Black Sparrow flew back to the Zero One Office on Xixikeke Street.
As soon as he slipped through the half-open window, he heard Lin Yilin's voice: "Welcome back, Mr. Illusion. Was the White World fun?"
"It wasn't fun at all. There were evil, idiotic sparrows there! I was actually beaten by sparrows in a 'public restroom'!" Black Sparrow landed on the ground, transforming back into Zheng Fan, and cursed.
Lin Yilin, whose short hair had returned to normal, looked at him curiously: "What 'public restroom'? And... you were bullied by sparrows?"
"Why can I be seen by animals in the White World, and yet I can't invade them?" Zheng Fan said, feeling unwilling.
"This is completely unknown territory. After all, unless aided by the Black World, Illusions shouldn't be able to approach the White World at all. We only let Mr. Illusion try it, and we didn't expect it to actually work," Lin Yilin mused. "But Mr. Illusion, you still can't beat sparrows?"
"Can't beat them," Zheng Fan said grumpily. "Over there, my transformation abilities are severely restricted. I can't even exert power beyond the form I take. After transforming into a sparrow, I'm just a slightly stronger sparrow."
Then he was beaten by a flock of sparrows.
He even knocked down that crazy woman Luo Ye, and then he was chased by a flock of sparrows. It was truly too pathetic.
Even more pathetic was that a certain super Illusion was secretly planning to transform into a natural predator of sparrows and go back to teach that flock a lesson.
His pathetic appearance made Lin Yilin a little unable to watch.
"I delivered the message to that crazy woman," Zheng Fan quickly adjusted himself.
"Mm, I received the call. I'll treat her to dinner tonight."
"You're treating?" Zheng Fan felt it was hard to describe.
"This little matter doesn't matter. Anyway, Ye-jie is probably still thinking right now. During this period, doing something to strike at her conscience will make it easier to deepen this fragility and make her thoughts unforgettable."
Zheng Fan fell silent.
Binary Little Sister, you are truly terrifying...
Zheng Fan began to wonder how much of Lin Yilin's emotional outburst earlier was genuine.
She had Luo Ye completely figured out.
Ultimately, Luo Ye's crazy woman personality was terrible, and Lin Yilin, who was similar to her to some extent, wasn't much better. It's just that Luo Ye would express that part of herself unrestrainedly, while Lin Yilin would hide it very well.
The more he thought about it, the more terrifying it felt.
Alas, women's friendship.
"Woof!" Toast ran out, holding a glutinous rice ball in its mouth.
"Ah, these things can't be eaten. Spit them out quickly," Zheng Fan said, stepping forward at the sight.
These glutinous rice balls were Luo Ye's Illusion weapons. Although Luo Ye's own Illusion Art was currently offline, these glutinous rice balls were like compressed packages, completely still.
To be honest, Zheng Fan was quite disgusted when he picked them up because they were covered in Luo Ye's bodily fluids and vomit.
Then, to prevent them from smelling, Lin Yilin thoughtfully washed them clean after bringing them back.
"Woof!"
"What kind of Illusion am I, and what kind of Phantasm are you? I can eat, you can't. If you get indigestion, I'll put new desiccant in you," Zheng Fan warned Toast's protest.
Putting aside everything else, as soon as it heard 'desiccant,' Toast obediently spat the glutinous rice ball onto the ground.
After putting the items back in the box in the corner, Zheng Fan returned to Lin Yilin's side and watched what she was writing.
"It's been a few days, and the report still isn't finished?"
"Weren't we focusing on investigating the Earth Tremor Society a few days ago? Besides, this report has a larger fabricated component, so I need to carefully deliberate it. Although there were so many people on the thirty-first, the Processing Bureau probably won't bother to seriously review the reports these days, but we still need to do a good job here and not leave any handles," Lin Yilin said.
"Any news from the Earth Tremor Society?"
"The Processing Bureau captured some believers and interrogated them for information," Lin Yilin pulled up the data on the computer. "This group of people was one of the sects established during the social unrest after the earthquake. Most believers were either victims of the earthquake or harbored resentment towards Dadu society, hoping that a great earthquake would shatter the existing order. They believe that the Earth Tremor God is a symbol of that earthquake."
Zheng Fan listened and said, "That doesn't sound right."
"Indeed, it's not right. This Earth Tremor Society is just a front. It's merely a puppet supported from behind to cultivate that catfish Illusion. I didn't feel any connection between that catfish Illusion and the Fantasy Factor on me. It's not the Illusion that caused the earthquake in the first place."
