RIACMET chapter 41

 

After all, Xiaoya had reached an age where she had begun to understand many things. Having gone through and taken part in such horrible events, it was only natural for all the emotions she’d been suppressing to finally burst forth.

Next, she would have to heal from the psychological trauma and accept the mistakes she had made. It would be a long process, and she would have to rely on herself to get through it. No one else could help her.

When she looked at Jiang Nian, Xiaoya threw herself into his arms immediately, her eyes brimming with tears.

“Brother…”

“Wuwuwu…”

“I’m sorry. I was wrong.”

“I helped Mother kill someone…Wuwuwu…”

“I killed someone… I was wrong…”

“…”

Jiang Nian’s gentle, steady presence made her feel a deep sense of trust and dependence.

Huang Qian and the others were also kind and accepting of her, but Jiang Nian—the one who had given her candy—was special among the brothers.

“Xiaoya…”

Seeing how much Xiaoya relied on him, Jiang Nian felt a touch of bitterness in his heart. In the end, he spoke in a complicated tone:

“Listen, what’s happened can’t be changed. Neither can the mistakes you’ve made. But since you’re still alive, you have to keep going… We’ll protect you for now. You have to do your best with us.”

He wasn’t good at comforting others and couldn’t say anything too reassuring, so he could only state the facts plainly.

“Wah… wuwuwu…”

The little girl nodded and cried uncontrollably in his arms, almost fainting. She hadn’t meant to do it. She couldn’t stop herself, but it was still her fault.

Jiang Nian sighed and patted her back, letting her cry as much as she needed to.

After she had worn herself out crying and drunk a cup of warm water mixed with a mild sedative by Huang Qian, Xiaoya finally fell asleep peacefully.

Jiang Nian wrapped her in a thick blanket and carried her back to her room so she could sleep well.

Huang Qian followed behind, pulling the door closed halfway.

“… Sister Qian.”

Jiang Nian started to say something, but stopped. Huang Qian spoke bluntly.

“In a world like this, fighting evil with evil often makes people happier. I know exactly what you wanted to do that day. If it had been Cheng Jing or the others, I wouldn’t have stopped them. But you couldn’t, Jiang Nian. If you had killed Xiaoya with your own hands, you would have regretted it for the rest of your life. There’s no point in trading a lifetime of guilt for a moment of justice and satisfaction.”

She understood how Jiang Nian felt because, when she faced those monsters, she had wanted to kill them more than once.

“…”

Jiang Nian was moved by her words and didn’t argue.

“Thank you, Sister Qian.”

He had never killed anyone, even in his previous life. If he had really killed Xiaoya, the memory would haunt him forever.

Huang Qian waved her hand dismissively.

“If someone truly wants to kill, they won’t hesitate. In your heart, she didn’t deserve to die—or maybe she did, but you weren’t the one to punish her. So why create conflict for yourself?”

After saying that, she patted him on the arm, opened the door, and left with him.

Over the past few days, Cheng Jing had asked everyone privately what they thought about temporarily taking Xiaoya in. No one had objected.

First, the authorities had already handled the matter. Second, as Jiang Nian had said, everyone knew Xiaoya was guilty, but she was just a child who couldn’t make her own decisions and had to obey her family.

Since they couldn’t bear to kill her on the spot or abandon a child, they decided to bring her along temporarily.
The team unanimously agreed to take Xiaoya in temporarily.

Afterwards, Jiang Nian went to the command room to complete the temporary guardianship paperwork while Xiaoya followed them to the base.

…

As night fell, Jiang Nian and Cheng Jing went out after dinner.

After that, Huang Qian could no longer move with the team in order to look after Xiaoya. However, as an excellent assistant, taking care of a child was not difficult for her.

Sometimes, after scouting an area, the team would bring Xiaoya with them when they went out.

After all, she was an ability user too, and she could withstand the cold. Some exercise didn’t hurt.

Gradually, Xiaoya’s emotions settled, and she no longer needed sedatives. Though she was quiet, she was well-behaved and obedient.

She just got extremely nervous whenever she encountered someone outside the team.

She didn’t dare speak or look up, afraid that others would find out what she had done. She felt guilty toward everyone.

She never used her powers again, no matter how hard people tried to persuade her.

Except in special circumstances, Xiaoya always wore gloves and refused to take them off, even when eating.

