RIACMET chapter 145

 

Before Cheng Jing could respond, Jiang Nian nodded.

“Brother Kai mentioned it when he gave me the motorcycle. I told him to let you make the decision.”

“So you’re forcing me just because you couldn’t turn him down?”

Cheng Jing shot a glance at the little rascal who kept taking advantage of others. The sleek, powerful, and handsome Black Knight was now parked in the underground garage, but Cheng Jing still couldn’t bring himself to be pleased about it.

Jiang Nian smiled and said,
“You’re the captain.”

Their teammates chuckled but didn’t say anything. After spending so much time together, everyone had a good sense of Yang Kai’s personality and didn’t object to his joining the team.

Ultimately, though, the decision was up to the two team leaders.

Clearly, Brother Kai had chosen the smartest route—going straight to the person with the most authority.

Cheng Jing knew exactly what was going on, but he cleared his throat and said,

“If Yang Kai really wants to join our team and is willing to share all his resources, let’s be serious and say what we really think.”

He was personally in favor of Yang Kai. However, if any of his teammates were uncomfortable, then it wouldn’t happen. He had already made that clear to Yang Kai.

“…”

Cheng Jing’s words made everyone stop joking around. They set down their bowls and chopsticks and gave it some serious thought.

After a short pause, Jiang Nian was the first to raise his hand.

“I’m in favor. Whether it’s his background, strength, or personality, I think Brother Kai is a good fit.”

Those were the main factors to consider when looking for teammates now. The apocalypse wasn’t going to end in just a day or two. In terms of aligning with a larger power, Yang Kai—backed by the Southern City Base—was a valuable ally.

Compared to big teams with dozens or hundreds of members, their dozen or so like-minded companions were more reliable. They’d evaluated each other over time and grown to trust one another.

After Jiang Nian spoke up, the rest followed suit and voiced their agreement. They all knew each other well by now, so there wasn’t much to worry about.

Zhao Lei added,

“As long as he’s not here to mess up your relationship, I like Brother Kai just fine.”

Liao Yu nodded like a pecking chicken. “I agree!”

He had seriously panicked when Brother Kai came to Southern City Base to find them.

Jiang Nian waved his hand dismissively.
“Don’t worry. No one can shake the relationship between me and Brother Jing. Brother Kai and I are just friends now.”

Cough…

Cheng Jing let out a low cough to cover it up. That’s all well and good, but now he was worried that Jiang Nian might get too close to this “brother” and forget about him.

“…”

After confirming everyone’s opinion, Cheng Jing finally made the call.

“All right, then. We’ll agree to let him join. But unless we’re leaving base for a mission, his daily duties will stay the same, as will ours.”

Everyone understood. This meant that during normal days at the base, he would just be the figurehead team leader and would only join them on outings. It was basically the same setup as Jiang Nian’s.

That was fine. There was no need to change too much.

In fact, Jiang Nian suspected that Yang Kai just wanted a legitimate excuse to leave the base and have some fun.

After dinner, when the team dispersed, Cheng Jing personally called Yang Kai to inform him that he had officially been accepted.

Yang Kai was so thrilled that he immediately wanted to treat the team to dinner at a restaurant to celebrate.

Even though the restaurant only served prepackaged meals, which weren’t fresh or nearly as good as home cooking, Yang Kai insisted—and, of course, Cheng Jing didn’t refuse.

Jiang Nian listened in when they started talking about the meeting with the base research institute’s professors and scientists the next day. At that point, he quietly got up and walked out to the balcony to fiddle with his vegetable seedlings.

He might as well nibble on a few leaves while he’s at it.

Over ten minutes passed, and the call was still going. Cheng Jing was now asking for basic information about the base’s research institute and the personnel they would be working with. This included questions about whether the personnel had superpowers and what their psychic abilities were.

Jiang Nian saw Cheng Jing pull out his notebook and take notes. So, after eating a handful of leaves, he didn’t interrupt. He found some clothes, took a shower, and headed back to the bedroom.

By the time Cheng Jing was done, his little hamster was already asleep.

But his brows were furrowed, as if something were bothering him.

Cheng Jing stared silently at him for a moment, then suddenly smacked his own forehead in frustration. He’d been careless again.

