RIACMET chapter 116

 

Liang Xiaoyan thought she might find some useful information, but she awkwardly averted her gaze and curled her lips.

“Hmph! What are you showing off for?”

Since she had given Huang Qian her contact information last time, she had taken the initiative to message her. The other party replied eagerly but seemed more interested in prying things out of her.

More often than not, whenever she asked a question, Huang Qian would respond with ten more.

She was cold and aloof, like a queen, but she acted like a total gossip.

Now, Liang Xiaoyan didn’t dare to message Huang Qian casually anymore, and she dreaded receiving messages from her.

The woman in the passenger seat cleared her raspy throat and said,

“It’s not easy for a team to be recognized as an exception by the authorities. If you want information, it’s better to start with Li Shuhui. From the looks of it, their team will probably be leaving the base for a few days. You should take this opportunity to reach out to Li Shuhui more often.”

“Got it, Sister Hong.”

Liang Xiaoyan replied, but she felt a bit down. Lately, Li Shuhui hadn’t been paying her much attention. Whenever she called to ask her something, Li Shuhui would either dodge the question or say that she was working overtime.

Most importantly, she couldn’t go in if someone didn’t leave the central zone, so it was hard to find anything out.

Li Hong thought for a moment and said,

“Tomorrow, we’ll take Xiaoliu and Dajun to pick some people up. It might take a few days. The rented place is ready. The second floor is for me and your fourth brother. Dajun and Xiaoliu will stay on the first floor, and you’ll stay on the third. You can move in.”

“Okay, thank you, Sister Hong.”

Liang Xiaoyan smiled. Her excitement masked the slight dissatisfaction in her heart.

“Finally, I don’t have to live in that wooden shack anymore. It’s getting hotter outside—it’s like being in a steam pot.

Although she couldn’t kick Da Jun and Xiao Liu out immediately after entering the inner zone, she could deal with them once living conditions improved.

Recently, it seemed that their team had received a mission from a major sponsor. She didn’t know the details and hadn’t met the sponsor in person.

Sister Hong told her to stop asking questions and just follow the instructions; she wouldn’t miss out on any benefits that way.

Clearly, Sister Hong didn’t fully trust her, but Liang Xiaoyan wasn’t angry. It was free, and there were benefits to be had—only a fool would turn that down.

In fact, she hoped that Sister Hong would someday tire of her and find an excuse to kick her out so that she would be free.

After all, Sister Hong had saved her life, fed her when she was starving, and stayed by her side when her superpower awakened, causing her to fall into a high fever and coma. She couldn’t just leave on her own.

But she figured she’d already given enough. She worked hard on the team and quietly accepted the role of “girlfriend” to a few unpleasant men.

People always want to reach higher. Now that she had more options, she didn’t want to be tied down by a small team or used by them.

The Nancheng base had strict rules, but they were quite friendly toward the weak. Besides, she had a superpower—she could survive even if she left the team.

“Brother Cheng, there’s another group of about fifty zombies up ahead.”

Jian Cheng’s voice came through the walkie-talkie inside the moving car on the set frequency, and the vehicle began to slow down.

“Quick wipeout.”

Cheng Jing picked up the walkie-talkie and gave instructions. Jiang Nian looked straight ahead, gently tapped the brake, and stopped not far behind the lead vehicle.

A small group of zombies like this was nothing to them, especially ordinary ones. Even though they were evolving faster, it still wasn’t enough.

If the group was small, the team members took turns training. If it was large, the entire team would participate.

Dozens of zombies roared and charged forward, but they soon became just a neat pile of crystal cores.

Jiang Nian fired two shots, taking out two zombies. Then, he used his superpower to link with his teammates’ powers and assist them. However, not everyone could be connected.

Only energy mediums visible to the naked eye could connect to him. Once disconnected, the purifying effect vanished.

That was the result of their practical experiments.

Zhou Rongbin’s ability had the opposite effect on purification, needless to say.

Tang Yi’s physical boost and Jian Cheng’s enhanced vision both used invisible energy mediums; therefore, they didn’t work when linked and had no effect.

The remaining abilities belonged to:

Cheng Jing’s lightning and fire, Zhao Lei’s metal, Huang Qian’s vines, Liao Yu’s ice, and Lu Ningzhou’s earth.

These all manifested visible elemental energy, allowing Jiang Nian’s purification power to attach to them.

This attribute could slow down zombies, speed up their decay, and weaken their defenses, making it easier for his teammates to attack.

It was kind of like giving a buff in a game. In short, Jiang Nian was like the team’s priest or support.

The only difference was that in games, the support character consumed the least XP but got hit the hardest.

He could shamelessly say: He was the team favorite.

When trouble arose, his teammates handled it. When nothing was going on, they let him wander around.

“…”

After the fight, Jiang Nian’s fingers still itched and his fingertips trembled slightly.

Cheng Jing patted his shoulder.

“You can train as much as you want once we get to our destination.”

“Mm.”

Jiang Nian nodded enthusiastically. The prospect of fighting alongside his friends—and his lover—made him excited and eager to get started.

Since it was almost noon, Cheng Jing told the team to take a break and eat there.

After eating, they switched drivers and continued their journey.

Huang Qian and the others moved to Zhou Rongbin’s vehicle. Cheng Jing stayed in the passenger seat while the rest sat in the back.

In Cheng Jing’s car, Zhao Lei drove, Liao Yu sat in the passenger seat, and Cheng Jing and Jiang Nian sat in the back.

Although people with superpowers have strong mental strength, Jiang Nian was used to a laid-back lifestyle. After eating, he looked at the map briefly and started to feel lazy and drowsy.

After yawning a few times, he decided to take a nap.

You couldn’t blame him for being so relaxed. The main reason was that all his teammates were extremely strong. Even if he stayed awake, it wouldn’t change much if any of them weren’t good.

Cheng Jing spoiled him, so he took out a Luo Xiaohei blackout eye mask and helped him put it on.

“Thanks, Brother Jing.”

Jiang Nian smiled and then dozed off peacefully.

Liao Yu glanced in the rearview mirror and saw his older brother tilt his head to look at the sleeping man. His expression was reserved, but his gaze was so gentle and loving that it could choke a dog.

The Nancheng Base was in a unique location at the intersection of four provinces.

It had convenient road access, and you could head in many directions for supply runs or zombie hunting just by following the main roads.

This time, their destination was Xihe City, nearly 400 kilometers away. It had just been hit by a massive earthquake during an extremely cold winter.

Due to the cold and the earthquake, fewer than 20,000 people survived in a city that used to have over a million residents.

The main reason for the high number of casualties was that several relocation sites in Xihe City were set up downtown based on “public opinion,” which happened to be the epicenter.

As a result, the most populated area was completely overturned—wiped clean!

Zhou Li said that the Nancheng Base carried out the rescue in Xihe City, but they only saved survivors.

The main reason was that there were still aftershocks of various magnitudes, which made the area unstable.

Therefore, the base only focused on rescue operations. Even now, they haven’t fully explored Xihe City.

They only set up warning signs on the outskirts for explorers.

The odds of other adventurers going there weren’t high either.

Although earthquakes weren’t happening as often anymore, you wouldn’t dare go in if you weren’t strong enough or didn’t have a detailed map.

Jiang Nian had suggested going to Xihe City, and Cheng Jing made the decision after discussing it with the team.