RIACMET chapter 170

 

“…”

Chen Yue didn’t want to wear it because he couldn’t take it off by himself once it was on.

However, after hearing his mother scream, he realized that he was no longer in control. Jiang Nian’s attitude prevented him from saying no.

With stiff hands, he struggled to grab the collar and slowly put it on while random thoughts drifted through his mind.

Ever since his memories of his past life awakened, he knew this life would take a different path. He had mentally prepared himself for the changes, but facing Jiang Nian, who was so different from the person in his memories, was still hard to accept.

It was all because of his father. Because of 20,000 yuan, he cut ties with the other side. This small issue caused a butterfly effect, resulting in the deep hatred Jiang Nian held by the end.

Jiang Nian must have gone through a rough life. Otherwise, why would he come back looking for his ex?

You have to understand that in his previous life, Cheng Jing was only found after Jiang Nian died.

But his father had the same attitude back then, too. Why, then, could Jiang Nian not accept any pushback or arguments in this life?

Was it because he was destined to awaken his past memories, causing the world to change?

“…”

Jiang Nian didn’t care if he was unwilling, hesitant, or had other plans. He pulled out a chair, sat down across from Cheng Jing, and looked at his rotting body coldly. Then, he asked:

“Do you want to eat people now?”

By this point, the craving for flesh and blood should have kicked in.

“…”

Chen Yue swallowed hard and shook his head.

“I don’t want to.”

The wounds and virus had stretched his nerves thin, making his voice low and weak. After putting on the collar, he winced and said,

“Big Brother…”

Jiang Nian raised a hand to cut him off.

“Forget it. We’re already in this mess—no need to act all sentimental.”

Throughout their two lifetimes, Chen Yue and Chen Lin had only called him “brother” a few times. Usually, they just called him by his name.

Honestly, it was disgusting. It made him want to blow his own head off.

“…”

Chen Yue gritted his teeth and changed the subject.

“Jiang Nian, are my parents and Linlin okay?”

Jiang Nian leaned back in his chair and crossed his legs.

“Whether they’re okay or not is up to you.”

“…”

Chen Yue thought Jiang Nian was threatening him, so he held back his dissatisfaction and forced himself to sound sincere.

“Everything I said is true. Whether you believe me or not is your choice.”

“You can give your opinion. I’ll make my own judgment.”

Jiang Nian made it clear that he wasn’t convinced. He didn’t believe this bastard had the guts to tell the truth.

Chen Yue looked at his infected arm and said,

“You healed Tang Ji, not tortured him.”

He said this with certainty. Jiang Nian raised an eyebrow.

“You could hear that?”

As expected, he had let Tang Ji scream on purpose.

Chen Yue pressed his cracked lips together.

“Because you treated me the same way in my previous life.”

After saying that, he stared straight at Jiang Nian.

He thought Jiang Nian would either be shocked by such a ridiculous claim or laugh at him for spouting nonsense.

But Jiang Nian didn’t do either. Instead, he calmly asked,

“Is it like those novels and movies? Were you reborn? Or did you have a dream that awakened your past memories?”

Whether it was reincarnation or awakened memories didn’t matter now. It was just a “good thing” that gave him the chance to die with a clear head.

“…”

Chen Yue was stunned—and a little curious. He didn’t know why, but that kind of serious “wild guess” made him feel really uncomfortable. Normal people shouldn’t react like that.

Jiang Nian spoke bluntly, already sounding impatient.

“What’s there to be shocked about? There are only a few possible explanations. At this point, it’s pointless to hide things or waste time.”

So, guess—what else could it be?

“Alright.”

Chen Yue couldn’t read anything unusual on his face, so he nodded and said,

“After I got infected, the doctor gave me medication to slow the spread of the virus. When I was drowsy, some strange memories suddenly appeared in my mind. I guess you could call it a revelation.”

Jiang Nian nodded. “Go on.”

Chen Yue continued,

“I’m sure it wasn’t a dream or a hallucination because everything before the apocalypse was exactly as I remembered it. Only the apocalypse itself played out a bit differently. You were with us in my past life but not in this one.”

“In the past, our family went through the apocalypse together. Then, I followed Xia Weiwei to Base Z, but unfortunately, I got scratched by a zombie on the way and got infected. You used your superpower to save me, and then we moved to Base S…”

Chen Yue spoke, thinking as he went, not exactly making things up, just “adjusting” the story to work in his favor.

He rewrote the cold, cruel exploitation into a touching tale of a family who loved each other and stood united through thick and thin.

“…”

Hearing it, Jiang Nian almost gagged, but he forced himself to ignore the discomfort and asked the one question he most wanted to know the answer to:

“In the end, did I cure you?”

Chen Yue answered without hesitation:

“Yes, because your ability mutated into a final attribute once it passed the 500-meter mark. It can eradicate the zombie virus completely. How far can your ability reach now?”

Based on his past life and Tang Ji’s reaction, Chen Yue was sure that Jiang Nian’s ability hadn’t broken the 500-meter threshold yet.

Jiang Nian didn’t answer that. Instead, he asked:

“Does that mean it can completely eliminate the zombie virus and return someone to normal?”

Chen Yue nodded. “Yes.”

Then, he changed the subject.

“But after we arrived at Base S, we were betrayed. In order to turn Xia Weiwei into a dual-attribute mutant, Professor Xia transplanted your crystal core into her.”

“A purification-type crystal core has strong compatibility and wouldn’t cause repulsion between two cores. That’s how Xia Weiwei became the only artificial dual-attribute mutant at Base S; other combinations without a purification core failed.”

As he spoke, Chen Yue did his best to stay calm so that Jiang Nian wouldn’t notice anything strange.

It’s true that Xia Weiwei eventually received a purification core, but it wasn’t taken from Jiang Nian.

It was taken from him.

Back in the underground lab at Base Z, Jiang Nian’s crystal core had already been transplanted into him.

Of course, that couldn’t be revealed.

“…”

Jiang Nian could tell which parts of the story were true and which were fake, but he let it slide for now. He lowered his gaze to hide his emotions. So that’s how it was. What a joke.

After a moment of silence, he asked again.

“What happened next?”

“Then you died, and our whole family was imprisoned and used for crystal core experiments. They tested all kinds of superpower cores on us until Cheng Jing took revenge for you.”

Chen Yue gritted his teeth as he said this, then started coughing in anger.

This was another key question. Jiang Nian looked at him.

“I wasn’t with Brother Jing in my past life. How did he avenge me?”

“…”

Chen Yue took a deep breath and answered.

“You didn’t go back with Cheng Jing in that life. He found you after things went bad. Cheng Jing reclaimed your core and blew himself up in the laboratory at Base S, nearly destroying the entire base. We died, too. That’s where my memories end.”

It was true that Cheng Jing self-destructed—but Chen Yue didn’t know the full details. In reality, they weren’t even at Base S at the time. Cheng Jing locked them in an underground chamber in Qingyun City, where zombies devoured them until they passed out.

They only learned what had happened from the zombie king who had helped Cheng Jing. Afterward, he tore them apart and tossed them into the horde. They self-destructed under the pressure of the Southern Base troops.

Obviously, none of that could be said. All Chen Yue wanted now was to survive and avoid the tragedy of his past life.