RIACMET chapter 242

 

Z Base was a branch of S Base. The evacuation mission could only have fallen into Cheng Jing’s hands. Of course, Liang Yunhao’s support was crucial.

He said that the issues at S Base could be resolved quickly, but the top leaders would most likely try to hold on to Professor Xia and his team.

For research on anomalies to flourish, high-level support was necessary. Even if the general public disapproved, there were still “special groups” who recognized its importance.

However, Jiang Wenwen said she would find a way to deal with it.

Jiang Nian was often in contact with her. He knew she was firm and confident, and he was sure she would handle it well. All they needed to do now was wait for news.

“…”

Aside from Cheng Jing and his team, Nancheng Base ensured its own safety and maintained sufficient vigilance while doing its best to dispatch troops and legions of superpowered individuals to various locations for rescue operations.

Z Base was quite far from South City Base. After the complete disbandment, most people would be relocated to the nearest official base.

Therefore, Cheng Jing and his team’s main goal was to assist with evacuation and zombie extermination, not survivor revival.

In addition to Z Base, they would provide support to other shelters in similar situations.

However, Minister Wang didn’t want Team 017 to overextend themselves in providing support. After all, if Cheng Jing left, Jiang Nian would definitely follow, and the risk would be too high.

However, Cheng Jing said that he had information about some acquaintances at Z Base, so no persuasion was needed.

As a result, they were given a helicopter and a titanium bracelet with storage space that wasn’t bound to anyone.

The bracelet was simple in design—just a round band with a hidden clasp. Despite its small size, it could store a small aircraft, two off-road vehicles, and several weapons.

In the conference room, Minister Wang handed the seemingly ordinary bracelet to Cheng Jing and said earnestly,

“This bracelet, along with the aircraft, vehicles, and weapons stored inside, is now an asset of your team and a gift from the base.

“This way, you won’t need to worry about the aircraft being stolen while on a mission. The efficiency of attack support will improve, and it’ll be easier to retreat if anything goes wrong.”

“This… is for our team?”

Cheng Jing thought he’d misheard. Everyone, including Yang Kai, was stunned. This wasn’t an ordinary gift.

Space-type attributes, whether superpowers or equipment, were not rare, but they were among the most popular. Anyone who obtained one usually kept it hidden. To take it out and stuff it with supplies as a gift was incredibly generous.

“Yes, I’m giving it to your team. Please take good care of it.”

After Minister Wang finished speaking, he sat back in his chair. Seeing their incredulous expressions, he explained,

“Your team is strong. You’ll have many opportunities to carry out important missions in the future. It’s only right for you to be better equipped.”

“Thank you, Minister.”

The reasoning was perfect. After hearing it, Cheng Jing calmly accepted the bracelet and resumed discussing their rescue route.

Jiang Nian listened carefully to the leader’s speech and sighed inwardly—these truly were people in power. As long as they were willing, there was no heart they couldn’t buy.

You never knew what they could offer or how much capital they had.

“…”

After leaving the command center, Cheng Jing held a small meeting with the entire team to discuss who should hold the storage bracelet to keep it safe.

He and Jiang Nian already had storage rings and couldn’t bind another storage space. Besides, their teammates were reliable, and he didn’t want to hoard all the good stuff just for himself and Jiang Nian.

However, the rest of the team wasn’t enthusiastic about keeping the bracelet either. They told him to toss it into the ring space so that it could be accessed when needed without fear of losing it.

Cheng Jing and Jiang Nian disagreed, so in the end, Zhao Lei, the vice-captain, was tasked with the “important job.”

Zhao Lei tried to persuade Huang Qian and Yang Kai again.

Unexpectedly, Yang Kai dropped a bombshell that only a few people knew:

“The superpowered crystal core transplant experiment has officially been added to the agenda. I’ve applied to participate in the artificial dual-attribute superpower project. I chose the space-attribute core, so I won’t bind anything else.”

The issue of transplanting crystal cores to create superpowers had already been made public at Nancheng Base. Many internal personnel had undergone physical assessments, so Yang Kai’s sudden registration was surprising nonetheless.

Then again, it made sense. With space powers, one could “carry Master Gao around” without worrying about being discovered by people or zombies.

Of course, it wasn’t just South City Base. To counter the ever-evolving zombies, other bases were actively preparing to create more people with superpowers as well.

Since Yang Kai said that, Zhao Lei had no choice but to let it go. He turned to Huang Qian.

“I think this simple and elegant design really suits you, Sister Qian.”

Huang Qian refused without hesitation.

“My man likes gold. If I wore something like this, people would think my boyfriend is useless—he can’t even give me a piece of gold in the apocalypse.”

Zhao Lei explained,

“This item is set to invisible mode.”

Sister Qian was unmoved.

“It’s in my noble hands—even if it’s invisible.”

Though her reasoning wasn’t exactly convincing, Lu Ningzhou nodded seriously in agreement.

Even Gao Xuyang, who was listening in, raised his hand in support.

Thus, the matter was resolved.

Surrounded by his teammates, Zhao Lei bound the spatial bracelet with a contract and summoned some ammunition from it for “inspection.” He felt like they had grown stronger.

As for Yang Kai’s application to join the artificial dual-attribute mutant project, his teammates showed him respect and encouraged him.

Jian Cheng was also interested. Unfortunately, not everyone could apply.

First, you had to be an official personnel member. Then, there was a physical fitness evaluation and an assessment of the role and purpose of acquiring dual-attribute abilities. In short, it was a hassle.

After hearing Brother Kai’s explanation, Jian Cheng’s restless heart quickly calmed down.

…

Since Master Gao was staying at the South City Base, Yang Kai obviously couldn’t leave.

Chu Yi and Tang Ji were tasked with bringing Xiaoya and the legion to another location to provide support and transfer critical military equipment. Therefore, they could not join Cheng Jing and the others.

Ultimately, the team heading to Z Base included Cheng Jing, Jiang Nian, Zhao Lei, Liao Yu, Huang Qian, Lu Ningzhou, Zhou Rongbin, Tang Yi, and Jian Cheng.

Nine people, all original team members.

Yang Kai felt a little regretful about not being able to go with everyone, but he didn’t mind being the “child left behind” now that he had his lover by his side. He reminded his friends to be careful and said that he and Uncle Li would hold down the house.