Chapter 180

Chapter 180

After locking eyes with everyone for a good while, Chu Yi suddenly smiled:

"I never said I’d report this or spill the beans. Even if I record it, it'll be classified. Relax—the Minister’s already flagged Jiang Nian as a top-priority protectee. His real info’s under lock and key, and anything others can access is disguised."

[The others exchanged glances, their expressions relaxing at once.] They always figured Chu Yi was solid.

After a beat, Chu Yi added, like he was making a promise:

"Outside you guys and the top brass, nobody knows Purification Superpower’s endgame can wipe out the zombie virus. It wasn’t known before, and unless the timing is right, it won’t be disclosed in the future. With the world how it is now, Jiang Nian’s basically classified now."

Liao Yu frowned:

"What do you mean?"

The whole ‘classified’ thing sounded fancy but heavy.

Chu Yi shrugged:

"From what we’ve dug up, he’s currently the only one with the Purification Superpower."

Ever since they encountered Jiang Nian, the higher-ups had discreetly investigated whether there were other Purification Supers nationwide.

From the findings, since the apocalypse began, there have only been two Purification Supers—Jiang Nian included.

This fits right into the whole ‘rarer means less likely’ rule.

Moreover, Jiang Nian’s Superpower was never publicly disclosed, while the other recorded Purification Super died shortly after awakening, before even forming a core.

This left no opportunity for deeper research.

Since it was weak and non-combat, the range was crap early on. Nobody’d even think to try it on zombies unless shit hit the fan—and even if it was, the weak results would’ve been brushed off.

So, going off the dead Purification Super, all they got was this stiff, half-baked idea that it could "lift mental control but offered little practical use in daily purification."

Fortunately, Jiang Nian succeeded, allowing Chu Yi to witness the birth of a "savior" firsthand.

"Damn, my dude’s a legend!"

Liao Yu sighed in genuine admiration, proud he’d hitched his wagon to a winner early.

"Incredible, but also dangerous."

Uncle Li was torn between pride and panic.

Chu Yi just shrugged:

"True. Scarcity drives hype, but Jiang Nian has always kept a low profile. As long as he doesn’t get cocky before another Purification Super appears, we’ve got his back."

[The room fell dead silent.]

After a heavy pause, Li Liang interjected:

"Seriously? Right now, the suits are the real danger."

[...]

Chu Yi scratched the back of his head helplessly:

"Exploiting one person to save humanity isn’t realistic. The Purification Superpower only gives us hope to overcome the apocalyptic virus, not to throw Jiang Nian to the wolves... Besides, aside from the zombie virus, there are other disasters too..."

After explaining and reassuring them from multiple angles, Chu Yi finally convinced everyone thoroughly.

Liao Yu grinned:

"We’re out of our depth with these high-level decisions. The way you put it earlier really scared us."

Then, without missing a beat, he smoothly shifted to flattery:

"As expected of a leader! Such broad vision! This is why I love the military."

The others nodded in agreement, the mood shifted on a dime.

Chu Yi gave them an 'I see through you' look:

"You guys just accidentally attacked an ally. After all the life-and-death battles we’ve shared, that’s really disheartening."

Li Shuhui was the first to apologize:

"Brother Chu, I’m sorry. I spoke out of turn..."

Li Liang bowed sincerely:

"We were shortsighted. Please forgive us, Brother."

Uncle Li watched them with an amused smile.

Chu Yi glanced at Jiang Nian and said:

"I heard Jiang Nian has a lot of good food. Next time you guys gather, invite me too."

He jumped at the chance, scrambling for an in. As a walking storage unit, his daily life was dull. If not for Jiang Nian, he wouldn’t have had the chance to leave the base this time.

"Hahaha..."

"..."

The others barely held back laughs, thinking he’d say something serious. Turns out Brother Chu was just like them, eager to milk Brother Nian for his goodies.

Li Shuhui chuckled softly:

"Brother Jiang Nian is really kind. If you treat him well, he’ll pay you back ten times over. Trust me, he’ll rope you in himself in the future without us even mentioning it."

Chu Yi nodded:

"Sweet. If he flakes, give him a nudge."

Sticking with Jiang Nian’s group might mean frequent outings. With the ability to cleanse the zombie virus, Jiang Nian was practically a golden goose now. Department Head Wang would surely approve sending an entire squad to babysit him.

"..."

The range maxed out, Jiang Nian’s superpower stopped flowing outward but didn’t retract either, remaining in a frozen state. The group felt slightly relieved—as long as it wasn’t leaking further, there was no danger of burning out.

*Beep—*

*It’s now 6:00 AM.*

The familiar flip phone ringtone from Uncle Li's device announced that while they hadn't noticed it underground, it was already dawn on the surface.

Just as Chu Yi was thinking about going up to check the situation, the familiar sound of an engine echoed through the air.

A few seconds later, a message came through the comms:

"Boss, it's a Southern City Base aircraft."

Chu Yi asked:

"How many planes?"

"..."

After a pause, the voice on the other end replied:

"One. It's Cheng Jing and his team... uh... they're heading down to you."

"Got it."

After speaking, Chu Yi shared a smirk with the others. Just from the tone, they could tell how anxious Cheng Jing was.

Before long, hasty footsteps descended from above.

Everyone went out to greet them. After quick greetings with Cheng Jing and the returning team, they informed them about Jiang Nian's emergency.

The team visibly relaxed. After confirming that the unconscious man showed no abnormalities, they made themselves scarce.

Before leaving, Liao Yu looked at Cheng Jing, who was trying hard to restrain himself but couldn't take his eyes off Jiang Nian, and said:

"Cheng, I leave our Yifu in your hands."

It was such a relief that their leader had returned at this critical moment. Even though their Yifu was fine, he still felt uneasy.

Cheng Jing knew they had been worried about Jiang Nian. Grateful, he patted Liao Yu and teased:

"What kind of talk is that? You think I can't take care of my own wife?"

The familiar dose of PDA hit them. Young Master Liao calmly walked over to Zhao Lei, who was waiting nearby, and took his arm as they left together.

Cheng Jing sat down by the bed, took off his gloves, and let out a deep sigh. He reached out to caress Jiang Nian's face, then leaned down and gave his lightly closed lips a playful nip:

"You little rascal!"

He understood Jiang Nian's actions and knew he had handled the situation well—no recklessness, no rash moves. But worry was inevitable, especially when he saw that massive energy vortex from the plane earlier. His heart had leapt to his throat.

Fortunately, there had been no one within the range. According to the soldier on watch, the scattered undead moans had soon faded away.

A breakthrough was good, but doing so under such circumstances was downright reckless!

This was exactly why he couldn't let this man out of my sight. We're separated for five minutes, and he'd already managed to stir up trouble.