Artifact Report

Chapter 286 Jin Xueli: The Dead, Unknown Person
Scott calmed down.

Jin Xueli didn't know when it started, but he suddenly realized that his anxiety, boredom and irritability had disappeared without a trace - the originally hot emotions had now completely melted away.

This didn't mean that his emotions were dead and he had turned into a zombie; she could feel that Scott was still anxious.

But this eagerness, from just now on, quietly transformed into snow-white, calm, laser-like concentration.

Scott thought for a few seconds, pulled out a notebook, and quickly drew a few horizontal lines on a piece of white paper as classification grids.

He looked at Jin Xueli, his tone almost encouraging: "You can organize your thoughts and questions about the current situation, the clues you have, the angle you plan to approach, what actions you can take, and what support you need from me. Tell me."

…How can I describe it?
It was as if he found a box in his brain and packed all the interfering emotions into it; what remained, occupying the main position, was only logic and efficiency.

Is it because the "brain hack" is working?
Jin Xueli is extremely insensitive to time. It feels like Scott drank the medicine ten minutes ago, so it's no surprise that it took effect.

But she didn't know that she was here today to make a feasibility report - she could hardly answer any of Scott's questions.

There are so many strange things in the nest. In addition to the residents and pseudo-images, there are countless strange things that cannot be named, understood, or classified.

The humans who first entered the nest could only rely on their limited understanding to barely separate the myriad strange and bizarre things into two major categories that future generations could understand: residents and pseudo-images - as for the others, they really couldn't even be named.

Just knowing that the ingredients provided by Chai Si came from the nest didn't help the situation at all.

"Aren't you going to wait for Chai Si anymore?" She thought about it and felt really unsure, so she asked.

"Of course I have to wait for him, but just in case, I also have to have a plan B. After all, this is a critical moment and I can't afford to delay." Scott seemed a little disappointed, but still answered.

That’s right, with Chai Si’s style of doing things, it wouldn’t be surprising if he suddenly died one day - no, what’s strange is that he’s not dead yet.

...Ah, maybe he is really dead.

What if Chai Si dies?
If he dies and the company can no longer continue, won't her shares become worthless?

Although there wasn't much she could do, Jin Xueli couldn't stay out of it when she thought that the $9 million was still at risk of being lost - she had to work on the premise that "Chase was dead", and at least she had to keep Scott's company going until the venture capital was in place.

"You've seen the raw materials, right? What do they look like?"

Scott put down his pen.

"It's liquid," he said. "A thick, dark amber liquid with a faint earthy smell. I've tested its composition, but the only detectable, stable chemical formula is H2O. The other chemical molecules are constantly changing and floating, and it's impossible to even detect what they are."

"Ah, that makes sense," Jin Xueli nodded in sudden realization. "Water is indeed the only thing in the nest that's guaranteed to be safe to drink."

Even if it is a pseudo-drug with clear effects, it still takes some courage to take it into your body.

"Based on the current market share of our product, before Chai Si's hunters died, they delivered goods to me approximately once every three months."

Scott said calmly, "It's only one kilogram at a time, and I can just put it in a bottle and bring it over. Once I get it, I add a large amount of water and stabilizer to dilute it... I researched the formula myself, and I use the diluent. Ultimately, only a few thousandths of the original solution is put into the bottle along with the other drug ingredients."

"In other words, nearly a thousand kilograms of product can be produced at a time?"

"There are unavoidable production losses, but they're not that significant. Converted into end products, it's less than 30,000 ampoules."

While talking, Jin Xueli had already found out the terminal retail price of "Brain Hacker" - the product packaging specifications are different, but the price of each ampoule is fixed at 35 dollars, only 20ml; the packaging box recommends drinking it once a day.

"So expensive?" she was surprised. "Are they all sold out?"

“Of course, the demand even exceeds the supply.”

Scott paused and said, "Because its effect... is beyond imagination."

How powerful would that be?
Jin Xueli glanced at the ampoule on the table, and was curious and eager to try it.

The world is indeed too big, as if it is divided into countless parallel spaces, each of which is filled with a huge amount of information - a person may not be able to see another person's daily life in his entire life.

"Brain hacking" seems to be particularly popular among the elite, and belongs to the popular category commonly known as "smart drugs" - but before today, Jin Xueli didn't even know it existed.

