Artifact Report

Chapter 452 Brianna - The One Who Will Enter the Nest Tonight

Brianna couldn't remember exactly how many residents had come to the area.

She tore down all the iron railings in the back garden, one by one, and piled them up, so that they could be used as weapons if needed.

The "white dough" resident in Jin Xueli's room was very unhappy about this, but it seemed unable to leave the room and could only keep hissing through the window.

The sounds drifted outside, only to be swallowed up by the night filled with the sounds of fierce fighting, rage, and howls.

After the iron railings were removed, Brianna climbed around Moran Drive, piling her body up to enclose herself firmly in the middle of the "wall"—for the first time, she felt grateful for her endless body; it wasn't entirely a nightmare after all.

Somewhere on her long, long body, Morandau's body temperature nestled against her, cool and heavy.

Occasionally, a rare opening would appear amidst the relentless attacks of countless residents, allowing Brianna a moment to catch her breath.

Every time that happened, she would feel a panic and desperately try to feel for Morandau's breath on a section of her back—the first two times, it seemed that he was still breathing.

But now, Brianna can't feel it anymore.

The residents won't die, but they will still get hurt and feel pain; her coiled, snake-like body has now almost become an encyclopedia of injuries—almost every imaginable harm has been etched into her body.

On one side of her body, large patches of skin had melted away, revealing a fuzzy, greenish mass of flesh beneath; if she hadn't personally experienced every drop of pain, Brianna wouldn't have believed that it had ever been her body.

In another place, the skin and flesh swelled up in mounds, forming dozens of wandering "hydatidiform moles"; that part of the body became increasingly red, hot, and itchy, until finally each "hydatidiform mole" burst open, spraying out dozens of tiny, shrill shadows—they rushed toward Brianna, constantly hissing "Mama," and as soon as they jumped onto her arms and body, they began to suck her blood.

...Does she still have blood?
For a while, they grew densely all over her body, as if she were covered in barnacles.

By the time Brianna finally managed to kill them one by one, she was dizzy and breathless.

Some residents found it troublesome or were afraid of the pain of fighting, so they left after a brief and unsuccessful attempt.

But many more are still drawn to her, trying to cut Brianna off, trying to make her faint—trying to reach out and touch Morandau within the walls.

Fortunately, the "essence" of the inhabitants cannot be changed; for example, a vulture cannot remain in one shape forever, and Brianna's long body cannot be cut off.

"I don't understand,"

The yellowish-white lunar face she had previously thought was gone now slowly rose onto the streetlight, resembling a mutated moon. "You don't seem like you're going to kill her, so what are you doing? Protecting her?"

Brianna had no answer to it—a force was overwhelming her inhabitants and was about to step inside the "walls."

She clung tightly to the man's legs, her teeth digging into his flesh, barely managing to "hang" on his leg and immobilize it; but the man also kicked her head so hard that half of it caved in—she even licked her own ear cartilage.

...It's okay, it will recover.

Just make sure Morandow doesn't see it.

She wanted Morandall to realize that she was wrong; Morandall was the most important part of Brianna's persistent and eager life.

"This hunter is doomed."

The yellow-white lunar face commented from a high and mighty position.

“Even if you can hold out for an hour or two, what’s the point if you can’t get her out of here and take her to the doctor? There are so many residents, one after another, they’ll wear you down sooner or later and get their hands on her.”

“That’s all nonsense,” Brianna hissed as her voice finally returned. “You think I don’t know? Get out of here.”

As it says, it was all in vain.

But aside from futile efforts, Brianna didn't know what else she could do.

“…Bri”.

This soft call came just as Brianna thought she was wrong.

Residents may also die, if the injuries they suffer are severe enough.

She felt she was on the verge of death; she couldn't even tell where her head was, where her hands were, or whether they were still connected to the body behind her.

“Bree”.

It was Morandall's voice—not her hallucination? Morandall was still alive?

Brianna immediately got to her feet; this was a brief lull in the battle, with only a few residents she had driven back peeking out from across the street.

She first touched her head and face, feeling that her face, bones, and other parts had all returned to their proper places, before carefully crawling back and replying, "I'm here."

One part of the body was badly damaged, and through the gap, Morando's pale, drooping face could be seen.

Morandau's eyes remained slightly closed.

"what are you doing?"

Morandall's voice became clear and steady, as if she had regained some strength. Was it her illusion that had worked?

Brianna suppressed the thought of "a final burst of energy" from her mind.

