RIACMET chapter 167

 

“… ”

After hearing Tang Ji’s words, the Chen Shanmin family turned pale and red. They couldn’t deny it and didn’t want to admit it, either. They simply remained silent under Jiang Nian’s cold gaze.

“You people are the most shameless in the world, twisting right and wrong like pros. Bastards!”

Liao Yu was the first to curse. The others were also burning with righteous anger.

Tang Ji might have been a ruthless man, but they supported him. Anyone who sacrificed their own comrade and stabbed them in the back didn’t deserve sympathy, no matter when or where. Anyone would seek revenge for that.

Not to mention, Chen Shanmin had lured Jiang Nian here under false pretenses and dragged them all into a “death list.” Had they not come prepared, they would have ended up like Tang Ji—or worse, dead.

“…”

Jiang Nian was thinking about something else, though.

Some major events from his past life hadn’t changed despite the butterfly effect—only how they happened had shifted.

Chen Yue still killed someone and couldn’t escape being infected by the zombie virus.

For Chen Yue’s sake, Chen Shanmin still chose to sacrifice others without hesitation.

Without him, Xia Weiwei’s private doctor would have just used someone else for experiments.

This kind of malice was as inevitable as the end of the world. If he wanted to change his fate, he had to wipe them all out!

“…”

“Jiang Nian, please kill me. I’ll be grateful.”

Tang Ji spoke sincerely, his voice hoarser than before; the infection was clearly worsening.

Jiang Nian pushed away the thoughts crowding his mind and looked at Tang Ji.

“Take back your superpower first, and then we’ll talk.”

“…Alright.”

Tang Ji thought that meant Jiang Nian had agreed. The next moment, Jiang Nian sensed the strange energy surrounding them vanish completely.

While his teammates confirmed that they could use their superpowers again, Chen Lin received a special collar, and Chen Shanmin and his wife were handcuffed.

Jiang Nian turned to Chu Yi and said,

“Brother Chu, you can go find Jiang Wenwen now. Leave the rest to us.”

“Alright.”

Chu Yi nodded, took out his walkie-talkie, gave a few instructions, and handed it to Uncle Li.

“The people assigned here will be under your command for now, Uncle Li. I’ll return as soon as I can.”

After saying that, he left without a fuss.

Soon after, the sound of aircraft engines could be heard. Jiang Nian looked around and said,

“Uncle, take those three out and wait for me. I’ll handle the Tang Ji situation.”

He wasn’t impulsive. Uncle Li understood that Jiang Nian had his own plan. He looked at Liao Yu and nodded.

“Got it.”

Li Liang said nothing, but Li Shuhui looked a little worried.

“Brother Jiang Nian, are you sure you don’t need me to stay?”

Tang Ji might not be a bad guy, but he was infected. What if he lost control?

Jiang Nian glanced at Tang Ji, whose gaze had already returned to normal. Then, he smiled and shook his head.

“No need. I’ve got this. Even if Tang Ji goes wild, he’s still chained up. Don’t worry—your brother Nian is really strong.”

Li Shuhui stopped insisting after hearing that.

Chen Shanmin and the other two looked like they wanted to say something, but none of them dared to open their mouths.

Once the door closed, Tang Ji looked at the young man before him with a calm expression and asked,

“Do you know Chen Yue and the others? It looks like they backstabbed you, too.”

That’s the vibe he gave off.

Jiang Nian nodded.

“Something like that.”

Tang Ji’s eyes lit up, and he asked,

“Are you going to kill them?”

“Yes.”

Jiang Nian answered with absolute certainty.

“That’s amazing! Heaven is truly watching—I can die in peace now!”

Tang Ji looked excited for a moment, then sighed deeply and said,

“Go ahead, then. I’m afraid of pain, so just shoot me in the head. It’ll be quick. After I die, you can take my crystal core. It might be useful to you.”

“Useful?”

Jiang Nian immediately understood the hidden meaning in his words.

Tang Ji turned to look at him.

“I overheard that dog of a doctor and his assistant talking. Whether it’s from a mutant or a zombie, the crystal core doesn’t degrade after death. Maybe it can be reused like an organ transplant. Sounds reasonable, doesn’t it?”

“…”

Jiang Nian’s heart skipped a beat. Then, he nodded in agreement.

“In theory, there’s no problem.”

That perverted doctor had already considered this possibility in his previous life. He could use this as a reason to talk to Minister Wang later.

“Jiang Nian, thank you.”

Tang Ji said, closing his eyes as he awaited death.

Seeing that unwilling, helpless expression—so similar to his own in his past life—Jiang Nian took a deep breath and said seriously,

“It’s too early to thank me. I’m giving you the chance to take revenge yourself!”

“… ”

After a moment of stunned silence, Tang Ji opened his eyes in disbelief.

“Are you…serious?”

Jiang Nian’s expression was firm.

“Very serious. I’ll help you. The doctor is in the next room, and Xia Weiwei will be here soon. You can kill them yourself.”

For some reason, he really wanted to save Tang Ji. It felt like redemption for his past life.

Since they had the same enemy, Jiang Nian would deal with the Chen Shanmin family and leave Xia Weiwei and the “dog doctor” to Tang Ji.

Jiang Nian hadn’t suffered inhuman torture his whole life, but Tang Ji had experienced something worse than death.

If his own rebirth was a miracle, then he wanted to create a miracle for someone else who had been pushed to the brink.

“You…”

Tang Ji was stunned for a moment. Then, tears began to stream from his red eyes as his emotional defenses—which had convinced him to give up—crumbled in an instant.

“…Is this really okay? I’m afraid that if I lose consciousness, I’ll turn into a monster and hurt innocent people.”

He never meant to hurt anyone. Before his sister’s death, he and his teammates had always seen Chen Yue, Xia Weiwei, and the others as their most trusted friends.

Jiang Nian reassured him.

“Don’t worry. I can keep you conscious. Let’s give it a try.”

Seeing Tang Ji’s doubtful gaze, Jiang Nian briefly explained,

“My power works against the zombie virus. Chen Shanmin tricked me into coming here to save Chen Yue. That’s all you need to know for now.”

“I see… Thank you…”

Hope lit up Tang Ji’s eyes. Even if it was just for a moment, it was enough to keep him focused on revenge.

Had he not been chained up, he probably would have dropped to his knees and kowtowed to Jiang Nian.

Once Jiang Nian finished speaking, he pulled off his gloves. At his command, blue-white purification power surged to his palm.

“That’s your superpower? The color is beautiful…”

Tang Ji was clearly impressed, but when Jiang Nian reached toward him, he recoiled instinctively.

“I don’t know why, but I feel really uncomfortable…”

“That’s because you’ve already started turning into a corpse. It’s normal for you to reject purification attributes. It’ll hurt. If you can’t stand it, just scream. I won’t stop.”

After saying this, Jiang Nian saw Tang Ji nod to show that he was ready. Jiang Nian pressed his palm on Tang Ji’s left shoulder. He didn’t need to prepare; he was already experienced.

Tang Ji had been injected with the virus via syringe. Thanks to the drugs, the infection had worsened but hadn’t spread far; it was still limited to his left arm.

Soon, a soft blue-white light enveloped the infected arm.

As wisps of black smoke rose, foul-smelling blood began to ooze out and the dead flesh started to peel away.

The skin and tissue in the shallower parts of the infection became dehydrated and shrunken. Then, the decayed color caused by the virus began to fade.

The effect was similar to purifying contaminated soil.