RIACMET chapter 44

 

Of the three candidate bases, Base K was the largest, followed by Base L, and then Nancheng Base, which was the smallest.

As everyone knew, military-run places always had the strictest regulations—and apocalypse bases were no exception.

According to Jiang Nian’s knowledge from his previous life, the military-led bases in the Four Cities—East, West, South, and North—were the most tightly managed and safest in the country.

Everything has its pros and cons. Because of this, the level of personal freedom in the Four City Bases was naturally much lower than elsewhere.

Most survivors were ordinary people, so many preferred the freer bases.

For superpowers, bases with looser rules were much easier to exploit. There, the strong could rise to power and hoard benefits in ways they couldn’t under military management.

The satellite broadcasts had reported on the basic situation of each base for several days, so everyone already had a general understanding.

Jiang Nian took the opportunity to share more details based on his past life memories, then asked for everyone’s opinions.

He already knew which base he wanted to go to and was prepared to carefully explain his reasoning if anyone had different views.

Unexpectedly, as soon as Cheng Jing said he would let Jiang Nian decide, everyone else gave up thinking and said they would follow his lead.

It was a pleasant surprise that his teammates were so easygoing. Jiang Nian didn’t refuse the responsibility. He simply tapped a finger on Nancheng Base’s location on the map.

“Let’s head for Nancheng Base in the neighboring province.”

Everyone—including Xiaoya—nodded in unison.

“Okay.”

“Ahem…” Seeing that they didn’t question it, Jiang Nian cleared his throat and took the initiative to explain his reasons:

“There are two reasons to choose Nancheng Base.

“First, Nancheng’s strict order and security are exactly what we need in the apocalypse. Second, our team is already well-trained, so it will be easier for us to adapt to military management than it would be for ordinary people.

Second, the higher the level of personal freedom, the more conflicts there will be. As superpowers grow stronger, the idea that ‘might makes right’ takes over, and constant disputes will arise within management itself. The military is different. Its management is more rational.”

That was his conclusion after everything he’d seen, heard, and learned in his last life. Of course, the military also had its factions, but at least they followed unified principles and had a stronger sense of mission and discipline.

He’d been there when a horde of zombies besieged the city. He’d heard firsthand that many people risked everything to seek shelter in military-run bases.

After all, when disaster strikes, the military always feels like the safest bet.

“That’s true…”

“Yeah…”

“Brother Nian’s right.”

“… ”

Hearing this, everyone nodded in agreement. Zhao Lei spoke in his rough voice.

“Places under military management naturally screen out a lot of the scum trying to take advantage of the situation. You have more people who follow the rules than in those ‘free’ bases.”

They all simply wanted stability. None of them wanted to stand out or play the hero during such hard times. So a base where the military called the shots was the most appropriate choice.

On top of that, Cheng Jing’s brother and the company headquarters both had government and military connections, making this the wisest choice.

Jiang Nian let out a small “hmm,” then continued:

“Exactly. If no one has any objections, we’ll head to the Southern City Base. It’ll take a little longer to get there, but we’re all superpowers—I’m confident we’ll manage.”

They planned to set out in early March. By then, the temperature would be rising, but the snow wouldn’t have melted completely yet. There would also be fewer zombies around, so they could use snowplows to clear a path.

If all went well, they’d arrive at the base in early April, once the snow had fully thawed—perfect timing.

With the destination settled, everyone moved on to discussing the details. The trip would be long, and careful planning was essential.

After chatting for a while, Liao Yu’s eyes suddenly lit up. He looked over and asked,

“Godfather, you just said we are all superpowers. Did you awaken an ability, too?”

The title “godfather” had been used approximately zero times and an infinite number of times. At first, everyone thought it was funny, and Jiang Nian felt embarrassed, but over time, everyone got used to it.

If Liao Yu suddenly called him “Jiang Nian,” everyone would probably assume something was wrong with the kid.

When Jiang Nian heard Liao Yu’s question, everyone turned to him with curiosity. He had indeed said that just now, but he’d never admitted it outright before.

Only Huang Qian stayed calm. Back when they rescued Xiaoya, she and Cheng Jing had been attacked by Xiaoya’s mother’s psychic powers. Jiang Nian was the one who snapped them out of it. She’d known then that he had an ability, but she’d never asked about it.

There must be a reason why Cheng Jing and Jiang Nian chose to keep it quiet.

“Uh…”

Jiang Nian realized he’d slipped up. He smiled and finally admitted,

“I do have an ability—it’s purification. But I hope you’ll help me keep it confidential. Unless it’s absolutely necessary, please don’t mention my or Xiaoya’s power to anyone.”

“Got it.”

Liao Yu nodded solemnly. Everyone else chimed in reassuringly.

“Understood.”

“Understood.”

“Understood…”

“…”

Suddenly, everyone realized that if Jiang Nian didn’t have a superpower, how could he have followed them out into that freezing cold without dying?

Even with Brother Cheng’s protection, it would have been impossible. Their collective “hamster” image of him was so strong that they never questioned it.

Jiang Nian explained that his ability could purify mental attacks but didn’t mention that it could counter zombie toxins.

I’ll look for a chance to share the rest later.

It wasn’t about distrust, just a little caution.

Everyone was excited to learn that his power could dispel mind control. That alone was a huge safety net for the entire team.

You can dodge a physical attack, but resisting psychic control is much harder.

To test this, Zhou Rongbin immediately used his psychic ability on everyone.

They all felt their consciousness freeze and then slipped into a shared hallucination, seeing nothing but terrifying zombies.

Everyone’s eyes glazed over and their faces turned pale with fear, except for Zhou Rongbin himself. Jiang Nian calmly placed his hand on the table in front of him and focused his mind.

A circle of blue-white energy rippled out from his palm and spread across the floor like water. As soon as the energy touched each of them, they instantly snapped out of the illusion.

At the same time, Zhou Rongbin felt his spirit recover, accompanied by momentary discomfort—an aftereffect of the purification.

On paper, Jiang Nian’s power might have sounded unremarkable, but in practice, it was incredibly effective—and honestly, a little intimidating.

Once the discussion ended, everything returned to normal.

Having become an official rescue squad, Cheng Jing’s team started taking regular night patrol shifts like everyone else.

Since the incident at Apartment 1805 in Jiaheyuan, the number of people on night patrol had increased significantly, and every team operated as a single group.

Each patrol squad had at least five members and covered two or three buildings per night.

Since Huang Qian was responsible for looking after Xiaoya, the night watch was naturally left to the men.

Although Huang Qian was officially a member of Team 017, Zhou Li, the person overseeing the operation, knew they were caring for a child and turned a blind eye to the occasional “stand-in.”