Artifact Report

Chapter 89 Jin Xueli: Jin Xueli who takes advantage of every opportunity

Chai Si arrived faster than she expected.

She didn't know how many times she shouted that Chai Si came; she only remembered that the flashlight suddenly shone brightly on her face, making Jin Xueli unable to help but tilt her head and squint her eyes.

The dial tone that had been pressing against her ears suddenly cut off, as if she had been pulled into the air - the next second, the policewoman was thrown against the wall and landed in the semi-underground cell with a loud thud.

The screams of the policewoman, the thud of the cell phone falling to the ground, the fluttering air currents and the voices of people... For a moment, it was like a small, chaotic cannonball exploded outside the iron railing door.

"Shiji...?"

Jin Xueli looked up, just in time to see a tall, slender figure kick the policewoman's phone hard. The screen shattered, and the dial tone and the distant ringing of the caller were instantly silenced.

He glanced at Jin Xueli. In the backlight, he could only see a line of her profile; the light seemed to have bones, sharp and hard.

"You're finally here!" Jin Xueli's heart dropped back into her stomach. She said, "I just—"

Before she could finish her words, Chai Si suddenly stepped forward and snatched away the cell phone that she had been holding over her ear as a protective layer - it was just a quick snatch, but it made Jin Xueli startled.

Ever since becoming a hunter, she'd placed special emphasis on physical training to improve her strength and agility, and was by no means weak or frail. Precisely because she possessed some strength, she was more aware of the man's near-inhuman strength in that chop.

You must never get into physical conflict with the person in front of you. If something happens, you have to use other means to resolve it... Jin Xueli thought as she stood up, and then she realized something.

As soon as the phone left her, the surroundings returned to dead silence.

The distant sounds of footsteps and doors opening and closing suddenly died down, as if they were pushed back under the belly of the Central Police Station.

Eh? Could it be——

Chai Si glanced at the screen of his mobile phone at this time, and seeing that it was black, he handed the phone between the iron railings.

Is this checking if the phone is in a call?

In other words, he knew very well that once a person made a call under the "Nest Communication Network", he would be invaded by the residents... That's why he checked the status of Jin Xueli's phone.

Jin Xueli took the phone, listened carefully, and then asked in a low voice, "So I can only hear the sounds around me when I'm holding someone else's phone?"

"You're quick-witted, you must be a hunter, right?"

The person who answered was not Chai Si, but a woman standing behind him, holding a flashlight for him.

She sat on the steps, holding the flashlight in front of her, so that Jin Xueli could not see her appearance clearly; only when the beam of light occasionally swept across her, did the densely packed tattoos of words on her neck flash by in the light.

"Yes," Jin Xueli became angry when she mentioned this, "I just wanted to trade information with him, but I ended up being dragged into jail!"

The woman raised her head and laughed: "You just have to get used to it. This person will suck away the luck of those around him."

Jin Xueli's first and second reactions were both quite impolite to express, so she had to keep them to herself.

"Is that policewoman still human? If she's just thrown aside like that, the invading residents won't let it go, right?"

As if to prove her statement, the policewoman finally stood up shakily from the corner.

The space below the stairs and at the cell door was already narrow; when Chai Si, who was tall and strong, stood there, he squeezed the space so tightly that there was almost no room left. The policewoman only needed to raise her hand to grab Chai Si's arm.

Obviously, it intends to do so.

Just as Jin Xueli was about to open her mouth to sound the alarm, the woman sitting on the steps suddenly blew a sharp whistle - the policewoman startled and raised her head. For a moment, Jin Xueli almost thought of a dog that suddenly remembered its owner's presence.

"Get out," the woman on the steps stared at it and said coldly, "Don't touch my clients."

Jin Xueli opened her mouth unconsciously, staring blankly at the policewoman as she turned around wordlessly, walked up the stairs, and disappeared into the dim first-floor hall. Her mind was completely confused for a moment: "Huh? Why, why is it..."

"They're all contract workers," the woman explained—or rather, this explanation was even more confusing.

...What contract workers? Is "contract workers" a word that should appear at this moment?

Chai Si asked the woman, "Are you protecting me or the resident?"

"It's not easy to sign up a suitable resident. You better understand that," the woman said with a smile. "I signed every one of them by risking my life in the lair."

Jin Xueli's doubts grew stronger and stronger, and her mind was like a fog; but before she could ask, she saw Chai Si had turned around and seemed to be ready to leave.

"Eh? Where are you going? Are you going to let me out?"

"I have things to do and don't have time to look for the cell key. Please wait."

This is absolutely not okay.

Not to mention that Jin Xueli naturally hates constraints and lack of freedom, the only problem is whether Chai Si will remember to take her with him when he leaves.

What's more, there is no time to find the cell key now. Will there be time when I have to leave?

"Wait," she shouted hurriedly, "You can't keep me locked up here forever! What if more residents come?"

"You hid deep in the cell," Chase said without turning back. "Haven't you discovered the rules?"

It seemed that as long as she was not directly touched by the "calling/talking" phone, she would not be invaded by the residents; in this way, the cell itself became a natural protective circle.

But Jin Xueli just wanted to get out.

Even though the deepest part of the cell was the safest place in the Central Police Station, she could not stand being confined in such a small space. As a sane adult, she could not decide where to go and what to do independently, but was restricted, oppressed and constrained by an external will. Isn't this in itself the deepest insult to her personality?
Of course, her mentality did not go to extremes: for example, Jin Xueli also agreed that people should obey traffic rules when driving - as social animals, people cannot do whatever they want.

But being locked up and losing personal freedom is unbearable even for a minute.

"Just ask a mercenary to find the key for me. It won't affect your work. Hey, don't go. You still owe me a favor!"

"I'll get you out of the Central Police Station. No more debts."

When Jin Xueli understood, she held her breath in her chest. What kind of scoundrel is this guy? Wasn't it because of Chai Si that she came in?
But now was not the right time to argue about how to repay the favor; just as she was racking her brains to think of how to convince Chai Si, the woman holding the flashlight spoke.

"Sister," she said with a smile, "we are looking for their cowardly director who has gone into hiding somewhere, and we really need help. But don't worry, I will remember you. If he doesn't take you away, I will take you away - I like girls like you who are quick and straightforward."

"Wait, let me out. I'll help you look for it. I'm a laborer too!"

Jin Xueli's eyes lit up, and she seized the opportunity to introduce herself. But as she spoke, she suddenly remembered the scene she had glimpsed earlier, and couldn't help but ask, "Is the director a tall, thin man? He seems quite young?"

Chai Si stopped on the steps.

From her angle, she could only see the other person's dark black trousers and shoes.

"No," the woman replied, "it's a fat man with a big belly."

Chase's voice came from above: "Why do you think he is tall and thin?"

...It seems there is a way.

Jin Xueli smiled silently, reached out her hand from between the iron bars and tapped the lock.

"Let me out, and I'll tell you everything I saw. Anyway, you've got to let me out sooner or later, right? Don't be upset. Even if you're upset, you have to open the door first before you can beat me to death."

Later she realized that it was an achievement for her to make Chai Si let out a long sigh.

　I've been staying up later and later lately, feeling like I'm about to complete my 24-hour cycle... The more you comfort and encourage me, the more I feel I can't let you down. I can't just stop updating, so even if it's less, I'll still update. Don't worry, I'll do my best to maintain quality. If I can't, I'll take a break. Saturday's almost here!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)