Wasteland Border Inspector

Chapter 200: Underwater Crisis, Wilderness Tactics!

Are there Infected Bodies hidden in the White Water River?Cheng Ye's heart sank.

During his last investigation of Dabo Town, he had only hastily mapped out the terrain. At that time, both rivers were flooded. Standing on the pier, he could not even cast a fishing rod, let alone find an opportunity to investigate the underwater conditions.

Furthermore, since it was his first time venturing into the Wilderness, he had even stopped Jiang Chuan from diving in to catch the fish king.

Thinking about it now, even if the surface of the White Water River had been calm, he absolutely would not have entertained such a dangerous idea without any Water Affinity.

"What type of Infected Body is it?" he asked in a deep voice.

Luo Kuke shook his head, his expression solemn. "If this were not an assessment and we were not competitors, I could tell you the specific type and how to deal with it. But right now, you have to investigate it yourself. Well, this is also a necessary path to becoming a high-stage Inspector. When it comes to the dangers of the Wilderness, relying on intelligence provided by others is never reliable."

He paused, shifted the topic, and his tone softened a bit. "In addition, no one in the Inspection Station explicitly states it, but everyone abides by a hidden rule:

Factional disputes only count within the buffer zone. Once outside the city, all Inspectors are people of Happiness City, and we share the same fate. I hope Inspector Cheng can temporarily put aside your conflict with Garcia. Whatever issues you have can wait until we return to the buffer zone."

'No wonder Garcia has been so well-behaved. So he was following this hidden rule?'

Cheng Ye slowly nodded, simultaneously catching the hidden meaning in Luo Kuke's words. "It sounds like the situation is quite severe?"

"Whether it is severe or not depends on our situation," Luo Kuke furrowed his brows slightly. "If it were just me alone, staying in Dabo Town for ten days or half a month would not be a problem. But right now, a thousand people are gathered here. With so many people, their collective Essence is messy. Inspector Cheng surely would not want to wake up tomorrow morning and find several hundred people missing, right?"

"Well, as I said before, safety comes first, and competition comes second." Cheng Ye twitched the corner of his mouth.

"Then I can rest easy."

Luo Kuke breathed a sigh of relief. When dealing with Infection Sources in the wild, one does not fear god-like opponents, but rather pig-like teammates.

If Cheng Ye's side ended up spawning two or three hundred Infected Bodies, no matter how capable Luo Kuke was, he would have no choice but to pack up and run.

After all, unlike those high-stage Inspectors in the Inspection Station who were renowned for their combat prowess, the newly promoted Inspectors nowadays prioritized operational abilities. They no longer needed to engage in frequent combat like they did during the Great Reclamation Era.

As for Cheng Ye's combat strength, recalling their previous struggle and how he had just shot down the Thorn Bird leader, Luo Kuke could not help but add another sentence before turning to leave. "You can go to the riverbank first to check the situation. I need to mix some disinfectant and repellent. The corpses must be dealt with as soon as possible. If we delay, it will attract even more monsters ashore tonight."

When he said the word "monsters," he deliberately emphasized his tone.

Clearly, there were not just ordinary Infected Bodies hidden in the water, but something far more troublesome.

Watching Luo Kuke's figure disappear in the direction of the red zone, the calmness on Cheng Ye's face completely faded, and his expression darkened bit by bit.

While staying at the Inspection Station, he only had to deal with infected Scavengers. He had been on duty for four months and had never seen a single wild Infected Body charge straight into the station.

Those eruptive-stage Infected Bodies were usually wiped out by the patrolling Blood Dragon legion or the Hundred Ghosts Gang entrenched in the Chuan City Ruins long before they could wander near Happiness City.

But out in the Wilderness, in an Old Era town like Dabo Town that had been abandoned for years, wild Infection Sources and Infected Bodies became enemies that had to be faced head-on. There was no hiding from them.

Furthermore, S4 Infected Bodies and S1 zombies were entirely different levels of creatures. The most significant difference was their survival time.

If S1 zombies could not find food, they would lose their combat ability within a month. Later on, even ordinary people with functional limbs could handle two or three of them using cold weapons.

S4 Infected Bodies were completely different. After being granted a special biological mode by an Infection Source, they had long since transcended the realm of humanity. They merely wore human skin. Their cognitive abilities, behavioral patterns, and methods of energy replenishment were all completely subversive.

Take the Infected Bodies and Fusion Entities created by the Starfish Epidemic, for instance; they could rapidly heal their injuries simply by consuming flesh.

This was absolutely unheard of in the natural world of the past. No creature possessed such potent digestive capabilities, let alone the ability to instantly convert energy for regeneration.

