RIACMET chapter 39

 

“All right, that’s enough.”

Cheng Jing nodded slightly to Huang Qian and Jiang Nian. The two of them understood immediately and turned to leave.

“I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…”

The woman repeated her apology silently. Her throat tightened and her voice grew hoarse and dull.

Slowly, she closed her eyes. The faces of her husband and daughter gradually faded into a blur in her mind.

Stepping out of the bedroom, Jiang Nian glanced at Xiaoya, who was sleeping on the sofa. A glint of coldness flashed in his eyes, but inwardly, his heart ached. He clenched his teeth as conflicting thoughts swirled in his mind.

“Aside from the woman in that room, the girl in front of me is also an accomplice! Even if she was controlled… In this world, where proper law and order no longer exist, taking a life should still come with a price!”

But she’s just a pitiful child, manipulated by her mother and enslaved by a supernatural power. She had no autonomy and was forced into everything. Wanting to save her father isn’t wrong. It’s her mother’s schemes that are twisted.”

“… ”

Jiang Nian bent down, his hand unconsciously resting on Xiaoya’s neck. Her neck trembled violently. He wanted to act, to use force, yet he lacked the strength.

Suddenly, Huang Qian returned, having just messaged the others to withdraw. She glanced at his hand and said lightly,

“I tapped really gently; you won’t die. Let’s go; it reeks in here.”

With that, she ignored the stunned Jiang Nian, picked up Xiaoya with her blanket, and walked toward the door.

“…”

Jiang Nian clenched his right fist, stood up, and swallowed hard several times before calling out.

“Qian-jie…”

Huang Qian paused and turned back.

“What is it?”

“I…”

Jiang Nian’s words caught in his throat. A sudden pressure welled up in his chest.

“I think we should kill her! I want to kill her! She deserves to die!”
“She should pay with her life! Her world has collapsed. When she wakes up, she’ll break down mentally. It’s better for her to die now…”

A string of thoughts hung at the tip of his tongue. But when he met Huang Qian’s gaze and saw the pale, small face nestled in her arms, he couldn’t speak. Nor could he swallow those words down.

After a long moment of silence, Huang Qian spoke gently.

“Jiang Nian?”

“…”

Jiang Nian finally took a deep breath and lowered his head.

“Let’s go.”

Holding Xiaoya, Huang Qian quietly exited.

Outside the door, Zhou Li’s team was already waiting. Huang Qian motioned for them to go down together.

A few minutes later, Room 1805 suddenly burst into flames, and eerie screams echoed throughout the building, carried by the stench-filled air.

Zhao Lei and the others quickly regrouped and met them downstairs. Seeing Xiaoya in Huang Qian’s arms, Zhao Lei didn’t ask a thing.

However, Jiang Nian’s presence carried an oppressive grief that made others wary of speaking casually around him.

Ten minutes later, Cheng Jing came down. He had just “disinfected” the entire apartment with high heat.

After a brief discussion, he had the others return to the command room first while he, Jiang Nian, Huang Qian, and Xiaoya followed behind.

Facing Zhou Li, Cheng Jing relayed everything that had happened. In the end, he concluded,

“That’s the full story. Even though Xiaoya was being controlled, she became an accomplice. It was her mother’s manipulation and deception that drove her into an irreversible situation.”

“…”

Zhou Li nodded thoughtfully.

“I see. But she’s only twelve. In the current circumstances, we can’t conduct a thorough investigation.”

Jiang Nian asked from the side.

“Then what should we do?”

“…”

Zhou Li looked at the three of them for a moment, then asked in return.

“Why didn’t you just kill her then?”

“…”

The three of them froze.

Zhou Li sighed at their reaction.

“You couldn’t bring yourselves to kill a child, could you? She’s both an accomplice and a victim.”

“… ”

Cheng Jing and Huang Qian nodded. Jiang Nian said nothing, lowering his head. This was the kind of judgment any normal person with even a shred of morality or empathy would arrive at.

