Wasteland Border Inspector

Chapter 1 Happiness City, your top choice for wasteland refuge!
July is the height of summer, and the sun is scorching hot.

The asphalt road surface curled into scales under the high temperature, with thick and ferocious vines embedded in each crack.

The man, holding a short knife, laboriously cut through the vines blocking his path and followed the roadside sign.

"Happy City, your top choice for wasteland refuge!"

"Happy City, the hope for the next human era!"

"Happy City, we have an endless supply of food and energy!"

"In Happiness City, everyone can receive respect!"

"fortunate"

The further you go, the denser the slogans on the roadside signs become, nailed to crooked utility poles, sprayed on the collapsed exterior walls of banks, and even carved on the weathered surface of shop signs.

Like some kind of bewitching spell, the man, who was already very tired, suddenly felt a surge of energy within him, and even his trembling legs seemed to become much lighter.

Following the signs and turning several corners, the city shadows receded like a tide, and the dazzling sunlight shone down, the dividing line formed by the interplay of light and shadow separating the architectural ruins behind us.

Despite the exaggerated description of Happy City on the radio, the man still couldn't help but gasp in astonishment when he saw the scene with his own eyes.

The first thing that catches the eye is that legendary 'wall of happiness'!
According to the broadcast, this giant wall is about 30 meters high and stretches for more than 10 kilometers, forming a huge living area of ​​10 square kilometers.

But the reality is probably much more than that, because the shape of the giant wall is an irregular ellipse.

Based on the population density of the wasteland refugee settlement, it can accommodate at least one million people!

In front of the giant wall lies the isolation buffer zone that each sheltered city sets up.

The difference is that the quarantine zone in Happiness City is like that giant wall, about ten kilometers long and five kilometers wide, equally neat and massive.

Although most of the buildings inside are old buildings preserved from the past, and you can even vaguely see a few dilapidated pedestrian streets interspersed among them, the checkpoint at the front of the quarantine zone exudes a chilling sense of majesty.

The checkpoint is divided into three areas: front, middle, and back, consisting of a neat wire mesh partition, which correspond to preliminary screening, isolation observation, and resident procedure processing, respectively.

In the screening area, after passing through the double metal doors at the front, you enter an isolation cage placed on a conveyor belt. You are then transported by the conveyor belt to inspectors at different windows to undergo disease checks.

After the screening is completed, survivors who are confirmed to be free of disease can directly enter the rear area to complete the resident registration procedures.

Those survivors whose fate remains uncertain will need to travel to the central observation area and spend three days in canvas tents.

You have entered the Happiness City restricted area.

Please proceed along the yellow marked line for quarantine.

Trespassers will be killed without exception.

As we approached the quarantine zone, the style of the roadside signs changed noticeably.

The man swallowed nervously, picked up his backpack, and continued forward, quickly blending into the queue.

"Please line up in an orderly manner, do not crowd, and enter the isolation cage for inspection as a family unit!"

A hoarse, synthesized electronic voice echoed over the screening area, where eight fortress-like guard towers stood like giant beasts, and loudspeakers on the walls continuously repeated instructions.

The survivors lowered their heads and moved forward in silence, advancing in an orderly fashion under the watchful eyes of the heavy machine gun.

However, when they climb onto the isolation cage, the survivors have one chance to choose their inspector.

From 1 to 8, eight rusty conveyor belts extend side by side, each corresponding to one of the eight inspectors of different ages and genders.

The man's eyes flickered as he casually glanced at the various windows, quickly fixing his gaze on Inspector No. 8, a subtle smile playing at the corners of his lips.

Although all the inspectors wore masks, it was easy to tell from the skin on their necks that Inspector No. 8 was the youngest, so it should be the easiest to pass his inspection.

"Name?"

"Edmund Rake".

"From where?"

"Sak Federal City".

In front of the man, Prosecutor No. 8 unfolded a map, searched for a long time, and asked in surprise, "Oh? That place is almost three thousand kilometers away from Happiness City. How did you get here?"

“I traveled by freight train, car, and a short boat ride, and then walked 300 kilometers to reach Happiness City.”

