Artifact Report

Chapter 29 Jin Xueli Residents' Attack Pattern
When Jin Xueli heard the first words behind her, she felt a little relieved besides being frightened.

"I've noticed you've been resurrected."

Her own voice, like a thick miasma, rose faintly from the back of her head. "You're so gullible, which is unlike me."

That’s great, Jin Xueli thought as she spun her knees and twisted her body, it’s a good thing its first sentence was nonsense.

Even if they had discovered it earlier, what would it matter? No matter what, the two of them would eventually come to the point of risking their lives.

She had already prepared herself mentally, but when "Golden Snow Pear" suddenly appeared in her field of vision, her breathing still involuntarily stopped, as if someone had pushed her in the face.

Compared to the "Golden Snow Pear" I remembered, the residents now looked even more vivid and real: their foreheads glistening with sweat from the firelight, a wisp of short golden-brown hair clinging to their temples; the down on their cheeks, the hot air gushing from their lips...

Those eyes were so bright that it seemed as if nothing was left.

This was Jin Xueli, this was herself—and yet she herself was standing outside of herself, arms raised high, a dark shadow falling towards her.

Jin Xueli finally jumped to the side in time at the last moment. There was a loud bang next to her ear, and a deep hole was bitten in the exhibit. Amidst the flying wood chips, she squinted her eyes and quickly rolled out on the spot. She didn't know how many pieces of wood had pierced her face and the bottom of her hands.

"You should die soon. There can only be one Jin Xueli in the world!"

The strange cry, but her own, echoed in the exhibition hall; "Jin Xueli" exerted force and pulled out a fire axe from the depths of the exhibit formed by wooden strips.

when……?
Before she could even finish her question, Jin Xueli jumped up and ran away - but in her haste, she forgot that she had taken off her shoes earlier. She was left with only socks on her feet, and she had almost no grip as she ran on the bare exhibition hall floor.

At the moment when she was about to fall to the ground, she simply jumped forward in a diving posture - since she opened her eyes again, she seemed to have spent more time crawling and rolling on the floor than standing.

The fire axe made a dull thud and sank heavily into the floor tiles, just one step away from her.

Jin Xueli had never taken off a sock so quickly in her life.

Before the fire axe was pulled out, she pulled off the socks and threw them at the other face of herself, aiming at the eyes. Like any normal person, the resident didn't want to touch the socks with his eyes and quickly turned his head away.

Jin Xueli really wanted to try again, but if she took off her other sock and threw it over, she would have no chance - the resident had already rushed forward and swung the axe high at her.

Almost subconsciously, she kicked the resident's ankle.

After the resident was copied into Jin Xueli, it was just an ordinary body. At this time, another person kicked his leg bone with all his strength, and he staggered back two steps in pain. Jin Xueli seized the opportunity, turned over and got up, running forward with one foot steady and the other sliding.

While running, she couldn't help but recall the ankle she had kicked just now.

She had never thought about this before: What shoes did the residents wear?

She already knew that when residents copied, they couldn't copy backpacks, cell phones, and other items. But what about clothes? What about shoes?

Just now, in that life-or-death moment...

"Wait a moment!"

Jin Xueli knew that she couldn't outrun the residents even if she was barefoot. Moreover, the more opportunities she gave them to speak, the more dangerous she would be. She quickly turned around and called out, "What are you wearing?"

The other "Jin Xueli," who had been chasing closely behind with gritted teeth, was startled by the words, but was not distracted. Instead, he swung his axe first. After Jin Xueli narrowly avoided it, he panted and laughed, "Are you trying to talk nonsense and stall for time?"

"Residents cannot duplicate backpacks or clothing!"

Fearing it might catch up again, Jin Xueli quickly called out, "You've copied my appearance, but the shoes you're wearing are still yours. I'm sure you have this memory of what I wore before coming to the lair today. Look down and think again. Do the clothes you remember match the clothes you're wearing?"

Jin Xueli was stunned for a moment, then actually looked down at her clothes. Even as a den dweller, one couldn't be naked; one usually had to wear something.

