Artifact Report

Chapter 326 Jin Xueli's Choice That Would Never Change
Kim Seol-ri cannot lie to herself.

The truth is unpleasant, but it's still the truth: when the host told her that he could tell Kim Sulli directly the location and method for obtaining the original solution, she completely forgot about Jacqueline at that moment.

Whether the strange woman has been captured or is still alive is two sides of the same coin as the "bounty reward".

But at that moment, Kim Seol-ri could only see the coin's glittering side.

"The serum you described can be obtained at three locations within the nest," the host said.

She held her breath.

"'Nest Sustainability' is a gas station brand that adheres to the concepts of environmental protection and resource reuse. It's a great name, isn't it?"

Perhaps it was due to the host's professional habits, but when he said those two sentences, it sounded like he was reading a sponsor's advertisement—Jin Xueli was stunned for a moment before realizing that he was indeed not interrupting the commercial break.

"This brand currently only has three gas stations."

Next, he gave three addresses—Jin Xueli hurriedly pulled out a crumpled map of Blackmore City from her backpack, held a flashlight in her mouth, and drew three circles on the map.

The closest one was only a dozen kilometers away from her.

"The 'source' you're looking for is one of the products of the 'Nest Sustainability' gas station: 'biofuel.' You can obtain it through the self-service pump. Please note that you must not refuel while the employee on duty in the gas station convenience store is watching you; you must leave immediately."

Jin Xueli silently repeated his words twice in her mind, and was taken aback.

"Biofuels"? Was that what the host just said?
The "source liquid" she had been searching for turned out to be "biofuel".
this……

If she asks what organisms make up "biofuels" and what they are extracted from... won't people find out that she's not actually a resident?

Besides, the answer to this question might actually make me feel better if I don't know...

Jin Xueli suppressed her curiosity for a long time before finally managing to swallow it back and give a mumbled "hmm".

"Because convenience store employees can be quite deceptive, make sure they're watching you before you start refueling. Also, 'Nest Sustainable' gas stations do not currently accept the following currencies or payment methods—"

Jin Xueli was taken aback. Oh right, refueling costs money.

"Plain money, coins, gold and silver jewelry, electronic money, virtual currency, debt or claim, illusion, message, secret, human life, resident life, sexual services, non-sexual services, your first child, your second child, and any number of children you have."

Even the host had to stop and catch his breath.

"Other items that are not accepted include: artworks, fixed assets, financial assets, NFTs, your personal happiness, the pact you made with the devil, the 'horse' and 'blessing' in the proverb 'a loss may turn out to be a blessing in disguise,' your memories, personality, and character (if any), family, access, youth, health, lifespan, and whose limbs it is, no matter what."

Who would risk their youth, health, and lifespan just to refuel?

No, wait, the most important thing is, what exactly does this lousy gas station accept? Isn't this rejecting all valuable exchanges?

"What does it mean to add 'if there is' after 'morality'?" Jin Xueli was momentarily unsure whether to express surprise and confusion, or to vaguely sense that she had been scolded: "Of course I have morality—"

She suddenly remembered Jacqueline and swallowed the rest of her sentence.

...What does it mean that she received the reward?
Perhaps Jacqueline escaped back to Blackmore City in time; but the residents who went to capture her saw her, though they failed to catch her. Therefore, the residents were compelled to reward her…

After all, she had been waiting for more than three hours. Even if Jacqueline was slow, she should have found the scaffolding by now...

Kim Seol-ri closed her eyes and let out a trembling sigh.

She didn't have the courage to ask Jacqueline what happened to her.

When the host spoke again, Kim Seol-ri felt a sense of relief and gratitude.

"If you ask the store staff, you can find out what you need to give in exchange for biofuel. But if you ask the store staff, they will start staring at you, and you must leave immediately."

...That's strange. The Knight family must have gotten the raw material from the "Nest Perpetual" gas station. What did they pay for it? How did they buy it?

Despite the risk of being discovered, Kim Seol-ri finally couldn't help but ask, "Besides that, what other situations would cause employees to stare at me?"

