Artifact Report

Chapter 386 Chess - Not an Illusion and Concave
To go downstairs, you naturally have to take the elevator, right?
In daily life, there are too many muscle memories formed by repetitive habits.

Without much thought, the brain naturally makes a decision by following the most familiar and least resistant path. This is a very normal phenomenon. How many times have you found yourself suddenly picking up your phone without even realizing it?

It's the same thing.

It's the same thing.

It's the same thing.

A gentle breeze ruffled his disheveled hair, brushing against his eyebrows and eyes, tickling him. Chai Si squeezed his eyes shut, brushing his hair back with one hand, just as he heard Han Liuyue say, "...Same thing, huh?"

"What did you say?"

Perhaps it was because he turned his head too quickly and his face looked too pale that Han Liuyue was startled. She stood up straighter and said in a tense voice, "As I just said, I can't remember anything about when I entered the elevator, nor do I remember who went to the elevator first. It feels like... like sometimes you don't realize it until you find your phone in your hand and you're scrolling through social media."

Was she the one who just spoke?
No... The content is similar, but the intention is completely different.

...What's going on? Wasn't this the elevator she was supposed to take...?

Chai Si also had no memory of "stepping into the elevator"; in fact, whenever he tried to recall, his mind would become foggy.

"If the flooding in Blackmore City is related to the inexplicable 'strange' events, then the hospital was most likely flooded as well."

As he spoke, Chai Si gently knocked on the elevator door. "We have no memory of deciding to enter the elevator or walking into it, probably because the hospital has also been infected by the anomaly... If all of this is related to the Nest, that's fine, there's always a way to deal with it."

Han Liuyue nodded, her expression resolute, as if she were about to risk her life to demonstrate her determination once again—the next second, a loud hissing sound came from inside the elevator.

Both of their gazes fell on Han Liuyue's own stomach.

"I...I'm so hungry," Han Liuyue said.

“I can tell,” Chess said.

“It’s alright, it’s a small matter,” Han Liuyue reassured herself, despite her pale face. “I simply don’t—”

Her stomach immediately let out a mocking sound; it lasted so long that Chai Si even wanted to start a timer before the sound subsided again.

He had experienced the same hunger firsthand this morning, and he knew very well that it was no ordinary kind of hunger.

It was a deep-seated instinct, amplified a hundredfold, that could not be suppressed by will or reason—as if the sole purpose of millions of years of animal evolution had been compressed and then exploded completely; it was a blood-red desire that would not hesitate to shatter the world in order to suck the marrow from its broken bones.

"For the safety and convenience of passengers, please address the hunger issue as soon as possible," the electronic announcement in the elevator suddenly rang out. "Hunger leads to decreased physical strength. Passengers with low physical strength should not operate, ride, or enter or exit the elevator."

...It really does smell like a den.

As Mak Ming-ho once said, the “nest domination game” seems to have some kind of intention for the world, and it seems to be happening much faster than he thought, already taking place today.

Chai Si pursed his lips tightly.

If he had known this would happen, he shouldn't have given the target illusion to Uncle Kai... This is part of the "Nest Domination Game" plan, so wouldn't the hunter with the target illusion be the first to be in danger?
Regardless, he must leave this elevator as soon as possible and take Uncle Kai out of Blackmore City.

"If you wish to have something to eat, please take the elevator to the third floor." The next sentence from the electronic announcement made Chai Si pause in surprise: "The third floor is the hospital's self-service restaurant for the public and patients."

Can I go out?

This surprise was clearly not limited to Chai Siyou; Han Liuyue was also stunned—neither of them had expected that the elevator would arrive at the third floor smoothly and open the door without any problems.

Across a corridor was an open-plan dining area; the restaurant was brightly lit, with condensation clinging to the dark glass windows and water stains mingling on the floor, which was steaming with the warmth of people's bodies.

Many people flocked into the restaurant, sitting blankly like refugees who had suffered a disaster, their eyes lifeless, but their lips kept opening and closing, as if they would get answers and be saved if they talked and asked enough questions.

Amid the hustle and bustle of the restaurant, a mother sat at the table closest to them, wiping away tears as she gently rocked the child in her arms and fed the baby a spoonful of mashed potatoes.

Han Liuyue's eyes suddenly lit up—when she pounced on Chai Si, she was almost as fast and agile as if she were walking on fire and wind. Even with Chai Si's reaction, he almost failed to catch her.

"Come back!" he whispered.

Chai Si was deeply grateful that he had eaten his fill today.

The moment Han Liuyue turned her head, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say her eyes were filled with hatred; the next second, she realized who had grabbed her, and barely managed to stand up before asking, "Brother Chai Si, why can't we go?"

“None of us pressed the button for the third floor,” Chai Si said.

Han Liuyue stared at him, panting a few times, seemingly unable to comprehend it for a moment. She glanced at the elevator buttons, then turned to look at the elevator doors.

The elevator doors remained tightly closed, a dull, metallic gray, while a bright red "1" lit up the screen.

