Artifact Report

Chapter 372 Brianna Gutter and Stars
In just a short moment, Brianna was overwhelmed with a torrent of emotions.

She discovered it; Jin Xueli must have seen it, with Jacqueline's long body trailing behind her.

How disgusting, how hateful! To see myself like this, and that smooth-skinned, beautiful Jin Xueli, who's never suffered any hardship, sees me like this! Why? Why? If she dares to pity me...
Vastly different, vastly different, vastly different. I am nothing but filthy mud, unfit for the light of day. If she dares to utter another word of falsehood, I will make her wish she were dead.
Or I should just kill her. Once I've killed her, I can trap her, pretend to be cheerful and peaceful, and approach Morando again.
She'd rather live in the hellish world of Morando where she could only see Kim Seol-ri, as long as Kim Seol-ri's body contained her—

That night at the gas station, she asked me what my name was.

I will tell her in her last moments before she dies.

In that instant, Brianna was overwhelmed by a torrent of emotions, so much so that it took her a second or two to realize that beneath the golden pear's head in the window was a small mountain of white flour, encased in clothing.

She quickly calmed down and cursed herself for being ridiculous.

If I'm going to become so vulnerable and unable to control myself just for the sake of a future body, I might as well kill Kim Seol-ri sooner rather than later.

“…What are you?” Brianna asked coldly.

"Golden Snow Pear" in the window stretched out a white, sticky, and soft hand, pointed to her own face, then to Jacqueline's face, and then shook her finger.

……What's the meaning?
As if to emphasize something, "Jin Xueli" pointed to Jin Xueli's face again and gave a thumbs up.

When it pulled its finger away from Jacqueline's face, its thumb fell down. It then pointed to the door and waved its hand vigorously.

"Can't I go in?" Brianna asked.

Jin Xueli nodded.

Brianna slowly narrowed her eyes.

It's understandable that outsiders aren't allowed in; this is the private room Jin Xueli received as a reward... But why is it pointing at her face?
Is the criterion for whether or not someone is allowed in based on their appearance?

If other criteria were used, perhaps harsh measures would have to be taken; but if it's just about looks...

No, if it's just about looks, wouldn't any vulture be able to walk in? Kim Seol-ri wouldn't be that careless, would she?

Brianna glanced back at the vultures waiting on the road and changed her mind.

Not necessarily.

Vultures, or shapeshifting residents, don't care what kind of illusions Kim Seol-ri is hiding, and they won't steal them when she's not around; the residents are only interested in killing.

The residents, unaware that she would end up here, wouldn't try to get in, much less stay in the room waiting for a Jin Xueli who might appear at any time—the same logic applies to the hunters.

Vulture and Brianna both found their way here by chance; how could an ordinary person know out of thin air that Shirley Kim owns this room and has hidden a fake?
In any case... before forcing her way in, she could try a less forceful approach.

Brianna walked back onto the street, and Vulture glanced at her. "They won't let us in, will they? What do we do?"

"You saw Jin Xueli's face in the window, didn't you?" she asked. "Can you conjure up just that face?"

"My ability is for occupying human identities, not for performing impersonations."

The vulture, with a long face, said, "I need to get close to Jin Xueli in person to transform into her again. Are you going to take me to her first? Besides, if I can get in, can you?"

Brianna, out of consideration for Jacqueline's body, did not slap her again.

Disguise that can alter appearance is not uncommon in the lair.

However, things always seem to go against us – when we don't need it, we always hear about these kinds of illusions, but when we really need it, Brianna searched the lair for a whole day and still couldn't find it.

"Maybe we should just forget about it,"

The vulture seemed afraid that Brianna would run away and break her promise, so it stayed close to her, serving no purpose other than to cause trouble. "What's the use of taking the illusion? Even if you can get in, there's no guarantee you'll be able to wait for Shirley and kill her."

Mind your own business and stop commenting on me.

“I have nothing to do myself,” the vulture said. “I was born with only one purpose: to make other people’s problems my problems.”

...This is so annoying.

Perhaps it was the inertia of her time as a hunter, but now that Brianna had grasped a clue, she naturally wanted to follow it closely.

It would be incredibly painful to ignore her and stop her from digging deeper—does that mean I have no choice but to force my way through?
As she walked, lost in thought, she didn't know what she saw out of the corner of her eye, but a thought suddenly popped into her mind, making her realize that today was already December 1st.

Huh?
Brianna turned around and understood: it was a beauty salon on the side of the road with a huge sign that read, "First Day of the Month Special Offer! Limited Time Only - December 1st".

She was about to turn back and continue walking when she took a step and then stopped.

Brianna stared at the beauty salon window and the few case study photos inside—she was momentarily stunned.

