RIACMET chapter 132

 

“… ”

After finishing preparations and boarding the car, the team set off to the logistics park.

It was the hottest time of the year, and not a single plant remained on the scorched ground. Looking out the windshield, you could almost see the air distorting under the blazing sun.

The road was in good condition, and the vehicle sped along. Jiang Nian used the excuse of being sleepy to lean on Cheng Jing’s shoulder and take a nap. He closed his eyes and reflected on what had just happened.

He had to admit that Sister Qian’s intuition was spot-on. She had correctly guessed that something was off about Brother Jing’s phone call. He’d only used jealousy as a cover for the true content of the call.

Given their relationship, the fact that Cheng Jing kept it from him meant that it definitely had to do with him.

There weren’t many things Brother Jing deliberately hid from him. Considering Yang Kai’s previous identity as a secret agent skilled in investigations, it wasn’t hard to figure out.

He should have played smart and asked Brother Kai about it. Now that they had gone from fake rivals to good friends, Brother Jing might just give him a few clues.

In any case, Jiang Nian believed that Brother Jing did it for his own good.

He knew Cheng Jing was worried that he wouldn’t be able to handle the hardships of his past life and that he would remain bound by family ties. Therefore, he wanted to resolve things on his behalf.

But, truthfully, Jiang Nian wasn’t that conflicted. Otherwise, after reincarnating, he would’ve gone straight to find Chen Shanmin and his family and died with them instead of going back to his lover and trying to live a good life with him.

His hatred and negative feelings toward Chen Yue’s family were real, but so was the healing he experienced after reuniting with Cheng Jing in this life. He was now optimistic and content.

In short, he and Brother Jing had decided to live this life together and face its hardships side by side.

He had died once already. Despite how weak he seemed, he could stand tall before the enemies who had killed him.

…

The logistics park was located in a relatively remote area of the outer ring development zone.

Since construction hadn’t been completed, the total area was only a quarter the size of the commercial district.

Aside from the logistics park, there were no other buildings nearby. The land was barren and black with piles of construction materials scattered about.

Most of the outer walls of the logistics park had collapsed, and many mutilated corpses were buried underneath them.

Since there weren’t any active zombies outside, they assumed the park was a zombie den. However, to their surprise, after the entire group cautiously passed through the seemingly unguarded gate, they didn’t see a single zombie.

Even after Jiang Nian activated his superpower, he sensed nothing unusual within range. In other words, the zombies weren’t hiding—they really weren’t there.

Tang Yi holstered his AK and launched a drone.

In the open-air logistics park, various logistics trucks and express delivery vehicles were scattered around—some haphazardly parked, others overturned—with rust and bloodstains everywhere.

The steel warehouses had completely collapsed due to extreme cold and heavy snowfall.

Fire blisters, classic signs of chaotic destruction, were scattered everywhere. Combined with the pollution and corrosion from melted snow, the place was in ruins, and anything inside was most likely worthless.

However, many of the logistics trucks were buried under rubble from the collapse of the steel structures.

In some tightly compressed areas, the truck carriages were warped but still sealed. Despite the zombie outbreak and other damage, the goods inside remained untouched.

Their target was those unopened logistics trucks.

There were around thirty to forty warehouses of various sizes throughout the park. Since it was already afternoon and time was limited, they decided to resume the search tomorrow.

“…”

“Kinda weird. There are no zombies in the whole park. Are we gonna run into another pervert who eats his own kind?”

Tang Yi retrieved the drone and reported on the surroundings, his expression tense. They’d seen enough to know that when something was off, something was definitely wrong.

The absence of zombies relaxed them a bit, but it also made them worry that something even stranger or more twisted might be ahead.

Cheng Jing turned to Jiang Nian.

“Did you sense anything strange, Nian Nian?”

Jiang Nian shook his head slightly.

“This place is filled with residual superpower energy. The missing zombies were likely already cleared out. Also, the lingering energy is really fresh—just one or two days old—but there’s no way to tell if humans or zombies did it.”

“I hope it was humans. Maybe the other side’s superpower is as eco-friendly as Brother Cheng’s and they did a thorough job. But if zombies did it, I don’t even want to imagine how sickening it’d be.”

Lu Ningzhou’s comment earned everyone’s agreement, but it also felt like he had just jinxed them.

Still, Jiang Nian wasn’t afraid. Xia Weiwei had said that the risk level of traveling to Xihe City was low in their previous life, and everything so far had proven that to be true.

So, no matter how strange things seemed, there was no need to panic.

“I think it was humans, too—maybe with a dog…”

Zhao Lei said, pointing to the claw marks on a dismantled black car’s door.

Huang Qian looked confused.

“But aside from there being no zombies, there are no signs of supplies being scavenged. Who would come here just to clean up zombies and then leave?”

Jian Cheng replied, “Maybe a good Samaritan[mfn]Samaritan is a member of a group of people originally from Samaria, as mentioned in the Bible. a Samaritan man helps a Jewish traveler who had been robbed and left for dead. So, the “Good Samaritan” became a symbol of kindness across social, racial, or religious boundaries.[/mfn].”

“…”

It was such an absurd explanation, yet no one could argue against it.

“Stop guessing. Just assume they were good people. Since there aren’t any zombies around, let’s start searching. I love opening packages.”

Liao Yu rubbed his hands together eagerly.

“The young master is right. Let’s go.”

Cheng Jing agreed. Since the area was clear, they should take the opportunity to quickly scavenge for supplies, grab what they could, and leave before bothering any kind strangers.

There was still half a day left, so they could grab as much as possible.

In this place covered in sheets of metal, Zhao Lei’s metal-manipulating superpower was especially useful. He could pull out any intact logistics truck he found.

Of course, just because the trucks looked good didn’t mean the goods inside were worthwhile. Remember that blind box warehouse they’d opened in the commercial zone?

With a few clanging sounds, a light logistics truck was pulled out.

Its front end was flattened and the body was badly damaged, but the cargo area was intact. This was the first “blind box” they had opened in the logistics park.

After an intense dismantling process, the small truck turned into a pile of express packages.

Usually, opening a package was fun and exciting. In a world like this, that joy was doubled.

They picked out what they needed and left the rest for the base’s scavenging team.

The variety was wide—food, drinks, clothes, toys, and daily essentials.

They even found two vacuum-sealed bags labeled “Fresh Himalayan Air.”

Apparently, someone sold that, and someone actually bought it!

Jian Cheng and Liao Yu each took a bag. After pressing the bags to their faces and inhaling deeply a few times, they both said they felt dizzy. They suspected they’d been scammed or that the product had expired.

“You two, have some self-control!”

Zhao Lei was speechless and wanted to smack them both on the head.

Zhou Rong held back a laugh and said seriously,

“It’s normal to feel dizzy. Makes sense. The Himalayas are extremely high up, so of course the air has less oxygen. That’s just basic common sense.”

“…”

He actually said it was common sense. Jian Cheng and Liao Yu looked at each other, unsure of whom to blame.

Tang Yi sneered.

“Bro, did you used to work in online customer service? The way you spin stories, it’s obvious you’re a pro. That scam explanation was flawless.”

“Hahahaha…”

“… ”

Even though they were laughing, Jiang Nian used his superpower to purify the two idiots who had inhaled “courier air,” just to be safe.