Artifact Report

Chapter 16: Chase: The Artifact Submerged in the Metropolis
"According to the surveillance footage we obtained,"

As Chai Si drove, he said, "Ivan left the gate of the Wei Family Manor at 11:16 am on November th and never looked back."

Of course, the bodyguard would not go back; as soon as he stole the fake image, he immediately threw his work behind his mind and went straight to Blackmore City without even saying goodbye.

"What about your whereabouts after leaving the manor? How can we be sure of that?" The young woman sitting in the passenger seat had long and thick dreadlocks dyed dark purple. When they fell over her shoulders, she looked like a bunch of flowing lavender.

"I have his GPS record. We are walking the same route he took on the 16th."

The young woman paused and glanced over.

"I know," Chai Si said, his expression unchanged. "Just because he recorded the route on his GPS doesn't mean he actually took that route."

"Yes, I heard we need to contact the manufacturer to retrieve the route data to know exactly where he went," the woman with dreadlocks replied. "Without the police, it's going to be difficult, right?"

Generally speaking, this is true.

But Chai Si has always had good luck.

He soon discovered that there was a grocery store across from Ivan's apartment building. Because people lived on the second floor, they had installed a smart security camera at the door, recording all the comings and goings.

He pretended to be a policeman and smoothly tuned to the time period he wanted to watch - at 10:47 a.m., Ivan's car drove into the street, wandered for a while, and captured a parking space.

It was a Saturday and there was no rush hour traffic. It took Ivan 3 hours and 26 minutes to get from Upstate to Haymore, which was only thirteen minutes longer than the GPS estimate. Considering that it was cloudy and rainy that day, the error of more than ten minutes was not significant and was completely within the normal range.

"If he had taken another route, the timing wouldn't be so close."

Other GPS routes would take at least twenty minutes longer, so the time would not match; besides, Ivan was escaping with his belongings, so logically, he would have gone as fast as possible and would not have chosen the long way around.

As a result, the possibility of Ivan going somewhere else - such as his sister's house, or renting a private warehouse - and handing the false image to someone else for safekeeping is almost non-existent, because the error of more than ten minutes is not enough.

What if Ivan called ahead and asked his sister to wait for him somewhere?

When he drives by, he only needs to hand a package out the window. This slight delay will not be reflected in the driving record.

However, this assumption was quickly overturned by Chai Si himself.

All of Ivan's things were in his hands. He easily retrieved the call records from the telecom operator and found that Ivan had not made any calls that morning, nor had he contacted his sister in the past few days. In fact, there were only two call records of Ivan on the 16th: the first was a call from the captain of the bodyguard team, asking him why he left his job without permission; the second was a call to the pizza shop in the afternoon, ordering a large Italian red sausage pizza.

It's impossible to hand over a priceless fake image to a delivery man you have never met before, right?

It would be fine if the two knew each other; but according to the hunters sent to investigate, the delivery man had nothing to do with Ivan.

It's possible he borrowed another phone, but there's no evidence to support this—and Ivan doesn't seem like someone who would have thought this far in advance.

No matter what, Chai Si still wants to explore every possibility.

He must bring back what Uncle Kai wants; before this goal, no obstacle can stand in his way.

"Mr. Monroe, I have a question--" said the young woman with dreadlocks.

"Just call me Chase," he interrupted. "When other hunters call me Mr. Monroe, it means they know they're in trouble."

Huang Li has not been in the family for long. Before that, she was just an ordinary, unknown hunter. But a while ago, her fame suddenly soared and she became a sought-after talent. Since she was recruited into the Kai family, this is the first time Chai Si has seen her in person.

As far as Chai Si knew, such a transformation in the hunter wasn't that surprising.

The nest is full of all kinds of strange and bizarre creatures. In addition to the illusions that can be brought back to the human world, hunters may also encounter creatures, rules, fields, or things that cannot be defined at all; the intersection with them will produce countless consequences and impacts - of course, not all of them are good.

The vast majority of them are not good.

But occasionally, there will be a lucky guy like the Royal Carp who draws the lottery and when he returns from the nest one day, he has means that he did not have before.

"Chai Si," she changed her tone and said, "I've inspected the Wei family manor, and I can confirm that there's not a single artifact left inside or outside the manor. I didn't feel any artifacts on the way here just now. This also proves that after the bodyguard got the artifact, he took it all the way to Blackmore City... This part is easy to understand.

"But why did he stay indoors after returning home? Since he stole the artifact, he must have understood its significance and value, knowing that someone would definitely track him down. If it were me, I would go home, grab the necessary items, and run away immediately - no, maybe I wouldn't even go home or take the items."

Before answering, Chai Si raised his chin toward the window.

Outside the window, the gloomy, gray, and cloudy sky remained gloomy, threatening to rain; beneath the sky, the gray, dark green woods kept retreating.

"How is it? Do you feel anything?"

Huang Li frowned, paused for two seconds, and said, "The detection range overlaps quite a bit with the last time...still no artifacts."

Chai Si glanced at the time and said nothing.

He didn't know how the royal carp sensed it.

Logically speaking, the ability to "perceive false images" is fundamental and invaluable to hunters; but the problem is that the royal carp's perception accuracy is too poor.

He drove at a speed of 50 kilometers per hour for several minutes, but still had not left the range of the Royal Carp's last detection.

Roughly speaking, her artifact detection range is about five kilometers in radius. As for where the artifact is hidden within this five-kilometer radius, only God knows.

Is such a vague means of perception a treasure that the Hunter family must dig out?
Chase had never seen a nest, so he didn't know the answer to this question.

