Artifact Report

Chapter 167 Mai Minghe: These shouldn’t be added memories, right?

"Your film and television drama only lasted twenty-four minutes?"

Sea Reed's voice shot straight up, nearly poking a hole in the ceiling. "Why? Why only twenty-four minutes?"

Fu Tailan shrugged. "It's a sitcom, and each episode is only about twenty minutes long. That's normal, right?"

"Do I mind the length of the sitcom episodes? It's the blatant injustice and favoritism—"

Hai Luwei glanced at Mai Minghe, tried to hold back, but couldn't help saying, "The film and television world you've experienced is quite light."

Mai Minghe smiled at him awkwardly, feeling a bit like a survivor's guilt.

Hai Luwei took on all the suffering that she and Fu Tailan had not endured, and entered a science fiction suspense thriller, performing for a maximum of 65 minutes; according to him, he had been struggling to survive in the play and had been forced into a dead end countless times.

"Even if you don't smash your head against the TV, there are traps everywhere!"

Hai Luwei said bitterly, "When you're far away from the main character, you're more likely to die in foreshadowing and side plots. If you get close to the main character, you're bound to get into trouble. Also, I've found safe and peaceful places in the show, but I didn't expect them to be more dangerous than anything else. Once I got stuck in them, even my mind went haywire... For a while, I even forgot who I was, that I didn't actually belong in that world."

In other words, if we only consider safety, we will gradually be "swallowed up" by the world of film and television dramas?
Even though he had just escaped a life-or-death scare, if he lingered any longer on the second floor, there was no telling when the trap would be set off again. Mai Minghe offered him some kind words of comfort and encouragement, but Fu Tailan, unfazed, went straight to the point, "Have you cried enough? Let's go downstairs."

"But we still don't know what the first floor has become," said Mai Minghe.

"If you don't go down and take a look, you'll never know." Fu Tailan was about to go downstairs, but paused and said, "But I think it's very likely that it hasn't changed."

"Is it still just adding memories to my brain?" Hai Luwei asked. "But the content on the second floor has changed..."

"The biggest difference between the second and third floors and the first is that they are 'levels.' After we clear a level, there will be a brief lull, allowing us to leave and then refresh the level content. But the first floor is different.

"There was never a 'level' on the first floor."

Mai Minghe immediately understood - since the first floor never had a "beginning" and "end", it was also possible that it would never be refreshed, like a tape that played in a loop forever.

"The tape analogy is so old-fashioned. I've never even seen one."

As soon as she told him her idea, Fu Tailan smiled. "But speaking of tapes, that reminds me, we should make a recording."

"What's the purpose of recording?" asked Hai Luwei.

"If the first floor continues to instill non-existent memories into our heads, then we must distinguish the most crucial facts." Fu Tailan took out his phone and said, "For example, there's no longer any mortal hatred between us. There's no need to kill each other. If I open the recording and explain a key fact, and you agree... then we can play it back later if necessary. That way, we won't be misled by false memories."

"You're so thoughtful," Mai Minghe couldn't help but sigh.

The three of them worked together and brought up all the key facts they could think of: in addition to the fact that there was no need to kill each other, there was also the time when the apartment would reopen, the sixth floor was not safe, and no artifacts had been found in the building so far... and so on.

After staying on the second floor for seven or eight minutes, they felt unsafe and went downstairs to continue recording. Hai Luwei would occasionally glance back at the corridor, and out of concern, he would tentatively call out, "Hey, Guan Dao, don't rush over, we'll be downstairs soon."

After a few seconds, a foul-smelling sound came from far away in the corridor.

"...No rush, no rush. Just go about your business. You can even treat the staircase as your home. Make yourself at home, make yourself at home."

"One more thing," Hai Luwei quickly said to Fu Tailan's phone, "If you stay on the stairs, it will lead to the garbage pipe."

They looked at each other and felt that there was nothing worth recording anymore. Fu Tailan was about to turn around and go downstairs when Mai Minghe suddenly grabbed his shoulder.

"I should add one last thing, which I just remembered," she reminded me. "This recording was made voluntarily to ensure the authenticity of our memories. It is absolutely credible. We encountered no danger during the recording, and there was nothing that could imitate our voices."

