RIACMET chapter 56

 

The next morning, Cheng Jing led his teammates to the base command center.

After undergoing a thorough physical examination, they would receive identity codes and the necessary information to complete their registration.

As one of the first Awakened superpowers, Cheng Jing’s abilities far surpassed those of most superpowers.

On top of that, his strength was among the best, even compared to many superpowers in the military, thanks to his rare dual-attribute mutation in his energy system.

While the others on the team might not be as powerful as Cheng Jing, they had plenty of real-world experience.

Therefore, even though they were technically a special recruitment team, no one looked down on them.

The military enforced strict discipline and clear duties. Everyone focused on their work, and there wasn’t much intrigue or backstabbing.

The base command center issued direct orders to each team leader.

The team leaders only needed to properly manage their own squads.

…

Jiang Nian let Cheng Jing wear himself out almost the whole night, then slept until noon.

He was watching TV and eating from his tablet when Li Kaiyun called.

Jiang Nian picked up the phone, a little surprised.

“Uncle Li?”

“…”

After a brief signal delay, Li Kaiyun’s slightly low voice came through.

“All right, Xiaonian, do you have a moment to talk? There’s something I’d like to discuss with you.”

“It’s fine. Go ahead.”

Jiang Nian replied with a smile, lowering his head to take a careful bite of the toast in his hand.

“It’s about Xiaoya’s identity registration.”

Li Kaiyun answered, then explained.

“A Sheng told me that the base has regulations requiring all orphans, abandoned children under eighteen, and homeless kids whose families can’t care for them to register and attend the base’s management school.”

Jiang Nian was a little taken aback. The smile on his face faded, and he nodded in response.

“Oh…”

Since arriving at the base, he’d been busy and had temporarily forgotten about it due to the influence of those around him.

He hadn’t expected Nancheng Base to already have a management school at this stage. In his previous life, Z Base was the only one with a management school after the extreme heat waves. As expected, there was a significant difference in strength between the bases.

Though he’d never told anyone, not even Brother Jing, he’d brought Xiaoya here with this idea in mind.

This was probably why Zhou Li had asked them to bring Xiaoya to the base to report.

Li Kaiyun continued:

“There’s no obligation for her to enter the detention school. Since she has been under your care, it’s up to you whether she goes there. The center needs to understand her full situation, including any crimes she committed. Everything has to be recorded truthfully. That’s the procedure.”

Jiang Nian thought for a moment and said,

“I should discuss it with Brother Jing and Sister Qian.”

If he remembered correctly, the base had two types of facilities for minors.

One was regular childcare, and the other was punitive supervision similar to a juvenile detention center. The children would be separated based on age and whether they had special abilities.

Li Kaiyun said,

“I already asked, and they’re letting you decide. There are many kids like Xiaoya in the detention school—those who have awakened their powers and committed murder or robbery. After learning about her situation, Xiaoya herself took the initiative to say she was willing to go.”

“Then let her go.”

Jiang Nian answered without hesitation, sipping milk from the cup at his side. Perhaps being around others like her would make Xiaoya feel more reassured.

This way, their mission was officially complete. Otherwise, if they kept her with them, the incident in Room 1805 would always be looming over them.

“…”

Li Kaiyun fell silent for a moment but still asked,

“Does Xiaoya have a superpower? Is it related to her hands? I noticed that she always wears gloves, even in this heat. She’s also broken out in a rash.”

When Cheng Jing talked about Xiaoya before, he didn’t mention any powers. But recently, Li Kaiyun had grown suspicious after observing her odd behavior, especially her glove-wearing habit.

Even though she’d switched from thick gloves to thin ones, wearing them all day long still wasn’t good.

“Yeah, her special ability is teleportation, triggered when she touches a target with her hand. That’s how she helped her mother kill people.”

Jiang Nian no longer hid it. In any case, if she was going to be supervised, surely the base had ways to detect it.

Hearing this, Li Kaiyun sighed and said,

“A Sheng said that in cases like Xiaoya’s—if she’s guilty and has powers—once she’s detained, she won’t be allowed to contact the outside world anymore. You won’t be able to visit her or ask about her.”

His nephew’s words were vague and incomplete, but Li Kaiyun knew they were actually a hint—a secret way to get rid of troublesome kids, though it was presented in a more humane and gentle form.

“Uncle, anyone who does wrong has to pay the price. Other people’s lives matter too. In the end, we were the ones who killed her parents.”

Jiang Nian’s tone was calm. He knew this because he’d heard Chen Yue’s girlfriend, Xia Weiwei, mention it in his past life.

Juvenile offenders under special supervision at S Base would quietly disappear, depending on the severity of their crimes. They’d become experimental subjects or guides for covert operations. He wondered if Nancheng Base was the same—if it leaned more toward reeducation or brutal punishment.

As the saying goes, severe illnesses require strong medicine, and chaos demands harsh laws. The rules during the apocalypse were different from those in peacetime. Since these people had supernatural powers, the risks were much higher. Sometimes, it was better to take extreme measures than to let things drag on.

If he had killed Xiaoya back then, he might have regretted it. But now, he also regretted not killing her. What a ridiculous contradiction.

Ultimately, it was better to let others do what they couldn’t do themselves and supervise them if they went astray. It was reasonable and justified.

“All right. I’ll take her to register.”

Li Kaiyun had nothing more to say because that was the truth. Being softhearted toward children because of their age wasn’t a reason to turn a blind eye to Xiaoya.

“Okay, thanks for your help.”

Jiang Nian said lightly.

They chatted a bit more before ending the call. After eating, Jiang Nian leaned back on the sofa and let out a deep breath for reasons he couldn’t fully explain.

Sometimes, he felt he had a terrible personality, and his moral standards were too high—standards that hadn’t changed even after he died.

But, on the other hand, people are nothing but bundles of contradictions. Without all these flaws, the world wouldn’t be so complicated.

…

Cheng Jing came back in the afternoon with several sets of uniforms and different styles of gear. He was set to start work the following day.

Jiang Nian took the initiative to tell him about sending Xiaoya to detention school.

Cheng Jing wasn’t surprised.

“That’s good. We know her background, and we were the ones who dealt with her parents. It’s not appropriate for her to stay too close to us. Besides, if you do something wrong, you have to pay for it. It’s best to leave a traumatized orphan with powers in the care of the authorities for proper supervision and education.”

“I thought you’d call me cold-blooded.”

Jiang Nian teased with a smile. Most of his psychological burden came from his lover and teammates. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been so hesitant.

Cheng Jing looked at him seriously and shook his head.

“No, it’s just that I don’t have the same experiences as you, so I can’t fully empathize. Otherwise, I should’ve dealt with her back in Qingyun City.”

Before and after the apocalypse, he and the others had been too close to the authorities. They lacked the cold-bloodedness needed to see eye to eye with Jiang Nian about Xiaoya.

But after witnessing all kinds of tragedies on their way to the base, they finally caught up to the rhythm of the apocalypse. Thinking about it now, if it had been any other team, Xiaoya would have died that day.

“All right, it’s all over. Once she’s handed over to the base, she has nothing to do with us anymore. Whether out of humanity or concern for a minor, we’ve done our best to take care of her all this time.”

Jiang Nian sprawled lazily on his boyfriend’s long legs, resting his head on them and narrowing his eyes in contentment.

Just let it be. This way, everyone could be at ease with the outcome.

“Yeah.”

Cheng Jing lowered his head and gently rubbed his thumb along Jiang Nian’s cheek as if soothing a lazy cat.