AITAMITB Chapter 66

Zhao Xiaokui subtly touched her wrist.

There, adorned with an ordinary sports watch, it seemed like an unremarkable accessory at first glance but was actually the Night Walkers’ communicator.

Soon, a gentle vibration was felt on her wrist.

Redirecting her attention, Zhao Xiaokui continued to maintain a smile for the camera, watching Tao Zijin and Han Dongye endure the show’s punishment.

The punishment itself was not challenging; it simply involved both of them standing in an open space and getting drenched with a bucket of ice water. Although the weather wasn’t particularly hot, it also couldn’t be considered cold. Being soaked with ice water was merely a matter of drinking a cup of ginger soup to warm up.

Han Dongye and Tao Zijin stood at the punishment spot, both tightly closing their eyes.

The host announced, “Three, two, one—”

The ice water poured down.

Splash—

Han Dongye looked like a drowned rat, wiping his face and shaking his body. The muscles on his body trembled, causing a chorus of screams from the fans in the audience.

As for Tao Zijin—

Her position was too close to the front, and when the ice water poured down, it happened to hit the back of her head. Consequently, she toppled forward straight to the ground, falling quite ungracefully.

Onlookers: “…”

Zhao Xiaokui contemplated.

Although Tao Zijin was slender, she was, after all, an idol with a background in dance and singing, keeping her body fit through daily practices. It seemed unlikely that she couldn’t withstand the force of a bucket of water. Zhao Xiaokui leaned towards the idea that something might have happened to her.

Could it be the punishment she heard just now?

Is there any connection between the mishaps that happened to her earlier and Tao Zijin?

As the program concluded and they returned backstage, an assistant quickly approached Zhao Xiaokui, informing her about the phone call Shen Zhifei made. Zhao Xiaokui nodded at the assistant and took the bag she handed over. After rummaging through it for a while, she discreetly concealed a small object in her hand. She then walked towards Tao Zijin, who was busy packing up.

Tao Zijin was somewhat surprised by her arrival but still exchanged a few courteous words with her, maintaining a polite demeanor. However, beneath the surface politeness, her disdain for Zhao Xiaokui was almost undisguised. Ignoring the subtle negativity, Zhao Xiaokui suddenly exclaimed during their conversation, “Oh, what’s on your shoulder?”

She reached out and tapped Tao Zijin’s shoulder, plucking a leaf and saying with a smile, “I noticed they had the water buckets outside, so it must have accidentally drifted in.”

Tao Zijin’s face darkened, but she forced a smile, saying, “Thanks.”

As soon as Zhao Xiaokui left, Tao Zijin turned and patted her shoulder, as if trying to brush off some dirt.

Her assistant wiped the water off her hair and used a hairdryer prepared by the program crew. She whispered, “Sister Zijin, just now, President Rong called.”

“I know.”

The assistant asked in surprise, “Aren’t you going to call back?”

Tao Zijin gave her a cold glance. “You better mind your own business, understand?”

The assistant shivered.

Certainly.

Externally, Tao Zijin projected an image of being straightforward and easy-going, winning the hearts of fans who loved her frank and forthright personality. However, only the little assistant by her side knew how formidable she truly was. Simultaneously, she admired the other party’s exquisite methods, smoothly navigating between several men with ease—something not everyone could accomplish.

As soon as Zhao Xiaokui stepped out, she saw the nanny car waiting outside. The bodyguard opened the car door for her, and as soon as she got in, she noticed Zhang Hongyi inside.

Captain Zhang was wearing a white leather jacket today, with Hong Ying sitting beside him, flashing a faint smile at her. After glancing at the two, Zhao Xiaokui closed the door and said, “I’ve observed something.”

Zhang Hongyi asked, “What’s going on?”

“Have you heard of body possession?” The inquirer wore a serious expression, but the content sounded quite juvenile.

Regardless, both Zhang Hongyi and Hong Ying didn’t laugh. Instead, they furrowed their brows.

“You mean someone is attempting body possession? Like in cultivation novels? Can that really happen?”

“I’m not sure; I just overheard a conversation.”

