RIACMET chapter 98

 

While Jiang Nian and Li Sheng were discussing their suspicions in Room 1121, the woman was sitting sideways in the man’s arms. The mobile phone she was holding was ringing.

The call rang three times, but no one picked up.

“What’s this about…?”

She complained impatiently. She grabbed the man’s hand, which was groping her body, and scolded him flirtatiously:

“I just texted you to come back later. Why are you in such a hurry? It’ll be bad if you bump into it.”

This insect-obsessed bastard hadn’t even bothered to clean himself before showing up, even though he reeked of zombies.

“It’s not like I’m blind. How could I get the wrong room?”

The man didn’t take it seriously at all, rubbing his stubbly chin against her shoulder.

Just as the woman was about to put her phone down, seeing how he was getting more out of hand, the call finally connected, and a cold female voice came through:

“Su Jing, what is it?”

The man licked his dry lips, looking displeased, and stopped moving for a moment.

“…”

The woman froze for a moment before remembering that Su Jing was the alias she’d given. She cleared her throat and calmly said,

“Miss Xia, the people who came to ask questions today were Jiang Nian and Li Sheng. I did everything you instructed. Everything went smoothly—they believed it. When can I receive my reward? The weather is getting hotter, and I’d like to rent a house in the inner district as soon as possible.”

She’d done exactly what was asked of her—now it was time to fulfill the promise.

When Xia Weiwei came to her door, she knew her luck had turned. Women were always good at judging other women. Although this was a bit like courting death, wealth and honor always came with danger—and Miss Xia had offered her a lot!

Xia Weiwei didn’t answer right away. Instead, she asked:

“Has Xiaoliu arrived?”

Su Jing glanced up at the man, who was already burning with desire, and replied,

“Yes…”

“He’ll give it to you.”

With that, the call ended.

Xiaoliu, who was holding her, sneered and pulled out a temporary points storage card. He curled his lip, shoved the card down the front of her blouse, and said casually,

“I haven’t finished with you yet. Why are you in such a rush?” That’s eighty thousand credits.” Miss Xia said that even if you rent a place in the inner district, you must stay in touch. This matter isn’t over.”

“Thank you…”

After taking the points card, Su Jing’s expression shifted from gloomy to radiant. She immediately transferred the credits into her account and tapped the man’s chest with a slender finger.

“I know to stay in touch, even without Miss Xia reminding me. I’m still waiting for you to take me to Base S.”

The man snorted and pushed her back with the back of his hand.

Su Jing responded with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes.

She was a woman without backing or superpowers. Of course, she had to seize opportunities when she met a nobleman. Having credits was the way to become a queen.

She didn’t believe these people would actually take her to Base S and let her enjoy the good life. She knew her own worth.

She wouldn’t waste time longing for so-called true love or sincerity. After all, no smart person would fall for that at a time like this.

It was all just a show to make a profit. In a world where human lives were worthless, the only way to survive was to be ruthless and pragmatic. Otherwise, you were nothing!

She didn’t feel she was doing anything wrong. Who wouldn’t want a better life?

Besides, she was just helping Xia Weiwei reunite with her sister.

…

When Li Sheng went to question Xia Weiwei about the situation, however, they couldn’t find any useful information. That woman who’d first played the victim immediately turned around and accused them instead.

She claimed that her sister was missing and that the management at the Southern City base was incompetent. For this reason, she had requested assistance from Base S.

Within a few days, people from Base S would arrive to help her find Jiang Wenwen.

Additionally, Xia Weiwei said that she hadn’t been feeling well lately and had summoned her private medical team.

She acted like a cunning and unreasonable young lady, but her true intentions were hidden beneath the surface and obvious:

She was seizing the opportunity to infiltrate the Southern City base with her own people. Such a pretext was impossible to refute, however.

After learning all this, Jiang Nian could only set the matter of Jiang Wenwen aside for the time being.

He hadn’t found the person yet, but he’d at least glimpsed the fox’s tail behind Xia Weiwei.

Next, he had Li Sheng secretly arrange for someone to watch Xia Weiwei and the men she frequently contacted.

If nothing unexpected happened, most of the people Xia Weiwei had moved—including her personal doctors—would be the same people who, in his past life, had “controlled the situation” at Base Z.

This time, their “home” had shifted from Base Z to the Southern City base, and the “key actors” would be there as well.

The Chen Yue family and the equipment from Base S. It was as if destiny had already laid out the script.

The currents were moving slowly beneath the surface. Unlike in his previous life, he was no longer forced to sit and await death, but he wouldn’t retreat.

When the enemy arrived, they would be met with soldiers. When the flood came, they would dam it with earth. He would settle all old and new accounts thoroughly.

To ensure everything unfolded smoothly, he needed to strengthen his abilities before those people arrived at the Southern City base.

He had to strive to reach a 500-meter purification radius and gain the highest purification attribute.

When his teammates returned from their mission, he asked Brother Jing to arrange a break so he could take him out for some intensive training.

“…”

In the days that followed, Jiang Nian spent his time acting like his own boss during the day. When he went to the farm, he left the shop in the care of Li Liang and Uncle Li.

At night, he pushed himself to the limit to improve his abilities each day.

Sometimes he expended too much energy and fell asleep on the living room floor, only to wake up the next day. Then, he would get up, wash up, and head to the shop again. Fortunately, his condition was pretty good since he could rest in the recliner chair there.

The grocery store’s earnings grew day by day. Now, the daily turnover was about three thousand credits, and it would soon surpass five thousand.

After several days of peace and quiet, Cheng Jing and his team finally completed their mission and returned to base.

Li Shuhui was on leave, so Jiang Nian went with her to the entrance lounge in the morning to pick up supplies and do some shopping.

While Jiang Nian was tidying the shelves, Li Shuhui overheard him answering a call. When she learned that Cheng Jing was back, she urged him to go home.

“Brother Nian, you should just go. I’ll look after the shop today.”

They say a short parting is better than a new marriage. Although she had never been in love herself, she had seen plenty of it and really understood couples in love, especially since the two brothers had such a good relationship.

Seeing the corners of her mouth lift, Jiang Nian felt embarrassed for even wanting to stay.

“Ahem… It’s fine. I’ll go back this afternoon…”

“Oh…”

Li Shuhui snatched the things from his hands and put them away. When she noticed how red his ears were, she smiled and covered her mouth.

“Brother Nian, you don’t need to be polite with me. Everyone knows you and Brother Cheng have a great relationship. Of course you’d miss each other after being apart for days during your honeymoon phase. Hurry back—if you don’t, Brother Cheng will come looking for you. Then, you’ll be even more embarrassed staying here.”

“Xiaohui! You…”

Jiang Nian’s face flushed at her blunt teasing.

“All right, all right…”

Li Shuhui nudged Jiang Nian out from behind the counter.

“Go on, go on! Let me experience the thrill of being the boss!”

She really couldn’t understand why Jiang Nian was still so shy after being in a relationship for so long.

Just look at Sister Qian. Whenever someone told a dirty joke, she could fire back with ten of her own. No one in their circle could top her.

“Uh, cough, cough…”

Jiang Nian pinched his hot ears, a little embarrassed.

“All right, I’ll head back first. Thanks for your hard work.”

Then, he went to tell Li Kaiyun, who was on duty at the security post across the street, about the situation. Finally, under the other man’s good-natured gaze, Jiang Nian climbed into the car and drove home.

Although he felt shy, he was truly happy inside.

“…”