AITAMITB Chapter 100

Happy 100th chapter!!!!!

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In the research institute, if you were to talk about which project caused the most headaches, it would undoubtedly be the Ancient Ruins Research Lab.

Ordinary items rarely survive the transition of civilizations, and the artifacts found in ruins are maintained in their original state only through the sustenance of extraordinary powers.

These gifts from the mysterious side are like colorful Easter eggs, adorned with various patterns and possessing an enigmatic and unpredictable essence. Judging solely by their appearance, it’s challenging to guess what is inside. Sometimes, treasures may be discovered, such as the Western Gods Alliance once obtaining a Holy Grail that could materialize an extraordinarily pure saint. At other times, one might step on a landmine. In a certain Russian expedition, due to overly aggressive actions, they inadvertently triggered an extraordinary version of an explosive device, resulting in nearly a hundred casualties.

But more often than not, it involves detecting the extraordinary power within an item, speculating that it is an extraordinary product, yet not understanding how to use it. While you can casually study fragments, encountering a complete extraordinary item prompts everyone to treat it with great reverence. Before deciphering the language and culture of another civilization, no one is willing to take risks.

After all, who knows if a box adorned with beautiful patterns might be called Pandora’s Box.

Similar to the Bright Prison, the Ancient Ruins Research Lab occupies a dedicated floor space. Numerous carefully dusted ancient relics are silently displayed on shelves. Beneath each item, records detail its origin and the potential level of danger it may pose.

Zhao Xiaokui looked at the labeled danger levels below and asked, “How are these danger levels determined?”

“Based on the detected fluctuations of extraordinary energy,” Professor Gu explained, “The items displayed here have the weakest extraordinary energy fluctuations and the least potential danger.”

Zhao Xiaokui scanned the display room.

When her gaze fell on a pile of objects resembling footballs, she curled her lips.

“Professor Gu, any guesses about these things?” she inquired.

Professor Gu glanced at the football-like objects she pointed at, smiled, and said, “They should be toys. Discovered in a ruin in North America. M Country didn’t want them, so I brought them all back. The extraordinary energy inside is very weak, almost nonexistent. If it weren’t for the quantity and good preservation, we probably wouldn’t have bothered with them.”

Zhao Xiaokui remained silent but approached and picked up one of the “footballs.” After closely examining it, her heart trembled.

She gently placed the object back, a cautious action that sent shivers down the spines of the three behind her.

Stepping back two paces and standing firm, Zhao Xiaokui addressed Professor Gu, “Professor Gu, I haven’t had a chance to tell you. After I went to the ruin in the sea this time, I encountered a high-level entity. That’s why I was unconscious for so many days. But after I woke up, my mind gained a lot of new information. I didn’t know where to start, so I decided to come to the Ancient Ruins Research Lab to organize my thoughts.

“As for this thing, I can find a corresponding item in my mind. I can’t guarantee it’s the exact same thing, but the similarity is at least 95%.”

Professor Gu looked curiously at the pile on the ground, excitedly asking, “Can you tell us what it is?”

“Pollution Bomb.”

Facing the three puzzled expressions, Zhao Xiaokui pressed her temple, extracting the knowledge from the inherited memories, and explained, “You all know about the Evil God, right? The power of the Evil God can infect the spiritual body of an extraordinary person. The function of this pollution bomb is similar to the power of the Evil God. The only difference is that it contaminates the extraordinary person directly, capable of directly polluting their extraordinary power. It creates an effect similar to poisoning, but different from regular poisoning. You can take an antidote for poisoning, but if you get contaminated by the pollution bomb, you may permanently lose your extraordinary abilities. It’s a weapon used as a last resort in wartime, similar to our atomic bombs…”

Before she could finish her sentence, Shi Ning, Zhu Wei, and Professor Gu instinctively took a step back, their eyes horrified as they stared at the casually piled “footballs” on the ground.

“Atomic… atomic bomb?” Zhu Wei swallowed hard. “Xiaokui, you’re not joking, right?”

Zhao Xiaokui forced a dry smile. “I don’t make jokes like that.”

Even she was shocked.

Who could have imagined that casually strolling around, she would directly encounter a strategic-level weapon in the extraordinary world?

It’s like going to an antique street for some shopping and finding someone selling landmines dug up from the ground, terrifying beyond belief.

The three were equally drenched in cold sweat.

Professor Gu was the first to react, calmly saying, “Don’t panic first. These things have been sitting here for decades. If something were to happen, it would have happened long ago. We don’t need to be so anxious now. Since this thing is so dangerous, it should require certain conditions to trigger.”

“Probably,” Zhao Xiaokui nodded. “But I’m not sure about the specific conditions. However, it shouldn’t be difficult. I guess injecting extraordinary power directly into it could activate it. It has been sitting here for so many years without being used for experiments. Huaxia is really fortunate.”

Indeed.

In the past few years, researchers of extraordinary powers from various countries were relatively cautious, only studying fragments found in ruins. They were hesitant to touch complete items, fearing that they might unintentionally open Pandora’s box and cause unpredictable harm.

However, in recent years, especially in the last two years, progress in studying fragments has dwindled. People gradually shifted their focus to complete items, hoping to find new breakthroughs. Even in the S City Night Guardians Research Institute, there were quite a few suggestions to directly study complete extraordinary artifacts.

