Illusion Report

Chapter 223: Chapter 186: Mai Mingle · Lipstick

Pretending to look for the waitress, Mai Mingle nonchalantly turned her head. Her gaze swept over the corner booth behind her, then circled the bar to complete the act before she turned back around.

Even though she’d never seen him before, she recognized Chaisi Monroe at a glance—after all, his looks and bearing were practically unmistakable.

Chaisi Monroe was not alone.

Beside him sat a girl with long, light brown hair and a bright, pixie-like face that was instantly likable. Across from them was a black-haired woman wearing a straw sun hat, despite it being the middle of the night and indoors.

Because their booth was at the very end of a corner, the woman in the straw hat had her back to the entire bar, facing only the other two. Her features were hidden from view.

For some reason, neither Chaisi’s nor the light-brown-haired girl’s eyes would rest on their companion. Their gazes darted to the left and right, pointedly avoiding her.

By the time Mai Mingle turned back around, no one at that table seemed to be talking. The atmosphere felt very strange.

"Didn’t I tell you not to look..."

Hai Luwei grumbled, his hand over his mouth. He was slumped over the table, looking as if he wished he could melt and ooze away across its surface.

"Ahem, it’s not like they noticed, right?"

Mai Mingle was so hungry she fished the ice cubes out of her glass. "I remember now," she said, chewing on one. "I think I’ve seen him from behind before, but this is the first time I’m seeing his face. The kid is handsome! Tall and well-built, you can tell even while he’s sitting. Your description made me think he was going to be hideous... So much for one’s face reflecting one’s heart."

Such strong young teeth, crunching the ice cubes to bits. CRUNCH, CRUNCH. The noise made it even harder for anyone far away to overhear her.

Hai Luwei kept his eyes downcast, his expression a mixture of grievance and dejection. He didn’t answer her.

"I have a grandniece who, ever since she was a little girl, refused to even look at a guy unless he was handsome. She’d be thrilled to see him. They’d look good together, too. My grandniece is tall and beautiful... Oh, whoops, I forgot. She must be at least fifty this year."

Hai Luwei buried his face in his hands.

"It’s a little strange, though... Didn’t he just get out of the hospital? Why come straight to a bar? Young people these days don’t know how to take care of themselves."

Hai Luwei lowered his hands, his eyes shining with a light that could only be described as gossipy.

"The hospital? How do you know?"

This time, Mai Mingle looked up for the real purpose of finding the waitress.

"Good looks are one thing, but his complexion is sickly. Ahem, I’ve seen enough sick people in my day to know at a glance that something’s wrong with his health. And he still dares to drink? Besides, there’s a hospital gown peeking out from under his jacket collar."

Hai Luwei was clearly fighting the urge to look again. "Really? How did I not see a hospital gown before?"

"Not all hospital gowns look alike, but I happen to have seen that particular style before," Mai Mingle reminded him. "I’ve lived in Blackmoor City for eighty-six years, you know."

A faint look of admiration appeared on Hai Luwei’s face. "That’s right."

The two of them fell into a brief silence.

Mai Mingle pricked up her ears. It seemed like no one was speaking at Chaisi Monroe’s table either—or perhaps their voices were too low to be heard over the bar’s din.

"What a coincidence..." she said hesitantly. "What should we do? Will this affect our plans?"

Hai Luwei thought about it seriously.

"I was startled too... but on second thought, I don’t think it’s a big deal. If our conversation with Dr. Nate was really that significant, Dr. Nate would have just made a phone call, and he would have known by now. As things stand, either he doesn’t know, or he knows and it has nothing to do with us."

Hai Luwei used the pronoun "he" to refer to Chaisi Monroe. After all, people are very sensitive to their own names, and despite the bar’s noisy environment, there was always a chance he might overhear.

"Most people in this bar probably recognize him, but look, everyone’s minding their own business, and everything’s peaceful. He may have a bad reputation, but he’s not a mad dog. As long as we don’t cause any trouble, he’s not going to go around biting strangers one by one. If you ask me, we should just do what we planned to do and act like we don’t know him. Don’t worry too much."

He seemed to convince himself and nodded, just as the waitress arrived with several plates.

The moment they saw the food, nothing else in the world mattered.

The two of them wanted nothing more than to bury their faces in the plates. Their chewing speed couldn’t keep up with the furious hunger demanding they shovel food into their mouths like an assembly line—a pity, since not even a Hunter could grow a second mouth.

Before long, both of their cheeks began to swell, making them look like a chipmunk and a squirrel who had suddenly gained human form. The two "rodents" continued to stuff their mouths with a small mountain of chicken wings, fries, and burger patties, their jaws straining to chew and swallow.

"You two should drink some water when you get a chance," the waitress said as she passed by, unable to bear the sight. "Did you just wake up after coming out of a Nest?"

"Myeah, juss wobe up." Hai Luwei somehow managed to find his tongue amidst a mouthful of food and speak with it. "We hab an Illushun we wanna sheh."

The waitress had seen it all. Without batting an eye, she even managed to understand him. "An Illusion to sell? How many?"

"Wun."

"Get my attention later, then."

By the time the two of them, drenched in sweat, finally put down their utensils, the table was a wasteland of empty plates and glasses, littered with crumpled, dirty napkins. Mai Mingle was a little out of breath. She leaned back in her chair, feeling blissful, satisfied, and pained by a stomachache all at once.

