Artifact Report

Chapter 67 Mai Ming River: Starting Point
Mai Minghe pulled the door twice, but each time he only opened a narrow gap and then stopped.

This seemed reasonable to her: if the door was wide open, what if the woman putting on makeup discovered that there was someone in the cubicle? She had to be more cautious.

...So she always thought that it was her own decision to open the door only a small gap.

The gap in the door was the result of her brain's consideration and measurement, and her arm muscles obeying instructions.

It was not until Mai Minghe tried to open the door a little wider and look at the mirror opposite the woman who was putting on makeup that she realized she was wrong.

It turned out that the door could only be opened a tiny crack, and if you pulled harder, it wouldn't budge at all, as if it were made of solidified molten steel.

How could this happen? Is the door broken?
Mai Minghe stood there in a daze. Even though he knew it was impossible, he still lowered his head to look at the empty space under the door - the tile floor on the other side of the door was empty, and there was no foot standing on it.

So, there was no one holding the door from the other side to prevent her from opening it.

This is strange. Did someone tie a rope around the door handle and pull the door from the outside?

The figure putting on makeup through the crack of the door was still standing quietly beside the sink, weighing heavily on Mai Minghe's vision.

She listened to her breathing becoming increasingly rapid, and forced herself to exhale slowly and deeply. Exhaling longer than inhaling could calm the nerves; she had forgotten where she had heard this theory.

Next, Mai Minghe endured the discomfort and slowly reached his hand out through the crack in the door.

Soon, she could only see the base of her palm; her fingers wrapped around the door and sank into the other side, which she could not see, as if they were immersed in cold water, and as if they no longer belonged to her now that they could no longer be seen.

If something suddenly grabbed her hand outside the door, she could only blame herself for her bad luck, as she had hit a dead end on her first exploration.

However, after Mai Minghe fumbled with the door handle for a few times and found that there was no rope, she finally pulled her hand back intact - fortunately, it was still her normal hand.

This time, she was a little at a loss.

The gap under the door panel is quite high, reaching half the height of the calf, so people can climb out...

She had to leave the compartment; but Mai Minghe was not sure whether crawling out from under the door was a good idea.

Even a nest should have some sense. Even the scariest thing should have some rules. "Please swim out the door after using the restroom"—how could that make sense?

What are you doing calling someone a maggot?
Although he thought so, Mai Minghe hesitated for a moment and finally bent down.

Instead of climbing out, she might as well lie down and see what's going on. After all, this is the only exit. Apart from that, she really has no idea at the moment.

Even when I bent down, my vision was still limited and I could only see the same empty tiled floor.

Mai Minghe simply knelt on the ground, supported herself on the cold tiles with her hands, and sat on her heels; before looking outside, she looked up nervously.

Under the ceiling and on the walls on both sides of the compartment, everything was normal, and no face was looking at her.

Okay, it's okay, there's no one.

She comforted herself and bent down. Then, she looked outside.

Mai Minghe's gaze fell on a woman's back.

The man was half-crouching in the open space outside the bathroom, wearing the same ZARA clothes that Morgan bought. He was kneeling on the ground with his hands on the ground, his butt sitting on his heels, showing her a pair of soles.

As if she felt the gaze coming from behind, the person raised her unevenly cut head; after a pause, she suddenly moved one knee back.

Then, she used her hands and feet and began to crawl backwards quickly towards the Maiming River.

Mai Minghe jumped up suddenly, and in her panic, her back hit the toilet paper roll with a dull "bang" sound - the sound was like a thunder exploding in her mind, and a layer of hot and cold sweat came out on her skin.

Panic swirled in her mind like fragments after an explosion; her feet were exposed to the path of the retreating figure. Almost subconsciously, Mai Minghe quickly climbed onto the toilet and stared at the gap under the door panel.

Several seconds passed, and the tiled floor outside the door seemed empty again. There was no other Mai Minghe crawling backwards as she had expected.

The sound did not seem to alarm the woman who was putting on makeup; through the crack in the door, the back of a person wearing a slim-fitting suit was still standing there motionless.

That back on the ground just now was indeed me, right?

Her posture, movements, body and clothing were exactly the same as hers, but as soon as she jumped up, the ground outside was empty again.

I mustered up the courage to look down, and there was still only an empty tile floor.

No... Although I don't understand what's going on, crawling out from under the door panel doesn't seem to be an option.

Fortunately, I'm young, Mai Minghe thought with lingering fear. Otherwise, I would have had a stroke from that blow just now.

She squatted on the toilet lid. The toilet lid was not big, so she had to hold on to the wall with her hands to keep her balance.

Fortunately, the toilet flush tank is designed to be wrapped into the wall. A platform is made above the original flush tank, probably for people to put things. It is convenient to use it to support themselves at this time.

...It's okay to use it as a footrest, right?
After catching his breath, Mai Minghe looked at the platform and then raised his head to look at the wall of the compartment.

Stand on the platform, hold onto the partition, and you can climb over to the next door...

I wonder if the door next door can be opened?
At least it's worth a try, better than being stuck here.

Well, ever since she fell into the cubicle, she had been afraid that a face would appear from the wall next to her and look at her. In the end, she was the one who looked at the face from the wall next to her.

Mai Minghe sighed to himself that life was so unpredictable—the older people get, the more they respect fate and no longer believe in their own strength—while he carefully stood up straight on the toilet.

She hesitated before climbing onto the right bulkhead.

She was standing high up at the moment, her sight just over the partition. If she turned her head, she should be able to see the woman outside putting on makeup and the mirror opposite her, or at least the top half of the mirror - so, do you want to take a look?

Human psychology is truly strange. She had just tried to open the door a crack, just to peek at the reflection of the woman putting on makeup. She wasn't too nervous then, perhaps because there was a door panel blocking her view.

