Artifact Report

Chapter 91 Jin Xueli: Just a few words between the two
……what to do?
Jin Xueli's first reaction was to deny it outright; but as soon as she thought about it, she realized that it was meaningless and was just filling the silence with sound.

The reason why Chai Si said it so clearly was not because he was doubtful and wanted to see what Jin Xueli would say - quite the opposite.

He had already been sure of it in his heart. At this moment, he was just trying to provoke Jin Xueli's reaction, looking for her weakness and prying open her hands that were tightly holding the secret.

This is terrible. What's going on? Does the "candle tears" artifact have a special smell? She accidentally got it on her body, and Chai Si smelled it?
A while had passed, and Jin Xueli knew that the longer she kept silent, the more it would seem like she was admitting Chai Si's speculation; but she thought of several excuses, but she overturned them all, and in the end she couldn't say anything.

"You didn't take me for a fool, saying 'I don't know' and 'that's not true' on the left and the right. I'm glad you did."

Chai Si lowered his hands, still leaning on the stair railing.

It should be a loose posture, but his body and limbs are like a cage, trapping Jin Xueli in the small space at the stairs.

He whispered, "When I'm interrogating people, I don't know why, but there are always people who are eager to deceive me."

"you're right,"

Since she couldn't hide it anymore, Jin Xueli simply hardened her heart and said, "I do have a life-saving method that I haven't told you. But even if you find out, what? I'm not afraid to make it clear. Since it's my life-saving method, I will never tell anyone casually, because you have no right to know it in the first place."

If he had to admit that he was hiding something, he might as well say that now was the ideal time and place - the "Nest Communication Network" would certainly not be endless and without a time limit. Chai Si had to find the police chief within a limited time, and it was impossible for him to abandon everything and just torture her to extract a confession.

As long as she isn't attacked right now, she'll have a chance to escape; as long as she can escape, no matter how much damage she's suffered today, it can all be overturned and disappear... although the annoying thing is that the memory will still be there.

At worst, using "candle tears" as bait to attract the attention of the woman named Mercury is also a way; if you can cause an internal conflict between the two of them -

In a short period of time, Jin Xueli had already thought of several possible responses in her mind; however, she never expected that Chai Si's next words would make all her mental preparations useless.

"You're right." He actually nodded. "I told you that as long as you don't get in my way, I can be a reasonable person, even though you, like most people, don't believe it."

Can you blame others for that?

Jin Xueli didn't say anything; she wanted to see what Chai Si was going to do next.

"There are countless good things in this world that belong to others... such as the 'Nest Communication Network'. As long as it's not essential to achieving my goal, I don't have to take everything."

Before Jin Xueli dared to breathe a sigh of relief, she heard Chai Si continue, "But that hidden part of you... piques my interest. Should I call it intuition?"

It’s the sense of smell, Jin Xueli thought to herself, dogs have very sensitive noses.

"What do you want?" she asked stiffly.

"What do you want most?" Chai Si suddenly smiled at her and asked in a low voice.

"……what?"

"In this life that unfolded without your consent, and you have no choice but to go through with it, there must be something you desire, a goal you want to achieve no matter what. Something that can alleviate and dilute the embarrassment and pain of life, and even bring you comfort and satisfaction..."

As Chai Si spoke, he stood up straight. He lowered his head and asked in Jin Xueli's ear, "What is that? Tell me."

"I--"

Jin Xueli opened her mouth, but found that she had no answer.

"No, I don't want anything in particular..."

In the dim and narrow staircase, time dragged out its pace, passing through a few seconds of silence.

In the distance, mercenaries who were still searching for people in the Central Police Station occasionally shouted and occasionally emitted a beam of light, stirring up the thick dark fog that enveloped the building of the "Nest Communication Network".

She had clearly finished talking here, but for some reason, she heard herself speaking again.

"I... I like money, beautiful women, delicious food, pretty things, and fun... But I don't need anyone else. I can get these things on my own."

Is Chai Si trying to exchange the thing he wants most for the candle tears? Jin Xueli wondered blankly.

