Artifact Report

Chapter 364 Fu Tailan - Wholehearted Trust - Illusion Exchange - Immediate Escape Required
The vulture seemed never to have imagined that it itself was the target that Fu Tai Lan was about to devour.

After Fu Tailan convinced it that he was also a vulture, its trust in Fu Tailan was almost astonishing—as if knowing that they were of the same kind was enough.

Fu Tailan accompanied it to find a hunter in the nest, then entered the human world with the vulture that had successfully transformed, and then led it into the Black Abyss... Everything went surprisingly smoothly; there were no twists or turns, no accidents, and in the end, it was just some physical labor.

"Is this right here?"

The vulture stood with him on the grass of the Wayne Manor, peering into the thick black fog for a moment before asking, "So, we can use the passage to get back to the nest afterwards?"

The word "yes" stuck in Fu Tailan's throat.

It felt like something unfamiliar was stuck in my throat, along with the lie.

He had to pause, swallow back the unfamiliar thought, before clearing the way for the lie, saying, "That's right. You see, I just used Fu Tai Lan's passage to get back to the lair, didn't I?"

The vulture nodded without any doubt, said "Let's go then," and took a step into the black mist.

Fu Tailan swallowed back her words, "Wait a minute."

Why would he want to call out to the vulture? Wasn't all the experiment he conducted on himself in the Abyss for this very moment?
Changing perceptions through the Abyss Belt can at most cause residents to be confused and misunderstand his identity; he cannot add to himself genuine traits belonging to the residents through theory and logic—for example, no matter how much he believes he is a resident, he will still die if someone shoots at him.

However, if he can take a piece of Han Liuyue's fragment, he can take a piece of the resident's fragment.

"Wow, that's amazing!"

The vulture's voice drifted from the black mist, sounding almost excited: "It's all black everywhere... We're probably the first residents to get in..."

That unfamiliar feeling rose again, stuck in her throat. Fu Tailan swallowed it back.

The other party was just a resident, a vulture, whose original appearance was so disgusting that no one wanted to look at it anymore.

He watched the vultures gradually disappear into the Black Abyss, urged himself to take a step forward, and followed them in.

He certainly didn't tell Vulture what would happen in the Black Abyss.

It is even less likely to tell it how to resist dissociation.

Fu Tailan stood quietly in the darkness, sensing the entire process of the vulture gradually melting away.

Just like its predecessor, it became an egg yolk soaking in water; before it finally lost its ability to think, it did indeed experience a brief period of panic and confusion.

"What's wrong? My body feels so strange..." it cried out for help, "Please help me..."

The thought of seeking help quickly faded away.

Fu Tailan watched as it eventually turned into a large mass of scattered fragments, which he could then pick and choose from.

it's wired.

Fu Tailan had wondered if he had cried; but in the Black Abyss, he couldn't feel any tears.

"……not necessarily,"

Chai Si's voice drifted on, "He trusts no one, and no one trusts him; he can only go his own way. But just in case..."

As Fu Tailan lay on the hospital room floor, her senses gradually returning, she heard this sentence.

He didn't take many vulture fragments.

If a large number of fragments different from one's own body were to be incorporated into one's own body, then whether "Fu Tai Lan" could still survive, or whether the person who ultimately remained would still be "Fu Tai Lan," is an unclear question.

Moreover, perhaps due to the essential separation between humans and inhabitants, there are many fragments within the vulture's body that he can never integrate with, no matter how he tries to grasp or fuse them.

In the end, the vulture fragment that Fu Tailan managed to leave behind was only the size of two fists.

Just then, one hand grabbed it.

It cannot grant Fu Tailan the ability to transform, nor can it turn him from a human into a resident; it only retains the original characteristics of the vulture: even if it is smashed, crushed, and ground into bloody mud, it can still firmly follow the "core" and gradually return to its original state.

Even a fool would know to move that piece of vulture fragment to where the bullet would penetrate after the gun had been pointed at his forehead for so long—it belonged to Fu Tailan and had never been pierced by a bullet. The part that was pierced was just a part of that gullible vulture.

Those who fell for Fu Tai Lan's tricks were simply misled by his traps and lies, believing they had made the right analysis and decisions. But no one ever truly trusted Fu Tai Lan—that vulture clearly didn't understand this, which is why it disappeared from the world.

When Fu Tailan was thrown onto the hospital bed by Chai Si, she had mostly regained her senses and was just quietly waiting for an opportunity to launch a surprise attack.