Her ability required direct contact to transfer power to the target, so as long as her hands were covered, she couldn’t use it.

Huang Qian knew she was uncomfortable but never forced her.

…

As January approached, more and more ability users started forming their own camps. Those with fewer members formed small teams, while those with more formed various special-ability groups.

Superpower organizations began working with the government more formally:

They exchanged supplies, accepted official missions, and received corresponding rewards.

This trend would last a long time.

However, there were exceptions, and Cheng Jing and his team were one of them.

Cheng Jing was a pioneer among the superpowers. Since the apocalypse, he had played a role in nearly half of all key decisions in Qingyun City’s rescue operations, and all of his suggestions had been adopted.

Additionally, his team had collaborated with the authorities even before the apocalypse. When all sorts of superpowered groups appeared, Qingyun City officials invited their team to join the Qingyun City Apocalypse Superpower Rescue Union as Team 017.

As the only unofficial superpower team in the official union, Cheng Jing and his team enjoyed the same rights, treatment, and responsibilities as the others.

However, there was one condition: they could leave the union at any time.

Cheng Jing had insisted on this term when Zhou Li invited them, just in case. He had the upper hand because he was no longer hiding the fact that every team member had awakened their powers.

There were a total of forty-one superpower teams in the four districts of the Qingyun City Rescue Union, including forty official teams of ten members each.

Cheng Jing’s team had only eight people.

Jiang Nian didn’t count because, to join the Union, one had to register their abilities. Since Jiang Nian wanted to keep his abilities hidden, he could only continue to follow Cheng Jing as a family member. The same applied to Xiaoya.

Zhou Li said they could invite more teammates depending on the situation, but it would require an official assessment.

Each district command center posted the union member list on the outer wall of the office for all to see.

When people saw that Cheng Jing and his “non-staff” team had been specially invited by the authorities, the other superpowers in the Western District had all kinds of reactions, ranging from approval to envy to jealousy.

Most people didn’t want to be controlled by the authorities, yet they still wanted to use their abilities to profit from the apocalypse and squeeze resources from the authorities.

So, when they were faced with the situation of Cheng Jing and his team, they naturally had mixed feelings.

After joining the official team, the teammates finally enjoyed a long-awaited dinner at Cheng Jing’s safe house that night.

Huang Qian brought Xiaoya, who was slowly getting used to living with them.

The adults chatted while the little girl, wrapped in a blanket, played video games.

Seeing the many supplies in the safe house, Xiaoya didn’t ask for much and didn’t dare eat anything casually. She had committed an unforgivable crime, so it was already kind of them to accept her.

She had to be obedient at all times so that they wouldn’t hate or despise her.

Although Xiaoya didn’t understand much and couldn’t speak clearly, Huang Qian felt that she knew everything in her heart and was willing to learn. She was growing up very quickly.

“It’s a pity. I’m afraid we’ll end up as a thorn in some people’s eyes,”.

Huang said lazily. After giving Xiaoya a piece of chocolate, she sat by the heater and opened a bag of spicy dried meat to snack on.

Even though she sounded worried, her eyes were full of eager excitement.

Zhao Lei disagreed.

“Whether we’re a thorn in someone’s eye or in their flesh—whether they envy, are jealous of, or hate us—who cares? Whoever dares to start trouble, we’ll crush them! We weren’t afraid before the apocalypse, and we’re even less afraid now.”

With that, he ripped open a bag of chilled duck necks and started eating.

The others agreed, stuffing more food in their mouths.

Cheng Jing didn’t say anything. He took the initiative to cook with Liao Yu, who minded the cold the least. Though he was the oldest among them and not good at cooking, he was willing to try.

Jiang Nian picked up a piece of spicy meat from Huang Qian’s hand, chewed, and agreed.

a”There aren’t many people around right now. Once you get into the base, though, you’ll run into all kinds of strange people and things. Just get used to it. Life is uncertain anyway. There’s no need to go along with other people’s expectations. Do what you want.”

He hadn’t been born to be a coward. In his previous life, he had been blinded by so-called family ties and had died a pathetic death.

Therefore, the core principle of his life was to not care whether you live or die—if you disagree, fight.

“Brother Nian is right…”

“Brother Nian makes sense.

“Godfather is so wise…”

“…”

Jiang Nian almost choked on their flattery and wrapped himself tighter in a thick blanket.

It was so embarrassing!