Chapter 17

Chapter 17

The group chatted casually afterward. Jiang Nian answered Huang Qian’s other questions while waiting for Cheng Jing to finish merging with his superpower.

Water ran in the bathroom, accompanied by sizzling electricity, and flickers of firelight were still visible inside.

But since Cheng Jing remained conscious, Jiang Nian and Huang Qian didn’t worry too much. After eating something, they continued sorting through their supplies.

As they worked, Huang Qian said they should go shopping again tomorrow and told the others to hustle and get more while they still could.

Two more hours passed, approaching midnight. Cheng Jing’s condition had stabilized, so he told Huang Qian to go home first, return the next day after buying enough supplies, and then stay indoors afterward.

“Alright. If anything happens, Jiang Nian, remember to call me.”

With the situation under control, Huang Qian knew staying wouldn’t help. After reminding Jiang Nian to stay safe, she left.

The house grew quiet. Covered in crackling flames and electricity, Cheng Jing turned to Jiang Nian and said,

“Nian Nian, you don’t need to wait up for me. Go sleep in the other room.”

“No, I’m not tired.”

Jiang Nian stubbornly refused. His boyfriend was a precognitive superpowered individual—how could he possibly fall asleep now?

“Fine.”

Cheng Jing could only give in.

“If you get tired, rest. If not… tell me more about the dreams.”

“Alright. After the zombies came, disasters came in waves. First was the extreme cold…”

Jiang Nian got some food from the table and ate while telling him everything he had seen, heard, and experienced in his past life—or at least, everything he could share.

Since the prophetic dream explanation was already set and Cheng Jing believed him, there was no harm in saying more.

Cheng Jing listened until he grew drowsy. He told the person outside the door that he wanted to sleep, then leaned against the wall and closed his eyes.

Despite the sparks and lightning coursing over him, after the initial adjustment, he no longer felt the heat. Instead, his body felt light and energized, almost like the body tempering described in cultivation novels.

Jiang Nian dragged the armchair over and hunched on it for a quick nap.

When he blearily woke up, morning light was coming in—it was already past five in the morning.

He glanced at the bathroom door—it was quiet inside. The water had stopped, and there was no more firelight or sizzling electricity. He snapped awake and quickly stood, asking,

“Brother Jing, how are you?”

After a moment, Cheng Jing’s voice came through:

“I’m fine. Go get me a change of clothes from the room.”

“Okay, okay… wait a sec!”

Jiang Nian hurried to the next room and brought him a clean outfit—a suit and dress shirt. His profession meant Cheng Jing’s wardrobe was pretty limited.

Just as Cheng Jing was dressing, Huang Qian came bursting in energetically, breakfast in hand:

“Shit, I hardly slept last night worrying. Big bro, come out and show me you’re okay.”

Cheng Jing walked out of the bathroom, looking much the same overall, except his mental state had improved and his gaze had grown sharper.

Huang Qian gave him a once-over and tutted:

"I thought you'd gone bald."

Jiang Nian couldn't help but chuckle at the mental image of Cheng Jing bald:

"Even bald, Brother Jing's still handsome."

Huang Qian rolled her eyes:

"Honestly, you'd praise anything, wouldn't you…"

She had thought only Cheng Jing was lovestruck, but it turned out they were two peas in a pod.

Under their astonished gazes, Cheng Jing flipped his right palm, producing a small flame. With a thought, lightning visibly crackled across his entire hand before merging with the fire.

"Whoa, that's sick, bro!"

Huang Qian’s eyes sparkled. If Jiang Nian hadn’t been there, making her keep up appearances, she would’ve whooped “hell yeah!”

Jiang Nian was thrilled too. He never expected Cheng Jing to be one of the first Superpowered, and a rare dual-type to boot. No wonder he’d done so well in their past life!

He was so happy he could cry. With a boyfriend this powerful, no one could bully him anymore! And they wouldn’t have to worry about protecting supplies either!

Withdrawing his power, Cheng Jing shared how he felt after awakening: his senses had sharpened significantly, he no longer felt heat, and he felt full of energy.

"Bro, when you start ruling the streets, don’t forget to take me along!"

Huang Qian’s face was full of envy. Having witnessed this miracle firsthand, she now had an ace in the hole when the apocalypse truly hit.

Cheng Jing nodded:

"Alright, but focus on gathering supplies before dark. Tell the others to hurry too—and grab some winter clothes. Once the rain starts, stay indoors until I give the word. You know what to tell them. Jiang Nian and I have other things to handle. We’ll catch up later."

"Don’t worry, bro, I got this!"

Huang Qian was already reaching out to others. For a pro like her, this was nothing.

……

Cheng Jing and Jiang Nian headed back to the hotel—partly to fetch Jiang Nian’s luggage, partly because neither had rested well the previous night. They planned to sleep there before heading back to the safe house, for good this time.

"Jiang Nian, if people can awaken powers, can objects change too?"

Cheng Jing suddenly asked while driving.

Jiang Nian paused before answering:

"They can, but it’s rare. Most cases are influenced by the energy of the powered individual themselves—it’s totally random, just chance."

In his past life, he’d met someone who awakened the ability to manipulate metal, turning their everyday fruit knife into a blade that could cut through metal like butter. Supposedly, it happened because they were holding the knife during their awakening, and the energy transformed it.

But that was super rare though. More often, stuff just got wrecked.

"Oh."

Cheng Jing understood, but Jiang Nian thought his expression looked odd and got an idea:

"Brother Jing, why are you asking this all of a sudden? Did something on you change?"

"I'll tell you later."

Cheng Jing smiled mysteriously, making Jiang Nian curious. Still, he remembered that Brother Jing hadn't been holding anything when his powers awakened.

After returning to the hotel and tidying up, Cheng Jing pulled out a pair of men's rings:

"I specially ordered these before my business trip. I was planning to give them to you last night, but my powers awakening delayed things. Since I've been carrying them around, the packaging burned off and the color changed like this. Hope you don't mind."

"Of-of course I don't mind."

Looking at the originally bright platinum rings now turned dull grayish-gold, Jiang Nian caught his breath. Mind? He was thrilled.

Though two grown men didn't need to get mushy, who doesn't appreciate a little romance?

Cheng Jing continued,

"I didn't bring them out while Huang Qian was around because I thought they'd become a bit strange."

Jiang Nian seemed to realize something and quickly asked,

"How strange?"

Do they turn into fire wheels? Then he'd really be flying high!

Cheng Jing didn't answer. Instead, he slipped one ring onto Jiang Nian's finger, then had him do the same for him. Probably because of their powers, as soon as the rings touched their skin, a tiny shock flickered through them.

"Looks good,"

Jiang Nian said excitedly. Plus, Cheng Jing had picked wedding bands—perfectly sized for their ring fingers. That possessive side of him—Jiang Nian loved it.

Once the rings were on, under Jiang Nian’s expectant gaze, Cheng Jing grabbed the car keys from the table.

With the thought to put them away, the keys vanished from his palm. Another thought, and they were back in his hand.