RIACMET chapter 168

 

“It hurts!”

Tang Ji’s expression twisted from endurance to agony. His body quickly heated up, and he eventually started twitching uncontrollably and screaming:

“Ah——!”

“Jiang Nian, it hurts so bad!”

“Hang in there.”

Jiang Nian didn’t stop, his eyes fixed on the changes in Tang Ji’s arm and body.

Drawing from his experience treating Chen Yue in his past life and his control over his superpower, Jiang Nian tried to compress the purifying energy as much as possible to achieve a stronger effect.

Feeling pain was normal. Back then, whenever he treated Chen Yue, that bastard would howl like he was dying.

“Damn it! I’m gonna die!”

“Why didn’t you gag me?!”

Jiang Nian refused.

“No, you’ll feel better if you scream.”

That was the intended effect.

Tang Ji jolted.

“Why does it feel like you’re kind of twisted?”

Jiang Nian shrugged.

“People are born twisted.”

“…”

The purifying energy continued to dig deeper into his body to fight the zombie virus. Tang Ji felt like he was being roasted alive. Endless waves of pain hit his nerves.

Because of the virus, his blood vessels had turned stiff and black. They bulged and tangled beneath his skin, looking even more terrifying than a zombie.

However, as the virus was repeatedly cleansed by the purifying energy, his bulging veins gradually returned to normal, and the blood leaking from his wounds changed from black to dark red. Still, the pain didn’t ease.

“Just a bit longer! The first purification is always hell.”

Jiang Nian looked at the man, whose eyes were glassy from the pain. His hand trembled on the man’s shoulder.

It would be easier if he passed out, but the intense purifying energy kept him conscious, like an insect pinned down.

“Ugh… Hngh!”

Tang Ji let out a low groan. Jiang Nian knew this was a good sign—his numb body, which had already started to die, was regaining the pain that only the living could feel.

His screams echoed through the underground chamber for over twenty minutes before finally stopping. Everyone who heard them broke out in a cold sweat.

Jiang Nian still hadn’t emerged when the door next to it opened. Two men in white coats stepped out, raising their hands.

“Don’t shoot! We won’t resist. We’re just the medical staff hired to work here.”

The slightly chubby, middle-aged man was Xia Weiwei’s personal doctor. His surname was Wei.

The younger man with a mushroom cut and glasses was his assistant, Tan. He held a medical kit in both hands. They were just regular people.

When they heard strange sounds coming from the basement and couldn’t get a signal, they knew something was wrong.

The two men appeared calm and slowly closed the door behind them, only to see a small signal jammer installed on the doorframe.

“Doctor Wei…”

Chen Shanmin called out. The doctor and his assistant paused, then walked over at Liao Yu’s signal.

As Liao Yu approached and saw the state of the Chen family, he couldn’t help but ask,

“How did you end up like this? Where are Dajun and Xiaoliu? Have you contacted Miss Xia?”

“Dajun and Xiaoliu were captured. Miss Xia will be here soon…”

Chen Shanmin shook his head and quietly explained the current situation.

“…”

After listening, Dr. Wei didn’t say much. He had his assistant open the medical kit to treat their wounds.

Unexpectedly, Liao Yu and Li Liang stepped forward the next moment and confiscated the kit after checking it thoroughly.

“What are you doing?!”

Chen Shanmin glared at them angrily.

“Jiang Nian said to let the doctor treat us!”

Li Liang sneered.

“We’re calling the shots now. Besides, Brother Nian only said the doctor was in the basement. He never told us to patch you up.”

“You’re really shameless!”

Chen Shanmin fumed.

“Heh!”

Liao Yu set the medical kit down and turned toward Chen Shanmin.

“Shameless?” We didn’t bring our son here just to kill him. If it weren’t for Brother Nian, I would’ve turned you to mush by now. And now you have the nerve to complain? Do you really think I have a gentle temperament?”

“You…”

Chen Shanmin fell silent, unable to respond.

Chen Xiuling beside him exploded.

“We didn’t want to kill him! But he shot his own father!”

“If you hadn’t reminded me, I would’ve forgotten. You were going to kidnap him and kill us to control Brother Cheng and the others!”

Liao Yu lost it. Facing someone who had tried to murder him and his teammates, he didn’t see the need to be polite.

