Chapter 254: Indistinguishable Illusion and Reality

"Yan Wu! Just what are you trying to do?" the examiner snapped, his expression darkening with anger.

"What am I trying to do? Go fuck yourself!" Yan Wu threw a vicious punch right at the examiner.

The examiner's face turned icy cold. The powerful aura of a Silver 3 erupted from his body. Facing the incoming punch, he struck out with his palm. Despite moving later, his strike arrived first, fluttering past Yan Wu's fist like a butterfly weaving through flowers to plant heavily into his chest.

"Ah!"

Yan Wu let out a miserable scream. He flew backward like a kite with a snapped string and crashed right into the crowd.

The other nightmare apostles naturally refused to pass up a chance to show off in front of the examiner. They immediately activated their abilities and pinned Yan Wu to the ground, keeping him from getting back up.

"Let go of me! You bastards! You're all in on this together! I'm going to report you! I'll take this all the way to the Royal Family!" Yan Wu struggled violently.

The examiner walked slowly forward and looked at Su Mu. "Was this your ability?"

He was no fool. Yan Wu suddenly going mad in the middle of a match with Su Mu was completely abnormal, so he naturally suspected Su Mu was behind it.

Su Mu smiled and nodded. "Just a trivial Illusion Technique."

Hearing this, the crowd immediately realized what had happened. They looked at Su Mu with eyes full of shock.

None of them had expected Su Mu, a man who had only survived the Nightmare World three times, to possess such bizarre methods. A trivial Illusion Technique?

He had affected Yan Wu, a fellow Silver 1, with a single glance. This was an absolute crushing defeat.

Along with their shock, a trace of dread toward Su Mu grew in their hearts. There was no helping it; this kind of method was simply too strange, making it impossible to defend against.

Everyone present was a Silver 1. If Su Mu could instantly defeat Yan Wu with a glance, didn't that mean he could instantly defeat them as well?

"You win this match. Release him," the examiner said, a hint of appreciation flashing in his eyes. A rare Illusion Technique and such formidable combat power—this was exactly the kind of person they needed.

He had mentioned before that the goal of this selection was to build several diversified nightmare squads, not a monolithic group of pure fighters. Su Mu perfectly fit his criteria.

"The illusion was already broken the moment he attacked you," Su Mu said.

The examiner was taken aback. "Then what about him...?"

Su Mu shrugged. "Maybe he is just too stupid and completely confused the illusion with reality, to the point where he didn't even realize it had been lifted."

Su Mu did not speak loudly, but everyone present was a Silver expert. They heard him loud and clear, including Yan Wu, who was still pinned to the ground.

Yan Wu's face turned alternately green and pale. He finally understood why the examiner and the audience had seemingly taken Su Mu's side. As it turned out, he was the one who had been caught in an illusion.

Thinking about how he had stepped onto the stage full of high spirits, only to be played for a fool in front of everyone, he wished he could find a hole in the ground to crawl into.

"Let go of me!" Yan Wu roared in absolute humiliation. "I'm fine now!"

The crowd finally released him. Yan Wu glared fiercely at Su Mu, his eyes burning with monstrous fury. "I do not accept this! You launched a sneak attack!

"Sir Examiner, he must have ambushed me with an illusion before I even got on stage! He's cheating!"

The examiner frowned deeply. "Winners are crowned and losers are vilified. A loss is a loss. Moreover, daring to attack a law enforcer inside the General Law Enforcement Bureau is a serious felony. Guards! Strip Yan Wu of his examination qualifications and lock him in Prison 749."

"Yes, sir!"

A squad of soldiers clad in Exoskeleton Armor immediately marched over.

Yan Wu's expression changed wildly. He had never expected the examiner to be so ruthless. Stripping his qualifications was one thing, but locking him up in Prison 749?!

Prison 749 was known as the graveyard of Transcendents. If he went in there, would he even make it out alive?

He pleaded frantically, "Sir Examiner, this wasn't my fault! It was all Su Mu! If he hadn't used his Illusion Technique on me, how could I have ever dared to attack you?"

The examiner remained unmoved. "An illusion only tricks your brain and amplifies your emotions," he said coldly. "If you truly revered the laws of the Law Enforcement Bureau, you would never attack a law enforcer under any circumstances. The fact that you did proves you hold absolutely no respect for the Bureau in your heart, and only harbor resentment!

"In short, your assault on a law enforcer is an established fact. Guards, take him away! If the prisoner dares to resist, execute him on the spot!"

Yan Wu turned deathly pale in an instant. He knew he was finished. As for resisting? He did not dare entertain even the slightest thought of it. This was the General Law Enforcement Bureau, a place teeming with countless experts and watched over by a powerhouse at the Gold tier.

Even if he had a death wish, he still wouldn't dare fight back.

Seeing the soldiers drawing closer, sheer panic overtook him. "No! Don't arrest me! Sir Examiner, this really has nothing to do with me!"

Yan Wu dropped to his knees with a thud in front of the examiner, kowtowing repeatedly as he begged. He didn't want to die, and he didn't want to go to prison. He was still young, and he was a Chosen One. It was entirely possible he could take first place in this exploration mission, become a noble, and soar into the sky from then on.

He simply couldn't accept his current reality. Just because of a single match, he was about to be thrown into prison.

Thud, thud, thud...

Yan Wu even knocked a shallow dent into the floor. "Sir Examiner, I'm begging you! Please give me one more chance! I really didn't mean to—Su Mu?!"

Having just finished slamming his forehead down, Yan Wu raised his head to kowtow again—only to suddenly realize that the examiner was no longer standing in front of him. There was only Su Mu, looking at him with a smile.

He scrambled to his feet, suddenly realizing something. He looked frantically around, and then froze completely.

He discovered that he was, astonishingly, still standing in the middle of the arena. The examiner and the audience were waiting quietly below the stage, every single one of them staring at him with amazement or bewilderment.

"This... This is still an illusion?!" Yan Wu trembled all over as he stared at Su Mu in disbelief, his eyes swirling with shock and fury.

The thought that he had just been frantically kowtowing to his opponent, Su Mu, in front of everyone pushed him to the verge of exploding with rage.

"It's you! This is all your doing! You bastard, how dare you play me!!" Yan Wu glared with absolute fury, his fierce eyes completely bloodshot as his chest heaved violently.

Such monstrous humiliation was worse than killing him.

"I'll kill you!!" Having completely lost his reason, he was totally unable to suppress his killing intent and lunged at Su Mu.

But Su Mu just gave a faint smile and spoke a single sentence that made Yan Wu feel as if he had fallen into an ice cave. He instantly skidded to a halt, not daring to make another move.

Su Mu said, "Mr. Yan, are you entirely certain that the person standing in front of you... is me?"

Yan Wu stiffened and froze in place. Looking at the smiling Su Mu in front of him, he felt his blood run cold.

He was terrified. He didn't dare strike. Attacking the examiner had been an illusion. Kneeling and kowtowing had been an illusion too. Who could guarantee that right now wasn't an illusion as well?

What if he threw a punch, and the person standing opposite him turned out to be the examiner again?