Chapter 58: "Fragments"

Amidst the shattering earth and trembling mountains, flames consumed broken walls, and flying gravel grazed her cheek, leaving behind a scar that could never be healed.

No matter how many rituals she had mastered...

...

Lin Yilin opened her eyes, punctual as a machine.

Her first instinct was to reach for her phone and turn on the screen to check the time.

Huh?

It was actually two seconds later than usual, presumably the lingering effect of a nightmare. It seemed she was not entirely a machine after all.

Quickly scanning the intelligence reports to confirm they met her expectations, her furrowed brow relaxed a moment later. Without lingering in bed, she went to wash up.

In front of the mirror, she simply combed through her slightly messy hair after waking, while the earthworms on the sink handed over her toiletries. Ever since the black earthworms had been enhanced by Mr. Illusion, they finally possessed the strength to help her with some trivial chores.

After washing up, an earthworm had already toasted slices of bread for her. Lin Yilin had always been indifferent to breakfast, picking randomly, but in recent months, the number of times she chose toast had increased.

Truly an inscrutable reason.

Finishing the toast in a few bites and washing it down with a cup of hot milk, Lin Yilin embarked on her daily commute.

The world of mist finally seemed far away; only a thin morning haze lingered on the streets of the morning.

Passing a newsstand, she glanced at it casually.

The Metropolis Daily remained as calm as an ancient well, and the collapse of the Jacob family was no longer prominently featured in the papers. Lin Yilin simply skipped the White District section and turned to the Grey Streets column.

In the Metropolis Daily, this section was not extensive; unless they had a specific interest, people from the White District did not particularly care to read about the Grey Streets in the newspaper.

To most residents of the White District, many reports from the Grey Streets could only be described as "bizarre."

In the past, there had even been instances where readers mailed letters demanding the cancellation of reporting on the Grey Streets in the daily paper.

Although that effort ultimately failed, the current state—where the vast and complex Grey Streets could only occupy a tiny column in the newspaper—was the result of what that group had fought for.

Today's reports on the Grey Streets merely mentioned that the mist world had overlapped with a certain district in the early morning hours, only to separate from reality again by dawn.

That was the most significant piece of news; everything else was meaningless filler. Lin Yilin uninterestingly put down that paper and picked up another instead.

The Xixi Koke Secret Dispatch, the street newspaper of Xixi Koke, appeared to be merely a regional publication for a single neighborhood, but in fact, this periodical—originated by "Arcana," another large agency in Xixi Koke—contained a substantial amount of content.

It covered not only the big and small events happening on the streets of Xixi Koke, but also touched upon many other Grey Streets throughout the metropolis. Operating to this day, it had developed a tendency to become the flip side of the Metropolis Daily. Everything the Metropolis Daily refused to tell you, they covered in the Xixi Koke Secret Dispatch.

It had successfully captured that segment of the market.

When Lin Yilin was a child, they were just starting out; today, they had reached such a scale that they could not be underestimated.

As soon as she picked it up, today's headline read: "The 'Cleaver' Murderer Brought to Justice; White Stone Chief Strikes, Did the 'Red Thread' Murderer Appear for the Harvest?!"

Although Arcana was growing larger and larger, the "clickbait" style left over from its humble beginnings remained deeply rooted—a true masterclass in journalism.

However, the content genuinely possessed considerable substance, detailing the events of that night from three perspectives: the police, the Divine Agency, and the Processing Bureau.

The only part omitted was the appearance of the Red Thread Murderer, claiming that the process from the Red Thread Murderer's entrance to the resolution of the battle happened far too quickly.

In the end, it suggested they had escaped with the help of a mysterious accomplice, and by synthesizing some fabricated interviews, concluded that the situation in Xixi Koke was murky and unpredictable, fearing a major event was about to unfold. One could only say it hit all the right notes.

Of course, there was still a photograph taken from a mysterious perspective capturing the Red Thread Murderer's victorious settlement celebration pose.

Lin Yilin picked up the newspaper without reading it closely, tucked it under her arm, and walked toward her agency.

Upon pushing open the door, she first saw the toast resting in the corner, then confirmed the sofa had no other issues. Only after setting her mind at ease did she enter her daily routine of searching for Mr. Illusion. Glancing around the room, Lin Yilin walked over to the bookshelf beside the desk and found a black-covered book titled *Alien*.

The moment she touched it, the book jumped off the bookshelf on its own and transformed back into Zheng Fan.

"Good morning. You're ten minutes later than usual today. Were you delayed on the way?" Zheng Fan greeted.

