AITAMITB Chapter 67

The Nightwalker has had encounters with the Evil Gods before.

However, the Evil Gods nowadays, despite their fearsome reputation and mysterious nature, don’t possess particularly great powers. When it comes to misfortune, it’s at most choking on water, tripping on flat ground, losing money in a card game, and similar minor incidents. Among colleagues, it’s just a matter of sharing a laugh, and it’s usually over soon.

But now, with Zhao Xiaokui, one might think they were filming an encounter with the God of Death.

Still shaken by the experience, the group entered the elevator. Luckily, the Nightwalker’s elevator proved reliable, and there were no incidents like cable ruptures. In Hong Ying’s anxious state, they safely descended.

As they walked out of the elevator, the numbers behind them continued to rise, indicating that someone was coming down from above. Before taking a few steps, a deafening crash suddenly echoed. Everyone turned around, and when their eyes met, they saw mutual horror.

Zhao Xiaokui: “…”

She felt the intense hatred the Evil God harbored towards her.

Perhaps because it was the stronghold of the extraordinary, a place where many supernaturals gathered and disrupted the trajectories of fate, Zhao Xiaokui, despite a few unexpected incidents, remained relatively safe after entering the Nightwalkers’ base.

However, compared to the two guys experiencing only mild headaches in the hospital, she could be considered extremely unlucky.

Gou Rixin sarcastically said, “Xiaokui, remember to take me in your team in the future. You’ve attracted Boss’s attention so well; Bai and I don’t get noticed as much.”

Zhao Xiaokui rolled her eyes. “Listen to your stand-up comedy.”

For the infection of mental strength by the power of the Evil God, there was no good cure worldwide. The only known method was that the more relaxed the nerves, the faster the self-purification. Lin Bai used painting and listening to music, the more elegant, the better. On the other hand, Gou Rixin listened to music, laughing so hard that his whole body shook, simultaneously experiencing stomach and head pain.

Seeing her, Lin Bai took a careful look and was somewhat surprised by her good complexion. He said, “You recovered quickly.”

Zhao Xiaokui shrugged, casually explaining, “Maybe water-based supernaturals naturally have more powerful self-healing abilities?” To be honest, she herself couldn’t figure out what exactly had happened.

She was telling the truth; compared to more destructive supernaturals like fire and thunder, softer supernaturals like those with water abilities indeed had stronger self-healing capabilities.

“What about you?” Zhao Xiaokui asked in return. “Can your body withstand it?”

Lin Bai smiled, his face still very pale. “I’m fine. We’ve arrived at the research institute.”

The conversation between the two naturally shifted to the changes in supernaturals’ bodies.

“Besides supernaturals like Gou Rixin, who directly have enhanced olfactory senses, different supernaturals also have unique sensory evolutions. Generally speaking, water-based supernaturals have exceptional perceptual abilities. Of course, there are exceptions, and cases like your voice changing are the first I’ve heard of.”

The research institute in the Nightwalker base covered a wide range of projects, and there was virtually nothing they didn’t study. Research on the sound aspects of supernatural beings had been included in the curriculum for quite some time. However, due to the scarcity of supernatural beings in S City, most of whom were human, there weren’t many subjects available for study. Despite having equipment for a long time, not many experiments had been conducted.

In this regard, Zhao Xiaokui got a bit of a bargain.

The recording studio in the Nightwalker’s voice research lab was somewhat similar to the one outside, but Lin Bai wasn’t sure about the materials used there. The soundproofing was top-notch. When Lin Bai closed the door, Zhao Xiaokui stood in an almost completely sealed space. In the silence, she could hear her own heartbeat.

As it was a small test, not many people gathered to watch, even though some noticed the two entering the lab. Lin Bai sat in front of the computer recording data and gestured okay towards the recording studio where Zhao Xiaokui was.

Zhao Xiaokui tried a few tones and began to hum.

