Artifact Report

Chapter 445 Chess - The Truth Behind the Screening

Damian's revenge was successful.

To be more precise, he was at least halfway to success.

But one thing is certain: Damian himself doesn't know yet.

Because this was just a side effect he unintentionally caused—everyone present, including Damian, had long forgotten about that incident.

Just as the nest was overturned in the sky, rain was still falling between heaven and earth.

Rules, originating from countless traps and scripts, drifted down into the world along with the raindrops; among them, a drizzle of rules fell on Chai Si's face, which he unconsciously wiped away with his hand.

Chai Si thought to himself, "I really don't know when my good luck will end."

It all happened because he subconsciously wiped his face—the rule text was wiped away along with the rainwater, so none of the people present knew what the rule originally meant.

At that time, only three fragments remained, weakly clinging to Chais's fingers:
"Only in"

"When"

"Screening"

Everyone present, including Damian, saw the three fragments; but they could not form any meaning.

Now, Chess finally understands its meaning. He can even complete that rule now.

"Only when someone is saved from near death and then has physical contact with another person."

He couldn't think straight anymore.

If he were to continue thinking about it, he would rather stab himself in the temple.

He didn't know what kind of ruins he would have collapsed into if Damian and Cironan weren't here; similarly, he didn't know why he was still standing.

He even felt a slight sense of bewilderment and surprise.

His liver, intestines, flesh, bones, and the last vestige of his existence deep within his soul had all shattered, piece by piece. Why was he still standing?

Why is he still able to think?
He had already fallen to the ground, his head pressed down by the hand of the gods, plunged into a suffocating catastrophe—couldn't they see that?

Neither Kaironan nor Damian could tell that they were almost there—

“It’s disgusting,” Damian was still muttering. “It’s disgusting. I’m going to throw up, really, I need to spit out, spit out, spit out that disgusting stuff on your face…”

Whatever that disgusted Damian was on his face, Chais knew it was gone now.

Chai Si slowly licked his chapped lips, his thoughts drifting like a wisp of mist rising after the rain, scattered and sparse, shrouding his mind.

Damian hadn't seen his face yet.

Damian must not know—Damian must not know that he has actually succeeded; he has already severed the bond that has sustained Chais for twenty-five years.

The reason I didn't let him know wasn't for any other reason than that Chai Si couldn't stand it.

Killing you is killing you. You will never have the chance to be as triumphant as you were that night seventeen years ago.

We need to help Uncle Kai—

We need to help Cheronan achieve his goals.

“I’m not leaving either,” Kaironan said, closing his eyes and shaking his head. He seemed not to hear Damian’s words, and, gripping Chess’s shoulder, said, “We’ll face this together.”

Chai Si opened his mouth, but couldn't say anything.

“Don’t confront him yet,” Kaironan gestured for him to step back a bit. “Let me talk to him. If he still sees me as his father, things will be much easier.”

Chai Si nodded.

He turned around, pulled his feet out of the vast, empty fog, and placed them on the floor of the nightmare. Step by step, he walked towards the edge of the parking lot.

Chess walked far away; when he turned back, he found that he could no longer hear Damian and Caronan's conversation.

Is it too far?

For now, his actions and attitude should remain unchanged, or perhaps he shouldn't... Never mind, let it be.

Chai Si was too exhausted to walk back.

He turned his head again, staring blankly at the dimly lit department store building. All he knew was that he was looking at that small balcony—separated from the Chai Company by only a narrow road.

He stood there blankly for a while, not knowing why he had come over, how long he had been standing there, or what he was waiting for.

Suddenly, amidst the dappled shadows on the small balcony, something stirred slightly.

A human silhouette slowly emerged from the darkness—the person who had just been lying prone on the ground seemed to be the same one.

who is it?

When Chai Si looked up at the figure, he suddenly realized that he was looking at the only person in this place who was willing to save him.

No wonder he came here in such a distraught state.

"...Shiji?"

He recognized it immediately—it was Mak Ming-ho's voice. How could it be Mak Ming-ho?
Perhaps the answer was too unexpected, or perhaps the world had become so distorted that he could no longer recognize it, but Chai Si was not surprised at all.

As if they had arranged to meet, he didn't even think to ask, "What are you doing here?" He simply said naturally, "You'd better leave now. Damian will find you."

“He’s already found out,” Ma Minghe whispered.

Chai Si stared at her blankly.

