Artifact Report

Chapter 357 Fu Tai Lan: If you can fire a gun, you won't waste words. The final chapter?
Asking Fu Tailan for an answer to something is like asking a rattlesnake for its venom.

Not only was Chai Si aware of this, but Fu Tailan herself was also aware of it.

After all, he had been a hunter since he was twelve years old—what could a twelve-year-old have? He had no one to look after him, no resources, no fighting skills, and couldn't even get a gun.

Fu Tailan has survived to this day thanks to only two things: brains and lies.

That's what he said, but now he actually regrets it a little. He regrets telling so many lies in the past, which resulted in a "boy who cried wolf" effect—now no matter how much he pats his chest and assures that he is telling the truth, no one believes him anymore.

"I really, really didn't lie to you."

Fu Tailan simply didn't know how to be more sincere, wishing she could lay her heart out and show it to Chai Si: "The Tonglu illusion has really been used up and is now useless. You have no hope, and you will never be able to enter the nest in this lifetime—I'm telling you the truth."

Chai Si showed not a trace of surprise or disappointment on his face: "Oh?"

Since the use of the Pathfinder illusion was exhausted, Fu Tailan had been hoping that one day he could tell Chai Si the good news himself. He not only imagined Chai Si's pain and anger, but also imagined how he should defend himself, resist and escape if Chai Si made a move.

However, despite his meticulous planning, he made a mistake – the day had come, but he forgot that he had lied too much in the past, and Chai Si simply didn't believe him.

Since he doesn't believe it, there won't be any harm done to him.

Wasn't this just wishful thinking for nothing?

"The last time I found you and asked you about the pathway artifact, you didn't even know it existed. The person who took the artifact had a perfectly intact jaw; but you had an injury on your face then, and it wasn't an injury that would heal in a few days."

Chai Si said unhurriedly, "This shows that someone is impersonating you, trying to shift the blame. Inspired by this, you're planning to provoke me now. Do you think I'll fall for it?"

Fu Tailan was so anxious that he wanted to find a lie detector—even though a lie detector wouldn't work on him.

"My jaw is perfectly fine now, and it's only been less than three weeks."

"Teenagers recover quickly."

He even rationalized it for him. Fu Tailan closed his eyes in anger—his emotions were always distant and detached, and he rarely felt as anxious, helpless, and wanting to stomp his feet as he did now.

Should I be angry at myself for being too thorough in my thinking, or should I hate Chai Si for being so foolish?

Of course I hate him for being stupid.

If he weren't stupid, how could he act like a brainwashed dog?
“But you’re right, there is something I do want to know,” Chai Si said in a low voice.

The fact that he could hold the gun steadily against his forehead without his arm getting tired... Fu Tailan felt a little jealous.

"what's up?"

Chai Si slowly asked, "What methods did you use to monitor the Kai family's movements?"

Fu Tailan paused for a moment.

The ward fell silent for a moment; only Han Liuyue's rumbling stomach provided accompaniment to his thoughts.

She seemed a little embarrassed at first, but now she was almost at ease. She even took out a pudding from the bedside table, looked at the two people facing off with guns in front of her, and sipped the pudding clean.

Chai Si and Han Liuyue were both starving after waking up... even though they hadn't entered the nest.

“…What’s the point of asking that?” Fu Tailan said carefully. “I’ve been a hunter for so many years, do you think my network of contacts is any worse than someone like you who has never even seen a den? I have plenty of ways to do things.”

“Then you will certainly be generous in sharing,” Chai Si said, exerting a little force, causing Fu Tailan to tilt his head back as he pressed the muzzle of the gun against him.

Fu Tailan glanced at the pistol on her forehead.

“I have a large-scale surveillance artifact. If you mount it on a drone or a hot air balloon, it can monitor the activity of a large surrounding area.”

He sighed and said, "If you don't believe me, you can ask around. Before he died, his estate in the Upper State was equipped with such a decoy. Originally, it was mounted on a tower, and the tower is still there. You can go and see for yourself if you don't believe me. He was very paranoid and afraid of dying back then, so he equipped himself with every kind of self-defense device he could find."

“That’s true,” Chess nodded.

Using your opinion to judge what is factual? Your arrogance is infuriating.

For the sake of that old man, Kaironan, to whom he had no blood relation, Chai Si was willing to be a devoted lackey, with almost no self, and only devoted himself to fighting for the Kaironan family—what's the difference between this and being under a spell or joining a cult?
Just looking at him made Fu Tailan's scalp tingle; it was as if her deepest nightmare had come to life in human form, and Chai Si himself was actually enjoying it.

