AITAMITB Chapter 118

This strange feeling came suddenly, almost in an instant. Zhao Xiaokui felt as if she had fallen into an icy cave.

She didn’t make any rash movements. Instead, she turned her head first, observing the expressions of others. To her realization, everyone seemed natural, everything was as usual. As expected, the only one affected was her.

Enduring the shivering cold, she didn’t immediately reveal her situation but instead began observing the surrounding environment.

When the team member had an accident earlier, she had not noticed anything unusual. The eerie events seemed to suddenly descend upon people until his soul was almost pulled out of his body. Only then did Zhao Xiaokui feel that mysterious, almost intangible attraction and severed it.

But how could this be possible?

Everything, once it happens, leaves traces.

It’s impossible to be without any traces.

The chill deepened, and for Zhao Xiaokui, who hadn’t felt such extremes of temperature for a long time, this sensation was quite fresh.

Enduring the discomfort in her body, she calmly discussed with the team members about resting and keeping guard.

The night watcher, equipped with instruments and various items, began detecting and collecting data about the environment. Zhao Xiaokui, leading the night watcher, stood guard beside them, her gaze sweeping around like a sharp-eyed hawk, alert to potential dangers and anomalies.

“Captain Zhao, have something to eat,” the deputy team leader handed over a pack of compressed biscuits, accidentally touching Zhao Xiaokui’s fingertips, which felt icy. He instinctively suspected something was wrong with her, but as his puzzled gaze met hers, Zhao Xiaokui casually raised an eyebrow and asked, “What’s the matter?”

The deputy team leader said, “Just felt that your hands are so cold.”

“Normal,” Zhao Xiaokui replied, “I’m a water-element supernatural being; my body temperature is naturally lower than normal.”

The deputy team leader was convinced and shifted his gaze to other squad members.

He noticed that almost every convoy had at least one person who appeared pale as if recovering from a serious illness.

Without surprise, these were the ones who had suffered invisible attacks from evil spirits while on the road, using all means to survive.

At this moment, he spotted members of the Dark Council.

The deputy team leader lowered his voice, whispering to Zhao Xiaokui, “Captain Zhao, it seems like among everyone, only those from the Dark Council haven’t encountered any trouble.”

He didn’t want to state it definitively, as there were numerous task forces in operation. However, with a sweeping glance, he observed that among the teams sent by various major factions, only the Dark Council remained unscathed.

Zhao Xiaokui also cast a glance in the direction of the Dark Council and said, “Not surprising. People from the Dark Council are naturally adept at manipulating spirits and souls. They should have their own methods of resisting such attacks, unlike us, who are more vulnerable.”

In the supernatural world, mermaids didn’t have a good reputation because their attack methods involved the soul. In confrontations, once an opponent of a mermaid was injured, it practically equated to an early declaration of death.

Soul damage is challenging to repair. There’s a limit; exceeding it, the soul can slowly self-heal over time, similar to how wounds on the human body can naturally heal without medication, albeit with severe consequences in the long run. However, surpassing this limit means watching one’s soul collapse day by day, experiencing the impending sense of death.

The Dark Council, in human society, had a reputation inferior to mermaids.

The reason was simple. In the supernatural world, everyone knew more or less what the soul was. People other than mermaids also manipulated souls, but mermaids were exceptionally skilled, akin to martial arts experts in the world of martial arts, drawing attention but nothing more.

The Dark Council, on the other hand, was the sole practitioner of soul manipulation in human society.

Most of them were traditionalists, firmly adhering to the heritage of their ancestors, and believing that the soul was the source of all power. Their research followed a mystifying path.

In contrast, mainstream society tended to blend science with the supernatural. While they also studied souls, they used those of animals. Unlike members of the Dark Council, who delved into human souls during their research.

The combination of science and the supernatural, as well as the methods strictly adhering to ancestral traditions, currently seems to favor the former. The achievements obtained through this approach are more numerous, and their universality is stronger. In numerous countries, it has given rise to powerful supernatural organizations and forces.

However, the latter is not without its advantages. Within the Dark Council, there are inheritances from various parts of the world. Most of these legacies are evil, not favored by the righteous path, yet they possess uses that some people can’t imagine. Therefore, individuals from other factions view the Dark Council with a considerable degree of apprehension.

Zhao Xiaokui didn’t focus too much attention on the Dark Council. She merely glanced over, noting the aura and power fluctuations in her mind. She then restrained her thoughts, directing her attention back to herself.

The eerie cold that enveloped people grew increasingly intense, and even Zhao Xiaokui herself felt her skeletal muscles shivering uncontrollably.

However, she didn’t fear it.

Compared to the night watcher in the same vehicle who encountered trouble, Zhao Xiaokui’s situation could be considered developing slowly.

This was while she actively dismantled the defenses all over her body, allowing this force to attack and penetrate her.

Relying solely on the instinctive defenses that Zhao Xiaokui couldn’t restrain, she could weaken this force. It was evident that it wasn’t something formidable. Silent and observant, Zhao Xiaokui only wanted to see if the person manipulating or using this force had any other tricks up their sleeve.

“Xiaokui! We need to gather and discuss what just happened.”

Arthur, not far away, suddenly called out.

Zhao Xiaokui turned her head, nodded, and asked, “Did you call the others?”

Arthur replied, “I notified them through the communicator. I think we should have a meeting to figure out what exactly happened just now. The holy water we brought is limited. Even if the people from the Thunder Sound Holy Land don’t need to use it, their ability to dispel this eerie situation is also limited. Whether it’s defense or directly solving the problem from the root, we must come up with a comprehensive solution.”

Zhao Xiaokui said, “Of course—”

Before she could finish her sentence, Zhao Xiaokui crushed the holy water container she had been holding in her hand.

She suddenly waved her hand forward, and the white holy water turned into sharp arrows, heading straight for Arthur.

Arthur’s brown eyes contracted, his face tensed, but he didn’t dodge. He allowed her to launch the attack on him.

He had already deduced that Zhao Xiaokui’s target was not himself.

Members of the Alliance of Gods noticed this scene and angrily questioned, “What are you doing?”

Arthur, as the target of the attack, remained quite calm. He didn’t turn around but directly asked, “What happened?”

“Gone.” Zhao Xiaokui’s face revealed a hint of regret. Only then did Arthur turn around, seeing, in the direction where Zhao Xiaokui had shot the arrows, a very faint black smoke dissipating slowly.

If he hadn’t been close and the first-hand witness, he might not have noticed this tiny bit of black smoke.

With his broad experience, he naturally recognized what it was, “An evil god?”

“It’s an eye, it was peeping at us,” Zhao Xiaokui said calmly.

“How did you notice?!”

Arthur was shocked and in awe. They, the Alliance of Gods, had been at odds with the Dark Council for many years, and he considered himself the one who understood evil gods the most. Yet, when that evil god appeared just now, he didn’t sense anything, not even a hint of a premonition.

Someone from the Alliance of Gods quietly asked Phyllis, “Phyllis, did you feel it just now?”

Phyllis shook her head, looked at Zhao Xiaokui, and awaited her reply. “I only sensed it at the moment when the evil god was driven away. Before that, like the captain, I didn’t notice anything.”

“It’s normal that you didn’t notice because this evil god is good at hiding, and only I, being the one stared at by Him, could perceive it.”

From Zhao Xiaokui’s perspective, with her unique eyes, she could clearly see what she had hit.

It was a gigantic, inorganic eye, or rather, an eyeball. Her holy water directly hit the center of its pupil, forcing it to retreat.

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