RIACMET chapter 155

 

“… ”

A bad feeling slowly spread through Jiang Nian’s chest. It seemed like S Base was really planning to “make a big move” this time for the sake of the brain-evolved mutant.

This wasn’t just a petty internal squabble. Not everyone involved could be detained.

In a situation like this, when the powers that be clashed, it all came down to who was more stable. Jiang Nian believed in Brother Jing and the Nancheng Base.

After making a few more calls with no response, Jiang Nian gave up and sent a group message, hoping someone would see it once the signal returned.

Brother Jing was the team captain and had a lot on his plate. If he didn’t notice the phone, surely one of the others would.

However, it wasn’t realistic to expect Brother Jing and the others to drop everything and rush back.

Since being reborn, Jiang Nian had developed a kind of awe and belief in strange coincidences and fate.

Maybe this was karma.

Maybe he was meant to deal with this alone.

Regardless of whether Xia Weiwei was waiting for him there or if it was a trap, he had to go this time.

He had to see for himself what kind of person Chen Yue had become.

If he didn’t go, Chen Yue might go delirious before fully losing his humanity and start spouting wild nonsense. Whether or not outsiders believed it, it could cause major damage.

Besides, he wanted to know what had really happened after his death in his previous life.

Did S Base ever develop a zombie antidote?

When would the apocalypse end?

Did Brother Jing make it out okay last time?

Everything else was bearable, but he couldn’t bear the thought of Brother Jing being destroyed by grief and doing something stupid because of his death in the previous life.

“…”

Based on what I knew from my previous life and what I learned from Li Sheng, six of the ten people Chen Shanmin mentioned had special powers: four teammates, Liang Xiaoyan, Chen Yue, and Chen Lin.

Li Hong had water powers; Li Si had fire powers; Da Jun had physical enhancement powers; and Xiao Liu had spatial sound insulation powers.

Chen Yue had telekinesis, which allowed him to move objects within a certain range.

Chen Lin had a physique as strong as Xia Weiwei’s—like a gorilla’s. The two had gotten along extremely well in their past life. She once used her powers to catch, torture, and mock him as worthless.

At the memory, the urge for revenge surged again, and Jiang Nian made up his mind.

While Chen Yue hadn’t revealed anything yet, and while few people knew, Jiang Nian was going to kill them all.

Chen Yue needed his help. That meant Jiang Nian still held the upper hand.

Even if Chen Shanmin was lying and there were more than ten people there, Jiang Nian didn’t care.

He didn’t believe in lone-hero fantasies. He knew exactly what he was capable of. He wasn’t going to walk into their trap empty-handed.

When it came to revenge, the smartest and safest move was to bring backup.

Brother Jing wasn’t there, but he still had Liao Yu and several others from the Li family, including Zhou Li and Minister Wang. Judging by their current relationship, they’d definitely offer help and weapons.

He had the strength. He just needed to act.

He was confident that he could deal with the family on his own. All he needed was for his teammates to hold back the others.

Xia Weiwei didn’t know that he had a superpower or a ring space. Even if she set a trap, her father would be the one with the real strength.

They were probably just using Chen Yue’s infection as an excuse to play good cop and bad cop and manipulate Chen Shanmin into joining forces.

Having lived through it once before, he was all too familiar with their tricks. Even after all the fighting, Chen Shanmin still thought he could manipulate him with “fatherly affection.”

His biological father had always known what he cared about and what he wanted, and he used that knowledge to control him.

That, in itself, was the cruelest thing.

Ding——

A message notification pulled Jiang Nian out of his thoughts.

Chen Shanmin had sent him an address and said he would ask Da Jun and Xiao Liu to meet him halfway.

He “kindly” reminded Jiang Nian not to bring too many people, lest his superpower secret be exposed.

Jiang Nian confirmed the message and forwarded it to Brother Jing and the others. Then, he opened the map stored in his ring space and started studying the route.

After checking the basics, he took Xiao Qi and left the farm, heading back home.

Unexpectedly, just as he reached the intersection between the central and inner areas, he ran into Liang Xiaoyan.

She was clearly waiting for him.

From a distance, she waved and called out, “Jiang Nian.”

There was none of her usual fake smile, just a serious and honest expression on her baby-faced features.

“What a coincidence.”

Jiang Nian greeted her calmly.

“I was just about to call Xiaohui and ask where you were,” said Liang Xiaoyan. She parked the car, rolled down the window, covered her mouth with her hand, and got straight to the point.

“You’re looking for Jiang Wenwen, right? I know where she is.”

Ignoring his surprise, she pulled out a hand-drawn map on a piece of blank paper. At the same time, she explained,

“I just got this from a woman named Su Jing. She stole it from Xiao Liu. The night before Xiao Liu and Da Jun went on their mission, Jiang Wenwen was sent out of the base by them.”

“…”

Jiang Nian looked at the hand-drawn map, impressed by the decent drawing skills, and thought of Jiang Wenwen. He’d almost forgotten about her.

When Xia Weiwei left Nancheng Base, she took everyone she had trained with her. It was impossible for Jiang Wenwen to have stayed behind. However, judging from Liang Xiaoyan’s tone, it sounded like she had been moved out long before that.

Besides, Su Jing hadn’t been on Xia’s recruitment list. It must’ve been a pure point transaction.

According to the map, Jiang Wenwen was likely being held in the same area as Chen Yue and the others. If not exactly there, then somewhere nearby.

This was valuable information.

“Hop in. We’ll talk in the car.”

Jiang Nian unlocked the door for her. Once she got in, he drove to a public lot in the central district and asked,

“How much does Su Jing know about Jiang Wenwen’s situation?”

“Ahem!”

Liang Xiaoyan cleared her throat and explained, “

“She’s the one who helped Xia Weiwei capture Jiang Wenwen. She received 100,000 points for it. You see, Su Jing and Jiang Wenwen were neighbors. They didn’t get along, but Su Jing used to buy water from Jiang Wenwen.”

After a few interactions, they became more familiar with each other. Then, one day, while Jiang Wenwen was refilling her water bottle, Su Jing sprayed her in the face with a special anesthetic disguised as perfume. Xia Weiwei promised to take Jiang Wenwen away to avoid any retaliation.

“That’s definitely not something you’d expect.”

Jiang Nian nodded.

“Go on.”

A hundred thousand points wasn’t a small amount. With that kind of reward, it made sense that Su Jing could afford high-end perfume, cigarettes, and a nice place to live. Miss Xia was certainly generous—it would be hard to refuse that kind of offer.

Liang Xiaoyan pursed her lips in anger and continued:

“Initially, Xia Weiwei had Su Jing and my former teammates lock Jiang Wenwen in the basement of a private home in the inner district—the place we’re renting now. Later, they moved her, and Sister Hong let me live there.”

Her teammates had manipulated her into extracting information from Li Shuhui, and Xia Weiwei had masterminded it all—treating her like an idiot the whole time!

“…”

Jiang Nian tapped his fingers on the steering wheel.

“Where’s Su Jing now?”

Liang Xiaoyan shrugged.

“At her rental place. Xia Weiwei has already left, and Da Jun and Xiao Liu aren’t coming back. I yelled at her and asked her some questions. I didn’t touch her. She has a lot of boyfriends. I was worried she might send one of them after me for revenge later.”

She said the last part with a touch of sarcasm.

“Oh.”

Jiang Nian nodded. Instead of gossiping, she asked,

“So, why are you telling me all this?”

“… ”