AITAMITB Chapter 71

To say it’s a feather was an exaggeration. In reality, it was just a tiny bit of down feather. If it weren’t for everyone present being superbeings, it would be challenging to notice such a minuscule thing.

Shi Ning recognized what it was, “Holy Water?”

Zhao Xiaokui nodded, saying, “I asked Captain Yu, and he mentioned that water soaked with angel feathers can, to a certain extent, suppress and expel the influence of the evil god. Although direct consumption may cause some damage, overall, the benefits outweigh the drawbacks.”

Shi Ning nodded, “That makes sense.”

She smiled and said, “We were overthinking, only considering using instruments to identify parasites. We didn’t expect such a simple method.”

Zhao Xiaokui took the water out of the box, saying, “It’s not that you didn’t think of it, but this method can only be used on a small scale. After all, there is only so much holy water, and its shelf life is not long.”

She had checked the Nightwalker’s internal shop; the price of holy water was not low. Therefore, even though this substance had a clear effect in eliminating the evil god’s contamination, both Lin Bai and Gou Rixin preferred to recuperate themselves rather than spend points to buy holy water. After all, the price of this item was prohibitively high, not something an ordinary person could afford.

Shi Ning nodded, acknowledging the validity of Zhao Xiaokui’s words. However, the urgent matter at hand was to confirm whether there were issues with the core members.

Accompanying the bottle were several transparent glass cups, each intricately carved with angelic patterns. It was said that these cups, made of special materials, could maintain the effectiveness of holy water as much as possible, preventing the holy light elements in the water from dissipating before entering the human body.

The superhuman members present, including Zhao Xiaokui, each poured approximately half a cup. Then, with a frowning expression, they drank it as if ingesting poison.

Although Zhao Xiaokui could use light-based spells like Holy Light Arts, she was more affinity with water-based superhuman elements. Mobilizing and assimilating superhuman elements that didn’t harmonize with her body were entirely different matters.

Although it was just a small cup, the dominance and forcefulness of the light elements came into play the moment it entered their throats.

The superhuman power disruptors placed in the four corners of the room buzzed incessantly. The power had been adjusted to the maximum, causing continuous fluctuations in superhuman power within the room. Several superbeings exhibited varying degrees of adverse reactions. Among them, Zhao Xiaokui and Shi Ning were the least affected. As third-tier superbeings, both of them tightly frowned and showed expressions of endurance. However, compared to others whose facial features became grotesque, they still appeared much better.

Zhao Xiaokui somewhat understood why Lin Bai and Gou Rixin would rather endure pain than spend money on buying holy water. The cost was one aspect, but the torture it inflicted on people was probably a significant reason as well.

Several minutes later, the repulsive reactions of everyone gradually subsided. Someone exclaimed, “Really… I wouldn’t want to taste the flavor of holy water again, even if you beat me to death. What was the person thinking when they added holy light elements to the water? Just now, I felt like I was being tortured a thousand times.”

Fortunately, among everyone present, no one exhibited any abnormalities.

This relieved Shi Ning.

Those she had selected to come from the headquarters were all veterans of the Nightwalkers, most having spent ten or even twenty years in the organization. If there were issues with them, she wouldn’t know whom to trust.

Seeing that everyone had recovered, Shi Ning said, “I’m glad that none of us are hosts of the evil god. However, the production of holy water is limited, and with so many people in the country, we can’t use holy water to identify everyone. Even within our Nightwalkers, it might not be achievable. Therefore, our top priority now is to observe and study Tao Zijin, searching for methods to distinguish, expel, or even kill the parasite. Understand?”

Everyone responded in unison, “Understood.”

Due to the suspicion that Tao Zijin might have a way to detect them, no one revealed their presence in front of her. Considering that Zhao Xiaokui could hear her conversations with the system, they decided to place Zhao Xiaokui in the adjacent ward to Tao Zijin, citing her injury as the reason. With the superhuman hearing ability, and just a wall separating the two rooms, it wouldn’t be difficult to hear any movements from the neighboring room, especially given the hospital’s less-than-optimal soundproofing materials.

Soon, Zhao Xiaokui checked into the hospital with her leg injury.

On the first night of her stay, the odor emanating from Tao Zijin made her question her life choices.

“It’s too stinky…”

Even though she closed off her sense of smell, she still felt like this foul smell could penetrate her body as if passing through pores.

Penetrate through pores?

Startled by her imagination, Zhao Xiaokui closed her eyes and immediately sank into her consciousness. In her originally clear and vast mental sea, numerous vague shadows suddenly appeared overhead.

These shadows swirled at the top of her mental sea, as if eager to enter and find a place to settle. However, her mental sea barrier firmly kept them out, not allowing them any entry.

This is… demonic energy?

Having never seen demonic energy before, Zhao Xiaokui somewhat uncertainly identified the origin of this phenomenon.