If any researcher suddenly had a whim and took an interest in this thing, pouring a large amount of extraordinary power into it, I guess the entire Night Walkers’ Base in S City, and even the whole S City, would end up being buried with it.

Professor Gu’s face became quite grim, and he said, “I’ll report to the higher-ups immediately.”

He then requested Zhao Xiaokui, “Xiaokui, please carefully look at what items you can recognize. I’ll get a researcher to help you register them. We need to reclassify these items.”

Shi Ning said, “No need to find a researcher; let Zhu Wei and me handle it. Keep this matter confidential before reporting it, so as not to cause panic.”

Zhao Xiaokui slowly exhaled on the side.

She looked at the vast research lab, feeling like she was staring at a landmine field.

At this moment, she already had a rather bad premonition.

According to Professor Gu, the items placed here were deemed to have weaker extraordinary power fluctuations based on detection. Typically, this situation had two extremes.

One was truly harmless products with relatively weak extraordinary power, having worn down over the years, or they were not originally extraordinary items but got contaminated by extraordinary power, thus exhibiting some extraordinary power fluctuations. In general, the danger level of such items was not very high.

The other extreme was sprinting in the opposite direction from safety.

In Zhao Xiaokui’s memory, the more formidable the product, the more inconspicuous it appeared. It was like the saying in martial arts novels, where top-notch masters were low-key, such as Yue Buqun Mu Rong Fu, while the truly elite masters were simple and unpretentious, like Hong Qigong.

Modern detection of extraordinary power essentially relied on how much energy leaked out. Why didn’t Night Walkers detect Zhao Xiaokui as an extraordinary being the first time they encountered her? Simply because she could well-conceal the extraordinary power emanating from her body.

She had already mentally prepared herself for the worst, but when she actually examined each item one by one, her twitching mouth couldn’t find a moment to stop.

“I don’t know what this thing is called…” She picked up a round ball-shaped object, and sniffed it at her nose, “but the smell inside seems to be a kind of water-soluble potion. When thrown into the water, it releases a dehydrating curse.”

Zhu Wei: “Dehydrating curse?”

“It means that if you drink water soaked with this thing, you can no longer absorb external moisture. No matter how much water you drink, it will flow directly out of your intestines. You will constantly feel thirsty, keep drinking water, and in the end, either be bloated to death or dry up due to excessive fluid loss.”

Zhu Wei, a water-type extraordinary being, shivered and couldn’t bear to imagine that scene.

Shi Ning pointed at a ring and asked, “Is this one dangerous too?”

At first, Zhao Xiaokui didn’t recognize what it was. She approached to see the images on it clearly and burst into laughter, “The danger of this thing depends on how you define it. This ring is from the God Clan. Wearing it increases affinity with light elements and has the effect of resisting the power of evil gods. But if you wear it for a long time, you might be brainwashed into a believer of the God Clan.”

She knew about this item even without the mermaid’s inherited memories.

After all, in the mermaid world, the gods played the same tricks, which had long been recorded in books, cautioning future generations to be careful when using similar extraordinary items, lest they get sold and help count the money.

Shi Ning silently turned her head.

Next, Zhao Xiaokui recognized many items that widened their eyes.

For example, there was one that could replace a life-or-death crisis for the contractor, or it could directly replace the contractor with a substitute doll; there was another one that, once worn, couldn’t be taken off anymore, and the consciousness hidden inside could directly take over the wearer’s body. And there were many more…

After following Zhao Xiaokui in a circle, the two third-tier extraordinary couldn’t help but shudder when looking at the entire Ancient Ruins Research Lab.

“These things have been here for so many years; are they still effective?” Zhu Wei, with a pale face, touched his goosebump-covered arms and asked.

Zhao Xiaokui said expressionlessly, “… How about you give it a try? The ring has the least harm; you can wear it and try it. Just input your extraordinary energy, and it will be activated—foolproof operation, quick and simple.”

Zhu Wei quickly waved his hands, “No, no, no, I can’t.”

Zhao Xiaokui’s discovery gave the Night Walkers, who had faced these things firsthand, a chill.

On the contrary, the researchers in the lab had eyes shining brighter as they looked at Zhao Xiaokui.

“How does this ring with brainwashing effects work? Does it generate certain electromagnetic waves to interfere with brain waves? Does it only work when worn? If two people live together, eat together, and sleep together, will the person without the ring be brainwashed?”

“As for this substitute doll that can endure a fatal injury, how does it endure it? Does it transfer the damage from itself after being injured? Or can it detect imminent harm and instantly swap positions? Can it replace injuries like poison? If the contractor dies instantly, can it still replace?”

The researchers bombarded Zhao Xiaokui with questions, eager to delve into the details of these extraordinary items.

“Does this □□¹I think it’s censored…? Or there really is nothing here…? really contain a person’s consciousness? Can you communicate after activating it? Does it have to be worn on a person’s face? Can it be worn on a pig’s face? No, no, the difference between pigs and humans is too significant. What if we can’t communicate afterward? How about finding a monkey instead…”

Zhao Xiaokui: “…” As long as you’re happy.

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  I think it’s censored…? Or there really is nothing here…?