RIACMET chapter 127

 

“…”

After a moment of thought, Jiang Nian nodded under Cheng Jing’s encouraging gaze.

“All right, let’s go together. Brother Jing, in the past two days alone, my purification range has expanded to 370 meters. I’m about to break through 400… If I push a little more, 500 meters isn’t far off.”

Not only has he progressed quickly under the pressure of the crisis, but he also deserves credit for his efforts to cooperate with his teammates more.

By syncing with the abilities of the team’s other attribute holders, he could improve his range even faster once they got used to each other.

Now that he was part of a team, he had found his position.

He could charge into battle armed and provide backup and support for his teammates when they retreat.

Thinking of this, Jiang Nian put away the crystal core, touched his ear, and shyly asked Cheng Jing,

“Brother Jing, since I started going on missions with the others, have I made any progress besides my powers? I want you to be honest.”

His teammates were all so capable, and he didn’t want to hold them back.

“Of course!”

Cheng Jing affirmed without hesitation. Seeing his nervous, sparkling eyes, Cheng Jing smiled and said,

“You’ve been progressing super fast, whether it’s your powers or everything else. As expected, Niannian’s talent for combat far surpasses the average person’s.”

He really got fired up once a fight started. Thankfully, he was on their team. If he were left to his own devices, who knows what he’d get into?

“You…”

Jiang Nian blushed.

“Are you complimenting me or roasting me? I’m serious.”

“I am being serious.”

Cheng Jing dropped his teasing smile and looked him directly in the eye.

“Even without the ‘boyfriend filter,’ everyone can see your strength, Niannian. You’re the backbone of our team. No matter what happens, I’d feel uneasy if I didn’t talk it through with you first. That’s just the truth.”

He wasn’t the only one who thought that; everyone did. Ever since the beginning of the apocalypse, this way of thinking had naturally taken root.

Whenever an important decision needed to be made and Jiang Nian wasn’t involved, it just felt incomplete.

“All right, got it.”

Jiang Nian patted his flushed cheeks, practically bouncing with joy inside. Only he knew how much this affirmation meant to him.

Backbone? The feeling of being the big brother was back!

After receiving praise and affirmation from his boyfriend and the team leader, Jiang Nian was so excited that he couldn’t sleep. He immediately pulled out a map of the commercial district they would be visiting the next day and began studying it carefully.

If he were still at the dorms, well, there would be other ways to burn off this kind of excitement.

…

The outer ring commercial zone of Xihe City was a massive retail and wholesale complex.

According to the map, the total building area covered about 15,000 square meters and included greenhouses, stores, and a large integrated building.

The greenhouse area was the wholesale zone for fresh produce and agricultural byproducts. Along with the outdoor parking lot, it took up around 5,000 square meters.

The commercial zone covered over 6,000 square meters and offered essentials such as food, clothing, housing, and transportation.

The integrated building was slightly smaller, with one underground parking level and five floors above ground.

Floors 1–3 were a shopping center.

The fourth floor was an entertainment and leisure area with bars, gyms, a cinema, and arcade rooms.

The fifth floor was the office level, containing commercial spaces and management offices for the entire area.

Each floor had its own electronic gate. During the period of acid rain, when the government urged people to stay indoors, the entire complex was shut down.

Later, however, the sealed-off building wasn’t spared in the chaos that followed, once the greenhouse and storefront areas had been looted.

To make matters worse, the entire district was hit by an earthquake. The bursting of the city water pipes, followed by extreme cold and snowmelt, led to a “Mt. Jinshan Flood”[mfn](水漫金山, Shuǐ Màn Jīnshān) is a classic scene from Chinese folklore, particularly from the legend “The Legend of the White Snake” (白蛇传). In the story, the flood of Jianshan Mount was caused by the White Snake using her magical powers to summon heavy rain and floodwaters to attack Jianshan Temple. The writer says: “The flooding here was so bad, it was like the legendary magical flood at Mt. Jinshan.” This cultural reference is used to dramatize the destructive and sudden nature of the flood, as if nature were striking back with mythical force.[/mfn] effect.

All kinds of debris rushed into the underground parking entrance, clogging it completely and creating a horrid stench.

A fire had also broken out near the electric vehicle row, burning several nearby stores, including part of the complex, to charred ruins. The devastation was shocking.

“The damage here is too severe. There’s no need to waste time on a full sweep,” said Cheng Jing, who then instructed Tang Yi to use the drone for a wide-area scan and to explore specific spots based on the map.

Jiang Nian remembered that Xia Weiwei had only mentioned this commercial district as a place to find commonly used supplies in his past life, so it was fine if they didn’t cover it thoroughly.

Tang Yi took charge of the drone operations while Zhou Rongbin handled the map and marked off locations based on Cheng Jing’s instructions.

They skipped the greenhouse zone and focused on the commercial and integrated building areas instead.

“…”

But after more than three hours, all they found were a few ordinary zombie cores.

They did come across some small storage units and relatively intact freezers, but there was nothing worth taking:

Rotten fish, spoiled shrimp, raw meat, moldy frozen goods, decayed fruits and vegetables, and the stench of zombies.

These three overlapping smells of death were basically biological weapons. The moment the door opened, the stench rushed in and blocked your vision.

Not to mention the gruesome sight of maggot-ridden remains plastered all over the floors and walls.

After several trips like that, everyone’s face turned pale with nausea.

After exiting another “biochemical zone,” Huang Qian ripped off her mask and vomited nearby. She returned, sipping water and rinsing her mouth and grumbling,

“I gotta say, this warehouse deserves its ‘expired veggie market’ title. Even zombies would admit defeat here.”

Cheng Jing took a few deep breaths, then turned to Zhou Rongbin, who was holding the map.

“How many search points are left?”

Zhou Rongbin pointed to the map and showed him.

“There’s just one left: the dry goods storage area near the back entrance of the integrated building.”

“Let’s hope things are better there,” said Jiang Nian, swallowing down the discomfort in his throat. The item had to be there; he just hadn’t found it yet.

Cheng Jing nodded.

“Once we finish the dry goods area, we’ll head straight for the integrated building. Looks like we might wrap things up early today.”

Then, he turned and patted Jiang Nian on the back.

“It’ll be easier if you suck on a mint or orange peel.”

“Yeah, I’ve got mints.”

Jiang Nian took off his fingerless gloves, asked Liao Yu for some ice, washed his hands, and took out a big bag of mints.

He popped one into his mouth, then passed the bag around. Everyone took a handful.

Everyone except Cheng Jing. He didn’t hold out his hand, but instead declared,

“I don’t want it. I want Niannian to give it to me directly.”

They were lovers first and teammates second, so of course he deserved special treatment.

Amidst the group’s teasing laughter, Jiang Nian took one back out, unwrapped it, and handed it to him personally.

Huang Qian gave them a look with her beautiful eyes:

“Out of all the couples out there, you two are the best at showing off.”

Zhao Lei and Liao Yu nodded in agreement. They were eating their own snacks, but their faces still showed it all.

The three single dogs were used to it by now. They silently watched the couples “peck” at each other day after day.

“Sister Qian…”

Jiang Nian’s face instantly flushed red. After everyone had just been tortured by that awful stench, it was nice to lighten the mood with some jokes. However, whenever Huang Qian was mentioned, Jiang Nian could never win and didn’t know how to respond.

Cheng Jing, with a perfectly straight face, argued back:

“If I don’t show off, how will you know how hard it is to be a team leader? If you weren’t close to the water tower and weren’t good at picking grass nearby, with your people skills, you’d be single until the end of time.”

Huang Qian: “…”

The others: “?”