His rage surged. In the next instant, an ice spike pierced Chen Xiuling’s palm. At the same time, sharp ice shards exploded around her, wounding the doctor, his assistant, and everyone else nearby.

The usually laid-back young master now wore open hostility on his face.

“Why are you posturing in front of me? Your family planned to kill Jiang Nian, and now he’s not allowed to fight back? Who are you trying to guilt-trip? Next time, I won’t just stab your palm with ice.”

Brother Cheng had specifically warned them that even if the “godfather” showed mercy and let the Chen family off the hook, they would find ways to play dirty.

There were secrets about the “godfather,” but everyone kept quiet. Instead of questioning everything, they chose to trust their eldest brother.

“…”

Warm blood splattered on the doctor and his assistant, leaving them so terrified that they couldn’t move, ignoring the pain from their injuries.

Angry and panicked, Chen Shanmin hugged the screaming Chen Xiuling, trying to stop her from making things worse. Arguing now would only make them suffer more.

Chen Lin was so scared that his whole body shook. She bit her lip hard and didn’t dare speak. Her face was as pale as a sheet. She couldn’t fathom how something they’d planned so carefully had ended up like this.

They hadn’t even really hurt Jiang Nian, so why was he being so cruel? Was he still upset because his father asked him to return the 20,000 yuan?

Could they still go to Base S?

Would Sister Weiwei come save them?

“…”

Only after Liao Yu left and the ice flowers melted into puddles did everyone finally breathe a sigh of relief.

“The situation isn’t looking good. Stop talking.”

The doctor warned them as he tore off a piece of his white coat to wrap Chen Xiuling’s palm.

After a while, Chen Shanmin asked in a low voice,

“Doctor, how’s Xiaoyue?”

Dr. Wei frowned, shook his head, and sighed.

“His resistance to the drugs is increasing. We need to get him back to Base S to use specialized medicine. Otherwise, it’s going to be difficult.”

Then, he looked toward the door where Tang Ji was standing and asked,

“What’s going on with Jiang Nian? Does he have a grudge against Tang Ji, too?”

They’d been tricked, but neither the Chen family nor Xia Weiwei knew the guy was a pervert.

Judging from the screams earlier, Tang Ji suffered more than they did.

“I’m not sure either. We haven’t seen him since the apocalypse began. He’s changed a lot. Something’s off about him…”

Chen Shanmin replied with his head down, hiding his guilt.

The doctor Chen Yue trusted didn’t know anything, so Chen Shanmin couldn’t tell him about his suspicions regarding Jiang Nian’s transformation.

He had originally been worried that Jiang Nian would use his superpower to save Tang Ji, but hearing those screams put him at ease. He didn’t know why, but he didn’t care.

All that mattered now was whether Chen Yue could use the information he got from his special dream to convince Jiang Nian.

If not, then they were doomed.

Dr. Wei thought for a moment and asked suspiciously,

“Did you tell him something you weren’t supposed to?”

Something just felt off to him.

Chen Shanmin shook his head.

“No, I did exactly what you and Weiwei told me to do. I used our family ties to lure him into the protected zone in the basement. I didn’t touch anything else. But who would’ve thought he’d bring an entire army on standby?”

“The reason Jiang Nian got mad is that I didn’t tell him to change the location. Then, he discovered the secret behind the protected zone, and now we’re here.”

After saying that, he let out a deep sigh. Under normal circumstances, the plan would have gone off without a hitch, but Jiang Nian wasn’t normal.

“… Fine.”

The doctor could only respond helplessly.

“Let’s just stall for time and wait for Miss Xia to arrive…”

If he had known this would happen, he wouldn’t have come. First, he needed to find a way out of this mess!

Bang—

The sound of the inner door lock clicked from behind Tang Ji’s room.

Then, Jiang Nian opened the door and stepped out. Under the light, he looked fine aside from being a little pale and sweaty. His body was clean.

Liao Yu and the others all breathed a sigh of relief.

A stench of blood and rot drifted out from the half-open door. Jiang Nian reached out and fumbled along the wall beside the door to turn off the lights.

Those outside only caught a glimpse of blood on the ground and of Tang Ji lying motionless on the iron bed.