"I refuse," Lin Yilin rejected without a second thought.
"Ah! The benefits, we haven't even talked about the benefits yet..." The person opposite was a bit dumbfounded.
Even if Lin Yilin had a small office, such one-person offices constantly appeared and disappeared in Dadu.
A medium-sized office like Banmu Office had already achieved relatively stable operations, meaning it had overcome over ninety percent of other offices. Not to mention, Lin Yilin was personally ordered to be recruited by their boss, which showed how much they valued her. In any case, it was definitely better than running a small office by herself.
"Unless Banmu Office merges under Zero One Office, no benefits are on the table." Lin Yilin spoke presumptuously, her refusal quite clear.
"Damn, you little girl, you're really pushing your luck!" The other side couldn't hold back either, and someone immediately started cursing.
Lin Yilin ignored them and turned to leave. They tried to follow, but Lin Yilin instantly turned around, pulled out a pistol from her bag, and pointed it at them.
Zheng Fan: "..."
Holy cow.
He was already prepared to see the methods of this amazing little host. It was known that Lin Yilin was intelligent and could even use supernatural items like talismans and charms. In her office, one could often see many mysterious supernatural materials that combined both Chinese and Western elements.
Zheng Fan's impression of Lin Yilin was that of a self-taught little mage.
And then her immediate choice was to pull out a gun.
Impressive, right? Didn't I say this was an effective solution?
Extremely effective, the other side was instantly scared stiff.
Dadu is a modern city with a complex population, and the official languages are primarily Chinese and English. Its degree of liberalization is no less than that of the United States in Zheng Fan's previous life's impression.
Therefore, it was quite natural for a young woman to pull out a gun for self-defense.
The people from Banmu Office dared not pester her further. Lin Yilin put the gun back in her bag, but her hand remained inside, and she slowly turned and strolled away.
"Do you have a gun license?" Zheng Fan asked, walking beside her.
"Huh? Why would I need something like that?" Lin Yilin was puzzled. "Isn't having a gun in hand the best proof of gun ownership?"
Although Lin Yilin's definition of a gun license seemed a bit different from his own, upon closer thought, it didn't seem to be a problem.
"If you refuse their recruitment, what if their office really tries to cause trouble for you?" Zheng Fan asked.
Lin Yilin's tone became even more relaxed: "Isn't that what Mr. Illusion is for?"
This matter was considered settled for now. They weren't here for this trivial issue, but to find a perfect Toast.
They arrived in an alley off the street.
"I asked the front desk lady when I bought something, and she said this is where they discard bread for the homeless."
Indeed, there were many bread crumbs and similar things here, and a faint aroma of pastries mixed with the unpleasant smell.
They came to a large cardboard box in a corner, where a homeless man was rummaging for things inside.
Seeing people approach, he immediately looked over, staring expectantly at Lin Yilin, or more precisely, at the bag in Lin Yilin's hand. These homeless people were very familiar with the bakery's logo.
Lin Yilin's kindness acted up, and she casually pulled out her gun.
"Ah! I didn't mean anything! Don't kill me!" The homeless man was instantly terrified, turned, and ran deep into the alley, disappearing from sight.
Lin Yilin and Zheng Fan stood still together.
After a moment, Lin Yilin explained somewhat awkwardly: "...Uh, my hand was on the gun the whole time, and I accidentally... I originally wanted to share some Toast with him."
"You did that on purpose, didn't you?" Zheng Fan narrowed his eyes.
"How could I?"
"Your character setting is really much more complex than I thought." How could she have a dark side when you cut her open?
Lin Yilin pretended not to hear, put the gun back, put on gloves, and started rummaging through the cardboard box.
But in the end, she found nothing. She took off her gloves, threw them on the ground, stepped on them a few times, and then pulled out a small bottle of grayish-white powder, unscrewed the cap, and sprinkled it directly onto the gloves.
Putting away the glass bottle, she again lifted her foot and stomped hard on the ash-covered gloves.
After doing all this, she just lowered her head and stared intently at the terribly trampled gloves.
"...What is this? Performance art?"
"A method of drawing inspiration. This spiritual ash is my own concoction, made from materials from the Black World." Lin Yilin's eyes were fixed, but she could still spare a moment to talk to Zheng Fan.
After waiting a while longer, a gust of wind suddenly blew across the ash on the gloves, dispersing some of it.
