RIACMET chapter 229

 

After a grueling month and a half, by mid-September, the daytime temperature dropped to around 60 degrees Celsius, and the nighttime temperature dropped to 50 degrees Celsius. Finally, humanity, tormented by the extreme heat, could breathe a little easier.

Then, things gradually returned to normal.

After cooperating for a period of time, the unofficial superpowered troops led by Cheng Jing and Yang Kai experienced significant growth. Even those who had initially refused to work with formal teams began voluntarily applying to join.

After extensive trials and comparisons, the principles, methods, and structure of the South City Base emerged as the most reasonable for both superpowered individuals and ordinary survivors. While not perfectly fair, these principles offered a sense of stability and comfort.

From extreme cold to extreme heat, anyone with foresight understood that order would inevitably return and that even the most powerful superpowered beings would one day fall under official control.

Rather than waiting to be conscripted, it was better to join willingly and perhaps gain access to better resources.

As the superpowered forces expanded, the top brass at the South City Base began restructuring their internal management and clarifying responsibilities after thorough discussions and reviews.

First, each legion was given independent working areas, including office buildings and training grounds.

Second, beyond the overall strategic planning handled by Captains Cheng Jing and Yang Kai, superpowers were divided into three categories—Offense, Defense, and Support—according to their general attributes.

These categories were led by three team leaders: Zhao Lei, Huang Qian, and Jiang Nian.

Zhao Lei oversaw the Offense superpowered troops, and Liao Yu, Tang Yi, and Jian Cheng were under his command.

Huang Qian was in charge of defense, with Lu Ningzhou as her second-in-command.

Jiang Nian led the support division with the assistance of Zhou Rongbin and Tang Ji.

Each group was then split into smaller units based on its attribute and individual capabilities.

Following the official upgrade of the unofficial legion system, the base issued a public announcement — a moderate yet impactful adjustment.

From then on, Cheng Jing’s superpowered force would gradually become a specialized department overseen by the national military. Even after the apocalypse ended, this department would not be disbanded.

This could be seen as an upgraded version of the “Experimental Special Phenomena Management Research Base.”

Soon after the announcement, Uncle Li and his family of three, along with Liang Xiaoyan, signed up to join the Superpower Legion.

Uncle Li and Li Liang joined Zhao Lei’s team; Li Shuhui entered Jiang Nian’s division; and Liang Xiaoyan was placed under Huang Qian’s command.

Some powers were capable of attack, defense, and support alike. Those who possessed such flexibility could choose their division freely: Huang Qian, Lu Ningzhou, and Liang Xiaoyan fell into this category.

The Li family members were only listed as placeholder leaders for now, and their daily responsibilities remained unchanged. However, Liang Xiaoyan officially reported to and worked under Huang Qian.

Cheng Jing never intended for Jiang Nian to be a team leader — the role was too demanding and exhausting. But that little rascal boldly recommended himself to Minister Wang right in front of him, leaving no room for objection.

With his competence, sweet talk, and polished demeanor, Minister Wang had no reason to refuse and agreed on the spot.

Under pressure from his superior and with his lover’s pride at stake, Cheng Jing had no choice but to smile and nod. Fine. As long as Jiang Nian was happy.

When they got home, Jiang Nian promptly climbed into his lap and sweetly pledged:

“Brother Jing. Support me at work and I’ll obey you at home as always. In fact, I’ll be even better behaved than before.”

Cheng Jing placed his gloved hand behind Jiang Nian’s neck and pulled him close.

“All right, I’ll support you. But if it’s too much, let me know. Don’t push yourself too hard.”

His boyfriend was outstanding and full of drive—of course he would support him.

Jiang Nian took the opportunity to kiss him on the lips.

“Of course I won’t ignore you. I’ll enjoy myself at work, and after work, I’ll enjoy myself with you.”

To show he meant it, Jiang Nian’s eyes sparkled as he skillfully undid the buttons on Cheng Jing’s uniform. With a grin, he continued:

“It’s still early today. Come take a shower and celebrate my ‘promotion.’”