"That guy Ivan is quite clever."

He returned his thoughts to the present, staring straight ahead at the driveway. He replied, "He knew someone would be after the artifacts that had been stolen from the study, so he took a gamble... He bet he could get away with it."

"Get away with it?" "If the former bodyguard had fled immediately after Vesile's death, everyone would have immediately understood that something was wrong with him. Not to mention, no one knows if Vesile's death was intentional. What if it was murder? If he ran away, he would have implicated himself in Vesile's death.

“If Vesile was murdered, Ivan, who chose to flee, would attract the attention of three parties.

"First, the police investigating the death. Second, the people who murdered Vesile and don't want anyone to discover the clues. Third, the various hunter families who suspect him of stealing the artifact."

Huang Li nodded. "That's right...it's better for him to pretend he knows nothing. Even if he wants to run away, at least he can get through the first few days without attracting attention."

"Yes. He can't stay in the manor any longer, because the first target of those searching for the artifact is the manor. Vesile fired Ivan before he died, so he can leave the manor with just this excuse. Besides, there are four artifacts that have been lost, and he probably only got one. As long as he keeps a low profile, others may not look for him."

"Then how did you find him?" Huang Li asked with interest.

“…I’m lucky.”

"Luck? I don't believe in luck," Huang Li said with a smile, looking at the road ahead. "Everything I have, I earned by myself."

What a youthful answer.

The Nest was not an elementary school teacher; the Nest never rewarded mere effort—but Chase didn't say that out loud.

"Really? Then you probably don't care about the rumors circulating among other hunters."

"What statement?"

“The reason I’m lucky is that I attract good luck to those around me.”

Huang Li probably thought he was joking, and she laughed while looking at Chai Si - just like a cloud shadow passing over her head, her smile dimmed and quickly fell, and she returned to silence.

Those who can become hunters will more or less have sharper intuition than ordinary people.

According to the GPS route, Chai Si got off the highway and entered the city of Blackmore.

A forest of modern skyscrapers made of glass and steel, classical buildings that have stood for centuries, neon advertisements with overlapping light and shadow, office workers striding hurriedly on the street, tourists on the red double-decker sightseeing bus, and their raised mobile phones... like pieces of a puzzle, gradually pieced together before his eyes to reveal the most prosperous, dynamic and diverse metropolis in the world.

Chai Si has lived in Blackmore City for thirty years, and the knowledge and experience he has accumulated so far is probably not even the tip of the iceberg; with a huge population of all kinds and backgrounds, no one knows what will happen next - Chai Si has never thought about leaving Blackmore City, not only because of the Kai family, but also because he needs this unknown, just like he needs oxygen.

If a person lives the same thing every day, then he is already dead and just waiting to be buried.

In order to reduce interference, Huangli closed his eyes and opened the car window, as if listening to the city's arteries.

"No... no... is it Blueland Fifth Street ahead? ... No."

"you sure?"

Huang Li suddenly opened his eyes. "Wait!"

Driver Chai released his foot off the accelerator. As the car slowed down, a flurry of irritating horns blared from the traffic behind him.

The people of Blackmore are not known for their patience and kindness.

"Got it!" Huang Li opened his eyes wide, turned his head to look around, but couldn't shake off the layer of doubt on his face: "Wait, let me look again--"

"where?"

Huang Li acted as if he didn't hear anything. He stuck his head out of the window, remained there in a daze for a few seconds, and then plopped back down in his chair.

"It's gone," she whispered. "I thought there was an artifact nearby... but it's so strange, the feeling flashed by, and when I focused my attention again, it was gone. I promise, my feeling is very accurate, I have never encountered such a situation..."

A flash by?

The car was moving slowly, and the honking and shouting behind him were completely blocked out of Chai Si's mind.

His attention was like a searchlight, sweeping around him and radiating out: roads, streets, buildings, pedestrians and signs... Scenes that he had seen countless times before were all clearly imprinted in his mind one by one, as if they were being seen for the first time.

From a five-kilometer radius, a "flash" of false images...

His eyelids suddenly twitched and his gaze stopped on a round sign with "D" written on it in the distance.

Chai Si had an idea.

He turned his head to look at the opposite lane, and when there was no oncoming car, he suddenly turned the steering wheel, cut across half the road, and crossed into another lane.

Amid the clatter of brakes, horns and curses, he held the center of the steering wheel with one hand and honked the horn continuously to warn people. At the same time, the car had already rushed onto the sidewalk; the pedestrians who were frightened and fled to both sides were like waves stirred up by the car.

Huang Li tightly gripped the handle above his head and screamed, "What are you doing? Where are you going? You're going to hit someone!"

The car was driving sideways with one tire under the curb and one tire on the road; they rushed through a row of store doors, startling a customer who had just left the store and causing him to spill coffee all over himself.

Chai Si didn't pay any attention to the chaos and commotion outside the car.

He stared straight ahead and said, "I know where the artifact is."

　Friends, I got up early yesterday morning to go out for some work, and I even sent the chapters in the car. I didn't care about the chapter numbers or the words. I'll serve the dishes first, and get the cutlery when I remember it. Everyone, just eat with your hands first. Well, let's just make do with it, we've been together for so many years.

　　As for what I'm doing today, I'm on my way to the airport. If you go to any major airline headquarters, you'll see my portrait hanging on the wall. Go check it out!

　　Regarding writing, I have complicated feelings. I can't bear to stop talking nonsense. But if I say it, I always see people saying that the writing is better than the main text. Should I be happy about this? After it is put on the shelves, I will just post nonsense. Is it appropriate?
　　
　
(End of this chapter)