RIACMET chapter 82

 

“…”

Cheng Jing took the documents, glanced at them briefly, and handed them to Jiang Nian.

“There’s too much here. I’m too lazy to read it all.”

After all, they had already learned about the official approach from Li Sheng. This was just the formal procedure to document it—nothing about the outcome would change.

Jiang Nian shot him a silent look, took the file, and opened it. The first thing that caught his eye was the list of victims and their personal details related to the Room 1805 case.

There were a total of seventeen victims. Eight of them had living relatives, for a total of twenty affected individuals. The authorities had brought all the survivors to Nancheng Base to be resettled. The rest of the families had vanished for various reasons when the apocalypse arrived.

Next came the full chain of events in the Room 1805 case.

From the moment Xiaoya brought the first person home at her mother’s urging to when she later became an accomplice under her mother’s psychic control, every detail was recorded in exhaustive detail.

Xiaoya’s confession was consistent with what the authorities already knew.

Regarding whether Xiaoya had been controlled by her mother to participate in the murders, the Nancheng Base Research Institute submitted a report on Xiaoya’s physical and mental state.

According to the report, Xiaoya had indeed suffered severe psychological trauma during her time in Qingyun City.

Because she had passively used her psychic power while subconsciously resisting, her psychic crystal core developed cracks and eventually collapsed.

The next dozen or so pages contained an analysis of Xiaoya’s actions in the case.

While taking into account the wishes and statements of the victims’ families, they also considered her status as a minor and a psychic.

After weighing factors such as her motives, remorse, and her new orphan status, the final sentence was life under official custody.

As a superpowers, she would be under the supervision of a specialized department under South City Base. She would be required to wear special electronic restraints, and she would be prohibited from using her abilities without permission. She was also obligated to cooperate in research experiments related to psychic powers.

The authorities would issue appropriate compensation to the victims’ families, as stipulated by law.

“Voluntary cooperation in superpower research experiments… That’s basically just being a test subject, isn’t it?”

Jiang Nian closed the file. He wasn’t particularly surprised by the outcome. As long as there was a government, there would be a law. Under these circumstances, however, the penalties were adapted to reality.

This kind of ruling wasn’t just for Xiaoya; it was meant to set a precedent for dealing with juvenile offenders with supernatural abilities.

Once the incident was disclosed to the public and the victims’ families were informed, the government would decide how to handle these juvenile psychics in the future.

“It’s not horrific human experimentation—just occasional blood sampling and so on. Those who volunteer don’t receive any pay or compensation, though,”

Zhou Li explained. Even if they were criminals, these young people still had a chance to atone for their crimes. Even if they died, at least they would die walking the road of redemption rather than on a cold operating table.

Because, in the end, humanity was the foundation of everything.

“It’s fine. It’s nothing we can control anyway.”

Jiang Nian waved his hand. He was just a little unsettled by the phrase “cooperate in experiments,” since he’d once been a lab rat himself.

“Yeah.”

Zhou Li nodded and continued,

“With that, this matter is concluded. Thank you for taking her into temporary custody from Qingyun City to Nancheng Base. As a sign of appreciation, the authorities have decided to award your team 200,000 points for this special mission.”

“200,000 points! That much?”

Jiang Nian was genuinely surprised.

Cheng Jing looked shocked as well.

“That much?”

“This was decided after thorough consideration.”

Zhou Li said, putting the documents back into his file bag. He looked at them and explained,

“Besides covering all expenses for food, clothing, lodging, and transportation, the most important factor was that you brought her to the base safely. Frankly, if you hadn’t agreed to supervise Xiaoya, she likely wouldn’t have survived the temporary resettlement site.”

In a resettlement site with imperfect management rules, evil intentions are easier to develop than good ones. Everyone is highly stressed, and any outlet for frustration will be overcrowded.

If a riot had broken out, the authorities wouldn’t have been able to contain it. However, by handing Xiaoya over to the psychic team handling the case and providing a few official explanations, the situation stabilized. The outcome is the best anyone could have hoped for.

“Some things are hard to say, and there’s no point in speculating now.”

Cheng Jing understood what he meant. He had already considered all the possibilities when he agreed to temporarily supervise Xiaoya.

He didn’t mind being a shield for the authorities as long as he could maintain control.

“All right. In any case, this is settled. On behalf of the authorities, I’d like to thank you again. The 200,000 points will be credited to your account within three days. You can distribute them however you see fit.”

Zhou Li stood up, grabbed his document bag, and said goodbye.

“All right.”

Cheng Jing nodded, then stood to walk Zhou Li out.

Jiang Nian remained silent throughout. It was only when they reached the doorway that he finally asked,

“Once the incident became public, how many people demanded that Xiaoya pay for it with her life?”

Zhou Li turned back to look at him.

“After the extreme cold ended and you left Qingyun City, the case was fully disclosed and went through the entire trial process. Not a single victim’s family demanded Xiaoya’s life until the final verdict… Honestly, that surprised me too.”

After saying that, he sighed and walked away. There were some things he didn’t finish saying.

Compared to the desire for vengeance for a loved one, some families seemed more enthusiastic once they received compensation.

“…”

Cheng Jing closed the door and turned to look at Jiang Nian. He felt an unexplainable discomfort in his chest, but he couldn’t pinpoint exactly why.

It was hard to tell if those relatives were indifferent or if everyone else was too invested.

After a moment, Cheng Jing smiled faintly and said,

“Alright, the matter’s settled, so don’t overthink it. I’m going to cook. What do you want for dinner tonight, Nian Nian?”

Jiang Nian pushed aside his chaotic thoughts and replied,

“I want wine tonight. “So let’s make dishes that go well with it—garlic bacon, soy fish, and you can handle the rest.”

“Alright. Just watch TV or play a game and wait.”

Cheng Jing said this with a smile and walked into the kitchen.

But Jiang Nian didn’t watch TV or play games. He leaned back with his hands behind his head and stared off into space, thinking about all sorts of things.

It wasn’t until Cheng Jing finished cooking four dishes and a soup and brought them to the table that Jiang Nian finally got up and walked over.

…

The next morning, Cheng Jing went to work as usual, and Jiang Nian went to check on the progress of the renovations to their shop.

The decorator told him it would take about a week to finish.

Jiang Nian was quite satisfied with the schedule and quality of the work. He could already picture himself reclining in a rocking chair and fanning himself with a palm leaf fan while selling goods.

After inspecting the shop, he noticed that the commercial street had gotten even busier in just a few days. He put on a straw hat and wandered down the street.

Many shops had started renovations, and more street vendors were setting up. Though the sellers and buyers were dressed in rags, the commercial street resembled a massive flea market.

As more people arrived, however, the streets that had once felt desolate gradually began to look vibrant again.

“Jiang Nian.”

A pleasant voice came from the side. Jiang Nian had been watching an artisan weave a hemp rope handbag at a small craft stall.

His body tensed when he heard the voice. Without thinking, he touched the brim of his straw hat before looking over.

Sure enough, it was Xia Weiwei.