Artifact Report

Chapter 339 Mai Minghe: The Difficulty of the Second Action Point
"Thank goodness these two kids came to help her," Mai Minghe thought.

Having lived for eighty-six years, this was her first time serving as a search and rescue team at sea. She couldn't help but think of it as a simple task: this was not something one person could handle alone. With two helpers, everything was indeed much more convenient and efficient. For example, right now, Hai Luwei was in charge of steering the boat, while Ai Meili and she could each hold up a powerful flashlight and concentrate on searching the sea surface in circles.

The flashlight was a high-powered outdoor model that Mai Minghe specially bought. When it was turned on, it was like a spotlight—the bright white beam pierced the night sky and cut out wet, bright, and empty circles on the rippling, dark waves.

However, all that could be seen was the ocean wave.

When she first heard about "going out to sea to rescue people," she didn't think much of it; but when she actually arrived at the Central Bay, Mak Ming Ho realized how insignificant the light of a flashlight and her eyesight were compared to the vast sky and sea under the dark night.

A beam of light shot out, or a shout was thrown into the night, as if a piece of an insect's wing had been torn off and thrown into a howling storm—after only thirty minutes on the boat, Mak Ming River had already given up hope.

"Actually, renting a few helicopters and using them to search for the person who fell into the sea would be more efficient and have a greater chance of success."

Standing in the cold wind, Amy wrapped the blanket she had prepared for the rescue tightly around herself, and held up a flashlight, saying, "Renting a boat with a driver for a day would probably cost less than 20,000. Why did you think of renting a boat?"

“The game is rented,” Mak Ming-ho replied.

If she hadn't just earned some money, the rental price of a helicopter would have made her legs weak.

But only one day had passed, and 20,000 yuan no longer sounded like a lot of money, yet she could afford it—she could even afford ten times that amount—something she would never have dared to dream of before.

No wonder so many people are eager to enter the lair; the hunters make money too quickly and too aggressively.

Seaweed glanced back at her, her face full of disapproval.

But to be honest, Amy was neither an invited contestant nor had any concept of the rewards for the Domination Game. Having already heard the name "Domination Game," Mak Ming-ho felt that even if he didn't have to reveal everything, there was no need to hide anything.

Perhaps it was precisely because of her ordinary and straightforward attitude that Amy Kwok came up with her own explanation, as if she thought that Louisa Mak was just participating in a nest script.

"...The games played in the lair have even spread to Blackmore City. This is the first time I've ever heard of such a thing. However, the lair is full of traps, so you shouldn't trust the rules of any game or scenario too much."

These words touched on a hidden worry of Mak Ming Ho's.

"The game hints that the person fell into the water here, is still alive, and is waiting for me to rescue them. But if too much time passes and I still can't find them, won't they be swept away by the waves? At that point, the game hints won't be very useful, right?"

Aimee was silent for a while, then finally gritted her teeth and said, "...Don't worry so much. I'll find that person for you no matter what. If I can't find him tonight, I'll call the police tomorrow and rent a helicopter for you."

Hey, right?

The "Illusion Report" did not say that she was not allowed to use the police to find people... but there may be some parts that are difficult to explain, so it may be used as a last resort.

Judging from Amy's clenched teeth, anyone who didn't know better would think she was there to kill someone.

“Don’t take my burden,” Mai Minghe patted her shoulder. “You don’t owe me anything. Let’s look for it tonight, and we’ll talk about it later if we don’t find it.”

She had just sold the lipstick to the mayor when the notification for the second action point arrived immediately, without a moment's delay—considering the timeframe for receiving the second action point, it should be a full thirty days, Mai Minghe couldn't help but make a guess.

“I think that guy named Ivan must have fallen into the sea yesterday. Maybe he grabbed onto a buoy or an unmanned boat that was moored in the sea, which is why he wasn’t swept away or drowned… That’s the only plausible explanation. As long as he can hold on, we’ll definitely find him, maybe without even needing a helicopter.”