It was almost 10:30 p.m., so he quickly pulled out his phone, dialed a number, and stepped out of the room.

The door closed just as the call connected.

A strong voice came through the receiver:

“Cheng Jing, is something wrong this late at night?”

Cheng Jing leaned against the sofa and replied apologetically.

“Minister Wang, there’s been a change in tomorrow’s plans. I’d like to talk it over with you.”

“Oh… go on.”

…

An hour later, Cheng Jing returned to the bedroom, turned off the lights, and climbed into bed. He hugged the person beside him, who was still slightly frowning.

At the same time, in the operations room, Zhou Li, who had just finished discussing business with Minister Wang, asked,

“Why did Cheng Jing call you this late?”

Minister Wang shook his head, puzzled.

“He said he wouldn’t be going to the research institute tomorrow. He asked me to summon the relevant professors and researchers to my office instead.”

Cheng Jing had mentioned that their team had found a special superpowered crystal core during their latest mission that might lead to a breakthrough in zombie core research.

A few days ago, they had agreed to visit the research institute to gain a full understanding of the situation, so this sudden change was odd.

If it were anyone else, that would be fine. But Cheng Jing was always meticulous about his work. This made the situation even more unusual.

Zhou Li was also surprised.

“Why? Did something happen?”

Minister Wang spread his hands helplessly.

“He said he just doesn’t like places like research labs.”

“He doesn’t like them?”

Zhou Li was stunned. That reason made even less sense.

Minister Wang smiled.

“I don’t think it’s about him. It’s probably Jiang Nian.”

Zhou Li: “… ” Yeah, he thought so too.

“It’s fine.”

Minister Wang waved it off.

“We’ve already summoned the research team. Just treat it like a regular progress briefing. It won’t draw attention. If the two of them were seen heading into the research lab together, that would attract far more attention. If they don’t want to go, then forget it.”

Zhou Li nodded. “That’s true.”

But he couldn’t help wondering: Why didn’t Jiang Nian want to go to the research institute?

They were friends, and he knew Jiang Nian wasn’t unreasonable or prone to throwing tantrums in front of his boyfriend.

Yet, given that Cheng Jing called in the middle of the night, it seemed like something serious.

Should he ask if they were dealing with an issue they didn’t want to discuss?

When he left Minister Wang’s office and tried calling Cheng Jing, however, the phone was turned off.

…

The next day.

“Niannian, are you ready?”

At 9:30 a.m., Cheng Jing knocked on the bedroom door for the third time, urging the person inside, who had long since changed clothes, to come out.

“Okay, almost ready…”

Jiang Nian’s hesitant voice came from inside, just like the previous two times.

Cheng Jing smiled faintly and knocked again. Then he said,

“Minister Wang has already gathered the researchers in his office. Let’s go. It’s not good to keep them waiting too long.”

“Minister Wang’s office?”

The door finally opened. Jiang Nian looked surprised and a little pale.

“Weren’t we supposed to go to the research lab at the institute?”

Cheng Jing raised his hand and gently touched Jiang Nian’s cold cheek.

“You don’t like labs, so I asked the minister to bring the experiment here. We’re not conducting any experiments—just providing an explanation. It doesn’t matter where it happens. What matters is finding the right person to safeguard the crystal core.”

“…”

Jiang Nian’s lips moved slightly, then he lowered his head.

He truly didn’t want to go to the lab, which is why he had been stalling, trying to buy time to prepare himself mentally—or maybe convince Brother Jing to go alone.

He hated places like laboratories. It was probably a symptom of trauma.

He’d thought he could handle it. But when it came down to it, he couldn’t. His heart pounded, his palms and back were sweaty, and panic and anxiety surged all at once.

Cheng Jing sighed and pulled him into a hug.

“If you don’t tell me, I’ll miss it completely. I only just realized. I’m sorry, Niannian.”

After everything he’d been through, how could he not have psychological trauma?

It was Cheng Jing’s fault for being so focused on the research breakthrough.

After all, Jiang Nian always acted too normal.

Luckily, he hadn’t forced a crystal core change.

When you care too much about something, sometimes you end up walking right into a dead end.