When something is completely incomprehensible, it only evokes disgust and fear.

To Fu Tailan, Chai Si was practically a cockroach come to life. If Chai Si were to ultimately win the game—if Chai Si, who firmly believed he should be a dog for the greedy old man, were to gain the right to rule and change the nest—Fu Tailan would rather blow up the nest right now.

Despite his disgust, he could only endure it and continue, "After Vesilai died, these decoys became useless. Some members of the Vesilai family secretly looked for channels in the hunter circle to sell the decoys. I heard about it and bought them."

Chai Si frowned slightly, then immediately relaxed his brow, making it impossible to tell whether he believed it or how much he believed it.

“With a gun pointed at my head, of course I have to tell you the truth,” Fu Tailan said. “Of course, the reason I dare to tell you the truth without worrying about being shot after I finish speaking is because telling the truth is in my best interest and is the best way to save my life right now.”

"Oh?"

Oh, you're kidding me.

“I know who handled the imposters behind Wesley,” Fu Tailan smiled and said, “but of course I won’t tell you. What I can tell you is that person has other powerful imposters, but unfortunately, my resources are limited, and I can’t use the Morgan family’s resources—oh, you should know that I’ve been marginalized by Carter Morgan, right?”

With Longzhen around, it was impossible for Chai Si to be completely unaware of this; indeed, he didn't seem surprised at all.

"Don't worry, I don't hold a grudge against Sister Longzhen at all."

This is the truth; Fu Tailan doesn't hate Longzhen, not just because she helped her get the train ticket.

Any emotion, especially hatred, needs a vibrant and intense life force as fuel. He had no strength.

"The artifacts that person possessed were all collected personally by Vesilai. You can imagine how valuable they are without me having to tell you." Fu Tailan shrugged and said, "If you spare my life, I'll introduce you to that person. How about it?"

“What a convenient excuse,” Chai Si said, remaining calm.

"It's inconvenient at all. If you're going to make an excuse, why say something like that?" Fu Tailan snorted. "If the Wei family didn't actually have such a person, and you actually agreed to my proposal, where would I be to conjure up a living person for you?"

Chai Si seemed to hesitate for a moment, probably half believing and half doubting, not daring to believe, but not daring not to believe.

The number of artifacts in Blackmore City, especially powerful and valuable ones, is very limited; if he misses the opportunity, it means that the items may fall into the hands of others—during the "Nest Domination Game," Chess is unlikely to easily relinquish his advantage.

Because of the game's setting, Fu Tailan believes that Chai Si is also aware of it.

“When new players join the ‘Nest Domination Game,’ we veterans aren’t notified,” he said in a low voice. “There might be some unknown players already making moves right now…”

In Fu Tailan's imagination, the wolf that gradually opened its dark mouth that night almost overlapped with the appearance of Brianna.

If Chase were sent into her black hole... Brianna would be very happy, and might even forgive him.

Chai Si's gun remained pressed firmly against Fu Tai Lan's forehead, the safety pin already off, his finger firmly on the trigger. Even the slightest tremor, the thinnest hair, might cause a bullet to pierce Fu Tai Lan's skull.

Chai Si suddenly turned his eyes, quickly glanced at Han Liuyue, and then looked back at Fu Tailan.

For some reason, Fu Tailan's stomach suddenly twisted.

"Brother Chai," Han Liuyue called out softly.

Chai Si said "hmm" in a deep voice.

Although the two hadn't spoken, they seemed to have reached a consensus. Fu Tailan disliked this.

“You don’t need to worry about me,” Han Liuyue said. “I’ve fully recovered. As long as I have a good meal, I can go in right away. If you’re still worried, you can send Tianxi or someone else with me…”

She was referring to the nest, wasn't she?
Why did she suddenly bring up the nest at this time? Is it related to her?
There is a crucial piece of information that he is unaware of.

Fu Tailan suddenly realized that the trap she had devised by going with the flow and taking advantage of the situation might actually backfire.

But—what exactly is it? A crucial piece of information is missing; how should he deal with it?

“I’m sorry,” Chai Si said, looking at Fu Tai Lan, but speaking to Han Liu Yue beside him. “You just went through a life-or-death situation, I shouldn’t have…”

“This time is different.” Han Liuyue said, then suddenly smiled. “This time I won’t cover my head willingly, so there won’t be any danger. So it’s okay, Brother Chai, go ahead and do it.”

Chai Si sighed silently.

“Okay,” he said, pressing his finger against Fu Tailan’s forehead and pulling the trigger.

(End of this chapter)