Artifact Report

Chapter 63: Fu Tailan: An Ordinary Retired Hunter

…No matter how you look at it, the situation is not favorable to him at the moment.

A big part of the reason was that Vesile was unusually cautious tonight.

When entering the Wei Building, Fu Tailan and his group walked through at least three metal detectors. Not to mention the pistol, even a slightly larger metal hairpin on Long Zhen's hair was asked to be removed and inspected.

In the city of Blackmore, probably only Vesile has the qualifications and status to openly check whether the trading counterparty is carrying weapons.

Metal detectors are just the beginning, though.

When they were being led to the elevator, the bodyguard in charge of leading the way specifically asked Fu Tailan to hand over the fake alarm clock to him and asked Fu Tailan and his group to walk over the bridge over the koi pond in the lobby first - the green waves under the bridge were like gauze, and several tall and fat shadows in golden, red, white and yellow swam slowly, pulling out long ripples on the green gauze.

When the bodyguard also walked across the bridge with the fake alarm clock image, Long Zhen, who was waiting on the other side of the bridge to take back the fake image, couldn't help but gasp.

"You actually keep the things from the nest here?" Fu Tailan stared at the koi pond and asked in a low voice.

The bodyguard was too busy to answer him.

Because he was holding the alarm clock tightly, walking in the middle of the bridge step by step, with all his attention focused on his feet, not daring to move away from the center of the bridge.

The water in the pond on both sides of the bridge broke, and countless fish mouths stood up densely.

The pond, which had only seen five or six koi just moments ago, was now filled with countless fist-sized, tightly packed fish mouths. Even the surface of the water was so crowded it was invisible, leaving only holes sticking out towards the bodyguard. At first glance, it was unclear whether they were scales, mouths, or perhaps something made up of countless scales and mouths, trying to suck the bodyguard's shoe, trying to suck him and the illusion in with him.

There were countless fish-mouth holes, high and low, up and down, opening and closing, which made people's scalp tingle at a glance; when the bodyguard finally got off the bridge and returned the alarm clock to Long Zhen, a thin layer of sweat appeared on his forehead.

As soon as he got off the bridge, countless fish mouths fell back into the pond, causing ripples and circles of foam in the koi pond, but there were still only a few evenly rolling fish shadows in the water.

"I'm sorry," the bodyguard said, "but we also have to make sure no one brings the artifact into Mr. Wei's room. After all, an artifact is much more terrifying than a weapon. I hope you understand."

"Aren't there people going to and from get off work in this building every day?" Fu Tailan asked. "A lot of people pass by the koi pond, right?"

"As long as there's no artifact, it doesn't matter even if someone falls in."

The bodyguard's smile still remained superficial. "So, I'm asking you to give me the alarm clock before crossing the bridge. It's also for your safety."

The last sentence is, of course, just a polite remark that no one would believe.

What exactly is Vesile afraid of?

When Fu Tailan met him in May, he was not so nervous and alert.

Nowadays, Vesile's caution is close to neuroticism. He even refuses to meet in person for transactions - but the same set of requirements are obviously only used to discipline others, and are not used by the billionaire to discipline himself.

At this moment, the two bodyguards standing opposite Fu Tailan had one hand on their waist; the shadows of gun holsters could be faintly seen from their slightly open suit jackets.

They were not the only two armed forces; the reception room had two entrances and exits, one was where Fu Tailan and his group walked in, and the other door was tightly closed, and no one knew where it led to. However, it was conceivable that more people could pour out from behind the door at any time.

"What happened to my phone?"

Fu Tailan stared at Secretary Green and slowly took out his cell phone with one hand, but did not hand it over.

His cell phone dangled at his side, the last of the Amber Alert—if that was what it was.

"As partners, it's not impossible for you to let me see your phone. But you have to tell me a reason, so that I know you have no ill intentions. Otherwise, it would be too disrespectful to the Morgan family."

Green shook his head, as if he were a teacher facing a stubborn student.

"Fu Tailan, I've long heard of your great name. A hunter of your caliber, why would you bother to stop me with that? You know perfectly well that if I could tell you the real reason, I wouldn't have stopped you from looking at your phone. You're trying to force me to lie, because a lie is also a form of information, right?"

Fu Tailan paused. "... Is Green your last name? What's your first name? I don't think I've ever heard of you before."

"George Green. I'm just an ordinary retired hunter. I have no special talents, let alone a glorious history. It's perfectly normal that you haven't heard of me."

Green said, raising a hand. "Here, give me the phone. Remember, the back is facing up."

...Isn't there a way to read the content of the "Amber Alert" first before giving it to him?

Fu Tailan always prided himself on being clever and resourceful, but when he was unarmed, unprepared, and facing hostile fire, any idea seemed like a bad one.

Even though he was the head hunter of the Morgan family, he didn't dare to gamble - if he and Long Zhen died here tonight, would Carter Morgan avenge him?

Carter Morgan would only make one phone call to express his regret, saying that the hunter supervisor this time was too young and too impulsive, and hoped that it would not affect future cooperation opportunities.

If Green really killed him, as long as he got Vesile's approval, he would have to pay almost no price afterwards.

Fu Tailan is aware of this, and so is Green himself.

Even if Green wore glasses, Fu Tailan thought almost desperately, he could at least glance at his reflection in the glasses - although in the softly lit reception room, this was probably just a delusion. He sighed softly.

