Wasteland Border Inspector

Chapter 55 The Mystery of His Death: The Calm Before the Storm!

Ding.

After hanging up the phone, Cheng Ye was stunned for a while before recovering from the huge amount of information.

Military armored vehicle?
How could Jackie Chan have left behind something like this after his unexpected death?
No.

The chaotic clues tangled rapidly in Cheng Ye's mind, gradually making him realize something.

Cheng Long's death is probably not just an ordinary "accident" as Liu Bi previously claimed.

Otherwise, there would be no need to wait until the first field mission was over before telling him part of the truth.

field service
Being able to go out on field duty means that you have already established a firm foothold at the checkpoint.

Ding Yishan's approach was to send him to the rapid checkpoint to his death before he even went out on field duty, but now he suddenly changed his mind and wanted Liu Bi to come back and protect him.

As Liu Bi's reaction flashed through his mind, Cheng Ye had a vague guess in his heart.

Cheng Long's death may be related to the checkpoint, but it was definitely not Ding Yishan who instigated it behind the scenes.

Otherwise, given Liu Bi's fiery temper, he would have rebelled long ago, let alone continued to follow Ding Yishan's orders.

“Brother B wanted me to secure my position as prosecutor, but Ding Yishan insisted on doing the opposite.”

“Back then, Brother B made me beg him to stay instead of disobeying orders and insisting on staying. This shows that Brother B should know that Ding Yishan sent me there not just because my position was unstable and the younger generation of Dongren was too weak and needed to be replaced.”

"Damn, why didn't I realize that back then?"

"Could it be that there was a miscommunication between Brother B and me, and he thinks I already know the real reason for going to the North and South stations?"

In terms of value, Cheng Ye believes that the skills he has displayed so far, even if not overwhelming, are at least at the average level of the younger generation of Dongren. Otherwise, Harlin would never have approached and tried to win him over in advance.

Even at this point, Ding Yishan still didn't make any major moves.

Cheng Ye raised his head and couldn't help but look towards the inner city, suddenly realizing the problem.

The original body left the city and died of fright that very day.

Was he really scared to death because he couldn't accept the reality outside?
"When Brother B comes back, we must get to the bottom of this. We can't let things continue like this, without even knowing who the real enemy is!"

Cheng Ye took a deep breath, suppressing his desire to directly ask Ding Yishan.

Since Ding Yishan asked Liu Bi to come back and protect him, and even had Liu Bi call to inform him, it means that he is on the right track right now.

"When I first transmigrated here, I couldn't have imagined any of this."

"Now that I've witnessed the darkness of the wasteland and figured out the inner workings of Sanctuary City, I've finally become aware of things and am no longer living in a daze."

In the three months he spent in the wasteland, he had indeed changed a lot, living a life that many people would never have lived.

Now, at least he has the means to protect himself. Even if an infection wave is about to break out inside the sheltered city, he has the confidence and strength to survive.

"But right now, the most important thing is to make money and buy equipment!"

The maximum loan amount for a trainee prosecutor is 100 points, and even if Liu Bi was just told this, it wouldn't help.

It can only be purchased through other people, but then it won't be able to get reimbursed at the checkpoint.

Having already accumulated 107 points of debt, adding another 150 points was giving Cheng Ye a headache.

Fortunately, he wasn't without ways to make money; it just depended on how ruthless he was with his methods.

"It rained a couple of days ago, and there wasn't a single car in Zone A that could run on fuel. Now that the rain has stopped, there should be a lot more cars. The 30% entry tax can provide at least 30 points of income."

"Compared to this substitute starfish, the Corrupted Vine Infection Source that we gave to Qin Feng before should be worth around 60 points, maybe even more!"

"90 points should be enough. If it's really not enough, I'll go to the store and ask if I can get it on credit. Anyway, it's only a 60-point shortfall. I can even try my luck at the quarantine facility. Maybe I can easily make up the difference."

After considering it over, Cheng Ye immediately had a target in mind.

As for searching, we can't neglect that either; it would be best to also search for a shooting skill.

Yes, the Blood Dragon Army's standard fighting style that Miao Yang mentioned is also a good option.

The moon sets and the sun rises.

Half past six in the morning.

Cheng Ye woke up in pain.

Before the alarm clock rang, he rolled over and pressed on his injured leg, almost causing him to pass out from the pain.

"Luckily, my Iron Body is immune to pain, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to get to the checkpoint today."

Strictly speaking, this was only the second day of working at the express station.

Two nights later, the charge level had recovered to 39%.

The thought of being able to recharge his energy after eight hours on duty today filled Cheng Ye with renewed vigor.

"Equipment, Iron Body!"

The skill bar flashed, and the excruciating pain vanished instantly.

I have never felt so wonderful.

Cheng Ye moved around a bit, thinking that even the most potent anesthetic injection probably couldn't compare to the instant relief from pain.

"Pain perception is a protective mechanism of the human body, but it is not good to rely on it too much."

"But if it can be paired with a recovery-type talent skill in the future, then Iron Body can be used with peace of mind."

As Cheng Ye pondered this, he strolled down to the fifth-floor water room.

The tap was turned on but no water came out; the water had stopped. This clearly prevented the possibility of humidity exceeding 99% from being reached at the source, thus preventing any latent infected individuals from breaking out prematurely before the rainstorm and causing chaos.

Peeking out of the water room window, one could see numerous water-filled barriers erected along the streets, effectively dividing the main urban area into several sections. Fully armed patrol officers were moving through the streets, their loudspeakers blaring since early morning.
"Comrade He Fei, the duty chief of the Central Checkpoint, has sacrificed his life. The epidemic prevention level of Xingfu City has been temporarily raised to Level A. Please cooperate with the routine screening. Thank you!"

