"A magic show that burns money," Zheng Fan replied with a smile.
Lin Yilin took a bank card from her small bag and placed it on the table: "But Mr. Illusion, can you touch a bank card?"
No sooner had she spoken than she saw Zheng Fan pick up the bank card quite normally, and her eyes widened instantly: "Huh?"
"Even without talking about the magic tricks later, this alone is surprising…" Lin Yilin finished speaking and quickly realized the reason: "Property-related ability, Mr. Illusion, have you really completed that ability?"
Zheng Fan had previously burned several singularities, but in the end, he only managed to get a "robbery" ability.
But Zheng Fan's current actions made Lin Yilin believe that Zheng Fan had already completed this ability.
"Tsk, Binary Little Sister, why are you so smart?" Zheng Fan used one finger to hold a corner of the bank card, letting it spin on his fingertip. After burning the large singularity that the Bloody Conglomerate had dropped, he could now touch things related to money and wealth conceptually, though it wasn't completely stable yet.
"It was just obvious at a glance," Lin Yilin said bluntly, "But I'm still curious what Mr. Illusion can show, because different property-related abilities manifest differently."
"Are you trying to amuse me?"
"I'm serious."
"Alright, alright, then watch closely."
Zheng Fan turned around, his black suit suddenly transforming into a white suit, complete with a top hat and even a showy cape, with a silver monocle hanging from his right eye.
"Ah, Kaitou Kid," Lin Yilin immediately named the character, as it was a story Zheng Fan had told her.
"Hmph, get ready to witness a miracle!"
With that, Zheng Fan smiled slightly and swiped the bank card through the air.
Then, something shocking happened.
Nothing happened.
Zheng Fan: ?
He froze for a moment, then, not believing it, he swiped it through the air a few more times, but still nothing happened.
"…What's going on? What's wrong? Was my effect nullified? Who chained me? Am I not an all-resistance big brother?" Zheng Fan looked at the bank card in his hand with some embarrassment, muttering meaningless words to cover it up.
"Is it because there's no money in that card?" Lin Yilin spoke up.
Zheng Fan suddenly looked at her, his eyes wide, letting out a silent question.
Then it quickly turned vocal: "Why the hell did you give me an empty bank card?!"
"Mr. Illusion didn't say he needed a bank card with money, and seeing your ill-intentioned look, I just picked one without a deposit…" Lin Yilin explained logically.
Zheng Fan almost criticized himself for not being clear enough.
But then he saw Lin Yilin turn her head away as she spoke, her cheeks puffing out slightly.
"You guessed what I was going to do, so you deliberately played a trick on me!" Zheng Fan was shocked; he had really misjudged Binary Little Sister.
Lin Yilin turned her head back, her face still expressionless: "No."
Seeing Zheng Fan about to flare up again, she quickly handed him a black card: "This one has money."
Zheng Fan, who still wanted to say something, narrowed his eyes and took the card, examining it suspiciously, though he couldn't discern anything: "Does this one really have money?"
"This is a black card from the Dadu Central Bank, of course it has money."
Zheng Fan coughed twice to clear his throat, all the ritualistic feeling he had built up gone. Helplessly, he casually waved his hand, making a swiping motion.
With a cashier sound ringing out from nowhere, a noble black-gold coffee machine suddenly appeared on Lin Yilin's desk.
Lin Yilin: "…So this is?"
"A magic result! Every component is made of the finest materials, though I don't recognize them, it's definitely a top-grade coffee machine, a king among coffee machines. Its luster alone shows its uniqueness." Zheng Fan patted the coffee machine with little expression.
As he spoke, he pulled out a can of coffee beans from who knows where: "Such a good coffee machine, of course, needs to be paired with top-grade coffee beans to make the most exquisite coffee. We can't let it down."
After listening, a somewhat bewildered Lin Yilin blinked: "And then?"
"And then what?"
"Does it have no hidden effects? Like turning into a super robot, or growing machine guns and cannons to kill all creatures within range, and this bag of coffee beans is actually hidden ammunition… or something?"
"Girl, are you having Illusions? This is just a coffee machine, and these are just coffee beans. How about I brew some for you to try now?" Zheng Fan raised an eyebrow.
Mr. Illusion, do you even hear what you're saying?
"If these are just a coffee machine and coffee beans, why can you touch them?"
"Because these are things I 'purchased' with your money, products of my ability, which means—Phantasms," Zheng Fan said proudly, lifting his chin.
