Am I really hallucinating?

Chapter 465 The Stain of Emptiness

3:57 a.m.

"This park is so big, why don't they install more streetlights? I can't even tell which way is which," Lu Chongming complained, checking his location on his phone.

The most popular star followed behind him, carrying the zombie girl.

After taking a few steps, Lu Chongming turned back and said, "What's wrong? You haven't said a word since the beginning."

There were hardly any lights in the place, and it was eerie to hear him talking all by himself.

"What's there to be afraid of with a vampire and a zombie following you?" Saihoshi immediately retorted with his usual mocking smile.

"You two are both so good-looking, what's there to be afraid of? I'm very superficial," Lu Chongming joked with a smile.

"Roar!" The zombie girl waved her outstretched arms, probably because she was hungry again. She had already eaten a Lu Chongming in such a short time.

Zui Xing comforted her, then looked at Lu Chongming's retreating figure and said, "I'm still very surprised and can't understand it."

"Hmm?" Lu Chongming responded casually.

"You just risked your life without any hesitation?" Saihoshi asked.

"In that situation, if I didn't gamble, we probably didn't have any other better way to break the deadlock."

“It’s not just that.” Saihoshi looked at the zombie girl he was holding in his arms. “A request from an illusion asked you to bring back a ‘pet.’ From the moment I met you, you remained unwavering throughout the entire process. You never considered the meaning of your actions, and you didn’t complain even when you almost lost your life. Coupled with your decisive and reckless behavior, all of this is very difficult for me to understand.”

Lu Chongming said, "Thank you for your kindness."

"Was it that illusion that helped you?"

“Although he doesn’t care about me at all, he has indeed helped me a lot, directly or indirectly. I have my own reasons for coming to Jiangwen Street, but if I want to repay that person’s kindness, it is worth risking my life for.” Lu Chongming said calmly.

“I don’t have time to think about what would happen to my mother if I died in some other way… Thinking about such things too much would definitely make me anxious to death, so I won’t think about it. Whatever is in front of me, I will do my best to accomplish it. I have already been walking on this tightrope in my life. This is my own decision and my current belief.”

Zui Xing: "..."

After walking for a while, Lu Chongming turned back: "Sorry, was I taking this too seriously?"

"No, although he's human, he lives a very sensible life." Saihoshi shook his head and smiled.

"Do you understand? Personally, I'm completely clueless," Lu Chongming said with a self-deprecating laugh.

"No, you understand life very well."

"Zui Xing said in a deep voice."

Walking down the street, she paused for a moment and said, "I am not innocent in the Tarkovsky affair."

"Huh?" Lu Chongming turned his head in confusion. Why was this being brought up all of a sudden?
“When I first appeared on Tarkovsky Street, I wasn’t much better off than this little idiot.” Zui Xing patted the zombie girl’s head. “Although I was a bit smarter than her, my mind was a complete mess. I didn’t know why I was here, nor where I came from. I was completely in a void.”

"In that state, I was targeted by a group of people who placed me under house arrest and developed a subsequent sect, which triggered fanatical events."

Lu Chongming listened quietly.

“I know they lied to me all along, just wanting me to keep giving them my blood to help them expand their influence and gain more profits. I knew all that, but I didn’t refuse. I did whatever they asked for—blood, conversion of my clan. Because they gave me a reason to exist.”

"Me? Actually, I quite enjoy being the center of attention. Every time they hold a big event, I'm placed in the most prominent position like an idol, receiving admiration and adoration from others. Although I don't know why they're so enthusiastic about me, haha, I'm quite superficial myself..."

Lu Chongming slowed his pace slightly and walked alongside her, but still didn't interrupt, or rather, he couldn't say anything more at this moment.

Are you asking how I finally gave up on all of this and escaped?

Lu Chongming nodded.

"Because of a human, a woman, from what you call an agency. She infiltrated to investigate the cult, and she's very capable. She found me silently. She originally planned to kill me to eliminate any future trouble, but ridiculously, she softened her heart..." Saihoshi tried to force a sarcastic smile, but she couldn't manage it after a few attempts.

"She said I didn't need to stay in that kind of place, that I could stand on a more respectable stage. Like... a star?"

"That's still a bit difficult, isn't it?" Lu Chongming couldn't help but ask. Can a tainted individual become a celebrity and withstand scrutiny?
But then he remembered that Miss Lin Yilin had mentioned that Mr. Illusion was a guitarist in that popular monastery band.

That's fine, it can withstand any investigation.

"She wanted to take me away from there. I didn't refuse, and I also wanted to see the life she had told me about. That was actually my first official trip outside of the world since I first came into it; the people of that sect never allowed me to go outside."

