Artifact Report

Chapter 207: Chase: An Anti-Climax Gunfight

When standing right in the middle of a whistling barrage of bullets, perhaps only Chai Si in the world would breathe a sigh of relief.

After holding his breath for a whole night, it was finally his turn.

Chase half-crouched behind the trash can, listening to Brianna's two men fire shot after shot at him. Bullets ripped through the air in the sudden light, weaving a dense, brassy glow through the dark night of the narrow alley.

Some of the guns were equipped with silencers, while others were not. The guns were loud and quiet, and their roars were mixed with muffled cries, making it impossible to hear the movements of other people in the alley.

At this moment, at the entrance of the alley in the distance, Chai Si saw several familiar figures who had just jumped out of the car. They were using the wall as cover and returning fire. He whistled from a distance and shouted, "Give me weapons!"

"Brother Chai Si," someone responded.

Under cover of gunfire, the man turned from behind the corner, crouched down, and, between bursts of gunfire, quickly approached Chai Si. A long braid hung from his shoulder, swaying in the darkness—it was Tian Xi.

Chai Si raised his hand and caught the gun he threw at him. The heavy weight almost made the muscles in his arms tremble and sigh.

As soon as he got the gun, he twisted his waist, stood up, and took aim. Immediately afterwards, a gunshot was heard, and a dark shadow suddenly fell in the alley behind him - the other party's heavy and huge body hit the ground, and it seemed to shake the rain curtain.

"Pete!"

The tall and thin man shouted, but did not dare to stand up from his hiding place to check on his companions.

Of course, it makes no difference whether you watch it or not.

Taking this opportunity, Chai Si narrowed his eyes and quickly scanned the surroundings.

Visibility in the alley is poor.

The buildings on both sides were dark, and only on the distant road beyond the end of the alley were the traffic lights and street lights of the Blackmore City Road floating in red and yellow - the lights were soft and blurry, floating in the puddles in the alley, as if blood and fat were leaking in.

...Chai Si sometimes has complicated feelings about his luck.

If it was Morando who came tonight, he would have no chance of getting behind the trash can when the gunfight broke out.

For those who are not familiar with guns, it may be difficult to imagine that using a gun to injure someone to a limited extent without killing them is actually a more difficult and technically demanding task - what's more, Chai Si would rather die with the false image than cooperate and hand the false image to the tall and thin man.

The tall and thin man was obviously aware of the situation, so he did not shoot at Chai Si rashly, but chose to point the gun at Jin Xueli - from this point of view, it seemed that Chai Si was quite lucky.

But it was precisely because the tall and thin man targeted Jin Xueli that he survived the initial surprise attack and gunfire.

The place where the tall and thin man had just stood was in the middle of a straight alley, and there was not even a trash can nearby. Logically speaking, the chances of surviving the first round of bullets were very small.

But because he kept staring at Jin Xueli, he received the reminder indirectly. Now he not only survived, but also found a shelter for himself in time - the open bar door.

How did Chai Si know?

Because at this moment, Han Liuyue's voice, neither cold nor hot, came from behind the bar door: "...Don't squeeze me, Brother Chai is hard to kill."

That guy dared to squeeze in with Han Liuyue, his courage is indeed commendable.

Not only her behavior is enough to make people stay away; Han Liuyue's position changes rapidly, and with her around, Chai Si really can't go up rashly.

He looked again and saw Jin Xueli on this side of the alley, and the three people on the other side. They were all lying on the ground, each of them sucking in their stomachs, stretching their bodies flat and long, sticking tightly to the ground and the wall - at first glance, they looked like four graffiti figures.

...As expected of a hunter, his body, brain, and principles are all very flexible.

Chai Si swung his hand in the air and the gunfire behind him stopped immediately.

"Give me the artifact and take me to Brianna."

He pressed the barrel of his gun against the lid of the trash can, his range covering the bar door, and said, "This is the price you pay to live tonight."

Behind the door, the tall, thin man seemed to chuckle softly and said, "...What a coincidence, none of them can do it."

"Do you think you have any other options?"

Tian Xi, who was behind him, heard this and suddenly snorted, "Hmm?", but he held back and didn't interrupt.

