling about something, it means it’s very likely their Path... and it’s midnight now..."

"The Nest isn’t some ghost story. What does midnight have to do with anything?" Fu Tailan couldn’t help but say. "Those rumors are unreliable. It’s just the power of suggestion. If Paths could be sensed so easily, how could anyone live their whole life without ever finding theirs?"

The receptionist couldn’t hide her embarrassed disappointment, but she didn’t take the shoes off her hands, as if wearing them a little longer might prove him wrong. "Oh, I see..."

An idea sparked in Fu Tailan’s mind.

"Technically, you shouldn’t be at the office this late." Seeing the receptionist’s head snap up, he softened his tone and smiled. "But I get it. Don’t worry. As far as I’m concerned, this never happened. I’ll forget all about it by tomorrow, and you don’t need to bring it up with me again."

"Okay," the receptionist said, embarrassed. "Thank you, Chief."

She knew she shouldn’t have been there in the first place, so she couldn’t bring herself to ask why her Chief was back at the office in the middle of the night. Fu Tailan volunteered an explanation, "I’m here to requisition a few Illusions," and was about to head deeper inside when he suddenly paused.

"...I don’t have your phone number saved," Fu Tailan said, looking at her thoughtfully.

The receptionist stared at him, stunned. Her mind had clearly jumped to a completely different conclusion, and a fresh blush crept up her cheeks for an entirely different reason. "Ah, uh, that’s right, we haven’t exchanged numbers. Um, but, for the record, I’m actually twenty-six..."

’Is my age the problem?’

"What’s that got to do with anything? I’ve always had a thing for older women."

Fu Tailan deliberately played into her misunderstanding, flashing a smile and holding out his hand. "I was hoping I could borrow your phone to send a text. Is that okay? Mine’s dead."

The receptionist stammered, seemingly torn for a moment between "breaking company rules" and her "handsome chief." At last, she took the shoes off her hands and gave him her phone.

Fu Tailan typed in his own phone number, thought for a moment, and began to write a message.

Hello, you have a $506.40 cash balance in your Amazon account set to expire in two days. Recent policy adjustments may have caused us to overcharge you last year. Your ’Auto-Save’ plan is now restored. Please claim your cash balance immediately.

’...I get spam messages like this three to five times a month, at least.’

Fu Tailan hit send.

The message sent without a problem. But after waiting a moment, the phone in his pocket remained completely silent. Not even a buzz.

"Alright," Fu Tailan said, handing the phone back to the receptionist. "I deleted the message I sent, by the way."

’It would be impossible to explain otherwise.’

"Huh?" The receptionist was taken aback. "O-Okay..."

"I wonder if you’ll recognize me when the time comes," Fu Tailan said softly, changing the subject. "Be careful while you’re testing for your Path, okay? You don’t want to catch a cold. Go home and get some rest."

"O-Okay, I will. I was just about to head home anyway."

After the receptionist left, he took out his phone and checked it again.

Nothing... The most recent message was still from November 26th.

’In other words... it’s not just a split between ’Fu Tailan of the 16th’ and ’Fu Tailan of the 26th’; there’s also a difference between the ’phone of the 16th’ and the ’phone of the 26th’.’

’A message sent to ’Fu Tailan’s number’ on the 16th will only be sent to the ’phone of Fu Tailan of the 16th’.’

He couldn’t remember whether he’d received a spam text like that in the past ten days. Now, it seemed he most likely had—and had probably closed it after a quick glance.

Fu Tailan was rather lazy about his phone. He couldn’t be bothered to explore new features, sticking only to the most basic functions. As for spam messages, he’d let them pile up by the hundreds without ever dealing with them.

As he thought about this, he quickly scrolled down.

When he scrolled all the way down to his messages from November 16th, he found it—the exact spam text he had just sent himself, unread. It was from an unknown number, one he now knew belonged to the receptionist.

’Hmm... How interesting.’

His hands hadn’t been idle while he was thinking; he had already used his Chief-level access to open the vault door. Thankfully, his fingerprints and irises on the 16th were identical to those on the 26th.

Though called a "safe," it was more like a bank vault. The entire structure, including the massive circular door, was forged from multiple layers of special bulletproof and blast-resistant metal. The door and walls were ten centimeters thick. Not only was the door taller than Fu Tailan, but the interior was also spacious enough to comfortably hold three or four people.

He stepped inside, his gaze sweeping over the shelves within.

Resting on the shelves were Illusions the Morgan Family Hunters had retrieved from the Nest. Some had been purchased by the family, while the rest were awaiting sale. Some had only just arrived in the human world; others had sat here for months without finding a buyer.

’This must be how Longzhen entered the vault on the 26th to get the ticket.’

In the more than half a year since joining the Morgan Family, Fu Tailan had been in and out of this vault countless times and knew its contents by heart.

He still examined them all carefully one more time, his mind still preoccupied with the phone situation.

’...If I were to call my own number, it would undoubtedly be busy. The call wouldn’t go through.’

’But what if I called someone else?’

’Can I use the ’phone of the 26th’ to call someone on the 16th? Would the person on the other end notice anything different?’

’It seems worth a try... but I’ll have to choose who to call very carefully.’

Calling a random stranger’s number found online was an option, but not an ideal one. If the person didn’t know Fu Tailan, they’d just assume it was a scam call from a blocked number. They wouldn’t notice anything amiss, and thus wouldn’t provide any valuable information.

The person had to be someone far from Fu Tailan, yet not completely unrelated.

The person couldn’t be someone who would find a call from him strange, but also someone who would have absolutely no chance of running into the ’Fu Tailan of the 16th’ and mentioning the call.

Fu Tailan thought for a moment, then stopped and took out his phone.

’...Isn’t there a perfect candidate right here?’

’He can call and bother me, so why can’t I call and bother him right back?’

After four or five rings, the sound was replaced by a hesitant male voice.

"Fu Tailan...?"

George Green seemed surprised to be getting another call from Fu Tailan just a few hours after their last one. "What can I do for you? Is this about the ticket again?"

He seemed to think Fu Tailan hadn’t given up and was still trying to sell him the ticket.

’So it seems he hasn’t noticed anything unusual about the call?’

Before answering, Fu Tailan held his breath and listened.

The other end was quiet, but not entirely silent. There was a faint hum, like air conditioning... The next second, a familiar, rhythmic clicking began. CLICK... CLICK.

’...A turn signal.’

’George Green is driving.’

It was confirmed after Westley’s death that he had stayed at the Upper State Manor from the night of the 15th through the early morning of the 16th... As his personal secretary, was it possible George Green was heading to the Upper State Manor at this very moment?

’If so...’

Fu Tailan remained silent. He reached out and grabbed a porcelain doll from the shelf. It was part of a set of Illusions; the one he picked up was the one with only a mouth carved on its face.

Besides the Mouth Puppet, the Morgan Family also had an "Ear Puppet," and an "Eye Puppet" whose location within the Nest was still unknown.

Fu Tailan, gripping the Mouth Puppet, tapped it against his phone screen with a dull THUD.

"Hello? Fu Tailan?" Secretary Green called out again. "Can you hear me?"

’...Perfect timing.’

Fu Tailan remained silent—not that he could speak now anyway. He just tapped the puppet against the screen a few more times, creating a series of muffled, indistinct sounds.

Sure enough, after a moment, Secretary Green complained.

"Seriously, a butt dial?" he grumbled under his breath. "Hanging up."

Standing in the newly silent vault, Fu Tailan allowed a small smile to form.

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