The person in front of me, perhaps because he is a "vulture", has to be ready to transform into someone else at any time, so he is wearing ordinary black pants and black shoes that are very compatible with everyone - it's no wonder that Jin Xueli never noticed his clothes; when your own face appears in the night, it is not easy to pay attention to what shoes the other person is wearing.

"That's right," it said clearly when it raised its head again. "When I enter the nest at night, I always wear black clothes and black shoes to avoid attracting attention. If you try to deceive me with this, it would be ridiculous."

It held a fire axe in one hand and kicked lightly with the toe of its shoe.

"I can even tell you that I bought these shoes on sale at Bloomingdale's because I figured, for something I wear in the nest, it's just good quality, not expensive."

This time it was Jin Xueli's turn to be stunned. This line of thought was indeed her own; she could even recall several pieces of clothing that were bought home for the same reason.

"What about you?" The resident smiled at her, a strand of hair stuck to her lip, framing her teeth. "If you really had my memory, you'd find that your clothes don't match."

Jin Xueli lowered her head involuntarily, her eyes falling on her khaki sweatpants.

She remembered that she had put on these pants before jumping out of the window...but where did these pants come from?

Most people can remember where they bought their clothes, but this pair of sweatpants seemed to have been put on by someone just seconds ago. They were so unfamiliar that she was confused.

Why don’t I have any memory of buying these pants?

"It seems that after copying the original owner, the residents will improve and smooth out their memories, revising details that don't conform to the facts and filling in the gaps... That's why you firmly believe that you are me."

While she lowered her head and stared at her pants in a daze, another "Jin Xueli" was slowly approaching; its voice, heat, sweat and feet in black shoes were gradually invading her existence.

"Residents can't be killed, I've heard."

It whispered, "However, I still need to remove your ability to move first, so I can feel at ease... I imagine there's a time limit on your ability to replicate into an adult. If you haven't returned to Blackmoor City to replace me by the time limit, then you should revert to your resident form, right?"

Wait—what is it saying?
It was as if there was a quiet prick deep in my mind, and a light the size of a grain of rice shone through; but the light only flashed for a moment before it was obscured and covered by a heavier, more pressing shadow.

She neither heard nor saw anything - it was as if some kind of intuition beyond the five senses made Jin Xueli suddenly crouch down, lunge forward, hug the resident, and knock him off the ground at the moment the fire axe was swung down towards her forehead.

The resident swung his arm with all his strength, hitting her ears and head hard; but the most fatal fire axe finally brushed past her shoulder, slipped out, and fell on the floor tiles not far away.

The two men fell to the ground together, and the back of the resident's head hit the floor with a sound that made his heart tighten.

"You copied me," it said, still struggling to speak, "then you also -"

Before it could finish its sentence, Jin Xueli pulled out the towel that she had just stuffed into the back of her pants and stuffed it into its mouth.

The resident turned his head left and right to avoid it. Although the towel was not stuffed in smoothly, it prevented it from finishing its words.

Jin Xueli didn't dare to let go. She gritted her teeth and endured the resident's punches. She tightened the long towel with both hands, and seized the opportunity when the other person's lips and teeth were apart to press it deep into the resident's mouth. The towel was like a rope, crossing her other cheek and squeezing his tongue deep into his mouth, making him unable to utter a single clear word except for a humming sound.

"I, I think I understand..." She looked at the distorted face under the towel and whispered, "I think I understand your attack pattern. You really are the resident."

　Yesterday I arrived at the hotel, had dinner, and typed for a while, but I couldn't hold on any longer and fell asleep... I got up early this morning to continue, otherwise I would always feel guilty.

　　This time, the hotel was taking advantage of Qidian. They had a promotional event for the TV series Joy of Life. I had nothing to do with that, but I slipped in a bit, kind of like sneaking in... well, I always feel guilty about having to pay the extra room fee if they audit the account later. Someone at Qidian told me that Mao Ni also stayed there, so if you round it up, you're on the same level as Mao Ni.

　　With such a big step, you can reach Tokyo from the Huangpu River in one step...

　　
　
(End of this chapter)