Suppressing the fear in her heart, Zhao Xiaokui followed Yu Youmin inside.
However, her thoughts had already stayed with the angel’s corpse outside.
What is an angel?
A transcendent being with four ranks from birth.
The favored child of the Order, true members of the divine realm.
If she were to see a living angel, it wouldn’t shock her so much. But a corpse of an angel…
Especially a preserved and intact one, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of unease.
In the transcendent world, apart from humans, few races left behind their corpses. For non-related races, other races were considered walking transcendent materials, with angels representing the divine realm being the most popular. In the first lesson Zhao Xiaokui received in the mermaid world, it was emphasized that even in death, one should destroy their own corpse, leaving no trace. Otherwise, nobody would know how your body would be used after death.
Being decomposed into materials was already the best outcome. If turned into a puppet, or worse, if some residual spirituality was summoned back through the body, allowing you to “live” with consciousness, unable to seek survival or death, that was true agony.
There were only two situations in which transcendent beings left behind corpses. One was for a specific purpose, actively leaving the corpse. The other was when death arrived too suddenly, such as for transcendent beings killed so swiftly that they couldn’t react before their demise. The question of whether to destroy the corpse or not didn’t even arise.
The former was more common among weaker races, where the strong and elders would leave their bodies as materials and treasures for descendants, providing protection and wealth. Angels were rarely seen in this situation; if they were to leave a body, it would be the corpse of a ninth-rank Archangel, not that of a simple two-winged angel.
The cause of the angel’s death cast an inexplicable shadow over Zhao Xiaokui’s heart.
The spirituality within subtly reminded her that this was probably a very important matter.
But now was not the time to explore this issue.
Yu Youmin led her to the doorway of a room, gently knocked, and a person wearing a white robe expressionlessly opened the door. The person made a gesture inviting them in.
A rich aura of holiness, a first-rank transcendent being… No, no, no, Zhao Xiaokui quickly negated her judgment. The person in front of her was not a transcendent being; he was just an ordinary person influenced by the transcendent power of an angel.
Essentially, it is a kind of high-energy radiation-like transcendent power that caused irreversible damage to his body, resulting in a state similar to that of a transcendent being. However, if the person himself is not a transcendent being, the only outcome of these powers is harm.
“They are the prison guards of the Bright Prison, specifically tasked with overseeing the suppression of the evils confined here,” Yu Youmin explained.
Yu Youmin gestured for Zhao Xiaokui to follow him inside.
In a low voice, Zhao Xiaokui asked, “Does every city have a Bright Prison?”
Yu Youmin smiled, a slightly triumphant expression on his face. “Of course not. There are a total of four Bright Prisons in Huaxia. One is in our city, one is in B city, and there’s another one on the border. As for the last one, I’m not sure; it’s a national secret.”
“Is there a newly erected statue in every prison?” Yu Youmin nodded, saying, “You observed quite carefully. That statue is the core of the Bright Prison. Each Bright Prison has one. It’s just that in other places, the angel statues have a few more wings. Our city only has two. I’ve heard that they have some with up to three pairs of wings.”
Three pairs of wings.
A ninth-tier angel.
Zhao Xiaokui was about to ask where they obtained these things, but before she could, Yu Youmin said, “We’ve arrived.”
Inside the room, there weren’t many items. Several jade-white stone pillars displayed a few objects like an exhibition.
Beams of white light descended from the top of the pillars, making it impossible to see what was shrouded from a distance.
“All the items inside are third-level demonic artifacts,” Yu Youmin explained. “These are what you found inside the illusion that you broke. The evil god likely communicated with its followers through it.”
As she got closer, Zhao Xiaokui saw that the crystal ball she had seen that day was placed inside.
She raised her eyebrows, finding it not too difficult to understand why this artifact of the evil god was categorized as third-level—even though it controlled what seemed like the high-end art of time manipulation, it couldn’t reverse time or change the future. It could only pull images from the space-time, influencing people’s hearts. Those with strong wills were difficult to manipulate.
“iii-2019112307, Time Refractor. Is this the symbol of that evil…” Zhao Xiaokui glanced at the label, curiously asking.
“In recent years, we’ve encountered many evil gods, so we name them based on their abilities and characteristics. I came up with this name. What do you think?” Yu Yumin nodded.
“It’s quite fitting,” Zhao Xiaokui agreed with a nod.
Yu Youmin said, “I’ve lifted the seal on it. Try to communicate with it.”
Zhao Xiaokui nodded, indicating she could give it a try.
Actually, it wasn’t necessary to go through all this trouble. Communicating with the system, like with Tao Zijin, might be discreet for ordinary people, but for the merfolk, who were accustomed to soul communication, talking loudly in front of them was no different. However, since Yu Youmin wanted to test her abilities, Zhao Xiaokui wouldn’t hastily reveal to others that she could hear the voices of soul conversations.
She didn’t know what Yu Youmin did, but the white light shrouding the crystal ball above disappeared. The crystal ball, now filled with black mist, reappeared in front of Zhao Xiaokui. Unlike the last time, this time, she had to wait for quite a while before hearing a perplexed voice.
“Where is this? Who are you, and where are my followers…”
This voice lacked much of the previous madness and sounded more like a confused young person who had just woken up.
Zhao Xiaokui remained vigilant, but inevitably, a bit of confusion crept into her mind.
“Do you remember who you are?” she softly asked.
“I… I am…” The voice sounded confused, but quickly, it reverted to its frenetic style, roaring loudly, “I will kill you, I will kill you—”
After the roar, its voice suddenly lowered, turning into incomprehensible murmurs. Zhao Xiaokui’s ears buzzed, and instinctively, she stepped back.
Yu Youmin supported her and asked with concern, “Are you okay?”
