Illusion Report

Chapter 153: Chapter 121: Jin Xueli: Moving a Resident’s Home

"Here, coffee."

Jin Xueli took the canned coffee, looked at it, then at Han Liuyue, and sat down beside her.

"You’re so well-prepared."

Han Liuyue popped the tab and said modestly, "Not at all. This is all standard-issue for pulling an all-nighter. I’ve got sugar-free too, if you want."

"This one’s pretty good." Jin Xueli took a sip of coffee. "What else did you bring?"

"If you’re hungry, I also brought donuts—the classic cop breakfast."

Han Liuyue chuckled at her own joke. "Oh, and speaking of breakfast, after an all-nighter, I always crave something fragrant and greasy... How about we go to IHOP when it opens in the morning?"

...How should I put it? After you’ve experienced enough strange things, you start to get used to them.

For instance, Jin Xueli was currently sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with a Kai Family Hunter she had just met, in Westley’s tomb, leisurely drinking coffee while watching a human head stick out from a coffin...

No matter how you looked at it, something about the situation had to be wrong.

"There’s a corpse ten steps away," Jin Xueli said after a moment’s thought, feeling like she’d grasped the crux of the absurdity. "And you’re still thinking about breakfast?"

"Excuse me, can I ask something?" Westley’s head suddenly stared at them and spoke. "Have you two forgotten about me?"

The two of them looked at it.

"I believe I’ve provided you with some bombshell information."

Vulture’s face couldn’t quite suppress a hint of smugness—a holdover from Westley, probably. "And your reaction is to sit down and drink coffee? Did my sudden appearance in this coffin bore you to sleep?"

The two women glanced at each other.

"I’m surprised a Vulture like you has such a strong sense of self," Jin Xueli remarked. "Doesn’t that interfere with your performance when you’re copying someone?"

"Maybe it’s Westley who has a strong sense of self," Han Liuyue offered, trying to be fair.

"Good point. We haven’t forgotten about you," Jin Xueli said, turning to console Vulture. "We just need to figure out what to do next. We have to be sharp to deal with you, you know."

Thinking about it, her luck was actually pretty good.

She didn’t know who had shoved Vulture into Westley’s coffin or why, but having Vulture meant having Westley’s memories. Now, she wouldn’t have to jump off a building with a corpse on her back.

However, figuring out how to subdue Vulture and get it to Chaisi would require some careful thought.

This was the perfect time to make a plan, while it was stuck in the coffin and couldn’t get out. And having a coffee on the side wasn’t too much to ask, was it?

"It’s not known for its strength, but if it starts struggling, it’ll be a hassle. Did you bring any rope?" Jin Xueli asked.

"Of course," said Han Liuyue.

After all, the original plan was to carry a corpse into a Nest, so rope was essential.

"We’ll have to knock it out before we can tie it up, right?"

"An axe to the head did nothing. How are we supposed to knock it out?" Han Liuyue sighed. "Besides, we can’t get too close to it, for safety’s sake."

"I wonder how the person who stuffed it in there even managed it—"

"Listen!"

Westley’s head, apparently having reached its limit, raised its voice in a rare outburst. "What in the world are you two doing?"

They were both taken aback.

"My request is very clear: I want to get out of this coffin. And from what I can tell, you seem to need something from me. That being the case, why don’t we cooperate for the time being?"

Perhaps because it had "inherited" Westley’s way of thinking, it spoke in such a rigid, formal manner.

"How do you propose we cooperate?" Han Liuyue asked.

"You let me out, and I will cooperate with whatever you need," the head said with a serious expression. "Likewise, I expect you not to tie me up. Once this matter is concluded, you will let me leave freely."

"Where would you go?" Jin Xueli asked.

"I’ve finally made it to the Human World. Naturally, I must make the most of this opportunity and live as a human."

"This resident is so pompous," Han Liuyue grumbled, looking at Jin Xueli. "What do you think? We can’t trust it, right? Its goal is to leave, so the moment we let it out of the coffin, it’ll definitely look for a chance to run."

"Hmph, what do you know."

Westley’s head scoffed and shook its head. "My word is worth its weight in gold. If I go back on my word, how can I maintain my business reputation?"

