In the redwood box, golden scales lay quietly on a soft cloth. Although the surface was covered in scratches and the color appeared somewhat dim, Zhao Xiaokui still felt it—the moment she saw the scales, her blood surged.
“It’s something I came across at a peculiar underground auction. I thought you might be interested, so I bought it.”
Zhao Xiaokui’s hand gently touched the golden scale. As her fingertips made contact, tiny golden scales also appeared on the back of her hand. Regardless of size, their circular shape was identical.
But the scale in the box was as large as a palm.
What did this size of fish scale signify? No one understood better than Zhao Xiaokui.
It meant that if this scale truly came from a mermaid, that mermaid’s level was likely above sixth grade.
After a moment, she took a deep breath and closed the lid.
“I really like it, but…” She looked seriously at Shen Zhifei. “In the future, if there are similar auctions, I hope I can go with you.”
She knew Shen Zhifei’s company was growing, and wealth increasing. Even without revealing her own extraordinary identity, she would receive numerous invitations to enter the circle of extraordinary beings.
After all, financial ability was also a unique form of extraordinary power.
“Rest assured, I have what you gave me, and I’ll protect myself…”
Shen Zhifei interrupted herself, then admitted, “I was wrong.”
Zhao Xiaokui raised an eyebrow. “What did you do wrong?”
“I shouldn’t have gone to those places alone, and I shouldn’t have kept this from you.”
Zhao Xiaokui looked at Shen Zhifei’s expression and suddenly sighed. She said, “I’m sorry. I’ve spent too little time with you. After this mission, I promise to be there for you more. Wherever you want to go, I’ll go with you, okay?”
The world of extraordinary beings was incredibly mysterious, and even Zhao Xiaokui couldn’t resist its allure—let alone Shen Zhifei. Zhao Xiaokui couldn’t isolate Shen Zhifei from this world of extraordinary beings in the name of safety; that would be unfair to her.
Shen Zhifei’s face revealed her apology, and Shen Zhifei immediately realized her mistake. Her interest lay not in the world of extraordinary beings but in the world where Zhao Xiaokui existed.
As a member of the Shen family and with her years of studying abroad, if she were genuinely interested in those special powers before meeting Zhao Xiaokui, wouldn’t she have had access to them? No, with just a little effort, she could have unveiled the veil of that mysterious world.
Zhao Xiaokui was genuinely uninterested, content with her own little corner of the world, adhering to routine and never crossing boundaries.
However, despite her apology, Zhao Xiaokui felt a pang of guilt. She had dreamed of being a carefree bystander, joining the Nightwalkers only to lie low after gaining powerful abilities. But now, her strength was growing, and so were her responsibilities. Although Yu Youmin and the others hadn’t fully exposed her to the core Nightwalker operations, Zhao Xiaokui sensed that they considered her a key member for the future.
Moreover, she had absorbed the world’s faith power, destined to share life and death with this world—a natural duty to protect it.
Whether she was passive or willing, she had reached a point where many things were no longer her choice. She wanted to stay by Shen Zhifei’s side for as long as possible, unless the world became peaceful, and the evil gods fell silent, leaving no need for her as an extraordinary being.
After much thought, Zhao Xiaokui believed that regardless of whether her promise could be fulfilled, the most urgent matter now was to enhance Shen Zhifei’s abilities.
Fortunately, with the “Tust Meditation Method,” Shen Zhifei felt like a student preparing for the college entrance examination who suddenly obtained advanced textbooks like the Five-Three Melody and Queen’s Gambit. She no longer needed to laboriously go through her old elementary school exercise books.
Unlike most supernaturals in Nightwalker, Shen Zhifei’s understanding of the supernatural world is largely derived from Zhao Xiaokui. Many thought blind spots that exist for others like Yu Youmin are quite obvious common knowledge to her. In this situation, the thought patterns constructed allowed her to quickly grasp the practice methods within the “Tust Meditation Method.”
As Shen Zhifei begins her cultivation, Zhao Xiaokui stands up and leaves the room. She heads to the study, where she opens her computer to review the information provided by Lin Bai.
For this maritime support mission, she is the sole participant. Whether it’s City S or other cities in Huaxia, the more powerful Transcendents were reassigned to a large-scale relic discovered six months ago, and they have yet to emerge.
In preparation for this task, Lin Bai has equipped her with a wealth of information. While not all of it may prove useful, having multiple references can be valuable.
The materials provided by Lin Bai are related to various relics, most of which were discovered in the past. These relics, remnants of ancient human activities, vary in size and significance.
On Earth, there are over a hundred discovered relics, with Huaxia boasting the highest number due to its vast territory and dense population. Lin Bai has sent her data specifically related to these relics.