“If she were ‘accidentally’ or ‘mistakenly’ killed right now, the case would’ve ended with all the suspects dead.”

After speaking, Zhou Li glanced at Xiaoya.

“Some matters need to be handled differently at a later time. She’s a criminal but also a minor and a victim. Now that she’s here, I can’t let you kill her.”

“…”

Cheng Jing and Huang Qian remained silent. Jiang Nian spoke in a low voice.

“We can’t just let this go, can we? We can’t accept that.”

“Of course not. Every crime must be paid for, especially this one. It involved over a dozen lives. Even an accomplice doesn’t get off lightly.”

Zhou Li nodded, then changed the subject.

“However, I currently don’t have the means or resources to detain her. It’s not easy to move her either. It involves many official personnel. You handled this case, so I’d like to ask for your help.”

He had anticipated this kind of situation from the start. If it came to this, he would entrust it only to a team he could truly rely on.

Cheng Jing had already guessed where this was going. He exchanged looks with Jiang Nian and Huang Qian before asking seriously,

“What do you need us to do?”

Zhou Li’s tone became firm.

“As the official in charge of the western district’s relocation center in Qingyun City, I’d like to entrust you with monitoring this child temporarily. Keep her outside the shelter for now and escort her to the base later for formal resettlement. Given the current conditions, all juvenile offenders are being handled this way.”

“Then how will we explain this to the victims’ families?”

Jiang Nian frowned.

Zhou Li admitted frankly,

“We’ll tell them the truth, but not right away. Letting her out now would only cause more chaos. The state takes juvenile crimes seriously, and there will be an official resolution. I’ll document the case thoroughly, and Xiaoya will have a proper trial.”

The collapse of law and morality makes issues like this seem insurmountable. But even in a chaotic world, the country still stands, as do those responsible for upholding order.

“…”

Jiang Nian remained silent for a long while before finally nodding. His anger came from the victim’s perspective. Meanwhile, Zhou Li was considering the situation more broadly.

Cheng Jing’s mind was working rapidly. He could already tell why Zhou Li had sought them out—not just for their professional identities, but also for their connections before and after the apocalypse. He shared a look with Huang Qian and nodded.

“All right. We’ll take responsibility for keeping watch over Xiaoya for now.

“Then I’ll leave it to you.”

Zhou Li’s expression softened as he thanked them again. The victims included official personnel, making this case especially sensitive. In such extraordinary times, the best option was to seek out a powerful team with pre-apocalypse experience and trust.

For now, the issue was resolved. The three left the command room, leaving the reports and public reassurance to the authorities.

…

By the time everything had settled down, it was midnight.

Lying on the bed, Cheng Jing pulled out two thumb-sized, oval-shaped energy crystal cores and handed them to Jiang Nian.

“I picked these up while dealing with Xiaoya’s parents. The light gold one belonged to her father. The misty white one was her mother’s.”

“Energy crystal cores…”

Jiang Nian felt conflicted. He had formed a core, too—at the same level as Brother Jing—but his psychic power was unpredictable. He was often caught off guard, even by others of equal or higher levels.

Upon closer inspection, he noticed a black dot spreading from the center of the white, misty core.

“Hmmm?”

Jiang Nian thought his eyes were playing tricks on him. He grabbed a flashlight and shone it on the core.

Sure enough, a small black mark in the center was bleeding outward like ink. Surprised, he muttered,

“Is this…a mutation?”

Cheng Jing leaned closer.

“What do you mean?”

Jiang Nian frowned, still staring at the core.

“Usually, single-attribute supernatural crystal cores are one color. Only mutated dual-attribute cores, like yours, contain two colors. But Xiaoya’s mother could only manipulate mentally. This black mark means it mutated.”

He hesitated, then muttered to himself,

“… That shouldn’t be possible.”

