As Zheng Fan startled them, the slightly frivolous atmosphere in the studio instantly vanished.
Those standing straightened up, and those sitting sat upright.
Then, hearing Zheng Fan's words, they all trembled, as if injected with a stimulant, their blood boiling.
Even some who had just joined, not knowing why they were so easily infected, appeared incredibly excited.
Zheng Fan relaxed and withdrew his aura.
So, his efficiency as an Illusion invader was indeed extremely high, but unfortunately, most people in this world were "Muggles," not even giving him a window.
"By the way, why did the people outside look at me so strangely when I came back?" Zheng Fan remembered this and asked Zhao Ge.
"Oh, that's because our studio is developing too fast, so others in the office must feel it's quite remarkable. But Fei Ge, you're often busy outside, and we were afraid that people's impression of you would weaken, which would be unfavorable for your future leadership of the studio. So, we spread some rumors to make sure no one dares to underestimate Fei Ge!" Zhao Ge said, beaming.
I hope you didn't spread anything too strange.
Sighing, Zheng Fan perked up: "Then, next, there's an important matter."
Upon hearing this, all the subordinates in the studio became serious.
Fei Ge rarely gave personal orders, so what kind of major task could it be?
"Does anyone here play board games?" Zheng Fan pulled out various types of board games from somewhere inside his collar.
The subordinates: ?
Zheng Fan thought that last time he couldn't find anyone to play games with, but this time with so many people, surely someone could play with him, Manager Cheng?
Suddenly, Zhao Ge's phone rang. He answered, and a voice on the other end urgently said: "Zhao Ge! Something happened at the factory on Dongding Road!"
"What?! Someone dares to cause trouble?!" Zhao Ge slammed his hand on the table and angrily exclaimed.
"Not clear, it seems a bit complicated, the police seem to be coming, well, anyway, please bring people to take a look!"
Zhao Ge hung up the phone and apologized to Zheng Fan: "Sorry, Fei Ge, there's been a snag here. You're seeing a joke."
"It's fine, what happened? I'm here anyway, I'll go take a look too." Zheng Fan smiled and waved his hand generously.
Zhao Ge led Zheng Fan out of the studio, and unexpectedly, they ran into an acquaintance outside, the handsome Qingye Heshi.
"Hmm?" Qingye Heshi made a questioning sound when he saw Zheng Fan.
"Yo, long time no see." Zheng Fan familiarly approached him.
The surrounding subordinates automatically made space for the two.
"Why did you suddenly feel like coming over?"
"Because Lin Yilin refused to play board games with me."
Zheng Fan wasn't lying. Lin Yilin enjoyed reading novels and watching movies, but wasn't particularly fond of playing games, not even time-killing board games, which was quite a shame.
Lu Lu Shoes was just a pair of shoes, and Toast, its skill at various board games was terrifyingly strong; playing zero-sum board games with it was asking for trouble.
Qingye Heshi looked away speechlessly, suddenly not wanting to deal with Zheng Fan anymore.
But then he remembered something and said: "That crazy woman came back earlier. She and you and Lin Yilin have met, right?"
"Crazy woman? Heh, that title means we have another layer of common ground. You know her too?"
"I know her. I got beaten up by her." Qingye Heshi was concise, not at all shy about admitting his embarrassing experience.
"As expected. Why? I'm guessing it was something like 'Stay away from my daughter'." Zheng Fan couldn't help but laugh.
"And also 'You're not worthy of her.'" Qingye Heshi sighed.
"Indeed, your type, a male chauvinist, just looks like someone who would be beaten up by the woman's family."
"What does 'male chauvinist' mean...?"
"It's better if you don't know too clearly."
Qingye Heshi could vaguely guess the meaning from his tone; it was certainly not a good word. He snorted coldly: "Then how about you? Did you sneak away like a coward, or were you chased off like a stray dog?"
"I can still leisurely stand here chatting with you about all this nonsense, so you should know the answer." Zheng Fan replied with a smile.
Hearing this, Qingye Heshi still looked at Zheng Fan with unconcealed surprise.