But soon, she became certain of what it was.

Because a nurse suddenly went insane.

The screams echoed on the night Zhao Xiaokui checked into the hospital.

Zhao Xiaokui, engrossed in her phone, was startled and jumped out of bed, almost forgetting that she was still a patient. Fortunately, she quickly noticed a wheelchair beside her, and with a sense of mission, she sat down, steering the wheelchair out of the ward. She saw a girl in a nurse uniform, with a face full of terror, running in her direction.

Afraid of being noticed, she didn’t leave anyone around her. Even though Zhao Xiaokui was sitting, subduing a small girl in a nurse’s uniform was a piece of cake.

She pulled out the cane next to the wheelchair and tripped the girl at her ankle. Seizing the opportunity while the young nurse fell, Zhao Xiaokui grabbed her into her arms. Seeing the almost mad, bloodshot eyes of the girl, Zhao Xiaokui’s expression immediately darkened. She raised her hand, knocked the girl unconscious, and swiftly stood up from the wheelchair. She shattered the plaster and carried the girl towards the other end of the hospital corridor.

The response from the Night Walkers was not slow. However, the nurse happened to go crazy on her side, and they hadn’t arrived yet.

Seeing her approaching, they immediately asked, “What happened?”

Zhao Xiaokui said, “Although I don’t know the reason, the system is likely out of control. She is now in a contaminated state. Do you have any holy water? Give her a sip; otherwise, she might go insane directly. We need to immediately capture Tao Zijin; we can’t let her continue to stay among ordinary people. There’s no time; the foul odor emanating from her indicates that the evil god is out of control. If something goes wrong, everyone in this building may not be able to escape.”

Shi Ning was always a decisive person. After a quick consideration of Zhao Xiaokui’s words, she quickly abandoned the idea of further observation. She decided to disturb the enemy’s plans, first controlling the person.

She immediately ordered, “Capture her directly!”

Tao Zijin hadn’t even reacted yet and was taken to the Bright Prison inside the S City Night Walkers’ base.

Without the system’s warning, when she was taken away, the Night Walkers dared to inject her with a powerful sedative right in the ward. A shot like that would make even a superhuman surrender. Seeing that she was not alarmed, they carefully put various restraints on her, walked through the secure passage, and took her away.

When she got in the car, Zhao Xiaokui looked at numerous interference devices displaying an “in use” status and smirked.

Everyone was on high alert against this evil god.

*

She woke up from a deep sleep.

Tao Zijin opened her eyes and immediately noticed that something was wrong with her situation.

Surrounded by four plain white walls, bare and empty, it didn’t look like a hospital at all.

She was still wearing the hospital patient gown, without shoes. The relatively low temperature on the floor sent shivers down her spine. When she tried to sit up, she found strange iron chains on her hands and feet, and something seemed to be clamped around her neck.

Where was this?

A sudden panic surged in her heart, and Tao Zijin called out in her mind, “System, system, come out and say something, what’s happening to me…”

Unfortunately, her system did not respond at all.

Tao Zijin glanced around the seamlessly sealed room, resembling a locked chamber. Fear overwhelmed her as memories of countless psychopathic killers from movies and TV shows flashed through her mind. Suppressing a quivering voice, she pretended to be calm and shouted, “Is anyone there? Where am I? Why am I tied up like this?”

“Miss Tao, we apologize for bringing you here in this manner. We are a special force management department of the country. This time, we’ve invited Miss Tao here to discuss some matters.”

Tao Zijin pretended not to understand, “I don’t know what you’re talking about—special forces? Are you filming some variety show? I’ve said it before, I won’t participate in any program without my review, even if my agent agrees. Release me quickly, and I can pretend that nothing happened. I won’t hold it against you…”

Shi Ning chuckled lightly. In the sealed room, her laughter seemed to come from all directions, creating an eerie and terrifying atmosphere.

“Miss Tao, what I want to talk to you about is related to the system.”

Tao Zijin’s expression froze on her face.

The system. How could they know about the system?

Could they really be people from some special department of the country?

Tao Zijin, who had always thought she was the only one with special abilities in the world, was in great turmoil.

She used to be arrogant and domineering, relying on what? It was nothing but the fact that she possessed a system. Considering herself superior to others, she didn’t take the people around her seriously. However, Shi Ning’s straightforward words suddenly took away her biggest reliance.

She wanted to continue pretending ignorance, but the people observing her through concealed cameras in the observation room were a group of skilled individuals. In the moment her pupils slightly contracted, they sensed her change.

Although Tao Zijin had undertaken numerous tasks, before obtaining the system, she was just an ordinary person. Her life revolved around two things: charming men and showcasing her allure. How could she compete with the experts who exchanged greetings with the world’s top spies and undercover agents every day? In just a few sentences, her defenses were breached. Afterward, she spoke freely, as if afraid that any delay in her explanations would result in her being taken away for dissection.

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