But now her sight was hovering above the partition, with nothing around her, exposing her. She was a little afraid to turn her head - but in fact, wasn't that layer of partition just a psychological comfort?
Mai Minghe finally turned his head slowly.

The face of the woman putting on makeup was floating above the cubicle, looking at her, or her eyes met the woman in the mirror, or there was no mirror opposite the woman putting on makeup... All kinds of thoughts flashed through Mai Minghe's mind, but none of them came true.

She didn't expect that even when she was standing on the toilet and looking out, she could only see the back of the woman putting on makeup - logically, as long as she stood high enough, she should be able to see her reflection in the mirror clearly.

But when he looked out, he still only saw the motionless back of the woman putting on makeup.

It was as if the washbasin was located in a protruding opening, and the ceiling blocked the mirror and also blocked Mai Minghe's view.

When I looked out from the door just now, was the bathroom structure like this?

The sense of confusion brought about by the spatial structure made Mai Minghe feel a little dizzy.

She shook her head vigorously, and after she calmed down, she continued to reach out to grab the wall of the partition, stepped on the platform, and with a strong effort, her upper body climbed above the wall, and her eyes fell down.

In the cubicle on the right, a female model with a full face was sitting on the toilet lid, with her head tilted back and a wine glass in one hand. She was giving her a red smile as if she had known that Mai Minghe would appear.

Mai Minghe was startled and subconsciously wanted to escape, but he forgot that he was clinging to the wall. His feet slipped and he rolled down the toilet, and his back of the head was hit hard.

In fear and pain, she forced herself not to scream, covered her mouth and nose with one hand, and quickly took a look under the partition.

The floor of the right cubicle had been empty, no one should have been there. But now, when she glanced around, she saw a pair of women's legs and feet, wearing a pair of black lace-up ballet-style mid-heeled shoes—probably the female model's.

How could it be...how could the model in the advertisement suddenly appear in the right compartment?
Mai Minghe leaned his back against the wall, held his breath, felt a chill all over his body, stared at the feet, and waited for a while.

The foot in the right compartment also remained motionless.

When the fear gradually subsided, Mai Minghe slowly stood up. His legs seemed to be swollen and he had no strength to move.

For some unknown reason, she also glanced at the gap under the compartment on the left.

She saw the same pair of black kitten heels in the lace-up ballet style.

This time, when Mai Minghe bravely climbed up the partition and saw that the same female model with her face exposed was sitting in the compartment on the left, at least she did not fall to the ground in fright.

In the compartments on the left and right, a female model with her face exposed sat down at some point.

Mai Minghe stared at the female model on the left for a while, then slowly looked away, his eyes falling on her outstretched hand.

The other person held a wine glass in his outstretched hand, as if he was clinking glasses with someone.

And on the right... oh yes, the female model on the right is raising a wine glass to her lips.

Apart from the different movements of the female models on both sides, the layout and structure of the compartments on the left and right were exactly the same as the compartment he was in - however, what made Mai Minghe's heart pounding the most was that the doors of the two compartments were both half-open and wide enough.

Even if they cannot be fully opened, you can still get out by just turning sideways.

Of course, this meant that Mai Minghe had to climb down the wall, go around the female model, and slowly walk out of the bathroom door sideways...

The cubicle was not wide, and the female model was sitting on the toilet in the middle. Even if she (or should I say it?) did not move, Mai Minghe would probably have bumped into her; not to mention, the female model's eyes were still following her movements.

It's already uncomfortable to be looked at by something like this, let alone being right next to it?

Is it possible that I can’t go out from either side?

But the door was clearly open, and it was hard to give up like this... Besides, she had to go out.

Mai Minghe looked several times in the compartments on both sides. There were two identical faces, looking up at her all the time. Although it was very uncomfortable, she gradually got used to it after seeing it several times.

The structural layout on the left and right sides is exactly the same, and the position of the female model is also the same.

The doors were half open, and there were no advertisements behind them - Mai Minghe couldn't see the back of the door of the right compartment, and he only confirmed this after stretching his arm to hook it shut.

The female model on the left is clinking glasses, while the one on the right is drinking by herself.

The left side is closer to the woman putting on makeup, and the right side is farther away from the woman putting on makeup.

You can't go out your own door.

Mai Minghe sat back on the toilet lid, holding his head in his hands, staring blankly at the advertisement behind his cubicle door, lost in thought.

The current situation is completely different from when I met the residents.

The first possibility is that the nest deliberately created such a situation without any deep meaning, just to torture people for fun.

The second possibility is that the current situation is like a puzzle that contains clues to leaving. If she wants to leave, she has to solve the puzzle and find the clues.

Mai Minghe immediately dismissed the first possibility—there was no point in considering it. If it were true, she would be doomed anyway, so what else was there to think about?
In the second possibility, the clues to be found are...

After staring at the ad for several minutes, Mai Minghe suddenly took a deep breath and blurted out, "Is this compartment a 'starting point'?"

　Thank you for understanding me. In the last chapter, everyone advised me to take a rest. I was touched, but at the same time I felt embarrassed to take a rest... This is the umpteenth time I have expressed doubts and sighs. How do others manage to update more than 10,000 words a day?

　　How about this, I've already taken a day off for next weekend, so starting from the week after next, I can take a day off on Saturday?
　　Actually, I feel embarrassed to take a break, not because I’m afraid of losing data (where else can it drop?), but mainly because I feel sorry for everyone who supports niche literature, and for the editor’s cultivation...

　　If only I had faster writing speed, I could not only update daily, but also add more chapters; not only add more chapters, but also open two new chapters (I had a dream before, the plot was complicated, and I felt like writing it now)

　　Alas, it would be better to think about how to win the lottery than this.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)