AITAMITB Chapter 45

Gu Siyuan is seventy-two years old this year.

As an ordinary person, he is already considered old, but as a superhuman, he is still quite young.

According to research, superhumans below the first tier will experience physical decline after the age of one hundred and twenty, showing various signs of aging that ordinary people exhibit in their sixties or seventies.

Those above the first tier live even longer, but without specific studies, no one knows exactly how long the lifespan of superhumans beyond the first tier can be.

When he was recruited into the Night Walkers, the organization was still in a state of not having much structure.

It was only when relics left by ancient civilizations were gradually discovered in Huaxia that the Night Walkers’ research on superhuman abilities began to make progress.

However, time has scattered too many things, and the development system is completely different from other civilizations, making it challenging for them to find useful things from the traces left in the past.

These stone tablets placed outside are not the first batch they have found.

However, like many previous batches, although each relic has similarly unearthed stone tablets, no country or superhuman force has figured out the purpose of these tablets.

This puzzles Zhao Xiaokui.

Stone tablets may not be useful for ordinary people, but for superhumans, they shouldn’t be difficult to interpret.

With the research capabilities of the present world, even if the contents inside are completely shattered, leaving only fragments of words, it should be enough for them to decipher a lot.

“Professor Gu, you’re a superhuman, right?” Zhao Xiaokui asked.

Gu Siyuan nodded.

Zhao Xiaokui took out a less damaged stone tablet and handed it to him. “Professor Gu, press your forehead against the tablet and imagine yourself passing through a layer of plastic film, entering into a space.”

Gu Siyuan glanced at Su Mingyue and, with some skepticism, took the stone tablet, following Zhao Xiaokui’s suggestion, pressed it against his forehead.

Although this action looked somewhat silly, none of the researchers who had gathered around at some point mocked him. Instead, they stared intently at Professor Gu and the tablet in his hands.

Time passed second by second.

The air seemed to freeze.

Gu Siyuan’s body staggered, stepping backward, and Su Mingyue quickly supported him.

Meanwhile, Zhao Xiaokui clumsily caught the stone tablet he almost dropped, eagerly asking, “How is it?”

“There’s something, there’s something! There’s something inside! There’s a vortex inside!” Professor Gu exclaimed with joy.

What?

Zhao Xiaokui: “…A vortex?”

She thought she might have misheard.

Gu Siyuan appeared very excited, completely different from his composed demeanor when he first met Zhao Xiaokui. “A significant discovery, a major discovery! Why didn’t anyone think of this before! This has to be reported immediately, hahaha—”

He didn’t forget who made the initial discovery, patting Zhao Xiaokui on the shoulder and saying, “Comrade, I will definitely give you credit for this.”

Zhao Xiaokui looked perplexed. “Professor Gu, did you see it wrong? How could it be a vortex? I clearly saw words.”

Gu Siyuan froze. “Words?”

Zhao Xiaokui nodded. After all, she picked this particular stone tablet because it had more remaining characters inside.

Gu Siyuan decisively said, “All superhumans, according to Xiaokui’s suggestion, try placing your foreheads against the stone tablet and see what you sense.”

Since they couldn’t accurately select good stone tablets like Zhao Xiaokui, some found nothing and felt no sensation, while others, like Professor Gu, saw a vortex. The only difference was the color of the vortex, but they all summarized it as, “Colorful and dizzying.”

Zhao Xiaokui was bewildered.

How could they not see anything?

Just as she left the conference room, Zhao Xiaokui was summoned back. This time, along with her, the stone tablets that were initially discarded on the ground were also invited.

“How did Xiaokui come up with this method to see it?”

An elderly man asked with concern.

His surname was Jiang, the overall head of the research area.

The other professors from different research labs looked at Zhao Xiaokui with similar expressions, displaying kindness mixed with curiosity, like they were observing a talking giant panda.

Zhao Xiaokui looked puzzled. “Don’t you all use the internet? Isn’t this how it’s written there?”

Several professors, with an average age of seventy, exchanged glances, not expecting such an answer.

Seeing their disbelief, Zhao Xiaokui tried to explain, “In cultivation novels, things like jade slips are used to view information with spiritual awareness, right? When I saw those stone tablets placed there, each with something engraved on them, resembling books, I thought of trying this method to see if there was anything inside. I found there was something written, but I didn’t see the vortex you mentioned.”

Gu Siyuan gently said, “Can you write down what you saw?”

Zhao Xiaokui nodded, indicating it was fine.

So, someone brought A4 paper and a pen, another person stacked the stone tablets one by one beside her, and someone even asked if she needed anything else with concern.

Zhao Xiaokui replied, “How about twenty chicken legs?”

She was feeling a bit hungry.

Lunchtime was approaching, and she was feeling hungry.

Seeing progress in the research, Professor Jiang waved his hand, immediately asking the kitchen to send over a basin of chicken legs.

At the same time, they also brought a whole box of cola.

Zhao Xiaokui: “…”

It seems they knew her quite well.

After stuffing two chicken legs into her mouth, Zhao Xiaokui placed the stone tablet in front of her and, tilting her head down, knocked it lightly. Like sleeping during high school classes, she rested her head on the stone tablet.

She could indeed directly use her mental power to view it, but there was no need, right?

People should keep some cards hidden for themselves.

After a few minutes, Zhao Xiaokui opened her eyes. Under numerous eager gazes, she started writing and drawing on the paper.

