Other people might attribute the breaking of the barrier entirely to the golden fish scales, but Zhu Wei thinks differently. He told the last team member, “Wait a moment, let Zhao Xiaokui pull you out.”
What is this, a controlled variable test?
She obediently reached out to the team members inside, following the command.
Without the golden fish scales, the posture of the team member who stayed in the barrier walking out was more cautious than the first one who was pulled out. However, unexpectedly, he still successfully walked out.
“I came out?” he said somewhat incredulously.
Now, everyone is outside. Zhao Xiaokui looked at Zhu Wei, “Should we still try?”
Zhu Wei hesitated for a moment, unsure if the cult members somewhere could pose a threat. The barrier that could block them at any time was also a threat. After thinking about it, he felt it was more important to solve the immediate issue first. If they couldn’t figure out the pattern of the invisible barrier and encountered cult members, they might be lured in using this method.
“How did you find us?” Zhu Wei asked.
Zhao Xiaokui replied, “After exploring the opposite palace, we continued exploring two more. When we found that you hadn’t come out yet, we felt something was wrong and came back to check.”
Zhu Wei, thoughtfully, asked, “The three palaces you explored, are the patterns and structures the same as here?”
Zhao Xiaokui gave a positive answer.
“Since it’s the same, there’s no reason for the barrier to exist only here. But we encountered this barrier, and you didn’t. Could it be that this barrier has a certain relationship with distance?”
Zhao Xiaokui said, “How about I go out first, and you try to see if the barrier is still there?”
Zhu Wei nodded, “Alright.”
So, Zhao Xiaokui stepped back outside the palace, leaving the others behind.
Following Zhu Wei’s signal, a team member stepped into the previously trapped area. After entering, he turned around, extended his hand into the air, and unsurprisingly felt a transparent wall. He raised his eyes, revealing a surprised expression.
Zhao Xiaokui was quickly called back by the informed person.
“It seems that the existence of this barrier is indeed related to you. After you left the palace, the barrier reappeared.” He looked at Zhao Xiaokui, who was furrowing her brows and contemplating the surroundings. “Did you feel anything strange?”
Zhao Xiaokui frowned.
“I feel very familiar, does that count? I always feel like I’ve been here before.” Of course, she felt familiar; the layout of the underwater mermaid kingdom was identical to this place. It was as if all the mermaids in the world had hired the same construction company for their decorations. “Could it be the reason?”
“Have you been to the sea before?” Zhu Wei suddenly asked an unrelated question.
“No,” Zhao Xiaokui replied affirmatively. “Before today, I had never seen—”
As she spoke, her eyes suddenly widened, clearly remembering something.
Zhu Wei didn’t rush her. After contemplating for a moment, Zhao Xiaokui slowly furrowed her brows. “I indeed haven’t seen the open sea, but I was born in a small town hospital by the seaside. My grandmother said that on the night I was born, even though there was no wind, there were huge waves at sea.”
“That’s it. It seems that twenty years ago, there were traces of this relic or a related one being opened.”
Zhao Xiaokui hadn’t heard of this before and asked in confusion, “What?”
“Have you heard of Extraordinary Contamination?”
Zhao Xiaokui, of course, knew about Extraordinary Contamination.
Similar to nuclear radiation, extraordinary energy itself is a form of high-energy radiation that can cause damage and changes to the human body.
Some people can resist it and become extraordinary individuals, while others who can’t withstand it will experience strange mutations in their body functions, rapidly declining vitality, and even death.
“Are you suggesting that I am not hindered by the relic because I have been contaminated by the extraordinary power of this relic?”
“Yes, do you know that descendants of extraordinary individuals may not necessarily become extraordinary themselves?”
Zhao Xiaokui nodded, indicating that she was aware of this fact.
“It’s a strange thing. Logically, after becoming extraordinary, our genes and even our life levels have changed. If we can have offspring, the descendants should inherit the extraordinary abilities that have awakened in us. Why would we still give birth to ordinary descendants?” Zhu Wei knew that although Zhao Xiaokui’s level was not low, her time with the Nightwalkers was not long, and there were many profound aspects of knowledge that she might not understand. So, he broke it down to explain, “This question has been troubling the Nightwalkers in Huaxia and even extraordinary individuals worldwide. In the end, we arrived at a widely accepted conclusion, which is that the extraordinary abilities in our bodies do not actually come from genetics but from contamination.”
“We didn’t have the possibility of becoming extraordinary, or the likelihood was very low. It was the extraordinary energy scattered from the relics that contaminated our bodies, leading us onto the path of extraordinary individuals.”
Zhao Xiaokui nodded thoughtfully.
What Zhu Wei said was indeed a perspective she had never heard before.
Her thinking was limited by the deep-sea world, and she hadn’t considered the question he raised.
