RIACMET chapter 17

 

Afterward, everyone chatted casually. While waiting for Cheng Jing to finish merging his superpowers, Jiang Nian answered Huang Qian’s other questions.

Sounds of water and electricity came from the bathroom, and faint flickers of fire could be seen inside.

However, since Cheng Jing remained clearheaded, Jiang Nian and Huang Qian weren’t too worried. After eating, they continued organizing the supplies.

While tidying up, Huang Qian said that she would continue shopping the next day and asked the others to buy more as well.

Two more hours passed, and it was nearly midnight. Cheng Jing’s condition had stabilized, so Huang Qian was asked to head back first. She was told to return again the next day at noon after buying enough supplies. She was told not to go out afterward.

“All right, Jiang Nian, don’t forget to call me if anything happens.”

The situation was stable. Huang Qian knew she couldn’t be of much help by staying, so she reminded Jiang Nian to be careful and left.

The room became quiet. Cheng Jing, whose body was wrapped in lightning and thunder, spoke to Jiang Nian.

“Niannian, just sleep over there. You don’t need to wait for me.”

“No, I’m not sleepy.”

Jiang Nian stubbornly refused. His boyfriend had the ability to be a forerunner. He was too excited to sleep.

“Okay.”

Cheng Jing had no choice but to let him do as he wished.

“If you get tired, rest. If not, tell me more about your dream.”

“All right. After the zombies appear, various natural disasters follow. The first is extreme cold weather…”

Jiang Nian went to the table and got some food. He talked while eating, telling Cheng Jing everything he could about what he had seen, heard, and experienced in his previous life.

After all, the setting of the prophetic dream had been established, and Cheng Jing believed him, so it didn’t matter if he shared more.

Cheng Jing listened until he felt sleepy. He told the person outside the door that he wanted to take a nap, then leaned against the wall and closed his eyes.

Although sparks and lightning still crackled across his body, he no longer felt heat after the initial discomfort. In fact, he felt a subtle sensation all over, much like the body-tempering process described in cultivation novels.

Jiang Nian pushed a chair over and curled up on it for a nap.

When he woke up, it was past five in the morning and still light outside.

He looked at the bathroom door and saw that it was quiet inside. The water had stopped running, and the sounds of fire and electricity had vanished, along with his drowsiness. He immediately got up and asked,

“Brother Jing, are you all right?”

After a moment, Cheng Jing replied:

“I’m fine. Go to the bedroom and get me some clothes.”

“Okay, okay, just a second!”

Jiang Nian quickly grabbed a jacket and shirt from the house next door. Because of his profession, Cheng Jing’s clothes were fairly simple.

Just as Cheng Jing was getting dressed, Huang Qian rushed in, carrying breakfast.

“I didn’t sleep well last night because I was worried about you. Brother, come out for a bit.”

Cheng Jing came out of the bathroom. He didn’t look much different except that he had more energy and a sharper gaze.

Huang Qian looked him up and down and clicked her tongue.

“I thought you’d be bald.”

Jiang Nian couldn’t help but laugh at the thought of how Cheng Jing would look bald.

“Even if he were bald, Brother Jing would still be handsome.”

Huang Qian rolled her eyes at him.

“I think you’re just biased. You’d compliment him no matter what…”

I thought Cheng Jing was the only one in love, but I didn’t expect them to actually be a couple. They really were well-matched.

Amidst the two’s surprised gazes, Cheng Jing turned over his right palm and a flame appeared. With a thought, lightning spread across his palm. Finally, the lightning and fire fused together.

“My brother is amazing!”

Huang Qian’s eyes sparkled. If Jiang Nian weren’t there and she didn’t need to maintain her image as a graceful woman, she would’ve said, “Brother, you’re so awesome!”

Jiang Nian was also thrilled. He hadn’t expected Cheng Jing to be one of the first to awaken superpowers — let alone a rare dual-attribute mutant. No wonder he had been fine in his previous life!

He was so happy he wanted to cry. His boyfriend was incredible—no one could mess with him! There was no need to worry about protecting supplies anymore.

Setting aside his supernatural abilities, Cheng Jing shared how he felt after awakening.

His five senses had become much sharper. He was no longer afraid of heat, and his whole body was filled with strength.

“Brother, remember to take me with you when you go out!”

Huang Qian was full of envy. She was fortunate to witness something miraculous. If the apocalypse came, she’d have a strong arm to hold on to.

Cheng Jing nodded.

“Alright. You’d better go buy gear before it gets dark and tell the others to hurry. Also, prepare more cold-weather clothes. Don’t go out after it rains. Follow my instructions. You know what to say. Jiang Nian and I have something else to take care of. We’ll contact you later.”

“Don’t worry, Brother. I know!”

Huang Qian said as she contacted the others. As a qualified assistant, this was a minor matter.

…

Cheng Jing and Jiang Nian returned to the hotel. First, they needed to retrieve Jiang Nian’s belongings. Second, they hadn’t gotten much rest the night before, so they planned to sleep at the hotel before returning to the safe house.

“Every year, people awaken with superpowers. Do objects mutate and gain special functions, too?”

Cheng Jing asked suddenly while driving.

Jiang Nian was stunned for a moment before answering.

“Yes, but it’s not common. Most are affected by paranormal energy itself. There’s no clear pattern; it all depends on luck.”

In his previous life, he had seen someone awaken the ability to manipulate metal, turning an ordinary fruit knife into a treasured blade that could slice through iron as if it were mud. It was said to have happened because he was holding the knife when his powers awakened and the knife was imbued with that energy.

However, the likelihood of this happening was extremely low. Most objects were destroyed due to the force of supernatural energy instead.

“Oh.”

Cheng Jing understood. Jiang Nian thought his expression was a bit odd. Suddenly, an idea struck him:

“Brother Jing, why are you suddenly asking this? Did something on your body mutate?”

“I’ll tell you later.”

Cheng Jing smiled mysteriously, piquing Jiang Nian’s curiosity. However, he remembered that Brother Jing hadn’t been holding anything when his superpowers awakened.

After returning to the hotel and packing up, Cheng Jing pulled out a pair of men’s rings.

“I had them custom-made before my business trip. I was going to give them to you last night, but my superpower awakening delayed it. Since I’ve been carrying them with me, the casing burned up, and the color changed. Just ignore that.”

“Of course… I don’t mind.”

Jiang Nian’s breath caught as he looked at the platinum rings. They were originally bright white but had turned a smoky black-gold. What was he thinking? He was so happy.

Even though two grown men shouldn’t be overly sentimental, who doesn’t like a little sweetness?

Cheng Jing continued:

“I didn’t take them out while Huang Qian was here because I thought it would’ve been awkward.”

Jiang Nian seemed to remember something and quickly asked,

“Awkward?”

Did they turn into flaming wheels? Then he would really be flying high!

Cheng Jing said nothing. First, he slipped a ring onto the man’s finger. Then, he asked the man to put one on him as well. Perhaps due to the supernatural energy baptism, the moment the ring touched his skin, an electric current seemed to run through him.

“It looks great,”

Jiang Nian said enthusiastically. Especially since Cheng Jing had chosen wedding rings sized for the ring finger. He really liked the man’s possessiveness.

After putting on the rings, Cheng Jing picked up the car key from the table under Jiang Nian’s hopeful gaze.

Just as he thought about storing it, the key disappeared from his palm. Then, when he thought about retrieving it, the key reappeared in his hand.