AITAMITB Chapter 91

The sewer manhole cover was lifted, and at first glance, it appeared no different from any other location. The stench hit them, but none of the people present wrinkled their brows.

As the team leader, Zhang Hongyi naturally took the lead and jumped down first.

Yesterday’s light rain had left water pooled in the sewer. As he leaped in, the sewage rose past his knees. The walls were covered in moss, and the environment was damp and dim. The air reeked of foul decay.

Zhang Hongyi switched on his flashlight, illuminating the walls. He gestured to the team behind him, indicating a discovery. Stepping forward through the water, he was followed by other Nightwalkers, each holding a camera. They carefully captured the traces on the walls.

Silence enveloped them as they moved forward, only the sound of water splashing breaking the quiet.

A wall away, in the underground darkness:

The room was eerie and horrifying. Blood formed strange patterns on the floor, flowing inexplicably, all converging toward the center of the room—

On a crucifix, Guan Huimin was bound in the manner of Jesus’ crucifixion.

Black liquid pooled at her feet. Its origin remained unknown, but it exuded a strong, bloody odor. Gradually, it rose around her ankles. The liquid, continuously surging upward, resembled black hands desperately clinging to Guan Huimin’s body.

She struggled to shift her weight upward, but the black liquid still clung to her ankles.

Cold, icy.

The chilling sensation crept through her bones, spreading upward. It enveloped Guan Huimin entirely. She looked down at her feet, where the black liquid continued to rise. Tears streamed down her face, eyes filled with despair.

At that moment, countless images flashed through her mind.

She had known Nie Fu for many years—first as friends, then as business partners, and eventually as lovers.

Although they were married, they had to publicly claim to be single. Standing beside her beloved, she couldn’t cross any boundaries. She wasn’t without resentment or unwillingness, but compared to all that, nothing mattered more than having her loved one stand in the center of the stage, basking in the applause of thousands under the spotlight.

She was willing to endure all this pain for Nie Fu.

Yet as her life neared its end, when the grim reaper was about to knock on her door, the suppressed feelings of discontent surged forth.

She also longed for a simple wedding—wearing a pristine white gown, walking into the chapel with her husband, and receiving blessings from family and friends. Instead of a restaurant banquet room, she wanted to exchange rings and celebrate their marriage with a proper ceremony.

She also wished that when other women expressed affection for her husband, she could boldly hold his arm, raise her chin proudly, and declare, “Excuse me, this is my man.”

“Nie Fu, Nie Fu…”

She softly uttered this name, the source of all her joy and pain, her expression gradually becoming trance-like.

The black liquid had already climbed up to her knees, crawled up her thighs, and finally coiled around her abdomen, plunging in from the position of her navel.

Guan Huimin felt like a balloon, constantly being inflated by someone, inflated, and inflated again. The intense pain made her feel as if in the next moment, she would burst like an overinflated balloon with a resounding “pop.”

But she was still alive, still able to feel her abdomen continuously expanding, expanding again.

Fan Ying, accompanied by several individuals dressed in all black, knelt from a distance, prostrating themselves in a devout posture. Their hands rested on their heads as they chanted, “Oh, my merciful lord, believers offer blood as a sacrifice, the sins of the mortal realm as a gift. We respectfully welcome your arrival; please be born by my side…”

Bang—

With a resounding artillery blast, a wall directly opposite Fan Ying and the others exploded, revealing several figures with a heroic demeanor.

“Don’t move!”

The people behind Fan Ying raised their heads, anxiously asking, “Who are you, and why are you here!”

Zhang Hongyi and the others had already prepared their firearms before the wall exploded. They walked over, holding guns. Faced with the pitch-black barrels, most discerning individuals chose to lie down, obediently handcuffed and restrained by the Nightwalkers.

Some stared at them with hateful eyes, hoarsely saying, “Useless, useless, even if you kill me, the Lord will avenge me. You ignorant people, unaware of how gravely mistaken you are, thinking you’re walking the right path when, in reality, the devil has blinded your eyes…”

“How should we deal with this formation?”

Zhao Xiaokui and Lin Bai were the first to receive the images sent by Zhang Hongyi.

Without waiting for Lin Bai to analyze the structure and function of the formation, Zhao Xiaokui cut to the chase: “Destroy it, blow it up—do whatever you want. Just break it directly. This is an aggregation-type formation, likely designed to contain the evil energy generated during the cultists’ killing events. Destroy it outright.”

Zhang Hongyi didn’t hesitate; he fired a shot at the ground.

The entire formation momentarily flickered, but the converging trend toward the center didn’t completely stop. He continued firing, the gunshots echoing in the small room. One pathway after another was severed until the entire scene turned into ruins.

“Quick, pour holy water down Guan Huimin’s throat!” Zhao Xiaokui’s urgent voice commanded over the communication channel.

Fan Ying, who had remained silent with her head lowered, suddenly lifted her gaze. A wicked smile appeared on her round face. “Too late, too late, hahaha… The god has already been born within her. You’re all too late… She will become nourishment for my master…”

Zhang Hongyi looked at Guan Huimin.

The woman was bound to the crucifix, emaciated, her hair dry and coarse like straw. But her abdomen protruded prominently, resembling that of twins overdue by ten months.

What was most horrifying was the continuous strange bulges on her belly—like a fully gestated child impatiently trying to emerge from its mother’s womb.

If placed in ordinary circumstances, this scene would naturally be warm and sweet. For a family welcoming their child for the first time, the novice parents might even exclaim in excitement. However, the current scene was undeniably eerie. Strange marks continuously surfaced on the black belly, as if at any moment, a peculiar creature hidden within would tear through that thin layer of skin and emerge into this world.

