Artifact Report

Chapter 331 Kim Seol-ri, Carpe Momentum, Baby!

"I see……"

A young man with brown curly hair, his eyes glistening with a gentle tear and a smile, unbuttoned his shirt one button at a time, as if with the greatest tenderness of his life.

He pulled the shirt from the bloody mess; he suppressed a painful gasp, and as his chest heaved, fresh, copious amounts of blood gushed out once more.

He leaned against the corner of the wall, gazing at the head slumped in his arms, and whispered, "Anyway, I don't really need it anymore..."

"Please, please, please, please,"

The head had long, curly hair, but underneath it was empty—only the arms of a young man emerged from the flowing hair, embracing the void.

From behind the long hair, a voice pleaded, "I need your body materials. I'm about to die. I don't want to die in the nest. I don't want to become a resident. Please, I beg you! I only need a little bit of protein, red blood cells, calcium, amino acids, and hormones to build a new body. It doesn't have to be much. I can be a dwarf. As long as you still love me, I don't mind being a dwarf."

The curly-haired man stared intently at the severed head, as if still harboring some expectation.

"I can't go on living. I know the wounds I've suffered. If you could take me away, let me become your flesh and blood, and let you live, then there wouldn't be anything wrong with that..."

The head remained silent for a second.

Under the gaze of the curly-haired young man, it suddenly let out a shrill laugh.

"Really? Really? Really? That's wonderful! What are you still longing for? Just die already!"

Jin Xueli did not look away, but that scene still instantly retreated into the darkness.

Perhaps it was because all that remained was that brief moment and a few words of conversation—that was fine too, she didn't want to see the curly-haired young man's final expression.

"is it here?"

A middle-aged woman with gentle features and rounded lines, her face still glistening with tears, panic, and hope, turned back and asked, "If I go through this door, will it be the exit? Will I be able to go home?"

Following behind her was another human being—a man.

The man was around forty years old, with a completely bald head and a thick, long beard trimmed into a shovel shape, sticking out into the air.

“Yes,” he stared at the woman, then gestured with his chin toward the door at the end of the alley. “Go ahead, I won’t go with you.”

"Thank you," the middle-aged woman wiped away her tears, "You have my contact information. When I get home, contact me and I'll definitely thank you properly..."

She turned and left; the bald man waited there for a while.

As the creaking sound of a door being pulled open echoed at the end of the alley, he smiled coolly, pulled a gun from his waistband, crouched low, and followed in small steps—and soon, the scene disappeared into the darkness.

"How romantic,"

The English teacher had silently appeared beside Jin Xueli without anyone noticing. "They think that when a person dies, everything is gone. But that's not true! The Nest isn't such a heartless place!"

It became excited, swinging its arms, its black robe fluttering in the night.

"The face etched with the shadow of death when confronted with an unwilling truth, the smug satisfaction of believing one has once again triumphed over the hive... Even in death, humanity leaves behind countless powerful moments, all preserved by the hive. This is carpe momentum, my darling!"

The English teacher was in high spirits when she slapped her—luckily, Jin Xueli saw the danger and reacted quickly, turning her foot and sliding off the slap.

"Yes, yes,"

She gave a perfunctory reply, but was reluctant to look at the plastic bucket on the ground again.

It looked like just a simple bucket filled with muddy water; but if you peered inside, the lives of countless strangers would flash before your eyes like a revolving lantern.

For most of them, it was the moment when their lives were suddenly ended, when the middle of the journey was abruptly turned into the end; regret, remorse, fear... like the long tail left by a comet streaking across the night sky, lingering for a long time.

"Are there only humans?" Kim Seol-ri asked. "Did you include our residents too?"

Yes, but not many.

The English teacher clicked her tongue, her excitement waning slightly.

“There weren’t many corpses of the residents, and they didn’t stay for long. There was a creature that looked like an insect that built its nest in people’s brains and gave birth to its own offspring in people’s bodies. It had some bad luck in the hospital a while ago. After being squeezed out, it somehow ended up as a bunch of pieces of flesh… Each piece of flesh was still alive, but I thought it must be living a life worse than death, so I put it in too.”

"Huh? Still alive—?"

"Is it alright?" the English teacher said. "Once it's poured in, it doesn't matter whether it lives or dies, right? Do you want me to fish it out for you and take a look?"

"No, no, that's not necessary."

Jin Xueli had seen enough—all she wanted now was to get rid of the English teacher as soon as possible and get back to the shop. "It doesn't matter if you're alive... I'll turn on the gas pump for you."

"I wish you could die someday too."

The English teacher seemed to be filled with both anticipation and regret as she watched her take out a green-handled key, insert it into the lock, and say, "Your precious flavor can't just be poured into a gas pump for recycling and refining."

Jin Xueli tried her best to keep a straight face as she opened the side panel of the gas pump.

