Artifact Report

Chapter 349 Dual Perspectives: Calm and Tranquil, a Peaceful Dream

The baby was short and round, with layers of flesh folds piled up on its chubby limbs.

On its fleshy, ball-like palms, five short, bulging fleshy forks stretched out, as if trying to touch its mother's face, reaching out to grab at the air—and then the baby giggled.

The laughter came from the face of an adult man.

The head that belonged to the adult man Ivan was shrunk a few sizes and had less hair, and was placed on the baby's body; when it saw the toy wind chime swaying slightly, it seemed to raise its eyebrows in surprise—and thin wrinkles immediately appeared on its forehead.

Mai Minghe suddenly staggered back several steps, his back almost hitting the wall.

Through the crib railing, Evan turned his long, thin face toward her, opened his dark, hole-like mouth, and continued to babble at her.

what is the problem?

Why is Evan suddenly acting like this?
Even if—even if he looks like a baby now—he is not a real baby; he is clearly not even a person.

Can we really hurt him? He's probably powerless right now. Should we...find something...and smash it against him?
Through the gap in the railing, Evan peered out with a pair of oily, slick eyes and a mouth that seemed to never close, growing ever longer and longer like a black hole—constantly scrutinizing Mai Minghe without moving.

“Isn’t it cute?”

The sudden sound at the door startled Mai Minghe again; she turned her head and, sure enough, saw her husband standing at the door.

Imagine if Lan Zhui were also twisted into another form, such as having oily eyes, teeth that disappeared into its mouth, constantly laughing, and nostrils that opened and closed, inhaling and sniffing...

Then perhaps Mak Ming Ho will find courage instead.

However, Lan Zhui—a companion she hadn't seen for most of her life—remained as quiet and shy as she remembered, as if always afraid of disturbing someone.

Even his body language is unique to Lan Zhui: he gently clasps his hands together and hangs them in front of him, with one shoulder leaning against the door frame, always careful not to block the light or the entrance.

Faced with someone so familiar with Anning, it seemed there was no need to muster any courage at all.

What exactly is the lair trying to do? It's definitely not something good.

However, on the other hand... if it weren't for the nest, she would never have seen her deceased loved ones again—after her parents passed away, Lan Zhui was the only person in the world who worried about what would happen to Mai Minghe after she was gone.

He no longer needs to worry.

Seeing Mai Minghe now, he must secretly breathe a sigh of relief and feel at ease, right? After all, that's the kind of person he is.

Before she bares her fangs in the nest, she may still have time to ask her husband, "How have you been lately?"

"Okay, not very cute."

Seeing that she didn't speak, her husband suddenly sighed and lowered his head. "Don't be angry, but he has an old face, and he looks strange. Maybe he'll be better when he grows up... Sigh, I don't know who he looks like, but he definitely doesn't look like you."

Mai Minghe looked at him, then at Evan in the crib.

Ivan's mouth remained agape, his eyes yellowed and greasy, his head tilted, staring intently at Mai Minghe. The toy wind chimes swayed softly, clinking together, their sound faint.

Everything is so wrong; it's like a photograph that's absurd and distorted in every way, yet you can't immediately pinpoint exactly what's wrong.

“…We don’t have children,” Mak Ming-ho said softly.

No, the one that seems the most off isn't this—although it's also quite off.

Just like when I listened to Dr. Nate yesterday, I knew there was something in front of me that didn't match anything else in my field of vision, but I just couldn't find it.

"You're talking about another timeline, aren't you?" Lan Zhui replied with a smile.

Mai Minghe turned his head sharply. "What?"

"That thing that happened on TV last night, another parallel world line," Lan Zhui whispered. "Didn't we all find it really interesting? Same people, same world, but different things happening..."

is it?

The nest showed her another timeline?

At that moment, Mak Ming Ho desperately hoped it was true.

She didn't wish to enter another timeline and live a life of being a devoted wife and mother. No, she wished for another world where Lan Zhui didn't have throat cancer, but simply lived a peaceful life, growing old surrounded by loved ones.

“Dinner is ready,” Lan Zhui reminded her. “Let’s go over there.”

Mak Ming-ho couldn't wait to leave the nursery.

She closed the door tightly, imagining Evan lying alone in the closed room, slowly sitting up and climbing out of his crib, before finally sitting down at the dining table.

There was no unusual noise in the nursery; and no sounds other than those of a baby could be heard from the listening device.

It seems that Ivan's face was purely there to disgust her, and had no other harmful effect.