"You’re really getting into character," Jin Xueli pointed out. "You’re not the real Westley. Who would believe that line?"

The head froze, then actually got a little angry. "I am his personality now! Do you think it’s easy for me to violate his personality?"

Letting it out was definitely not an option, but figuring out how to take it with them was rather tricky.

Besides, even if Chaisi was an interrogation expert, he had probably never interrogated a "resident" before, had he? Could they even squeeze any information out of it?

After thinking for a moment, Jin Xueli noticed Han Liuyue was quiet. She turned to see her tapping away at her phone.

"I’m reporting the situation to Brother Chaisi. I’ve told him everything that’s happened so far."

When Jin Xueli looked over, Han Liuyue glanced up, a little embarrassed, and gave her a smile.

’...What a model employee.’ fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com

"He doesn’t seem to have seen the message yet; he hasn’t replied." Han Liuyue put down her phone and began to praise him admiringly. "Brother Chaisi not only has amazing analytical skills, but he also has a knack for cutting through all the distractions to grasp the key to the matter..."

’The key to the matter...?’

In that case, what Vulture wanted most was to get out of the coffin... and what they needed was to transport Vulture safely to Chaisi.

An idea flashed in Jin Xueli’s mind. She slapped Han Liuyue on the shoulder, nearly making her spill her coffee. "I’ve got it!"

"You’ve got what?" Han Liuyue asked after a moment of sputtering and coughing.

"Can you ask Chaisi to send a light-duty truck?"

"I can, but... why?"

"This guy wants to get out, right?"

Jin Xueli pointed at Vulture. "So no matter what, we can’t open the coffin and let it out. And we don’t even have to worry about how to take it with us—isn’t that a shovel loader right next to us?"

Han Liuyue looked around, her eyes lit up as she understood. "You’re right!"

Jin Xueli couldn’t suppress a triumphant smile. "Since Vulture is already trapped by the coffin, letting it out just to tie it up with rope would be redundant, wouldn’t it? We can just take Vulture and the coffin away together."

"Looks like you’ve learned to use that Occam’s-something-or-other Razor principle too."

Han Liuyue leaped up from the ground and drained her coffee. Her Hunter habits were deeply ingrained; even though she wasn’t in a Nest, she stuffed the empty can into her bag, leaving no trace behind.

Ignoring Vulture’s many protests, the two of them pretended not to hear and, using all their might, dragged the coffin out of the sarcophagus bit by bit.

The shovel bucket wasn’t wide enough to lay the coffin flat, so they had to stand it upright inside. This ended up blocking more than half of the driver’s cab window. As a result, Jin Xueli had to walk in front of the shovel loader to guide Han Liuyue, who couldn’t see the path ahead.

"This won’t do!"

Vulture was so anxious its forehead was sweating, but it couldn’t think of any convincing reason to make them let it out. It could only plead and protest over and over. "Humans have human rights, and Vultures have Vulture rights... Ah! Can you position the coffin better? The corpse is slumping onto my shoulder!"

"A resident wouldn’t care about that, would they?" Jin Xueli said.

"But I have Westley’s mind right now!" Vulture roared.

No one cared about Vulture’s well-being.

Just as the two of them were preparing to leave the tomb with the coffin, Han Liuyue’s phone chimed with a notification. She immediately pulled it out and glanced down.

"Is it Chaisi?" Jin Xueli asked.

Han Liuyue had just sent him the solution along with the request for a truck, so this message was probably Chaisi’s confirmation. Just as Jin Xueli thought this, she saw Han Liuyue suddenly shut off the engine and jump back down to the floor. freewёbnoνel.com

"What’s wrong?"

Han Liuyue didn’t answer. She walked straight to the other empty sarcophagus, shone her flashlight inside, and examined it carefully.

Jin Xueli didn’t know what she was looking for. After a full minute or two, Han Liuyue suddenly let out a small "Ah!" and pinched something between her fingers.

"There really is something... How did Brother Chaisi know there might be something in this sarcophagus that shouldn’t be here?"

Her curiosity piqued, Jin Xueli moved closer to look.

In the beam of the flashlight, she saw a long, thin strand of red hair dangling from Han Liuyue’s fingers.