Zhao Xiaokui repeated the dialogue between herself, the so-called system, and Tao Zijin. As for how she overheard it, she didn’t elaborate.

Having frequent contact with the Nightwalkers, Zhao Xiaokui understood that the current extraordinary powers were in a primitive stage. Superhumans often didn’t fully comprehend what they could achieve, and some individuals possessed peculiar abilities. After witnessing many such abilities, everyone grew accustomed to them.

Therefore, she didn’t mind revealing less important abilities that wouldn’t significantly affect others.

Zhang Hongyi and Hong Ying indeed didn’t inquire about how she overheard the conversation. The two exchanged glances, perceiving the absurdity in each other’s eyes.

“System, time travel, missions…”

Hong Ying sighed. “It sounds like something out of the internet.”

Zhao Xiaokui shrugged. “That’s exactly how I feel.”

At this point, she asked, “By the way, have you heard of any extraordinary abilities that can change a person’s luck or something like that?”

Zhang Hongyi quickly realized she was referring to today’s events. “Are you talking about what happened to you today?”

Zhao Xiaokui nodded. “This show has been running for several years, and nothing has ever happened. Why, when I’m involved, do incidents keep occurring? Several times during today’s challenge, I almost died on the track.”

Hong Ying said, “Could it be the aftermath of being influenced by an evil god? After being contaminated by the power of an evil god, there is indeed a period of bad luck.”

“Really?” Zhao Xiaokui thought about her clean and pure consciousness and felt that it didn’t seem like the misdeed of an evil god.

Zhang Hongyi said, “Do you have any plans for the afternoon? You mentioned wanting to undergo a checkup. If you’re free, come back to the base with us.”

Zhao Xiaokui nodded to the two and said, “Sure, let me inform my assistant and have her go back first.”

After instructing her assistant, who showed some surprise in her eyes, Zhao Xiaokui followed Zhang Hongyi and the others into the Nightwalkers’ car.

The Nightwalkers’ team, which had been accompanying her, was now guarding Shen Zhifei. She didn’t have to worry too much since Shen Zhifei had a fixed schedule. She wasn’t wandering around randomly and behaved safely. Compared to official organizations, the underground cult of the evil god was just a group of insignificant individuals, unable to stir up much trouble.

Although she felt that the issues she encountered might be related to Tao Zijin, she couldn’t present any concrete evidence. Zhao Xiaokui decided to temporarily set it aside and stop thinking about it. If Tao Zijin did have any problems, with the Nightwalkers being such a large national organization, they would eventually resolve it.

During the journey back, unexpected incidents continued to occur. Whether it was the car breaking down, seat belts unlocking, or other vehicles forcefully overtaking and nearly pushing them off the road. These events, while individually common in daily life, happening consecutively made it difficult not to think more about them. However, Zhang Hongyi’s driving skills were excellent, and the Nightwalkers’ car was quite reliable. He feared that Zhao Xiaokui would overthink things, so he reassured her, “These things are normal. After being influenced by an evil god, there is indeed a period of bad luck. However, for superhumans, it’s nothing significant. These minor accidents can easily be avoided as long as you take care of the ordinary people around you. But ending up as unlucky as you are, this is the first time I’ve encountered it. It seems that the evil god really holds a deep grudge against you.”

Zhao Xiaokui: “…”

Even though the earlier reassurance sounded warm, why did the atmosphere suddenly change?

Hong Ying chuckled on the side.

She patted Zhao Xiaokui’s arm, indicating that she should understand this kind of straightforward comfort from a “straight” guy.

Zhao Xiaokui silently lowered her head to message Shen Zhifei, informing her about the visit to the base and briefly explaining the series of unfortunate events today. Shen Zhifei, in return, sent some information about Tao Zijin.

Zhao Xiaokui made a soft sound, a sense of satisfaction evident in her expression. She and Shen Zhifei truly shared a deep understanding; even before she spoke, Shen Zhifei already knew what she wanted.

Seeing Tao Zijin contacting Rong Zhen and a few other men who had some interactions with Zhao Xiaokui in the past, Zhao Xiaokui’s eyebrows involuntarily raised, and her earlier suspicions became more apparent.