This assumption cannot be said to be unfair, but she seems to have no... no goal that "can dilute the pain of life and bring her comfort and satisfaction."

Her girlhood wishes, such as living in Blackmore City, living in a beautiful house, having lots of money and beautiful clothes... now when she thought about it, they had all come true one by one; but when they came true, she didn't even notice it, let alone feel it.

Even the joy he felt was only for a short while when he first got it, and then it passed. "How is it?" Chai Si seemed to smile silently.

How about what?
"Now that you have all these things, how do you feel?"

Jin Xueli didn't answer him for a while.

In theory, this question should not be difficult to answer; she believed that she lived a happy life, and she could quickly get whatever she wanted to eat and play - even Anthony, whom she killed afterwards, brought her happiness for a while.

After half a minute, she finally whispered, "...unsatisfied."

Chai Si waited quietly for her to continue.

“I always feel like there’s more, I can experience more, I want more… but if you ask me what ‘more’ means, I can’t really say.”

Maybe he was very good at interrogating and forcing confessions, Jin Xueli thought vaguely, or maybe she was in the middle of an interrogation, but she just didn't know it.

What is the difference between an excellent interrogation expert and a psychologist?
He didn't answer.

"Come with me," Chai Si just whispered, turned around and went upstairs first.

Jin Xueli was stunned and didn't follow him. Instead, she turned her head to look at the stairs below.

In a few seconds, without even turning his head, Chai Si had almost reached the halfway point of the stairs. If she turned around and ran now, there was indeed a chance that she could shake him off and escape to the third floor - she was not as strong as Chai Si, but her speed might not be slower than his.

If that fat director could hide until now, it shouldn't be difficult for her to hide too, right?

Hesitation swayed the balance in her heart for only a few seconds; as if possessed by some mysterious force, Jin Xueli followed her upstairs.

She didn't know why she didn't run away.

"We'll start from the fifth floor and search down one floor at a time."

As Chai Si spoke, he took out another mobile phone from his trouser pocket, which belonged to someone unknown, and showed her a photo in the album - it was a half-length photo hanging on the wall of the police station. It was a fat man with a reserved and majestic smile; the official title and name were written under the photo, and it was the missing director.

"No one has seen him since the 'Nest Communication Network' was established. As far as I know, he's been in the Central Police Station all day and hasn't left, so he must still be in this building. But the interesting thing is that a dozen professional mercenaries and I have dug deep and still haven't found him."

Eh?
Are you asking her to help find someone now?

Wasn't he just asking her what her most desired goal was and whether he wanted to use it to exchange for "Candle Tears"? Why did he just let it go now?
Logically speaking, if Chai Si did not intend to pursue the matter of "candle tears", Jin Xueli should be happy.

But she didn't understand why, at this moment she felt like she had stepped on empty air, and there was always a sense of emptiness in her heart - she even vaguely hoped that Chai Si could continue to ask her a few more questions.

...After all, the most important thing and what she wants most in her life is not "candle tears".

What it is, she still doesn't know.

Jin Xueli regrouped herself and tried her best to focus on the task at hand - if she didn't follow the search, she couldn't get out anyway.

She examined the photo carefully and said, "When that tall, thin man walked into the room next to your interrogation room, he was surrounded by several police officers. This fat man... might be one of them, but I'm not sure."

"Let's start with the first room."

"The door is locked," Jin Xueli said, trying to turn the handle.

Perhaps wanting to shake off the vague sense of loss in her heart, she made a very ordinary joke: "You are from the Keys family, so you should have keys, right?"

Unexpectedly, Chai Si was suddenly stunned.

He looked at Jin Xueli without blinking, and after two seconds, a smile gradually appeared on his face.

　I wonder if anyone still remembers this Keys thing after so many chapters...

　　I've been restraining myself from paying much attention to American political news over the past year or two. After all, I only have one life and can't stand the tossing and turning. But because of this bullshit like Trump's assassination, I spent a lot of time reading various news editorials. Really... my heart is about to burst.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)