Zui Xing took a deep breath: "I didn't have time to see much. We were discovered, the cult members caught up with us, killed her, and took me back..."

"...What did you see?"

"I saw the starry night sky and the bustling city in the distance. Under the black curtain, the natural light and the city lights together created the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen since I came into this world. The stars... I don't like the moon that is too bright, but I really like the stars."

Zui Xing lowered her eyes slightly: "My name was given to me by her. I asked her why she risked her life to help me, and she said that she came to save more people, and she arbitrarily included me in the group she wanted to save... This is her belief."

“I see.” “After that, I found an opportunity to escape during the Bureau of Follow-up Affairs’ crackdown on the sect. Because I always acted obedient and harmless, they never expected that I would resist, or even have considerable strength… You know the rest.”

As the memory of the most beautiful star came to an end, she looked at Lu Chongming and said, "I really envy you. The almost eternal life of tainted creatures is ultimately nothing. Humans are born into this world without their own will, yet they still have parents who are willing to guide them, but we have nothing."

She looked down at the zombie girl again: "She's a happy 'little dog'."

"I'm not a vampire, just a 'stray dog' whose destination is unknown."

Lu Chongming wasn't good at comforting others; otherwise, he probably wouldn't have watched that girl die. However, perhaps he should have said something: "You'll find her. I'm shallow, but you're beautiful, and you're a good person at heart—ah, a vampire. This place is cruel, but..."

He hesitated for a moment, then finally managed to say, "At least we met tonight, didn't we?"

Zui Xing couldn't help but burst out laughing: "Hahahaha! What are you saying? It sounds like you're confessing your love. It's hilarious."

Lu Chongming also blushed a little.

rustling...

The sudden noise immediately put the two, who had been in a relaxed atmosphere, on alert, and they looked toward the source of the sound.

"Who's there!?"

Whizzing!

Blood-red thorns shot out from the grass.

Lu Chongming swiftly drew his sword, unleashing electrical energy to charge and cut down the thorns.

Zuixing threw the zombie girl in his arms directly into the bushes. The zombie girl screamed in mid-air and slapped down with her claws, blowing the bushes and the ground away.

"Huh?" But the zombie girl didn't smell any human life force.

Gunshots rang out, and silver bullets were fired again from the dark forest, aimed at the brightest star.

Ding-ding-ding-ding!

With a single, swift slash of its claws, the star dispersed all the bullets. Its eyes flashed, and a crimson laser beam swept through the forest, leveling the entire area.

A chaotic scene ensued, but they still couldn't find any trace of the other party.

“It’s that human,” Zui Xing said warily, looking around.

Lu Chongming called out directly, "Captain Kang, is that you? We can talk."

“Lu Chongming, you said before that you only wanted that zombie, but now it seems that what you want is not so simple.” Kang Zhengshan was hiding in the forest, and his voice echoed all around.

“…Indeed, I really have nothing to say now. I have no choice but to accept this credit.” After a moment of silence, Lu Chongming did not intend to argue further.

"He usually pretends to be a simple and honest person in the bureau, but inside he is a complete scheming man. I have fully realized that."

"If we're talking about ambition, you're not far behind if you're willing to kill me over something as trivial as stealing credit."

Kang Zhengshan remained noncommittal: "You certainly have a sharp tongue."

"This isn't just a matter of words," Lu Chongming said in a deep voice. "Who exactly are you working for? Who contacted you and made you come here alone to pursue us? Is it simply because of your personal greed and your desire to settle scores with me?"

"Stop speculating..."

"And Che Rufeng, he was also sent by the person behind you, wasn't he?"

Kang Zhengshan shouted, "I told you not to make any more wild guesses! You're just pushing yourself into a corner!"

"Is my situation tonight any different from a desperate predicament?! Answer me, Kang Zhengshan!"

A bat suddenly darted out of the darkness beside Kang Zhengshan and lunged at him.

Kang Zhengshan's scimitar swiftly sliced ​​the bat in two, and he left the spot without pausing.

The next moment, a thick bolt of lightning illuminated the darkness and engulfed the spot where he had been standing.

Boom!

The zombie girl leaped towards Kang Zhengshan, who blocked her claws with his curved sword. He then drew his gun and fired a series of shots into the zombie girl's open mouth, making her scream in pain.

After taking the opportunity to kick the zombie girl away, Kang Zhengshan quickly turned around and used his knife to block Lu Chongming's sudden attack.

"I've been the team leader of Jiangwen Subdistrict for five years, and you, a mere one-month-old kid, dare to question me?!"

Kang Zhengshan's face was ferocious.

(End of this chapter)