"I see,"

As he handed Green the phone, back facing up, the two bodyguards had already unholstered their guns and were holding them at their legs. "I'm very curious... but I really can't think of a solution."

"Good boy." Green smiled softly and took the phone. The light from the screen illuminated his very feminine face.

His eyes shifted slightly to the bottom of the screen, where the notification would appear, and he stared at it for a while without moving.

If this were a movie or a science fiction novel, Fu Tailan thought, I could read the words from the image reflected in his pupils; unfortunately, no one can do that in real life.

Green didn't ask for the password, but just swiped his finger to clear the notifications.

He is a very meticulous and cautious person.

After clearing the notifications, he still found the buttons on both sides of the screen and pressed them lightly - there was a clear "click" sound when the phone took a screenshot.

The purpose of taking the screenshot was to listen to whether Fu Tailan's phone was on silent mode and whether he had taken a silent screenshot when he took out his phone just now.

However, this was not enough, he also tried pressing the operation button on the left side of the phone.

This action was to ensure that Fu Tailan did not set the function of the operation button to "mute switch" - after all, Fu Tailan might have unmuted the phone after taking a silent screenshot.

Fu Tailan's mobile phone probably only used the minimum functions, and there was no multiple shortcut keys set for a single button; Green tried it twice, holding it horizontally and vertically, and seemed satisfied.

"It should be fine,"

Green smiled as he spoke, a memory reminiscing for a moment before returning the phone. "Thank you for your cooperation. I appreciate it. The Morgan family's manager is truly understanding."

It was difficult for a seventeen-year-old to keep his face from falling at this moment—and Fu Tailan didn't want to pretend to be calm and composed. Why? He wanted to put a megaphone in Green's face and yell, "You're so annoying!"

He put away his phone with a sullen look on his face, motioned Long Zhen to pick up the alarm clock, and his eyes moved to Green's face.

"...You also received an 'Amber Alert', right?" Fu Tailan asked suddenly.

Green's eyelids rose at him, then quickly fell again, his eyelashes covering his pupils.

When I said it, it seemed to be driven by intuition, but when I thought about it again, I realized that there were many details that confirmed this fact.

When Green realized that only Fu Tailan's phone had sounded the alarm in the room, he reacted too quickly. Even before Fu Tailan took the phone out of his trouser pocket, he had already signaled the bodyguards to surround them.

When he checked his phone notifications, Fu Tailan also kept his eyes on him. When faced with an "Amber Alert" that couldn't possibly be an Amber Alert, Green remained calm and composed, not even taking the time to carefully read it a second time before clearing the notification - as if he already knew what he would see.

"Most things in this world have nothing to do with me. Why should I poke my nose into other people's affairs and get myself into trouble?" Green said with a smile. "If I don't know what's going on in other people's lives, can't I just go on with my own life?"

He personally escorted Fu Tailan and his group down the elevator, walked across the koi pond, and watched them get into the car.

Before closing the door for Fu Tailan, he waved his hand slightly, his movements like a young girl. "I'm looking forward to working with you in the future."

After the car door closed with a "bang", the engine sound was steady and low, paving a way back under my feet.

Fu Tailan held the phone, which had no clues left, and waited until the Wei Building was no longer in sight before he spoke with a sullen face.

It was rare for him to be taken advantage of like this - especially not because he was less capable or smart than others, but because he lacked key information and was kept in the dark everywhere, which made him fall behind. This made him feel even more suffocated.

"Longzhen, tomorrow morning, inform Remi and Jonah that starting this month, each of them will lead a team into the lair twice."

"Yes. Why?"

"Let them do whatever they can to continue to find a time-related alternative to an alarm clock."

Even though the notifications couldn't be retrieved after being cleared, he still stared at the notification center on his phone and said, "Aside from the team entering the lair on the 13th to continue searching for what Vesile wants, the other three missions must focus on finding replacements. If more people are needed, please try to cooperate. For the next few months, make this the top priority, and all other tasks will take a back seat."

"Too blue..." Long Zhen leaned over from the back seat, her seatbelt snapping. "What did you think of?"

Fu Tailan put away his phone, looked at his fingertips, and twisted them gently a few times.

"I have a hypothesis that needs to be verified," he whispered. "To verify it, we must repeat tonight's transaction process again... which requires us to give Green another false impression."

　Last time I mistakenly set it as a paid thank-you chapter, the editor helped me move it to the thank-you volume. Those who gave rewards can turn to the front (it’s free this time), and I can still see the messages I leave!
　　Because I have been accumulating for so long, there must be some omissions, and I did not include everyone who is willing to vote for me monthly because there is not enough space... But my sincere gratitude is real.

　　As I said, it is not easy to have another person who shares the same niche taste. Birds of a feather flock together, but there are not so many birds of a feather in the sky in the world, right? Every one of them is precious.

　　ps: I changed Green's original checking method, because the old iOS system can see the album cover without unlocking (I tried it and my phone can see it), but it seems that it doesn't work after the upgrade?
　　Considering the story takes place in 2026, I changed the inspection method. This inspection method is based on the iPhone 15 version 17.5.1. Fu Tailan hasn't changed his phone in two years. As for what system upgrade will appear in 26, I don't know...

　　
　
(End of this chapter)