Artifact Report

Chapter 14: Chai Si: The Vast Sea of ​​Sky
"...AED defibrillator, cardiac injection, epinephrine,"

The prosperous neon lights on the distant shore fell into the water and were pushed by the waves, gradually turning into patches of dim yellow and dark green ripples, swaying along with the ship's body on the dark waves.

"And lastly, a broad-spectrum antibiotic, in case we're going to be here for a while."

After the contents were introduced one by one, the lid of a silver-white medical box closed with a "snap"; a big hand with five long fingers grabbed a long black tube from under the seat.

"This is a cautery gun. It can be used to seal large wounds, sever blood vessels and nerves, and prevent people from bleeding to death. It's very useful."

Along with a cheerful voice, the big hand patted the shoulder of a man in a white coat next to him.

"Let me introduce you to Dr. Nate. He's a great guy. Not only does he provide me with everything, he's also willing to personally come and handle any emergencies... For example, after I cut off your limbs, he can guarantee that you won't die or fall into a coma."

Dr. Nate said nothing, his lips were tightly pursed, his face was distorted, and his complexion was pale, as if he was a cloud of mist floating in the night.

The cautery gun was lowered, and a pair of hands clapped loudly. "Come, say thank you to Dr. Nate."

In response, he was met with an indistinct cry - a man with his limbs tied behind his back and tightly wrapped with tape from head to toe, with only his eyes and nostrils exposed, struggled desperately for a few times, causing the boat to sway and stir, stirring up the sound of soft waves.

"I spoke for Dr. Nate. You're welcome. It's what needs to be done."

The tall man in an expensive suit, still smiling, leaned over and patted the tied-up man affectionately.

His black hair was combed back neatly and shiny, and it shimmered slightly in the night above the sea.

"Don't worry, I haven't finished introducing myself yet."

He spread his fair hands, flipped and grasped with his right hand, and easily pulled a heavy dumbbell plate from under the seat. "Each severed arm or leg will be strapped to a 25-kilogram dumbbell plate. You can watch your limbs sink into the sea with a thud..."

He whistled, and his fingers moved nimbly, swaying from top to bottom, like a few fish swimming into the water.

“…Like this.”

The man, wrapped like a mummy with tape, let out another muffled, heavy roar, like a wild animal trapped in a bag and unable to break free.

The man in the suit leaned back in his chair and looked at his prisoner with a playful look.

"Are you ready to talk?"

The tied-up man twisted his body desperately: "Ouch, ouch!"

The man in the suit flicked away a knife, estimated the location of the mouth, and suddenly cut the tape deeply with the tip of the knife - blood and screams immediately splashed in the night.

Slender fingers reached into the tear in the bloody tape and pulled out a large ball of medical cotton.

As soon as the thing left his mouth, panting and retching began to flow out of the man's mouth, intermittently: "Who are you? What do you want..."

The man in the suit leaned closer and stared at his prey, his eyes so dark that not a single ray of light could be reflected.

"I'll cooperate with you, whatever you want. You don't have to be so cruel..." As the bound man spoke, the wound on his lip tore even wider, his face twisted in pain, wet in the night. "I'm just a nobody, nobody..."

"That's wrong."

The man in the suit raised his index finger, interrupting him. "You're a nobody, like a minor character in a movie. If you die, you die. No one cares. If you want me to let you go, you have to make me care about you first, right?"

The tied-up man was stunned for a moment.

"You might ask, how can I start to care about you? I have to understand you and empathize with you first."

The man in the suit crossed his long fingers, like a white bridge in the dark night. The dial of his watch glowed faintly in the night, a semi-arc of light.

"Come on, tell me, who are you?"

"My name is Ivan. I'm twenty-nine years old and my hometown is—"

"No, I don't want to listen to your resume. It's boring." The man in the suit interrupted him and said encouragingly, "I want to know what hopes and losses you have in your life? What are your dreams?"

Ivan, with tears and blood all over his face, was stunned. "My dream...?"

"Yes. You don't plan to be Vesile's bodyguard for the rest of your life, do you?"

Ivan shuddered, and a light of realization flashed in his eyes.

"Could this be related to Mr. Wei——"

"What's more," the man in the suit turned a deaf ear and continued, "Weisile died a tragic death yesterday, and you can't even protect yourself today. You're not doing a very good job as a bodyguard, so you might as well quit in the future."

"I do not know anything……"

"Don't waste your energy." The man in the suit's thin lips cut through a smile like a knife. "Anyone who can't impress me is just a bag of skin. I don't care how much of their body ends up on the ocean floor."

There was silence on the boat for a few seconds.

"Go ahead."

Ivan probably never dreamed that he would start to express his true feelings in this situation.

"I, I understand. My dream is to become someone like Mr. Wei..."

"Richest man? State legislator? Recipient of the Outstanding Contribution Award on the Climate Issue?" the suited man asked with a smile, "...or the true ruler of Blackmore City?"

Ivan simply nodded, saying nothing. He stared blankly at the distant Blackmore City, the neon advertisements and skyscrapers lining the shore. Across the central bay, illuminated by countless lights, the dark waves gently lapped and rocked the small boat.

"Very good." The man in the suit nodded. "What did you do to realize your dream?"

"I didn't do anything," Ivan said hastily, coming to his senses. "Mr. Wei's death has nothing to do with me..." "You're going in the wrong direction." A large, white hand waved in the darkness, the manner of a director directing a scene. "I didn't say you had anything to do with his death, but after he died, you didn't do anything?"

