The Real Phantom

The Real Phantom is a science fiction novel in Ni Kuang's Wesley series that revolves around the boundary between the real and the illusory. The story's core is raised by the proposition of whether life forms can be transformed: Wesley attends a mysterious gathering to discuss this topic, intending merely to observe out of curiosity, but in the process he comes into contact with a strange place known as the "Place Where Things Become Spirits." There, a mysterious force far beyond ordinary human understanding makes the transformation of species forms commonplace, and boundaries such as those between ducks and hens or snakes and chickens seem to be breakable. Just as Wesley and his companions marvel at the strange phenomena before them, they do not realize that the force has quietly invaded their brains and pushed them into a vast "illusion." From then on, they can no longer tell whether what they see comes from the real world or from manipulated senses and thoughts. The novel continues Ni Kuang's usual approach: it begins with a seemingly bizarre anecdote, advances layer by layer through extensive dialogue, and weaves topics such as biology, life forms, consciousness, and perception into a gripping puzzle. The title "The Real Phantom" is precisely the book's central question: when human perception itself can be rewritten, on what grounds can we determine what is real? The answer lies not in the external world but in whether a person can hold fast to their own thoughts.