Lin Yilin affirmed.
"But it is indeed earthquake-related. At the time, the singularity I absorbed from it easily further evolved your Earthworm," Zheng Fan said, crossing his arms and lying on the sofa.
Lin Yilin pondered: "If there is a residual Phantasm closely related to an Illusion, given to another Illusion, and then supplemented by a suitable person to create a growth environment, then it's very easy to cultivate an Illusion that, although not an individual, has extremely high similarity in its elements."
Zheng Fan remembered: "Oh, right, besides the Earth Tremor Society, weren't there other gangs from out of town?"
"They are gangs circulating between the Violent World and Dadu. We found out their name is 'Greyshade Crowd,' but there's not much related information. Considering the combat performance these gang members showed that night, to be honest, they don't really resemble gangs that grew wildly in the Violent World."
Zheng Fan hadn't really paid much attention to this. That day, he was either chasing and killing Illusions or fighting with that crazy woman.
"If they didn't grow wildly, then it means there are traces of professional training? Someone is cultivating them," he thought aloud.
"That should be it. This Greyshade Crowd has a deep relationship with that mysterious killer, or rather, these people were brought by that mysterious killer." A single Earthworm wove between Lin Yilin's fingers.
The Earthworm showed no abnormalities, looking very normal, except for being a bit black.
After a moment of silence, Lin Yilin said: "I've basically shared all my intelligence with the Processing Bureau through Jia Jia's channel. Let them handle the subsequent investigations in this area. One person's efficiency can never compare to that of a large organization. I just need to wait for subsequent intelligence."
This was the advantage of having a deep intelligence network. Real-time, automatic updates from a large organization's intelligence were much more comfortable than constantly putting oneself in danger and having to engage in real battles with people just to get a few scattered clues.
Although Zheng Fan might prefer the latter.
But Lin Yilin, having the conditions, wouldn't inconvenience herself by wasting time.
As closing time approached, Lin Yilin finally completed her fabricated report.
She turned to look at the setting sun outside the window, then at Zheng Fan, who was disassembling his own arm and manipulating it in its detached state. The scene was somewhat bizarre.
"Mr. Illusion, would you like to try again?" she suddenly asked.
Zheng Fan crushed his arm, then grew a new one: "Hm? Okay."
He glanced at Lin Yilin, then appeared directly behind her, possessing her body.
However, Lin Yilin's previous special possession state did not reappear.
There were no extra patterns, her hair didn't lengthen, and Zheng Fan didn't feel the incredibly smooth release of power restrictions.
Since returning that day, Lin Yilin and Zheng Fan had tried many times but couldn't trigger that state again.
It felt like a limited-edition super form from a movie.
Zheng Fan possessed her for a moment and then left. He had tested possession too many times recently, which was quite draining for Lin Yilin.
"Sigh, adding restrictions to 強化 forms is such an old trope. The big shots upstairs really don't understand anything!" Zheng Fan sighed, slumping down.
Lin Yilin felt it: "Still no good. Perhaps it requires a stronger desire."
"Hm?"
"I reviewed my feelings at the time. Because I heard that Mr. Illusion had been sent away by Ye-jie, at that moment, I absolutely wanted Mr. Illusion to appear next to me suddenly, as usual, with just a call."
Zheng Fan looked up at her, meeting her clear and calm gaze. Under the light of the setting sun, her eyes reflected a magnificent glow, making him feel a little dazed.
"So?"
"Perhaps I need to scream heartbreakingly, 'Ah, Mr. Illusion, why are you Mr. Illusion?' It might take that level of emotion for this situation to reappear."
"You try."
"I can't try it. It's hard for me to deceive myself," Lin Yilin said very matter-of-factly.
"In that case, trying to reproduce it in the form of a 'test' is impossible."
"Yes, sorry."
"It doesn't matter. Anyway, for now, my power is overflowing. Even without that form, we can still easily defeat Luo Ye. It's more than enough."
Zheng Fan waved his hand casually.
Lin Yilin watched Zheng Fan silently for a long time, and only when Zheng Fan looked at her in confusion did she say, "Then I'll head back first."
"Mm, see you tomorrow," Zheng Fan replied somewhat inexplicably.
Putting on her coat, she walked out of the office.
Lin Yilin was still a little lost in thought.
For her, that form was not just about power.
It was proof that a wholehearted summons could always be answered.
In this world now, there was only Mr. Illusion, and that was all.