RIACMET chapter 180

 

After looking at everyone for a long moment, Chu Yi suddenly laughed.

“This won’t be reported, and no one else will know. Not even a trace will show up in official files. The minister has already classified Jiang Nian as a protected individual. His personal information is locked down. Whatever others can find out is all fabricated.”

“… ”

The others exchanged looks. All at once, their expressions relaxed. Clearly, they all thought the same thing: Chu Yi was a good guy.

After pausing a bit, Chu Yi added, as if to reassure them,

“Other than you guys and a handful of core leaders, no one else knows that the core function of his purification ability is to eliminate the zombie virus. We didn’t even know that before, and it won’t be made public unless the time is right. Given how things are right now, Jiang Nian has been classified as a special secret.”

Liao Yu was confused.

“What does that mean?”

‘Special secret’ wasn’t just some random term—it was a highly classified designation.

Chu Yi spread his hands.

“Based on what we know so far, he’s the only one with this kind of purifying ability.”

Ever since they got in contact with Jiang Nian, the higher-ups had been secretly investigating whether anyone else in the country had similar powers.

So far, they had only found two people with purification abilities, including Jiang Nian.

This matched the rule that the rarer the ability, the less likely it was to appear again.

Unlike Jiang Nian, however, the other person with public records of purification power died soon after awakening, before forming a crystal core.

They never had a chance to be studied properly.

Additionally, early-stage purification powers have limited coverage and don’t seem useful. Unless under special circumstances, no one would bother testing them on zombies. Even if they did, the effect was so weak that it was often dismissed.

That’s why the only conclusion the deceased purification expert could draw was something generic and misleading. “It can weaken mental control, but otherwise, it’s not very useful.”

Fortunately, Jiang Nian’s abilities matured, giving Chu Yi the chance to witness the birth of a living “savior” firsthand.

“My godfather is amazing!” Liao Yu said proudly, puffing out his chest. He was proud of himself for holding onto Jiang Nian’s thigh this whole time.

“It’s powerful, but also dangerous,” said Uncle Li, sounding both relieved and worried.

Chu Yi stayed neutral.

“Yeah, rare powers are always sought after. But Jiang Nian has always been low-key. As long as no new purification users appear, and he doesn’t go too far, we’ll keep him hidden with our cover setup.”

“…”

Li Liang had been silent for a while but finally spoke.

“To be honest, I think the officials are the most dangerous right now.”

“…”

Chu Yi scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

“It’s not realistic to rely on one person to save all of humanity. Purification abilities only give us hope of defeating the virus, not reason enough to sacrifice Jiang Nian. Besides, zombies aren’t the only threat out there.”

After providing many explanations and reassurances, Chu Yi finally managed to calm everyone down.

Liao Yu grinned.

“We don’t often hear about high-level stuff like that. You really scared us with all that talk just now.”

Then, he quickly changed the subject and complimented Chu Yi:

“That’s why you’re the leader! You see the big picture. That’s what I love about the military!”

The others nodded, and just like that, the mood lightened again.

Chu Yi shot them a mock glare.

“Just now, you nearly injured one of our own. We’ve been through thick and thin together, you know? That hurts, man.”

Li Shuhui quickly apologized.

“I’m sorry, Brother Chu. That was rude of me.”

Li Liang bowed sincerely.

“We were being shallow. You’re generous, Brother Chu.”

Uncle Li smiled at their apologies.

Chu Yi glanced at Jiang Nian and said,

“I heard he has a lot of good food stocked up. Can I come over sometime when you all hang out?”

He reached for a nearby pole and leaned against it casually. As a walking arsenal, his daily life at the base was boring beyond belief. If not for Jiang Nian, he wouldn’t have had a chance to leave the base this time.

“Hahahaha…”

“…”

A few of them couldn’t help but laugh. So that’s what he was aiming for. It turns out that Brother Chu was just like them, hoping to live off Brother Nian.

Li Shuhui giggled.

“Brother Jiang Nian’s a softie. If you treat him well, he’ll return it tenfold. Don’t worry. If something good happens in the future, he’ll invite you, even if we don’t remind him.”

Chu Yi nodded.

“All right, but if he forgets, remind him for me.”

If he got close to Jiang Nian and the others, maybe he’d be allowed to leave the base more often. With his ability to purify the zombie virus, Jiang Nian was practically a national treasure. Minister Wang would definitely approve of assigning someone to guard him closely.

“…”

Jiang Nian’s power had finally stopped flowing out. It wasn’t being withdrawn yet, but it had stabilized. Everyone let out a sigh of relief. Since the leaking had stopped, they no longer had to worry about further drainage.

Ding——

‘It’s six a.m.’

Uncle Li’s familiar voice echoed from the radio. The sun had already risen while they were still in the basement.

Just as Chu Yi was about to head upstairs to check the area, the sound of aircraft engines reached their ears.

A few seconds later, a report came over the intercom:

“Boss, there’s an aircraft approaching from South City Base.”

Chu Yi asked:

“How many?”

“… ”

The person on the other end paused, then replied.

“Just one. It’s Cheng Jing’s team. They came down looking for you.”

“Got it.”

Chu Yi smiled as he turned back to the group. From the sound of his voice alone, it was clear how anxious Cheng Jing had been.

Soon, hurried footsteps echoed down the stairs.

Everyone went up to greet them. After exchanging brief hellos, they explained everything that had happened to Cheng Jing and his team.

The teammates all felt relieved after seeing that Jiang Nian was still breathing peacefully.

Before leaving, Liao Yu walked up to Cheng Jing, who had been silently watching over Jiang Nian, barely concealing his emotions.

“Brother Cheng, I’m counting on you to take care of my godfather.”

It was such a blessing that Cheng Jing had made it back just in time. Even though Jiang Nian was safe now, everyone had been extremely worried.

Cheng Jing understood how stressed they had been. He patted Liao Yu on the shoulder and teased him.

“What are you saying? Of course I can take care of my own husband.”

Cue the dog food.

Liao Yu quietly retreated to Zhao Lei’s side, and they left hand-in-hand.

Cheng Jing walked over to the bed, sat down, pulled off his gloves, took a deep breath, and gently stroked Jiang Nian’s face. Then, he leaned in and softly bit down on Jiang Nian’s lips.

“You little bastard.”

He knew exactly how Jiang Nian handled things. This man never acted recklessly. He was careful and calm, never taking unnecessary risks.

But that didn’t stop Cheng Jing’s heart from pounding like crazy.

Especially when they saw the massive superpower field in the sky, he feared the worst.

Thankfully, no one had been caught in it. The guards reported that the nearby zombies had let out a few screeches, and then went completely silent.

Breakthroughs were a good thing, but this kind of breakthrough was terrifying!

He couldn’t afford to stay away from this man for too long. Look away for even a moment, and the whole world seemed to explode.