AITAMITB Chapter 10

“I have contacted the Dark Council, and no vampire admits that Shi Xinde is their descendant.”

In the meeting room, Lin Bai used a projector to display Shi Xinde’s photo on the large screen.

In the photo, he was smiling faintly. Although the hair on his temples was gray, and there were many wrinkles on his face, his sharp eyes still sparkled.

“According to the investigation, Shi Xinde left Hua Country half a year ago for a tour of Europe and only returned a month ago.”

“During this period, he was missing for three months, and our investigators found no traces of him.”

“Now, it is preliminarily believed that he underwent vampire transformation abroad and became a vampire.”

Zhang Hongyi asked, “Why didn’t the customs detect it?”

Lin Bai said, “Customs are not omnipotent. Our latest instruments are not enough to detect people who have just transformed from humans to dark species—after all, this transformation is not an instant process. Before completely becoming a vampire, those undergoing transformation have to go through a life-to-death process, but machines can only detect conditions similar to serious illness.”

Gou Rixin touched his bald head and exclaimed, “Can it be like this?”

“We have already reported this situation,” Lin Bai said, “It is indeed a way for foreign vampires to infiltrate our country. Humans transformed into vampires take a long time, and during the early stages of life force depletion, customs find it challenging to distinguish whether it’s due to illness or other reasons.”

Zhang Hongyi frowned. As the team leader, he thought more than other members. “Since Shi Xinde can infiltrate in this way, he’s probably not the first or the last.”

His words contained a deep sense of dread.

If it were extraordinary individuals from other forces infiltrating, it wouldn’t be as terrifying.

But the Dark Council…

You see, whether vampires or werewolves, they all consider humans as edible materials.

Extraordinary individuals from other forces, after entering Hua Country, mostly plunder wealth. But the people of the Dark Council… what they plunder is life.

“I don’t know what these people are thinking. It’s already the 21st century, yet they are willing to act as lapdogs for vampires in the name of so-called immortality. Do they really think they’re indispensable?” Gou Rixin mocked.

Beside him, Hong Ying spoke softly, “Perhaps before their transformation, they didn’t carefully read the informed consent form, assuming there is one.”

If one truly delves into understanding the vampire race, intelligent individuals will realize that in this community built entirely on blood relations, there is not much difference from the ancient slave system. The few at the pinnacle of the bloodline hierarchy are always the owners of wealth, while the others are nothing more than custodians.

Newcomers like Shi Xinde are nothing more than lapdogs, whether used or discarded, without a shred of remorse.

Zhang Hongyi stood up, giving orders to his team, “Lin Bai, contact the Night Wardens. Instruct them to expedite the research on relevant instruments. We need to quickly uncover the hidden enemies lurking in the darkness; these people are too dangerous.”

Just like Shi Xinde, if it weren’t for the incident in the parking lot, where he voluntarily exposed himself, with his wealth and abilities, it would probably take a long time for them to discover him.

“I will contact the people at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, urging them to protest to the Dark Council. They need to control their own people.”

Gou Rixin, tossing a piece of candy into his mouth from who knows where, cursed, “Damn it!”

…

Sunlight fell on Zhao Xiaokui’s face, illuminating half of her cheek.

Her skin displayed a rosy blush after a deep sleep, and her long eyelashes seemed to be teased by the sunlight, trembling uneasily.

All darkness, fear, and chaos seemed to retreat in the face of such a scene.

Shen Zhifei noticed that while sleeping, Zhao Xiaokui did not unconsciously emit the immense bewitching power as she did yesterday in the water. Instead, she appeared ordinary, much like an average person.

It seems to be related to her physical condition…

“Good morning.”

A familiar voice came from above. Zhao Xiaokui rubbed against the soft “pillow” and mumbled, “Good morning.”

Shen Zhifei chuckled lightly, and the vibration in her chest made Zhao Xiaokui, who was lying on her chest, also shake. After a while, she raised her head, looking around with a pair of misty eyes.

Zhao Xiaokui’s gaze gradually became shocked.

When did she fall asleep on Shen Zhifei…

And there was a pillow…

She looked down at Shen Zhifei’s seemingly unremarkable but actually quite weighty large chest and blushed silently.

Rubbing her heated cheeks, she calmly said, “Since you’re okay now, I’ll go down first. I need to soak in the water for a while.”

If her gaze could be more determined, and her face less red, perhaps her words would sound more convincing.

Shen Zhifei suppressed a smile, “Thanks for last night. Go ahead, I’ll prepare breakfast… or lunch. What do you want to eat, or is anything fine?”

“Anything is fine!”

Zhao Xiaokui swiftly left Shen Zhifei’s bedroom.

The need to soak in water was real, and the embarrassment was real too.

Zhao Xiaokui, who always thought she had a quiet sleeping posture, had never imagined that she could be so restless!