Fu Tailan actually knew how to praise others: "You did a good job. Okay, let's go downstairs quickly."

The first floor was still as quiet and dim as when I first came in.

Several people stopped in the open space in the lobby on the first floor, all of them were extremely alert and looked around in circles; however, after a few minutes, nothing happened.

"No refresh," Mai Minghe breathed a sigh of relief. "It seems you're right. The first floor doesn't have a 'level' format, so the traps won't change."

Fu Tailan was about to nod, but suddenly frowned and said, "Hmm?"

"What's wrong?" Hai Luwei seemed to realize that he would not be looked down upon by the nest, and he was a little paranoid.

"Um, no, nothing..." Fu Tailan looked around. "I remember putting a disposable cell phone on the floor before going upstairs. I turned on the ringer and let it ring. Then I went upstairs. But... the phone is gone now."

After the words were spoken, the first floor hallway fell silent for a few seconds.

Mai Minghe knew very well that they were probably all thinking of going to the same place.

"Why put your phone on the ground?" asked Hai Luwei.

"I remember wanting to test whether sound could travel between floors."

Fu Tailan shook his head and said, "After walking up a few stairs, I couldn't hear the bell anymore. I ignored it and went straight to the second floor. It didn't matter anyway. When I went downstairs just now, I was thinking about the possible dangers on the first floor, so I didn't notice it was gone until now."

They were silent for a while.

"Um... have you really ever put down a disposable cell phone?" Mai Minghe said.

This thought must have been lingering in the minds of the three of them for quite some time.

Fu Tailan shook his head. "I don't know."

"Is this the memory that the first floor just added to your mind?"

Hai Luwei looked around and said, "There's a renovation notice outside the door. Once you enter, you can't leave, so no one comes in. As for the residents... apart from the garbage pipe, I don't see any other residents in the building. Who would take that phone?"

Fu Tailan squatted down and rummaged through his backpack for a while, but couldn't seem to find the disposable cell phone. However, when he looked up, his face didn't look relaxed.

"Even though the phone is gone, I'm still not sure the incident actually happened. It's possible I dropped it somewhere else. I'm not even sure if I really brought a disposable phone in... But what's the purpose of adding this false memory?"

After discussing it for a while, they couldn't reach a conclusion, so they had to let it go for the time being.

The continuation of a person's existence is essentially the continuation of his or her self-memory.

When memory can no longer be trusted and one must be constantly vigilant and repeatedly review and check, Mai Minghe finds that this mental pressure is unexpectedly great and surprisingly exhausting.

After all, doubting yourself is the most exhausting thing.

Within half an hour, everyone couldn't hold on any longer, as if they had all turned into melting ice cream (huh? Why did we say "all"?) - they went from standing upright on guard, to bending over and pounding their legs, to half-squatting and half-sitting, and in the end, they all collapsed, with their backpacks, arms and legs scattered all over the floor.

"I haven't slept a wink since last night," Mai Minghe yawned. "Why don't we take turns getting some sleep?"

The proposal immediately received Fu Tailan's approval.

"Maybe if I fall asleep, my memories won't increase. To be honest, I can't tell which memories were quietly added and which are my original memories." "You dare to sleep in the nest trap?" Sea Reed rubbed his face hard, "What the hell? Even if you take amphetamines, you can't sleep here!"

"Do you have methamphetamine?" Fu Tailan suddenly opened his eyes.

...This kid seems to be particularly active when he hears this kind of thing.

"No," said Sea Reed.

Fu Tailan immediately closed his eyes again.

He didn't seem worried that Mai Minghe might hold a grudge and take the opportunity to retaliate. He leaned on his backpack, adjusted his posture, and said sleepily, "Then why are you talking so much... If you don't dare to sleep, then you'll be on first shift."

Mai Minghe dares to sleep in front of residents, let alone next to humans?
She also lay down against the wall, using her arm as a pillow, and mumbled encouragement to Hai Luwei: "Come on, be careful, and remember to listen to the recording more often... I'm going to die."

The thief broke into the house on the night of the 17th. Looking back, it feels like half a year has passed.

Three days had passed since that night, and Mai Minghe had not had a full night's sleep and was already soaked in fatigue.

Even in the nest trap, as soon as she closed her eyes, her brain couldn't wait to pull the switch, making her fall straight into the dreamless darkness.

