Artifact Report

Chapter 354 Chai Si: The Problem After Awakening

If only there were compressed sleep products.

When Chai Si opened his eyes, he groggily thought that he must have slept for a long time.

The lingering drowsiness, like clumps of soaked cotton, filled his mind with a hazy white fog. When he propped himself up, he felt heavy-headed and dizzy—reaching for his phone, he didn't know how to move his body and almost fell off the bed.

I hadn't slept enough... but I had to wake up.

He didn't have the luxury of sleeping as long as he wanted. He vaguely remembered that there were still countless things waiting for him. The "Domination Game" was progressing day by day. During the time he was asleep, he didn't know how many things had happened.
What's more, it felt as if a hole had been dug into my body, and my stomach acid was screaming sharply and hollowly.

Chai Si slid down the small bed and sat on the floor, his muscles aching all over.

He glanced blankly at the date on his phone screen—for a moment, he thought that either the phone or the world must be malfunctioning.

What happened? How did it suddenly become December 5th?

Where did you go for all those days in between?
He pressed his eyes hard a few times, slowly pulling out a thread of memory from the wet cotton in his head.

Han Liuyue... has been rescued, Han Liuyue is alright.

Yes, he remembered. It was Sha Xue who told him that Han Liuyue was in the hospital and had drunk water and eaten something... Mai Minghe was also there at the time.

Mak Ming-ho said she suspects the hive wants to take action against humanity.

Even though he was utterly exhausted, Chess still realized this was an opportunity to win her over. He could use the dangers of the world to bind her to his cause. He simply went with the flow and took her to see the notes about the last game of domination. That day, she also brought someone else—Nate—

and many more.

Chai Si rubbed his temples.

No, I almost got it wrong.

Mai Minghe came alone, but Nate was someone he dreamed about that night; however, Nate said a few strange things about Mai Minghe in the dream... Even after waking up, he still remembered them clearly.

“She deceived people by pretending to be an old lady, and she ruined me... She will get the time illusion on the 26th.”

26th…

Chai Si opened his phone's messages.

On December 3, Mak Ming-ho told him that she had rescued someone under the instructions of the lair; for the next two days, she sent him no further messages or made any phone calls—did she know he had been sleeping? Or had she gone back into the lair?
An 86-year-old woman can enter the nest, but he can only sit in the world, slowly scrolling through his empty phone, repeatedly wondering.

Today is December 5th. Even if Mak Ming-ho enters the lair, the day she was predicted to obtain the "time illusion" in her dream is still a long way off...

Generally speaking, dreams shouldn't be taken seriously; however, when it comes to a nest, that's not necessarily true.

When the 26th arrives, I must see Mak Ming Ho.

Before that, when interacting with her, I had to act as usual and not show any unusual behavior.

Time artifact...?

Chess licked his dry lips.

Whether it was the burning hunger, ambition, the scalding fantasy of a captured lair, or the yearning to never again be burdened by guilt, his blood boiled, his abdomen tightened; he wanted to bite his prey's throat, to tear the world to pieces, to swallow someone's tears and blood—

Maybe I was just hungry.

He couldn't distinguish between desires.

Chai Si hastily pulled on his pants, grabbed his phone, and went downstairs.

When he dreamt of Nate, the Kay family mansion was completely silent; he subconsciously felt that no one was there. However, when Chai Si went downstairs and entered the lounge, he realized that someone was actually there—as soon as Sayuki saw him, she jumped up from her chair and asked with a smile, "Brother Chai Si! Are you really awake this time? Aren't you going back to sleep?"

The word "is" was not pronounced, only a hoarse breath escaped his lips.

Chai Si cleared his throat, and only when he opened his mouth a second time did he manage to make a sound: "You're awake. You've been here the whole time?"

“We’ll take turns guarding you,” Sha Xue replied. “Tianxi doesn’t feel comfortable leaving you here to sleep alone.”

In other words, last night—it must have been last night?—when he dreamt of Nate, there were guards at the family mansion the whole time.

It was just a dream... Putting everything else aside, Nate isn't even a hunter, so he has no way of bypassing the hunters guarding the first floor and sneaking upstairs to find Chess.

However, let's put that aside for now. The most important thing right now is—

"Is there anything to eat?"

Even with countless clues and scents waiting for him to track and hunt, he can only succumb to his most basic animal instincts for now.

There was no cook or ingredients in the mansion, so Sha Xue found him a few bags of nuts and drove out to find a restaurant to buy food. In the past, every time Chai Si saw hunters wolfing down their food after returning from their dens, he would always be secretly surprised and worried about their stomachs, wondering where all that food was sent.

When it was his turn, he suddenly realized that Kim Seol-ri had been far too polite with her meal at the "Against the Light" bar last time.

"The whole...the whole thing?" Sayuki was stunned on the phone. "The entire menu, all of it...?"

"I want them all," Chai Si said, emphasizing, "two portions, for fear that she might have bought even half a portion less."

