RIACMET chapter 100

 

After returning from their first day of the mission, the entire team rested separately. The next afternoon, Jiang Nian told everyone to gather at the shop for a dinner party.

This time, in addition to inviting a few members of the Li family, Zhou Li and Yang Kai were invited to join this large team-building event.

Although Zhou Li and Yang Kai were technically Cheng Jing’s superiors, it was just a title in reality. Apart from crucial job handovers, they usually got along like friends.

Whenever something came up, Zhou Li and Yang Kai liked to discuss it with Cheng Jing first.

Aside from their official duties, everyone trusted Cheng Jing’s personal abilities.

Their time together outside of work was even more relaxed.

So, when Cheng Jing invited them to dinner, both men arrived early wearing casual clothes. After scanning the point-payment machine by the door, they openly started browsing the shelves for snacks, showing them off shamelessly to the others.

Jiang Nian didn’t say much about it. After all, the points his friends gave him were pretty consistent. Even if he told them it wasn’t necessary, they wouldn’t listen.

It wasn’t good to repeat the same polite refusal too often—doing so would only make everyone feel awkward.

Business needed popularity. That day, the store was bustling, and the revenue hit a new record.

By the time they closed for the dinner party, sales had surpassed 5,000 points, totaling 5,200—a very promising number.

Since many people were eating tonight, Uncle Li was the main chef while everyone else helped. This way, no one got too tired, and things moved more efficiently.

They prepared a total of 20 dishes, offering a wide range of flavors—sour, sweet, bitter, spicy, and savory. The meat and vegetables were split evenly into generous portions, and there were plenty of drinks. Staple foods included rice, porridge, and noodles.

Jiang Nian also brought out his “precious” stash of frozen, cooked crayfish tails. He opened a 20-kilogram vacuum pack, chopped everything up, and piled it into a giant bowl so that everyone could enjoy it.

These tails were rarer than meat and instantly became the star of the table.

In addition to the crayfish tails, Jiang Nian had plenty of pre-seasoned, ready-to-eat packs in his ring space. Some needed reheating; others were self-heating meals.

Brother Jing had gone out of his way to collect all of these things for Jiang Nian on his free shopping sprees. There were all kinds of flavors, but Jiang Nian’s personal favorite was the spicy thirteen-spice blend.

At the table, the teammates eagerly discussed what they had seen and learned on this mission, sharing their insights.

Jiang Nian and the others who had stayed behind could still understand what was happening outside the base and how the zombies were evolving.

“…”

They ate and chatted from afternoon until late at night, feeling satisfied and happy.

Getting together with friends like this to unwind was essential for mental health. Otherwise, if you spent every day dwelling on the depressing apocalypse and zombies, you’d go crazy sooner or later.

Dinner finally ended after 10 p.m. Everything was eaten, down to the last bite. Even the leftover crayfish soup was poured into noodles, and everyone had a bowl as a midnight snack.

No one was really hungry anymore, but not a single person turned it down—it was just too delicious.

After finishing the noodles, everyone started cleaning up together. There were several large bags of trash to haul out.

Suddenly, Li Shuhui’s phone rang.

When she saw her father and brother looking over, Li Shuhui took out her phone, checked the caller ID, and said,

“It’s Liang Xiaoyan.”

Then, she walked aside to answer.

“Xiaoyan? What’s wrong? Calling so late?”

“… ”

While she was on the call, Li Kaiyun and Li Liang quietly explained the situation with Liang Xiaoyan to the others. After all, she had only mentioned it to Li Sheng and Cheng Jing before.

A moment later, Li Shuhui hung up and walked over to Jiang Nian.

“Brother Jiang Nian, are we collecting any Chinese medicinal herbs?”

“Huh?”

Jiang Nian looked at her in surprise.

“What kind of herbs?”

“The kind for health preservation, not complicated traditional formulas…”

Li Shuhui clarified patiently.

“Xiaoyan’s team went out to gather supplies, and they found a health tea shop with well-organized and packaged medicinal herbs for wellness. She asked if I could help find someone to take them.”

Once she finished, she noticed he was thinking it over and added,

“I’m just asking if you’re interested. If not, just ignore it.”