The only one who noticed something was wrong, Chai Si, was the one who didn't, because Chai Si was full.

He watched as Han Liuyue, unable to contain her disappointment, slammed her fists against the elevator door several times. She gasped for breath, wiped her mouth, and said, "Was that just a hallucination?"

"I don't know, but it probably isn't."

"what?"

“Because illusions are meaningless.” Before Han Liuyue could lose her mind again due to the food, Chai Si explained, “You and I both believed that we saw the restaurant, rushed out, and then what? We crashed into the door and came to our senses? What’s the point of setting up this restaurant illusion? It can’t just be to fool people.” Han Liuyue nodded as if she was a little unwilling.

“There’s another point. I can’t be sure… because when I try to recall, even something that happened just seconds ago, it’s like I’m submerged in water; the scene and details are all blurry.” Chai Si said in a low voice, “I can only make judgments based on logical analysis.”

"What logical analysis?" Han Liuyue asked, accompanied by a loud rumbling in her stomach.

“You rushed too fast just now, I almost missed catching you. I remember that. That means you at least made it to the door. And look at me... I'm just standing by the door, aren't I?”

Chai Si measured the distance. From where he was to the door, he could easily reach the elevator door with just a wave of his hand, let alone stretch out his arm.

This elevator car is not spacious; it's a regular elevator for general visitors, not a large, dedicated elevator that can accommodate hospital beds and wheelchairs. Even with just one driver, it's already a bit cramped.

"So that means..." Han Liuyue understood, "I should have bumped into the door much earlier."

But she didn't.

Although Chai Si hurriedly stretched out his arm and grabbed the back of her clothes at the last moment, he managed to pull her back to his side.

“So you’ve probably already rushed out,” Chess said, “through this closed door.”

"But...why?"

The fact that she didn't ask "how to get out" shows that even though she was suffering from hunger, she still retained some rationality and knew that "How" was an invalid question.

“I think that if we accept a ‘scenario’ or ‘action’ without question, it will inevitably become the next ‘reality’ we find ourselves in,” Chai Si said, pondering. “...just like when you get into an elevator.”

Han Liuyue paused for a few seconds. "Then...that means if I had really gone out just now, I would have actually been able to get food?"

Chai Si rubbed his temples.

“We’re in the elevator now, and the situation hasn’t changed, which means we’re in a ‘neutral zone.’” He had experienced that kind of hunger firsthand, so he explained patiently: “We don’t understand what kind of situation this is, and if we act rashly, it could trigger a more disastrous outcome than hunger.”

Han Liuyue responded with a "Yes".

She seemed eager to use her brain to analyze a way out; but her body was far more straightforward than her mind, and she had already grabbed her backpack and started rummaging through it—but she ended up with two bags in her hands and couldn't find a single piece of food.

“I’ll take them,” Chai Si said in a low voice as he took the two heavy backpacks. “You can’t waste your energy right now.”

Han Liuyue didn't refuse. She looked up blankly and asked, "What's our next step?"

Since waking up, she has experienced a series of unexpected events and her stress has been constantly rising, while her blood sugar has been gradually dropping... Even though she is a hunter, she is still a human being and will be affected by her body.

I can't trust her judgment at this moment, although it's a bit unfair to her to say that.

Simply put, you can't trust her.

Simply put, you can't trust her.

"Let's start with the rules for electronic voice broadcasting; that's the only information we can rely on."

Chai Si blurted out, then realized his voice was unnecessarily high—"Let's sort this out first. The first rule is, don't force the door open, because moisture will get in, right?"

“Yes,” Han Liuyue said, sitting down decisively. She needed to conserve her energy.

"The second one is..."

In his recollection, Chai Si felt as if he had fallen into the water again, searching for a vague, swaying seaweed in the thick, dark waves and shadows—Han Liuyue was the same, judging from her expression.

This time, perhaps because the elevator, like a nest, wanted to maintain fairness, he finally remembered.

Chai Si tidied his wind-blown hair and said, "The second sentence, I remember, was 'Some floors are still dry, and the dry floors are randomly distributed throughout the hospital building. Please go to the dry floors for refuge.' Right?"

Han Liuyue stared at him intently.

“No, that’s not right,” she said softly. “Brother Chai, you must be mistaken. The second message was very strange, so I remembered it clearly. The second message only had one word.”

For a moment, Chai Si thought he understood the answer.

Did I miss a word?

But Han Liuyue was clearly not convinced by this explanation at all.

“Impossible,” she said, never doubting or backing down on what she firmly believed, even in front of Chai Si. “The original announcement was, ‘The second message is about to be broadcast, it’s only one word, please pay attention and don’t miss it.’ After saying that, he paused, as if to make us concentrate.”

...This is the first time Chai Si has heard this sentence today.

Even if memories are hazy, it is very difficult to mistake unfamiliar information that has never been heard before.

"What was the word it said?" Chai Si asked.

"'concave'."

(End of this chapter)