Artifact Report

Chapter 65 Mai Minghe: It’s impossible to escape even with wings…?
The boy's last few words were blurry and hazy, with a misty white tint, as if they would be blown away.

Mai Minghe was still a little dazed, as if a part of her soul could not believe what was happening before her eyes; when she heard footsteps at the entrance of the corridor and turned her head mechanically, she was still thinking that except for herself, no one should have heard Fu Tailan's last words clearly.

Mai Minghe had never seen any of the four people who came out from the back of the corridor.

She had never had much experience in physical combat, but even she could tell that these men were probably experienced hunters from the Morgan family. They stood there, blocking the exit of the corridor so tightly that it seemed that all escape routes were blocked; she couldn't get out, and she couldn't breathe.

...To gain and then lose, is there anything in the world more bitter and torturous than this?
Mai Minghe subconsciously exerted a little force, trying to pull his wrist back.

But don't be fooled by the boy's thinness, he is quite strong, and he didn't move at all even after she pulled him; she didn't dare to try again with real strength - in front of five hunters, she didn't want them to feel the need to use force.

"Our supervisor is asking you a question," said the leading woman, whose hair was dyed raven black and had several silver studs on her lips, nose and eyebrows.

Her tone wasn't harsh, but rather like an extra, reciting a script for the occasion without much heart. "Don't just stand there. If you really have a fake image, even your good looks won't help. I'm a loyal Morgan."

What's good-looking?

Mai Minghe was startled, but then she came to her senses. She glanced at Fu Tailan, straightened her back, and took a deep breath.

"Why are you like this, kid?"

She said bluntly, "It's okay for you to lie to me. Whether you're called Fu Tailan or Fu Taihong is your business. But don't you understand the situation? How can you, child, not know the difference between the important and the unimportant? Are the lives of the people sent by your family less important than these things?"

The misty look on Fu Tailan's face just now gradually faded away, and was replaced by a look of helplessness.

"If I take your things, then I won't come here. You don't even know I exist, so where can you find me? And then Jonah, the man your family sent, will die in vain. That's a human life. Don't you, youngster, understand the weight of a life?"

She didn't say this just to get out of the situation. Mai Minghe had been holding it in for a long time.

"I've already told you all about Jonah's situation and where he's going. It's been hours, and look what have you been busy doing?"

This time she not only scolded Fu Tailan, but also stretched out her hand to include several hunters who had just appeared from the corridor, and pointed at them all - Fu Tailan probably really didn't expect this, and let her pull her hand back in a daze.

Although Mai Minghe has no children, this is not the first time she has scolded a younger person. Although she usually has a good temper and is gentle and kind, when she was anxious, she even scolded her cousin's grandson until he cried.

"Don't you think about it? If I really took your things, would I dare to run to your party alone to report it? What's more important, you guys should think carefully. If Jonah died because of the delay, as his companions, can you sleep at night?"

The female hunter, covered in riveted black leather and fishing nets, looked at Fu Tailan as if asking for help.

"Of course we'll go rescue them," the boy said, his tone now sounding rather stubborn. "...but first we need to know if you have what I want."

"You have a big head," Mai Minghe said, "I even changed my clothes after I got here. Even if I had any, I couldn't take them with me."

I feel a little guilty when I say this, but over the past eighty years, I have said this more than once, and now I can say it without any hesitation.

"If you truly have nothing to do with the artifact we want, I will personally make amends to you."

Fu Tailan was scolded and couldn't help but frown at this moment. The fact that he would unconsciously have a bad face was indeed in line with his age.

"But we must clarify what needs to be clarified. Normally, if someone took our fake image, they would simply let Jonah die and not report it.

"However, there are many people in this world whose actions are driven by principles, becoming instincts. Whether that principle is 'human life is paramount,' 'money is paramount,' or 'enjoy life now'... once it becomes instinct, it's easy to act without thinking. Such people often only consider how to achieve their goals, rarely considering whether they should actually do so. I think you are one of them."

Mai Minghe let out a breath.

She couldn't say that Fu Tailan was wrong; she really felt from the bottom of her heart that a life was about to be lost, so how could she not at least shout out for him?

Indeed, it was in her best interest for Jonah to die and for no one to know that she had taken the artifact... She had thought of this, but she had not thought about it at all and had just let it pass.

