Chapter 26 - Settling Down

“Boss, Uncle Nie, he...” Ever since they left Nie Boyuan’s villa, Ping Shengchao couldn’t help looking at Nie Yi. Even though Nie Boyuan didn’t particularly care for Nie Yi because he was swamped with work, he had still been considered as a good husband and a good father. How did another son pop up out of nowhere?

“Regarding this matter, he can’t be blamed. Still, it’s better to avoid them in the future,” Nie Yi said.

“Boss, when did you find out about this?” Ping Shengchao asked, curious.

“My uncle had mentioned it to me before,” Nie Yi said. He had an uncle who loved him very dearly, who worked as a government employee in the southwest district. In his last life, they hadn’t come in contact at the beginning of the apocalypse, but later, when he went to look for him, his uncle had already died as well.

In this life, he could go take a look a little earlier...

Ping Shengchao nodded but was obviously still doubtful.

Qi Jingchen was carried in Nie Yi’s embrace; at this time, he suddenly sneered and said, “It’s too early to be brazen.”

When Nie Yi heard Qi Jingchen, he knew that Qi Jingchen was talking about him... That’s right, he was brazen a little too early.

In this world, there were many powerful people, and he definitely was not the strongest. Even though he knew many affairs due to his rebirth, he should still be more prudent and cautious. But just now, in the Nie house, he had made several loopholes.

Don’t say just now, he had made many loopholes in his actions even when he found Qi Jingchen. Although he had thought of a way to dupe Ping Shengchao and the others, a loophole was still a gap. Even if he found something to stuff it up, those loopholes still existed.

It’s just that... Even so, he would still choose to do the same thing.

Right when he was reborn, he was too scared, fearing that he wouldn’t be able to find Qi Jingchen. Where would he have the mind to conceal himself? After he found Qi Jingchen, he was even less willing to hide his feelings for Qi Jingchen. As for his behavior in the Nie house just now...

In truth, he had some desire to vent.

In his last life, Nie Boyuan’s position in his heart was extremely, extremely important. Even though he hated that Nie Boyuan was partial to Yu Shuo, in his heart, Nie Boyuan was still his father. No matter how much he fought with Yu Shuo, he had never once been disrespectful to his father. Instead, it was Yu Shuo who would show his temper to Nie Boyuan.

In the end, the one Nie Boyuan had helped had always been Yu Shuo.

After he took his revenge, he had even especially gone to visit Nie Boyuan, explaining the matters of Yu Shuo causing him harm, explaining that he had done it for revenge...

On the surface, Nie Boyuan had believed him, making him very happy, but behind his back? He was planning to kill him.

He was his close relative, yet he betrayed him...

“Next time, I’ll definitely take care,” Nie Yi said as he smiled at Qi Jingchen.

“Get a car for me!” Qi Jingchen swatted Nie Yi’s arm.

“No need to get a car, we’re almost there.” Nie Yi pointed at an office building not too far away. That was the office building for the military, and he intended to go there to find someone.

Nie Yi carried Qi Jingchen as he walked forward with great strides. It was right at this time when Qi Yaoyao suddenly said, “Just now, that person was Yu Shuo, it was Yu Shuo ah!”

Even though she wasn’t a fan, she liked those male celebrities who were handsome, and Yu Shuo was among them.

“Little girl, you have to stay away from that kind of two-faced guys, you know?” Nie Yi suddenly smiled at Qi Yaoyao.

From the beginning to the end, Nie Yi had never taken Yan Zhe seriously. Yan Zhe was young and had never mixed in society before the apocalypse. Frankly, his tricks were very ordinary. If he hadn’t sincerely liked this person in his last life, it was unlikely that he would’ve suffered a loss as big as then. However, Yu Shuo wasn’t the same.

Apart from everything else, in the aspect of bearing hardship, Yan Zhe was incomparable to Yu Shuo. In the beginning, Yu Shuo was beaten by him. Then, he began to train as if he didn’t want to live anymore and had never once refused to leave the base and do his missions. It was entirely unlike Yan Zhe, who had only wanted to live life comfortably.