Chai Si continued, "There's only one door to the bar. If you show your head out from behind it, I'll shoot you immediately. Are you pinning all your hopes on Han Liuyue? Do you think she'll still help you at this point?"

Tian Xi, who was always very steady, perhaps sensed the risk of Han Liuyue defecting, but he moved a few times as if ants were crawling all over his body, opening and closing his mouth. It seemed that the tall and thin man had indeed set his sights on Han Liuyue.

He lowered his voice and whispered to her behind the door in an urgent tone. Although Chai Si couldn't hear what he said, he could probably imagine it.

It's nothing more than a guarantee that if Han Liuyue can control herself, he will take her to see the mayor, right?
The duo who were going to sell lipstick and the bar waitress seized the opportunity, quietly got up, and walked out one after another like crabs along the wall - Chai Si glanced at them, pretended not to see, and turned his attention back to the bar door.

They are all hunters and should know the rules; if something has nothing to do with them, they can just ignore it and leave.

"Brother Chai," Tianxi seemed unable to help himself, "Are there any of our people in the bar too?"

...This question comes quite unexpectedly.

"No," Chase glanced at him.

If so, why did you call Tianxi here specifically?
Tianxi looked even more uneasy. "Then why do you say he has no other way out?"

Chai Si was stunned - because the answer was too obvious, he didn't understand why Tianxi couldn't figure it out and came to ask him.

He was about to answer when he heard Han Liuyue say clearly at this moment: "...Okay."

Was Han Liuyue really persuaded by the tall and thin guy again?
Chai Si was startled and immediately did not bother to answer Tianxi. He focused all his attention back and aimed his gun at the bar door.

However, after a few seconds, Han Liuyue didn't emerge from behind the door. Instead, Jin Xueli saw that the situation had calmed down. She seized the opportunity and walked quickly towards the trash can while asking, "Chai Si, did you arrange someone at the bar as well?"

Why does everyone ask him this question?
Chai Si suppressed his annoyance and ignored her - he always felt that it was a little too quiet behind the door.

"If there's no one inside the bar, can he go through the main entrance?"

Tianxi's tone was as if he suspected Chai Si had suddenly developed Alzheimer's, and so he had to be extremely cautious. He had already pulled out his cell phone and said, "I'm going to have someone block the main entrance of the bar right now?"

...Main entrance?
Chai Si closed his eyes tightly, his head buzzing and dizzy.

Where is the main entrance in “Backlight”?

Wait, did he also have a similar conversation with Han Liuyue?
"Brother Chai, I'm coming out."

Han Liuyue's snow-white face finally peeked out from behind the open bar door. Tianxi, still unaccustomed to seeing her like this, flinched in shock.

"You've been stalling long enough, haven't you?" Han Liuyue said, as if nothing had happened, "When are you going to take me to see the mayor?"

In a sense, she was really happy - when Brianna's men died, Han Liuyue saw that there was no hope, so she immediately placed her bet back on Chai Si.

Han Liuyue walked into the alley and closed the door as if nothing had happened.

In the dark and rainy night, the alley fell into a strange silence: Chai Si stared at Han Liuyue, while Tianxi and Jin Xueli stared at Chai Si.

"Why are you standing there? That guy's about to run away," Jin Xueli pointed at the bar door and finally couldn't help herself: "Aren't you going to chase him?"

"I've asked people to block it—" Tianxi also spoke at the same time.

Chai Si looked at Jin Xueli, then at Tianxi. While feeling doubtful, he also vaguely sensed a chilling sense of unease.

"Who ran away? ... Chasing who?"

The men sent by Brianna were shot by him and were lying on the ground not far away.

Who else to chase?

Tianxi and Jin Xueli seemed to be dumbfounded. For a moment, neither of them could utter a word.

Only Han Liuyue suddenly lowered her head and burst out laughing.

　I'm going to keep this chapter short because I'm so tired (I know, I've said this so many times.)
　　I once opened the author's backstage and accidentally saw a comment flash before my eyes. I didn't remember the ID, but I remembered the soul-searching question:
　　“Why did I pay 4 yuan to watch it for a month?”

　　...I feel guilty.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)