RIACMET chapter 264

 

[Timeline: After returning from Dawn Base]

Due to the ongoing drought, water had become one of the most crucial and rarest resources for human survival in this apocalyptic world.

Although soil-repairing chemical agents were widely used and vegetation slowly began to grow back on once barren lands, the climate changed and long-awaited rainfall began to return to some areas.

However, while the rain itself wasn’t poisonous, the persistent drought during the apocalypse had left the rainwater contaminated and in short supply, making it nearly impossible for humans to utilize effectively.

People could only cooperate with artificial rainfall technology, scatter soil-repairing agents, and plant seeds in rainy areas. They also had to plan for the long term.

Despite its many developed water sources, Nancheng Base, the largest human refuge in the country, consumed a vast amount of water.

Therefore, in addition to actively purifying contaminated sources, the base’s water plant gathered individuals with water-related superpowers. Supplying water was part of their daily duty. Of course, contribution points were counted separately.

Jiang Wenwen needed no explanation. As for Liao Yu, his mutated attribute was naturally water-type—it was unavoidable.

Meanwhile, at Minister Wang’s request, Jiang Nian was responsible for purifying the water sources and large reservoirs at the plant.

This contributed significantly to ensuring that the Nancheng Base’s water supply met daily distribution demands.

In the apocalypse, individuals with water-related superpowers were always among the most sought-after survivors, and their value only grew as the drought dragged on.

Various organizations offered attractive conditions to recruit them, targeting men, women, and people of all ages.

For this reason, Liao Yu’s luck in romance has been excellent lately. At first, Zhao Lei was jealous, but he gradually adapted to the situation.

After all, his young master was loyal to him. Even when he was caught up in messy romantic encounters, Liao Yu would still console Zhao Lei, telling him not to take it to heart. No matter what kind of “requests” Zhao Lei made in private, his young master would always comply.

However, when Qian Lang appeared, Zhao Lei suddenly felt a sense of crisis he had long lost.

After returning with them from Dawn Base, Qian Lang joined the Superpower Legion and quickly befriended everyone. Because of his unique superpower, he was assigned to Jiang Nian’s team.

Initially, he was just a casual acquaintance who was recruited. However, Qian Lang and Liao Yu’s “acquaintance” had a rather special background.

Before the apocalypse, Young Master Liao had plenty of money and few ways to spend it. So, he started a side venture, hiring a professional operations team through a security company to set up a celebrity incubator studio. The outcome didn’t matter as long as he enjoyed it.

Xingyu was one of the young master’s investment projects. Qian Lang was a rising newcomer promoted by Xingyu just before the world ended.

Prior to the apocalypse, Qian Lang was a gaming host. He had a mostly female fan base and was handsome and skilled. After Liao Yu recruited him, Qian Lang became the main host of their streams.

Fan service had always been part of the algorithm.

How far it went and where the line was depended on the situation.

Those beautiful female fans just wanted to see attractive guys interact. There was no malice in that, was there? As long as their wishes were fulfilled, people would come.

Interactive sessions between the host and top players—such as forming teams, chatting, and discussing thought-provoking topics—could yield great results.

At the time, Zhao Lei was the personal bodyguard and assistant, and he knew all of this.

He’d thought his young master was hardworking and dedicated in the past. Despite having so much money, he humbled himself to work with internet celebrities just to boost traffic. But now, looking back, even breathing made him sore.

This was especially true since Liao Yu and Qian Lang were the same age and shared so many interests.

They even assembled their computers and gaming consoles together and found rare, discontinued game cards. After work, they played single-player games and chatted about their former studio life.

Zhao Lei couldn’t join in on the games or conversations. No matter how he looked at it, there was a generation gap between him and Liao Yu.

Qian Lang, however, was different from all his previous messy flings. He didn’t do anything out of line; he was just a good friend.

No one around them thought there was anything wrong with how close Qian Lang and Liao Yu had become. As a result, Zhao Lei was unhappy but couldn’t show it. He couldn’t find a legitimate reason to be angry, so he could only sulk silently.

“… ”

“Young Master, I’ve arrived in the new district. I’ll probably be busy until midnight. Don’t stay up too late playing games. You won’t recover well if you use up all your superpowers during the day.”

At 8 p.m., Zhao Lei called Liao Yu from the patrol vehicle. When he heard the sound effects of a game coming from the phone, he furrowed his brows.

Recently, the young master had been using his water-type superpowers at the base’s water plant during the day, so he wasn’t working alongside them and their schedules were out of sync.

He was such an unfeeling guy, hanging out with Qian Lang to play games after work.

Soon after, Liao Yu’s voice came through clearly.

“Got it. Be careful and stay safe during the night patrol.”

“…”

Zhao Lei fell silent. He was deeply upset and didn’t know what to say. If only he were the same age as Liao Yu, then he wouldn’t have to pretend to be so mature and generous. Being young meant he could act unreasonably without feeling guilty.

“Brother Zhao?”

Liao Yu called out in confusion.

“Is there something else you wanted to say?”

“No, that’s it for now.”

Zhao Lei hesitated for a moment, but ultimately ended the call. He let out a helpless sigh and started the vehicle, driving toward the patrol area.

Meanwhile, on the other end, Liao Yu continued “wiping the floor” with Qian Lang in the game.

Qian Lang glanced at his phone and hesitantly teased:

“Brother Yu, I honestly didn’t expect you to be with Brother Zhao. True friendship is forged in hardship. I guess that’s what it means for people like you.”

Liao Yu smiled and replied,

“Well, I suppose you could say that. Even I didn’t expect it.”

Back then, a lot of people had crowded around him—both men and women—but he hadn’t fallen in love yet, and he just found it annoying.

He was young, liked to have fun, and had money. He had basically tried everything that wasn’t illegal. He never played with people’s feelings. If he had, he would have figured out long ago that Zhao Lei had “bad intentions.”

“Actually, I got close to you, Brother Yu, because I thought we clicked when we did those live streams together. I felt we had chemistry.”

Qian Lang glanced sideways at him, his tone sincere and straightforward.

The young master was slow to understand emotions, a fact that Qian Lang had known before the apocalypse. That’s why, even though he’d fallen for him at first sight, he hadn’t dared to take risks.

He signed with Xingyu Studio with the intention of getting closer to Liao Yu, so he set his salary demands low. As long as he could co-host streams with Liao Yu and propose setting up a studio together, he was happy to embrace the passionate routine of youth and work side by side.

He thought he could use work interactions to create ambiguity and gradually get close to his boss, but he didn’t expect the world to end.

“Huh?”

Liao Yu was so shocked that he slipped and got hit by a mini-boss in the game, losing half his health points (HP). He quickly jumped aside to grab a health pack, but it rejected him outright.

“Nope, please don’t. Even if Zhao Lei weren’t here, you’re not my type. Don’t look at me like that. I’m a loyal man.”

Although he seemed like a chatterbox and was impulsive, his relationship with Zhao Lei wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment decision. He had thought it through seriously from every angle. It wasn’t out of desperation or lack of options; it was love that developed over time, and he was ready to commit.