RIACMET chapter 169

 

“Brother Nian.”

Li Liang stepped forward, briefly reported what had just happened, and asked,

“How’s Tang Ji?”

Although his earlier crying was gut-wrenching, they knew that Brother Nian was saving someone.

Jiang Nian let out a soft sigh.

“He’s still conscious for now. We’ll see what happens next.”

He had done everything he could, but this was his limit. He couldn’t push through it—not yet. Even though his power was close to a breakthrough, it was still just out of reach.

This final mutation of his power’s attribute symbolized the upper tier of superpowers, so breaking through wouldn’t be easy. Still, Jiang Nian wasn’t as anxious as before.

Currently, superpowers were divided into three levels:

The beginner level: before condensing a crystal core.
The intermediate level is after forming the core but before the final attribute mutation. And the advanced level—after the final attribute mutation.

The difference between those at the same level depended on their attribute type, control over their power, and physical condition.

Rare attributes, unique talents, and exceptional physique, among other things. You could look to Brother Jing and Chu Yi for reference.

Liao Yu came over and confessed to hitting Chen Xiuling.

“I just figured they’re one big family. They should suffer together so they’ll stop whining.”

Li Liang chimed in:

“Brother Yu was super restrained! He didn’t even poke her in the head!”

“Well done.”

Jiang Nian clapped Liao Yu on the shoulder.

Whatever else was going on, it was rare to find teammates who were on the same page. Jiang Nian had been worried that someone might try to convince him to forgive his so-called “father.”

Then, his gaze turned toward the doctor and assistant crouched beside Chen Shanmin’s family.

They were responsible for the hell he’d gone through in his past life.

Every wound, every injection, every dose of medicine… Just thinking about it still hurt.

Who would have thought that an apparently upstanding doctor could be so cold-blooded and depraved?

Jiang Nian took a step forward and walked toward them.

Dr. Wei, who had been observing him, stood up and said,

“We’re just medical staff sent by Base S, and this has nothing to do with your personal grudges. Please let us go.”

Dr. Wei hadn’t directly harmed Jiang Nian and had only been a passive participant. As a doctor from Base S, as long as he remained professional, Jiang Nian wouldn’t dare harm him.

“…”

Chen Shanmin’s expression changed. He clearly hadn’t expected the doctor to wash his hands of the matter so easily. Once Xia Weiwei left, it had been obvious that Dr. Wei was calling the shots.

Just as he was debating whether to expose the truth, he heard Jiang Nian ask back coldly,

“Would a regular medical staffer inject the zombie virus into a normal human? How many doctors like you are in Base S?”

Dr. Wei responded calmly.

“You believe that nonsense about someone being infected with the zombie virus?”

“You sure know how to silence a victim with arguments like that.”

Jiang Nian couldn’t be bothered to argue. Besides, the Chen family had already confessed everything earlier when dealing with Tang Ji. Instead, he drew his gun and aimed it at the doctor’s forehead.

“Of course I don’t believe it. Why don’t you go explain it to him yourself?”

“Don’t be reckless. We’re here on behalf of the Base S authorities…”

Dr. Wei tried to stay calm, but he couldn’t hide the sweat that was starting to bead on his forehead.

His assistant, pale as a ghost, nodded desperately.

“Yes, we’re officially assigned medical personnel from Base S.”

Jiang Nian sneered. The corners of his mouth lifted slightly, but his eyes were cold as ice.

“So you’re officially representing Base S to conduct human experiments on ordinary people?”

Since its creation, Base S had always carried the aura of a “domineering overlord.”

It was the biggest base with the most resources. In Taipei, it was backed by forces from all sides. Even government officials supported them silently.

Being part of Base S gave people a sense of superiority. Simply saying they were from there earned them respect.

Unfortunately for them, Jiang Nian didn’t care.

He wasn’t going to become a “boss” at Base S.

Sure enough, the moment those words left his mouth, Dr. Wei and his assistant froze. Cold sweat dripped down their faces. With so many people watching, they couldn’t admit the truth, even if it was true.

Suddenly, Chen Shanmin had a flash of insight.

When Tang Ji attacked Chen Yue and got caught, they wanted to kill him. However, it was Dr. Wei who lost his temper and said they should let Tang Ji have a taste of his own medicine. Xia Weiwei had agreed, too. At the time, their anger made it seem justified.

Now that this whole mess has exploded, however, those actions make people wonder.

Xiao Yue had been right all along.

“You can’t represent Base S officials, can you? So it’s your personal grudge. Personal grudges should be handled personally.”

With that, he signaled to Liao Yu and Li Liang. The two of them grabbed the doctor and the assistant, who couldn’t come up with any excuse, and dragged them into the room where Tang Ji was.

Jiang Nian helped Tang Ji. Now, Tang Ji would help Jiang Nian get revenge on the doctor.

The heavy iron door slammed a few times before locking from the inside. A few sharp, short screams rang out, and then nothing.

The lights inside came back on. The doctor and his assistant were lying on the ground, drugged but still barely conscious.

Tang Ji took off his night-vision goggles and tossed away the tranquilizer gun. Covered in blood, but with a faint return of color to his skin, he looked at the two men. Then, he grabbed a syringe, drew blood from the floor, and walked toward them.

“Doctor, what do you think? Which injection site spreads the virus faster: an artery or the heart? The heart? The brain? Or how about all of them?”

His smile and tone were chilling, like a demon crawling straight out of hell to claim their lives.

“… ”

Outside the door, Jiang Nian glanced at Chen Shanmin and the others, who were pale-faced. Then, he took the special collar that Chu Yi had left behind from Uncle Li and walked toward the room where Chen Yue was held.

The three members of the Chen family tried to get up and follow, but Li Shuhui stepped in to stop them.

“Jiang Nian!”

Chen Shanmin called out to stop him. Jiang Nian paused at the doorway and turned back.

“Don’t worry. This won’t get in the way of your big, happy family reunion.”

With that, he pushed the door open and closed it behind him.

Chen Yue had been shot, and the signs of his transformation were worse than Tang Ji’s. His eye sockets were sunken, and his face was ghostly pale. The whites of his eyes were overtaking them, and his pupils were blood red. His throat kept making quick, involuntary rasping noises.

The gunshot wound near his right shoulder had torn his upper body open. He used to use a cryostat, but he no longer needed it.

The wound was festering and oozing thick, brownish pus and blood. The virus had spread, bulging his veins like black spider webs under his skin.

It was disgusting and terrifying.

This room had the same layout as Tang Ji’s, just slightly bigger. Instead of surgical tools, the table was covered with medicine, syringes, disinfectants, and bandages.

Unlike Tang Ji, Chen Yue wasn’t strapped to the bed. His limbs were bound with long iron chains, which gave him enough room to move around on the bed and within a meter of it.

He had just taken some medicine and was now sitting on the bed with a vacant expression, facing the door. When he saw the man walk in looking fresh and unharmed, his anger spiked. He coughed and said,

“You’re here…brother.”

“I’m not your brother. I’m my mom’s only son.”

Jiang Nian replied coldly, tossing the special collar in front of him.

“Put that on. Then we’ll talk.”

Although Chen Yue didn’t dare use his powers recklessly, Jiang Nian didn’t want to take any chances.