In fact, Nie Yi was also very handsome and was more or less equal to a big star like Yu Shuo. However, when Qi Yaoyao saw his smile, she didn’t have the slightest feeling that he was handsome; on the contrary, the hairs on her body rose. “I know, I’ll definitely stay away from him.”

“Good girl. next time, this gege will cover you.” Nie Yi smiled again.

At this reply, Qi Yaoyao inexplicably began to let out cold sweat. She became even more resolute in her intentions to work hard in training, and take away her brother from this pervert’s hands.

While they were talking, they arrived in front of the military building and were blocked by guards.

“My name’s Nie Yi, I’m looking for General Zhao, Zhao Chengqi,” Nie Yi said.

Zhao Chengqi was someone whom his grandfather had once helped out, as well as close friends with his uncle. When he was thrown into the army before the apocalypse, his family had entrusted Zhao Chengqi with watching over him. Because his performance was outstanding, Zhao Chengqi had appreciated him very much, wanting him to stay in the army. Unfortunately, Nie Yi had qualms about his own sexuality and rejected him.

During his struggle against Yu Shuo in his last life, Zhao Chengqi had also helped him, and now... Nie Yi had long decided on not getting along with Nie Boyuan, so he chose to go to Zhao Chengqi.

The guard went to notify him. Soon, Nie Yi was taken to Zhao Chengqi.

“You... Why are you carrying someone?” Zhao Chengqi was a chubby, middle-aged man in his forties. When he saw Nie Yi, he frowned.

“Uncle Zhao, this is the person I like. His health isn’t good.” Nie Yi placed Qi Jingchen on a sofa beside him, then smiled bitterly. “Uncle Zhao, weren’t you always curious about why I didn’t want to stay in the army? It’s because I like men. I was afraid that if I continue to develop in that system, I might end up having no choice but to take a wife and have children.”

When Zhao Chengqi heard Nie Yi’s words, he was slightly surprised, then sighed. “So it’s like this... What you did wasn’t wrong.”

In the army, he had also seen people like Nie Yi. Compared to those who evidently liked men but still went to find a woman to marry, Zhao Chengqi much preferred people like Nie Yi, who wouldn’t harm other people.

“Uncle Zhao, I came this time because I have something vital to say to you,” Nie Yi said.

“What is it?” When Zhao Chengqi heard that Nie Yi had something important to report, he immediately sat up straight.

“Uncle Zhao, you also know that I was in S city before the apocalypse. I came here while on an investigation mission. On the road, I discovered a few things,” Nie Yi said.

Even though Nie Yi had received an investigation mission, according to reason, he only needed to pass in a report. For him to especially look for him, it’s definitely because something unusual had happened... Zhao Chengqi’s expression immediately became serious.

“The first matter is that the zombies are slowly getting stronger. The second is that that the substance, or maybe energy, on the zombies’ bodies seem to be able to stay in water sources, soil, and even the air. If it isn’t dealt with properly, then in the future, the plants and water supply outside might all be contaminated by them. The third matter... Besides humans, if plants and animals were contaminated by that substance, they could possibly become something like zombies,” Nie Yi said.

“Do you have concrete evidence?” Zhao Chengqi asked.

“I’ve seen a zombie animal, as well as a black plant,” Nie Yi said.

During the beginning stage of the apocalypse, it’s only humans that would turn into zombies, and they would only attack zombies. But in a few more months, zombie animals would begin to appear, and those zombie animals would even proceed to increase. Continuing on, there’ll be zombified plants.

All of this probably hadn’t happened yet, but Nie Yi believed that it’s still better if he warned the secure base a little earlier.

It’s rare to be able to be reborn, and he wanted to continue on happily with Qi Jingchen. Even if he couldn’t change the final outcome, he still hoped that the secure base could last a little longer.