In the deep-sea world, the offspring of mermaids are undoubtedly mermaids, and the offspring of angels are undoubtedly angels. Among the extraordinary individuals in the human realm, such as wizards and knights, the higher their level, the more difficult it is for them to reproduce. However, similarly, the innate talents of their offspring are stronger, and it is rare for parents with exceptional talents to give birth to offspring incapable of practicing.
But in the human world, it is quite common for the descendants of extraordinary individuals to be unable to awaken extraordinary abilities.
Even if they can awaken, the awakened abilities are often not in the same direction as those of their parents.
This is truly an incredible phenomenon.
In between, there must be a certain gene that has undergone mutation. Similar occurrences are normal once, like albinism in animals, but when they happen repeatedly, they become peculiar.
Zhao Xiaokui suddenly realized, “So, our extraordinary power doesn’t actually come from genetics but from mutations caused by extraordinary energy contamination. And these genetic mutations are unstable and difficult to pass on to the next generation, right?”
“Yes, theoretically, all of us awakened extraordinary individuals should have a connection to a certain relic.”
As Zhu Wei uttered these words, Zhao Xiaokui suddenly felt an inexplicable sensation of enlightenment.
In the depths of her mind, it was as if a hand was pushing her in this direction.
The disappearance of Guan Huimin, the fleeing cultists… and even further back, the malevolent deity parasitizing her body…
She didn’t share her feelings with anyone but instead kept scanning the patterns repeatedly, scrutinizing every detail, constantly pondering: What does this relic want to tell her?
Her existence, her experiences, what meaning and purpose do they truly hold?
“Alright, continue the search. From now on, let’s try not to split up, but maintain a certain distance during the search. We can’t have everyone trapped in the same place. Even with Zhao Xiaokui around, we must remain vigilant. At least two people should stay outside when entering the palace, understand?”
“Yes!”
…
They continued their search.
With even more meticulousness and vigilance, they encountered no further surprises.
But likewise, they made no discoveries.
Discoveries here not only referred to the gains from the relic itself but also the traces of the cultists.
Apart from the occasionally disheveled ground and slightly disturbed dust, proving that someone had indeed been here not long ago, they walked all the way and truly didn’t see a single person. There were no traces of life encountered either. Those cultists who had entered the relic seemed to have mysteriously vanished, leaving no sign of their existence – no living beings and no corpses.
This was more unsettling than encountering an attack upon entering or seeing several bodies.
Where had those cultists gone?
After searching the Grand Priest’s palace and still finding nothing useful, and encountering no further dangers, Zhao Xiaokui said, “Could they have left this place? Do you know the specific size of the relic?”
“They shouldn’t have.” Zhu Wei replied, “Although, upon entering this relic, it seems like we are surrounded by an endless ocean, the relic has a fixed range. If we explore in all directions, it’s likely that after walking a considerable distance, we will return to this location. Of course, the relic may be wider than what we’ve seen, but that’s beyond what our vanguard team can explore. Our search here is already sufficient, and the next steps can be handled by military personnel for a more specialized exploration.”
Once the safety of the entire Mermaid City was confirmed, the members of the team instantly relaxed.
The passage had been closed, and to reopen it, they would have to wait another day. Fortunately, they all brought food, so hunger was not a concern.
The team members assigned to the task gathered in groups of three or five to take photos and collect various pieces of information. Zhao Xiaokui and Zhu Wei swam above the entire Mermaid City, overseeing the whole city, ready to support any sudden developments.
They flew high, and not far from them were the tall mermaid statues.
After observing around and not finding any major issues, Zhao Xiaokui, curious, flew towards one of the mermaid statues.
In the deep-sea world, mermaid statues, seemingly sculptures, were actually the bodies of deceased mermaid kings. The presence of these bodies required non-merfolk creatures to obtain permission from the merfolk if they wished to approach. Otherwise, they would face direct attacks from different levels of life hierarchy – it served as the third layer of protection for the merfolk, in addition to the internal and external barriers.
Judging solely by the material, the mermaid statue in this relic looked identical to those in the deep-sea world. Strangely, it lacked the immense pressure that the bodies of mermaid kings in the deep sea once imposed on Zhao Xiaokui. Zhu Wei and the ordinary team members repeatedly looked directly at the statue and even pointed at it, yet they suffered no harm. This inevitably sparked some curiosity in Zhao Xiaokui. What was this statue made of?
Could it be crystal from the deep sea?
A piece this large would probably be quite valuable, right?
Seeing her swim towards the mermaid statue, Zhu Wei followed suit. He looked at the enormous statue and commented, “She’s truly beautiful, isn’t she?”
“Huh?” After closely inspecting the mermaid statue, Zhu Wei subconsciously glanced in Zhao Xiaokui’s direction.
It was just now that no one noticed – Zhao Xiaokui’s ears were actually identical to those of this statue.
Before he could contemplate this discovery further, Zhao Xiaokui’s hand had already touched the semi-transparent body of the mermaid statue.
Then—
She passed through.
