Artifact Report

Chapter 394 Mak Ming Ho - Tombstone and Driver
The torrential rain pounded against the heavens and earth, and the endless sound of rain turned into a deathly silence.

After a brief silence, Mercury raised her head, glanced at Mai Minghe, and suddenly smiled: "...You had the same dream too?"

It's not surprising that she could deduce this: Mai Minghe was clearly a stranger to her, yet she recognized Mercury and knew about Si Luocha; the two of them appeared at the same time next to the tanker truck, carrying the same heavy machine gun, and it seemed they had just done the same thing.

"Yes,"

Mai Minghe glanced at the gun in his hand and quickly put it down—what if someone saw this? Such solid evidence—could the rain wash away the fingerprints?

“In my dream, I first became Si Luocha, and then I became you,” Mak Ming-ho said. “It should be when I was shooting at the pickup truck in the dream that I—we actually both shot at this tanker truck.”

Perhaps the storm caused a power outage in the vicinity, and only then did Mak Ming Ho realize, shivering, that the streetlights were not on; the surrounding buildings were completely dark.

She vaguely remembered that after putting Aimeili in the ambulance, Hailuwei also went to the hospital. And then what happened?
When did she get here, and where did she get the gun? What's going on here? It must be related to the dream she had in the waves—but why go to all this trouble to control her and Mercury just to overturn this tanker truck?
The tanker truck overturned on the roadside, swallowing the wall of a building. Under the dark rain, it looked like a giant beast that had fallen to its death at the bottom of the sea; its blood had been drained away, carried away by the vast and endless waters of the world. It lay motionless in the darkness behind the mercury.

How is the tanker truck driver? Why was it targeted? If I call an ambulance now, what will happen to me? After all, she was the one who fired the shot.

Her doubts were too numerous and too numerous, her mind was buzzing.

Perhaps because her mind was filled with chaotic thoughts, she was momentarily distracted, and it wasn't until a few breaths later that Mai Minghe realized that Mercury's gun was pointed at her.

"I see."

...The mercury in Si Luocha's eyes and the mercury in front of him at this moment have almost no relation to each other.

Mercury, holding a gun in one hand, wiped the rain from his face and said with a smile, "When I was controlled by a dream, you were also controlled by a dream, and you were right next to me. Isn't that too much of a coincidence? If you have an explanation, now is the best opportunity to say it."

She suspects me?

For a moment, Mak Ming Ho almost wanted to give a bitter laugh.

She herself had only a vague understanding of the current situation and had no answers—moreover, saying something like seeing a dream in the waves would just be talking nonsense.

All she could do now was raise her hands to avoid accidentally attracting gunfire with the slightest movement.

"this,"

Mercury casually swung the machine gun in her hand twice. The gun was heavy and long; Mai Minghe had been holding it for so long that his muscles were trembling. But in her hands, it was like a toy. "Coincidentally, it's the same as the police equipment."

When she said the word "police," the muscles on her face suddenly twitched, and her smile vanished, revealing her dark, deep-set eyes.

"...What is your relationship with the police?"

If you close your eyes and listen, her tone is almost light and cheerful.

When you open your eyes, you'll find that although she is human, it seems that there is another creature hidden in her soul, staring out motionlessly from her black hole-like eye sockets.

Looking at her, one almost doesn't know what they are gazing at.

This was mercury that Siluocha had never seen before, nor needed to see.

“I…I have nothing to do with the police,” Mak Ming-ho said.

It was the truth, but because of the eerie green fear that seemed to creep up from nowhere, he stammered as if he lacked confidence.

Mercury laughed.

“The police have plenty of legitimate ways to target citizens without getting caught,” she said lightly. “Why would they want to work with a hunter like you?”

Mak Ming-ho took a deep breath and decided to take a risk.

“I didn’t work with them… I was dragged into this just like you,” she said softly. “You hate the police because of the dream you just had? But there were no police in the dream.”

“Yes,” Mercury slowly revealed a pale smile in the dark, rainy night. “...The police haven’t shown up yet.”

Mai Minghe let out a long sigh of relief, understanding dawning on him. "...When did they arrive? Too late?"

Mercury remained silent for a few seconds.

“I arrived a while ago.” Her voice was flat, no longer cheerful. “There were a few patrols around. After the first shot, there were several policemen standing outside the concert hall.”

Mai Minghe stared blankly at her. "But you didn't go in?"

“They didn’t go in,” Mercury said almost slowly. “While people were dying one after another inside, they stayed outside, waiting for reinforcements.”

The torrential rain poured down between them, and the sound of the rain continued for a while before she suddenly said, "...Twenty-seven died, and countless others were seriously injured. She was one of the first to die."

