Illusion Report

Chapter 195: Chapter 160: Mai Mingle: These Shouldn’t Be Added Memories, Right?

Mai Mingle was well aware that they were all probably thinking the same thing now.

"Why did you put the phone on the ground?" Hai Luwei asked.

"I remember wanting to test if the sound could travel between floors."

Fu Tailan shook his head. "After I went up a few steps, I couldn’t hear the ringing anymore. I didn’t pay it any mind and went straight to the second floor—it wasn’t important, anyway. When I was coming down just now, I was focused on guarding against any potential dangers on the first floor, so I only just realized it was gone."

The group fell silent for a moment.

"So... did you really leave a burner phone here?" Mai Mingle asked.

This thought had likely been lingering in all three of their minds for a while.

Fu Tailan shook his head. "I don’t know."

"It’s a memory the first floor just added to your mind, right?"

Hai Luwei glanced around. "There’s a renovation notice on the door, and we can’t get out once we’re in, so no one else could have come inside. As for residents... aside from the trash chute, we haven’t seen any others in the building. Who would’ve taken the phone?"

Fu Tailan crouched and rummaged through his backpack for a moment, apparently unable to find the burner phone. But when he looked up, his expression wasn’t one of relief.

"The phone really is gone, but I still can’t be sure that event actually happened. I might have dropped it somewhere else. I’m not even sure if I actually brought a burner phone in with me... But what would be the point of adding this false memory?"

They discussed it for a while but couldn’t make any headway, so they had to drop the subject for the time being.

A person’s existence is, in essence, the continuation of their own memories.

Mai Mingle discovered that when her memory could no longer be trusted, when it had to be constantly questioned and re-examined, the mental strain was unexpectedly immense and utterly draining.

After all, self-doubt is the most draining thing of all.

Within half an hour, they couldn’t take it anymore. It was like they were all turning into melting ice cream. ’Huh? Why "all"?’ They went from standing guard to bending over and rubbing their legs, then to squatting or half-sitting, until finally, they all collapsed. Backpacks, arms, and legs were strewn about the floor.

"We haven’t slept a wink since last night," Mai Mingle said, letting out a long yawn. "How about we take shifts and get some sleep?"

Fu Tailan immediately agreed with the proposal.

"Maybe if we’re asleep, memories won’t be added. To be honest, I can’t even tell which memories were secretly added and which were originally mine anymore."

"You’d dare to sleep in a Nest trap?" Hai Luwei rubbed his face vigorously. "What the hell? You can’t sleep here, even if you had to take amphetamines to stay awake!"

"You have amphetamines?" Fu Tailan suddenly opened his eyes.

’This kid... he really perks up at the mention of stuff like that.’

"No," Hai Luwei said.

Fu Tailan immediately closed his eyes again.

He didn’t seem worried that Mai Mingle would hold a grudge and take revenge. He leaned against his backpack, adjusted his position, and his voice was already thick with sleep. "Then why waste your breath... If you’re too scared to sleep, you can take the first watch."

’Mai Mingle dared to sleep in front of ’residents,’ so why would she be afraid to sleep next to humans?’

She also leaned against the wall and lay down, using her arm as a pillow. She mumbled encouragement to Hai Luwei, "You got this. Be careful. Remember to listen to the recording... I’m at my limit."

The break-in had only happened on the night of the 17th, but looking back, it felt like half a year had passed.

In the three days since that night, Mai Mingle hadn’t had a single full night’s sleep. She was utterly drenched in exhaustion.

Even in a Nest trap, the moment her eyes closed, her brain couldn’t wait to flip the circuit breaker, sending her plummeting into a dreamless, undisturbed darkness.

She didn’t know how long had passed when she was finally shaken awake by someone pushing her shoulder. In her daze, she thought it was the social worker.

"...Is it your day to visit again?" she asked, her voice hoarse.

"What?" a young man’s voice replied. "It’s me, Hai Luwei."

Hai Luwei?

’That’s—ah, right.’

’She was young again. She’d gone from a dying shell to the self she remembered...’

’Right, she was young. But the road ahead was only nine months long before she would hit the unavoidable end once more.’

Mai Mingle pushed herself up, her mind still groggy. "I remember now... We’re in the apartment. Is it my turn for watch?"

"No," Hai Luwei said in a low voice. "Fu Tailan and I decided not to wake you. We took turns standing watch. We can leave now."

She froze for a second. "What?"

"It’s already 1:30 a.m. on the 20th," Hai Luwei said, gesturing at the empty lobby. "The apartment’s renovation period is over, so we’re finally allowed to leave. Fu Tailan left a little while ago."

It wasn’t surprising that he had left without a word.

’After all, what could he have said to Mai Mingle when she woke up? "I’m sorry"?’

"Then we should get out of here too," Mai Mingle said, sitting up and struggling to gather her scattered thoughts. "Your memory... has anything been wrong with it?"

"A lot of memories that aren’t mine have probably been shoved in, but I have no way to tell them apart," Hai Luwei said with a wry smile. "What are you going to do now? Head back to Blackmoor City?"

Just as she was about to nod, Mai Mingle paused.

"No, I want to go to the car," she said in a low voice. "I hope it’s still where I parked it..."

"What do you need the car for?"

Mai Mingle thought for a moment. "There’s a memory, and I don’t know if it was planted in my head after we were on the first floor. I couldn’t use Fu Tailan’s phone to record it back then, and I didn’t have a chance to secretly write a note... so I want to verify it with you."

Hai Luwei nodded blankly. "Go ahead, but I can’t guarantee my memory is correct either."

"It’s fine. I just want to confirm one sentence. After Fu Tailan snatched my Illusion, you tackled him and pinned him down, right?"

"Yeah. I’m so worried he’s going to retaliate..." Hai Luwei said, his face clouding over.

"At that moment, didn’t he shout something like, ’Get off me! That thing has nothing to do with time’?"

Hai Luwei froze.

He searched his memory for a moment, then said with some hesitation, "Right... yeah, he did say that."

It couldn’t be ruled out that this was a memory the apartment had implanted in both their minds at the same time, but at this point, Mai Mingle had no choice but to believe it.

"You caught him off guard. That sentence was blurted out, so I believe it was the truth.

"To win the Nest Dominance Game, Fu Tailan has to find a target Illusion. After he found out about my situation, he suspected my Illusion was one of the ones he was looking for.

"In other words... not only is the target Illusion related to time, but he also believes it can reverse a person’s age."

Hai Luwei wasn’t stupid; he now understood completely. "You want to..."

"Yes,"

Mai Mingle nodded and glanced at the pitch-black night outside the apartment.

"I’m not ready to accept my fate. I still want to live. If that target Illusion can reverse time, then it’s my greatest hope."

’But it seems like information about the target Illusion is only provided to contestants after they join the Nest Dominance Game...’

’She had no interest in ruling a Nest, but she had to join.’

"I still haven’t replied to the recruitment invitation that came over the car radio last time, so I still have a chance to enter."

Mai Mingle stood as she spoke and pushed open the apartment’s main door with Hai Luwei. The night wind was cool. If she closed her eyes, it felt almost no different from the mortal world.

"I get it. You think the broadcast in the car might come on again and let you enter the game."

Hai Luwei said this and sighed. "The Nests are truly a product of humanity... Even this place, which had no power or hierarchy, is finally about to change."

Mai Mingle held the door open, let Hai Luwei walk out first, and then followed him.

After leaving the apartment, she glanced back over her shoulder.

’Cynthia, I will save you... even if you’ve already become one of the ’residents’.