When she drove back, the trunk was piled high with takeout boxes from the restaurant; apparently, the restaurant owner specifically told Sayuki to order in advance for her next party so that his kitchen wouldn't be emptied out in one meal.

Fortunately, Chai Si hadn't forgotten that he was a civilized person and didn't tear open the packaging and bite into it—he even remembered to respect privacy and kicked Sayuki out during the meal.

"No, I'll just have a piece of butter chicken..." she said, still feeling resentful as she was pushed away.

"You can have what you can't finish," Chai Si said honestly, "but don't get your hopes up."

For the first time in his life, he realized that eating and fighting were so similar.

Almost every muscle was exerting force, and every bite was an attack; equally fierce and focused, equally drenched in sweat, both aimed at tearing the opponent apart to save their own lives.

It was almost as if he was satisfying a murderous urge he hadn't even realized he was having. When Chai Si finally finished eating and put down his utensils, he realized he had indeed left Sayuki a piece of butter chicken.

...Is this considered taking care of one's subordinates?

After a good rest and a hearty meal, Ches felt much better; when he called Dr. Nate, he even felt a sense of leniency towards him—people should be reasonable sometimes, after all, dreams are one's own creations, and it's wrong to use that to bring bad luck.

Nate answered the phone on the second ring.

His voice was calm: "Hello?"

Ches paused.

He glanced at his phone; the screen indeed displayed "Dr. Nate".

“It’s me,” he said.

"I know. What is it?"

He was so calm and composed, as if Chai Si were merely his secretary.

Chai Si slowly frowned. "...Where were you at one o'clock last night, and what were you doing?"

“Last night? Of course I was sleeping at home.” Dr. Nate calmly countered, “What could you be doing at one in the morning? What happened?”

...They even dared to ask him questions back.

Has anything unusual happened lately?

"No. We treat hunters when they come, and rest when there are no patients."

Chester was an expert in interrogation; however, given the blank situation and the lack of any useful information, his vague sense of unease prevented him from getting anything out of Dr. Nate.

Not quite right.

...It seems I'll have to find an opportunity to pay them a visit.

However, what Chai Si didn't expect was that this was only the first phone call of the day that yielded no results.

His second call was to Mai Minghe—he didn't even hear the tone before the call was abruptly cut off. He tried several times, but couldn't get through; he called Sha Xue to try using her phone, but she couldn't get through either.

Even the messages that were sent out were marked with red exclamation marks.

Even if someone enters the den, their phone would at most be switched off; but it looks like she's canceled the number.
Did Mak Ming-ho obtain the time illusion, which is why he suddenly vanished?

Chai Si took a deep breath and made his third call to Tian Xi.

Tianxi is very reliable; he's a family-style hunter, so he can definitely be trusted—

“You have connected to this number’s voicemail. Please leave a message after the beep,” a female voice interrupted his confidence.

Chai Si hung up the phone abruptly.

Where did Jin Xueli take Tianxi? Has she not returned since last night?

Okay, let's try Jin Xueli next. If this time—

"The number you dialed is temporarily unavailable," the same female voice announced again.

Chai Si almost doubted that something was wrong with the world he had woken up to.

Is getting through on the phone now as rare as winning the lottery?

He sat blankly at the table littered with dishes and cups, sorting through his thoughts. He couldn't contact any of these people, and he didn't know what that meant; but his next move remained clear as ever…

Chai Si suddenly turned his head toward the restaurant door.

The porch dimmed for a moment before the figure; the person stepped out of the shadows, and the light illuminated his face again.

Chai Si immediately stood up and called out softly, "...Uncle Kai. Uncle Kai, what brings you here?"

Caronan stopped in the restaurant, glanced at the table, shook his head, and gave a sigh-like smile.

“You eat even more than I did when I came back from the lair.”

He pulled out a chair, slowly sank in, and settled himself in.

Regardless of Chai Si's usual status in the Kai family, his behavior never resembled Kaironan's, as if he knew he owned everything around him.

But what Chironan has is far from enough.

"I told them to tell me as soon as you woke up."

Chai Si nodded, and for a moment he was speechless.

After being rescued at the age of five, the Chai Si who looked at Kaironan in a daze remained curled up inside his body; unable to even utter a thank you.

Kaironan crossed his legs, clasped his hands on his knees. He studied Chess for as long as Chess had waited; until Kaironan finally spoke first: "How are you feeling?"

“It’s back to normal,” Chess replied immediately. “Now I’ll do anything you ask.”

Kaironan nodded.

“I don’t have anything to tell you to do.” His voice was hoarse and deep, like a slow-flowing muddy river that could swallow animals. “I gave you plenty of time to save people and to rest.”

"Yes."

“Now it’s time to talk,” Kaironan raised his grey-blue eyes and looked at Chess. “How do you plan to win this ‘Nest Domination Game’ for me?”

(End of this chapter)