“A health tea shop…”

Jiang Nian rubbed his chin and pondered for a moment before deciding.

“How about this? Have them bring everything over so we can take a look first.”

These days, orthodox Chinese medicinal herbs weren’t commonly used because most people didn’t know how to prepare them properly.

However, the herbal products sold in health tea shops were pretty decent. They were mostly flower teas, dried fruits, and common health-preserving ingredients. There wasn’t anything you had to be too cautious about; just boil them and drink.

Besides, if he remembered correctly, most health tea shops stocked everything needed to make sour plum soup. A cold cup of that on a hot day was the best—soothing and thirst-quenching. It was a must-have in this heat.

Li Shuhui nodded.

“All right, I’ll ask them to bring it over. You can pick a time.”

“Let’s have them come by tomorrow at noon for lunch.”

Although Jiang Nian hadn’t replied yet, Cheng Jing made the decision calmly.

Since he knew the person wasn’t trustworthy, he’d rather meet them in person.

Jiang Nian smiled and nodded.

“Okay, let’s settle it that way.”

Li Shuhui understood.

“Got it. I’ll tell them to come at noon tomorrow.”

Then, she stepped aside to make the call.

It was clear that everyone here wasn’t fond of Liang Xiaoyan. Jiang Nian knew his teammates were worried. After a moment’s thought, he explained,

“We’re just doing business. There’s no need to treat her like a close friend. Actually, it’s not a bad thing for her to be around the Superpower Group. She’ll probably share information with us in the future. Plus, since people with hidden agendas are constantly crossing paths, I feel more at ease having someone keep an eye on her for now.”

“Yeah.”

Zhou Li agreed.

“It’s true. The more contact you have, the easier it is to see their flaws, so you won’t get caught off guard.”

Since contact was unavoidable, it was best to stay vigilant.

Everyone else nodded as well. It was easier to be prepared when you already knew who you were dealing with.

Cheng Jing noticed that Li Kaiyun and Li Liang looked uncomfortable, so he walked over and spoke to them calmly.

“Since we’ve all entered the same base, sooner or later, you’re going to run into familiar faces. It’s better to figure out early on whether the other party is human or a ghost. Situations like this will keep happening, so don’t overthink it.”

In such a big community, everyone has acquaintances, and these encounters are unavoidable.

Li Liang pressed his lips together and nodded.

“I understand. Thank you, Brother Cheng.”

He was actually a bit intimidated by Cheng Jing.

“Okay.”

Li Kaiyun didn’t say much. What Cheng Jing said made sense, and they could handle the rest themselves.

…

As planned, all the teammates gathered at the shop for lunch the next day at noon. After eating, they sat around chatting and waiting quietly.

At around one o’clock, a military green jeep pulled up in front of the store.

Two men and a woman got out of the car. All three were wearing short-sleeved camouflage uniforms. Liang Xiaoyan wore her ponytail high on her head, looking somewhat heroic, yet still mischievous and cute.

A burly man with a heavy beard and tattooed arms, as well as a tall, skinny man, got out and carried three big cardboard boxes into the grocery store.

Everyone just watched them with indifferent expressions, but Jiang Nian recognized them at a glance.

The tattooed man was the same one who had been harassing a woman outside Dorm 1121 that day. The tall, skinny man was the one who had knocked on Dorm 1121’s door after they left.

Once he was sure he wasn’t mistaken, Jiang Nian inwardly exclaimed, “Wow!”

Perhaps they noticed his look because both men pretended to wipe sweat from their foreheads and glanced over casually. When they realized it was Jiang Nian, a flicker of surprise flashed in their eyes. However, they quickly looked away as if nothing had happened.

Jiang Nian also turned away, feeling a bit embarrassed. However, his mind was already working.

It wasn’t unusual for men to share women or take turns. That was normal.

However, it was too soon to be hooking up with her just a few days after entering the base, especially since she didn’t have any official status yet.

More importantly, Zone 11 was reserved for talented people who arrived early. Based on the timeline, anyone who arrived after Liang Xiaoyan’s group should have been placed in a zone beyond the 100th.

Meeting up this easily didn’t add up.

Unless there was an intermediary.

Something was off, and it felt wrong. Jiang Nian was almost certain this had something to do with Xia Weiwei!