Wasteland Border Inspector

Chapter 15 Value Investing: I Got the Loan!

It's possible that he didn't travel through worlds, but rather through timelines, which is good news for Cheng Ye.

This means his roots are still on this planet. Perhaps one day he will be able to return to the ruins of Guangzhou, where he once lived, find the rented room he once lived in, pry out the spare change hidden in the mattress, and see the motivational slogans he wrote on the wall for his postgraduate entrance exam.
Of course, eighty years have passed, and supernatural powers have changed, so no one knows what the ruins have become.

Perhaps everything has become unfamiliar to Cheng Ye, but isn't the purpose of living to have a little hope?

"If things had gone according to the normal timeline, even if I could have landed a job in my first year after graduation, I probably wouldn't have survived until the S-1 virus seven years later."

"But the Mayans could even predict the end of the world, let alone the visitation of extraterrestrial life on Earth?!"

Cheng Ye muttered a complaint to himself, preferring to believe it was a beautiful coincidence.

He put the book on the origin of the infection back on the shelf and then pulled out a second book to read.

Extraordinary Diaries

The autobiography of an extraordinary individual fully records his mental journey from an ordinary person to suddenly acquiring extraordinary things and reaching the pinnacle of life.

Although the text didn't have the same impact as the video, Cheng Ye could still glean two words from between the lines:

eat human!

To become an extraordinary being, one must climb over the corpses of others.

You have to fight and compete, otherwise you'll never get ahead in your life.

This is why some superhumans with deep obsessions and special abilities, after being infected with the S-4 virus and losing their minds, become beings similar to earthbound spirits.

They are very difficult to find, and even when they do appear, they are impossible to kill, and contact with them can lead to infection and transmission.

Humans simply removed these areas from maps and history, preventing them from being explored from the very beginning.

Opening the third book, "Distribution of the Original Source of Infection," it was indeed not the map of the sheltered cities provided by the checkpoint, but a world map that Cheng Ye was familiar with, only missing many sections.

For example, the Japanese islands, or the entire Antarctic plate.

On the domestic map, Cheng Ye's gaze sharpened as he spotted a pitch-black block and four orange-red blocks.

"Does pitch black mean it's off-limits, and orange-red mean it's extremely dangerous?"

Like a cracked sponge suddenly plunged into water, Cheng Ye greedily absorbed the information that was hard to find in this wasteland.

The sound of the rain pouring outside the window became the best white noise, perfectly isolating the chaos in the buffer zone.

I don’t know how long it took.

The rain subsided, and the heavy clouds gradually dispersed, revealing a thin ray of sunlight.

The defense communication device on the table suddenly vibrated, sending a message, which snapped Cheng Ye back to his senses.

"It's already 6:30?"

I entered the library at just nine o'clock, and before I knew it, almost nine hours had passed.

On the wooden table, there were three stacks of books, each about half a person high.

This was allowed by Gwen, because Cheng Ye read the book so fast and was so engrossed in it.

After randomly testing Cheng Ye with two questions to confirm that he wasn't just skimming the surface, Gwen readily agreed that he could take multiple books with him at once to save time traveling back and forth.

"Mr. Cheng, are you hungry? We have nutritional supplements for sale here, at the same price as outside."

Gwen peeked out from behind the bookshelf and waved.

"Or if you have any other needs, please don't hesitate to ask. The Survival Library will give you the best possible treatment as a wise and eager-to-learn guest."

"Well"

Cheng Ye glanced at the defense device, smiled and shook his head, "Sorry, it's my work time. Thank you for the hospitality. I'll come back here to read again tomorrow."

"Okay, the rain stopped at four o'clock. I've dried the raincoat you hung by the window and put it in the bag by the door. Just bring the bag to me when you come over tomorrow."

"Also," Gwen walked over, and Cheng Ye then noticed that her left leg was slightly disabled, she was limping, no wonder she had been curled up on the small bed.

"You can leave now. I'll help you put these books back in their places, and I'll make a note of the ones you haven't read yet."

"Many thanks!"

Cheng Ye nodded, knowing that this was a way for Gwen to invest in him, similar to the nutritional supplements Uncle Dong had given him that morning.

A real wasteland.
As long as you demonstrate the value that the other party values, you will receive the best treatment.

Perhaps at some point, these investments will be repaid tenfold or a hundredfold, changing the course of one's life.

As I left the library, the sky had indeed changed from leaden gray to clear.

The thick, dark clouds had mostly receded, leaving behind only crumpled cotton wool, lazily scattered across the horizon.

A few rays of sunlight pierced through the gaps in the clouds and poured down, one of which fell precisely onto the bluestone slab in front of the library, mingling with the unique crispness of the rain.

Cheng Ye took a deep breath and felt the heaviness in his chest disappear.

"Really cool!"

Compared to the body that had been ravaged by academics several times before the transmigration, this body is now incredibly strong.

The sore neck, slightly stiff back, and numb calves returned to normal immediately after a little movement.

However, judging from the rolling dark clouds on the horizon, Cheng Ye knew that the current downpour was only temporarily over.

Unless a new cyclone forms to push warm air currents forward, the rain line will continue to linger along the line around Chuancheng.

Drip, drip, drip.
The phone vibrated again. Since Cheng Ye had already turned off the do-not-disturb mode, this time the message redirected directly to the call interface. It was Luo Xiaoxue.