The origin of these stone tablets was unknown, and Zhao Xiaokui didn’t recognize the characters on them. She could only mimic the squiggly characters, recording them like drawing pictures.

After writing a section, she said, “I tried my best to replicate them, but this is how their font looks.”

After finishing one sheet, a professor took the paper and said to the people around him, “Look, does the content resemble Arabic?”

“It does, but it’s not. Some letters are similar to Arabic, but there are more that we haven’t seen before.”

After writing two sheets of paper, Zhao Xiaokui suddenly asked, “Is there any paint? I need to paint.”

Soon, someone brought a palette and brushes.

More and more information was being duplicated by Zhao Xiaokui from the stone tablets, and the bigwigs from various research labs held the materials she wrote, even if they couldn’t understand a single word, still reading them with fascination.

Especially the images replicated by Zhao Xiaokui were not just text; they also included dynamic, lifelike, magnificent, and strange scenes, captivating each of them.

“Is this flying? Can humans really fly?”

“Does this person have wings on their back? Could it be an angel?”

“What is this? Why does it look so strange? I feel a bit nauseous, ugh—”

A researcher, a superhuman, suddenly stood up, unable to control dry heaving while holding onto the table.

“What’s going on?”

The sudden turn of events put everyone on edge.

“That painting, that painting… I found it very nauseating, like witnessing earthly hell…” The researcher spoke intermittently. Soon, medical personnel rushed over to examine him on the spot.

The painting still lay on the table, and seeing his reaction, no one dared to touch it again.

Zhao Xiaokui, who had personally drawn the painting, also found it strange. Why would a painting make someone vomit? She reached out to take a look, but Su Mingyue beside her stopped her.

“Don’t.”

Zhao Xiaokui looked helpless. “I drew this myself, and nothing happened when I was drawing. There’s no way anything will happen when looking at it. Don’t worry.”

Upon second thought, Su Mingyue agreed with the reasoning and let her take a look at the image.

Holding the paper, Zhao Xiaokui examined it carefully for a while and found nothing unusual.

It was just an ordinary painting, predominantly in red and black.

As she thought about it, her consciousness suddenly shook. When she opened her eyes, she found herself no longer in the meeting room but in a place where lava flowed freely.

In this eerie space, the sky was red, the clouds were black, and the land was covered in lava. A boundless and oppressive atmosphere swept over as if it wanted to take away the last bit of air from within her.

Zhao Xiaokui slapped the paper onto the table, gasping for breath heavily. Tears uncontrollably streamed down her two eyes.

Everyone stared at her.

Zhao Xiaokui quickly flipped the paper over, pressed the back of it with her hand, and warned everyone, “Don’t look. This painting can induce illusions. Staring at it for too long could potentially trap you forever.”

A painting could actually trigger deadly illusions.

For Gu Siyuan and the others who had never encountered such a situation, their expressions turned serious.

Gu Siyuan expressed concern, “Xiao Zhao, are you okay? Do you need to take a break and continue another day?”

She was their precious asset, and they couldn’t afford to lose her.

“I’ll take a break…” Zhao Xiaokui opened a can of cola and poured it down her throat as if her life depended on it.

Just a brief moment in the illusion, less than a minute of staying, she felt as if she had been thoroughly roasted from the inside out, severely dehydrated.

What kind of formidable weapon had been left behind by such an extraordinary figure?

Soon, a specialist came in and collected the painting and the slate into a box.

Looking at the other slate books, the excitement on everyone’s faces had faded, replaced by a cautious vigilance.

Just a replicated painting already possessed such power; what kind of hidden danger could still be lurking within?

Su Mingyue tightened the hand on Zhao Xiaokui’s shoulder.

She was not very willing to see Zhao Xiaokui take risks like this.

Several professors looked at the replicated data, and Gu Siyuan was the first to speak, “The data we’ve replicated should be enough to decipher this language. I suggest we focus on solving these things first. After deciphering, we might be able to distinguish the types of slate books, allowing Xiao Zhao to replicate them more selectively.”

“Right,” another professor added, “Comrade Xiao Zhao, go back and rest well. The medical department will give you a thorough examination. Don’t let any issues arise. We’ll deal with the remaining slates after we decipher them.”

Zhao Xiaokui was carried away on a stretcher despite being perfectly capable of walking on her own.

“…”

The results of Zhao Xiaokui’s examination showed no major issues. Apart from headaches due to mental fatigue, she was incredibly healthy. Even under the scrutiny of the night walker at the medical department, she consumed nearly a quarter of her body weight in food.

While it was not uncommon for superhumans to eat, Nightwalkers’ research had long proven that food could be converted into a part of super energy through the human body. However, watching a slender girl like Zhao Xiaokui effortlessly devour so much food was still a rather shocking scene.

A large amount of food was instantly converted, providing energy and easing the pain in her nerves.

Lying on the observation room’s hospital bed, Zhao Xiaokui pulled over the blanket, closed her eyes, and looked ready to take a nap.

“Is she okay?” Su Mingyue, standing outside the door, asked her colleague in a low voice.

“Nothing serious, just excessive consumption. She should be fine after a good sleep.”

The two left quietly, closing the door without intending to disturb Zhao Xiaokui’s sweet dreams.

However, in reality, as Zhao Xiaokui lay in bed with closed eyes, her mind was occupied with thoughts of the slate books. She might not recognize that particular script, but unfamiliarity did not mean an inability to interpret. After all, she had self-taught Abyssal, Divine, and Merfolk languages – how could she be stumped by something so trivial?

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