RIACMET chapter 16

 

“Huang Qian!”

“Sister Qian…”

The sudden situation startled Cheng Jing and Jiang Nian, who rushed over to help her.

Huang Qian glared angrily at Cheng Jing and said,

“Cheng Jing, are you out of your mind? Why did you shock me?”

“Huh? I… I didn’t…”

Cheng Jing was stunned. It was just a joke between friends. It wasn’t the first time they’d done something like this. He wasn’t the type of person who couldn’t take a joke. Why would he do something to shock someone else? No matter how wild the other person was, she was still a woman.

“…”

Huang Qian stood up awkwardly, patting herself down and still complaining:

“You just used a high-voltage stun gun to zap me…”

After saying that, she glanced at his hand. There was nothing there, but…

“That’s impossible. Brother Jing didn’t take anything.”

Jiang Nian said, unconsciously pulling Cheng Jing’s hand to look. But the moment he touched him, a strong electric current came from Cheng Jing’s fingertips. This caused Jiang Nian to yank his hand back and scream, just like Huang Qian.

“Hiss!”

He staggered two steps backward and nearly fell. Jiang Nian clutched his wrist, his expression twisting for a moment, as he felt a buzzing sensation in his head.

“Jiang Nian…”

Cheng Jing didn’t react. He instinctively reached out to grab Jiang Nian, but Huang Qian pulled him back first.

“Cheng Jing, don’t move! Something’s wrong with you. It seems like your body is charged with electricity!”

As she spoke, she looked at his feet and the surrounding area but didn’t see anything he was stepping on.

“…”

Cheng Jing was sweating profusely and staring at his hands seriously.

“I can feel it, too. It’s like there’s electricity flowing through my body.”

After saying that, he looked at the two people he had accidentally shocked.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

Huang Qian shook her head and pulled away just in time. Now, she only felt a little numb.

“I’m okay…”

After a moment, Jiang Nian recovered from his shock, and suddenly, his eyes lit up as he thought of something. Not caring about Huang Qian’s presence, he nervously swallowed a few times, walked up to Cheng Jing, and said,

“Brother Jing, listen to me. You might have awakened a superpower.”

The circumstances and reactions during someone’s awakening were never exactly the same, but an unexplained high fever was the most common symptom.

“What… what do you mean, awakened a superpower?”

Huang Qian was confused. She heard every word clearly but couldn’t understand them when strung together in a sentence.

Jiang Nian shook his head and said he would explain later.

“The awakening of a superpower…”

Cheng Jing recalled the strange news he’d seen before and Jiang Nian’s nightmare about humans awakening powers during the apocalypse. He had an idea, so he asked:

“Then what should I do now?”

Sweat soaked his entire body, and he felt like he was about to faint.

“First of all, don’t panic. Try to calm your emotions.”

Jiang Nian recalled the sensations he experienced when his power awakened in his past life and what he’d heard from others. Then, he told Cheng Jing:

“Follow the energy moving through your body. Don’t resist or hold it back. Let the current of your power fuse with your body. It’s a process that might take hours or even days. We can’t get close to you right now, so you need to go into that room on your own.”

“But I feel really hot, like my body’s burning…”

Cheng Jing said, his skin reddening and arcs of energy glowing at his fingertips and exposed skin.

“Fire and lightning…”

Just when Jiang Nian thought Cheng Jing had awakened with lightning powers, flames suddenly ignited at his fingertips. The electric arcs glowed white as they wrapped around the fire—beautiful and dangerous.

“This is a dual-attribute mutation of lightning and fire.”

Huang Qian was shocked as well, and Jiang Nian quickly gestured towards the man whose body was now covered in sweat:

“Brother Jing, go to the bathroom quickly! The power won’t hurt you, but it can harm others and the surroundings. Since there’s fire, you can’t go to the bedroom. Head to the bathroom quickly!”

Cheng Jing was already dizzy from the heat. After hearing this, he immediately ran to the bathroom. Jiang Nian followed him, shut the door, and stood outside, saying:

“Don’t panic, Brother Jing. Calm down and think clearly. Use your mental strength to control the power. There’s water in here—don’t let the energy go wild, or it could endanger the whole house, or maybe even the entire building.”

The destructive power of offensive abilities, especially rare dual-attribute mutations, was terrifying. Although he hadn’t seen many in his past life, he had heard enough.

Paranormals with strong offensive powers were highly sought after, no matter where they were. Sometimes, even the authorities had to rely on them.

“Don’t worry. I can control it. But you and Huang Qian should stay away from the door. If not, then go downstairs…”

Cheng Jing sat down against the wall, his body mostly wrapped in lightning and fire. He thought his hair would burn off, but it didn’t. It was truly magical. His mind was clear. He believed he could control it, but he was still afraid of what might happen.

“No, I’ll wait at the door.”

Jiang Nian said as he moved a stool and stood watch by the door. He trusted Cheng Jing.

Huang Qian had also calmed down. She moved a stool and sat down as well.

“We’ll both watch over you. If you feel like you’re losing control, remember that your wife and your most capable assistant are right outside.”

Jiang Nian was a bit embarrassed by her blunt words but didn’t say much. He took the opportunity to explain the awakening of superpowers and showed her the strange news he had gathered. He also mentioned that he had recently had a nightmare about the end of the world.

Huang Qian didn’t say much, only offering a brief comment, before finally summing up:

“I’ve heard that there are signs before a great disaster, and I believe this is one of them.”

Setting aside everything else, the awakening of a power was right in front of her, and she couldn’t convince herself not to believe it.

Recalling how Cheng Jing had tolerated Jiang Nian’s hoarding behavior, she nodded in understanding.

“I see.”

Then, in the bathroom, she asked Cheng Jing:

“Brother, so this is why you were hoarding gear for the training mission.”

Cheng Jing didn’t deny it.

“There are some things that don’t need to be said, Huang Qian. For now, I hope that only the three of us know what happened tonight, including Jiang Nian’s dream and everything we’ve done.”

Huang Qian waved her hand.

“I know this kind of thing would cause endless trouble if word got out, whether or not the apocalypse comes. Take care of yourself, respect others’ fate, and only concern yourself with anything else if you have the energy to spare.”

For now, it was enough that the two of them cared about each other.

“Exactly. As long as Sister Qian understands.”

Dealing with smart people was easy. Jiang Nian sighed in relief. He had honestly been quite worried. After all, girls were softhearted, and the saying “kill the saints first in troubled times” wasn’t nonsense.

Huang Qian seemed to read his thoughts. She smiled brightly and waved at him.

“Don’t worry. Your sister isn’t a phony saint who tries to morally blackmail others. In hard times especially, anyone who can’t assess the situation and prioritize accordingly deserves to die.”

“Yeah.”

Jiang Nian smiled, too. The word “saint” isn’t inherently derogatory. What he couldn’t stand were people who coerced others morally to take risks caused by their own irrational behavior. In short, mind your own business, don’t drag others down with you, and there won’t be a problem.