The residents are highly sensitive to human emotional reactions; she repeatedly reminded herself that this was a resident, not worth getting angry at, and that it was praising her.

After opening the side panel, there were four or five pipes inside; Jin Xueli turned on the valve of one of the pipes and said to the English teacher, "You pour it."

“You weren’t just thrown into the job without any training,” the English teacher said, picking up a plastic bucket. The black liquid inside the bucket rippled, and a voice, barely audible, called out, “Wait for me,” before the teacher fell back into the black water.

Jin Xueli watched as countless fragments of people's lives, moments marked by intense emotions, countless final moments, and memories that could never be relived... were poured into the pipe by the black-robed resident with a "glug".

There were indeed some remains of residents among them: several thin, long insect legs, a hand sealed in a vacuum bag, a tangled, dirty tuft of hair...

They all disappeared into the pipes along with humanity.

After sedimentation and refining, they will become the "oil" in the "nest gas station".

Jin Xueli tightened the valve again and locked the side panel of the gas pump; the English teacher seemed very happy, putting her hands on her hips and looking at the gas pump.

The bucket hung on its arm, and a whimper lingered at the bottom.

"Then I'm leaving."

It faced the refueling machine, but one eye darted to the side, looking at Jin Xueli. "I'll be back. I can't forget you. You're really not human, are you?"

Kim Seol-ri said sincerely, "It really isn't."

Should this be considered... a false alarm?

She watched her English teacher disappear into the darkness, and for a moment her legs still felt a little shaky.

She had already imagined countless scenarios in her mind: for example, the previous shop assistant was actually killed by the English teacher, and after returning to the scene, he discovered Jin Xueli, who was filling in for him, and decided to kill her as well.

Or perhaps, the English teacher had already discovered she was human, and was just playing a cat-and-mouse game, keeping a glimmer of hope in her heart, only to let her die within that hope...

So, out of all the possible errors, none of them actually happened?
Jin Xueli was afraid that the English teacher still had a trick up her sleeve; but she stood there, on guard for several minutes, and sure enough, the resident left and never came back.

Is this the end?
Next, all she needs to do is take the undiluted solution, and she can—she can—

Jin Xueli let out a long sigh of relief, feeling as if all her strength had almost left her body.

She was still a little hesitant to believe her luck tonight... but one of her principles was that when good things happen, she shouldn't question why they happened to her.

Jin Xueli walked back into the store and found that the refrigerator's power cord had been plugged into the wall again at some point.

“This won’t do,” she muttered as she crouched down, reached into the gap behind the refrigerator, and unplugged the power cord—the gap was only wide enough for a hand, so much so that it distorted the face deep inside.

Jin Xueli opened the insulated box and flipped the sausage over. The chicken wings were already lying back down; they seemed tired too.

Next, I need to mop the store floor clean...

I don’t know when, but a hunter secretly came to the shop, and judging from the smell, he was very fresh, as if it had just happened recently.

The hunter circled the shop several times, staying for quite a while, touching many items. Now, the floor was covered with a layer of messy, hormone-smelling grime; the merchandise also needed wiping...

Ah, but all that can wait... getting the original solution is the most important thing.

Original solution, original solution!

Nine million, nine million!

Why is it that humans, who are so repulsive, can create such cute and charming props?

One hundred million, one hundred million!

Kim Seol-ri sang a lighthearted money tune in her head, took out a water bottle from her backpack, shook her keys, and walked back to the gas pump.

Honestly, I don't know what I was worrying about before; isn't getting the concentrate from the gas pump the simplest and easiest thing to do?

There's absolutely no need to worry about what currency to use; just turn on the pump, unscrew the biofuel line valve, and stick the nozzle into the water bottle. She's a clerk; as long as she doesn't empty the gas station, taking a few liters is no problem at all.

Money, money, it's all money!

Kim Seol-ri had never felt so relaxed and carefree.

She had such a high degree of control over her life and destiny; she knew that she would definitely get what she wanted in the future.

The English teacher is right; there are so many moments in life that are worth remembering—like now.

Soon, her life will be free of bitterness and comparison. No one will be more beautiful, richer, or happier than her.

There was no need for unfulfilled desires, no need for cautious actions, no mockery from fate… all she had to do was grip the water bottle tightly and walk towards her future. Money, money, money!
The water bottle was full, so she locked the gas pump again, turned around and walked away, her steps light as if she had springs; but she had only taken one step when she suddenly stopped—her clerk vest had been grabbed.

what happened?

Jin Xueli turned her head.

Between the two refueling machines, in the dim shadows, a woman appeared out of nowhere.

The woman lay prone on the ground, her upper body exposed, her lower body disappearing behind the refueling machine. One of her arms was outstretched, tightly gripping Jin Xueli's vest.

“Take it off,” she whispered.

(End of this chapter)