"The reason we can only produce 10,000 ampoules per month isn't due to raw material limitations, but rather production line limitations. Chai Si told me I only need to attract venture capital and invest in expanding the production line; I don't need to worry about raw materials."

Scott surprisingly didn't complain; it seemed the "brain hacker" was truly capable of keeping his composure. "So, I think there might be a stable, large-scale source within the lair...it should be easy to find."

That’s because you’ve never been into the nest, Jin Xueli complained inwardly.

"Do you have any undiluted stock solution?" she asked hopelessly.

Sure enough, Scott just smiled bitterly and shook his head.

"The supply from three months ago is long gone. Even the bottle has been scraped clean. I can only give you one box of product... The concentrate is only available in ampoules now." Sunlight filtered through the brown glass bottle, illuminating the clear liquid within. No one could have imagined that within the shimmering luster of the bottle lay a few thousandths of the nest's product.

Jin Xueli refilled the ampoule, stood at the door of the Scott Company building, and thought quietly for a while.

The proportion of the original liquid is too low. Even if the hunters in Blackmore City line up to look at it one by one, they can't see what it is.

Before leaving Scott's office, she asked all the questions she could think of; Scott also repeatedly asked her about her plan in a roundabout way - as a result, neither of them was satisfied with each other's answers, but they had no choice.

Even though Chai Si has no passage, he has a lot of tentacles. I wonder how he discovered this thing in the first place?
The only solution that is not a solution is to go to the nest and try your luck there...

It's always better than finding a needle in a haystack.

Jin Xueli took a deep breath and pushed open the door of the bar "Backlight Room".

Everything that happened in the alley behind the bar a few days ago seemed like a scene from another movie. Although it was vivid and clear, it belonged to another timeline.

I didn’t expect that I would have to buy wine again so soon.

The setting sun at five or six in the afternoon, after a noisy and dusty day in the world, has lost its youthful enthusiasm and turned into a pool of dark gold.

The setting sun fell into the empty bar, with the window frames cutting a straight line across it.

Half of the bar had become old and soft in the rich light, with a special kind of silence unique to an empty room in the afternoon: no sound, only bright dust floating in the air, as if chanting a heavenly song that humans could not hear.

The other half of the bar was shrouded in dim shadows, gloomy and cold, and there sat a stone-like figure.

Jin Xueli was startled—"Mo Landao?"

The figure in the baseball cap seemed not to hear anything, did not look up, and continued to stare at the wooden table motionlessly.

"Oh, you're friends?"

The back door of the bar opened and the bartender, who looked like a Shar Pei, walked in, apparently having heard the noise.

“…Is that so?”

After all, he had been taken care of by Morandao.

He gestured to Jin Xueli and said, "Then you should try to persuade her. Sitting like this is not a solution."

What do you mean?
"Didn't we just open the door? It's okay for her to sit there for a while, right?"

The bartender sighed and lowered his voice, "She came as soon as we opened around five or six yesterday. She seemed to be waiting for someone... When we closed in the morning, that person still didn't come. As soon as we opened today, she came in again and waited. I don't know who she's waiting for, but if you're friends, please try to persuade her."

The bar was empty, and even if he lowered his voice, Morando would have heard it; but she didn't react at all, as if the bartender was talking about someone irrelevant.

Jin Xueli tiptoed to the table and walked into the shadows.

She leaned over and called softly, "Molando?"

Her long hair fell from her shoulders; Morando's eyes seemed to be awakened first and looked up along her hair.

As hot and cold as the polar blue sky, the deep blue eyes that could freeze tears into ice met Jin Xueli's.

Jin Xueli couldn't think of anyone in the world who could be looked at directly by her and still breathe.

"cloth--"

Morandao cut off the sound in time, as if realizing that he almost recognized the wrong person.

She seemed a little dazed, and stared at Jin Xueli motionlessly for a few seconds, then suddenly reached out her hand - her cold fingers tightly grasped her arm.

"Don't go," Morando said with a hint of pleading.

"Ah? I, I'm not leaving..."

Being stared at by her eyes was like being pierced by a long wind in the snowy plains. Jin Xueli was almost at a loss. "What's wrong with you? Um, the bartender said you were waiting for someone..."

"It won't come,"

Morandao sat in the shadow outside the sunset, turned his eyes away, looked at a distant place, and whispered.

"This time... there's no coming back. I know that. After struggling for so long... she finally died in this world."

(End of this chapter)