“I’m protecting you,” she replied. “I won’t let the residents touch you.”

Morandall seemed to want to smile slightly. "Brie...Brie."

Brianna held her breath and waited quietly for her to continue.

“I was one of the few glimmers of light in your past…Bri, I understand.” Morando’s head was still tilted, his voice softer than a hallucination. “That’s why…you’re even more persistent.” Brianna dared not utter a sound to disturb the sudden silence.

“Bri… although it’s all fate… I don’t regret it,” Morando said softly. “But I’m not the weight that sustains your life… What will you do after I die? Brie, look at you, you’re already covered in wounds.”

The night paused for a moment.

“Bree… the best thing you can do right now is to kill me. Take my body out of the lair.”

I know there's no other way, but I'm unwilling.
"From now on... let's just consider it a breakup with my girlfriend from my youth."

Impossible, impossible, how could that be? You don't understand at all, you don't understand anything.
Brianna turned and crawled away—she didn't want to hear any more—and rammed headfirst into another resident who had just touched her, roaring, "Get out of here! Nobody come near her!"

"...Is this a trap?"

Brianna jolted awake and, along with a few other remaining residents, turned toward the source of the sound.

A human being.

A human female.

She had pinkish-silver hair, which would probably be shiny if combed properly; however, she looked pale and tired, and her hair was messy and frizzy, as if she had just escaped from a life-or-death struggle.

Even though she seemed very tired, the female hunter couldn't hide her anxiety and curiosity.

"They went to such lengths to trick me?"

She pointed to herself, then to Brianna. She didn't seem to pay much attention to the residents across the street—and those residents didn't come to greet her either, perhaps indicating that she was actually in good spirits.

"How did you know I'd be going into the lair again tonight? I didn't even expect it. And how did you know I'd take this route? If it wasn't a trap, I've never seen any inhabitants risk their lives to protect humans like this..."

"I am not a resident!"

Brianna's angry roar was cut short as the pink-silver-haired girl glanced at Morand.

It was that one glance, like a splash of cold water, that suddenly brought Brianna back to her senses, making her understand what the "trap" meant.

"...Do you know her?" she asked in a trembling voice.

“Morandao, right?” the short, pink-silver-haired man said. “Chai Si’s friend. But I think it’s probably a fake, just to trick me into going there—”

Brianna could no longer hold back.

She burst into tears.

She used all her strength to repeatedly plead with the hunter named Han Liuyue, begging her to take Morandau away; in order to convince Han Liuyue, Brianna told her everything about her past life, her name and identity, her relationship with Morandau...

"As long as you get him to the hospital, he'll survive. Really."

Brianna cried as she backed away—to show that she wouldn't lay a hand on Han Liuyue, she would retreat several steps for every step Han Liuyue took forward.

"Are you Chai Si's subordinate? Chai Si will definitely thank you. Please, I'm also a Domination game player. If you can save her, I'll definitely cooperate with whatever Chai Si asks for in the future..."

At first, Han Liuyue just peeked out; as she got closer, her expression became more and more serious.

She stood outside Brianna's body, staring intently at Morando, who was now properly protected, for a few seconds.

“...It really is Morandall,” she whispered. “I’ve seen her once or twice before.”

Yes, yes, please save her.
Brianna was in such a hurry that her thoughts flew through her mind like bullets before she realized she hadn't had time to put them into words.

You're saying...she's still alive?

"Yes, yes, they just talked to me..."

Han Liuyue gripped the gun in her hand, looked around warily, and then stepped into the encirclement.

She knelt down beside Morandall and gently checked his breath.

The night grew heavy and stagnant, the wind dragged on longer and longer, gradually falling silent. Brianna felt as if her neck had been snapped, unable to breathe, unable to feel her body.

To put Han Liuyue at ease, she kept a distance from the two of them, only able to vaguely see half of Han Liuyue's back.

After a long and frightening period of time, Han Liuyue stood up.

She looked at Brianna. "You're a Dominion player too?"

"Yes...yes. I...I can show you the phone notifications..."

Han Liuyue nodded. "She stabilized her injuries using an illusion, right?"

"That's right, that's why I've been able to survive until now—"

Han Liuyue lowered her eyes and looked at Mo Lan.

As if trying to comfort someone, she softened her voice.

“I understand… I’ll take her with me. The Kai family has a partner hospital, I’ll take her there. The cleaning and maintenance work in the neighborhood is up to you.”

(End of this chapter)