Then he looked forward: "It was indeed within my expectations, but it's still hard for me to believe."
"The world already has crazy old hags, so it's not missing a small fry like me who can beat a crazy old hag and even make her apologize, right?" Zheng Fan also looked ahead, saying playfully.
"...Even like this, are you still willing to stay by Lin Yilin's side?" Qingye Heshi fell silent after hearing this, and finally asked this question.
"What's wrong with that? Most Illusions are 'mother to whoever provides milk,' and it's already good that someone wants an Illusion like me. I rarely even meet anyone who can officially interact with me every day." Zheng Fan said, half-joking and half-serious.
Although he was very free now, on the other hand, as an Illusion, he wasn't entirely free.
There was still a lot of content to explore with Lin Yilin, not to mention a newly unlocked possession form, so he had even less reason to leave.
Jiang Si's personality might, in some sense, be more pleasing to Zheng Fan, a nice change of pace compared to Binary Little Sister. Currently, they were in a very harmonious stage of interaction, commonly known as the honeymoon period.
Conversely, he also had to cherish these two, otherwise, his only available option would be Cheng Fei's rotten body.
Zheng Fan had also never given up on traveling around, trying to find other people who could officially interact with him.
But the situation remained bleak.
Of course, he could also change his approach.
The path of fear-type Illusions, accumulating rumors, distorting events, and then exploding them, was also good.
Thinking about it, this Banmu Office studio indeed still had its uses. He considered starting his initial primitive accumulation from here.
He'd just consider it making use of Cheng Fei's body.
"For an Illusion of your depth, formal contact is indeed very difficult." Qingye Heshi agreed with Zheng Fan, "Since you can even deal with that crazy woman, then your power level in Xixikoko is absolutely no problem."
"What about in Dadu?"
"If you don't directly confront those formidable behemoths with many tricks, there's no problem. Luo Ye is renowned within Dadu's circles, knows key figures everywhere, and still moves freely. Besides her self-positioning as a high-level mercenary who never gets involved in internal power struggles, her greatest reliance is still her strength."
"She's that amazing, huh? Although I've heard her name quite a bit, I never really felt it."
Now, Zheng Fan's biggest impressions of Luo Ye were only her kneeling and apologizing and nearly being bitten to death by Toast.
"I envy you, being an Illusion must be very free." Qingye Heshi sighed.
"Don't you have a companion? Go ask it."
"It's not the same type as you."
"The price of 'freedom' is that you might accidentally be forgotten by this world." Zheng Fan smiled, but his tone was uncharacteristically serious, not joking.
"Most people hope to end their lives peacefully, but I cannot accept that."
"...As an Illusion's personality?"
"You can understand it that way."
"But at least someone remembers you now." Qingye Heshi took out a cigarette but didn't light it. "As for me, as long as I can be seen by those I cherish, I'm satisfied."
"Ah, that's another matter. After all, I didn't have much real feeling before." Zheng Fan laughed, "In my memory, it's as if I've never been remembered by anyone since I was little."
"Parents?" Qingye Heshi subconsciously asked this, but then thought it was stupid. How could he discuss this topic with an Illusion?
Perhaps this Illusion was just too human-like.
"They occasionally remembered." Zheng Fan replied casually.
"..." Now Qingye Heshi didn't know what to say.
Zheng Fan continued, as if chatting with a friend about what he had for dinner last night: "And, before I became an Illusion, I was preparing to commit suicide."
...
One day, a person suddenly had a temporary idea and went to an unstable, chaotic region.
Carrying a full set of equipment, he did some pre-sleep exercise he hadn't done in a long time, eliminating another group of armed individuals in a chaotic battle.
Then he went to a world-renowned cultural landmark in the area and buried a massive amount of bombs.
Nuclear warheads and bombers were really hard to get, let alone aircraft carriers.
He planned to give himself a dignified departure on a quiet night, and set off a huge fireworks display.
But he never woke up, and he didn't know if the fireworks he left for the past had actually gone off.