The same was true for Infected Bodies spawned by hydrophilic Infection Sources. Most of them possessed the ability to move freely underwater. Some were even like the monsters in the winter Infection Tides, usually remaining in a state of deep hibernation and only awakening during specific seasons.

Now that a thousand people had gathered in Dabo Town, the life Essence they exuded and the commotion of their activities would absolutely awaken these slumbering dangers ahead of time.

Records from the manual, data from the Kindling Terminal, and descriptions from books he had read in the past flashed rapidly through his mind.

Cheng Ye took a deep breath. He did not rush to the riverbank to check the situation but instead went to soothe the public's anxiety first.

With all the gunfire and no sign of a Thorn Bird flock appearing, anyone with half a brain knew something was up.

Sure enough, the moment he walked back near the Supermarket, he saw many people had stopped working. They were gathered in small groups, whispering to each other, their eyes filled with unease.

Liu Jianjun was shouting at the top of his lungs, telling everyone not to panic. Li Jie had also led the Patrol Team to abandon their outer perimeter patrol. Over twenty of them surrounded the Residents, but they could not suppress the rising panic.

It was broad daylight right now, with the sun shining brightly. What the crowd feared was not Infected Bodies popping out at this moment, but those things hiding in the water launching sneak attacks under the cover of darkness once night fell.

Seeing Cheng Ye approach, the crowd instantly fell silent, though they could not hide the fear etched on their faces.

Three days. Seventy-two hours.

When they accepted the Assessment Task, everyone had held onto optimistic thoughts. Even if there were dangers, they surely would not arrive on the first day.

Once the camp was set up and defenses were established, the risks could be controlled.

But now, the foundations had not even been fully cleared. They had only been working for two hours, and there were already casualties?

Cheng Ye stepped forward, patted Liu Jianjun on the shoulder, and took over the conversation. His voice echoed clearly across the site:

"There were two Resident casualties in the red zone just now. They were attacked by Mutant Water Leeches that leaped out of the water while clearing the riverbank. But rest assured, everyone. Our blue zone does not need to go to the bank to deal with these troubles. The danger is under control!"

The best way to soothe people's hearts was through information transparency. Otherwise, any number of guarantees would just be empty talk.

Once the information was made transparent, these Drifters who were willing to venture out and take risks would be far clearer on how to respond when danger arrived than the Drifters still sheltering in the formation.

Sure enough, as soon as he finished speaking, the whispers in the crowd lessened, but the worry had not dissipated.

Cheng Ye was not surprised. He casually picked out five relatively calm men from the Residents. "You five, put down your tools and come with me to the riverbank to check the situation."

The five men exchanged glances and, true to expectations, did not refuse. They obediently set down their shovels and walked up behind him.

Just as Luo Kuke had reminded him, when it came to the dangers of the Wilderness, relying on intelligence provided by others was never reliable.

This statement was proving truer by the minute. "Li Jie, bring three Patrol Team members. Liu Jianjun, you bring three members as well. All of you, follow me."

Cheng Ye selected some men from the Patrol Team and took the lead, heading straight for the riverbank.

In truth, according to the boundaries shown on the Kindling Terminal, the blue zone also encompassed buildings around the river channel. However, the path leading to the riverbank was demarcated within the red zone. Therefore, they could completely afford to wait until the red zone cleared the path and drew out the riverbank's risks before stepping in to clear their side.

The group walked along the newly cleared path toward the embankment. The closer they got to the river, the heavier the stench of blood in the air became.

This was a smell that had been entirely absent during the last flood. It carried a damp, putrid stench that made one's stomach churn.

Cheng Ye frowned and slowed his pace. He raised a hand to signal the team to stay behind him, keeping their distance but not scattering.

After turning past two blocks of ruined walls, the rushing waters of the White Water River suddenly appeared before their eyes.

Compared to more than ten days ago, the river water was now much clearer and more translucent. Under the direct sunlight, the surface shimmered with fragmented silver radiance, dazzling to the eye.

What surprised Cheng Ye slightly was that the embankment along the shore seemed to have already been repaired.

He stepped closer briskly and could not help but exclaim softly in surprise. The cracks that had previously lined the embankment were all flawlessly filled with pale-yellow sealing putty.

At the bifurcation where the White Water River and the Huangshui River split, the section that had previously been washed away by the flood was now reinforced with a stretch of alloy corridor gleaming with a dark metallic sheen. Moreover, looking off into the distance, a similar protective corridor designed to prevent erosion could be seen on the distant embankment of the Huangshui River.

"This..."

Cheng Ye was stunned. How could the two rivers have undergone such a massive transformation in just over ten days?