Some relics are deceptively small—appearing as ordinary caves from the outside—but stepping inside reveals hidden wonders. Accurate measurements have shown that these seemingly unremarkable caves contain spatial dimensions tenfold or even a hundredfold larger than the external measurements. Their mastery of spatial manipulation resembles the mythical abodes of immortals.
Other relics are massive, concealed within dense forests. Passersby would notice nothing amiss, but stepping precisely into the entrance triggers a sequence of events that can transform the world in an instant.
Speaking of which, thanks to those hiking enthusiasts who insist on venturing into desolate areas, several relics were crossed by these enthusiasts climbing over the fences meant to stop visitors. The result: stepping into the relic, disappearing, and frightening their companions enough to shock them. Later, the Nightwalkers even installed an alarm system. Anyone reporting that they were just with their teammates, turned around, and the teammate was gone would almost always lead to a relic.
After reviewing the information, Zhao Xiaokui finally gained a rough understanding of the so-called relics.
“Bring enough weapons and protective measures. If your points are not sufficient, both Rixin and I can lend you some,” Lin Bai’s message warmed Zhao Xiaokui’s heart. She replied, “You and Brother Gou should keep your own equipment. After all, I’ve earned my merits many times; the organization wouldn’t withhold my points.”
“Anyway, be careful,” Lin Bai said. “Once you enter a relic, it’s like entering another world. No one knows what it will look like on the other side of the door. I’ve compiled a list for you; you can use it as a reference.”
With that, he sent a file containing two tables. One was “Sources of Danger in Different Relics and How to Deal with Them,” and the other was a “Reference Checklist for Entering Relics.” He had thought of every aspect for her.
In terms of danger to humans inside relics, there are mainly three aspects. One is the climate inside, the second is the creatures inside—animals, plants, insects, and some relics are known for their mosquitoes; even a tiny ant can cause trouble for a first-level supernatural being. The third is related to the name of the relic, originating from the legacies of past supernaturals.
There’s not much to say about the climate. Most relics have a manageable climate, with at most a difference of one winter or summer compared to the outside world. The most dreaded are relics with extreme climates, either freezing cold, with the air turning into ice and a snowy landscape as far as the eye can see, even colder than Antarctica; or scorching hot, where if a skin is exposed for a moment, you can smell the scent of burnt protein.
As for biological factors, it’s necessary to mention those terrifying supernatural creatures that Earth doesn’t have. Some of these creatures may appear harmless at first glance. For example, in a relic with a tropical rainforest environment, there’s a creature that looks like a white-furred rabbit. It’s very friendly, and supernaturals can enter and touch it without any problem. Everyone thinks it’s a very weak creature until one day, during an attack on the camp, they watched as that creature inflated like it was blown up, hundreds of times its size, and with a single knock of its two large front teeth, it smashed through the head of a giant creature.
Compared to the big shots that play the pig and eat the tiger, even more frightening are the inconspicuous mosquitoes. After Earth’s supernaturals entered relics multiple times, they believed they had mastered the secret of adapting to relics. Unexpectedly, they encountered a relic where almost no large creatures could be seen, and it was full of insects. The supernaturals assigned by various countries were just sent in, only to meet the fate of complete annihilation.
To this day, that mystery is being artificially guarded, afraid to be opened, fearing that the extremely tiny creatures inside might leave the mystery unnoticed and bring irreversible harm and danger to Earth’s humans.
Compared to the first two threats, the legacy of supernaturals causes relatively minimal damage to humans.
Because despite the gap of a civilization, there is no means of communication between them. If it weren’t for the appearance of relics, current humans wouldn’t even know that tens of thousands of years ago, someone like them established kingdoms, and developed history on this planet. However, all signs indicate that the creators of the previous civilization were still a form of humanity, with human culture and human ways of thinking.
Therefore, even though they can’t communicate through language, to some extent, they can guess certain things.
But this assumption is based on the premise that no one controls the legacy of supernaturals.
Those peculiar artifacts left behind, mysterious stone tablets – if there’s no one in control, no one knows how to use them, they are like a loaded gun sitting on a table. Even if everyone knows it’s loaded, the only concern is the risk of misfire. But when it’s in someone’s hands, people must start worrying about the potential threat such a weapon could pose.
Shen Zhifei woke up to a bright sky outside.
Zhao Xiaokui, holding a list prepared by Lin Bai, sought her out, asking her to use her Star Seer intuition to pick out things that Zhao Xiaokui might need.
“I pick?”
Zhao Xiaokui nodded as a matter of course, “The list Lin Bai gave me is too long. I’m here to help, not on vacation. Just bring a few things for self-defense. If I bring so much stuff, the leader might be driven crazy by me.”
Suddenly burdened with a significant responsibility, Shen Zhifei nervously looked at the list, holding the pen for a long time without knowing where to start.
Zhao Xiaokui, watching her from the side, lowered her head and sent out a message.
Above this message was a notification from Yu Youmin:
“Departure at four o’clock, taking a military transport plane.”