Just as she was thinking about how to bring this matter to the attention of the Night Walkers, a message suddenly popped up from her assistant.

“Pfft—”

Hearing Zhao Xiaokui suddenly burst into laughter, Hong Ying asked in surprise, “What’s going on?”

Zhao Xiaokui showed her the message from her assistant, “Someone is even unluckier than me. Tao Zijin fell again when she went out, sat on a pile of dog poop, and broke her tailbone. She was about to go to the hospital, but before the car left the parking lot, it collided with a luxury car worth millions. Tsk tsk—”

…

A continuous 24 hours of unlucky punishments had begun.

Tao Zijin demonstrated with strength what it meant to be not just unlucky, but even more unlucky.

One might think that falling face-first into dog poop in front of everyone was already unlucky enough, but unexpectedly, a series of accidents continued to happen to her.

If it was someone else accidentally hurting her, it would be one thing. But whether it was falling or driving into someone else’s car, it was all her own doing.

The owner of the luxury car that got hit quickly came forward, demanding compensation. The car was parked here peacefully, and who would have thought that such a disaster would happen? Tao Zijin was in pain and resentment again.

The assistant’s arm was twisted to the point of losing flesh, tears welled up, but she dared not say a word. She could only endure it, thinking that if it weren’t for her lack of money and Tao Zijin’s salary was high enough, who would willingly do such stupid work?

The broker who communicated with the owner of the luxury car was also in a very irritable mood. She never approved of Tao Zijin lowering her status to participate in some strange program. It was Tao Zijin who insisted on coming over. Who would have thought so many things would happen? She felt overwhelmed.

After agreeing to go through the insurance company for compensation, she turned around and scolded angrily, “I know you have the backing of the Rong family’s young master, but can’t you be honest and save me some trouble?! Do you know how many people will mock you when today’s news comes out? Everyone knows that you, Tao Zijin, sat on a pile of dog poop and broke your tailbone! Why were you so careless today!”

“Are you annoying or not?” Tao Zijin’s mood was also not good, roaring, “I called you to solve the problem, not to solve mine. If you can’t solve the problem, get lost!”

The broker took a deep breath, looking at this pretty face. In the end, she didn’t slap Tao Zijin. She comforted herself in her mind: ‘Can’t hit, can’t hit. People have connections behind them, can’t compare, can’t compare…’

“Xiao Wu, help Sister Zijin into the car.”

The broker slammed the car door, took the driver’s seat, and apologized to the driver sitting in the co-driver’s seat, “I’m sorry, I’ll cover the medical expenses, and I’ll give you compensation when we get back.”

The driver, holding his bleeding head, whispered, “Sister Yu, when we get back, you better find someone else. I don’t dare to drive for Miss Tao anymore…”

If it weren’t for Tao Zijin venting her anger in the car and smashing a bottle of alcohol on the driver’s head, an experienced driver who had been driving for decades wouldn’t have made such a low-level mistake.

Feeling guilty, the broker sighed and said, “Let’s go to the hospital first and see.”

On the other side,

Seeing that they were about to enter the base, Zhao Xiaokui quickly sent a message to Shen Zhifei, “What if I continue to be unlucky like today? Will people say I’m a jinx?”

Shen Zhifei replied, “It’s okay, I’ll give you half of my luck.”

Putting away her phone, Zhao Xiaokui’s ears turned slightly red, and her eyes sparkled.

She stood beside the two people waiting for the elevator, and anyone could feel the good mood radiating from her.

Ding dong—

The elevator door opened, and the group walked inside.

Suddenly, Zhao Xiaokui stumbled, seemingly tripped by something, and fell straight into the elevator. Zhang Hongyi’s gaze sharpened; he grabbed her arm and pulled her back as she teetered on the edge.

As Zhao Xiaokui stepped back, she looked at the elevator slowly descending from below, inexplicably breaking into a cold sweat.

Zhang Hongyi’s face was grim.

Hong Ying whispered, “How can this evil god be so powerful?”

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