Chapter Nine: Recruitment

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Lin Yilin hailed a taxi and arrived at Dongding Road, her primary destination being the pastry shop. The shop was quite sizable, and inside she could already see a fair number of customers. Some were chatting with the cashier at the front desk; their familiarity suggested they were regulars living nearby. However, compared to these familiar faces, there was another group inside whose presence was more dubious. Lin Yilin’s gaze quickly swept over them.

This group was clearly not there to buy pastries. Their behavior showed no interest in browsing the goods; rather, they seemed like agents engaged in counter-surveillance. The main issue was that, although the shop was large, it had its limits, and these people, not purchasing anything yet wandering around, were making the space crowded. Regrettably, Lin Yilin herself was about to join their ranks.

Upon entering, her arrival immediately drew the attention of those observers. Recognizing her attire, most of them identified her instantly. Lin Yilin was no celebrity, but her foster father had been well-known in the Xixikoko district, and having accompanied him for many years, she was known by association.

“Everyone, eyes on me!” Zheng Fan suddenly strode in from beside a glass display case, arms spread wide in a flashy entrance. Of course, no one else noticed—only Lin Yilin glanced sideways briefly, then quickly looked away, realizing Zheng Fan was merely seeking attention.

“...Why won’t even you respond?” Zheng Fan asked, a bit disappointed.

Lin Yilin picked up her phone and opened her notes app, typing: There are many members from various agencies in this shop; any abnormal behavior might be seen as hallucinations, and we cannot afford an investigation.

That was true. Although Zheng Fan had considered this, Lin Yilin’s caution was even greater than he had imagined. Talking to oneself wasn’t strange, but she did not want to leave even the slightest trace.

He scanned the crowd, eyeing those who seemed to be from other agencies. There was an even greater possibility that the rivalry between these agencies was fiercer than he thought.

“But those few ruffians I scared off last time are here too,” Zheng Fan pointed out, recognizing some familiar faces.

Lin Yilin casually continued her discreet inspection of the shop while replying on her phone: I noticed them too; they’re from Banmu Agency.

Lin Yilin had previously described the Banmu Agency to Zheng Fan. In the Xixikoko district, there were two large agencies, three medium-sized ones, and several smaller ones; Banmu was one of the medium-sized agencies.

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Most importantly, Banmu’s headquarters, like Zero One Agency’s, were located on Xiding Road—they were neighbors. There had been conflicts and collaborations with Lin Yilin’s foster father before, but since his passing, she alone lacked the qualifications to cooperate, leaving only unilateral conflict.

“Though I never expected much from this ragtag world, if even the underlings of a medium-sized agency behave like this, isn’t that a bit degrading?” Zheng Fan grumbled.

Lin Yilin’s lips twitched before she quickly smoothed her expression and typed: It’s not quite like that. It mainly depends on the agency’s style. Some medium to large agencies even adopt militarized management. Banmu’s ‘street’ style is part of their identity. They rely on this to consolidate much of the lower-tier power in the gray districts.

“What’s the difference from a gang then?” Zheng Fan recalled the countless gangs in Dadu.

Lin Yilin slowly typed: There is essentially no difference between an agency and a gang.

A concise and clear summary.

After observing for a while, Lin Yilin reached for a large loaf of bread on the shelf.

“Help me buy this too,” Zheng Fan suddenly said, pointing to some donuts nearby.

Lin Yilin hesitated briefly, then added a few donuts to the plate and proceeded to the counter to pay. After packing her purchases and exchanging a few words with the clerk, she left the shop.

Once away from the pastry store, she finally spoke: “Mr. Illusion, do you like donuts?”

“Yes, I do,” Zheng Fan replied, rubbing his hands eagerly like a fly about to land. “I don’t like sweets, except for donuts.”

“But it seems you can’t eat them now.”

“You can eat them using your body, right?”

Lin Yilin hesitated but still said, “I don’t like things that are too sweet either.”

“Well, you’ll have to learn to like them from now on,” Zheng Fan said casually, then asked about her findings: “So, did you discover anything after watching inside the shop for a while?”

He looked at the loaf in her bag: “You’re not trying to lure out a kindred spirit for it, are you?”

Lin Yilin shook her head: “Of course not. I was just hungry.”

Her expression was serious and earnest.

Zheng Fan raised his eyebrows: “Miss, your sense of humor is far richer than you appear.”

Lin Yilin unwrapped the bread and tore off a piece, chewing it thoughtfully: “It’s not actually difficult to find a phantom if that’s all you’re after. We’re not real detectives; no need to gather clues or do proper deductions.”

“Good to know,” Zheng Fan relaxed slightly. “I was just about to prepare to turn into a dog to sniff it out for you. Looks like I won’t have to.”

Lin Yilin’s eyes brightened. “Mr. Illusion, can you really do that? I thought you couldn’t replicate abilities.”

Zheng Fan took a few steps back as Lin Yilin leaned closer: “It’s not some fantastical superpower. At this level, it’s not hard and doesn’t require much thought. It’s just that adapting to the world of a dog’s sense of smell took me quite some time. At first, it was really disgusting.”

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“For example?”

“For example, did you skip bathing last night?”

“...That’s true, I was busy with other things, so don’t bring that up, Mr. Illusion. Let’s get to work.”

“Before you act, should we deal with the people following us behind?” Zheng Fan’s head spun one and a half times, looking back.

Don’t ask why he spun one and a half times—it was just for fun.

Lin Yilin also turned around and saw those Banmu Agency ruffians trailing not far behind.

“Should we beat them up?” Lin Yilin asked.

Zheng Fan straightened his head: “No, you said you could handle it yourself. Let me see how you do it.”

Upon hearing this, Lin Yilin tore another piece of bread and put it into her mouth.

Zheng Fan watched, tempted to say, “Give me some,” but he couldn’t tear off a piece for himself now, which was a pity.

Seeing Lin Yilin pause and look back at them, the ruffians no longer tried to hide their presence. Their skills at following were rather poor. They simply approached.

“Where’s Cheng Fei?” Before they could speak, Lin Yilin was the first to say.

The ruffians froze.

How on earth did she know Brother Fei’s full name?

They always called him “Brother Fei,” and even the underlings had forgotten his full name.

“Brother Fei got a few teeth knocked out by your sorcery and is still recovering,” one answered honestly.

“So what are you doing here now?”

“Wait, wait! Don’t get violent! We’re not here to pick a fight!” Seeing Lin Yilin reaching into her bag, they panicked and quickly raised their hands to stop her.

Lin Yilin halted her movement and looked at them with a strange expression.

“We actually planned to come to your agency directly to see you, but since we met here, we thought it best to tell you. It’s not about Brother Fei—it’s on orders from an even higher-up boss,” the ruffians continued.

Zheng Fan chimed in from the side: “They obviously wanted to see if they could track you first, hoping to intercept any discoveries you made... not very clever.”

Lin Yilin nodded subtly.

“The big boss wants us to apologize to you and ask if you’d be willing to join our agency.”