...It was a very strange state. If there was any danger in front of him, if his memory became confused, or if there was even the slightest sign of mental confusion or disorientation, Mak Ming-ho would struggle and resist, either by fighting back or by escaping the apartment.

But now, she knows clearly that it was all an illusion, that Evan was not her child, and that Lan Zhui had died long ago.

She had a clear mind and memory. Not only was she wary of the nursery, but she also dared not touch dinner easily. She even tried to open the apartment door once and found that she could rush out at any time.

The nest seems to be saying, "Look, I can let you see the past."

Because there was no threat, no danger, and he could leave whenever he wanted, Mak Ming Ho was in no hurry to escape.

Across the small dining table, she softly asked her husband, "...How have you been lately?"

***
There was no one outside the door.

Chai Si clenched his fist so tightly that his muscles and bones seemed to swell and bulge before he could, as if he wanted to smash all his surging power into a human face. Even his joints were clenched so tightly that they ached slightly. But when the door was opened, the corridor was empty. There was no one there at all.

All his anger came to nothing.

Dim sunlight streamed through the windowpanes, making the corridor dark, cool, and quiet, with only the dust stirred up when he opened the door.

For a moment, Chai Si had an absurd thought that he would see twelve-year-old Damian still standing outside the door, whispering, "Chai Si, come quickly, I want to show you something"—but his younger brother, who had been dead for seventeen years, still refused to appear in his dreams tonight.

"This must be a dream," he thought.

He was probably still half asleep and had a dream; dreams are illogical, which is why he dreamed about Nate, someone he would never normally even think about.

The emotions in dreams are often particularly intense, so it's no wonder he got so angry.

Chai Si glanced back at his childhood bedroom, at the single bed in the corner. Realizing he was dreaming, his drowsiness and exhaustion surged back; however, he felt uneasy about immediately going back to sleep.

Chai Si walked barefoot into the next room; his phone, which he had forgotten to take before going to bed, was still on the table as it was.

There were several unread messages; the latest one was from Tianxi, saying that he couldn't stay at Chai Si's place tonight because Jin Xueli had just returned from the lair and seemed to have something important to do. She insisted on seeing Tianxi, and he couldn't refuse.

When did she become so familiar with Tianxi? Or did she settle for second best because she knew she couldn't see Chai Si?

Chai Si scrolled down and found that Mai Minghe had sent him five messages in one go—four of which seemed to be practice messages, sent before they were finished; it wasn't until the fifth message that he saw the first complete and clear sentence.

Unfortunately, even the only complete sentence was somewhat unclear...

After quickly scrolling through his phone, nothing seemed particularly important; at least, nothing was so urgent that it would keep him from sleeping.

Holding his phone, Chai Si dragged his feet back to his childhood bedroom, locked the door again, collapsed heavily onto the bed, and slowly closed his eyes.

"Chess," Nate called softly from behind.

...I had another dream.

It's so annoying, I really want to kill him... even in my dreams...

“I came to warn you,” Nate’s breath hit the bed frame, damp and warm. “Because of you, I’m in big trouble, but I didn’t come to harm you…”

Where exactly is it...? It feels disgusting...

I don't want to have this dream anymore, open your eyes quickly.

"Let me give you a heads-up,"

Nate stood by the bed and bowed his head to him. His pale, swollen face was like that of a drowned man submerged in the Black Sea; his lips opened and closed as he pressed against Chess.

“Mai Minghe is lying, she’s lying… She found out about the torture you and I did at sea, and she’s threatening me with violence to tell the truth… She knows the rumors are about you, you have to be careful. Didn’t she say she rescued a drowning person? That’s her way of hinting at you.”

With all his might, Chai Si finally opened his eyes again.

The room was so quiet it was almost desolate; the night outside the window was still, and all the furniture and objects were obedient and did not overstep their bounds.

There was no one by the bed, of course.

After looking under the bed and at the desk, Chai Si finally confirmed that he was the only one in the room.

The dream kept coming and going, and it felt so real... so real that it was irritating and made him regret ever knowing Nate.

Unfortunately, given Chai Si's current state, he simply cannot remain sober.

Even sitting on the bed, pinching himself hard whenever he wanted to close his eyes, he still couldn't control his sleepiness and fell into a deep sleep again after a few minutes.

Nate squatted down by the bed, his deep-set eyes staring directly at Chess.

"Mai Minghe appears as a harmless old woman, deceiving so many people, including me. I was unlucky enough to fall victim to her... You must remember, on December 26th, she will obtain the Time Illusion. Capture her, seize her Time Illusion, and you'll be one step away from victory..."

(End of this chapter)