"Good morning, Mr. Illusion. I just paid special attention to today's newspaper. It looks like you still had a lot of fun last night." Lin Yilin tossed the newspaper in her hand onto the desk.

"So-so, I suppose. Huh? How did this photo get in here?" Zheng Fan leaned in to take a look, only to discover unexpectedly that his goal celebration posture had actually been captured.

"The angle of the snapshot isn't quite right. Such a dashing move should be printed as a GIF in the newspaper for everyone in the metropolis to admire and emulate."

"If that were the case, Miss Murderer wouldn't be able to stand it." Lin Yilin sat down at her desk. "Is this a classic move from Mr. Illusion's world?"

"For that, I shall have to regale you with the experiences of the legendary football player Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro."

"…Never mind. Let's talk about the *Alien* movie series we mentioned earlier." Her topic was switched by Miss Lin Yilin in less than a second of contemplation.

What did Ronaldo ever do to you?

Nevertheless, Zheng Fan still gratified Lin Yilin's preferences.

While listening to Zheng Fan's narration, Lin Yilin began wrapping up the loose ends of this commission.

Zheng Fan performed the plot with deep emotion and flourish; he could even transform into an Alien on the spot, shifting seamlessly from a facehugger to a chestburster, and finally to an adult Alien without the slightest hesitation. Judging by Lin Yilin's understanding of his average transformation speed, this practiced fluidity suggested he might have been practicing in secret for a very long time.

What on earth does Mr. Illusion practice transforming into on ordinary days...

Ever since he learned to fly, he has become increasingly unrestrained.

Lin Yilin's multitasking threads were formidable, perfectly capable of handling the work at hand while listening to Zheng Fan's story, and even interjecting opinions at points that caught her interest.

She was particularly curious about the physiological structure of the Alien, the concept of pure saliva paired with strong acidic blood, and the reproductive worship embedded in its visual design. This unique design philosophy fascinated someone encountering it for the very first time.

Besides, Miss Lin Yilin's tastes naturally leaned a bit toward the hardcore and bizarre.

...

Commission wrapping records in progress.

Following the elimination of the hallucination marked as "Lulu," the decoy phantasm shoes it scattered had basically all failed.

What? Why was the marked name "Lulu"?

Because the cry uttered by that hallucination shouted "Lulu" the most clearly, and so the Processing Bureau ultimately recorded it as such.

That object's derisive nickname for Lu Chongming eventually became its surviving alias in reality after its death, carrying a faint touch of dark humor.

Lin Yilin had originally just completed an insignificant commission, but afterward, the White Stone Chief from the Processing Bureau seemed to have specifically inquired about the exact source of the police intelligence.

Lin Yilin's dear Uncle Drake hastily rushed forward to shield and pull her through.

In the end, Lin Yilin unexpectedly logged a major achievement credited by the official Processing Bureau.

Given the typical temperament of the Bureau, she had originally submitted the intelligence purely with the mindset of doing charity work, never expecting it to become her biggest pleasant surprise.

"That White Stone Chief—he is the most formidable person I've met so far. Do you know him?" Seeing this, Zheng Fan also attempted to gather some background on this individual.

Lin Yilin looked at the golden major achievement logo displayed on her computer screen, her expression still largely devoid of emotion. Hearing the question, she paused to recall slightly and said, "He is the Chief of the Xixi Koke Street and surrounding Processing Branch. Excluding exceptional anomalies, he is the strongest person in this territory. Having guarded the Xixi Koke streets for over twenty years, both his strength and personal character are beyond reproach. If he hadn't put in a good word for me, this achievement probably would have been swallowed up."

"What's his violence index?" After saying so much, Zheng Fan's simple mind cared only about this.

"Gun..." Lin Yilin uttered a single syllable.

A tier above gangs, the unvarnished "Gun"—the representative of thermal weapons most familiar to humanity, one of the symbols of terror and violence.

"With all phantasm factors activated, pulling in a hallucination combined with that super phantasm artifact, the Bright Ruler, reaching the 'Gun' level without regard for the consequences would be more than enough. I saw him once ten years ago; he was already at the gang tier back then. Although he wasn't Chief yet, he was already making a name for himself. He's a very formidable person," said Lin Yilin.

"I see," Zheng Fan acknowledged. A character whose baseline exceeded his own had finally appeared.

"However... no matter how formidable, in the face of the 'Great Earthquake,' he is merely a single human being after all."

Lin Yilin's ethereal voice echoed through the agency.