Cheng Jing, who was less familiar with supernatural cores, noticed that Jiang Nian was wrestling with something.

“Why not? Can mutated psychic abilities control zombies?”

“No…”

Jiang Nian shook his head, his brows furrowing into a tight “川” character.

“Let’s not even talk about controlling zombies. Just mutating a psychic ability is unheard of.”

“Here’s the thing: People who awaken supernatural powers already have high mental strength. Once their powers awaken, the attribute becomes fixed. In my previous life, research centers at various bases tried forcing mutations, but they all failed.”

Cheng Jing perked up with interest.

“Tell me more.”

“Well…”

Jiang Nian gently ran his fingers over the core, gathering his thoughts. Then, he slowly explained the results of past research that he remembered.

In his previous life, scientists had theorized that if powers could be guided to mutate into desired attributes, humanity would have an advantage against zombies and experience fewer casualties.

It was a promising theory. Many gifted individuals volunteered for experiments. But in the end, all attempts failed.

Some died during the experiments. Others had their crystal cores shattered, reverting them to ordinary people.

The final conclusion is that supernatural crystal cores are too stable to mutate due to artificial interference. Mutation could only occur under non-isochronous[mfn]unevenly or irregularly, with no consistent timing[/mfn] resonance between energies.

The question remains: How can that kind of resonance be generated? It all comes down to chance.

“…”

After sharing everything, he sighed at the memory.

All those bases tried different methods to disrupt energy stability. But, since they couldn’t predict the necessary conditions for resonance, nothing ever worked. Eventually, they gave up.”

“I see…”

Cheng Jing glanced again at the dark mark in the misty white core.

“Then is this a special kind of mutation?”

Jiang Nian scoffed softly.

“More than just special. According to the experts in my past life, this is nothing short of a miracle.”

“…”

Cheng Jing pondered, then offered a theory.

“Could this mutation be caused by the bond between the two owners of these cores? Maybe it’s a kind of spiritual compatibility. Instead of disturbing the energy directly, maybe it’s about connection.”

“Very likely.”

Jiang Nian nodded. He recalled how the woman had clung to her husband, even abandoning her daughter. Considering this alongside the theory, he quietly speculated:

Perhaps from the beginning of the infection, she had used her powers to control him, never stopping, even as he turned into a zombie. Her obsession to hold on…her willingness to synchronize with him…

That deep emotional resonance triggered the unsynchronized energy needed for mutation. In order to stay “in sync” with her beloved, her power transformed.

This could explain why she can keep him docile despite his zombified state.

Of course, this is all speculation. Mutations and stability never had a single cause.

“…”

Jiang Nian set aside those messy thoughts and handed the cores back to Cheng Jing.

“Never mind. You keep them for now. They might come in handy later. It’s safer in your hands, Brother Jing.”

He didn’t have the strength to protect them. If word got out, someone might take them by force.

“All right.”

Cheng Jing didn’t refuse. Being special often meant danger. It was better if he held onto them.

He put the cores away and turned off the flashlight. The room dimmed.

They shared a quiet gaze in the darkness. Just as Jiang Nian was about to say goodnight, Cheng Jing suddenly pulled him into a tight embrace.

 

Author’s note:

[The issue with Xiaoya isn’t over. The officials had their reasons, and the protagonist has his own. She won’t be part of the main cast, and she’ll face the consequences she deserves. This is foreshadowing and a glimpse into how officials deal with juvenile offenders in the apocalypse.

If you can’t accept the protagonist temporarily taking her along, feel free to stop reading the novel. Don’t force yourself, and please don’t twist the ongoing story to make attacks, insults, or bad reviews. Let’s all be cool. Thanks ♥]

The protagonist isn’t a saint. Everything they do ties back to their professional roles and closeness to the authorities before and after the apocalypse. Everything has its reason.

[Spread kindness, not hate! I hope everyone finds a story they enjoy (●v●)]