Artifact Report

Chapter 106 Mai Minghe: The Second Benefit from Blackmail
The Maiming River seemed to be rising from a deep, dark riverbed.

Someone was rocking her, causing her consciousness to gradually drift back into the light of day. Although she was reluctant, she finally and slowly opened her eyes.

"...He actually fell asleep," said a head with long hair in her field of vision.

Mai Minghe looked at it and was stunned for a moment.

The memory of her sleep was a step slower, and it finally surfaced. She couldn't help but gasp and stepped back, almost bumping into the wall: "What are you doing?"

She quickly moved her hands in her trouser pockets and felt them—a lipstick on her left hand and an eyeball on her right hand, both still there; her eyelashes were still gently pricking the skin of her palms.

Mai Minghe was a little surprised that she actually fell asleep surrounded by wolves; it seemed that she was too tired.

The restraining power of the rules is really strong; once the face piece is in her hands, the residents cannot come up and snatch it, even if she is asleep.

The long-haired woman squatting on the ground with her back to Mai Minghe was silent for a second or two before she said, "What should I do? You ask—you ask me what I want to do? I also want to ask you what you want to do! If you don't give me back my eyes, what exactly do you want—"

"Girl, calm down," Mai Minghe said as she sat up from the ground. "It's really hard for me to hear you talk like this just after I woke up."

The long-haired head stopped understandingly.

The man and the back of his head stared at each other for a moment, but the back of his head gave in first and spoke: "What do you want?"

What should I do? Mai Minghe was stunned by the question.

What can I do?
Being caught in this face-finding game, she had no choice. Even if she risked her life to find all her faces, she would only be able to leave with nothing to lose and nothing to gain - wait, from what this resident said, could she "be" able to make conditions?

"...You've put me through so much trouble, you deserve some compensation, right?" she asked tentatively.

The silence at the back of his head lasted for several seconds, which gave Mai Minghe great encouragement.

"Besides compensation, you need something else in exchange for your eyes, right? Let's put it this way, this is the only fair deal." Mai Minghe was ready to ask for a high price, just in case the other party didn't pay him back immediately. "They say the eyes are the windows to the soul, right? Helen Keller also said, 'If I had three days of sight—'"

"Shut up!" A sharp scream suddenly came from the back of my head. "Are you an old lady? You're such a chatterbox!"

...Your words are a bit hurtful, you are indeed a resident.

It seemed to take a deep breath—yes, it should have a nose on the other side, so it could breathe—before saying, "I understand. You'll only return my eyes if you offer me something in return. Get out of here soon, right? Okay."

Mai Minghe didn't expect it to agree so readily, and was stunned.

"What...what benefits?" she asked hesitantly.

"The lipstick is for you," the resident said with an inexplicable pride.

"You've already used this lipstick, who wants it? Besides, I don't wear it—" Mai Minghe suddenly realized, "Oh, it's that, that artifact?"

"Of course. Didn't you expect that? We residents can't use or have any use for the artifacts, so it's useless for you humans to attack us with them. But for a few artifacts, even if we can't use them, we still feel a strong or weak desire to possess them. This lipstick is one of them." The back of the head said, "Generally speaking, artifacts that residents also want to possess will last longer after leaving the nest. You're getting a good deal."

It was probably meant to add weight to the lipstick. Mai Minghe nodded as she listened, but then suddenly paused. "It has... an expiration date?" She looked back blankly and asked, "What expiration date?"

Mai Minghe could not discern the residents' emotions from their thick, long hair.

It paused for a moment, and when it spoke again, its tone had changed, as if there was a hint of laughter stuck in its throat; the tone was sharp, like the corners of a mouth turned up.

"...You don't know?" It asked slowly, as if enlightened. "Could it be...you've only been a pseudo-image hunter for a short time? How many times have you entered the lair?"

Mai Minghe didn't say anything.

"Ha, ha, ha." His hair trembled a few times as he laughed. "So you really don't know? Every artifact that leaves the nest and enters the human world has an 'expiration date.' Once that expiration date is reached, both the artifact itself and the effects it creates disappear."

This was indeed the first time Mai Minghe had heard of it.

She sat on the ground in a daze, trying several times to raise her hand and touch the "snake belt" on her body, but it seemed that no strength could flow in her muscles.

Does the "Snake Belt" also have an expiration date? When it expires, she will return to being eighty-six years old - no, it's probably more than that, because after wearing the "Snake Belt", her body is still experiencing the passage of time; it should be eighty-six years old, plus the time she has experienced since then, right?

If the validity period of the "snake belt" is very short... then the youthful vigor at this moment is nothing but a fleeting dream before she leaves this world.

It was hard for her to accept.

"Where can I see the expiration date?"

"As for the lipstick, it's on the label at the bottom. But you can't see it until you leave the nest. Because there is no countdown when you are in the nest."

It really knows a lot... Mai Minghe thought about this and asked hurriedly, "What about those brought back after leaving the nest? Will the countdown stop?"

"It will pause. When it returns to the human world, the countdown will continue."

At least in the nest, she didn't have to worry about getting old again... But she remembered Jonah saying that humans could only stay in the nest for a maximum of seven days at a time; after seven days, they would be decomposed and digested by the nest.

When the back of the head said this, Jianjian laughed twice, "So you don't know anything. You can force something out of me, so you really can't be underestimated. This gives me an idea..."

Mai Minghe sensed ill intention in its words, so she jumped up and hurriedly took two steps to the side. But then it turned its head slightly, still facing her with its back straight, and said, "Why are you running away? I know what the second benefit is for you. I don't have to bleed, and you can't refuse."

"What is it?"

"A few minutes ago, a hunter who mistakenly entered a local game failed to pass the level." The words from the back of his head made Mai Minghe stunned.

"Originally, the hunter should have been punished. The punishment wasn't too severe, just losing half his life and never being able to stand up again. But if you wish, the hunter's punishment can be changed... to 'answer all your questions without reservation and share all the information about the lair.' In other words, be your guide."

For a moment, Mai Minghe even suspected it was a lie. "Can you make such a decision?"

The back of the head ignored her and said, "If you agree to this condition, set off now and meet him at the entrance of the Blue District Library. How about it? Are you willing to accept it?"

　This is a transitional chapter, so it's relatively short, but the long-awaited wheat milk is back!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)