"So what's the effect of this Phantasms?"
"Brewing coffee, is there a problem? Toast also only bites people and can provide unlimited Toast with flour, right?"
"Owoo!" Toast in the corner responded cooperatively.
Lin Yilin rubbed her forehead and was silent for a moment: "How much did it cost?"
"Seventy thousand. Although my ability seems to have some premium, it's actually quite cheap, isn't it?"
"…But the office already has a two-hundred-yuan second-hand hand-crank coffee machine, and two bags of cheap coffee beans Aunt Chen gave us haven't been used up yet." Lin Yilin's eyes widened.
"I know," Zheng Fan said, crossing his arms, "Otherwise, why would I conjure this?"
Lin Yilin held her head in her hands and said obediently: "I'm sorry, I was wrong, I shouldn't have played a trick on you, Mr. Illusion. Can we return this thing?"
"Hmm… no," Zheng Fan pondered for a moment before looking up, "There are no refund options in the world of Illusion. And it's not completely useless; with this ability, I can drink coffee."
Lin Yilin took a deep breath.
Although she had a lot of money, she still habitually saved it when not necessary.
This money didn't just fall from the sky. Even if she earned money easily, spending seventy thousand on a useless coffee machine and coffee beans was too wasteful.
Zheng Fan hopped and skipped, carrying the coffee machine to the other side of the office where the old second-hand coffee machine was located: "Alright, Binary Little Sister, quickly move this antique. This throne will belong to this Royal Coffee Machine in the future."
He even named the coffee machine.
A seventy-thousand-yuan coffee machine, worth it!
Lin Yilin exhaled.
She accepted it.
The second-hand coffee machine was retired, and the Black-Gold Royal Coffee Machine took its place. Lin Yilin prepared to give the second-hand coffee machine, which had accompanied her for quite some time, as a third-hand item to Aunt Chen, the landlady.
Then the two immediately used it to brew coffee. Of course, Zheng Fan also "bought" the cups by swiping his card. This time, he didn't deliberately cause trouble. They were similar to Lin Yilin's mug, but with a pure black base color dotted with two grayish-white small dots.
Lin Yilin took a sip, feeling melancholic.
"Although the taste is better, but…" The girl was still a bit pained.
"Ah~, so refreshing," Zheng Fan drank the hot coffee and let out a satisfied sound.
Lin Yilin looked at the black card on the table, holding her cup, and said: "So now Mr. Illusion can conjure items out of thin air by spending money?"
"Yes, except for living things, most of what I can imagine," Zheng Fan replied casually.
"…So powerful." At this moment, having recovered, Lin Yilin was shocked after carefully considering it.
Although it cost money, this could still be called an ability akin to creating things out of nothing!
Most property-related Illusions could only pull off small tricks, creating vague things to fool people, but Mr. Illusion's was on a completely different level.
As long as you gave him money, he could really conjure what you wanted out of thin air!
Moreover, unlike most property Illusions, it didn't require physical cash.
Just a simple swipe of a bank card through the air.
Lin Yilin picked up her phone and checked her savings balance. Seventy thousand yuan was negligible in her vast deposits, but it was indeed seventy thousand less.
There was no payment or transfer information.
She investigated further and was surprised to find that the money seemed to have… vanished into thin air, or rather, as if it had never existed.
Besides her and Zheng Fan in front of her, no one knew that seventy thousand yuan had silently disappeared from the Dadu Central Bank.
The more she thought about it, the more terrifying it became.
The Dadu Central Bank was located in the White District, a clean and safe zone, a forbidden area for all impure colors.
Yet, Mr. Illusion easily penetrated and influenced it.
After confirming, she looked at Zheng Fan again, staring intently.
Their usual harmonious interactions sometimes made her overlook the fact that Mr. Illusion was an extremely abnormal and terrifying Illusion.
Could Mr. Illusion be some kind of amnesiac, down-and-out King of Illusions?
Miss Lin Yilin's imagination was quite rich.
"What's wrong?" Zheng Fan was enjoying the long-lost sensation of his own touch. Seeing Lin Yilin scrutinize him, he asked.
"…Nothing. I was thinking, Mr. Illusion never asked me for a bank card or money before, but you said you had practiced? How did you practice?"
"By stealing other people's money and bank cards on the street," Zheng Fan replied casually.
"…As expected of you."