In the recording studio, dim lights descended from above, casting a glow on her long hair like seaweed. With her eyes closed, a light, ethereal, and mysterious voice flowed from her throat.

In a trance, Lin Bai saw a quiet deep-sea scene.

Gigantic creatures leisurely moved through the dark ocean floor, distant volcanoes continuously emitted bubbling bubbles, and an octopus gently moved water aside…

In this sea, he felt an unprecedented fatigue and warmth, as if returning to a mother’s embrace, eager to close his eyes and sleep well. Upon waking up, tomorrow would be a new day.

Those nightmares that had entangled him day and night, like clouds and mist, were blown away by the wind and scattered lightly in the sea.

After the song ended, Zhao Xiaokui opened her eyes to see Lin Bai across from her already with closed eyes, peacefully napping on the table.

She looked puzzled, tapped on the glass panel, and said, “Hello? What just happened? Does my singing really have such a hypnotic effect?”

Turning to leave, as soon as she opened the door, her ears caught the sound of an explosion.

Then the panicked voices of researchers erupted.

“It’s overtime! Overtime! Damn it, how did everyone just zone out?”

“I feel like I’ve had a full-body massage, so comfortable.”

“Let’s first rescue your reputation before we talk, okay? Someone played a song just now. Where did this tune come from? I feel like my extraordinary power inside has been appeased.”

With such a commotion in the research institute, it was impossible for the higher-ups not to be aware.

As the “culprit,” Zhao Xiaokui was soon approached by someone.

Gu Siyuan, who hurried back from school, looked at the innocent and bewildered girl who seemed like she hadn’t done anything at all, and amusingly said, “You really keep bringing us surprises.”

Zhao Xiaokui smiled awkwardly.

This limelight was really not intentional on her part.

After all, who could have expected that a song without the use of extraordinary powers or any special techniques would have such a peculiar effect? She herself was baffled, caught in a self-doubt loop of “Am I really this amazing?”

The soothing effect of the song on mental power was considered a treasure by the researchers.

“In our research, it has always been shown that songs have a certain soothing effect on the mental power of extraordinary individuals, but we’ve never been able to find the most suitable one. Therefore, music has always been used as an auxiliary for calming issues like mental power disturbances and contamination in extraordinary individuals. With this song, we essentially have a powerful stabilizer,” explained the researcher.

Zhao Xiaokui asked eagerly, “Are there any side effects? Can I release an album using it?”

After thinking for a moment, the researcher said, “As for side effects… you probably shouldn’t listen to it while driving; it could induce drowsiness and lead to accidents.”

Gu Siyuan thought a bit more strategically. He said, “Xiaokui, you can release this song, but not directly. It needs some modifications.”

Zhao Xiaokui nodded, showing no significant resistance to this suggestion. Gu Siyuan patted her shoulder and said with a smile, “In your young people’s words, you’re truly a hidden gem. Our Nightwalkers in Huaxia, with you around, seem to be experiencing new changes quite frequently.”

Zhao Xiaokui smiled and remained silent.

Gu Siyuan looked at her youthful appearance and smiled.

Some people are born into this world with the innate ability to bring about change.

*

Mental power is a challenging research problem for extraordinary individuals worldwide.

The seemingly simple brain is complex and mysterious, hiding many secrets that humanity has yet to fully understand. They haven’t even figured out what they can see, let alone things that are invisible.

Zhao Xiaokui’s appearance brought joy to the researchers.

What surprised them was not just the song created by Zhao Xiaokui but, more importantly, the direction it pointed to. It helped them understand what kind of sound and melody resonated more easily with extraordinary individuals, exerting a greater influence on their mental power.

Before, they were crossing the river by feeling the stones. Now, it’s like having a pole. Although there is still the risk of getting swept away, it’s much better than blindly moving forward with eyes closed and ears covered.

Throughout the afternoon and into the evening, Zhao Xiaokui was continuously engaged with the researchers.

