Artifact Report

Chapter 313 Brianna: Compassion and Love
Black stood at a distance, holding his breath, forming a dim background; in front of him, Vesile turned his head slightly, revealing several loose, piled-up wrinkles on one side of his neck.

A patch of stubble had already begun to sprout on his chin, half green and half white, like the shadow of shifting suspicion.

Vesile had just stepped through the second door when, in order to stop Brianna, he turned around, bracing one hand against the doorframe, revealing a wedding ring on the base of his finger.

That moment, that scene, was forever etched into Brianna's mind.

She always felt that it was the last time she would see her father.

Since that moment, she has seen many more Vicilays: those who cursed, those who cried for help, those who struggled and resisted, those who almost killed her... but all of them were strangers, and in retrospect, they did not resemble the father she knew.

The last time she saw her father—as she later described it during police questioning—he was standing inside the door, having just finished telling her to leave.

He turned his head away halfway, as if his mind was completely occupied by the shadows, and didn't look at her even once.

It has always been like this.

Even if she stood a few steps away, Vesilé rarely saw her.

Brianna raised her eyes, her gaze passing over Vesilé and meeting her own in the distance.

Even though Fu Tailan didn't know the cause and effect, he knew they had been exposed—the moment their eyes met, he immediately glanced at Wei Xilai's right side and behind him.

To Vessil's right was to Brianna's left; she was still standing outside the door, and all she could see was a wall, except for her father's outstretched arm that he was using to stop her.

But that's alright.

The next second, as if suddenly realizing something, Vesilé turned her head sharply, looked at no one, and without asking a word, raised her right hand and slapped it down behind the wall that Brianna couldn't see.

...It's an alarm, isn't it?

Fu Tailan glanced at her and said everything she needed to tell her; that's why, as soon as Vesilé raised her right hand into the air, Brianna had already moved.

Dad, look, I'm not a woman anymore, so my strength has inevitably increased.

Getting kicked like that must have hurt more than just a lot, right?

Before Vessilai could even let out a fully audible scream, she was kicked in the waist and broken.

He stumbled backward, his right hand circling in the air before falling, but ultimately he didn't touch the alarm.

When I was six, my mom had to go out and told me to take good care of me. Do you remember?
Do you remember when I said I wanted to go swimming in the backyard pool?

You went back to your study by yourself, do you remember?
I got tired of swimming and tried to climb ashore, but my hand slipped, I hit the handrail, and fell back into the water. For about half a minute, I couldn't make a sound or call for help. You didn't know that, did you?

Fu Tailan was right, she was truly lucky.
After that, Brianna learned that there is a place between a person's chest and abdomen where, if struck hard enough, it can not only render a person unable to make a sound, but also make it difficult for them to move.

Oh dear, she actually kicked her own father over; that's really wrong of her.

Brianna followed closely behind her struggling father, who crawled backward step by step with difficulty, and she followed him obediently step by step—just like she herself had always followed her parents when she was a child.

She followed him into the safe room, and Fu Tailan gestured with his chin towards her.

Brianna glanced back and saw a bright red alarm hanging on the wall, right where Fu Tailan was pointing.

Below it is the switch for the second door.

She raised her hand, across the alarm, and placed it on the switch, pressing it gently.

The heavy, thick metal door, strong enough to withstand a bomb, slid into the wall behind Vesile, sealing the safe room completely, as she stared in horror.

"You are indeed not dead!"

Finally catching her breath, Vesile pushed herself up to her feet, yelling angrily at Fu Tailan, "You really didn't turn into some kind of Green—I actually fell for my own daughter's deception—"

Fu Tailan looked at him.

Brianna wouldn't believe that Fu Tailan hadn't noticed that Vesilai was preparing to pounce on him in a fit of rage—but he remained motionless, watching Vesilai rush towards him, raising his arm; a heavy slap landed on his face, making his head tilt to the side.

why?
Fu Tailan raised a hand—no longer Brianna's hand—to cover the side of his face that had been hit, and slowly turned his head to reveal his profile.

“...you see,”

The boy's voice was muffled, and a smile, like a white mist, spread out. "She didn't lie to you."

"It's you? You're the... the Prefect..."

Vesilé stared at him, his breathing erratic; his thoughts were probably even more chaotic. He looked at his hands, then turned his head, his eyes wide, and stared at Brianna.

"Then, then you..."

Brianna looked at her father, but asked Fu Tailan, "Doesn't it hurt? Why didn't you move away a bit?"

A "click" sounded inside.

Fu Tailan found a lighter from somewhere, carefully held the flame with one hand, and lit the crumpled cigarette he was holding in his mouth.

His pupils glowed red in the firelight, like a blood-red demon peering softly into the darkness through the window.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

“...Getting beaten by 'Dad' is no big deal.”

In the swirling white mist, he smiled at Brianna. "That's what I heard."

"I don't know."

Vesile struggled to steady her breathing and said, "I don't understand, Brianna, why did you team up with him? How could you be so foolish?"

The two turned their gazes toward him.

"Whether in terms of relationships, reliability, resources, or capabilities, I am far superior to a Hunter's Family leader. Why would you choose to join forces with him to replace me? It's a stupid move that will only put you at a disadvantage, Brie."

He's right—if we only consider the pros and cons of the "nest domination game," Vesile is a partner far superior to any hunter.

Before Brianna could answer, he turned to Fu Tailan.

"I suppose you're here to dominate the game too?"

He glanced at Brianna out of the corner of his eye.