“Don’t be fooled by her. The evil god hasn’t fully formed; this is merely a projection! If we don’t administer the holy water to her soon, it will truly be too late! The god hasn’t absorbed enough power yet and will consume Guan Huimin’s essence. Once she dies, without the constraints from her mortal body, the evil god will truly break free!”

Zhang Hongyi took a deep breath.

His trust in Zhao Xiaokui prompted him to retrieve the vial of holy water he had kept hidden on his person. It was small, not much larger than a test tube, but when uncorked from its specialized seal, it emitted a strong white glow, akin to a miniature sun. Instantly, the surrounding environment brightened.

The Nightwalkers were unfazed; their night vision goggles allowed them to handle such light changes without discomfort. However, Fan Ying and the others waiting in the darkness were different. Almost the moment the light appeared, she covered her eyes and let out a painful scream.

“Ah—”

Zhang Hongyi paid no heed, continuing to approach Guan Huimin.

This was an incredibly challenging process. Although the evil god only appeared as a projection, its connection to the original source was stronger than the usual wisps of spiritual energy or infectious power attached to various objects.

Before he even reached Guan Huimin, various whispers began to fill his ears. It was as if he sat in a Roman coliseum, where tens of thousands of spectators ignored the gladiatorial combat and instead focused on him. They leaned in, exchanged hushed words, and wore eerie smiles.

Meanwhile, his mind felt as if it had been pierced by a sharp hammer and vigorously stirred. The pain was sharp and intense. Even though he held the highest-purity holy water, blood still flowed from his ears, eyes, nostrils, and mouth simultaneously.

Zhang Hongyi staggered, nearly falling to the ground.

Behind him, Gou Rixin and the others watched anxiously, wishing they could take his place.

Hong Ying stared at Zhang Hongyi’s retreating figure, her lips almost bleeding from being bitten. Seeing him almost collapse, she suddenly shouted:

“Sing, sing! Play Zhao Xiaokui’s song! Play ‘Dawn’!”

Zhao Xiaokui’s song could expel the evil god’s influence on the spiritual body, separating the god’s projection from the host. Would it have the same effect on the god’s core?

The signal had been cut off long before the evil god began struggling inside Guan Huimin’s belly. Fortunately, within the Nightwalkers’ ranks, especially among the team that frequently dealt with the evil god, everyone carried tactical tablets. These tablets were loaded with Zhao Xiaokui’s music—something they listened to occasionally to soothe their nerves.

Suddenly, an ear-splitting song filled the empty room. Almost the moment the melodious voice of the mermaid emerged, the strange creature hidden within Guan Huimin’s belly reacted violently, as if triggered by an inexplicable stimulus. Guan Huimin’s expression contorted in pain.

Zhang Hongyi swiftly approached her, paying no mind to her bizarre abdomen. With a determined expression, he shoved a small vial of holy water into her mouth. The vial, though delicate-looking like glass, was made of a special material—transparent like glass but slightly more pliable. It possessed memory capabilities and slowly regained its shape after deformation.

Ignoring the chaos, Zhang Hongyi administered the concentrated holy water directly into Guan Huimin’s throat. In that instant, communication was restored. Zhao Xiaokui’s voice crackled through their earpieces: “Fall back.”

Zhang Hongyi stepped away, nearly stumbling in the process. Fortunately, Gou Rixin steadied him from behind. Their attention remained on Guan Huimin, who now wore a grotesque expression. A terrifying face appeared on her belly, fixating on Zhang Hongyi and the others with malevolence.

“Remember this well… Don’t let me encounter you again,” the voice from within her hissed.

Zhao Xiaokui remained composed. “Ignore it,” she advised, observing Guan Huimin’s struggles on the crucifix.

As Guan Huimin ingested the holy water, her body erupted with countless blisters. These rapidly expanded, burst, and released pus, transforming her from a once-beautiful woman, albeit emaciated, into a creature covered in ruptured pustules.

Curiously, the team paid no attention to the water-filled blisters. They were unaware of the transformation taking place.

Because this is a relatively common side effect after taking holy water—burns.

Even extraordinary individuals experience similar side effects after consuming holy water, although not as intensely as ordinary people.

With tears streaming down her face, Fan Ying looked at Guan Huimin’s transformed appearance and suddenly burst into laughter. “Hahaha, you look really ugly now. Do you think Brother Nie Fu would still want to be with you when he sees you like this?”

“Shut up.” Hong Ying didn’t hesitate and slapped her, knocking out two of her teeth and leaving her semi-conscious.

No one paid attention to what Fan Ying said; everyone was fixated on Guan Huimin’s abdomen.

“Ah!” A painful scream echoed from the void, the sound alone carrying a contaminating power.

The members of the Nightwalkers who had joined the operation were all resolute in spirit, and with Zhao Xiaokui’s singing as their resistance, they weren’t greatly affected. However, the ordinary people around them displayed expressions of agony. Two individuals even collapsed on the ground, convulsing briefly before their flesh and blood turned into a black liquid, leaving only their skin behind.

“I’ll kill you—”

Seeing this, Zhao Xiaokui shifted her gaze away, focusing on another direction.

There, someone had discovered a hidden chamber underground.

…

Finally, after admitting the last patient to the ward, Dr. Hao walked a couple of steps down the corridor. Leaning against the wall, he slowly sat down on the floor. The daylight streamed in through the window from the hallway, and he felt a sense of coming back to life.

As he sat there, Dr. Hao suddenly raised his hand and slapped himself.

“For talking nonsense, that’s what you get…”

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