She didn't know how long it was before someone pushed her shoulders and shook her awake. She was in a daze and thought it was a social worker.

"...Is it time for you to come again?" she asked in a hoarse voice.

"What?" She was answered by a young man. "It's me, Sea Reed."

Sea reed?
That's—ah, right.

She became young again, from a dying shell, she became the person she remembered...

Yes, I am young; but the road ahead is only nine months long, and I will hit the inevitable end again.

Mai Minghe propped himself up, still feeling dizzy. "I remember now... We're in the apartment. Is it my turn to be on guard?"

"No," Hai Luwei whispered, "Fu Tailan and I didn't think it was necessary to wake you up. We took turns guarding you until now, and you can go out now."

She was slightly taken aback. "What?"

"It's already 20: on the th," Hai Luwei said, gesturing to the empty lobby. "The apartment renovations are over, and people are finally allowed to leave. Fu Tailan just left."

It didn't seem surprising that he left without saying goodbye.

After all, what could Mai Minghe say when he woke up? "I'm sorry"?

"Then we have to get out early," Mai Minghe sat up, trying hard to gather his scattered thoughts. "Memory... Is there something wrong with your memory?"

"Maybe a lot of memories that don't belong to me have been stuffed in, but I have no way of distinguishing them." Hai Luwei said with a wry smile. "What are you going to do next? Go back to Blackmoor City?"

Just as he was about to nod, Mai Minghe paused.

"No, I want to go to the car," she whispered. "I hope it's still where I parked it..."

"What do you need a car for?"

Mai Minghe thought for a moment. "There's a memory I have. I don't know if it was implanted in my mind after I went downstairs. Back then, I couldn't use Fu Tailan's phone to record it in front of him, nor did I have the chance to secretly write a note myself... So I wanted to confirm it with you."

Hai Luwei nodded blankly: "Go ahead and tell me, but I can't guarantee that my memory is correct."

"It's okay, I just want to confirm one thing. After Fu Tailan took away my fake image, didn't you knock him down and press on him?"

"Yes. I'm really worried about being retaliated against..." Hai Luwei said with a sad face.

"At that moment, did he yell, 'Get out of here, that thing has nothing to do with time'?"

Hai Luwei was stunned.

He searched his memory for a while, then said hesitantly, "Yes... yes, he did say that."

It is not ruled out that this is a memory that the apartment added to the minds of both of them at the same time; but at this point, Mai Minghe has no choice but to believe it.

"He was caught off guard by you at the time, and those words came out of his mouth unintentionally. I believe they were true.

"In order to win the 'Nest Domination Game,' Fu Tailan was looking for target artifacts. After learning about my situation, he suspected that the artifact on me was one of his targets.

"In other words... the target artifact is not only related to time, he even believes it can reverse a person's age."

Sea Reed wasn't stupid, and by now he understood everything. "You want..."

"right,"

Mai Minghe nodded and glanced at the dark night outside the apartment.

"I don't want to accept my fate yet. I still want to live. Since that target artifact can reverse time, it is my greatest hope."

However, it seems that information about the target artifact will only be provided to players after joining the "Nest Domination Game"...

She had no interest in ruling the nest, but she had to join.

"I haven't responded to the last in-car radio call-up invitation, so I still have a chance to participate."

Mai Minghe stood up as he spoke, and together with Hai Luwei, they pushed open the apartment door. The night breeze was cool, and with his eyes closed, it felt almost as if nothing was happening.

"I see. You think the car radio might come on again and let you compete."

Sea Reed sighed as he spoke. "The nest truly is a human creation... Even this place, where power and hierarchy don't exist, is finally changing."

Mai Minghe opened the door and let Hai Luwei go out first, and then he followed.

After leaving the apartment, she looked back.

Cynthia, I will definitely rescue you...even if you have become a resident now.

　I remember seeing a few people asking why they didn't leave the apartment... Maybe they were reading too fast and didn't read the rules carefully? They couldn't leave before the time came.

　　I'm trying to speed up the progress and return to the main story. You may have noticed it... Maybe it's because I haven't slept well in a long time. Even Mai Minghe can't hold on any longer and needs to sleep in the story...

　　
　
(End of this chapter)