Isn't it right to ask for help on his behalf?

But when Fu Tailan said this, it seemed a little unpleasant.

"You're still so young," she said with a wry smile, "Why do you look at the world so coldly and suspiciously?"

Fu Tailan turned a deaf ear.

"So first, I need to confirm whether you have the fake image. Second, I need you to stay and be the Morgan family's guest for a while. Once I bring Jonah back, I can compare your statement with his testimony. Third, if Jonah is also unsure whether you have any connection to the fake image, then, to be on the safe side, I'll have to ask you to go with me to the lair to make sure you haven't hidden the fake image anywhere."

He is meticulous, but he can't get past the "first" level.

Mai Minghe lowered his eyelids and looked at the corner of his clothes.

She had to do something; she couldn't escape her current situation with just a few words.

Enduring waves of uneasiness, Mai Minghe gritted his teeth and whispered, "Okay, then let's confirm the first one first."

As soon as she finished speaking, she reached her hands into the hem of her shirt, grabbed the hem, and rolled it up with force - the clothes were lifted up below her chest, revealing her clean and smooth belly.

"Wait, wait a minute!" Fu Tailan seemed to have been stepped on. She immediately jumped away and turned her eyes away hurriedly: "You don't have to take it off now - Rui Mi!"

"Ah?" The female hunter with many rivets was stunned.

"Wherever you're taking her, check her body," Fu Tailan said, tilting her head and staring at the floor.

"It's not convenient for me to come!"

When Mai Minghe put his clothes down again, he saw a hint of embarrassment on Ruimi's face. He whispered, "Well, I don't mind, but I'm worried she'll be unhappy afterwards..."

In Mai Minghe's eyes, these five people are no different from kindergarten children, and she herself doesn't even have the slightest bit of emotion - what is this?
It is not scary to get old, but it is scary to lose the ability to move and lose the dignity.

After her surgery, she was hospitalized and unable to get up to use the restroom, so she could only watch as the nurses changed her paper pants. Often, under the care of those young women and men, she felt less like a shy, private person and more like a piece of meat. As long as she could preserve her "snake belt" and avoid returning to that dwindling, undignified state, Mai Minghe was willing to take any risk—for example, exposing her belly.

The "snake belt" was wrapped around her lower abdomen and back, making about two and a half circles.

Even if her waist was very thin when she was young and could be rolled up two and a half times, it was long enough and could not be hidden if someone came to check.

Mai Minghe wanted to give them the impression that he was not afraid of being inspected, so as to ease their suspicions. Exposing one's belly was the most difficult and riskiest action, but it was also the most natural action - after all, when people took off their clothes, most of them started with their tops.

Even if the idea she was considering at the moment failed to be successfully implemented in the end, it would definitely be an advantage for her if she could make them misunderstand that "Mai Minghe had nothing on her lower abdomen."

It sounds difficult, but actually doing it is much simpler than Mai Minghe thought:
She reached her hands into the hem of her clothes and pressed the clothes in between the "snake belt" and her skin, which was equivalent to wrapping it; through the clothes, she grasped the "snake belt" tightly and peeled off the illusion together with the clothes with force - when her lower abdomen was exposed, the "snake belt" was coiled on her chest, and because it was pushed together, there was no space between the two circles.

When she put her clothes down, the "snake belt" took advantage of the momentum to slide back to her lower abdomen and was coiled up again.

"If you don't want to search here, let's go to the changing room in the shower room," Mai Minghe offered. "As for who will search, you can decide. I don't care. As long as it's a woman, it's fine."

"Then I'll go call Long Zhen," Rui Mi had just said, but was interrupted by Fu Tailan.

"Wait a minute," he said, now calm. He gestured for a few hunters to take Mai Minghe with him. As he walked out, he said, "You go with Long Zhen and take her to the dressing room. A hunter must be present."

Everything was arranged quickly. Two minutes later, Mai Minghe was escorted to the front desk by Rui Mi and Fu Tailan, one on each side. Long Zhen was already waiting there. Her face looked unhappy, probably because she had been cheated by Mai Minghe.

Mai Minghe glanced at the receptionist, who was sitting there with only her face exposed, staring at her blankly.

