Artifact Report

Chapter 284 Brianna Brianna's Redemption and Happiness
Ashley was the kind of person Brianna once couldn't understand.

In order to complete the action point and obtain the "False Image Report", Wesley had carefully investigated Ashley Page's background.

Born in a slum, she was raised by a single mother along with her siblings. To continue her education, she joined the Army upon graduating from high school. After retiring, she entered the police academy, and ever since, despite being disadvantaged by her gender and skin color, she has struggled to climb the ranks of the police force.

Before the appearance of Vesile, a benefactor from heaven, Ashley had never received any help, and every step forward was like dragging in the mud.

For what? Power? Status?

Brianna had never before felt the pull of power or status, not even after she had been kicked out of her home.

But Ashley was different. Her desire for power was so strong that even Vesile sighed, "The Nest really knows how to pick its people."

The letter of appointment for the position of director was a sudden surprise, but she grabbed it without hesitation and never even asked about the price - probably because as long as she could climb up, she didn't care about the price.

It turns out that no matter what happens, Ashley can't back down.

Whether it was Vesile's death, the breakdown of officers and the department's systems, or residents peeking out of her eye sockets... Ashley Page managed it all, clinging to her position as chief despite the criticism from superiors and the public.

Brianna didn't understand before; when she was young, she just wanted to travel, hang new paintings by her favorite artists in her house, go grocery shopping and cook dinner with her lover, and agonize over whether to get a cat.

In her imagination of her future life, there is no play that requires the participation of power.

Brianna now understands people like Ashley a little better.

Power is one of the best weapons to fight against absurdity and harm in the world.

"strength?"

Ashley frowned, thought for a moment, and said, "What kind of power? Could it be like that day—"

She suddenly pursed her lips and her throat rolled, as if she was suppressing the urge to vomit.

After taking a breath, Ashley said, "...I can't use the power of the nest."

"What do you think the power of the nest is like? Perhaps we should start our discussion from that point."

Ashley thought blankly for a few seconds.

When she opened her mouth to answer, it seemed to have nothing to do with Brianna's question.

“I…I’m not married and I still live alone.

"After that day... I thought, no matter how weird or disgusting it was, it was all over. My eyeballs were still the only ones in my sockets, and I was still myself. I returned home exhausted, confused, and terrified, and all I wanted was a nice hot bath.

"While I was soaking in the tub, I noticed the water level was dropping, leaving my knees and chest exposed to the air. I thought the drain wasn't closed properly, but after checking, I found nothing wrong; the tub wasn't leaking. Puzzled, I filled the tub with hot water again, but the same thing happened again: the water level kept dropping."

She lowered her eyes and looked at her hands.

"Then I finally realized... as soon as I got out of the tub, the water level stayed still. If I sat in, the hot water would slowly drain away. It wasn't the tub that was leaking; it was me."

It goes without saying where the leak went.

…How funny, Brianna thought.

She hated Green's body and there was no way she could take the risk of seeing the male organ under her again and again by soaking in the bathtub - so she didn't know if she would leak if she took a bath.

"I couldn't understand it. I crawled out of the bathtub, thinking I'd just have a drink and a nap and be fine the next day. As I went to get some wine, someone knocked on my head.

"Like someone knocking on the door."

Ashley rapped his knuckles on the table a few times, then suddenly smiled - there was no smile in his eyes.

"Open the door!" a thin voice sounded from the back of her head.

Ashley said she was so terrified that her mind went blank and she couldn't understand what was happening.

I saw you through the crack in the door, said the thin voice.

You're standing in the kitchen in your bathrobe, holding a glass of wine, right? Well, drinking is not good for your health.

Are you worried you can't sleep? It's okay. Open the door and I'll help you sleep, okay?

There's no point in ignoring me. Your door is already half open.

Don't you believe it?

If you don’t believe me, look—

Ashley, who was on the other side of the desk, suddenly opened his mouth.

Her lips and jaw parted, and the upper row of teeth and the lower row of teeth gradually moved away, revealing a wet tongue in the dark hole of her mouth.

Brianna stared at her, her eyes fixed on her mouth, unable to move away.

From deep in the throat, several fingers were swaying and drilling out, as if feeling the environment they were in, groping around the teeth and upper jaw.

The fingers pressed against his tongue, causing Ashley to gag.

She closed her mouth and swallowed hard several times; when she finally swallowed the finger deep in her throat, her breathing became heavy and sweat appeared on her forehead.

"See?" Ashley said hoarsely. "This kind of power... I don't want it."

Brianna nodded slowly.

Ashley was not a hunter, and the little she knew about the nest came from the most irrational fear; it was remarkable that she was not crazy, and it was normal for her to have such a misunderstanding.

"It's the denizens of the nest who are trying to get out of you and into the human world."

Brianna said calmly. "They don't represent the power of the Hive. The true power of the Hive lies in the Artifact... With the Artifact, everything you want in this world is at your fingertips."

Ashley stared at her.