To actually fall asleep on someone else…

Thinking of the scene she woke up to, Zhao Xiaokui covered her face and submerged herself in the water, wishing she could cast a forgetfulness spell on herself.

Embarrassment is probably an emotion that can linger longer in the human psyche compared to pain and joy.

“Sigh—”

An hour later, Zhao Xiaokui emerged from the water.

Staying in the water for a while had improved her feelings.

Unfortunately, despite Shen Zhifei’s luxurious bathtub, it was still just a bathtub, unable to swim. Even in the water, Zhao Xiaokui, lying flat, felt her “nature” suppressed.

Yes, nature.

Just like birds yearning to fly or thoroughbred horses yearning to run.

She longed to swim in the water.

Real water—

Not a bathtub, not a pool, but the boundless sea.

When in the water, she closed her eyes and could even imagine the scene of a storm raging on the sea surface. This made her blood boil, and she wished to immediately jump into the picture in her mind, chasing the waves and the thunderbolts, swimming freely in the water.

A subtle expression appeared on Zhao Xiaokui’s face.

During her time in the mermaid world, she had never experienced a similar feeling.

Otherwise, she should have enjoyed life in the deep sea like other mermaids, relishing the sensation of swimming in the water, rather than having an almost obsessive longing for a sun in her memory and a piece of land not shrouded by seawater.

This sudden awakening of nature made Zhao Xiaokui somewhat helpless.

The nature of extraordinary beings is, in fact, a form of inheritance. Through unique powers, the experiences of ancestors are engraved in the bloodline of descendants.

The emergence of nature means that she can inherit the legacy of the mermaid clan, learning the abilities possessed by true mermaids. Unlike in the human world, where one has to let time naturally bring about growth.

But the critical issue is—

She is currently a human!

How can a human cultivate the mermaid clan’s techniques?!

The species has completely changed!

“Ah.” Zhao Xiaokui sighed lightly, tilting her head backward into the water.

Whatever, the nature she has received now is still minimal and doesn’t have much effect. Just consider it as watching a documentary stored in her mind.

While Zhao Xiaokui was watching the “documentary,” Shen Zhifei had already prepared lunch.

“…Rong Zhen must have saved the world in his past life.” While eating, Zhao Xiaokui suddenly exclaimed, “Why don’t I have such a good fiancee like you? Managing a company, cooking so deliciously—being good both in public and in private.”

As she spoke, Zhao Xiaokui felt like she was turning into a sour lemon.

How did that person named Rong Zhen get so lucky to marry such a good lady?

“Rong Zhen and I have a purely business marriage. There is actually no real emotion between us.” Shen Zhifei picked up a piece of food for Zhao Xiaokui. She didn’t know why she was explaining all this. “The founders of the Rong and Shen families, our grandfathers, had a good relationship. When we were born, they arranged a marriage for us. Originally, neither of us planned to go through with it, but a few years ago, my grandfather fell seriously ill. To fulfill his wish, Rong Zhen and I held an engagement ceremony. This year, Rong Zhen’s grandfather is also approaching the end of his life, and his only wish is to see Rong Zhen and me get married while he is still alive.”

Listening to the gossip about the wealthy family, Zhao Xiaokui was dumbfounded. “So, are you planning to marry Rong Zhen?”

Are wealthy families so casual about such matters?

Shen Zhifei said, “For me, it doesn’t make much difference who I marry.”

Unable to hold back, Zhao Xiaokui commented, “It makes a big difference!”

Shen Zhifei didn’t refute her words. She peeled a salt-boiled shrimp and placed it in Zhao Xiaokui’s bowl, then asked, “So, what do you think marriage should be like?”

“Uh…” Zhao Xiaokui was caught off guard by this question.

Before crossing over, she was not yet eighteen, and although she had the feelings of a teenage girl, she never thought about marriage, which seemed so distant at that time.

Sometimes, girls of her age would deliberately avoid thinking about such questions. After all, just thinking about the handsome guys she was infatuated with now, they might turn into potbellied, balding middle-aged uncles in ten years. It was really hard to sustain the beautiful adolescent crush into the future.

And during the five years in the deep sea, not to mention that mermaids had no concept of marriage, when the sword of Damocles hung overhead in the form of death, perhaps no one had the inclination to ponder philosophical questions like marriage and family.

“I actually don’t know what marriage should be like. But I always feel that casually marrying anyone is not right,” Zhao Xiaokui said.

Shen Zhifei asked, “Then, who do you think you should marry?”

Zhao Xiaokui pondered while biting her chopsticks and suddenly smiled, “I don’t know who I should marry, but I want to marry the person I love.”

Shen Zhifei asked with interest, “How do you determine that you’ve fallen in love with someone?”

“Shakespeare said, ‘Love is like a bright noon in the dark night,'” Zhao Xiaokui bit a chopstick, her lips revealing a faint glimpse of white, neat teeth like a row of beads, “When that person appears, I will know.”

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