The same woman, indistinguishable as either a resident or a human, initially appeared quite ordinary. But in the "after" photo, while she still had the same features, they became strikingly different, as if a layer of puffiness and ordinariness had been sculpted away; long, light, milky-white wings sprouted from the back of her head, seemingly trembling slightly as they draped over her shoulders.

……What a nice view.

She had long forgotten what beauty felt like.

When Brianna came to her senses, she found herself walking towards the door. Behind the beauty salon window, a beautician with her head wrapped in bandages, only her eyes visible, had appeared sometime earlier, and she didn't know how long she had been beckoning her; now, her bandages were bulging with laughter, and she was still waving at her, finally drawing Brianna into the beauty salon.

...Isn't that a bit too far-fetched?

Even if they are somewhat similar...

Even if I used to look like Kim Seol-ri...

Or was that just an excuse to come in?

As Brianna stood inside the store, she finally realized her mistake. She shouldn't have come in; why did she even come in?

She stood between two rows of bright, clear mirrors, like an experimental insect shrouded in the bright light of a laboratory—in fact, what difference was there between her and an insect?
How horrible and disgusting, I don't want to watch.
Even though she was still inside Jacqueline's body, she couldn't help but shrink tightly, staring at the stains at the beautician's feet, her gaze not daring to move even slightly.

She wanted to bury her head deep, to scream, to cover her eyes, to smash the mirrors on both sides, to kill the beautician, to tear the nest apart and sink into darkness with the world, never to be seen again.

"...Speak up, what style of look do you want?"

The beautician bent down, peering up at Jacqueline's face. "Huh, are you a person, or a resident?"

Brianna stood in the bright, intense light, head bowed, trembling, unable to utter a single word.

“It’s a human shell,” Vulture chimed in naturally, “She’s inside. Hmm… or should I say semi-resident…”

"That's great! Then you should still be able to experience human emotions, right?"

The beautician hugged Jacqueline's waist, and somehow managed to pull Jacqueline off her—this place was much like a barbershop or beauty salon in the real world, as if the moment a customer entered, they had already relinquished the right to dispose of their body to the beautician.

Brianna cried out involuntarily, then lay prostrate on the ground, her head hanging low.

"I love the subtle, complex, and ambiguous emotions of humankind the most... Those that are too intense are like overly spicy food; they may feel good for a moment, but they always leave you with a lingering aftertaste."

The beautician's voice, like a dark pool, slowly filled the room, gradually rising and engulfing Brianna; so engulfing her that she could no longer see things, and she could hardly feel her long, long waist and back.

"The styling I can do... will still be you, I won't turn you into someone else. But the style you want... I think it's entirely possible. As long as you can provide me with some delicious food that satisfies me."

The beautician lowered her head, leaned close to Brianna, took a deep breath, and the bandage around her nostrils dented downwards.

"I want to taste something fresh and complex... subtle, dim, desolate, hopeful, beautiful. If you still have a human part left, look for it in that part."

Its voice seemed to float away as it laughed.

Brianna felt her chin being lifted up by it; it seemed to be scrutinizing her face.

"Even a fully human being might not be able to fulfill this request. Sluggish, rudimentary, numb humans who can only see black and white... there are as many of them as you could ever want. And you? Were you one of them before?"

A few seconds later, the beautician said in a slightly surprised voice, "...Ah, she cried."

Brianna knew what she was doing.

She lay on the floor, filled with fear and trepidation, gazing up at the mirror hanging on the wall through her blurry eyes.

She had always been like this, lying dead in the filthy, stinking sewer, barely raising her head, staring unblinkingly at the night sky and the stars.

If I don't look up at the stars, this half of my life will have no support.

She didn't know how much longer she could gaze at the stars; she didn't know how much longer the starry sky would exist.

She didn't know whether she was looking up at Morandall or at a version of herself that she could never get close to again.

Brianna could only keep looking up, telling herself that she could see the glittering silver star again in the mirror.

"...Okay, that's good." After some time, she heard a voice say from afar, "Would you like to look in a mirror? I'll go get you one."

Brianna gradually regained her senses of her body, her arms, her face, and the light. She was still in the beauty salon, not submerged; she lay on the floor, and something seemed different.

The tangled, dirty clumps of hair that used to obstruct part of the view had disappeared, leaving the hair light and clear.

The beautician squatted down and placed a hand mirror in front of her.

Brianna instinctively closed her eyes, then slowly opened them and fixed her gaze.

...The image in the mirror wasn't entirely her past self; after all, the past Brianna was merely the prototype from which she was born.

It's not entirely Kim Sulli's face—although there is a resemblance.

There's a resemblance, somewhat like the appearance of Fu Tailan when she transformed into her, but not much more.

The mirror reflects Brianna as she is now, the night, a distant, cool, and dim star like snowflakes in the darkness.

Perhaps she still has a way home.

(End of this chapter)