RIACMET chapter 189

 

Madam Cheng was a graceful woman with a tall stature, well-defined face, and sharp, symmetrical features. Despite the gray streaks in her hair, she exuded a cheerful and generous presence—spirited, but never overbearing.

Pastor Cheng had an orderly face and a sturdy build. He was calm and quiet—the type of man who seemed emotionally steady and naturally protective of his children.

Both started out as teachers but later retired due to family reasons to care for their sons.

Cheng Jing and his brother inherited their mother’s fair complexion and their father’s height—a perfect blend of genetics.

Cheng Lei stood nearly as tall as his older brother, but his facial features and overall temperament were vastly different.

While his older brother gave off a cold and distant aura around strangers, Cheng Lei made people feel like he was handsome, pious, and trustworthy.

Though he was the same age as Jiang Nian, he wasn’t overly casual. Whether chatting or joking, he always measured his words and acted with respectful tact.

Neither of the elder Chengs had superpowers. Cheng Lei’s superpower was invisibility—a practical and rather unexpected ability.

“…”

After some light conversation and seeing that Jiang Nian had finally relaxed, Pastor Cheng went into the kitchen and began bringing the prepared dishes to the table.

Cheng Jing and his brother stood to help. Jiang Nian tried to help, but Mrs. Cheng gently stopped him.

“The kitchen’s small. Don’t squeeze in.”

He was so well-mannered. Yet, this was the person Cheng Jing had brought home? His new boss?

“Okay.”

Jiang Nian sat back down, and his thoughts drifted to the awkward events of that morning. His ears started to flush red with embarrassment.

Madam Cheng pretended not to notice his shyness and struck up a light conversation. She asked him a few questions about his store and farm work, clearly trying to distract him.

As the saying goes, if you love someone, you love their dog, too. She had never doubted her son’s judgment or abilities.

She firmly believed that anyone her son had chosen so earnestly and praised so openly before bringing home had to be exceptional.

She already liked Jiang Nian from his polite and gentle demeanor alone. Now, knowing that Cheng Jing had described Jiang Nian as cheerful, unafraid, calm under pressure, thoughtful, loyal, and skilled in combat…

Well, he more than qualified to stand beside her son.

No wonder Cheng Jing said with no small amount of pride that someone completely unexpected was pursuing him—as if he’d just won the lottery.

After getting dumped, he even cried on the phone.

Fortunately, the couple reunited. The earlier misunderstandings and hardships had been resolved, and things were finally moving in a better direction.

When the food was brought to the table, the family sat down together.

Jiang Nian found himself seated between Cheng Jing and Madam Cheng. Both mother and son kept filling his bowl with food.

Every dish was something he loved, clearly chosen based on what Brother Jing had told them. A warmth he hadn’t felt since his mother’s death quietly filled his heart.

He had a family again.

From the beginning, the Chengs knew that Jiang Nian lived with his mother and came from a single-parent household. After learning of her passing, they never asked about it again.

They acted as if they knew nothing about his stepmother’s family.

That alone put Jiang Nian at ease. Brother Jing had truly taken care of everything.

They ate, chatted, and laughed together.

Reunions like this were rare and precious, especially with the distant wail of sirens from the edges of the base growing louder as night fell.

“…”

It was very late by the time the two returned from Cheng Jing’s parents’ home. After washing up, they lay in bed discussing plans for their future life together. Soon, Jiang Nian fell fast asleep in his lover’s arms.

His breathing was steady and calm. Cheng Jing sighed in quiet relief, pulled out the recorder containing Chen Yue’s account of the past, and frowned slightly as he studied it under the soft glow of the night lamp.

Recently, more and more people had claimed to have had dreams foretelling disasters before and after the apocalypse.

Some had even called the police because their dreams felt too real, only to be arrested for spreading panic about the end of the world.

Were there others like Chen Yue and Jiang Nian among them, who weren’t just dreaming but had actually been reborn or recovered their past-life memories?

After staring at the recorder for a long while, deep in thought, Cheng Jing finally put it away. He turned onto his side, wrapped his arms around the person beside him, and closed his eyes.

…

The next morning, Cheng Jing and Jiang Nian visited Minister Wang’s office. They submitted the stamp for Jiang Nian’s application to formally join the team.

Then, they gave a brief report about what they’d done outside the base.

Finally, Cheng Jing suggested they check in with Tang Ji and investigate Xiaoya’s condition.

Minister Wang didn’t question their decision much. Since Jiang Nian would benefit from officially joining the team, the minister simply asked a few routine questions before calling Chu Yi over.

While they waited, Minister Wang pulled out Jiang Nian’s blood test report.

“Jiang Nian, thank you for your cooperation. Your blood test results are in. A professor who specializes in brain evolution and superpowers personally evaluated them.”

In this field, a professor’s evaluation was practically the gold standard of authority.

“You’re too kind, Minister.”

Jiang Nian took the report, feeling nervous and excited. The results confirmed a suspicion he’d held about his body for a long time.

The report showed no trace of zombie virus antibodies or purified materials in his blood. His strength relied entirely on his own superpowers.

The cause remained unknown, but one thing was crystal clear:

Cutting him open or drawing his blood to produce a detox serum would be useless.

In his previous life, S Base must have discovered this, which is why they only removed his crystal core and left the rest behind.

Upon hearing this, not only did Jiang Nian and Cheng Jing let out a breath of relief, but Minister Wang did too. Had Jiang Nian’s blood really been usable as a cure, someone would have inevitably suggested sacrificing him.

Now, however, those who knew about it would treat this information like treasure. Even if scientists confirmed that crystal cores could be transplanted with a high success rate, no one could force Jiang Nian to comply without his consent.

“…”

Cheng Jing clenched his jaw, rereading the report, his eyes beginning to sting.

They could tell all this just from a vial of blood. But in his previous life, Jiang Nian had been tormented endlessly.

Seeing what he was thinking, Jiang Nian worried that Minister Wang might pick up on something and quickly reached over and took the report. He smiled casually and said,

“That’s great news! At least now I don’t have to worry about being sacrificed to save humanity.”

Minister Wang chuckled.

“You rascal…”

Cheng Jing exhaled and calmed down. The past was over. After a moment, he added deliberately:

“No need to worry. If anyone dares to spout nonsense about this in the future, I’ll turn them to dust.”

Minister Wang: “…”

Were these two kids showing off in front of him?

Not long after, Chu Yi arrived. After hearing the details, the three of them left the leader’s office together.

…

Laboratory Building No. 3 had electrified outer walls and was guarded daily by Cheng Lei and his team, along with the South City Base’s internal legion.

There was only one entrance to the entire building. The building had one underground level and three floors above ground, for a total of four levels.

The first floor contained general offices unrelated to experiments, including a visitor reception area and waiting rooms for authorized personnel. The second floor contained laboratories and observation rooms.

The third floor contained dormitory space for the research staff, which was set up at the professors’ request to improve efficiency.

The basement was reserved for storing dangerous or special test subjects.

Each floor had been specially renovated and isolated with its own access controls. The equipment and facilities were the best that the base could provide at the time.

Chu Yi first brought the visitors to the registration area on the ground floor before escorting them up to the second floor.

Unlike the electrified outer walls, Laboratory Building No. 3’s interior had a cold, hard metallic finish. The building had a 24-hour power supply, and researchers and security personnel worked in rotating shifts, day and night.

Everyone moved quickly, speaking in brisk, clipped tones.

Jiang Nian felt a bit out of place, but he endured it.

He wasn’t sure if revenge helped everyone heal from psychological trauma, but it worked wonders for him.