It wouldn't hurt to tell Ashley about the "Nest Domination Game" - because he wasn't a hunter and wasn't invited. Without Brianna, Ashley wouldn't be able to do anything even if he knew about it.

The other contestants can only participate in their personal capacity; Brianna is the only one who can recruit teammates.

After Brianna finished her introduction, the room fell silent. After a few seconds, Ashley whispered, "You asked me what I wanted... and my answer is, I want restoration. I want revenge. And I also want to move up, to the top of the police system."

She twisted her lips into a smile.

"It's funny, but the real culprit should be Chase Monroe... I know that. He is indeed one of my targets of revenge. But the one I hate most... is that woman. The woman named Quicksilver.

"You said she was a mercenary? I don't see that at all. She's much more aggressive than Chai Si when she gets into action.

"Chai Si escaped. She completed her mission, but she still refused to leave. In the name of cleaning up the mess, she did everything she should and shouldn't have done. She was filled with joy just by making us a little more crazy and a little more terrified... She walked through the police station step by step as if she were visiting an amusement park, enjoying the nightmares unfolding around her feet. Why did she hate us so much? She wouldn't even let us die."

Brianna didn't care what Mercury had done to the police station.

When a person is suffering in hell forever, it is difficult for her to care whether others are hurt or not.

But this allows her to win over Ashley.

After losing Vesile, Brianna urgently needs a new and powerful helper to fight against Chase of the Kai family and Fu Tailan of the Morgan family.

"As long as you help me achieve my goal, all your wishes will come true. This is my promise to you."

She gently extended a hand toward Ashley and said, "Will you?"

…Ashley had no other choice but to be herself.

She knew this; so when Ashley finally offered her a hand and shook it tightly, Brianna wasn't surprised at all.

"Thank you." She withdrew her hand, then thought of a more practical problem. "The favor I asked you for earlier..."

"Oh," Ashley was reminded and opened the drawer. "It's all done."

"So fast?"

"I used some personal connections. Since I don't have a search warrant, I can't ask them to reissue your SIM card in the name of the police. I had to say you're my friend and ask them to do you a favor privately... Here, here you go."

Brianna took a deep breath, stretched out Green's drunken hand, and tried twice before grabbing the old phone on the table.

According to the rules of the "Nest Domination Game," after she lost the Black artifact, she should have received a message that the target artifact had changed hands. However, her original phone had probably sunk to the bottom of the ocean, preventing the message from being transmitted. Therefore, she assumed that the message would have arrived when she got her new phone.

Sure enough, as soon as the phone was turned on, it started buzzing.

Facing failure is certainly uncomfortable, but—

Brianna stared intently at the messages pouring in on her phone.

At first, she just thought, "Ah, the black side has fallen into Chai Si's hands"; until three or four seconds later, another icy truth suddenly rolled into her mind - freezing her mind.

Contestant Jin Xueli.

The girl next to Chai Si, whose temperament and appearance are quite similar to Brianna in the past, turned out to be one of the players in the "Nest Domination Game" - it was she who handed the black side to Chai Si.

Although the message said that it was Chai Si who pointed the gun at Jin Xueli; but from the situation that night, it was obvious that the two of them had reached some kind of alliance.

It is not uncommon for players to form alliances in the "Nest Domination Game".

That is to say...

She vaguely remembered that night, after Chai Si was transferred to the Wei family's hospital, Morandao should have killed him directly.

But Morandao later told her on the phone that someone broke in and rescued Chai Si.

Brianna didn't ask much at the time - because Morando was already in a very bad mood - she always thought that the other party was a hunter from the Kai family, who possessed superior martial arts or a false image, and suppressed Morando, so Morando failed to complete the task and kill Chai Si.

It's so funny. That night, Chai Si was always accompanied by Jin Xueli, wasn't he?

But she never thought that the person who went to rescue Chai Si might be Jin Xueli. They formed an alliance.

She never thought that the reason why Morando failed to complete the task might be because -

It could be because—

Morandao was unwilling to take action against Jin Xueli.

Morando had seen her. Morando had spoken to her. Morando had shown her mercy. Morando had Morando had—

"…What's wrong with you? Are you okay?"

Ashley's voice seemed to come from a very far away place, and it disappeared in an instant.

"Ah, I'm fine."

After an unknown amount of time, Brianna heard her own voice, almost cheerfully saying, "I thought I'd discovered something bad, but on reflection, it's actually a good thing."

Green's body has long been broken and no longer useful.

it's fine.

How do you know it is not a blessing? How do you know it is not a blessing? How do you know it is not a blessing?

There is a most perfect body in the world.

As long as there is that body... there will be one less competitor in the "Nest Domination Game".

With that body, Brianna could return to the one person who was hers and who meant more to her than her life.

My face and hands were all wet, and it was as if I had fallen back into the sea, making it difficult to breathe.

It doesn’t matter, even if the next person Morandao loves is no longer Brianna, it doesn’t matter.

As long as you kill Jin Xueli and put on her body, everything will be fine.

Brianna would be happy again.

(End of this chapter)