The woman hesitated for a second, wondering what her options were.

“You can scream if you want,” Ning said. “Scream and call for help. Or you can try running away too. It will be fun to see if either of those could work at all given I’ve sealed the room so that no sound would escape.”

“No matter how much you cry or beg for help, no one will come to help you,” Ning said. “On the other hand, if you do just do as we tell you, we won’t lay a finger on you.

Seeing no way out, the woman who had called herself Jasmine put her hand on the page of the empty book.

Tim walked forward to activate it, but before he could reach it, the book glowed with golden light as Ning activated it on his own.

“H-how?” Tim asked out of pure surprise. He had never expected that he would come to see one day when he too would find someone who was capable of activating Zurin treasure without someone else’s aid.

Of course, the book Ning had created was no Zurin treasure. It was something he had made, one that simply acted like a Zurin’s treasure. Even if it really had been a Zurin treasure, he could’ve still been able to use it somehow, but this was not the case.

He was simply using an artifact that he had created, and that was something very simple to do.

After the glow of light vanished, Ning took the book away and sat on the seat, while gesturing the woman to sit somewhere else.

“Let’s see,” he said softly. “Ah! The Ring of Illusions, otherwise known as the Ring of Images, Ring of Deception, or the Phantom Ring of Mirages.”

The woman’s eyes opened widely in surprise and she tried to look at the text in Ning’s books, but it was tilted so that she couldn’t read it at all.

Tim got closer and started reading the words inaudibly.

One of the many rings in the woman’s fingers was a Zurin treasure capable of creating powerful illusions, all of which looked very real. There was also a physical component to the illusions, one which could interact with the surroundings at some level.

However, if it was hit with enough force, the illusion couldn’t hold up normally.

Also, the illusions needed somewhat concentration from the user, so most of the time the user had to remain close by for the illusions to appear real or usable.

“So, Penelope never existed,” Ning said, looking back at the woman. “She was just an illusion you were making?”

The girl frowned but was still unable to hide any of her shock at all. Everything that had been said was indeed what had happened.

“Is your name even Jasmine?” Ning asked.

“It is,” the woman said with a somewhat angry tone to her voice.

“I see,” he said. “So you’re the type of criminal that likes to stay by the crime scene and watch the aftermath of your crime, huh? You stole his Horn and acted as though you were going through the same thing.”

The woman grunted angrily and said nothing.

Ning looked down at the book and sighed a little. He had to agree that the woman had the most perfect plan to steal from someone without throwing any suspicion at herself.

By becoming the victim herself.

“Was that gold jewelry an illusion or…”

“Yes,” she said. “Everything is.”

“What about your face?” Ning asked her. “Right now.”

The woman slowly nodded. “I see,” he said. “You must be incredibly talented to be able to use the illusions to this precise effect.”

Ning was still quite surprised by the whole ordeal as he had indeed needed System’s help in the end.

He had been so sure that he could get something from having this woman place her rings on the book, only to never realize that what was putting its hand on the page was just a simple illusion.

He wasn’t even sure when the woman had switched herself with an illusion. Or if she had done this from the very start.

When Ning had finally caved in and asked where the thief was, he was very much surprised to hear that she had been in this room the whole time.

The woman sat back with her arms crossed at her chest. “What now? You gonna throw me to the police?” she asked.

“Maybe. Maybe not,” Ning said. “Where’s the horn?”

The woman pulled up her skirt and pulled out the horn that she had kept attached to her leg. She tossed it to Tim, who quickly caught it.

“We done?” she asked.

“Did you steal anything else?” he asked.

“You bums had nothing for me to steal except for that treasure,” she said. “I was hoping some richer folks would enter the van, only for it to be you two. At least you had a Zurin treasure. My preparation wouldn’t have been wasted.”

Ning leaned against the side of the train and continued staring at her. “If you don’t mind me asking, what is your name?” he asked.

“It is Jasmine. I didn’t lie,” she said.

“And who was Penelope?” he asked.

“Just someone I created,” she said. “I use the names of my friends from my orphanage.”

Ning looked at her deeply and asked. “Why does someone young like you need to steal? Is it just because you like doing it? Or…”

“This is what I’m used to. That’s what I’ve been doing ever since I was a young street urchin who ran away from the orphanage,” she said. “This is all the life I’ve known.”

“Do you wish to learn more about life?” Ning asked. “If you want, you can come on a journey with us.”

The woman frowned. “What nonsense is this?” she asked.

Tim looked at Ning in surprise as well. “Sir Ning, we can’t let a thief—”

Ning put up his hands to stop Tim. “It is no nonsense at all,” he said. “It is a genuine opportunity for you to turn your life around. It is an opportunity for you to know a different life than the one you’ve known until now. Will you take the chance with me?”