However, this surprise did not last long. As he turned his head, his gaze was quickly drawn to the crowd gathered near the front of the embankment.

Over twenty people had formed a small circle, their faces grave as they guarded two corpses on the ground. The two bodies were completely desiccated, as if every drop of bodily fluid had been drained from them. Only a layer of withered skin clung to their bones, a shocking and gruesome sight.

Looking at the empty space beside the crowd, even though Cheng Ye had already seen many ugly and terrifying Infected Bodies, his scalp still tingled slightly.

The so-called Mutant Water Leech was actually the size of a calf, boasting a body length of over eighty centimeters.

Its dark-brown body was covered in slime. The most terrifying part was its mouthparts; when stretched open, they were larger than an adult's head. Rings of fine, backward-curving barbs resembled the magnified teeth of a saw, gleaming coldly in the sunlight.

'Fuck!'

Just thinking about the scene of this thing suddenly lunging out of the water and latching onto a person to suck their blood gave Cheng Ye goosebumps all over.

Fortunately, the dozen or so people following behind him were not too panicked. In fact, upon realizing that it was indeed a water leech, a few of them even sighed in relief.

Evidently, compared to the elusive and strangely powered Infected Bodies, this kind of mutant creature was much easier to deal with.

Cheng Ye turned his head, looking at the man beside him, and asked, "Li Jie, it looks like you have seen this thing before?"

"Yes, sir!" The tall and thin Li Jie nodded immediately, his tone carrying a degree of familiarity. "These Mutant Water Leeches are the most common sight in the river ditches of Sha Province, but I have rarely seen any this massive."

"These things are afraid of fire and bright lights. As long as we light open flames on the shore in advance and shine searchlights across the water's surface, they generally will not dare to approach. Moreover, do not be fooled by their large size and fast blood-sucking. Their flight speed is actually very slow, and their bodies are soft. A single casual gunshot can pierce right through them."

A common mutant creature from Sha Province would naturally pose a threat when it appeared in Shi Province.

Just as inlanders rarely ate seafood, it was truly difficult for those families who had lived their entire lives in the mines to maintain vigilance against something they had never seen before.

Cheng Ye did not rashly lead his people closer to the corpses. Instead, he waited until Luo Kuke returned before stepping forward to stand aside and watch him handle the aftermath.

He saw Luo Kuke fish out a small paper packet from his Backpack and sprinkle some pale-yellow powder over the two desiccated corpses.

The moment the powder touched the bodies, it immediately emitted a pungent, fishy odor. The originally shriveled skin surprisingly broke out into rings of dense white spots, as if some hidden substance had been stimulated.

Once the smell grew stronger, Luo Kuke signaled the people from the red zone to open the pre-prepared body bags and place the corpses inside. He then had them stuff four fully inflated expansion balls in as well.

Out here in the Wilderness, they simply lacked the time and energy to dig graves for burial. The crowd could only silently zip up the body bags. After uttering soundless prayers in their hearts, they worked together to toss the two bags into the White Water River.

The dark-yellow body bags rolled over in the water. Perhaps because the blood in the corpses had long been drained dry by the leeches, the bags quickly floated to the surface and drifted downstream with the current.

"This is the best solution for the time being."

Luo Kuke dusted off his hands, walked over, and spoke softly. "I hope their sacrifices can buy us a little more time to prepare."

"Was that powder meant to attract Infected Bodies?" Cheng Ye noticed something.

The Inspector's manual did indeed feature a chapter on Wilderness survival, which mentioned numerous special chemical mixtures.

Some could attract Infected Bodies, while others could repel mutant creatures.

However, most of those formulas were relics from the Great Reclamation Era. The evolutionary speed of both mutant creatures and Infected Bodies far exceeded expectations. A tactic that worked perfectly today might become useless after a while, or worse, backfire and draw deadly trouble.

Only a few obscure methods could barely maintain their effectiveness. Yet, the more people used them, the faster they stopped working. Thus, these sorts of tricks were essentially the prized, bottom-of-the-box treasures of Inspectors.

Luo Kuke shook his head. "It is not for attraction; I just want the mutant creatures in the water to follow the corpses downstream. Besides, with the White Water River flowing this fast, it is hard to say how much attention it will actually divert."

He paused, gesturing toward the water's surface with his chin. "Have you noticed any clues?"

"No."

Cheng Ye shook his head candidly. "At the very most, this is only my second time leaving the city."

"Alright then. Look in the direction I am pointing." Luo Kuke did not hold back either, straightforwardly pointing at the underwater area a short distance away.

Cheng Ye immediately narrowed his eyes, raising a hand to shade his brow as he looked in the indicated direction.

