Artifact Report

Chapter 383 Unpredictable Rainstorm, Protection, Manor
Why did it take you so long to fight back?

The moment the call connected, Jin Xueli's anger and volume were so loud that a gust of wind seemed to escape from the bottom of the phone's microphone. "Do you know I almost died today because of the Kai family? Oh no, it was yesterday!"

Tianxi didn't remember being very close to her.

But this didn't seem to stop Jin Xueli from being overly familiar with everyone; she said whatever came to mind, however she wanted, without caring about etiquette or whether her tone was a bit harsh—it didn't seem like the two of them were close, but rather like Tianxi owed her money.

“I didn’t have time to check my phone,” he explained. “I just saw your…seventeen missed calls and twenty-four messages.”

Chai Si remained unconscious, and all the big and small matters of the Kai family suddenly fell on Tian Xi, who was not prepared at all.

His mind was preoccupied with family and official business, and he was so busy that he didn't even have time to drink water. When he suddenly saw so many bright red numbers on his phone, he almost thought something terrible had happened. For a moment, his heart stopped beating, and he even doubted whether he could hold on until the ambulance arrived.

He breathed a long sigh of relief when he saw that both the caller and the sender were Kim Seol-ri.

No matter what bad things happen, they certainly won't happen to the Kai family hunters.

"Yes," Kim Seol-ri said on the phone, clearly not being one of her strong points. "I've been very restrained."

Tianxi hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

He changed the subject: "What happened to you? Why did you come to me?"

This question had a significant impact; Jin Xueli instantly transformed into a bottle of cola with Mentos added.

In just a moment, she unleashed a torrent of complaints and indignation from the phone—a person, a living person, with only one mouth and one tongue, managed to spew out so many words at once. If Tianxi hadn't been alive at that moment, he would have almost thought the person on the other end of the phone was a resident.

No, even the residents are ashamed of themselves. Brother Chai must have worked very hard before, right?
"Wait, I know, I know, stop talking." Tianxi wasn't good at dealing with overly active and outgoing girls, so he could only try to soothe them: "You're being chased by the Knight family and are in danger. You want the Kai family to protect you, right?"

"Of course!" Jin Xueli immediately said, "Who was I risking my life for all of this?"

Isn't it for your own shares?
Tianxi was a steady and rational person, so of course he didn't say it aloud.

"Is it urgent? Do I absolutely have to go?"

He glanced at the time; it was almost midnight on the 4th.

Logically, this is not the time to make a phone call, but among illusion hunters, this is rarely a concern; the repeated comings and goings from their lair have worn away the ties of lineage on many people, leaving only faint, fragmented shadows of old ropes.

Unless absolutely necessary, Tianxi was unwilling to leave the mansion—even though there were other hunters guarding the unconscious Chai Si.

“I’m about to die, and you’re saying you’re not worried? You’re a fairly important person in the Kai family, so it’s safer for you to come and get me.” Jin Xueli didn’t hide her intentions at all. “If some nobody comes instead, that person will just die in vain along with me. The Knight family must have some reservations about killing you… right?”

“…Thank you,” Tianxi said.

Since we're going to protect her anyway, why not just bring her to the Kai family's place? That way, we can appease her and prevent her from causing any more trouble. These are turbulent times, and stabilizing the situation is crucial.

As soon as he finished speaking, Jin Xueli said "Wait a minute," and then whispered a few words to the person next to her.

Beside her were two women, one of whom had a deep, cool voice that sounded somewhat familiar, but Tianxi couldn't quite place it—"Going to the Kai family is fine. That's their stronghold; your safety will be guaranteed."

"Besides, with all this wind and rain these past few days, it's a bit worrying to leave him stranded at the dock," said another woman's voice, still somewhat sleepy.

...Since you revealed your hiding place so easily, let's go to the Kai family's place instead.

“Okay, it’s settled then,” Jin Xueli finally said. “Shouldn’t you come pick me up, both morally and practically?”

is it?

"Can't your friend bring you here?" Tianxi asked.

On the other end of the phone, a somewhat familiar voice chuckled beside Jin Xueli and mumbled, "You absolutely can't expect me to deliver this to the Kai family's doorstep."

...Do they have a grudge against us?

“Come pick me up,” Jin Xueli said without giving Tianxi a moment to think. “I don’t want to go alone.”

A dignified illusion hunter, who can come and go from his lair with ease, is now unwilling to come to the Kai family alone in Blackmore City—Tianxi sighed and made an appointment with her for a time and place.

The Kai family mansion is located far outside Blackmore City, in the Upper State District; with the current wind and rain, it would take at least two or three hours to drive from the mansion to the Central Bay Wharf. By the time he picks up the person and returns, the night will be over. Tianxi, realizing he'd be gone all night, sent Chai Si a message explaining his whereabouts. However, he didn't mention the specific difficulties Jin Xueli had encountered—Chai Si might not wake up before he returned, and there was no need to explain too much about a situation he himself wasn't entirely clear about.

