Artifact Report

Chapter 107: Mai Minghe: What happened in the nest?
I didn't see anyone that the back of the head was talking to on the phone, so how did he get in touch with the library and arrange for the hunter to meet Mai Minghe?
It can't have such a big decision-making power, right?

It is impossible to say that there is no doubt in her heart; Mai Minghe is not stupid, she also had doubts, and the back of her head was just trying to deceive her eyes.

But on second thought, she took the eyes out of her pocket and handed them to the back of her head: "Okay, it's settled, here you go."

"So happy? No more nagging?"

The resident was startled, but his arm did not slow down at all. He raised it back and grabbed his eyes with his backhand.

A deep, disappointed sigh suddenly rang out from outside the bathroom door, as if someone had pressed their mouth against the crack of the door. It sounded quite listless: "This is so annoying. It's over—let's go back, let's go back. There's no fun anymore."

Judging from the voice, it seems to be that husband.

"Can I leave the restaurant now?" asked Mai Minghe.

"Okay." The hand holding the eyes at the back of the head disappeared in front of it for a moment, and when it dropped, it was empty. "Aren't you afraid that I'm just lying to you?"

"If you hadn't lied to me, no one would have become disabled. If you had lied to me, no one would have become disabled. So why not agree? I can leave the restaurant anyway."

As Mai Minghe spoke, he opened the bathroom door and found the short hallway outside empty. The diners who had gathered around him had vanished in a flash.

She glanced back at the back of her head.

The next sentence, I don't know if it was said to it or to myself: "Besides, there are not so many serious things in a person's life. It's okay to try more, even if you make stupid mistakes."

If I said this to a resident, she probably wouldn't understand it either - she shook her head, smiled, and walked out.

The back of his head remained silent, watching her leave the bathroom with a thick curtain of hair.

The waiters and diners in the restaurant had all disappeared; the glass door was open, and it seemed to be cloudy outside. I didn't know what time it was, and the light floating on the sidewalk was dim and dull, as if it was just for the job.

Before leaving, Mai Minghe subconsciously looked back - only to find that the back of someone's head had been standing right behind her, silently, which almost scared her to scream.

"what are you doing?"

"The important buildings nearby are all marked on the road signs. Follow the signs and you'll find the library. It's not far away." It turned its back to the Mai Ming River and raised one arm, as if pointing diagonally in the direction of the restaurant. "Come on."

What oil to add?

He even chased her to show her the way... Will the residents still be kind and polite?
The glass door slammed shut behind Mai Minghe.

The buildings on both sides of the sidewalk bent over, tilted their heads, and watched her through their eye-like windows as she walked hesitantly step by step towards the intersection - in the direction the back of her head was pointing, there was a pole standing next to the intersection.

The pole was covered with signs from top to bottom, layer upon layer, making people worry that it would not be able to bear the weight of the signs. Each sign pointed in a different direction; some signs were only a finger's distance apart.

Is this the way to go? It's a bit inaccurate, isn't it?

From at least fifty or sixty signs, Mai Minghe finally found the one that said "Blueland District Library" - about ten kilometers away from where she was.

Even if you walk fast, it will still take two hours.

Fortunately, she had taken a nap in the restaurant and had some rest... She didn't know how long she had slept, but judging from her physical feeling at the moment, she seemed to be able to walk.

It's really a young body, she sighed in her heart, and she felt full of energy again after a short rest.

Mai Minghe followed the signs and walked on the road with a bit of tourist interest at first. He looked around and found everything familiar and new.

This was the first time she had seen the nest in daylight.

At first glance, she would almost think that she was still in Blackmore City - buildings, roads, subway stations, overpasses, squares... It was like a large framework drawn with a pen between heaven and earth, giving the nest a similar outline as if it were a twin of Blackmore City.

Sometimes she would walk down a familiar road, and before turning the corner, she would remember that there seemed to be an Asian market on the corner; when she turned the corner and looked up, it was indeed the same Asian market.

But just because it has the same sign doesn’t mean Mai Minghe dares to go in and take a look.

The market in Blackmore City sells nothing but meat, vegetables, and fruits; in the market window of the Nest, instead of hanging roast ducks, there are bunches of wet hair hanging.

"Why is it so disgusting...?"