"central."

The truth couldn't be hidden forever; news of He Fei's sacrifice had already begun to spread in a small circle yesterday afternoon.

Instead of continuing to cover things up, it would be better to take advantage of the opportunity of the information being made public to deploy complete prevention and control measures in advance.

However, this prevention and control measure cannot be too absolute. If everyone is forcibly confined to their homes, it will only backfire.

After all, wastelanders are not as mentally stable as modern people, and almost everyone has firepower weapons in their hands.

If they discover that contact-transmitted infected individuals have infiltrated the buffer zone, only two extreme outcomes are possible:

Either everyone becomes fearful and assumes they are infected, leading them to commit extreme acts they wouldn't normally dare to do.

Either open large checkpoints, disperse all residents of Happiness City and flee, and then in the future, the infected wave composed of substitute starfish will come back.

"Unfortunately, the inner city is also preoccupied with its own problems. The Happiness Legion's forces are all engaged in the large-scale search and cannot spare any resources to take care of the buffer zone."

"The threat of these contact-borne infectious agents truly deserves the assessment of being comparable to a plague-level infection wave. In a sense, the larger the scale of the sheltered city, the more dangerous it is. A city of happiness, in particular, has probably already reached the destructive power of a catastrophic infection wave."

Standing by the window for a long time, Cheng Ye finally let out a long sigh, releasing all his chaotic thoughts.

He suddenly understood why humanity had never been able to rebuild civilization and could only survive in the wasteland by relying on shelter cities.

Because as long as this bizarre infected threat exists, the higher the level of gathering of people, the more terrifying the hidden crisis becomes.

These sheltered cities that rise from the wasteland may seem like isolated islands of civilization, but they are more like powder kegs enclosed by high walls.

Once the source of infection, like the "substitute starfish," has contact transmission characteristics, population density itself becomes the most deadly trigger.

When hundreds of thousands of people are confined within high walls, any lapse in prevention and control could trigger a chain reaction of collapses, which is far more destructive to the foundation of human gatherings than threats in wilderness or urban ruins.

At the same time, this also answers another question in Cheng Ye's mind.

Why are there so many unrestricted, welfare-rich sanctuaries in the wasteland, yet still countless small settlements outside?

Perhaps those people were survivors who escaped from the destroyed Sanctuary.

Staying in the wilderness, due to the low population mobility, at most one will encounter a direct impact from infected individuals.

You can stay in a sanctuary city, seemingly surrounded by flowers and lush greenery, but sometimes you don't even know how you died.

Why is there still no water supply?

When it was time for work, other residents on the fifth floor also came one after another to fetch water to wash up, and immediately started cursing when they found that the water was cut off.

"They've been parked here since yesterday afternoon and still haven't come. What's the Public Works Department doing?"

"Exactly, we have to file a complaint, otherwise these people really don't care about people's livelihoods."

"Luckily, I have some water stored here. Anyone who wants to wash their face, come and share some."

"Is this enough for washing my hair? Never mind, I'll just wash my face too."

Someone came over carrying a bucket of water. Cheng Ye stood by the window, pretending to be sending a message with his defense communication device, but actually observing these people discreetly.

What made his heart sink was that, of the seven people who came to the water room, four had almost invisible starfish-shaped marks on their foreheads after washing their faces with water.

The logo flashed by in a light gray pattern, so fast it was almost an illusion. If Cheng Ye hadn't been watching closely the whole time, he would have had no chance of noticing it.

"Hey buddy, do you want to wash your face? There's some left in this bucket."

The middle-aged man, whose head had just been covered by a starfish, walked over with a smile. Startled, Cheng Ye couldn't help but take a step back, his back hitting the windowpane with a loud thud.

"No need, Uncle, I've already washed."

"Hey, what are you afraid of? Are you afraid that we're not clean?"

Seeing Cheng Ye flinch, the middle-aged man mistakenly assumed he was disgusted by the water that everyone had used. He smacked his lips, shook his head helplessly, and left with his bucket.

Before leaving, he muttered to himself: "Young people these days really can't take hardship. Back in our day, we used filtered water from the sewer to wash ourselves."

"Damn, this source of infection has no external symptoms at all, and is no different from a normal person. It's only because Happiness City has a strong ability to trace the source that this is possible. How would other places prevent and control this?"

After the middle-aged man left, Cheng Ye quickly returned to his room, poured water from the kettle, and wiped his forehead with it.

Fortunately, no signs appeared in the window reflection.

Moreover, compared to this clumsy method, he has a more reliable way of verification.

With a slight thought, the panel suddenly flickered.

When switching to the Collector page, neither the "Parasitism" prompt nor the skill bar changed.

It's essentially a real-time detector, allowing him to monitor his infection status at any time.

"This feature might come in very handy if I'm traveling alone in the wilderness in the future."

Thinking it over, Cheng Ye casually opened the wardrobe, cut up the clothes that no longer fit, and then used the scraps of cloth to wrap up the parts of the clothes that might have come into contact with others.

I changed into rubber gloves for the inspection, and then put on the black mask and brown headgear issued by the checkpoint.

I glanced out the window.

He suddenly felt his memories were a bit jumbled, the familiar attire making him feel as if he had returned to a certain special period.

"This is the calm before the storm. Hopefully, a way to get rid of it can be developed soon."

"And I, too, must begin to race against time!"

　P.S.: This book is now on Sanjiang Literature City! Many new readers have joined, and I'm truly humbled. I know my writing can't satisfy everyone's tastes. I'll have a Sanjiang remarks later; those who aren't interested can skip that. I'll explain the book's original intention.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)