"I do not understand……"

"You have goals but no action. You're such a weak character, it's hard to sympathize with you." The man in the suit almost looked disappointed. "You don't even want to help yourself, so why should I let you go?"

Ivan hesitated for a few seconds, his mouth dripping with blood, before finally speaking tentatively, "After Mr. Wei died... I didn't leave, I stayed. Does this count?"

"Oh?"

"Mr. Wei fired me the night before," Ivan said hastily. "I should have left, but I didn't want to leave the Wei family, so I didn't tell anyone."

"Why did he fire you?"

"It's just a coincidence." Ivan's moist, glistening mouth paused for a moment, then he whispered, "I didn't do anything wrong... I was just trying on some pants..."

The man in the suit raised an eyebrow and the corner of his lips. "Pants?"

"Right, right... You'll understand me after you listen." He paused, then suddenly said, "Did you know that Mr. Wei speaks very quietly? When I first took office, I was surprised. I thought such an important person spoke loudly."

Ivan's teeth were stained blood red, but he seemed to have forgotten the wound and couldn't stop talking.

"Later I realised that because he spoke so quietly, others had to pay closer attention. When he spoke, he didn't worry about whether others could hear him; that was the listener's responsibility.

"You see, even the rise and fall of his voice is very particular and requires a certain level of knowledge... So when I'm not doing anything, I've gradually started to act and dress like Mr. Wei, and even use a cologne with a similar scent. I feel like people look at me differently when I go out."

The man in the suit handed a cigarette to Ivan.

He took a puff, and the cigarette butt shone red on the dark sea under the night sky; his cheek twitched again in pain, but his tone and expression were much steadier.

"Mr. Wei and a group of us staff have been living at the Upstate Manor for a while now. The night before last, he went to a party, and I was on my day off, so I didn't go with him. When he suddenly returned early, I happened to be putting on my pants in his room, and he caught me.

"He probably thought I was having an affair... His face turned purple. But how could I have done that? He didn't believe me, so he pushed me away and went into the bathroom and cloakroom to check everything before confirming that I was really alone..."

Ivan smiled bitterly, "Then he realized I was wearing his pants. I just wanted to know what it felt like to wear his pants...but he got furious and fired me on the spot, telling me to pack up and leave the next morning."

The man in the suit threw his head back and laughed, his deep and loud voice echoing through the night.

"It's interesting, but that's all." He patted the cauterizing gun with his large hand. "You want to be the pinnacle of wealth and power, but all you have to do is sneak into someone's pants? That's it, what can you achieve?"

"Of course it's not that simple,"

Ivan was irritated for a moment, and blood splattered as he argued.

"Imitating his dress and manners is only one aspect, but I never miss an opportunity to act. When I heard yesterday that Mr. Wei had died in his study, I immediately thought that the news of my dismissal had not yet spread. Only Mr. Wei and I knew about it. If he died and I didn't say anything, it would be the same as if I hadn't been fired. No one would know at all.

"So I immediately rushed to the study door, pretending to be at the scene and waiting for the police, but in fact I secretly—"

Ivan suddenly stopped talking.

In the darkness of the night, the only sounds were the crashing waves and his heavy breathing.

The man in the suit stared at Ivan and slowly leaned over, like a giant python, slowly moving down the branch.

"So... you've been into the study." he whispered.

Ivan seemed to realize that when the interrogator does not reveal his purpose, the person being interrogated will make mistakes that he or she does not know why.

“…What happens after we get in?”

Seeing Ivan refused to answer, the man in the suit raised his hands. Against the dark sea of ​​sky, they looked like two giant white palm-leaf fans—one hand could cover the entire head and face of a grown man.

"Strange, isn't it? I showed you the first aid supplies, but I didn't show you what I was going to use to break your arms and legs. That's because I only remembered when I got on the boat that I forgot to bring my chainsaw. Luckily, I have some confidence in my hand strength... I can just cut through the skin and tear you apart layer by layer. Bones are much easier to deal with. They'll get stuck on the edge of the boat and I can break them with one foot."

In the dark night, the man in the suit smiled silently, his white teeth sharp and neat.

"Why did you go into the study?"

This time, Ivan answered quickly. "I, I just wanted to see if I could find anything... What if there's something valuable? I saw a watch..."

"Why did you come into the study?" The man in the suit gently placed his hand on Ivan's arm.

Ivan swallowed a mouthful of blood and saliva.

"You probably also know that what was lost from Vesile's study does not belong to this world. Anyone who touches it when they shouldn't will only be swept away by the fate it brings, just like you are now... The sky and the sea are vast, and there is no way out."

The man in the suit closed his eyes and took a long breath through his nose, inhaling the fishy smell of the sea, the smell of gasoline from the boat engine, and Ivan's fear deeply into his lungs.

When he spoke again, his voice was hoarse.

"The fake image in the study, where are you hiding?"

　Today started a huge hassle... As soon as I landed yesterday, I received a text message saying that the second flight was cancelled, so I urgently refunded and rebooked, but there were no flights, so I could only fly to Guangzhou today. For no reason, I had to travel a long way extra and lost a lot of time.

　　The next few days will be tense, tiring and painful. Jet lag? No such luxury, you can fall asleep in the blink of an eye.

　　Ugh.

　　I really want to go home and spend a year in peace and quiet, preferably with a new ink screen in my arms.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)