"Okay, that's been a long time. See the first thermometer on the table in front of you? Pick it up, press it against your forehead, and tell me the reading." "Understood."

Each isolation cage contains a small, fixed square table with three types of testing instruments on it.

As the prosecutor stated, Edmund picked up the thermometer and quickly saw two numbers displayed on the LCD screen.

47.02.

"Sir, this thermometer seems to be broken. How could my temperature be 47 degrees Celsius?"

"is it?"

Prosecutor No. 8 peeked out with a puzzled look, and after confirming the number, gestured:
"It seems the equipment is indeed malfunctioning, but that's okay. Let's move on to the Q&A session. After you pass the test, you can go to the back to complete the resident registration procedures."

“That’s wonderful, sir. Please speak.”

"Between Sak Federal City and Happiness City, on which section of the waterway did you travel?"

"It should be a tributary of the Linjiang River?" Edmund tried to recall. "A large-scale outbreak of infected people occurred in Yun City, and the only way to bypass this section is by waterway."

"Specific time?"

"June 6.15th."

"You remember it so clearly?"

"Of course, that day was the founding day of Happiness City. I listened to the celebration broadcast on the radio for three whole hours." Recalling the solemn chimes and cheers of the crowd coming through the static, Edmund's face showed an expression of great satisfaction.

Clearly, the broadcasts from Happy City provided him with a great deal of "happiness" during this long journey.

"Hmm, okay, do you remember the surrounding natural disaster reports after the founding day broadcast ended?"

"Is this part of the process?"

Edmund's smile froze, his pupils contracting sharply in the shadows. "I don't remember. Maybe it aired too late?"

"Of course you wouldn't remember."

The metal countertop emitted a harsh scraping sound as Inspector No. 8 opened a drawer and pulled out several photographs.

The river in the photo looks like a turbid giant python, rushing out of its channel and flooding large areas of wilderness.

"On June 14, a flash flood occurred in the early morning of a tributary of the Linjiang River, and the water level rose by seven meters. The bodies of all the drifters were trapped under a broken bridge 30 kilometers away from Yunshi."

"And your journey by water arrived a full twenty-four hours later than death itself."

"what?"

As if a special button had been pressed, Edmund suddenly stood up, the color draining from his face, his features contorting into a gray, wrinkled mess, like a dried-up wood ear mushroom that had been soaking for many days.

"Flash flood. Broken bridge."

Edmund's pupils suddenly dilated, his jaw drooped toward his chest as if dislocated, and then three grayish-purple tentacles burst out of his throat, their grayish-purple skin covered with suckers.

Before the very first one could even emerge from the gap in the iron cage, a small red dot suddenly lit up on its forehead.

boom!
The 7.62mm full-power round is extremely effective at "exorcising" demons; the moment it tears apart the tentacles, it also blasts off half of the head.

Edmund's upper body flew backward, revealing writhing tumor tissue on the back of his neck. Strangely, the remaining half of his face retained a狰狞 (zhengning, meaning ferocious or hideous) smile, and a hissing sound emanated from his shattered throat: "Fake. Happiness is fake."

"Codename: Death Whisper Tentacle, Infection Progress: Stage 2, has been killed by Trainee Inspector 'Cheng Ye' in cooperation with the watchtower inspection."

Looking up and seeing the OK sign made at the watchtower window, Cheng Ye sighed and pressed the communicator to report.

Soon, a reply came through the communicator: "Received. The cleanup team will arrive in three minutes. Please continue to maintain order at the scene, inspector!"

Is the situation stable?

After hanging up the communicator, Cheng Ye suppressed the urge to vomit and looked around.

The survivors on the other seven conveyor belts seemed to be used to this scene, only glancing over instinctively when they heard the gunshots. No one was surprised by Edmund's gruesome death and the tentacles.

As for the other seven prosecutors, they were frighteningly calm, and none of them turned their heads when the gunshot rang out.

If we're talking about stability at the scene, perhaps only he, the prosecutor who just arrived two months ago, needs it.

My new book is launching! Please read it, add it to your favorites, and vote for it! I'm bowing down to all my esteemed readers!
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(End of this chapter)