"Oh, Sister Luo, I was at the library just now. Okay, okay, I'm coming right now!"

After hanging up the phone, Cheng Ye easily squeezed onto a bus back to the main urban area in less than two minutes.

As the torrential rain receded, the curfew in the main urban area was lifted. Inside the train carriage sat many workers in work clothes, chattering about the unusual plants they had encountered while clearing land that day.

Cheng Ye subconsciously thought it was the kind of extraordinary plant that could grant humans benefits, but after listening for a while, he shook his head and chuckled, thinking to himself that he had really gotten confused from reading too much.

After the S-4 virus outbreak, even the extraordinary plants were not spared; most of them died, and only a small portion completed a symbiotic relationship with the infected organism.

This refers to the 'special infected' that Gwen mentioned earlier.

This special infected organism retains plant-like characteristics. Although it can move, it does not actively attack humans and is widely distributed across various tectonic plates of Earth.

Rumor has it that its plant parts can still grant humans extraordinary powers without any risk of infection, so there is always a group of people scraping the ground and searching everywhere in the wasteland.

Unfortunately, after searching for so many years, I haven't heard of anyone finding it or getting rich.

The way these workers are discussing the mutated plant is somewhat similar to discussing the lottery in modern times. They all know that it's not some kind of magical, special infected entity, but they still harbor a sliver of unrealistic hope that they can get rich.

"This is extraordinary power! Who wouldn't be tempted?"

To be honest, after realizing the power of the extraordinary individuals, Cheng Ye was also very eager to learn.

After all, compared to ordinary people in the wasteland, they had only heard about how powerful superhumans were, while he had "witnessed" that kind of power firsthand.

Of course, this applies to movies and anime.

swoosh-

The tires, soon to be worn bald, made a sharp screeching sound on the wet road surface, and the station announcement sounded the mechanical voice of "Happiness Bank Station has arrived" at just the right time.

Cheng Ye stepped off the vehicle onto the pedal; this was his second time here.

The last time was the day after I traveled to the wasteland, when I came to sign the papers to inherit the legacy left by Cheng Long.

"Xiao Cheng?"

Cheng Ye was squinting at the bank building not far away when a gentle female voice suddenly came from beside him.

Turned.

Luo Xiaoxue walked over with a middle-aged man with a slicked-back hairstyle, looking at him with great surprise.

"How come you've gotten so strong in just two months?"

"Ah? Is there any?"

Cheng Ye scratched his head and immediately shifted the blame, "It's all thanks to Brother B. He keeps an eye on my training every day. Even if I'm slacking off, I should see some results by now."

"is it?"

Luo Xiaoxue looked her up and down with some suspicion.

When Cheng Ye was released from prison, she went with Liu Bi to pick him up.

In my memory, Cheng Ye was a thin, pale-faced, and taciturn man who always kept his head down and never uttered a sound.

Unexpectedly, two months later, the young man in front of me had shoulders that almost filled the collar of his shirt, clearly visible forearm muscles, and a strong masculine aura. When he smiled, his eyes relaxed, and a crisp and decisive energy emanated from his bones.

"Sister Luo, if I act the same way as before, Brother B won't feel comfortable letting me guard the North and South gates alone, will he?"

Liu Bi, 35; Luo Xiaoxue, 34.

Calling her "sister" might seem a bit abrupt given that the original owner is only 19 years old, but Cheng Ye was already 26 before transmigrating, so they're not that far apart in age.

"That's true."

Luo Xiaoxue looked him over for a while before suppressing her curiosity and turning around to introduce him: "This is your Uncle Song, one of the managers of the Public Works Department. He is very familiar with your father and Liu Bi. I'll ask him to lend you some contribution points first. You don't need to rush to pay him back later. I'll have your Brother B lend you some first."

"Thank you, Uncle Song!"

Cheng Ye immediately called out, and the middle-aged man with slicked-back hair gave him a kind smile.

"Don't be so polite with me. Cheng Long and I were comrades-in-arms. Cheng Ye, if you need anything in the future, just come to the Public Works Department to find me."

"How could I possibly trouble Uncle Song? Lending me some contribution points today has already been a huge help!"

After exchanging pleasantries, the three entered the buffer zone branch of Happiness Bank.

The internal structure is similar to that of a modern rural credit cooperative, with four service windows, but there was no one there at this time.

Not surprising.

Unlike the freely circulating Happiness Coin, Contribution Points are strictly controlled within the entire Happiness City's sphere of influence. Every expenditure of each point must be recorded and clearly traceable, so ordinary people rarely come here.

For trainee prosecutors like Cheng Ye, the loan limit is only 100 contribution points every six months.

This is also the main reason why Liu Bi opened with 100 points.

"Prosecutor Cheng, please note: the points you borrow from others must have a reasonable and legitimate purpose and be used only by the borrower. If it is found in subsequent investigations that the points you borrowed were circulated in other ways, you will be fined two to ten times the amount, depending on the severity of the circumstances."

While Cheng Ye was signing, the staff member sitting behind the counter spoke up to remind him.

Thank you so much for the monthly pass, and thank you to Xiaolebb for the reward. It's a new day, please add to your favorites, give me monthly passes, and keep reading!

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(End of this chapter)