Wasteland Border Inspector

Chapter 203: Living Water Essence, The Dilemma of Pioneering!

Abyssal Water Cave Crab!It really was a special Infection Source completely unrecorded in the Inspector manual.

Even the Trainee Inspector assessments in Kindling Shelter City had never mentioned any related information.

The reason it was omitted was abundantly clear.

Its last recorded appearance was back in Year 13 of the New Era, exactly twenty-two years ago.

An Infection Source that had not shown up for over two decades, even if not officially classified as extinct, appeared so rarely that there was naturally no need to include it in basic academic courses.

"Hasn't there been no news of this thing for a long time? How do you recognize it?"

Cheng Ye was in no rush to have Luo Kuke dig up more information. Instead, he withdrew his gaze and pressed for answers.

After interacting for a full day, Cheng Ye had developed a subconscious habit of naturally analyzing all of Luo Kuke's actions.

For Luo Kuke to instantly search for an Infection Source that had been missing for over twenty years was clearly quite unusual.

"The appearance logs recorded on here only document incidents involving over a thousand infected individuals."

Luo Kuke sighed, his eyes turning somewhat distant. "If it's just dozens or hundreds of people, or if a Gathering Place outside the Kindling Alliance fails to report it, no record is ever left."

"As for me... the last time I saw it! It was Year 29 of the New Era in Guang Province, around a Small Gathering Place..."

After finishing his sentence, his gaze instantly refocused, and his tone turned solemn.

"We must call for backup immediately. This is not an Infection Source that an Inspector can handle alone. The toxic water crystals of the Abyssal Water Cave Crab can only persist for a maximum of seventy-two hours. For us to detect them in the White Water River despite its rapid currents means either our luck is incredibly terrible, or..."

"The Infection Source nest of the Abyssal Water Cave Crab is right near Dabo Town?" Cheng Ye immediately finished the thought, his heart skipping a beat.

"Exactly! According to regulations, an environmental-scale Infection Source like this is already considered a minor natural disaster. An Inspector must report it to Happiness City immediately and await their ruling before taking any action."

Luo Kuke took a deep breath. "Whether they dispatch the Blood Dragon Legion to take over, or order us to go underwater to find the nest, we will need specialized equipment. Going into the water without protection guarantees instant infection by the toxic water crystals."

"Can this thing infect other creatures?" Cheng Ye pressed for critical information.

"Yes, but you can read the specific transmission rules yourself later. Your clearance level is the same as mine; all the detailed annotations will be right there."

Luo Kuke put away his Kindling Terminal and pointed at the Patrol Team member squatting nearby, who still hadn't fully recovered from the shock.

"Once the request for backup is sent, no matter what the higher-ups decide, we won't be able to leave Dabo Town for the time being."

"Also... the toxic water crystals can only be removed through repeated physical filtration. Boiling is useless."

"You didn't happen to forget to buy a water filter, did you?" Cheng Ye blanked for a moment.

"A six-layer anti-infection water filter has a purification rate of 99.9 percent. If you hit that remaining 0.01 percent, you should know exactly what the outcome will be."

"What?"

Cheng Ye was stunned, unable to help but draw in a sharp breath of cold air.

Was that actually a thing?

What a scam. When he ordered the water filter, the product page hadn't mentioned a single word about any probability risks.

Does this mean the water in the Wilderness is completely undrinkable?

Damn it all, even with a water filter, who could guarantee they wouldn't have terrible luck and hit that 0.01 percent?

Thinking of this, Cheng Ye couldn't bother chatting idly with Luo Kuke any longer. He took off sprinting straight toward the camp.

This was the most deadly aspect of Pioneering.

On land that had lain dormant for years, it made perfect sense for any kind of Infection Source to be hidden there. No one could predict it in advance.

Furthermore, humanity lacked the corresponding technology to comprehensively screen an area all at once. They could only resort to the most foolish and dangerous human testing method, slowly luring out hidden threats and testing them clearly step by step.

And during this process, casualties were almost inevitable.

The legions of Happiness City would never dispatch regular soldiers to act as bait. Soldiers' lives were meant for defending the shelter cities and fighting off large-scale Infection Tides, not to be wasted on clearing the land.

Only Inspectors were the pathfinders pushed to the absolute front lines. They had to lead the Pioneering teams through the metaphorical minefields, clearing the dangers bit by bit so that the people following behind could safely lay down their roots.

The veteran Inspectors of the Great Reclamation Era had all survived by walking this tightrope of risk.

Now that it was his turn, Cheng Ye belatedly realized that the text recorded in the manual was completely inadequate to describe even a tenth of what he was feeling right now.

How should he describe it?

It was roughly five parts dread, three parts hesitation, and two parts an overwhelming urge to turn tail and run.

This Pioneering was just far too difficult. No wonder all the Super Sanctuary Cities had obediently pulled back their borders.