That's why he realized that because of that one sentence, he had developed a new kind of hatred for Chai Si.

...It's a pity that Shibasaki was less vigilant when he was surprised.

Han Liuyue left the door open, perhaps because someone had to keep an eye on the sign to prevent it from being taken. After he fired two more shots, the commotion and voices in the distance of the corridor grew louder, like waves crashing into the room.

“You can’t kill the residents,” Fu Tailan said loudly to drown out the noise, “and you can’t kill me either.”

He gripped the gun tightly in his hand, his muscles aching from the pressure, but he never found an opportunity to fire at Chai Si.

He remained crouched at the foot of the bed, in a blind spot, effectively blocking Fu Tailan's path away from the hospital bed.

Let alone getting out of bed or peeking out, it wouldn't be easy to hit him even if he just stuck out a gun—as long as he made a sound, Chai Si could just roll over and curl up under the bed; on the contrary, if he stuck out a hand and got grabbed and pulled to the ground, the situation would be really bad.

"If I really couldn't kill you, you would have gotten out of bed and killed me long ago."

As expected, they couldn't fool that old man.

Fu Tailan shrugged.

"Whatever, you can lie down if you want. You took two decoys from me, that's not a good act of robbery. Let me see what you've hidden in this bag... You couldn't have set a trap for me and lured me in without preparing a single decoy, could you? Maybe you've even prepared something good?"

Chai Si didn't say anything.

Fu Tailan smiled—he held a gun in one hand, aimed it at the foot of the bed, and opened the toiletry bag again with the other.

The bag didn't contain much. The top layer contained clothes, towels, and power strips, but the real stuff was at the bottom: a heavy pile of refill magazines, another gun, a walkie-talkie, and a listening device.

He thought he had missed something, but after searching again, he still couldn't find a single artifact.

No way?
Even if Chai Si is skilled, he shouldn't be so arrogant... Fu Tai Lan raised her head and scanned the surroundings, while keeping a watchful eye on things and starting her third bag search.

Chai Si could never have imagined that he could save Fu Tai Lan's life with just a few guns.

Even the misleading sign was hidden under the bed beforehand; there must be a decoy—could it be this bag?

He held the gun in one hand and rummaged through the bag with the other, dumping the contents onto the bed. He picked up the bag, looked at it, and then threw it back.

The bag is just a tattered rag. So the illusion is...

Fu Tailan's eyes lit up, and she took out a six-hole power strip from under the covers.

Han Liuyue had been in a coma; a person in a coma needs clothes, a towel, and even a toothbrush, but what's the point of having a power strip? ...Let's give it a try.

“You guys have some good stuff too,” he said, holding the power plug and staring at where Chess was hiding. “Even I almost didn’t realize it was an illusion. How do hunters usually bring things back like this?”

Chai Si remained silent.

Fu Tailan held her breath and remained alert for a few seconds. Seeing that there was no unusual movement around the hospital bed, she quickly lowered her eyes and examined the power strip.

Could it be that I guessed wrong?

But as soon as this doubt arose, he subconsciously flipped the power strip over and immediately knew he had made the right bet.

An ordinary-looking power plug, once turned over, reveals several lines of small print that shouldn't be there, on top of what should have been a blank label with information such as voltage and country of origin.

Each line of text seems to correspond to a socket; at the end of each line, there is also a small switch.

Fu Tailan's Pistol - Power On - Switch

The illusion at the doorway - power on - switch

Chess's pistol - Power on - Switch

Room power - Power on - Switch

The illusion on the Chai Si - Power on - Switch

Phones - Power On - Switch

...Is that what he meant?

Fu Tailan glanced back. Chai Si had just put his phone on the bedside table. He held up his gun in one hand and put down the power strip with the other, stretching his arm out as far as he could to barely reach the phone, and carefully took it into his hand.

With sufficient power, it lights up instantly upon touch, displaying a date and time: December 6th, 00:38 AM.

Fu Tailan, still holding the gun, tried to flip the switch on the "cells"—the cell phone screens went black instantly and couldn't be turned on no matter what he tried.

It turned out to be the case.

Fu Tailan put her phone back in her pocket, understanding.

Chai Si was cautious enough: if he brought a highly lethal illusion, there was a risk of falling into enemy hands or encountering an accident; so he chose something that could suppress Fu Tai Lan's methods as much as possible, eliminating Fu Tai Lan's advantages, and he would personally handle the actual killing.