Mai Minghe discovered this as early as when he borrowed and returned a comb from the girl at the front desk.

Perhaps it was because the Morgan family didn't want a blood-soaked hunter walking around in the office area; the shower room was separated from the office area, with a front reception hall in between.

The office area has access control, and you can only walk to the front desk from the shower room.

The reason why Mai Minghe borrowed a comb from the girl at the front desk was not because she only knew the girl at the front desk and so she went far away - Mai Minghe was in the shower room, and the only person she could borrow a comb from at that time was the girl at the front desk; after finishing her wash, she had to wait for the girl at the front desk to take her in to see "Fu Tai Lan".

On the other hand, to go from the office area to the shower room, you have to pass through the reception hall.

"You're really good at pretending," Long Zhen said, her tone unpleasant after making a mistake in front of her boss. "Who are you?"

"I'm just passing by," Mai Minghe muttered.

"I'm armed," Long Zhen warned. "Just let us search you honestly. Don't try to do anything else."

"I see,"

Mai Minghe sighed, looked back, and found that Fu Tailan had already sat down on the sofa on the other side of the reception hall. His heart skipped a beat.

"Can I return the comb to that little girl? She thought I was a homeless person at first and didn't dare to take it back. She should be brave enough to ask for it now."

As she spoke, she was already walking towards the front desk - Long Zhen and Rui Mi were both very alert, so how could they let her walk to the front desk like this?
As expected, just as he took a step forward, Rui Mi grabbed his shoulder with a firm grip. Rui Mi shouted, "Don't move. We'll finish the search soon, and there will be plenty of opportunities to return it."

"Tell her to get the comb out,"

Fu Tailan, who had been staring at her, curled up on the sofa and suddenly said, "Let me see it, and I'll pay it back for her."

As expected... someone with such a meticulous mind would definitely suspect that she wanted to hide a fake image at the front desk under the pretext of returning something, right?
Mai Minghe didn't know if the hunters had the ability to spot a fake image at a glance; but according to common sense, even the most experienced hunters would have uncertainties. It would be impossible for them to spot the fake image 100%, right?

Even banknote detectors can make mistakes, let alone the human eye?
Besides, she doesn't need much time.

She only needed a moment; the moment her eyes moved away from herself and fell on the comb...

The reception hall is an enclosed space with no windows, and the only elevator requires a card to use.

This is the Morgan family's territory. There are three people watching the Maiming River, two of whom are hunters.

In addition, she had just acted very openly, as if she had nothing on her and was not afraid of being searched at all - with these factors in place, as long as the hunters were human, Mai Minghe felt that they would all relax their attention a little at this moment.

Mai Minghe, accompanied by two bodyguards who followed him like shadows, walked to the sofa and handed the comb to Fu Tailan.

Fu Tailan sat on the sofa and stretched out his hand - he took the comb, and at the same moment, he took the attention of Ruimi and Longzhen.

It was just a tiny shift in gaze, but Mai Minghe caught it.

When people are pushed to this point, they can always unleash great potential.

Probably no one would have thought that when Mai Minghe wanted to escape, she would choose to run in the direction of Fu Tailan: silently, she suddenly stepped on the sofa, and at the same time when the others raised their eyes from the comb, Mai Minghe had already supported herself on the back of the sofa, jumped backwards, and hit the wall behind her straight.

Someone's hand grabbed her calf, causing severe pain.

The reaction was quick enough; but the man was still a step late.

On the wall, the screen playing a Morgan & Morgan commercial had gently opened a path and swallowed her up.

　After Fu Tailan's speech, Mai Minghe should have commented that he was very cynical at such a young age, but this word cannot be translated into Chinese. It would be really strange to translate it as "cynical", so I made up a word, "corpse-stitching scene", which is not very elegant, sorry.

　　I dug and buried the clue about the screen in the reception room, as carefully as a cat burying shit. And it hasn't appeared in more than ten chapters. I think everyone must have forgotten it...

　　But I'm also worried that burying the clues too deeply might backfire. Others might not see the clues as being subtle, but just think I just suddenly came up with something like a deus ex machina, no, a deus ex machina screen...

　　PS: Seeing that I updated so late today, I know I’m stuck again.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)