Mercury sighed, its white breath immediately scattered by the rain. "...I don't blame myself."

Mai Minghe paused for a moment, then nodded.

“If everything had to be done all over again, I think she would make the same choice. What you gave her is what she wants most in this world.” Mercury paused, glancing at her. “…What’s your name?”

"Mai Ming River."

Mercury nodded, slowly lowering the gun in his hand. "Hmm, pretty short, not bad."

Mai Minghe stared at the gun barrel pointing towards the ground, still unable to fully release the tension in his chest. Mercury gave off a similar feeling to a madman: his next move was unpredictable.

Even now, she doesn't dare to suggest calling an ambulance for the driver; it would be troublesome if Mercury thought she was looking for backup.

"If we really need to kill you, it wouldn't be good if your name is so long."

As she spoke, Mercury subconsciously touched her neck, which was covered with tattoos—dark blue patches covered her skin, leaving only gaps that were as pale as a stone tablet on a cloudy day.

Suddenly, Mak Ming Ho had a flash of inspiration.

"Are they all dead?" she asked in a low voice. "The names on your neck, they're all..."

"I killed them all," Mercury said with a light laugh. "I kept a few as souvenirs."

Before Si Luocha died, there were only a few names scattered around her neck; now her neck is covered with tattoos—how many of them belong to police officers, Mai Minghe simply doesn't want to ask.

Mercury couldn't possibly be unaware that this was tantamount to tattooing evidence of a crime on his body, almost no different from carrying a corpse around in public.

If you bring her to court, any jury that sees her name on her neck will undoubtedly sentence her to death. Even the hunter—

“…I’ve always looked forward to that day,” Mercury sighed almost contentedly, his fingers slowly stroking down her neck.

What exactly did "that day" refer to? Mak Ming Ho didn't ask.

Beneath the tanker truck behind the mercury, a hazy outline suddenly stirred slightly. In the pitch-black, rainy night, that shadow seemed to ripple like a fleeting illusion before vanishing just as quickly.

Wait, that's...

Mai Minghe squinted.

She wasn't mistaken, even though she could barely make it out: a figure was slowly crawling out of the driver's seat of the tanker truck behind Mercury. The crawling was difficult; it would stop after a few steps, and then continue crawling after a while.

The man appeared to be injured, but his breathing and the extent of his wounds were drowned out by the dark, torrential rain. Had Mai Minghe not happened to catch his movement, he might have thought he was just part of the layers of darkness—he must be the driver, right?

Thank goodness the driver isn't dead! We need to call an ambulance right away!

The driver looked up at the two of them, but even though he couldn't see his face clearly, Mai Minghe could still feel his gaze.

That's strange.

Why didn't he call for help? Did he already realize that they were the ones who fired the shot?
Then why climb in this direction?

The next instant, the thought that flashed through Mai Minghe's mind was almost brighter than the lightning that suddenly tore through the rain curtain in the sky.

There was no time to say anything. She suddenly lunged at Mercury, knocking her down as Mercury hastily raised his machine gun. The two of them tumbled together onto the dark, river-like road—the torrential rain, the splashing water, the gunshots ringing in their ears, and the muzzle flashes behind Mercury seemed to shake the world into pieces.

"...Watch out!"

The person had already fallen to the ground when Mai Minghe finally shouted out—she could barely hear her own shout, her ears filled with a buzzing sound and her heart pounding wildly.

Just as she lunged at Mercury, Mercury fired at the same time; fortunately, it wasn't a pistol, so it wasn't as agile when turning around, and the bullet grazed past Mai Minghe.

As the two tumbled into a puddle, the tanker truck driver fired from behind. In the torrential rain, chaos, and darkness, Mak Ming-ho couldn't see what was happening at all, and could only urgently shout, "That driver! He fired—are you hurt?"

Mercury lay on the ground, still pinned beneath Mai Minghe.

In the dim, rainy night, she frowned deeply and groaned, "My shoulder..."

Mai Minghe finally heard her clearly and quickly released his hand from her shoulder. He belatedly realized that his hand was covered in warm, slippery liquid. As the blood was quickly washed away by the heavy rain, Mai Minghe looked up.

The driver has stood up.

Seemingly because he had been exposed, he stopped crawling and staggered toward the two men, raising his gun and aiming it at Mai Minghe.

"Which faction are you from?" he gasped. "Don't move! If anyone moves, I'll shoot immediately! Tell me, which faction are you from?"

Mai Minghe stared blankly at him, then glanced at the tanker truck in the distance.

"...You're a hunter?" She could hardly understand. "That car..."

"How dare you lay a hand on the Knight family's car!" The driver, refusing to listen to a word, continued to roar, "Tell me, which family sent you? How did you know we were transporting the raw material?"

(End of this chapter)