On the calm surface of the water, the hue of the area Luo Kuke pointed at appeared slightly darker than its surroundings, shimmering with a faint black-silver glint. However, even upon closer inspection, it looked like a mere optical illusion caused by the refracting sunlight.

"Is there something there?" After getting a clear look, Cheng Ye did not directly answer Luo Kuke's question but instead probed further.

"Aren't you a good shot? You can fire a bullet and see."

"I think I will pass." Cheng Ye smiled and shook his head.

He had shot down the Thorn Bird leader because the flock, while annoying, posed no substantial threat.

But blindly firing at the underwater Infected Bodies—what if he failed to kill them and instead drew their attention? That would spell disaster.

These Infected Bodies were no ordinary beasts. Many "species" held very deep grudges.

A trace of imperceptible surprise flashed in Luo Kuke's eyes. "I did not expect Inspector Cheng to be so cautious on only his second excursion into the Wilderness."

"It is not caution; it is simply not being stupid." Cheng Ye tapped his own head. His smile did not falter, but his tone grew serious. "If something comes ashore tonight, I do not want you luring it toward my side for the sake of the assessment. If I find out you did, I will assume you have been parasitized by an Infection Source and will kill you on the spot."

"Are you that confident?" Luo Kuke's expression remained unchanged, and his tone revealed no emotion.

"You can test me if you like. I always follow through on my words."

"Very well, then I will return those exact words to you. Whichever side encounters trouble must deal with it themselves."

Luo Kuke also put away his smile. At this moment, the two parties formally drew a clear boundary.

Having established his bottom line, Cheng Ye glanced down at the Mutant Water Leeches on the ground and signaled for Li Jie to hand him a crowbar.

He poked the first one. No reaction.

But the moment the crowbar touched the second one, lines of information popped up on his interface.

[The Collector has detected dissipating biological information, automatically absorbing...]

[Absorption complete. New biological compendium entry recorded: Mutant Water Leech]

'Got it!'

Cheng Ye calmly withdrew his crowbar, turned around without hesitation, and led his people away.

On the way back, he finally somewhat understood why Liu Bi had seemed so conflicted when warning him.

To be able to rise through the ranks during the Inspection Station's recuperation era, Luo Kuke was certainly no simple figure.

Digging pitfalls for others had likely become a habit for him. Every sentence he spoke seemed perfectly fine on its own, but when strung together, one could feel an obvious undercurrent of calculation. The slightest lapse in guard could result in being pushed into a "pit" well within the bounds of the rules.

He absolutely could not let a naive kid like Wang Kang interact with Luo Kuke alone. Otherwise, he might end up counting the money for the very person who sold him out.

Before returning to the Supermarket, without needing any instructions from Cheng Ye, the dozen or so people who had accompanied him to the riverbank voluntarily gathered the crowd. They clearly explained the situation regarding the Mutant Water Leeches, detailing the weaknesses Li Jie had mentioned—fear of fire, vulnerability to bright light, and their fragile bodies.

The mining families were still a bit frightened at first, but upon hearing that this thing could be beaten to death with a simple shovel, they immediately let out a sigh of relief. They picked up their tools and threw themselves back into infrastructure construction, though their pace was more than twice as fast as before.

Clearly, with their illusions of safety shattered, no one wanted to wait until nightfall only to find their surroundings empty, lacking even a defensible stronghold to rely on.

"Brother Cheng..." Wang Kang leaned over, lowering his voice. His eyes carried a hint of vigilance. "Just now, I saw Garcia sprinkling some white powder along the boundary. I do not know what it is..."

"Hmm?" Cheng Ye turned his head and shot a glance in that direction, then shook his head. "It is fine. Just ignore him."

The white powder had been sprinkled within the boundaries of the red zone and had not crossed the line. It was perfectly within the permitted rules.

However, these sorts of tactics employed by Luo Kuke and Garcia instilled a sense of crisis in him.

In terms of combat prowess, he was confident he would not lose to either of them, and he held a trump card capable of contending with a Mother Source.

Yet, when it came to these minor survival tricks for the Wilderness—practical skills capable of sheltering a group of people—he possessed none.

He had never considered researching this area before, but once this assessment ended, he really needed to pay more attention to it.

After arranging for Wang Kang to continue supervising the Residents' construction, Cheng Ye walked toward the untamed fields while opening his interface to glance at the information on the Mutant Water Leech.

[Mutant Water Leech]

[Description]: A special mutant creature originating from Sha Province, possessing a massive body and feeding on the blood of living organisms. Its saliva can be extracted to obtain special proteins, usable for medical anticoagulation and emergency detoxification.

[Currently Recorded Traits]:

Anticoagulant Protein (5.17%)

Growth Factor (1.29%)