"Didn't he stare at me for a while just now? I don't know why, but I just feel... he's already realized that I'm the one who fired the shot."

At this point, Mak Ming-ho glanced at the two people in the parking lot before continuing, "I don't know what's so special about me... but he actually saved my life in the lair before, and now he's letting me go again. I don't understand why."

Chai Si was speechless for a moment. He stood there blankly for a few seconds, then waved his hand: "Anyway, you should leave. It's safer if you leave."

As he turned to leave, Mai Minghe suddenly asked, "You know?"

Chai Si suddenly twisted his body, and in that instant, it was as if a ferocious beast was about to roar and rush out of his body, turning into a torrent, wishing it could tear everything apart and wash everything away—he barely managed to calm himself down and asked hoarsely, "...What do you know?"

Mai Minghe remained silent for a few seconds.

Chai Si realized that she was looking for the gentlest and least hurtful way to tell the truth—but unfortunately, such a way did not exist.

Mai Minghe took a breath.

The words were on the tip of her tongue, but she changed them again: "You...you want him to succeed? You don't hate him?"

She found out, just as she suspected.

Chai Si's ears were ringing, and apart from the sound of blood rushing into his vision and brain, he heard nothing else.

If a person could be drowned in their own blood, they would be the first in the world.

“Yes, I hope he succeeds,” he heard himself whisper, “but I hate it.”

"Then why are you still—"

Mai Minghe paused, as if she finally understood that no matter how carefully she chose her words, she couldn't avoid hurting people with what she was about to say. "Then why were you still willing to be used by him?"

Chai Si didn't speak. He couldn't bring himself to say it.

Many things in the world, when they are just speculations swirling in our minds, seem unreal and still have room for maneuver; but once others say them out loud, they become facts that can crush a person.

He stood there in a daze, and heard Mai Minghe continue to ask, "You know...you know that Kaironan is using you as a bargaining chip to get things from Damian, right?"

Of course he knew.

The truth was revealed when Keronan patted him on the shoulder.

No one saw it, because that rule only applied to Chai Si.

When the "truth" played out in his mind like a movie, Chai Si even thought he was going crazy for the first moment—images and sounds swept through his mind, and in just a few seconds, he could see everything clearly.

“Damian wanted revenge on Chess, which is why he brought the lair into the human world. But Chess won’t be depressed or in pain because of this... instead, it gave him motivation.”

He saw a double image of Keronan before his eyes.

One stood beside me, and the other stood in the parking lot at a distance.

The second Uncle Kai seems to have turned the open space into a stage, where he is performing a monologue.

"You can tell just by looking into this child's eyes,"

The other Caronan looked at Chess with an almost loving expression. "Death, battle, pain, morality... none of these can torment him. Both his talent and his will are worthy of my decision to adopt him. A rare talent in the world."

Chai Si's gratitude and joy vanished in the next second.

"There is only one thing in the world that can cause him pain. Or rather, there is only one person who can cause him pain... and that is me."

Another Kaironan glanced at Damian and said, "Damian wasn't entirely unaware of this. That's why he tried to tempt me into becoming the Lord of the Lair. But Damian's thinking is too shallow."

Caronan smiled.

“Only I can torment Chess, which means I have the only real bargaining chip at this negotiating table. As long as I remain by Chess's side and don’t follow Damian’s script, even if Chess dies tonight, he will die of gratitude and loyalty… Once he’s dead, Damian will never have the chance to make him suffer again.”

Caronan wiped his face and slowly exhaled.

"Damian must have lived a life worse than death in the lair for the past seventeen years. His own personality, coupled with the nature of the lair's inhabitants... he probably hasn't had a single day without tormenting himself, a single day without living in hell."

He looked at his son. "That's good."

“The more pain he has suffered in the past, the more he wants revenge now, and the more valuable my stake becomes.”

Kaironan scanned the parking lot, the streets, the buildings... and the nest in the sky.

"Since I have the only bargaining chip, why should I ask Damian for any petty benefits? He can give me whatever he wants and take away whatever he can give me. He's too naive. He thinks that if I just have an experience and watch a movie, I'll succumb to temptation and agree to become a knife he uses to stab Chai Si? With such a mindset, no wonder Chai Si killed me back then."

Caronan lowered his head and slowly examined the gun in his hand.

"Whether it's the qualification to participate, the seven target illusions, or the future of the human world and the nest... they are all mine."

(End of this chapter)