RIACMET chapter 139

 

Huang Qian looked at the unconscious Jiang Nian. After a while, her tone softened.

“I think he’s the one who brought all of this to us. People who truly value friendship are always like this.”

The gentleness of this little hamster wasn’t intentional, but everyone around him could feel it.

Sometimes, when thinking about his background and family, you couldn’t help but wonder what kind of parenting Madam Jiang used to raise someone so likable.

After pondering for a moment, she looked at Cheng Jing seriously and said,

“Brother, you need to guide him better. Don’t let him get trapped in a dead end of responsibility. He just needs to follow his own ideas and do his best. As long as he’s happy, that’s enough. There’s no need to push him too hard…”

Honestly, she was afraid that someone might morally blackmail Jiang Nian because, if they dragged him down, they’d be dragging their whole team down with him.

“I understand.”

Cheng Jing nodded. In fact, Jiang Nian understood, too. He was kind but not stubborn—just someone who cared too much about the people around him.

Huang Qian thought for a second, then added with a crooked smile:

“It’s not like he chose this ability. If he could have picked, he would have chosen something easier to use in battle—anything that didn’t come with this kind of mental torment.”

“Yeah…”

Cheng Jing didn’t respond further, but her words sparked something in his mind. An idea surfaced:

What if Jiang Nian didn’t choose to have the purification ability? What if he could let it go?

It could be done through a crystal core transplant!

“…”

Once the thought came to him, he couldn’t push it away. The more he thought about it, the more feasible it seemed.

As long as he swapped out his crystal core, he wouldn’t have to agonize over right and wrong anymore. He could just be a little salted fish and quietly wait out the apocalypse.

He had already been through a lot. He didn’t need to take on the so-called “responsibility of the end times.” If he could guarantee his own safety and offer a pure energy crystal core instead, that wouldn’t be a bad deal.

“…”

“Brother Cheng…”

“Hey, Brother…”

“Cheng Jing!”

Huang Qian shoved the man, who was suddenly staring blankly at Jiang Nian, and waved her hand in front of his eyes.

“Are you okay, bro? You’re pulling such a weird face…”

It looked like he was about to bite Jiang Nian.

“Ahem… I’m fine…”

Cheng Jing snapped out of his daze. He wiped his forehead and face, closed his eyes, reopened them, and asked Huang Qian, serious as ever,

“Sister Qian, tell me. If he could choose his superpower again and I asked Jiang Nian to give up purification, do you think he’d agree?”

“…”

Huang Qian wanted to joke, “That’s funny—if I could change mine, I’d go for a stronger one.”

But, seeing how serious he was, she dropped the teasing. After staying quiet for a while, she finally replied.

“I think he would. I mean, he’s in love with you. Love makes people blind.”

“…”

Cheng Jing pursed his lips, unable to respond. This woman was too straightforward.

Huang Qian didn’t hold back:

“What’s the big deal? With his personality, he’s not the type to say ‘I love you’ out loud. Now, flip it. If he seriously asked you to give up your superpower, what would you do?”

Cheng Jing didn’t hesitate. “Of course I—”

“No need to say it!”

Huang Qian cut him off just in time.

“Forget superpowers—you’d hand over your life if he asked. I get it. You two are madly in love.”

Since everyone here was familiar with each other, they had to learn how to swallow their pride.

“Ahem… ehm.”

Cheng Jing raised his fist to his mouth in embarrassment. It was true—if Jiang Nian ever said, “Brother Jing, I can only live well if you die,” he’d probably drop dead on the spot.

“So…”

Huang Qian spread her hands.

“If he could choose again, he’d agree the moment you asked. He’d probably do whatever you told him to, unless it would be bad for you.”

Maybe this is what it feels like to be an outsider offering love advice to someone who is head over heels.

“…”

Cheng Jing fell silent. It was true—Jiang Nian’s superpower was initially used to protect him and his teammates and was only later used to help others. As long as he believed they were safe, he’d definitely agree.

“Alright, bro. You don’t need to overthink it. All you need to know is that neither of you can live without the other. The rest doesn’t matter.”

Huang Qian stood up and left the tent after saying her piece. She didn’t know why he had brought it up suddenly, but she was sure her answer was correct.

That said, the idea of “re-selecting your superpower” still sounded like fantasy.

“…”

Once Huang Qian left, Cheng Jing’s mind spiraled into an unspeakable scenario again.

If he wanted to replace his little bastard’s crystal core, he would have to advance research on superpower crystal cores, starting with energy transfer via a medium and progressing to full core transplantation. It would all require rigorous experimentation.

He needed to contact his brother and bring in superpower experts specializing in brain evolution as soon as possible.

The breakthrough with the medium-core discovery was promising, and he thought the researchers studying apocalyptic mutations would be interested in it.

After all, they were out gathering data on zombie evolution and crystal core changes. If they could get an early heads-up, they could save a lot of time.

As he thought this, Cheng Jing pulled out his phone and sent a message to his brother. Instead of typing normally, he used a string of symbols.

Definitely not internationally recognized. It was a code the brothers had developed over years of gaming together, something only the two of them could understand.

It started out as a silly trick kids used to fool adults into talking trash about them. Who knew it would come in handy now? Honestly, it’s a surprising success.

After sending a few of those “cryptic” messages, Cheng Jing swiftly deleted the chat history and put away his phone.

Suddenly, he remembered another way to protect his lover, which cheered up his otherwise heavy heart. He leaned down and kissed the peacefully sleeping man, who was breathing steadily. He murmured to himself,

“I’m going to clean you up and change your clothes. Be a good boy.”

Then, he grabbed a bucket and headed out to find Liao Yu.

Honestly, as long as it was safe, passing out and letting someone do whatever they wanted to you wasn’t such a bad thing.

…

Jiang Nian was out cold and slept through until the next morning.

When he opened his eyes, he yawned and saw Cheng Jing sitting beside him, looking worried and serious.

He felt refreshed and comfortable—there was no weird smell, and his clothes had been changed. The perks of having a thoughtful boyfriend were on full display.

“Ahem… Brother Jing.”

Jiang Nian cleared his dry throat.

“You’re awake…”

Cheng Jing helped him sit up, clearly concerned, and handed him a bottle of water.

Jiang Nian took a small sip to moisten his throat, then set the bottle aside.

“Thanks, Brother Jing.”

“How do you feel? Does anything still hurt?”

Cheng Jing pulled him into a hug and touched his forehead and face. This little brat had kept him up all night.

Maybe it was because he’d overthought things before bed, but he’d ended up dreaming of locking someone in a cage and chaining them up. It was twisted—but oddly satisfying.

“…”

Jiang Nian shook his head and shifted around. After making sure everything felt normal, he replied,

“I’m fine. I feel okay.”

Cheng Jing let out a sigh of relief, then immediately asked,

“Did you do this kind of thing a lot when you were back home?”

“…”