RIACMET chapter 154

 

The words “That’s great” almost slipped from his lips. Jiang Nian quietly sighed, thinking that maybe the heavens really did have eyes. However, when he heard the last line, he immediately sobered up.

What did that bastard mean when he said he could save him?

In a fraction of a second, Jiang Nian had gone through a whirlwind of thoughts and suddenly felt uneasy. He let out a cold sneer.

“Oh? Is he hallucinating now that he’s about to die?”

It seemed like Chen Yue was the reason Xia Weiwei left South City Base in the middle of the night. What a coincidence.

Sometimes, coincidences feel like they’re ripped straight from a script—what movies, TV shows, and novels usually call “plot devices.”

Chen Shanmin sounded slightly annoyed.
“He’s your brother! How can you say something like that?!”

“I don’t have a brother!”

Jiang Nian shouted back without hesitation.

“… ”

Chen Shanmin swallowed his anger again.

“Fine, let’s not argue. Niannian, let me ask you—is your ability purification?”

“…”

Jiang Nian froze. Just as he was about to deny it and explain the many possible reasons they might have guessed, Chen Shanmin jumped the gun and assumed that he had confessed. His voice immediately grew excited.

“So it is true!”

“… ”

Jiang Nian’s thoughts spun. After considering his options, he held back his initial denial and instead asked in a restrained tone,

“Who told you that?”

There was no way his ability had been exposed this early. He already had a few wild guesses.

Sure enough…

“Xiao Yue said so.”

Chen Shanmin didn’t try to hide anything.

“Xiao Yue said he had a dream that your superpower could save him—that purification could slow the zombie toxin. So please come see your brother. For the sake of our family, okay?”

Although Jiang Nian really wanted to know more about Chen Yue’s so-called “dream,” he couldn’t stop himself from snapping back.

“Don’t talk to me about family. You’re not qualified.”

That explains your sudden willingness to “kneel” and apologize huh. What a devoted father.

Chen Shanmin’s voice caught slightly.

“Niannian, I’m begging you…”

Then, another voice came through the phone—a woman’s, panicked.

“Jiang Nian, Auntie is begging you, too. Please save your brother. No matter what misunderstandings there were before the apocalypse, the world is in chaos now. Family should help each other. His life is on the line. Please…”

Family should help each other.

Those words made Jiang Nian extremely uncomfortable.

They said the same thing in his last life, right before they stopped pretending and locked him in a basement.

Jiang Nian was furious. He held back the urge to curse and hang up, then asked,

“What else did he say?”

Hearing that his tone had softened, Chen Shanmin quickly picked up the phone again.

“He said he dreamed of many things. If you come, he can tell you everything in person. It’s about your safety, too. He said you’d be interested. He didn’t tell Weiwei or anyone from S Base—only our family knows.”

Jiang Nian frowned.

“Isn’t Xia Weiwei with you?”

Was that woman trying to confuse him on purpose?

Chen Shanmin immediately replied,

“She arrived late last night but left this morning with some people to support Professor Xia. She said that once things were settled, she would bring us to S Base.”

After that, Jiang Nian didn’t respond. A few seconds later, Chen Shanmin added,

“There are ten of us in total: There’s her personal doctor and assistant, plus the four people with superpowers who picked us up earlier. Da Jun and Xiao Liu said they knew you. We were planning to enter Nancheng Base in two days…”

But earlier, Xiao Yue suddenly said you could save him right after he woke up from a coma. He said that without you, there’s no point in going to S Base. He got so worked up, and we’re really worried.”

“…”

So that’s how it was. Those four superpowered individuals were Liang Xiaoyan’s teammates. Jiang Nian took note of this, but didn’t trust them blindly.

After thinking it through, he asked,

“How did Chen Yue get infected? How long has he been like that? How are you treating it?”

His stepmother started cursing him, calling him heartless and cold-blooded.

Chen Shanmin clenched his teeth and said,

“He went out last night, was betrayed by his teammates, and came back infected. We put a cryostat on his arm and used drugs from Weiwei’s doctor to slow the virus, but it’s not working well. Please, Niannian, come quickly. It’s a life-or-death matter.”

“… ”

Jiang Nian fell silent, quickly analyzing the situation and forming a plan.

Fearing that Jiang Nian wouldn’t believe him, Chen Shanmin pleaded again.

“It’s all true. I’m not lying to you, Niannian. No matter how wrong I was, it was my fault. Chen Yue is innocent. Even if you don’t acknowledge him as your brother, as long as you’re willing to save him, I’ll do whatever you say. We’ll all listen to you.”

The stepmother echoed after scolding.

“Yes, Jiang Nian. Look—your brother had a dream like that. Doesn’t that mean you two are connected on a deep level? If you save him, Auntie will get on her knees and beg you…”

“Connected on a deep level?”

Jiang Nian almost laughed out loud.

What a pair of parents.

He’d seen this scene before in his past life. At the time, he’d felt envious and bitter. Later, however, it turned into cold, seething hatred.

After letting them finish their tearful monologue, Jiang Nian finally said, reluctantly,

“Where are you? Send me the address.”

“Alright!”

“… ”

Once the call ended, Jiang Nian set down the phone and the mini fan. He crossed his arms over his forehead.

Nervousness, anxiety, fear, and a strange kind of excitement surged through him all at once. His fingers trembled.

Sweat poured down in waves, dripping from his nose and chin onto the floor.

The wild guess that had been circling in his head was now sounding like a likely answer.

How could it be a coincidence that he had that dream? I don’t believe it.

Either Chen Yue had also been reborn and ended up here, or he regained memories of his previous life after being infected by the zombie virus.

This kind of thing wasn’t unfamiliar. After all, he himself had been reborn, so there were bound to be others like him in this world.

Even if there was a trap involved, Chen Shanmin clearly wanted to save his son. He could have made up a ridiculous excuse to fool him, but Jiang Nian was leaning toward it being real.

Still, why didn’t Chen Yue tell Xia Weiwei about his purification ability?

That was a very telling piece of information.

If Xia Weiwei had known that Jiang Nian had a special superpower, she definitely would have used it to morally blackmail him instead of quietly sneaking away from South City Base in the middle of the night.

The real question was why Chen Yue didn’t trust Xia Weiwei anymore.

Jiang Nian knew how much his stepmother’s family worshiped her for marrying Xia Weiwei.

Logically, in a situation like this, Chen Yue would have chosen to offer his girlfriend, who is supported by S Base, as a bargaining chip.

Was this change triggered by some kind of butterfly effect?

Or had something happened in their previous life after Chen Yue transplanted the crystal core and went to S Base?

If Chen Yue had regained his past memories, he would know that everything in this life had played out differently from the last one. Wouldn’t he be suspicious?

“…”

His thoughts were a complete mess. What had seemed like logical deductions began to show inconsistencies the more he analyzed them.

Jiang Nian slapped his forehead in frustration and tried calling Brother Jing and the rest of his team, but no one picked up. All their phones were out of service.

It’s just like in the movies. When the heroes go missing, it’s usually the beginning of a major problem—or their doom.