In that case, the next switch to be flipped is naturally "Chai Si's gun".

Fu Tailan lowered his head, his fingers already sliding to the corresponding position on the power strip; however, before he could even turn it on, a dim, dark shadow seemed to appear at the edge of his five senses.

The next second, he suddenly floated in mid-air.

The feeling of weightlessness seemed to lift his thoughts and mind into the air, making them float up briefly.

In that instant, Fu Tailan had a sudden realization.

Ah, no wonder Chai Si is so quiet.

He knew that my attention was being diverted by the power strip, so he waited for an opportunity, took advantage of my moment of relaxation, and in one fell swoop, he got up and threw the entire hospital bed, along with me, into the air.

In Fu Tailan's vision, the ceiling, the floor, a pistol, and the power strip in his hand all tilted towards him, as if drawing a leisurely arc in mid-air; as he climbed over the peak, everything suddenly accelerated and plummeted—the lights dimmed, and the shadow of the hospital bed pressed heavily down on him.

We cannot give Che Si a chance to fire.

As Fu Tailan spun and fell, in the brief moment before he hit the floor and then the hospital bed, he still gripped the power strip tightly, fumbling for its location, and barely managed to flip the switch—the next instant after the switch was flipped, everything went black.

Well, he turned off the power in the room himself.

The entire ward was suddenly filled with large areas of shadow, with only the dim light from the corridor lamp illuminating a small patch of floor near the doorway.

Fu Tailan fell to the ground first. He had just curled up and covered his head and face when the hospital bed slammed down on him. The blankets, sheets, and other items that had been lying on the bed were instantly caught in a fishing net full of rocks, and he could see nothing.

At this moment, struggling to throw off the sheets and push away the hospital bed would undoubtedly be telling Chai Si where he is and where to shoot.

Fu Tailan endured the pain, remaining motionless, his fingers rapidly flipping up every switch on the power strip that wasn't turned off—except for his own gun.

"Fu Tai Lan's gun" is the first one, so it's easy to avoid.

When he felt someone lift the weight off him, Fu Tailan listened to the sound and fired a shot from under the sheets in the direction of the noise.

...Cockroaches are not easy to kill.

When Fu Tailan threw off the bed sheet, she already knew the outcome of her shot.

He glanced around the dimly lit ward and saw a figure just pounce behind the vital signs monitor—what was the difference between Chai Si and a rat or cockroach? Fu Tailan couldn't possibly guess.

"Brother Chai?"

Just as he was about to follow up and fire another shot, Han Liuyue's shout came from the distant corridor outside.

Honestly, why does Han Liuyue always appear at the wrong time?

The fake sign at the door was also switched off, so there was absolutely no way to fool her—we can't let her get stuck in the room, otherwise we'll be attacked from both sides and won't be able to escape.

Fu Tailan sighed inwardly. Using the light coming in through the doorway, he grabbed his wallet and keys, which had miraculously survived being knocked away from the bedside table, and rushed towards the door. Chai Si had obviously realized that his gun was useless and was actually using it as a brick, throwing it straight at him. Fortunately, he was prepared and ducked to avoid it.

Is it annoying or not?

"Han Liuyue!" Chai Si roared from the depths of the darkness, "Fu Tailan is still alive, and he has a gun!"

Fu Tailan's response was to turn around and shoot him twice after rushing out the door. "Serves you right for being so talkative."

Even though he really wanted to play a game of whack-a-mole with Chai Si using bullets, the opportunity had passed: when Han Liuyue rushed over, she pulled her hand out of the plastic bag and found a Desert Eagle in her hand.

"Sister June," Fu Tailan smiled gently at her, then raised her gun in her direction: "Don't miss me too much, I'm leaving now."

Amidst the screams and footsteps of passersby, the bullet he fired at the ceiling indeed forced Han Liuyue to the corner—buying him the opportunity to turn and escape.

Fu Tailan originally thought that the Kai family would not let him off easily, and that even if they turned the hospital into a battlefield, they would hold on tightly.

However, it seems that Han Liuyue didn't even chase after him.

As Fu Tailan pushed open the stairwell door, preparing to sit on the handrail and slide down, he vaguely heard Han Liuyue's fragmented voice, carried by the wind into the stairwell, like a few fallen leaves, swaying on the noisy and turbulent waves.

Her voice was panicked, even fearful.

"...Brother Chais...no...Blackmore City...we need to leave quickly..."

(End of this chapter)