“You… Um—”

Before Cheng Jing could respond, Jiang Nian had already pounced and started nibbling him with aggressive enthusiasm.

It was just their usual routine again. The pattern between them had become predictable: the brat took charge of the first half and Cheng Jing took charge of the second, where limits ceased to exist.

…

With the legion’s internal divisions clarified, daily training became far more efficient and targeted. Everyone’s powers began improving faster than before.

Soon, several other members of Team 017 also broke through to higher levels:

Zhao Lei, Yang Kai, Tang Yi, Jian Cheng, and Lu Ningzhou advanced without any dramatic reactions. They simply lost consciousness for a while. When they woke up, they found themselves significantly stronger, much like Jiang Nian’s experience in his previous life.

Jian Cheng, always careless, didn’t even notice when he leveled up. He only realized it when his eyesight and senses suddenly became sharper.

In contrast, Liao Yu, Huang Qian, and Zhou Rongbin had much more dramatic breakthroughs.

Zhou Rongbin broke through in the middle of the night. While he slept, people on night patrol and others who were still awake saw a massive illusion manifest over their dorm area.

Zombies gathered in clusters and attacked the shelter. The scene was so vivid that the screams for help seemed to be right beside them.

Unlike typical illusions, Zhou Rongbin’s “mirages” were projections of real events happening elsewhere at that moment.

In other words, Zhou Rongbin’s power now created spontaneous, random projections of live events.

Previously, his ability—a direct counter to Jiang Nian’s—had limited range and a small area of effect, only working on humans. He almost never used it in team missions.

Now that it had evolved, his projections covered a much larger range and allowed them to see what was happening in other bases.

Jiang Nian and Cheng Jing, who had been up late, noticed the surge and rushed to his dorm just in time. Using their purification abilities, they shattered the illusion and woke Zhou up before unnecessary chaos could ensue.

The next day, the “mirage” of the zombie horde attacking a shelter was reported to base officials and sent out as a warning. Through a central satellite broadcast, all survivor bases were alerted to the potential for large-scale zombie attacks.

As for Liao Yu, his breakthrough happened during the lunch break.

Using their dorm as the center, they coated the outer walls of three adjacent buildings in ten centimeters of ice in the sweltering heat. Despite temperatures ranging from 50 to 60 degrees, it took half a day for the ice to melt.

As a result, the nearby buildings felt like a whole different world—cool and frozen, in contrast to the scorching surroundings.

Huang Qian’s breakthrough also occurred during the day. When Jiang Nian complained that they were out of vegetables, Huang Qian called her to the balcony to grow more for everyone, and she advanced during the planting process.

When her crystal core shattered during the restructuring and her power rampaged, the vegetables she grew suddenly exploded in size.

Carrots and potatoes burst through two flower boxes.

Cabbages grew to waist height, and the stalks of leafy greens were as thick as her wrists.

The garden looked more like a special effects set than a vegetable patch.

But the overgrowth came with side effects. The vegetables, once crisp and tender, became hard and fibrous. When Jiang Nian cut one open, its interior was dry and stringy, like chewed-up sugarcane.

Rapid growth was good, but overgrowth was not. Fortunately, it could be controlled. Otherwise, after Sister Qian’s breakthrough, they wouldn’t have been able to enjoy fresh vegetables at all.

Ordinary vegetables mutating was one thing. Other plants mutating could be… seriously bad:

Huang Qian took out vine seeds to test their growth. The tiny thorns on the vines hardened into iron spikes sharp enough to spark when cut with a dagger.

She then manipulated the mutant vines to swing around and pull up cabbage and radishes, slicing through them like noodles.

If those vines touched human skin, it would be shredded in seconds.

Jiang Nian couldn’t explain why, but this plant manipulation power somehow felt very suited to Sister Qian.

He remembered that she had previously collected a few piranha plant seeds. If she took them into the wild and let them mutate and grow … it’d be like Plants vs. Zombies in real life! Just imagining it was thrilling!