RIACMET chapter 81

 

After hearing Cheng Jing’s words, Minister Wang praised him, saying:

“That’s exactly why people like you are so reassuring. As the director of the infrastructure department at the base, I would like to formally invite your entire team once again to settle down here in Nancheng Base. We hope you will join us in building the base and helping to protect the survivors.”

“…”

Jiang Nian and Cheng Jing were stunned and looked a little bewildered. They had honestly felt satisfied just staying there.

Yang Kai, standing to the side, explained at just the right moment:

“Here’s the situation. Xia Weiwei and Liang Yunhao came looking for you to persuade your team to join Base S.”

Miss Xia was still as arrogant as ever, acting like Base S was entitled to swallow up every other base.

Fortunately, Cheng Jing and the others had chosen to come to Nancheng Base of their own accord, and Zhou Li had personally recommended them. Now, they were considered insiders, which made negotiations relatively smooth.

“…”

Hearing this, Cheng Jing and Jiang Nian exchanged surprised looks.

So Xia Weiwei really did have another motive!

Zhou Li confirmed this as well:

“That’s right. That’s why we avoided them and came to meet you today. We said Cheng Jing was training and wouldn’t be available until tomorrow afternoon.”

Xia Weiwei was Chen Yue’s girlfriend, and Chen Yue was Jiang Nian’s younger brother. Additionally, Liang Yunhao was a business partner in Cheng Jing’s security company. Under normal circumstances, this combination would have been very persuasive.

Cheng Jing quickly understood and nodded.

“So that’s how it is. Understood.”

On the surface, Jiang Nian remained calm, but inwardly, he sneered at Xia Weiwei’s wild ideas. She actually thought she could just bring them along with her—what a joke.

Minister Wang’s expression turned much more serious. He looked at them and said,

“Compared to the general population, superpowers are still extremely rare, especially those with special attributes and strong abilities. They are a precious resource to any base as the backbone of our fight against the zombies.”

The apocalypse has entered a period of relative stability. What comes next is a protracted war, and superpower groups have become an integral part of each base’s strength. You should understand what I mean.”

As he spoke, he cast a meaningful look at Jiang Nian, who sat there quietly.

The main purpose of their visit today was to figure out how to persuade Jiang Nian because Zhou Li and Yang Kai said that to keep Cheng Jing’s team, they just needed to convince Jiang Nian.

If Xia Weiwei got to Jiang Nian first, Cheng Jing and the rest would follow without Liang Yunhao’s persuasion.

Although Minister Wang didn’t see anything particularly special about Jiang Nian, he understood how relationships worked. Cheng Jing controlled everything in the team, but Jiang Nian controlled Cheng Jing.

“…”

Jiang Nian felt Minister Wang’s gaze, lifted his eyes, and smiled politely.

“Thank you, Minister Wang, for your concern for us.”

Cheng Jing also spoke up:

“Thank you, Minister Wang.”

They understood perfectly. This was all about competing to recruit talent. After the chaos of the apocalypse settled, the competition between the bases began in earnest.

They were recruiting gifted people to strengthen their forces, having the smaller bases funnel resources to the larger ones, and working with large research institutes to achieve breakthroughs as soon as possible.

This was a completely normal development. From there, it was easy to imagine that, in the future, all the small bases and shelters established by unofficial groups would essentially become “resource stations” affiliated with the major bases.

“…”

Zhou Li felt that Minister Wang’s words were still too roundabout. He was worried that Cheng Jing and Jiang Nian might pretend not to understand. After observing them for a moment, he plainly added:

“Simply put, every base is trying to recruit outstanding superpowers. Xia Weiwei and Liang Yunhao tried to use emotional ties to recruit you for Base S, and we sincerely hope you’ll stay here.”

Zhou Li had been working with Cheng Jing and the team since the beginning of the apocalypse, so he knew their strengths far better than Minister Wang and the others did.

More importantly, Cheng Jing was a soldier. His worldview, values, sense of justice, and sense of responsibility were far stronger than the average psychic’s. The team he led was also more reliable, as proven by how they handled the 1805 incident.

