RIACMET chapter 37

 

After reviewing every detail, Jiang Nian and Cheng Jing both agreed that there was no longer any doubt.

The murderers were Xiaoya and her mother.

The only thing they couldn’t be sure of was which of the two possessed the devious, dual-attribute psychic power.

Now, all that was left was to enter Room 1805 in Building 13, where the two women lived, to uncover the truth.

At dinner, Cheng Jing called the entire team over. He revealed the conclusions he and Jiang Nian had come to and presented the operational plan.

He, Jiang Nian, and Huang Qian would go to Room 1805 after 7 p.m. The rest of the team would stay behind to observe Building 13’s perimeter and monitor the entrance to the underground shelter.

It wasn’t wise to send too many people to confront Xiaoya and her mother directly. Their supernatural abilities were still unknown, and more people could cause chaos if things escalated. Against powerful opponents, a smaller force meant a smaller chance of alerting them if something went wrong.

Zhou Li had also dispatched forces covertly, mainly to prevent the zombies lurking in the underground darkness from being provoked into starting a riot.

Everyone followed orders without question. This wasn’t a chaotic team. A single sentence was enough to activate the unspoken trust between them.

…

By the time it was past 7 p.m., the sky was pitch black.

Cheng Jing, Jiang Nian, and Huang Qian arrived at the door to Room 1805. As Huang Qian had reported, the door was still locked from the outside—just as if the residents had never returned.

The three exchanged glances. Then, Cheng Jing raised his hand, touched the door, and activated his supernatural power. With a low hum, the lock snapped open. They entered swiftly, shutting the door behind them.

The moment they stepped inside, the stench of rotting zombie flesh hit them hard. It was so strong that it made them nauseous, even through their protective masks.

At the same time, Jiang Nian lowered his voice and murmured,
“There’s a fluctuation in three sources of supernatural power.”

That wasn’t what they had expected. Instead of one person with dual abilities, all three family members had awakened superpowers.

In the dimly lit living room, a ceiling lamp glowed faintly, casting a hazy light downward. It wasn’t very bright, but it was enough to make out most of the room.

Xiaoya was curled up on the filthy couch, wrapped in a blanket. Her face was buried against her knees, and her hands covered her ears. She trembled and wept quietly.

From the master bedroom came the sound of a woman crying and begging, and the sound of people tearing up food.

A cold breeze blew through the doorway, and the little girl looked up instinctively, revealing her pale, tear-streaked face. But her eyes were still vacant and unfocused.

“…”

Xiaoya froze when she saw Jiang Nian and the others step in.

“Big Brother… Why are you here… You…”

The next second, terror overtook her. She leapt from the couch and ran toward the bedroom.

“Mom…”

But she hadn’t taken more than a few steps when Huang Qian, who was already prepared, swiftly released vines that entangled the girl and pulled her back. Without a word, she raised a hand and knocked the girl unconscious with a clean strike. The entire motion was fluid and precise.

Jiang Nian sighed again at Assistant Huang’s sheer competence in both literature and martial arts. Who wouldn’t love such a cool, beautiful younger sister?

Everything happened so quickly that whoever was in the bedroom hadn’t even noticed. Huang Qian gently laid Xiaoya back on the couch and covered her with a blanket.

The three of them moved toward the master bedroom. Cheng Jing and Huang Qian led the way, with Jiang Nian following close behind.

The faint light spilling from under the door barely illuminated the path. Cheng Jing twisted the doorknob, but it was locked from the inside.

Then, they heard a woman’s voice from inside, sobbing weakly.

“Xiaoya, wait just a little longer. Wait until Daddy’s full. Be good and stay in the living room. Then, I’ll let you walk him out. Mommy begs you. Just this last time.”

“… ”

The three of them exchanged glances, instantly understanding that Xiaoya was the one with the teleportation ability.

This meant that without her, there was no risk of the targets fleeing. No wonder she had dashed toward the bedroom in panic earlier.

“Miss Lin, it’s us. If you don’t mind, we’re taking Xiaoya. She’s terrified and hasn’t stopped crying.”

Jiang Nian began speaking gently as Cheng Jing wove a protective web of lightning around them.

Huang Qian, too, summoned her vines, coiling them like snakes ready to strike.

“…”

After a long silence, a hoarse woman’s voice came from inside the room.

“So it’s you. You’ve finally come.”

Then came muffled sobs of anguish.

“I didn’t want it to be like this. But I can’t live without him. Wuwuwu…”

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

“…” “…”

“Come out. You owe us all an explanation now. Especially to Xiaoya.”

Cheng Jing’s voice turned cold as he signaled the three of them to step back in unison.

After another moment of silence behind the door, the woman’s tone suddenly became agitated.

“There’s nothing to explain! My husband was scratched by a zombie while out scavenging. But as long as he eats flesh and I use my ability on him, he can stay with us. He can stay calm! He’s different from the others out there!”

“… ”

Huang Qian and Cheng Jing were stunned. Jiang Nian’s mind raced, and then he understood.

“You have mind control,” he said. “You hypnotized him before he lost consciousness so that he would stay quiet. You’ve been killing people every one or two days to feed him.”

In this three-person household, the man could manipulate metal, the woman could control minds, and the child could teleport.

Together, they were terrifyingly powerful.

Yet, judging by the tearing food sounds coming from within, it was clear that the man had fully turned. Oddly enough, the woman’s powers still seemed effective.

Could it be that because they were family, the zombie could really be tamed?

The woman continued whispering softly to her zombie husband, coaxing him to eat.

“I tried everything to keep him from going outside and hurting others. He’s never hurt anyone.”

“That’s because you did it for him! You murdered people so he could eat!” Cheng Jing snapped, his voice ice-cold as he unleashed a bolt of lightning to melt the door lock.

“He begged me to kill him, but I couldn’t! So many people die every day in this apocalypse—what’s wrong with one more every now and then? If rescue supplies weren’t so scarce, he wouldn’t have needed to go out. He was infected by someone else—someone who turned into a zombie!”

His voice rose to a hysterical pitch, and the once-muted growls from inside the room turned into blood-chilling howls.

Bang!

The door burst open.

Cheng Jing and Huang Qian immediately activated their abilities.

But they were met with a wall of steel that splintered into razor-sharp blades, lashing out at them in chaotic arcs.

After hearing a loud metallic clashing sound, Huang Qian groaned and retracted his power, leaving a pile of chopped twigs on the ground.

But at the same time, Cheng Jing’s thunder and flame had melted the metal blades.

The metallic assault suddenly withdrew. Cheng Jing’s lightning shield dissipated.

Then, a woman appeared, blood streaming from her eyes, mouth, and nose.

After a moment, they heard her raspy, hollow voice:

“Listen to me…”

Strange tones accompanied by unique energy fluctuations entered their minds.

Even though Cheng Jing and Huang Qian knew something was wrong and their conscious minds screamed that they were being manipulated, they couldn’t resist.

Their awareness dulled, and their thoughts grew murky.

It felt like falling into a dream—peaceful and drowsy—but they couldn’t move, like they were trapped in sleep paralysis.

They were wide awake.

But they were unable to wake up.