Lin Yilin suddenly had a flash of inspiration. She pulled out an old compass with one hand and grabbed a small clump of ash with the other, sprinkling it onto the compass.
At this moment, Zheng Fan saw the compass seemingly shrouded in a layer of shadow.
It was very similar to the Black World he saw when he first arrived in this world. It was as if a projection of that world was cast onto this compass.
Then, the compass began to spin.
"Toast... Toast... Toast..." Lin Yilin muttered, watching the compass spin.
Once the compass stabilized, she said, "Got it."
"How did you get it?" Zheng Fan indicated he didn't understand this.
"It's a method of using certain means to cause the Black World to overlap with a medium temporarily, borrowing the Phantasms power of the Black World. It's not difficult to learn, but it depends on one's aptitude. After mastering it, everyone's method of drawing power is a bit different. If you're good enough, you can even manually create Phantasms using this method," Lin Yilin explained.
"Only Phantasms?" Zheng Fan keenly caught some key points in this.
Lin Yilin understood his thoughts: "Illusions and Illusions aren't that easy to produce, at least I can't do it alone, but as long as one prepares patiently and thoroughly, it's theoretically feasible."
Zheng Fan felt that Lin Yilin seemed to be hiding something in this regard.
But he didn't pay too much attention. They had only known each other for a short while; it wasn't realistic to know everything about each other right away.
"Can I touch it?" Zheng Fan extended his hand.
From his perspective, the compass shrouded in shadow also had an attraction, somewhat similar to when he first saw Chen Wen afflicted with an Illusion, so perhaps he could try.
Lin Yilin did not refuse and handed over the compass.
The two drew closer and finally touched.
It didn't pass through. The compass, still retaining Lin Yilin's warmth, was firmly held by Zheng Fan.
"It really works..." Lin Yilin was also somewhat surprised.
"If this works, then when I eat... never mind." Zheng Fan instantly brainstormed whether this could add a buff to food, allowing him to directly touch and eat normally.
But on second thought, considering Lin Yilin's strange ritual, he felt it was better not to.
Does anyone really like food that has been fiercely stomped on by a beautiful girl and then sprinkled with ash?
Surely not?
"Sorry, I haven't yet researched such a precise additional ritual," Lin Yilin also knew Zheng Fan's thoughts but could only apologize.
Zheng Fan waved his hand, looking at the compass, and said, "Let's get back to business. At least if we find that thing, I can actually eat it."
Compared to impractical fantasies, the Toast that bites seemed a bit more realistic.
Lin Yilin took out a lighter, lit it, and cleaned up her ritual site. Then she held the compass and followed its guidance.
"It's too easy to find the target this way," Zheng Fan couldn't help but say on the way.
This was only slightly better than a charlatan who just fiddled with some trinkets and claimed to have divined or calculated something.
"Because this target is indeed very easy to find. Can you really find a second perfect biting Toast in this world?"
"Indeed, there's definitely no second perfect Toast like that in the world."
That was a perfectly shaped, biting Toast.
Zheng Fan was instantly convinced.
The two passed through the alley, stepping over many homeless people sleeping in the dark corners, and could vaguely see some underground gangs conducting transactions in other corners.
These were common sights in the Grey District.
Lin Yilin, a girl who, despite a scar on her face, was still very youthful and beautiful, seemed quite out of place passing through such an area, attracting some attention.
Until the compass's pointer stopped behind a wall.
"Found it," Zheng Fan said.
"It should be here, but why here?" Lin Yilin looked at the building in front of her. "This is the territory of the Black Scorpion Gang on Dongding Road."
"Gang?"
"Yes, originally they were a not-very-prominent small gang, and they even have some connections with Banmu Office. This is their newly acquired property, and recently there have been rumors that the Black Scorpion Gang has dabbled in some drug smuggling operations."
Lin Yilin looked at the building in front of her, rattling off information as if she knew it by heart.
"How do you know so much?"
"I just pay attention to my surroundings. It seems we need to go inside and take a look, but it's a bit troublesome. My personal ability might be limited here, Mr. Illusion." Lin Yilin looked around. She had been here for a bit too long, and the Black Scorpion Gang's lookouts nearby had gathered.
"Then it seems it's my turn next. Log in." Zheng Fan had disappeared from Lin Yilin's side at some point.
The girl's shadow split into two.