Chapter 191

Chapter 191

"Brother Nian, why are you here?"

Xiao Ya pulled over a chair and sat across the desk from Jiang Nian.

Jiang Nian smiled:

"We had some business in the area and decided to drop by to visit you."

He then placed two gift bags he had prepared in advance in front of her:

"These are gifts from all of us."

One bag contained candies and snacks, while the other held two outfits and some cute hair clips and bands.

"Thank you, Brother Nian, and everyone."

Xiao Ya blinked her slightly reddened eyes.

After entering the supervised school and learning about its inner workings, she'd lost all hope of ever seeing Jiang Nian and the others again. She never expected...

"You're welcome... How have you been at school?"

The 1805 incident was long behind them. With the final verdict and the perspective of his past life, Jiang Nian's attitude toward Xiao Ya had changed significantly.

Yet, he still didn’t know how to comfort her, so he changed the subject.

Xiao Ya wiped the corner of her eye with the back of her hand and nodded with a smile:

"I’ve been doing well here. The teachers and supervisors are all good people... Thank you, Brother Nian."

Jiang Nian nodded and asked again:

"That’s good... How about your superpower? Tell me about it."

"Still the same..."

At the mention of her superpower, Xiao Ya pursed her lips and lowered her head:

"I don’t dare use it... At first, I was afraid of hurting others again... Later, the doctor said that if I do use it, my core might self-destruct or break through... I’m still scared."

Sometimes, she thought it would be better if she died, given the unforgivable mistakes she had made. But when she learned that using her superpower could kill her, she couldn’t bring herself to do it.

She knew she was a coward.

Jiang Nian nodded in understanding:

"So, you haven’t used your superpower at all since Qingyun City, and you haven’t practiced it daily either?"

If he remembered correctly, Xiao Ya hadn’t used her superpower since they discovered the secret of Room 1805. Back then, when they entered the room, she hadn’t even tried to teleport away. If she had, she might have already broken through.

"Yeah,"

Xiao Ya nodded:

"The doctor said it’s up to me whether to use it or not... If I never use it, over time, it might break through on its own..."

Stumbling through her words, she looked up at Jiang Nian with earnest plea in her eyes.

"Brother Jiang, what... what should I do?"

After losing her mother's control, she had developed an irrational fear of her own abilities. The teachers said her Superpower was powerful, but all she could think of were those blood-soaked moments.

Even though her situation had improved significantly from before, she still lacked the courage to face it.

"..."

Jiang Nian stared at the fear and helplessness in her eyes, unable to picture what she had been like during her time as the Zombie King.

After thinking for a while, he finally said:

"Some choices must be yours alone, but since you're asking me, I encourage you to use it. You need to be brave. Right now, you're neither overusing your Superpower nor mentally overwhelmed, nor do you have any harmful intentions—your Superpower Core won't self-destruct."

At that time, research on Superpower Cores wasn't as advanced as it is now, so the report only mentioned that her core had developed cracks and could potentially self-destruct.

"Really?"

Xiao Ya held his gaze for a moment before nodding.

"Okay... I believe you, Brother Jiang."

Jiang Nian gave her hand an encouraging squeeze.

"Xiao Ya, in life, we have to keep moving forward. Acknowledge your mistakes and do what you can to make up for them. Dwelling on the past, drowning in regret and avoidance, is useless. You have to be stronger."

Wanting to save her father was understandable, and she couldn't undo the harm she'd caused. But no matter how much regret she felt, what's done is done. Dwelling on it would only bring harm, and might even warp her very nature, making things worse.

Human nature is selfish. It's easy to preach to others, but when it's their own skin in the game, they often become impulsive and irrational.

If killing someone truly could save a loved one, many would choose to let others die.

"Mm, I understand. I'll try my best... Thank you, Brother Jiang."

Xiao Ya nodded firmly. Her therapist had given similar advice, but she felt Jiang Nian's words were more convincing—at least, she trusted him more.

Indeed, if she could advance her abilities and become stronger, she could join the base's search-and-rescue units to help other survivors. And if she died in the process, it would still be better than living in guilt and cowardice like this.

"..."

With his main goal achieved, Jiang Nian pulled out two character-shaped lollipops from his pocket, unwrapped them, and gave one to Xiao Ya while keeping the other for himself.

He began asking about her daily life here, discreetly gathering intel on how she was cooperating with Superpower research—this approach worked better than direct questioning.

As Xiao Ya answered honestly, she also inquired after Huang Qian and Li Shuhui's whereabouts.

The conversation gradually became calm and relaxed.

Chu Yi, observing from the sidelines, thought Jiang Nian was well-suited for work involving children.

Cheng Jing remained expressionless. He now harbored newfound gratitude toward Xiao Ya, remembering her help in his past life. Seizing the opportunity, he asked:

"How does the base handle juvenile Superpowered criminals who can't be reformed?"

Without hesitation, Chu Yi replied:

"Their Superpower Cores are extracted, and they're imprisoned according to regulations. Those over fourteen are assigned to work crews—the base has youth correctional facilities. Besides education and psychological counseling, they also perform varying degrees of mandatory labor."

Cheng Jing nodded.

"Has anyone ever had a Superpower Core extracted? Any side effects after removal?"

"..."

Chu Yi thought for a moment and shook his head:

"So far, no one has had it removed. The first case would probably be Luo Yuan. He won't admit he did anything wrong, and his superpower is too dangerous. That's why he's getting all these checkups lately—to prepare for the Superpower Core extraction."

"Hmm, stripping him of his superpower before then trying to rehabilitate him is indeed a good approach."

Cheng Jing agreed with this method and then asked:

"Will they take the opportunity to conduct Superpower Core transplantation tests? After all, zombie-fighting superpowers are rare."

Chu Yi shook his head:

"The professors say core transplantation isn't that simple. Besides evaluating the recipient's physical condition, they also need to consider rejection risk. They must first develop a compatibility drug to prevent rejection. It has to be done step by step—no rushing."

In fact, compared to before, research has advanced by leaps and bounds now that there are professors with brain domain evolution superpowers. Can't expect miracles.

"That makes sense."

Cheng Jing felt reassured. Some things, even if success is certain, still require essential preparatory work.

Time, manpower, and repeated trials to obtain accurate data.

His gaze returned to Xiao Ya. The girl wasn't inherently bad or twisted. He hoped she could overcome her past shadows in the supervised school, face her mistakes, and do her best to make amends and contribute to humanity's fight against the apocalypse.