“Not only the song, but her vocal quality is also remarkable. The same song sung by an ordinary person or synthesized by a machine cannot achieve the intense impact she brings! Even playing the recorded voice with the best speakers compresses the effect.”

Even though the effect may be compressed in this way, it is already more than sufficient.

Once it was confirmed to be harmless, the Nightwalker Base immediately initiated experiments related to mental power treatment.

It was through this process that Zhao Xiaokui learned that seemingly carefree Nightwalkers, almost without exception, had some degree of mental power issues.

Some had come into contact with the Evil God. Even after years had passed since being contaminated by its power, they still occasionally experienced nightmares. Despite being nearly two meters tall and strong, in their dreams, they appeared as vulnerable as powerless children. Others had witnessed too much life and death and even participated in real wars. Beneath their gentle facade, they struggled with the lingering pain of PTSD.

Once they heard about painless experiments for treating mental power, a group of people lined up eagerly to participate.

Under the gentle melody, the afflicted individuals seemed to be embraced by the vast sea, their souls wandering within the ocean, gradually gaining strength in the embrace of the deep.

Outside the ward, observing Nightwalkers wearing headphones, lying on beds, peacefully asleep, Zhao Xiaokui felt a strange sensation in her heart—

She couldn’t articulate it clearly; her lips just wanted to curve upward uncontrollably, and her eyes sparkled faintly.

The sense of happiness brought by the treatment was stronger than the punishments.

In the office, Shen Zhifei suddenly clutched her chest. She instinctively realized something was happening, so she relaxed her body, leaning back in the chair, and her consciousness quickly descended into the sea of consciousness.

Her gaze fixed on the mermaid sculpture amid the white flames.

Originally, it was a semi-transparent, crystalline sculpture, similar to the one in the mermaid kingdom of the deep-sea world. However, at this moment, the fishtail lifted by the mermaid unexpectedly emitted a golden glow at some point. As the light descended, several golden scales covered it.

She reached out, attempting to touch the scales on the fishtail. Yet, before she could make contact with the sculpture, the suddenly rising flames blocked her.

Shen Zhifei’s eyebrows raised slightly; instead of forcefully breaking through, she withdrew her hand, her gaze filled with tenderness as she looked at the fish scales.

Her Xiaokui…

*

After a whole day of testing, the weary Zhao Xiaokui returned to her dormitory.

Collapsed on the bed, and before she could sigh, she heard a creaking sound.

“Again?”

She jumped up abruptly when she heard a snap, only to watch one of the legs of her bed break.

Fortunately, there was nothing under the bed. She decided to make the best of the situation, circled the bed, and dismantled the other three legs before finally falling backward.

She couldn’t understand how today turned out to be so unlucky. Everything was fine yesterday when she returned. Did the evil god mess with the delay system?

If her condition had shown earlier, Yu Youmin would never have allowed her to leave the base.

Unable and unwilling to figure it out, Zhao Xiaokui trusted the Nightwalkers’ experience that the influence of the evil god on luck is temporary. Within one to three days, the impact would completely fade away, so she didn’t need to worry too much.

She just hoped her situation would disappear soon. That way, she could use the excuse of being sick to take a legitimate break. She didn’t want to waste her sick leave in the base and continue with training.

Even though her eyes were almost too heavy to keep open due to fatigue, she sent a pitiful goodnight message to Shen Zhifei. Shen Zhifei’s reply came almost instantly, suggesting she had been waiting on the other end for a while.

“Wuwuwu, it’s so frustrating. Today, I’ve truly become a bad omen. I’ll come back after surviving this disaster…”

Seeing this message, Shen Zhifei raised her head and shifted her gaze to the computer.

Falls, accidents, explosions, disfigurement, contract termination…

Tao Zijin’s day was not any better than Zhao Xiaokui’s.

It seemed like the two of them were entangled in an unfortunate competition, trying to outdo each other in misfortune.

Could there be such a coincidence in the world?

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