RIACMET chapter 227

 

Due to the “emergency rescue” efforts during the hottest time of year, Jiang Nian’s daily schedule became unpredictable.

Sometimes, after helping infected rescue team members cleanse themselves, Jiang Nian and his team would go see Gao Xuyang. This often meant spending almost the entire day at Laboratory Building No. 3.

Helping Gao Xuyang purify himself started with just a few minutes, then ten minutes, and eventually stretched past that…

As Mr. Gao’s endurance improved, the effects of the purification became stronger.
His speech became quicker, his movements more fluid, and his thoughts increasingly sharp—almost like a normal person’s.

By the end of the month, Gao Xuyang could leave Laboratory Building No. 3 and return to the central area dorms with Yang Kai.

After a period of observation, and with assurances from Yang Kai, Cheng Jing, and the others that Gao Xuyang wouldn’t act on his own, Minister Wang and the senior officials at the base decided that he no longer needed to wear a special collar.

At the same time, they asked him to occasionally accompany the patrol teams outside the base and use his zombie king abilities to sense any unusual zombie activity nearby. This was far simpler and more efficient than standard scouting missions carried out by manpower alone.

Zombies communicate through unique brainwave signals, and the range of this communication depends on how evolved they are.

Gao Xuyang used this method to spread his malicious intent, so essentially no zombie dared to easily approach the Southern City Base. Even zombie kings at the same level as him would hesitate.

Then, September 1 arrived, marking exactly one year since the start of the apocalypse. The temperature soared past 70 degrees, entering the peak of the extreme heat period, which would last more than half a month.

Bases across the country announced the suspension of all outdoor operations, including rescue missions.

Even those in slightly poorer health tried to avoid going out during the day.

Cheng Jing employed soft and hard tactics to force Jiang Nian to stay in the dorms and avoid the high temperatures. Cheng Jing took over all of Jiang Nian’s duties himself.

The rest of the team adjusted accordingly and supported each other.

Everyone else was doing the same—until Gao Xuyang offered to take over Yang Kai’s duties.

“The weather’s too hot. You just stay home. I’ll handle your work.”

At the dining table, Yang Kai ate food he had brought back from the cafeteria while Gao Xuyang nibbled on a cleaned crystal core. His tone was flat and emotionless.

Jiang Nian had put him through several rounds of “Extreme Challenge” purification, and with the energy he had absorbed from the crystal cores, as well as his ongoing evolution, his limbs had become even more flexible than before.

Anyone unaware of his backstory would simply assume he was a slow-moving person, not a zombie.

“Teacher Gao, you just need to patrol outside the base with us from time to time. You don’t need to do my job. Brother Cheng and I still have a lot to handle within the legion,” Yang Kai replied with a smile. It was good enough that this guy could move freely with them.

“…”

Gao Xuyang was silent for a moment, then nodded and said,

“Then I’ll follow you… to work.”

More exposure to the outside world would benefit him, and he wasn’t afraid of the extreme climate.

Yang Kai tried to persuade Gao Xuyang to eat more crystal cores and rest at home, but he refused. With no other choice, Yang Kai agreed.

Now, Yang Kai had an “assistant” following him around like a ghost.

Some people were curious and tried to dig up gossip, but with Gao Xuyang fully geared up and as cold as ice, no one dared to get close. All they could do was listen to Yang Kai.

To satisfy everyone’s curiosity, he eventually took off his helmet during a team meeting. He talked to the others and explained his relationship with Yang Kai.

When he activated his superpowers, everyone could see his elegant and handsome appearance.

Regarding the title “Teacher Gao,” Yang Kai openly admitted that they used to have a genuine “teacher-student” relationship.

Hearing this, Gao Xuyang’s memories became clearer than ever:

Behind the school library shelves, in the staff dormitories, in the office after school, and in the club bar where they used to fool around.

They hugged and kissed. Yang Kai told him he could do whatever he wanted. The marriage certificate might have been fake, but their roles as lovers and partners were real.

As team leader, Cheng Jing was extremely jealous of this. Even after explaining things to Jiang Nian multiple times, however, that little bastard rejected him without hesitation and mocked him indifferently.

“I get it, Brother Jing. You want to keep me as your sugar baby. Don’t even think about it. Hahahaha, I’m not going to be your assistant. My goal is to be your equal. Just you wait.”

His smug look was infuriating, but Cheng Jing couldn’t bring himself to get angry.

The person who “unsealed” simply wants to go to Heaven. In this case, he can only become slightly more stable to ensure he can support others at any time.

“…”

Natural disasters were far scarier than zombies. As the base entered its hottest phase, the death toll surged once again, and many residential dorms on the outskirts were emptying out.

Cleaning up bodies became the hardest and most depressing task of the day, and everyone felt weighed down.

Jiang Nian and the others with superpowers helped with the rescue efforts as much as they could, but compared to killing zombies, they couldn’t do much in this situation.

Not to mention them—even the doctors at hospitals were helpless. They were forced to watch people die from complications caused by the extreme heat.

That was the situation at the Nancheng Base; other bases had it even worse.

Every few days, the central satellite broadcast reported that a shelter had been “wiped out,” disbanded, or destroyed.

The whole world was struggling to survive under the scorching heat. There were no shortcuts or clever solutions. All anyone could do was hold on.

Some bases tried to create “artificial rain,” but, just like the pre-apocalypse droughts, there weren’t enough suitable clouds. No matter what they tried, it was all in vain.

Water, medicine, and cooling energy were being consumed at an insane rate.

If a base was reluctant to hand over these supplies—or simply couldn’t—more people would die and riots would break out.

Official bases would more or less still consider the needs of ordinary people. But small, private shelters weren’t the same. Most of them chose to abandon low-tier survivors to conserve resources.

“…”

“Da Jun and Xiao Liu are dead.”

Now it was Liao Yu’s group’s turn to distribute supplies to the volunteer dorms. When they returned, the young master delivered the news.

Inside the central command office of Team 017, the teammates reacted with indifference. Jiang Nian recalled the last time he saw the two of them and commented,

“Their powers weren’t stable. If their condition worsened that badly, it’s no surprise they couldn’t survive weather like this. Honestly, it’s better that they died. If they were still around, we’d just be annoyed and have to stay on guard.”

“That’s true.”

“Yeah.”

“…”

Everyone nodded in agreement. Da Jun and Xiao Liu were definitely the type to cause trouble if given the chance. Although they hadn’t taken them seriously in a while, it was still a relief to finally remove those thorns. With them gone, the chance of a sudden accident decreased significantly.

Hard times always feel longer.

When Jiang Nian wasn’t working, he’d visit his parents in the morning and evening. Since it was too hot, he took the initiative to cook for them and pay close attention to their health.

He spent the rest of his time resting in his dorm and watching videos about planting and cultivation. He took notes so he could optimize his little farm once the time came.

About a week later, Jiang Nian received a call from Jiang Wenwen from Base S.