Although he felt genuinely disgusted, sometimes one just can't help but look at the scene of a car accident—Mai Minghe stopped and examined it carefully. Perhaps because it was an "Asian market," every strand of wet hair was pitch black. Some were thick, some were thin, and each strand was connected to a piece of pale scalp; the hook was stuck in the scalp.

The hair was bunched up together to form a row of curtains.

Mai Minghe stared at them blankly for several seconds before he suddenly realized that there were two bundles of hair in the corner, being quietly separated - behind the hair was a white pancake-like face, like the moon near mid-moon, gradually becoming rounder towards Mai Minghe.

She didn't dare to stop for even half a second, and ran away before the eyes of the person behind the wet hair were completely exposed.

"Don't run any further,"

A face suddenly emerged from the shadows on the roadside, like a mushroom emerging after rain, and flashed past Mai Minghe's eyes. "You're running in the wrong direction!"

If I fall for your trick, I'll have lived eighty-six years in vain—

Mai Minghe turned a deaf ear and continued running along the sidewalk, but unexpectedly stepped into the darkness.

It wasn't that she had been running so much that she had forgotten the time, but that she had really plunged into the darkness - she suppressed her shock, took a step back with a gasp, and then retreated into the dim daylight; looking forward, the light ahead was normal, it was still a cloudy afternoon.

But after taking another tentative step forward, the entire city was suddenly shrouded in darkness: the streetlights cast orange clouds, and the windows and neon signs all lit up.

...How come it’s dark already, just one step away?

Full of wonder, she looked up at the night sky.

The cloudy night sky was devoid of starlight. Occasionally, a breeze blew through the dark clouds, revealing a white, somehow familiar moon, gradually becoming fuller from between them.

Mai Minghe shuddered and understood everything.

She cursed inwardly, closed her eyes, and took a few steps back, swinging her arms around her. With a "bang", her hands seemed to hit the glass, and she gasped in pain.

When she opened her eyes a little, she found herself standing in front of a shop window in the Asian market.

It seemed as if the several minutes of sprinting just now were just an imagination in my mind.

At some point, a round hole as big as a human head appeared on the window glass, just big enough for Mai Minghe to stick his head in.

Judging from her current position, her head must have been put in before she stepped back - just in time to face a round, bulging human face that gradually emerged from between the black hair.

"You look so disgusting, yet you still try to trick people into patronizing your business?"

Mai Minghe was both scared and angry, and she really wanted to pick up a brick and smash it in, but after thinking it over, she decided not to cause trouble - she covered her eyes with one hand, groped her way back the way she came, made a big circle, and finally avoided the Asian market.

However, she didn't know that the Asian market was just the beginning.

Originally thought it would take two hours to walk, but due to various accidents, confusions and traps, Mai Minghe walked for four or five hours, until nightfall, when he finally saw the shadow of the Blue District Library in the distance.

The library building is quite large, with a row of steps at the main entrance leading to a square. Somehow, a car had swerved into a lamppost, which was covered with a thin layer of dust.

As Mai Minghe dragged her sore and painful feet towards the library step by step, a figure sitting on the steps suddenly jumped up - which scared her.

"Come so fast?"

The man who spoke was a young man. Too far away to see his face clearly, I could only vaguely tell he seemed nervous, his arms folded tightly together, as if to protect himself. "Aren't you coming from ten kilometers away? How come you've arrived in less than half an day?"

What? From what I hear, ten kilometers should take longer, right?

Mai Minghe wanted to ask, but she really couldn't muster the strength - even young people couldn't endure it like this - she staggered to the bottom of the stairs, fell down on the stairs with a "thump", and waved weakly at the young man as a gesture.

There was hesitation and indecision in the sound of his footsteps as he walked down.

"Well... I thought I was in trouble this time, but I didn't expect the punishment to be this." He paused on a few steps. "I thought there was only one person who needed a guide. Did you two enter the lair together?"

Mai Minghe sat motionless on the steps for several seconds, his neck stiff.

　Oh my goodness, it's only three minutes to midnight. I'm really rushing to post this... I originally wanted to write about what it's like inside the lair through Mai Minghe's eyes, but I've only just written a little about the Asian market, and this chapter is already two or three thousand words...

　　
　
(End of this chapter)