RIACMET chapter 236

 

After a night of careful consideration, Jiang Nian decided to first discuss the matter with his teammates and friends, in order to hear their opinions and gain their support before heading to see Minister Wang with Cheng Jing.

Minister Wang was surprised and moved by their proposal. He carefully assessed the current situation.

Jiang Nian was truly safe now, and there was no need to worry about anyone harming him. Implanting a crystal core to suppress the side effects was the best form of protection.

No one would dare come to Nancheng Base to abduct someone. The base would unconditionally reject anyone or any organization that tried to morally blackmail Jiang Nian.

Military power was not just for show.

Although they couldn’t keep Jiang Nian’s achievements and fame hidden, as he had originally hoped, the outcome was still good. The main reason was that it was impossible to extract antibodies from animals, and there were no alternative methods, so they could only tell the truth.

A few days later, Nancheng Base publicly disclosed the development method of the antidote serum. They explained the nature and key effects of Jiang Nian’s purification ability, as well as the method of collecting virus antibodies.

First, they purified and cured the person, and then they extracted antibodies from their blood after they recovered. There was no need to lie on an operating table—just provide a blood sample.

Being open and transparent prevented those with hidden motives from working behind the scenes and stopped shady researchers from carrying out human experiments under the guise of developing the antidote serum.

At the same time, after analyzing the data, professors specializing in brain evolution publicly stated:

Some powers with highly specialized functions, such as brain evolution, healing, recovery, and purification, were extremely rare.

The odds ranged from one in tens of thousands to one in ten million. Once lost, they wouldn’t reappear for a very long time.

Experts at other bases came to similar conclusions based on the data.

Over a year had passed since the apocalypse began, and only two individuals with purification powers were known to exist in the entire country. One had died long ago, leaving no crystal core behind. Currently, Jiang Nian was the only one they could rely on.

The situation was similar in other countries. The difference was that any unique abilities discovered were immediately handed over to experimental bases because those labs offered high rewards for people with special powers.

As for the apocalyptic disaster, professors and experts worldwide concluded that it was a mechanism for cleansing the environment and that, once the disasters passed, humanity could start over.

In the face of such massive catastrophes, humans and other living creatures would evolve due to their intense survival instincts. The awakening of superpowers and the ability to adapt to and endure extreme climates were forms of evolution.

While the zombie virus might be brought under control in three to five years, the timeframe for everything else remained uncertain.

A year into the apocalypse, shelters and bases had become the new survival systems, and humanity had stabilized after the initial panic.

Furthermore, the South City Base developed the antidote serum quickly, which was good news for all of humanity.

Most people supported the South City Base’s approach. The superpower team, led by Cheng Jing and his comrades, publicly voiced their full support for Jiang Nian.

With this revelation and the formation of the Superpower Bounty Guild, more and more people chose to join them.

However, some people still demanded that Jiang Nian use his supernatural power indefinitely. If he refused, they wanted his ability transplanted into someone “willing to sacrifice for humanity.”

Some “experts” even claimed that transplanting a purified crystal core two or three times was not an issue.

Most outrageous of all were the numerous “volunteers” who claimed they were willing to sacrifice themselves for “the greater good of humanity.”

While Nancheng Base ignored these volunteers, it issued them all long-term “brick-moving tickets” indiscriminately.

After learning about Jiang Nian’s personal situation, high-ranking officials from other bases suggested that South City Base “upgrade” Jiang Nian’s physical body so that his ability would cover a wider range and last longer.

They said this with faces that looked like they were doing it for the greater good.

Because of this, Jiang Nian gritted his teeth and cursed during the team meeting:

“Damn it! They want to cut me open. Let’s see if they can manage that! Brother Kai, find out which senior official said that. I’ll go visit him personally!”

Yang Kai replied very politely:

“There are quite a few. Base Z is the loudest, and most of the behind-the-scenes instigation is from Base S, which has come to an understanding with the Four-City Alliance about their stance on this issue and has been pulling a lot of strings.”

“Brother Nian, I support you in beating them up! If you want to go, I’ll be the first to sign up.”

Huang Qian said this while giving Cheng Jing a teasing look.

A strange glint flashed in Cheng Jing’s eyes as he patted Jiang Nian on the shoulder.

“Don’t mind that kind of stupid talk. Jumping clowns always get what’s coming to them.”

In their previous life, Base Z had been overrun by zombies. If the same thing happened this time, they would just give it a little push.

While evacuating the civilians, they would also take care of a few of Base Z’s higher-ups who had sheltered Xia Weiwei in their previous life.

They weren’t originally on the kill list. If there was a chance, though, they’d take it. If not, they’d let it go. Now that Base Z had said something like that, however, they had to find an opportunity to send them to their graves.

At the same time, Cheng Jing realized how outrageous the idea of replacing Jiang Nian’s core was. It made him feel uneasy.

Guilt and frustration stayed with him all the way home, through dinner with his parents, and back to the dorm.

He had been thinking of finding a moment to confess to Jiang Nian. Unexpectedly, however, someone brought it up first.

Jiang Nian, freshly out of the shower, sat in his lap and said offhandedly,

“Brother Qian asked me earlier if I’d ever consider changing my crystal core. I said no. If anyone tries to make me, I’ll beat them up!”

After saying that, he smiled and changed the subject.

“Except if it’s you, Brother Jing.”

“Niannian…”

Cheng Jing rested his chin on his shoulder. He had been replying to messages on his phone, but he paused when he heard that.

Jiang Nian interrupted without giving him a chance to speak.

“Brother Qian was worried that your overthinking might backfire, so he told me that you were considering asking me to change cores.”

Cheng Jing put down his phone and hugged Jiang Nian tightly.

“Sorry… I was being too paranoid. My thoughts went too far. I’m sorry!”

Jiang Nian’s eyes stung a little as he blinked and said,

“It’s okay, Brother Jing. You only said that because you wanted me to avoid trouble forever. You’re not like the others. If you were really insisting I switch, I’d agree. After all, nothing’s more important to me than you.”

Cheng Jing shook his head.

“My intentions were good, but I was too stubborn and didn’t think it through.”

Jiang Nian huffed, took a deep breath, and said,

“All right, look. To me, replacing my core is no different from running away. After getting a second chance at life, I’ve thought of all kinds of ways to survive, but never once about changing my core. You want to protect me, and I want to protect you and everyone else. Look how strong I am now.”

In this environment, beyond the zombie virus, there are so many unknown threats that need to be purified. Changing my core would only put us at a disadvantage.”

It’s like having one of those rare, high-tier skills in a game. Without Brother Jing, he wouldn’t have leveled up properly.

If anyone else had brought this up, he would have been furious and wanted to take them down on the spot. But if it was Brother Jing, he’d actually stop and think about it, even if it meant compromising.

Brother Jing had become paranoid because he knew Jiang Nian had died once before. That was a feeling their teammates and others could never understand. He didn’t blame Brother Jing.

“I was thinking too one-sidedly. Let’s not keep repeating the same mistakes every year.”

Cheng Jing felt relieved, but his heart still ached. So be it. He had planned things out step by step this time, and he didn’t think the outcome would be as tragic as last time.