HBWnovel Chapter 206: Golden Legend, Transcendent Edict!
Chapter 206: Golden Legend, Transcendent Edict!
'Good heavens, there really is a golden legend among the infection sources?'Cheng Ye was caught slightly off guard.
The known red entries had two layers of meaning: they represented both a Perfect Grade Talent and a Transcendent Creature or Transcendent Skill.
However, the red associated with Transcendent elements was far more dazzling than the red of a Perfect Grade Talent, and it even came with special visual effects.
But a golden entry? This was the very first time he had ever seen one.
He used to always mutter about finding a "golden legend," but now that he had actually encountered one, he found himself somewhat at a loss.
'What exactly does gold represent? Does it mean a higher rarity, or a stronger ability?'
A complex, indescribable emotion surged into his heart.
At this moment, Cheng Ye even felt a bit conflicted. He almost wished that the entry before him wasn't gold. Even if it were just a standard blue, or at most the purple of the Abyssal Water Cave Crab, it would have been fine. If that were the case, dealing with it later would definitely be much less difficult.
Yet, he couldn't tear his eyes away from that brilliant splash of gold. After all, strictly from a visual standpoint, the gold looked far more advanced and premium than the red.
What if this golden entry corresponded to an even more powerful Transcendent Object, or perhaps some kind of Transcendent Power he couldn't even begin to imagine?
If he could take that power for himself, it would be an unimaginable boost to his strength.
Carrying this sense of apprehension, Cheng Ye forced his mind to focus and selected the golden question mark entry.
[???]
[Description]: Currently, no specific information matches. The collector is requested to continue gathering civilization information or to continue supplementing the traits related to this ???.
[Current Degree of Influence]:
Area Mental Pollution (Outside the area of influence, there is zero risk; Inside the area of influence, the resistance provided by the Heart-Protecting Fire is reduced; Zero risk.)
Single-Target Mental Pollution (Probability of pollution: 100%)
[Currently Recorded Traits]:
??? [Special] (0.00007%)
Aquatic Edict [Special] (0.0091%)
Ocean Current Edict [Special] (0.0035%)
River Network Edict [Special] (0.0004%)
Mountain and River Edict [Special] (0.0001%)
Buzz.
Suddenly, a soft popping sound seemed to explode in his mind.
The moment he clearly saw those three question marks, Cheng Ye was stunned to find himself hallucinating.
Just like every time he equipped a new skill, all the surrounding scenery rapidly shattered, ultimately breaking down into primitive pixels before reorganizing.
Only this time, absolutely nothing materialized before his eyes. There was only an endless, boundless darkness.
Was something echoing in the dark?
Was something calling out to him from far away?
It even felt as if someone was whispering to him from the deepest depths of the abyss.
Cheng Ye constantly turned his head, trying to follow the vague sound. But wherever he looked, there was nothing but darkness. He couldn't see a single thing.
He tried to pan his perspective, only to surprisingly realize that he had lost the ability to control his view in this space. He could only remain passively fixed in place, turning his physical body.
This eerie state lasted for several seconds before the space violently shattered. All the hallucinations vanished in an instant, and everything returned to normal.
'Is the collected information still not enough?'
He had never experienced such a wondrous sensation before. Cheng Ye opened his eyes, his gaze falling back onto the panel, his heart brimming with confusion.
However, the panel's description had already pointed out a clear path. He either needed to continue searching for the corresponding civilization information, or try to collect more traits related to this golden entry.
But as he read further down, he froze abruptly, thinking his eyes were playing tricks on him.
The "Probability of Parasitism" prompt that always appeared had vanished. In its place was a brand-new "Degree of Influence" section.
The two sub-items below it didn't contain anything related to parasitism either; instead, they had turned into explanations of "Two-Way Mental Pollution."
'Is this mental pollution in the same category as a Walker's ability?'
The more Cheng Ye thought about it, the more uncertain he became.
If this were a purple or even a red entry, he would never have considered this mental pollution to be on par with a Walker.
But this unprecedented gold was simply too mysterious, too unfathomable. He had no choice but to be cautious.
As for the densely packed traits listed further down, they left him even more dazed.
The Transcendent prompts marked with the [Special] tag appeared one after another, listing a full five of them.
According to his previous experience with extracting the Heart-Protecting Fire, this meant that as long as he could extract any one of them, he would obtain the corresponding Transcendent seed, thereby mastering a new Transcendent Skill.
'What in the world is this?'
'Is it a Transcendent Object left over from the old era?'
'Or a treasure left behind by that giant entity that once visited Earth?'
At this moment, Cheng Ye abruptly realized that there was another, more direct and effective way to combat fear and dread besides courage.
Desire!
Or rather, greed!
Right now, he had absolutely no mental energy left to dwell on what kind of threat lurked within the White Water River. His mind was entirely consumed by these fever-inducing Transcendent prompts.
