RIACMET chapter 138

 

“You…”

Cheng Jing was startled and grabbed Jiang Nian’s shoulders with both hands.

“Jiang Nian? What’s going on all of a sudden?”

“…”

Jiang Nian took a breath and lowered his gaze.

“Yesterday, when I was facing Master Xiaoqi, I thought that if I could reach the highest level of my ability, then maybe, if I met someone like him again in the future, I could save him as long as the infection hadn’t progressed too far.”

But if the infection had already taken over completely, rotting the body and turning it fully into a zombie, there’d be no saving it. The person’s consciousness and organs would already be gone.

“Don’t be like this!”

Cheng Jing tightened his grip on Jiang Nian’s shoulders.

“Don’t push yourself like this. I’m here…”

Jiang Nian hugged him back and let out a quiet sigh.

“It’s because of you that I want to grow stronger faster. Brother Jing, I really need to know my limits.”

He knew what he needed to do and what he was capable of.

He wasn’t using himself as a tool for a blind sacrifice, nor did he intend to play savior and try to rescue everyone. He was only doing this for those who truly deserved it, especially the people by his side.

He admitted that the situation with Xiao Qi and his Master had shaken him. Without realizing it, he’d projected himself into that same scenario.

If he didn’t have this superpower, maybe it wouldn’t have bothered him so much. But because he did, he couldn’t stop imagining the worst-case scenarios.

Logically, he knew it wasn’t necessary, but emotionally, he couldn’t help but feel anxious.

He was afraid that what happened to Master Xiaoqi would happen to them, too—afraid that things from his previous life would repeat themselves.

“…”

Cheng Jing hated stubborn people, but the one he loved was stubborn and made him feel sorry for him.

This man couldn’t fully cover up the insecurities caused by death trauma, so Cheng Jing could only nod and agree.

“Just this once. It can’t happen again. You can’t do it secretly. You have to promise me that first.”

“All right, I promise I won’t do it behind your back.”

Jiang Nian agreed right away, then reminded him.

“The pain from pushing myself can’t be avoided. But Brother Jing, don’t stop me. I can take it.”

After saying that, he crouched down and placed his hand on the ground. A blue-and-white glow surged from his palm, swirling and shifting with his thoughts until it formed a circle that began expanding outward. He and Cheng Jing stood at the edge of it.

With his improved skills, Jiang Nian could now stand wherever he wanted, inside or outside the purification circle.

From the earth inside the circle, a foul black mist began rising steadily.

10 meters… 50 meters… 100… 200… 300…

350…380…400…

Pieces of information automatically surfaced in his mind as feedback. The purification range expanded rapidly at first, then slowed as it neared its limit.

420 meters.

Jiang Nian’s expression shifted from relaxed to serious and strained. His jaw tightened and his face turned pale.

After a while, a rusty taste filled his mouth. His hair stuck to his forehead, and sweat dripped down his chin.

“…”

Cheng Jing stood by his side, wanting to stop him, but forcing himself to hold back.

440 meters…

Jiang Nian felt a searing pain and burning sensation in his lower abdomen where his superpower crystal core was located.

With each extra meter that the purification circle spread, he felt as if his insides were being torn apart—he couldn’t even breathe.

“Niannian…”

Cheng Jing reached out to support his trembling shoulders. Jiang Nian clenched his jaw and shook his head.

“I’m fine, Brother Jing. Don’t worry about me!”

“…”

A buzzing filled his mind, his thoughts slowed, his vision blurred, and everything started to double.

Suddenly, a surge of heat spread through his sinuses. Blood dripped down.

Jiang Nian’s eyes darkened, and he lost consciousness. The blue-and-white purification circle gradually faded.

“Niannian…”

“Jiang Nian!”

Cheng Jing caught him, wiping away his blood and sweat with a heart full of pain. He was willing to bet that this little brat had done the same thing in the dorm and had become quite good at it.

“…”

The overexertion left Jiang Nian drenched in cold sweat, breathing shallowly, his body cold and lightly convulsing.

No one else could help with exhaustion from superpowers and mental energy unless someone had a healing superpower.

“Woof, woof, woof—”

Xiao Qi, who had followed them out, barked anxiously. Seeing that Cheng Jing was just holding Jiang Nian without doing anything else, Xiao Qi turned and ran off to call the others.

The teammates were shocked when they saw Jiang Nian unconscious.

“It’s alright, don’t panic…”

Cheng Jing took the initiative to explain before anyone could ask. Everyone sighed in relief when they learned that Brother Nian had only passed out from overusing his superpower.

The mild convulsions in Jiang Nian’s body faded. Cheng Jing picked him up and carried him back.

Xiao Qi followed at his side, grumbling the whole way, though no one could understand him.

The others followed silently from behind. They didn’t ask many questions, but they were clearly shocked. Liao Yu was the first to speak up.

“I never thought my godfather was that harsh on himself!”

They had all tried pushing their superpowers to the limit before. Doing so drained your energy so badly that it made you dizzy—a completely different kind of pain from physical exhaustion alone.

Once was enough to scare you from doing it again. You’d pretty much never want to try it again.

For someone like Jiang Nian to faint from overuse—none of them could imagine how painful that must have been.

Tang Yi shook his head, too.

“What really gets me is that Brother Cheng actually let him go through with it…”

“Maybe it’s because Brother Nian’s power had already reached its limit, and he wanted to break through by pushing himself,” Jian Cheng guessed.

“Even though he acts like a flirt, he’s not reckless.”

Zhou Rongbin rubbed his nose.

“Brother Cheng looked like he was about to explode. I bet Brother Nian tricked him into agreeing to it.”

“Maybe it wasn’t a trick—maybe he was just being spoiled on purpose.”

Lu Ningzhou said knowingly, and Huang Qian nodded in agreement with her boyfriend.

Zhao Lei didn’t say a word. He finally understood why Brother Cheng had been so angry with Jiang Nian before. Having a rebellious boyfriend like that must be hard to deal with.

“…”

Cheng Jing carried Jiang Nian back to the tent, with Huang Qian following behind, supported silently by the others.

Xiao Qi tried to follow, but Zhou Rongbin held him back. He could only let out a pitiful little whine in protest.

“…”

Once Cheng Jing laid Jiang Nian in the sleeping bag, he pulled out a dry towel to wipe his sweat and gave him some energy water. His expression was ice cold.

Seeing this, Huang Qian hesitated before speaking.

“If you want to help him change clothes, I’ll step outside.”

“Not yet.”

Cheng Jing looked up at her, his throat tight and dry, unable to speak clearly.

“All right.”

Huang Qian sat casually off to the side. She could tell he wasn’t in a good mood but still couldn’t resist teasing him.

“Why don’t you understand what’s really going on?”

“…”

Cheng Jing let out an uncomfortable sigh. He raised a hand to rub his forehead and, after a while, finally said:

“Niannian’s superpower will evolve into its final form around 500 meters away. You’ve seen what his purification ability does to the zombie virus.”

Before he could finish, Huang Qian cut in.

“If he develops that ability, it will become even stronger. He might be able to purify infected people and help them recover.”

Honestly, just observing and thinking a little was enough to understand what was happening.

That might be the real reason their eldest brother chose to keep Jiang Nian’s unique superpower a secret when everything was uncertain.

Cheng Jing nodded, then shook his head.

“That’s what he wants to confirm. He was triggered by what happened to Master Xiao Qi.”

“…”