In the hall, the angel, looking down at the ground, suddenly emitted a faint glow deep within its massive wings.
At the same time, in Zhao Xiaokui’s mind, a bright light lit up. The shadow of an angel appeared faintly on the sea surface.
Shaking her head, Zhao Xiaokui examined her consciousness and found nothing unusual. She breathed a sigh of relief and said to Yu Youmin, “Everything’s fine. I can indeed hear its voice.”
Yu Youmin asked, “Do you want to continue, or would you like to take a break?”
“No need,” Zhao Xiaokui said, “Let’s try a few more times. If I can really hear the voice of the evil god, maybe we can catch the hidden agents of the evil god in the human world sooner.”
Yu Youmin replied, “You’ve worked hard.”
Zhao Xiaokui said, “Remember to transfer the points to my account.”
Yu Youmin couldn’t help but laugh, “Don’t worry, no one dares to withhold your rewards. You’ve made a great contribution this time, and there will be benefits for you. Originally, I thought you would have to wait at least a year to enter the ruins, but now it seems that as long as you’re willing, you can sign up for the next batch of expedition lists at any time.”
Yu Youmin led Zhao Xiaokui around the room.
These creations used for communicating with the evil god varied in form and material—wood carvings, daggers, blood-stained red skirts, and more. Their only common feature was that when you looked directly at them, you could feel a dangerous, eerie, and evil aura. Staring at them for too long even gave a suffocating sensation of impending death.
Not every evil object contained the presence of an evil god. While most were brought back from the scenes of evil god rituals and carried a unique aura that had not dissipated over the years, they were not inherently connected to the evil god. Zhao Xiaokui even found several malevolent spirits attached to these items.
Among the evil gods, not every one of them could be communicated with. Rare ones, like the Time Reflector, who could say a few simple sentences, were very uncommon. Most evil gods were like children with autism, living in their own world, speaking in languages incomprehensible to others. If Zhao Xiaokui hadn’t had experience, once she realized she couldn’t communicate, she would immediately retreat; otherwise, her consciousness might have already been contaminated.
Having confirmed that Zhao Xiaokui could indeed hear the voice of the evil god, and not just like ordinary people who could only guess and make sacrifices to trade with the evil god, Yu Youmin finally relaxed the worry that had been weighing on him. He led Zhao Xiaokui up the corridor, saying, “Originally, you should have been on vacation, but with this situation, there’s really nothing we can do. We can only ask you to come back and continue working.”
Zhao Xiaokui felt a lot of grievances, “I was originally a part-time external employee. Now, I’m busier than your regular Nightwatchers. I just want to know, will I get paid for overtime? By the way, I don’t need money; I just want points.”
Inside the Nightwalkers, many things could be done with points. Zhao Xiaokui wished for more points so that she could lock up Shen Zhifei entirely, from strands of hair to toenails.
The longer she stayed in the Nightwalkers, the more she interacted with supernaturals. Sooner or later, she would be exposed to everyone’s eyes. Others wouldn’t dare to harm her, but they might target Shen Zhifei.
Naturally, Yu Youmin had no objections; it was a reasonable request.
*
After the incident with Tao Zijin, the Nightwalkers dared not easily let Zhao Xiaokui go home. Until they could be sure that all the bad luck on her had been cleared, she was now a human-shaped walking broomstar1unlucky person. Inside the Nightwalkers, everyone was a supernatural being, and any problem that might arise could be easily solved. However, if placed among ordinary people, who knows what kind of trouble might be stirred up.
Shen Zhifei was not afraid of Zhao Xiaokui causing trouble for herself, but she also had to consider the employees of Shen Entertainment.
While Zhao Xiaokui was away, Shen Zhifei took the opportunity to address the accumulated workload. In Shen Entertainment’s group chat, employees were lamenting: “Woo, Xiaokui, come back quickly. If she doesn’t come back, I, a young girl, will become bald soon.”
“Sigh… I really feel like the boss with and without Zhao Xiaokui is like two different people.”
“Stop talking, stop talking, the boss is coming.”
Shen Zhifei was aware of their conversations but paid them no mind. She focused on efficiently delegating the tasks at hand. Despite the complaints, when it came time to work, the employees were diligent and meticulous.
After enduring the workday, employees rushed out of the office like freed huskies, leaving their desks empty in no time. Shen Zhifei shook her head as she watched, then took a sip of coffee from her desk.
With Zhao Xiaokui not at home, Shen Zhifei wasn’t in a hurry to leave after work.
Past 8 o’clock, Shen Zhifei stood up, stretched lazily, and headed to the tea room for coffee.
Just as she reached the door, a scene flashed before her eyes. Holding the coffee, she took a step back, coincidentally stepping out of the room’s door.
The coffee machine on the table suddenly made a crisp sound of cracking, followed by a buzzing noise, and a few wisps of smoke emerged.
A short circuit?
In her consciousness, the white flame around the mermaid statue rose abruptly, sweeping arrogantly over the surrounding world. The darkness that had just invaded, unable to occupy its territory, was directly burned to ashes.
Hospital.
In a single-person ward, two handsome men sat on either side of the bed, one peeling an apple, the other peeling a pear. Occasionally, they exchanged glances, sparks and lightning flashing in their eyes.
On the hospital bed, a pale woman weakly closed her eyes.
Suddenly, she opened her eyes, a look of madness flashing deep within her black gaze.
“Tao Zijin, are you awake?”
“Tao Zijin, have a pear.”
The two men eagerly tried to please her, but the woman on the bed suddenly turned over, emitting intense dry heaving sounds.
Threads of black aura emanated from her, and an indescribable stench spread throughout the ward.
The two men, who were about to approach, simultaneously took a step back.
Translator’s corner:
Ooooh, What do you think happened?