"Let me tell you the truth, there's a decoy that you can't take from me without my cooperation. I can say this bluntly: even if I die, I won't cooperate with you or hand it over. So, if your goal is to dominate the game, then I can show you the way."

Vesilé is not incompetent—even if there is a facade, an incompetent person would not have reached this point. Even when forced into such a predicament, he is analyzing the situation and weighing the pros and cons; he realizes that he has only one way out, in the cracks where the alliance between Futailan and Brianna has broken down.

"The so-called Wesley team is naturally centered around me. I can choose who to recruit. Rather than attacking me and completely losing a target illusion, causing both of us to be completely removed from the game of dominance, how about joining forces with me?"

He didn't look at Brianna, but simply waved in her direction.

“She’s my daughter. I know her abilities and resources better than anyone. What benefits will you gain by joining forces with her? Think about it carefully. If you join my team now, your progress will jump directly from zero to four—what do you want? What is your purpose in dominating the lair? I can satisfy you.”

Fu Tailan glanced at Brianna. "...Is what he said true?"

Strangely enough, when talking to this boy, even if we only exchanged fragments, we could still understand each other.

Brianna nodded, gesturing with her tongue against her cheek. "It's this. You've seen it too, haven't you?"

Logically speaking, she shouldn't have told a future rival that the "rumor" was actually coming from Vesile's mouth...

But at this moment, Brianna seemed to be slowly and uncontrollably burned by something light and bright, so that her thoughts floated lightly in mid-air.

She couldn't care less about what would happen to Fu Tai Lan or the target illusion in the future.

It doesn't matter what, her life has already reached a point where it's strange and incomprehensible, but she's content.

She felt so strange at that moment that even the black square not far away could no longer make her tremble with fear.

Fu Tailan understood. "Ah, it's that... really. It's fallen into Chai Si's hands."

is it?

Brianna seemed to hear something that had nothing to do with her.

When the topic of "Chai Si" came up, Fu Tailan's face twisted slightly, as if she had tasted something disgusting. "To think that I have to make sure he gets it... it's really unpleasant. But, big sister, even you can't stop me."

"Me?"

Brianna couldn't help but laugh, feeling so light and wonderful that she almost suspected she was slowly expanding, her head burning, buzzing as she floated into the air. "Right now... I really don't care at all."

"what?"

Seeing that the response to his words was almost entirely illogical, Vesilai frowned. "What are you talking about? Don't tell me your alliance is so strong that you can even peacefully share the goal of the Nest Domination Game?"

"shared?"

Fu Tailan lowered his head and took another drag of his cigarette. "I was removed from the Nest Domination game long ago... I'm just here to make sure everything happens exactly as history has it, without deviation."

Vesilé didn't understand, but that didn't stop him from realizing that his attempt had failed.

He turned and rushed into the depths of the hall—in that direction, there was not only a fully open black square, but also a row of three rooms.

It's definitely too late to put away the black piece and then use it to launch another attack.

But Brianna was willing to bet her life on the fact that her father had hidden weapons behind the door—and possibly even a fake one.

How can I let you pass?
Didn't you hear that all of this is history?

Since it's already happened, then just accept your fate and die according to the course of history. It's just being killed by Fu Tai Lan, what's so scary about that—compared to being killed by the residents—

Brianna's footsteps pounded the floor as she lunged into her father's back through the wind.

She opened a man's hand, a hand larger than that of Vesilé's daughter, and grabbed Vesilé's shoulder tightly, pulling him backward.

In that instant, Vesilai's reaction was indeed extremely fast, even as fast as that of a hunter.

He turned his hand around and grabbed Brianna's wrist.

Despite his age, he was still well-trained and quite strong; after grabbing her arm, Vesile used all his strength to throw her forward hard before she could regain her footing.

The moment Brianna realized she was falling toward the black pieces, that night from her childhood crashed into her mind like a train.

She could no longer control herself and screamed shrilly.

The glance that Vesilé gave him seemed to say, "So you're still afraid of the Black side after all."

He let go.

Brianna's decline was unstoppable; she could sense that Black was nearby, just as it had been years before, quietly waiting for her.

The difference is that this time, Dad knows she won't be changed into a boy; Dad knows her thoughts and hatred; Dad will not let her out again.

Just as Brianna's vision was shrouded in darkness, she felt her clothes suddenly come to life, leaping behind her and soaring into the air, as if they didn't want to enter the black cube.

how--

She was frozen in place by the clothes—no, that's not right.

Someone grabbed her clothes.

She turned her head and saw Fu Tailan, who had pounced on her at some point, grabbing her shirt by the back. With a gritted tooth and a sudden burst of strength, Brianna's face almost brushed past Black Fang, and she fell heavily to the ground, only a fist's distance away from it.

Wei Xilai cursed something under his breath, then took the opportunity to run away, rushing into a room behind him.

Brianna's eyes widened, the black cube pressed against the tip of her nose. Her rapid, frantic breaths vanished into the darkness, disappearing without a trace.

"elder sister,"

Fu Tailan squatted down beside her, panting, her voice filled with an indescribable emotion.

"It turns out I had a misunderstanding."

……what?
“Vesile is just dead,” he said in a low voice, a voice reminiscent of sirens on the distant sea in the thick fog of night. “But I didn’t kill him.”

why?
"He died...completely."

A hand appeared before Brianna. She grabbed it, and using the boy's strength, she stood up.

Fu Tailan lowered his head and took a drag of his cigarette. In the rising, wispy white smoke, a dark light flickered in his eyes.

"The person who killed him was very compassionate... The person who killed him loved him very much."

(End of this chapter)