After saying this, even Mak Ming-ho felt a lot more confident; the two children also felt it was reasonable - if he hadn't grabbed onto the lifeline after falling into the water, how could he still be in the central bay?
If that's the case, then there's a high chance of saving him!

The three men were visibly invigorated; the boat expanded the search area in circles, and after searching for a while, Mak Ming-ho even took out hot coffee and sandwiches from the insulated box, insisting that the two men eat something before continuing to work.

However, the world is not affected by their spirit and drive.

By the fourth hour, they no longer felt like they were rescuing someone who had fallen into the water; instead, it felt like they had been thrown into a long, futile, cold, and painful punishment.

Every wave that surged and crashed against each other was like a glimmer of hope that had been lost and crashed onto the sea.

"Take a break,"

As the eastern sky faded from a deep purplish-black to a faint dark blue, Mak Ming-ho finally couldn't help but speak.

After a night of sailing, Hai Luwei was limp and listless; if he took off his coat, he would probably look like he had just been pulled from the water. This time, he didn't refuse, temporarily turning off the engine and letting the boat rock on the waves; the group sat quietly for a while in silence.

“We’ve already looked at the waters closer to the shore,” Amy spoke first. “If we head out to sea… how far would we have to go to be considered far? Is it still considered part of the central bay?”

Mai Minghe looked worried.

She has no other choice but to grit her teeth and keep searching.

"I haven't seen any artificial buoys or ships anchored in the sea."

Sea reeds, however, approached the issue from a different angle. "There's a lot of traffic in the central bay, making it a busy sea area. We didn't see any things that might be floating on the surface and blocking the way."

Mai Minghe began to understand.

“That person fell in a day ago; in theory, he should have been washed away long ago.”

Hai Luwei hesitated for a moment, looked at Mai Minghe, and ultimately didn't say it directly, only vaguely saying, "Um... I don't know if the hint is reliable."

If action points can be easily obtained, what's the difference between that and simply sending the fake image to Mak Ming-ho?

If every action point is so difficult that it is impossible to complete, wouldn't there always be illusions that cannot be collected, and the lair never have to worry about a winner emerging in the domination game?
What did the host who saved her say again?

The emergence of "Nest Domination" in the nest is like a hurricane making landfall in Florida...

Hurricanes cannot be stopped.

But surely there must be forces trying to mitigate the damage caused by the hurricane?
If the difficulty of action points has indeed been changed in the lair, it wouldn't be surprising.

Huh?
Wait a minute, Mak Ming-ho frowned.

That evening, the host, whose face he had never actually seen, seemed to have used another analogy...

An analogy that I felt was a bit inappropriate at the time...

However, even if she recalled every word the host said, it still wouldn't help with the current predicament—the people they were supposed to rescue seemed to have already been swallowed up by the dark central bay, leaving no trace.

"You've been searching all night, and you two look pale."

Mai Minghe sighed, unwilling to continue the aimless search with the two children. "We should all go back and rest, and the boat needs to go back and refuel. If that person really was swept away by the waves, a day or two won't make a difference."

They were both good children, so neither of them rushed to agree, and they both worried for a while for Mai Minghe. But precisely because of this, she couldn't keep taking advantage of the children's good intentions.

“Go ahead,” she instructed the sea reeds, “you go sail the boat, we’ll turn back to shore and I’ll treat you to breakfast. Have a hot and hearty meal, then go home and sleep with full bellies.”

Amy couldn't help but snort. "I'm not a child," she muttered.

The sea reed responded with a "good," then stood up with a "thump" and paused.

The three of them remained silent for a while, their facial expressions frozen in place, not daring to move, as if afraid of disturbing something.

Sea reed simply stood up—it didn't overturn anything or hit the ship's side.

But the moment he stood up, there was indeed a "thump".

"What was that just now...?"

Just as Mai Minghe began to make a sound, the bottom of the boat was hit again with a muffled thud.

(End of this chapter)