RIACMET chapter 252

 

In June, Minister Wang and his team returned to the Nancheng Base with a large group of technical and engineering personnel from various fields.

Among them was a prominent individual who had awakened a superpower that allowed her to occupy dozens of hectares of space.

Regarding this “space boss,” the information previously released by the authorities had been rather “vague”:

She was described as a government official with a strong sense of the big picture who awakened her superpower at the start of the apocalypse. She distributed supplies to the public during the extreme cold wave and joined the “national team” to salvage large resources once the cold wave had passed.

People assumed that she would be at least on par with Zhou Li, Minister Wang, or Li Sheng.

However, this “big boss” was actually just an intern at the Qingyun City Department of Resources Office.

Song Miao is a 25-year-old female with delicate facial features, a petite figure, black-rimmed glasses, and a shy smile.

She really did look like the girl next door.

But this was the truth. The spatial zone she controlled was now filled with massive industrial materials. She would help with the construction of the industrial zone in South City Base and be stationed there long term.

The large-scale industrial revitalization plan had originally been scheduled to take place at Base S, but due to a series of events, officials eventually shifted it to South City Base.

After reorganization and restructuring, Base S is now jointly managed by four city bases and their respective authorities, following South City Base’s management model.

If the major bases remained stable, the overall situation would stabilize, and everyone could relax a bit.

Around noon, Minister Wang and his group returned to the base. Cheng Jing, Jiang Nian, and Gao Xuyang were summoned to the leadership office for a debriefing meeting.

The base had been operating normally, and any issues were promptly reported by phone. There really wasn’t much to discuss; it was mostly just a warm conversation among old friends.

Master Gao had basically returned to normal, which was a huge surprise to those who had just come back from outside.

Especially Yang Kai, whom Master Gao had intentionally kept in the dark during their phone calls. Now that he was back and had found out that his lover no longer needed to consume crystal cores and could share meals with him again, Yang Kai wanted to lift Master Gao up and spin him around on the spot.

According to Jiang Nian, the zombie toxin in Master Gao wouldn’t easily be eradicated, but it also wouldn’t prevent him from returning to a normal life.

Minister Wang finally felt relieved now that Gao Xuyang had been saved. After all, Gao Xuyang was his nephew’s lover. Though he’d handled the matter impartially on the surface, deep down, he’d been extremely worried.

After the meeting, the others left while Cheng Jing, Jiang Nian, Chu Yi, and Zhou Li stayed behind to discuss plans for expanding the base with Minister Wang.

By now, Cheng Jing and Jiang Nian had become core members of the base. Minister Wang no longer hid the trust and reliance he placed in them, always consulting them before making major decisions.

…

In Laboratory Building No. 3, Gao Xuyang opened his collar and followed Yang Kai back to the central dormitory. Knowing he was coming back, Yang Kai had already cleaned the dorm in advance.

Tang Ji helped move the luggage and reported on Master Gao’s condition to Yang Kai. He had also served as Master Gao’s temporary caretaker during this time.

“Tang Ji, thank you.”

Yang Kai offered his sincere thanks. After all the chaos at Base S and everything that had happened in Beishi, he was grateful he had decided to come and join Brother Cheng.

He had not only found friends he could trust, but also his lover.

Tang Ji waved it off.

“Brother Kai, you’re being too polite. We’re all brothers and friends—no need for thanks. Just set your stuff down, and I’ll stop being the third wheel, haha.”

He had also been rescued from despair. Helping each other was only natural.

Yang Kai smiled brightly.

“I’ll treat you to drinks after I finish up these next few days.”

“Alright.”

Tang Ji left with a smile, though he was a bit out of it as he walked down the stairs. Chu Yi was still at the command center, so he wouldn’t see him until later.

What should I say when I see him?

“…”

“Master Gao, you’re finally cooking for me again.”

By late afternoon, Yang Kai emerged from the shower, freshly shaved. Smelling the food, he walked into the kitchen and hugged the man busy at the stove from behind, feeling content.

“My sense of taste hadn’t recovered yet, and I was worried I wouldn’t be able to cook well.”

Gao Xuyang said as he grabbed a clean plate and chopsticks. He took a piece of meat from the pot, blew on it, turned around, and carefully fed it to Yang Kai.

“Try it.”

“Mm.”

Yang Kai placed his hands on Gao Xuyang’s waist, opened his mouth, and took a bite. He squinted happily.

“It’s delicious—tastes just like before.”

“That’s because I got the seasoning from Jiang Nian.”

Gao Xuyang replied, lightly slapping his hand.

“Let go. Go out and rest a bit. We’ll eat soon.”

Yang Kai stuck to his back like a dog-skin plaster.

“Master Gao, I missed you so much. Let me kiss you again.”

Gao Xuyang’s pale cheeks and neck turned unnaturally red. He pressed down Yang Kai’s hand, which was getting too wild.

“Kiss me tonight.”

His body had recovered, and his memory was mostly intact. He could feel his lover’s touch, so how could he allow him to do whatever he wanted?

“Okay.”

Yang Kai seemed to get the message. He placed his palm over his left chest and felt his strong heartbeat. After a moment, he chuckled, took a step back, and leaned lazily against the doorframe to watch.

After making it through the most painful stage, everything ahead would be easier.

His desires weren’t extravagant. He only wanted to live an ordinary life with the person he loved. Whether before or after the apocalypse, their life together was already beautiful.