He feared it wasn't just because the younger generation had been overly depleted and needed time to recover; it was also due to the massive inflation in the number of Infection Sources.

By the time he returned to the camp, Building Three had been completely erected. All the Residents were excitedly tidying up the interiors and setting up the surrounding defensive structures.

As for the gunshot from earlier, perhaps because the events of the afternoon had already set a precedent, it hadn't caused much of a panic this time around.

Seeing Cheng Ye rush back, everyone automatically stopped what they were doing and waited for him to speak.

"It was an Infection Source, but nothing major. It's already been dealt with. Everyone, get back to work and try to rest early."

"Tonight, I will personally lead the watch. You can all rest easy."

An Infection Source!

The greatest threat of the Wilderness.

The crowd broke into a slight uproar, but upon hearing that Cheng Ye would personally lead the night watch, the commotion quickly settled down.

Everyone resumed their tasks, but the idle chatter had ceased, leaving the camp somewhat quiet for the time being.

Right now, however, Cheng Ye couldn't bother to keep placating them. After delegating the task to Wang Kang, he pulled out the Kindling Terminal from his Backpack and started a search.

Searching for the Abyssal Water Cave Crab, rows of information popped up.

Skipping everything he had already seen, Cheng Ye clicked straight into the profile of the Transcendent Creature bearing the exact same name.

This particular function was supposed to be disabled on his Kindling Terminal.

He hadn't expected that the version issued by Happiness City would actually allow him to run queries on corresponding Infection Sources.

The page redirected, and lines of text began to display on the screen.

[Code Name: Abyssal Water Cave Crab (Transcendent Creature)]

[Classification: Freshwater Genus, Biological Type, Fixed Territory Type]

[Intensity: F+]

[Description]: The Abyssal Water Cave Crab was originally a small species of crab that exclusively inhabited deep freshwater cave systems. After being infected by the S3 Virus, certain individuals acquired Transcendent Abilities, mutating into Transcendent Creatures.

After achieving Transcendent status, their physical form does not undergo significant changes, save for a certain increase in size. Their shells take on a blue-gray hue, and their inner chelae feature bioluminescent blue glands. These glands serve as a physical medium for water veins and the earth's life force, earning the Abyssal Water Cave Crab the title of "Water System Balancer" and making it highly sought after by multiple Transcendent factions.

When pollution occurs in a cave water system (such as mineral toxins, humus buildup, or malicious energy residue from other Transcendent Creatures), the Abyssal Water Cave Crabs will gather en masse at the source of the contamination. Through the bioluminescent blue glands on their inner chelae, they release resonance waves. These waves can directly overwrite the molecular structure of water, breaking pollutants down into basic hydrogen and oxygen particles, while simultaneously producing a healing energy known as "Living Water Essence."

According to verified records, a massive battle among Transcendents took place in the old era's Rhodel State, causing multiple cave systems to collapse. During the subsequent search and rescue operations, over a hundred buried victims soaked overnight in puddles where Abyssal Water Cave Crabs had gathered. Not only did their injuries heal on the spot, but even their internal organs, which had been clogged with mud, were fully restored. Furthermore, a portion of these individuals acquired special, minor Transcendent Abilities as a result.

As for the water itself, the Living Water Essence can be considered a "Life Seeder." A single drop of essence falling into stagnant water will, within three days, breed a special type of algae capable of purifying the water on its own. Moreover, these algae never over-reproduce; they consistently maintain a state of "just enough" balance based on the needs of the aquatic life within the water.

[Current Status: Extinct]

'Water System Balancer?'

Cheng Ye exhaled, his tightly strung nerves loosening slightly.

In fact, the moment the panel displayed the Abyssal Water Cave Crab's intensity as only F+, he already had a solid grasp of the situation.

The intensity of an Infection Source was often influenced by its mother Transcendent Creature. The stronger the mother, the more terrifying the resulting Infection Source it nourished.

The Starfish Epidemic he had searched earlier possessed an intensity of C+. By that calculation, the mother of the Abyssal Water Cave Crab was a full three tiers weaker.

Of course, after turning into an Infection Source, the Abyssal Water Cave Crab's threat level rose to B-. This was only two minor sub-tiers lower than the Starfish Epidemic's B+, but that was highly likely due to its bizarre method of Parasitism, which artificially inflated its rating.

'It's a bit troublesome. Looking at this setup, they even live in groups...'

Cheng Ye scanned through the ability description of the Abyssal Water Cave Crab on his Kindling Terminal, his gaze narrowing slightly.

The page included several illustrations.

Even after becoming a Transcendent Creature, the Abyssal Water Cave Crab's size wasn't as massive as the Mutant Water Leech from this afternoon. It merely exposed two eyes while hiding in the thin mud.

