Chapter 165

Chapter 165

They were finally heading to the basement, and Chen Shanmin seized the opportunity to say to Jiang Nian:

"Let’s take care of Lin Lin first..."

Jiang Nian cast a disgusted glance at the blood-soaked figure:

"Let’s go to the basement together. Isn’t the doctor there?"

The smell of human blood could easily agitate the infected. If cleaned up, it’d lose its effect.

Besides, injuries like these were nothing. When he had been writhing and vomiting blood from drug-induced torment, Chen Lin had choked him, saying he was breathing too loudly and that the dosage could be increased.

"..."

Chen Shanmin hesitated, obviously worried that Chen Yue shouldn’t be stimulated by blood right now.

But Jiang Nian mercilessly mocked:

"What, afraid Chen Yue will go berserk and bite someone? Don’t you trust your own family?"

He had heard this line many times in the early days of the apocalypse in his past life. Now, it was finally his turn to say it.

He was dying to see this "loving" family tear each other apart!

His fingers twitched with anticipation!

Chen Xiuling, who was supporting Chen Lin, wanted to strangle him when she heard his sarcastic remarks but bit her tongue.

Once everything was ready, the group, with Chen Shanmin’s family leaning on each other, moved into the church toward the basement.

Jiang Nian loathed basements, so he distracted himself with other thoughts:

What type of attack was a shielding superpower?

Mental or physical?

Would it be ineffective against someone like Chu Yi with a holy constitution? What about his Purify?

Could his Purify work?

Could it lift such a shield?

"..."

The church was trashed beyond recognition. Claw marks and signs of struggle littered the pews, while bloodstained murals peeled off the walls.

Behind the pastor’s podium was a door, and at the end of the corridor behind it lay the staircase to the basement.

Chen Shanmin’s family led the way, high-powered flashlights in hand, followed by Chu Yi and Uncle Li. Jiang Nian came next, with Li Shuhui behind him, while Li Liang and Liao Yu brought up the rear.

Guards were posted at intervals along the way, keeping the path lit and safe.

But Jiang Nian’s unease spiked as he stepped onto the basement stairs. His body went rigid, and sweat beaded on his temples.

"..."

Suddenly, a weight tugged at his arm—Li Shuhui, who had been behind him, grabbed his arm and stepped forward.

Jiang Nian turned his head and met the girl's sweet smile:

"Jiang Nian, I'm kinda scared, but I also want to use my superpower to watch your back. So, mind if I hold your arm?"

"Xiao Hui, quit bugging Nian."

Li Liang reminded his sister from behind, scolding her for being too casual.

Li Shuhui ignored him and even stuck her tongue out at him.

Liao Yu watched from the rear without saying anything—such behavior was fine for Li Shuhui, but anyone else would definitely not get away with it.

"It's fine, A'Liang. I'll walk with Xiao Hui."

Jiang Nian felt oddly lighter. There was no denying it—girls really were the sweetest!

He liked men, so he usually took the initiative to avoid giving the wrong idea with guys. Even when calling other guys "bro" in daily life, he would never engage in backslapping or arm-draping.

It was the same with girls—to avoid drama, he always maintained a safe distance. But Li Shuhui was different. She felt like family, so this kind of closeness didn't feel out of place.

Besides, Li Shuhui wasn’t usually like this. She must have noticed something was off with him and deliberately reached out. Whatever the case, he was grateful. The grip on his arm eased the unease caused by his instinctive discomfort, making him feel lighter.

He had this!

"Hehe, let's go."

Li Shuhui tossed a smug look at her brother, hooked her arm with Jiang Nian's, and walked down while chatting away. She also confirmed her guess was right:

From behind, she had seen sweat on Jiang Nian’s neck, and his shoulders and gait were slightly stiff. Everyone, regardless of gender, had small fears they didn’t want others to notice. Jiang Nian was probably afraid of enclosed spaces like basements.

Nian was always good to her, so of course she had to help when she noticed something wrong. She wouldn’t reveal this little secret either—boys cared about their pride, after all.

The church basement was divided into several rooms, serving as storage and utility spaces before the apocalypse.

Now, only the door to Chen Yue’s room and the one next to it—where the superpowered individual who could block abilities was held—remained closed.

As they descended the last step and entered the basement space, Jiang Nian sensed a peculiar superpower pulse enveloping all of them.

Jiang Nian reminded his teammates:

"Everyone, try using your superpowers."

After speaking, he discreetly gathered energy at his fingertips to test it. Good—the blocking had no effect on his Purify, but it was true that he couldn’t dispel it either.

It had to be said, support powers were kinda OP.

The teammates all tried, and in the end, only Chu Yi’s invincible holy physique remained unaffected.

They were too jealous to even complain at this point, silently watching. Even Chen Shanmin’s family looked stunned—superpowers truly had their own checks and balances. No power was unbeatable.

The basement was brightly lit too. Chu Yi walked toward the armed personnel the military had captured after the earlier skirmish:

A total of 95, with 10 dead and the remaining 85 with broken limbs.

After confirming these people wouldn’t die anytime soon, Chu Yi wasted no time, scooping them all into his superpower space’s warehouse to keep Xiao Liu and Da Jun company. Then, he had his own people take over their posts on standby.

Once everything was arranged, the group finally stopped before the two sealed doors.

"Xiao Yue’s in there…"

Chen Shanmin was about to knock when Jiang Nian raised his hand to stop him.

He wasn’t in a hurry to see Chen Yue. Instead, he walked toward the other room emitting superpower-dampening waves:

“I’d like to meet the person inside first. Constantly suppressing superpowers isn’t sustainable.”

Having his teammates' powers restricted made him uneasy.

Just as he was about to ask Chen Shanmin to knock, he noticed the door was locked from the outside, and the iron door was clearly reinforced.

Unlike the "puppet master" he had imagined, the person inside seemed to be forcibly confined, which raised many questions.

Chen Shanmin's face twisted with resentment for a moment, but he offered no explanation. Instead, he took out a key and unlocked the door.

A foul stench filled the air, revealing that the room held not a normal superpowered individual but an infected, zombie-like being.

The ten-square-meter (about 100 sq ft) room contained an iron-framed bed, a square table, and a chair.

On the bed lay a person splayed out limply, dressed in a hospital gown, limbs and neck shackled with iron chains, mouth gagged with a cloth strip. Their face was corpse-pale, with hair matted with dried blood in clumps.

Unable to turn their head, they could only roll their bloodshot eyes toward the door, appearing eerie, pitiful, and terrifying.

The skin on their left forearm wept foul-smelling pus from infection.

On the square table opposite the bed lay various medicines, syringes, and surgical tools…