RIACMET chapter 54

 

These days, very few people were entering the base, and nearly all of the stalls near the west gate were vacant.

There were plenty of options available, and you could pay a deposit of points to reserve one.

Around four in the afternoon, while the others were still wandering about, Jiang Nian and Cheng Jing found the base’s commercial management office. They paid a deposit of 1,000 points and picked out a stall.

The staff then handed them a contract and a set of commercial street regulations to take home and read. They had ten days to think things over and make preparations.

If they decided not to rent within ten days, their points would be refunded. However, if they didn’t make a decision within ten days, the spot would be released again without further notice, and the 1,000 points would not be returned.

On their first day at the base, everyone was busy with small tasks.

In the evening, Xiaoya followed the three Li family members back home. Jiang Nian invited the rest of the team to stay for dinner and discuss plans for opening the grocery store further.

After dinner, Cheng Jing gathered everyone for a short meeting. He told them about the spatial ring and explained that, when he awakened his superpower, the ring he’d been carrying had mutated.

Jiang Nian added to the story, talking about the signs and nightmares that preceded the apocalypse.

He would never reveal the truth about his rebirth to anyone other than Cheng Jing, so he had no choice but to use this tale about nightmare omens.

Nightmares, the awakening of powers, the ring mutation—a whole string of signs. Given all that, it was reasonable that they had stockpiled supplies secretly.

Huang Qian had actually been the first to find out that Cheng Jing had awakened his powers. She’d taken the opportunity to explain the real reason behind the stockpiling under the pretense of “training.”

Huang Qian didn’t mind that Cheng Jing hadn’t told her about the spatial ring. Her brother was cautious by nature. At first, he wasn’t sure himself. If she had known too much and said something, it could have caused trouble.

After hearing this, their teammates weren’t all that surprised—if anything, they were more relieved and felt it was “just as they expected.”

Honestly, after spending so much time together, they had all more or less sensed it.

For example, Jiang Nian’s plans and suggestions for every step had always been precise, showing a kind of foresight that no ordinary college student could possess.

Most importantly, Brother Cheng was incredibly shrewd. No matter how much he cared about someone, he would never be reckless when making critical decisions. He listened to Jiang Nian about everything, which proved that Jiang Nian was far from ordinary.

There were also times when the vehicles’ storage space clearly wasn’t enough, yet Jiang Nian and Brother Cheng could somehow pull out items they’d “brought” or “hadn’t stored there at all.”

They weren’t blind or stupid; they had just agreed not to question it.

Now that the two “godfathers” had explained it themselves, everyone felt relieved, yet they once again found themselves lamenting their fate.

This was especially true for Zhao Lei and the other six who’d been assigned to guard the three safe houses before the apocalypse. To them, Brother Cheng and Jiang Nian were true saviors, like reborn parents.

Without their secret orders and support, they would have died. At the time, their mission had ended, and they had been planning to go out and have fun when it rained.

Had Brother Cheng not told them to stay put and prepare for training, they would have ended up as part of the first wave of zombies.

“That’s why I’ve been thinking about opening a grocery store. Besides, we can continue gathering supplies and sell whatever we have in the future.”

Jiang Nian concluded with a smile. “I can’t possibly watch over everything by myself.” Even though the base had rules and regulations, certain superpowers were too unusual, and those with weaker powers wouldn’t know how they were discovered.

Now, however, he had a team of strong and trustworthy comrades.

In other words, looking at their team lineup, the only people afraid of others were the others, not them.

As for Xiaoya and Li Kaiyun, he would talk about them when the time was right. For now, they weren’t close enough to be completely honest with each other.

Besides, Jiang Nian still felt complicated about Xiaoya. Unfortunately, he was still holding a grudge.

“Whatever you want to do, Brother Nian, we’ll support you unconditionally—just like we do Brother Cheng.”

Jian Cheng spoke first, and everyone else, including Huang Qian, who usually liked to bluster, nodded solemnly.

“All right.”

Jiang Nian clasped his hands under his chin and looked at his teammates sincerely.

“My plan is to set everything up for the time being. Once everyone is settled, we can discuss any changes if the situation shifts.”

They had just entered the base; there was no need to rush. They would handle everything step by step according to the plan and adjust little by little as the environment evolved. Otherwise, people would easily become anxious.

For him, the hardest part was already over.

After distributing supplies at the meeting, Cheng Jing asked Huang Qian and Lu Ningzhou to deliver some to Xiaoya, promising to provide more as needed.

In the following days, everyone was busy adapting to the new environment: renovating their rooms, replacing what needed replacing, and buying whatever was necessary.

During this time, Jiang Nian and Cheng Jing gathered unnecessary supplies and exchanged them for points at various management offices.

Aside from covering their personal expenses, they were preparing to start a business. After all, even a small venture requires initial capital.

They were teammates who had experienced life and death together and knew each other inside and out. Since they had chosen to be completely open with each other, there was no reason to hide anything anymore.

If there was something to discuss, they discussed it together. If not, they moved forward together.

…

After resting for five days, Li Sheng arrived early one morning and asked Cheng Jing, the team leader, to report to the command center.

Cheng Jing didn’t return until the afternoon. The news he brought back was surprising yet reasonable.

The rescue teams at Nancheng Base now consisted of superpowered and regular soldiers working together. As the base took in more people, the number of superpowers increased as well.

Therefore, the senior leadership decided to split the rescue force into two parts:

a Superpower Rescue Team and an Ordinary Military Rescue Team.

For any future missions, personnel would be assigned from both teams depending on the situation.

Due to Zhou Li’s letter of recommendation, the senior leadership pulled Cheng Jing’s team’s records from before and after the apocalypse.

After considering all the factors, they invited Cheng Jing’s team to join the South City Base Superpower Rescue Team.

They were designated the “Special External Rescue Team.” After all, they weren’t military personnel, so a distinction was necessary.

This arrangement allowed them to keep their Team 017 designation—the same as they’d had in Qingyun City—and the same eight registered members. Jiang Nian and Xiaoya were technically free agents and were considered “relatives” of the team.

However, even though their team was specially recruited, they would receive the same treatment as any other unit in the military group.

They would live in the dorms in the central area and have an office in the rescue team headquarters.

Each team member would receive 3,000 base points per month, typically issued at the end of the month. Newcomers like them, though, could receive half right away, and the points could be exchanged for any necessary resources.

Under normal conditions, there were seven days off per month. The specific schedule could be adjusted and reported in advance. It was also possible for the entire team to take consecutive days off together.

On rest days, the team could go out freely, and they could keep any supplies they acquired.

There was no fixed pattern for daily duties, such as training, patrols, base maintenance, and external missions.

Points for completing missions were calculated separately. For group missions, the points were divided evenly among all participants. For solo missions, the person who completed the mission kept the points.

The rescue team’s canteen in the central district provided three free meals a day. The portions were standard, but you could buy extra food with your own points.

Overall, aside from the inability to leave the base or the organization at will, the rest of the regulations were more or less the same as in Qingyun City.

Due to these additional restrictions, Cheng Jing insisted that Jiang Nian and Xiaoya hide their powers and remain free so they could come and go more easily.