However, aside from the first image, which was a solo close-up, the rest of the pictures showed the Abyssal Water Cave Crabs gathered in groups of three to five. The final image even depicted a cluster of over a dozen.

Compared to the solitary Searing Hawk, this pack mentality was visibly more terrifying.

Still, when he saw the line stating that "the Abyssal Water Cave Crab can release Living Water Essence to alter the natural aquatic environment," a sudden thought sparked in Cheng Ye's mind.

'This Living Water Essence sounds like incredibly good stuff. I wonder if its Trait can be collected?'

With that thought in mind, he activated the panel, bringing up the bestiary function.

[Abyssal Water Cave Crab]

[Description]: Formed when ordinary cave mud crabs are infected by a mutated virus. If a biological organism is directly parasitized, it will rapidly mutate into a Corrosive Water Chela. If Parasitism is caused by ingesting toxic water crystal fragments, the initial symptoms include continuous vomiting and a sudden spike in body temperature. After twenty-four hours, physical mutations begin, including skin hardening and keratin proliferation at the fingertips. After one hundred and sixty-eight hours, the host enters the Outbreak Stage.

[Current Parasitism Probability]:

Ingesting toxic water crystal fragments (Reduces life tier; small amounts carry zero risk, large amounts carry a 5% probability of Parasitism)

Direct contact with toxic water crystals (100% probability of Parasitism)

[Currently Collected Traits]:

Living Water Essence (0.007%)

Avoid Water (0.005%)

'I can actually collect the Living Water Essence!'

Cheng Ye blinked, genuinely surprised.

One had to realize that he had only killed a parasitized human just now, not the true body of the Abyssal Water Cave Crab Infection Source itself. Yet, he was still able to indirectly farm its Traits, extracting skills, items, and intelligence.

'What exactly is the underlying principle behind this Collector?'

Cheng Ye felt a wave of profound realization wash over him.

If this object ever fell into the hands of an ambitious warmonger, it would be an absolute disaster.

As long as they intentionally used Infection Sources to parasitize humans and then proceeded to clean up the infected, they could indirectly harvest the Traits of Transcendent Creatures from the old era.

With enough energy to back them up, they could farm whatever abilities they desired. At that point, absolutely no one would be able to keep them in check.

'Thankfully, it's under my control. Otherwise, the threat posed by this thing would easily rival the S-Series Virus.'

Cheng Ye took a few deep breaths, closed the panel, and redirected his gaze back to the Kindling Terminal's screen.

Now that he knew the infection vectors and origins of the Abyssal Water Cave Crab, he was left with only two thorny problems to handle:

First, he needed to quickly find out who in the camp had already been infected and figure out a way to purge the parasites from their bodies.

This was not only the main responsibility of independent contractors heading out, but also the core mission of an Inspector during the Great Reclamation Era.

No matter what methods he used, he absolutely could not let the infection spread among the populace, nor could he allow it to trigger a massive riot.

Second, he had to investigate the traces of the Abyssal Water Cave Crabs lurking beneath the White Water River.

Under normal circumstances, the legion and the research institute would handle this kind of disaster-level Infection Source. But that was built on the premise of having sufficient intelligence. Gathering this intelligence was usually the duty of the Inspection Station. High-tier Inspectors would take over, conduct on-site reconnaissance, and report the findings back.

Right now, however, he and Luo Kuke were still under assessment. Who knew if the higher-ups would decide to test the two of them, forcing them to act as these high-tier Inspectors to gather the preliminary intelligence.

'And tonight...'

Thinking about the two missing individuals and the commotion behind him, Cheng Ye felt a headache coming on.

Tonight was destined to be a sleepless night.

No matter how fast the legion's reinforcements arrived, they would still have to wait until tomorrow morning. They would just have to endure this long, arduous night on their own.

With that in mind, Cheng Ye quickly flipped through the Abyssal Water Cave Crab Removal Methods on his Kindling Terminal. The more he read, the more his heart lightened, culminating in a long sigh of relief.

Thank goodness. No wonder this Infection Source hadn't experienced a massive outbreak in so many years. It turned out humanity had long since mastered a complete method for its detection and eradication.

Unlike the Starfish Epidemic, which spiraled out of control the moment it broke out, the transmission method of the Abyssal Water Cave Crab, while bizarre, was relatively singular. It couldn't spread from human to human, which gave humanity the necessary time to research countermeasures.

The detection method was very simple: just collect a urine sample, add table salt, and observe if it changes color.

If it turned a dark, eerie green, it meant the subject had already been parasitized.

Removing the parasite was slightly more complex, but compared to the Starfish Epidemic, which required specialized medication to eradicate, it was still considered simple.

'Dehydrate until total exhaustion, then repeatedly rehydrate to replace bodily fluids...'

Cheng Ye stared thoughtfully at the text on the screen, a plan quickly forming in his mind.