"Does everyone in this bar know about Nests?" she asked, recalling the waitress’s conversation with Hai Luwei. "They seem to be very familiar with how Hunters operate, too."

"As far as I know, everyone from the owner to the kitchen staff is a retired Hunter," Hai Luwei said. "I think it started out as just a bar, but gradually they started doing a bit of everything... like selling Illusions, finding clients, posting information, looking for people, and so on."

It was finally time.

Mai Mingle took the lipstick out of her pocket and placed it on the table.

"So," she began, feeling that her eyes must be shining brightly, "what does this Illusion do?"

Hai Luwei grinned at her, seemingly infected by her excitement.

"Seeing you like this really reminds me of when I first started out... Look closely at the lipstick. See if you can find a brand name, a label, a shade name, or anything like that."

"A shade name? You know your stuff."

Hai Luwei scratched his head. "I wouldn’t say I know *that* much. Besides, an ex-girlfriend of mine used to love dressing me up in her clothes."

’He certainly doesn’t see me as a stranger,’ she thought.

Speaking of which, ever since she’d gotten the lipstick, Mai Mingle hadn’t really had a chance to examine it properly.

There was a line of text printed on the lipstick tube. It was quite conspicuous, and she found it without any trouble.

[Countdown: 1173 days, 1 hour, 02 minutes]

As Mai Mingle watched, the supposedly printed words suddenly shifted, changing to "1173 days, 1 hour, 01 minute." She was slightly taken aback, then laughed. "So printed words can be a countdown timer, huh?"

Just like an ordinary lipstick sold in the mortal world, it had a label on the bottom.

—A Flock of Birds Crossing the Sky—

7g, Place of Origin: Nest

The shade name, "A Flock of Birds Crossing the Sky," was utterly baffling.

"Keep reading the description," Hai Luwei encouraged.

’The label is tiny. Where could there possibly be room for more of a description?’

Mai Mingle squinted and brought the lipstick’s label closer. To her surprise, she saw several more lines of text, so small they were a headache to read. ’Strange,’ she thought, ’were these lines here when I was looking from a distance?’

***

After applying, speak to your heart’s content.

Say whatever you want. Don’t worry about whether the other person wants to hear it, or whether your words are contradictory, true, or ridiculous.

In fact, it is best to say many contradictory things, covering every possible angle.

Even if one sentence is "I’m going to kill you," and the next is "I’m going to save your life," as long as you have applied this lipstick (it is colorless) and have spoken enough, the other person will seize upon the one sentence they want to hear, ignore all contradictions, and be utterly convinced, completely captivated by you.

As for how many lies you tell or how many times you slip up in the process, it doesn’t matter. Like a flock of birds crossing the sky, your words fill the air for a moment, then vanish in an instant. Afterwards, if someone tries to recall the conversation, they won’t be able to remember a single flaw or inconsistency.

Note: The effect disappears if more than 50% of the lipstick is wiped off. No lipstick lasts forever, so be sure to reapply often.

***

’...What could a lipstick with this kind of effect be used for?’

’It’s not some brainwashing tool that can make someone believe you unconditionally after just one sentence. Based on the description, you have to talk a lot and hope you get lucky enough to say what the other person wants to hear, then rely on the lipstick’s effect to win them over.’

’If you can’t grab their attention right away, who’s going to just sit there obediently and listen to you drone on and on?’

Unable to hide her disappointment, Mai Mingle handed the lipstick to Hai Luwei.

Hai Luwei took out his phone, snapped a photo of the label, and said, "I’ll need this in a bit." He then zoomed in on the photo on his screen. The tiny text that had given Mai Mingle a headache was now much easier to read.

’Smartphones are amazing,’ she thought. ’Once this lipstick is sold, I wonder if it’ll be enough to get a new one.’

Hai Luwei stared at the screen, silent for a good ten seconds or more.

Just as Mai Mingle thought he was trying to figure out how to console her, he finally let out a long breath. Only then did she realize he had been holding it the entire time.

"What’s wrong?"

"This timing..." Hai Luwei looked at the countdown, as if he hadn’t heard her. "Three years... Three years, the timing is just right. There’s even an extra year."

"What’s just right?" ’What does he mean, an extra year?’

Hai Luwei handed the lipstick back, staring at Mai Mingle as if weighing something in his mind. After a long moment, he finally spoke. "This lipstick... It must be an Illusion that was created in recent years."

"How can you tell?"

Hai Luwei seemed to think it would be too troublesome to explain and just waved his hand. "How should I put this... If you put this in front of the right person, it could sell for millions."

"How much?"

Mai Mingle leaned forward, her voice unintentionally loud. The girl with the light brown hair in the corner immediately shot her a glance.

But Hai Luwei didn’t look very excited.

It wasn’t the expression of someone with mixed feelings about watching another person strike it rich. Mai Mingle couldn’t quite decipher what his look meant.

"Millions. Should be no problem."

He thought for a moment, then said, "The bar will take a cut as a brokerage fee, but they have a large network of clients, so I think it’s worth it. I don’t think any of the clients I personally know would need this..."

"There’s something you’re not telling me," Mai Mingle said in a low voice.

Hai Luwei paused, then nodded.

"Any Hunter would sell this for the highest possible price without a second thought, myself included, probably. It’s just that... once it’s out in the world... I don’t know what kind of impact it will have."