He wanted to hurry and return as soon as possible, but he never expected the weather to be so bad: the night was soaked by the torrential rain and tossed about by the strong winds, and the headlights, streetlights, and all the lights seemed unable to penetrate the dense and heavy road ahead.

Every now and then, Tianxi had to take a few deep breaths to make sure there was still air in the world and that he hadn't sunk to the bottom of the water.

In such poor visibility, he couldn't find the building Jin Xueli had told him about at all. Instead, he almost slipped and climbed onto a tree trunk by the roadside. After several close calls with danger, he checked the time and realized it was almost 4:30 in the morning, and he couldn't help but feel annoyed.

Jin Xueli seemed to have fallen asleep while waiting for him; her voice was thick and unclear when she answered the phone.

“Come out and find me,” Tianxi told her the name of the street where he had parked, “Look at this weather, the Knights wouldn’t be so precise as to catch you on this short stretch of road. You can’t even see anyone face to face, there’s no safer place than this.”

He thought Kim Seol-ri would protest, but to his surprise, she hesitated for a moment and then quickly agreed—she seemed to want to leave as soon as possible as well.

“Knowing you were coming soon, my friends left,” she said. “I didn’t want to be here alone either.”

Who exactly her friend is, and what grudge she has against the Kai family, he'll have to find out later... Tianxi thought to himself as he waited for Jin Xueli in the driver's seat with his hazard lights on.

***
Jin Xueli knocked on the car window.

Tianxi seemed to be deep in thought about something. He didn't see her approaching in the wind and rain and was suddenly startled by her.

Through the car window and the sound of rain, he said something that Jin Xueli couldn't hear clearly; she only saw him point to the passenger seat, and then the car door clicked softly—it seemed that the car lock had been unlocked.

She had only walked a few dozen meters when half of her body was already soaked.

The thick raincoat that Morando and the other man left her barely covered her thighs, and her pants were dripping wet without needing to be wrung out; the wind was so strong that it blew her hat off several times, and Jin Xueli was slapped countless times by the heavy rain.

Without bothering with formalities, she plopped down in the car, her bottom soaking wet, and said, "You came really fast! What's with this weather? I heard it's been pouring rain for days!"

"I heard?" Tianxi started the car and asked, "Were you at the lair a few days ago?"

No, I'm sleeping.

Seeing a charging cable in his car, Jin Xueli quickly took out her phone and plugged it in. The hiding place Morando had prepared for her was a small storage room; the power outlet was broken, and her phone's battery was already critically low. "I heard it only rained all morning. Hey, the Knights don't waste a single drop; they found me right away."

Despite being hunted by the Knight family, which still made her uneasy, seeing Tianxi immediately calmed her down. The Knight family could bully her because she was all alone; but could they continue to bully the Kai family?
This world has never changed its nature of bullying the weak.

Jin Xueli had a lot to say and a lot of questions to ask, such as what exactly happened to Chai Si, whether he was really gone, where the Kai family's cemetery was located, and whether they could squeeze into that very expensive place from last time...

She also knew that her problem was that her thoughts were scattered and jumpy, making it hard for people to grasp the direction, and she would suddenly veer off course—Tianxi could barely get a word in edgewise except for managing to reply, "Brother Chai is fine, he's just sleeping."

"You know what, at this time of day, in this weather, right next to the dock, and there are still people on the road. He walked with me for a while, and I was gripping my gun tightly when he turned into another alley. I wonder if he was a staff member on duty at a nearby warehouse. Ah, ordinary people have it so tough."

Jin Xueli felt that, given her current wealth, she was no longer among the ordinary people, and was willing to be more approachable.

Despite being one of Chai Si's men, Tian Xi was quite different from him, even a bit of a pushover; he chimed in whenever he could get a word in edgewise—the Kai family really does have all sorts of people.

She was generally quite perceptive when it came to people, and since she had a good impression of Tianxi, she went along with it and asked, "If Chai Si hasn't woken up by tomorrow night, could you come back to Blackmore City with me? I have something to take care of, and your brother Chai Si has been waiting for the outcome of this matter."

The next action point in the illusion report required her to wait for further instructions at the intersection of 102nd Street and Port Sanctuary Boulevard at 11:30 p.m. the following night, December 5th. Kim Sherry was not only uninterested in the "Domination Nest" but almost scoffed at it; if Chai Si were awake, she would even like him to go in her place.

Give him any information about the target's illusions; as long as the money is enough, she doesn't care what nonsense is in the "Illusion Report".

What's a bit strange is that, for some reason, the Nest has approached her, someone who has absolutely no interest in the "game of domination"...

Was it simply because she happened to have a "radio" in her hand?

“No problem,” Tianxi replied, slowing down the car in the wind and rain. “We’ve arrived.”

Jin Xueli looked out the window and gasped.

Everyone calls it "Kai Family Mansion," but this is hardly a mansion; it's clearly a large estate.

The vast, somber complex, along with a tall tower behind the main building, seemed to be looking down on the visitors, sitting far away in the depths of the dark, torrential rain; only a row of spotlights on the grass could barely illuminate the rain that kept tearing the world apart.

(End of this chapter)