“That’s a good question,” the host replied gently. “You’ll be watched when you talk to employees, you’ll be watched when you make physical contact with them, and employees will watch you when they’re bored.”

Who knows when that employee will get bored? But all in all, as long as I don't talk to it and it doesn't watch me, I should be able to buy biofuel, right?

As for what to use to pay, Kim Seol-ri decided to find out more carefully after arriving at the gas station.

"Well then, good luck," the host said softly. "This program has once again helped two listeners achieve their goals, and I am very honored. And to all our listeners..."

Jin Xueli gently hung up the phone.

Before setting off, she vigorously rubbed her face several times, trying to calm herself down.

Chai Si must have had some terrible misfortune. He might be dead by now.

If he hadn't suddenly disappeared from the world for so long, the task of finding the original solution wouldn't have fallen to me.

If she didn't have to come looking for the original solution, she wouldn't have heard about the bounty, wouldn't have run into Jacqueline... Don't even think about it.

Jin Xueli suppressed the countless thoughts that were tearing at her.

We've already come this far, what's the point of looking back? Human life is the cheapest thing.

Isn't it the same not only in the nest, but also in the world?

There are a total of eight billion people in the world.

Even if one dies, there will still be countless blurry human faces in the world, and there is no essential difference between each and every one of them.

On the bright side, if she can get her hands on the "original solution," she might even be able to squeeze the Knight family out and become Scott's exclusive supplier.

By then, she might get more than 3%... It would be a life she never dared to dream of.

Kim Seol-ri's earliest memory is of being in a trailer.

The trailer, as long as a bus, squeezed in the driver's seat, toilet, kitchen, small living room, bedroom... squeezing out half of her childhood and her entire home.

She and her mother squeezed onto a bed at the back of the car; every time she turned over, she could see a corner of the window.

It was called a window, but she couldn't actually see the other trailers and homes in the other vehicles through it—the glass had been broken long ago, and her mother had sealed it tightly with silver tape.

Whenever her mother's boyfriend came to stay overnight, she would be made to sleep on the sofa in the small living room.

There was always a sticky smell of grease and tobacco on the sofa. Jin Xueli could only stick her head out as if she were dead, with half of her body drooping off the sofa, just to barely avoid smelling that odor.

She didn't know how much money one needed to find happiness in this world, but she thought that the more money one had, the greater the hope would be.

Jacqueline is right. The less money a person has, the less they know what big money is. That's why Shirley Kim is determined to do everything she can to get the biggest amount she can ever get in her life.

Kim Seol-ri has already had a glimpse of money.

This world is so rich, so abundant, so interesting, so delicious... She was absolutely unwilling to spend her whole life shut out from the truly wonderful part of the world.

Therefore, no matter how many times she was given another chance to choose, Jin Xueli knew she would never choose the life of a stranger—the choice she made tonight was the best choice she could make.

The "Nest Perpetual" gas station doesn't look much different from a regular gas station from a distance.

The biggest difference, and what disappointed Jin Xueli the most, was that it didn't have the price signs that are usually displayed outside gas stations; without price signs, she naturally didn't know what to use to pay.

The white and green sign that read "Nest Perpetual" buzzed in the night, illuminating a patch of concrete; two rows of gas pumps sat silently in the shadows, their six flat metal faces watching Jin Xueli approach step by step.

I could barely make out whether there was a "biofuel" option on the gas pump; but since the host said there was, it must be correct, right?
Behind the gas pumps are the transparent glass doors and windows of the convenience store—the store is bathed in white light, like a human model preserved in formaldehyde.

Several promotional ads for new products were pasted on the shop window, along with a notice in incomprehensible hieroglyphic text, and a sign on the door that read "OPEN".

She was too far away to see clearly if anyone in the store was watching her...

After thinking for a moment, Jin Xueli deliberately took a long detour, starting from the farthest corner of the wall, and moved little by little towards the convenience store entrance, hugging the wall as she moved; as she moved, she craned her neck to look inside, tightly gripping the hammer in her hand.

...It seems like nobody's here?
(End of this chapter)