The chain of command had collapsed and been rebuilt, and the base and the country urgently needed people like them. That was why, when he learned they were coming to Nancheng Base, he had personally written a letter of recommendation.

Jiang Nian nodded at Cheng Jing, who immediately understood. He looked at Zhou Li and Minister Wang seriously.

“Don’t worry. We chose Nancheng Base because we want to settle down here long term. We’ve already rented a shop and some farmland. We won’t leave unless we absolutely have to.”

Even without such an invitation, they would never have gone with Xia Weiwei. Honestly, if they could help it, they wouldn’t have even wanted to let her walk out alive.

As for Liang Yunhao, Cheng Jing knew his old business partner well. After arriving at the base, Liang Yunhao tried to get in touch with them and called a few times. He was just trying to secure better resources for his team and didn’t have any malicious intent.

They could simply have someone inform Liang Yunhao that they were doing well in Nancheng Base.

Zhou Li finally looked relieved.

Minister Wang had also been observing the young couple’s interactions. His stern face finally eased a little.

“That’s good. Whatever terms Base S offered you, Nancheng Base can match them. I promise you as a soldier that you will never be treated unfairly here. Any valuable resources from outside will be prioritized for you in the future.”

This was the greatest sincerity he could offer on behalf of Nancheng Base, and it wasn’t an empty promise.

Zhou Li glanced at Yang Kai and chimed in.

“From now on, we’ll all be working together here at Nancheng Base. It’ll be much easier since we’re all part of the same family.”

Zhou Li had met all kinds of people, and he knew that no matter what Cheng Jing was doing, he always had a backup plan. He kept Jiang Nian out of direct dealings with the authorities because he was afraid he would be manipulated.

Though Zhou Li didn’t know what secrets Jiang Nian was hiding, he knew that as long as they looked after Jiang Nian properly, Cheng Jing would cooperate with them.

“Alright.”

Cheng Jing and Jiang Nian spoke at the same time, then smiled at each other, feeling much more at ease.

This was a little different from what they’d expected. Xia Weiwei wasn’t just their opponent; she was the opponent of the entire Nancheng Base. That made things a lot simpler!

Minister Wang felt reassured. He leaned forward slightly, resting his palms on his knees and giving them a few light pats.

“I’m relieved to hear you say that. If Xia Weiwei tries to contact any of Jiang Nian’s relatives, the base will ensure they are settled properly. When the time comes, Jiang Nian, I hope you’ll try to persuade them…”

“No need.”

Jiang Nian abruptly cut him off.

“Sorry, but to avoid any misunderstandings, I’ll make it clear now. They’re not my relatives. My only family died before the apocalypse.”

“This…”

Both Minister Wang and Zhou Li looked stunned, while Yang Kai was the only one who cracked a smile. This meant that Xia Weiwei’s little “recruitment operation” had definitely failed.

Ignoring their confused expressions, Jiang Nian continued calmly.

“I don’t care what Xia Weiwei is planning. But if she brings a bunch of troublemakers here, I hope the base won’t interfere and will let me deal with them.”

That would make it much easier for them to take action.

At this point, Minister Wang immediately nodded.

“Of course. This is your personal matter. Since you’ve stated it so plainly, the base won’t interfere. As long as things aren’t made public in an unfortunate way, we will respect your decision.”

“Thank you very much.”

Jiang Nian thanked him sincerely. With Minister Wang’s promise, it would be far easier for her to act.

The base was their backing and shelter. There was no way they’d let a few clowns swagger around in front of them.

With that, the matter of “preventing Xia Weiwei from tricking them” was finally settled.

“…”

Once the serious business was finished, they chatted more casually. Soon after, Minister Wang stood up to leave with Yang Kai and a guard.

The room fell quiet for a moment. Zhou Li opened the document bag he’d brought, pulled out a stack of papers about twenty pages thick, and set them in front of them. He said,

“There’s one more reason I came today. “I’m here to inform you of the final decision and arrangements regarding Xiaoya. Take a look.”