Actually, these three points that Nie Yi had said were also mentioned by the specialized researchers in the secure base. However, they didn’t have definite proof, and they were worried that if they researched too much, it would make people anxious, so they didn’t delve any further.

If nothing else, in order to not let the common people despair, the current official statement was still that they would one day kill all zombies.

But if, on the zombies, those... it should be called poison, right? If it could be retained in the soil, this...

Zhao Chengqi’s complexion became uglier and uglier.

“Uncle Zhao, it’s not like everything’s that bad. I still have some good news here,” Nie Yi said.

“What good news?” Zhao Chengqi asked, puzzled.

“I found a cultivation method for abilities, and also managed to fumble out some application methods of abilities,” Nie Yi bluntly said.

“Really?” Zhao Chengqi’s face was filled with astonishment.

Shao Zhenglan was even more wide-eyed. Just as she said, how could Nie Yi suddenly be so much stronger than her? Turns out, it was because of this!

Back then, when Nie Yi was outside the city, he was eager to vent his anger. He barely concealed his fierceness, and his style of conduct wasn’t quite the same as before. But now, many things have changed. Qi Jingchen had also reminded him not to be too brash, and it actually made him show the appearance that someone his age should have in front of Zhao Chengqi. Because of the fights he had against Yu Shuo, he had also learned some of Yu Shuo’s acting skills; to some extent, he could even act very naturally.

“Uncle Zhao, it’s like this. While I was bringing people here, I accidentally discovered a red plant, and it looked very captivating to me. I believed that it was probably a natural treasure, so I tried it. I never thought that just as the plant entered my stomach, I felt my ability suddenly becoming a lot stronger. After that, I had a splitting headache, like something in my head wanted to rush out.

“At that time, I even thought that I was going to be burnt alive by my own ability, but I didn’t expect that afterward, somehow the ability in my mind became spiral-shaped. Later, my ability became much stronger. These days, the ability in my mind is still spiraling, which made the recovery rate of my ability much quicker as well,” Nie Yi said.

“So the ability really is in the brain, but ability users themselves aren’t able to sense it at all...” Zhao Chengqi frowned slightly.

“I also discovered this. I’ve asked Zhenglan before, and she really couldn’t sense the existence of her ability in her mind. That’s why even if I know the cultivation method, there’s still no way for her to cultivate,” Nie Yi said.

Just as Shao Zhenglan thought of cultivating her ability until she became godly, she unexpectedly heard this. She remembered that Nie Yi had really asked her this before, and she honestly didn’t know that her ability was in that place, so she became incredibly disappointed.

“What’s your plan?” Zhao Chengqi suddenly asked. For Nie Yi to suddenly come to him and say so much, he naturally had to ask Nie Yi’s thoughts.

“Uncle Zhao, the situation I’ve discovered while on the road can be researched first. However, about the ability, I think that we should experiment privately and confirm that it’s feasible, as well as without any side effects, only then do we publicize it,” Nie Yi said. The former was because he was keen on the experts of the secure base to come up with some solution, and the latter...

Firstly, the ability users at present didn’t have spiritual strength, so even if they publicize the cultivation method, they can’t cultivate by themselves, secondly... If they don’t publicize it for now, he could definitely use this cultivation method to foster some trusted followers— other people had no way to begin rotating and cultivating their own abilities, but he could use his spiritual strength and help other people start cultivating.

“Then let’s do it like this. I won’t say anything about the abilities.” Zhao Chengqi said, then asked, “All the things you said are critical. Why didn’t you tell your father and came to me instead?”

“There’s a bit of trouble at home,” Nie Yi said, and his face revealed some desolation. “Moreover, isn’t it the same if I said it to anyone?”

“That’s right! It’s the same no matter who you tell since everyone should join hands to kill zombies! At this juncture, those who still think about fighting for power aren’t anything good.”

Who knew what Zhao Chengqi was thinking about, as he angrily slapped the table, then said, “Your family... It’s because of that Yu Shuo, right? It’s not like he’s a bad person, but it’s still hard to stand this sort of matter. If you were with your dad, maybe you’ll even have to listen to him, so coming to me isn’t wrong either. The soldiers under my command produced many ability users. You can go take a look, but how far you can accomplish depends on you.”

“Thank you, Uncle Zhao,” Nie Yi immediately thanked him, then asked, “How much does Uncle Zhao know about Yu Shuo?”

“You don’t know? The other day, he said it when he had a conflict with some dandy. Normal people don’t know, but people like us know.” Zhao Chengqi added, “But you can’t blame your dad either. Seeing Yu Shuo’s age, he probably didn’t do it on purpose.”

“Uncle Zhao, I don’t blame him, but in the end, I’m not comfortable with it,” Nie Yi said.

Zhao Chengqi could also understand Nie Yi’s way of thinking. To suddenly have a brother popping up, probably no one would feel happy. He just nodded but didn’t advise Nie Yi to return. “It’s good that you think so.”

Since the urgent matters were done being discussed, Nie Yi requested Zhao Chengqi to help look for Shao Zhenglan and Ping Shengchao’s parents and family.

Zhao Chengqi wasn’t familiar with Shao Zhenglan’s parents, so he couldn’t give an answer immediately. He only said that he would help them investigate. However, even though he said that, he knew that, for someone with an identity like Shao Zhenglan’s father, to not receive the slightest news for the past days, it seemed inauspicious.

Zhao Chengqi was very busy, so he didn’t speak much with Nie Yi. Knowing that Nie Yi didn’t want to live with Nie Boyuan, he asked someone to arrange a residence for him and had him go to the barracks under his command tomorrow.

The person arranging a residence for Nie Yi and the others was the guard next to Zhao Chengqi. Right now, all residences were to be arranged. Because Nie Yi had a special identity, as well as three ability users among his team, the best they could do was arrange a villa for them.

“No need for a villa. Giving us a four-bedroom apartment is fine,” Nie Yi said. The secure base was set up in the suburbs of B City. Because of this, there were many large houses, villas, and so on.

Living in a villa was definitely much more comfortable, but in the future, the population of people in the base will increase, which meant that it was possible that the higher-ups will arrange other people to live with them, so they might as well pick a large apartment. Altogether, they had four people, so if they lived in a four-bedroom apartment, it’s not easy to stuff more people in.

The guard promptly selected a pretty good apartment, with four rooms, two halls, and two bathrooms for Nie Yi and the others. The apartment was on the seventh floor, high enough for the sun to shine in, but still convenient to go up and down the stairs when there’s no elevator during power cuts.

More importantly, the decoration for this apartment was pretty good.

After completing the procedures and identity registration, they settled down in that four-room apartment. Unsurprisingly, Nie Yi occupied the master bedroom, which was connected to a bathroom.

If it were before, Shao Zhenglan would likely complain that Nie Yi didn’t know how to empathize with two girls. But now, she had experienced many things, so she didn’t bother.

Currently, Nie Yi was the most powerful among them. There wasn’t the slightest bit of use for her to complain. If she wanted to have a say, she should improve her own strength first!

Nie Yi still had many things to do, so he left right after he placed Qi Jingchen on the bed. Qi Jingchen laid in bed for a while, then stood up to shift his position, climbing to the bay window at the side and basking under the sun.

The sunshine outside was comfortably warm when it shone on his body. Qi Jingchen counted the days, and suddenly realized that at this time in his last life, it seemed that people had already begun to bloodlet and cut his flesh...

historical

His life nowadays was really much better compared to his previous life. Unfortunately, who knows how long all of this will last?

Qi Jingchen turned over for a more comfortable position. At this time, he suddenly saw his appearance in the mirror next to him.

Qi Jingchen, who didn’t have many fluctuations of mood since his rebirth, was startled at this moment.