Edict?
Taken literally, it should mean "establishing rules and controlling order."
Did these "Aquatic Edict" and "Mountain and River Edict" mean he could directly influence mountains, rivers, and water currents? Like the Transcendents in the legends of the old era, using Transcendent power to alter the course of river systems?
It was hard to say.
But one thing could be confirmed from the names.
Compared to the Heart-Protecting Fire—a power that worked from the inside out and acted on himself—these "Edicts" were clearly abilities that could directly influence the external world.
They were far more powerful, and far more mysterious.
Recalling the vague calls he had just heard in that dark space, Cheng Ye's thoughts raced for a few seconds before he finally raised his hand and closed the panel.
Now was obviously not the time to ponder these things. Even if he wanted to investigate further, it would have to wait until tomorrow or later.
This unknown golden infection source was definitely hiding at the bottom of the White Water River, or perhaps in some hidden corner of the Linjiang River.
Just like the scutes of the Vortex Turtle, it was hiding in a place humans currently couldn't reach.
And other people, even Transcendents, didn't possess his ability to intuitively analyze infection sources.
Just like right now, even if they saw the marks on the infected bodies, they had no way of analyzing where those marks came from.
However, one thing was certain: this unknown golden legend shouldn't pose too much of a threat at present.
As long as its method of operation was "pollution" rather than "direct parasitism," then all he had to do was avoid stepping into its area of influence.
And considering the nature of the entity, this area of influence most likely referred to being underwater.
Reining in his chaotic thoughts, Cheng Ye didn't rush to stand up. Instead, he walked back to the first infected body and began his dissection and observation, strictly following the standard procedures of the Inspection Station.
The Collector could provide the answer directly, but ultimately, that answer needed to be verified by gathering clues firsthand.
If he hadn't spoken with Wang Kang earlier and hadn't discovered this golden entry, he might have skipped this tedious dissection and gone straight to the riverbank to look for traces of the two men entering the water.
But now, he had a vague grasp of the path he needed to take.
With the Collector to verify infection sources, he could potentially compile a far more detailed manual for preventing and controlling them.
Spreading this knowledge so that everyone could learn how to identify, protect themselves from, and contain infection sources would be far more practical than having inspectors blockade quarantine zones one by one.
Of course, just thinking about it made it clear that this would be an incredibly long process.
It would be a task no less daunting—perhaps even more so—than when Cheng Wu built the Inspection Station back in the day. It might take years, or even decades. But as long as he walked this path, just as Wang Kang had said, even if he fell, countless others would stand behind him.
And as long as he succeeded, his name would undoubtedly shake the entire wasteland.
Right now, working backward to find the problem with a clear answer in mind was far more efficient.
Soon enough, he found the characteristic points of the Soul-Hooking Catfish.
Flipping the infected person's head over, Cheng Ye felt around the scalp for a moment. Upon locating a bulge, he decisively raised his hand and sliced it open.
He used his fingers to dig out a dark, sludgy mass. It gave off a pungent stench, and its color and thick, charred texture were somewhat similar to the liquid that had oozed from the bullet holes earlier.
After wiping it on the infected person's clothes, the sludge revealed its true form.
It was a piece of tentacle flesh, its surface covered in tiny bumps. It looked absolutely disgusting.
Luo Kuke turned his head and paused. "Soul-Hooking Catfish?"
"Right!"
Cheng Ye nodded. Then, with extreme composure, he placed the tentacle flesh into the containment tray and began feeling around the infected person's face.
Not finding a suitable place to make an incision didn't panic him. He gripped the corpse's jaw and applied a little force, directly prying the infected person's mouth open.
Under the astonished and fearful gazes of the crowd, he reached a few fingers into the oral cavity. Soon, accompanied by a teeth-aching squelch, he dug out another infection source core.
The core of the Face-Changing Fish—a tiny fry not even the length of a pinky finger—had already died alongside its host.
It looked somewhat similar to a goldfish, but its head was covered in a layer of human skin that gave people goosebumps. Looking closely, one could barely make out a blurry human face.
Cheng Ye pinched the fish head and gave it a shake. Not far away, Chang Kai stepped forward, trembling all over.
It wasn't until he was within three meters and could clearly see the human face on the fish head that he nodded frantically. "It's him! It's him! That's A Mao!"
"Face-Changing Fish."
Cheng Ye sighed. He repeated the exact same process in the mouth of the other infected body lying nearby, quickly digging out another tiny fish.
"That's right! This is Zhang Hu!" Chang Kai hastily confirmed.
"Their identities are confirmed. These two are the missing patrol members." Cheng Ye let out a long breath.
It was certainly a pity that the men were gone, but he couldn't just let them die without evidence or leave their bodies mangled without an explanation. He had to give everyone closure.
"Xiao Kang, bring the Containment Box over."
Cheng Ye called out. Wang Kang immediately snapped to attention and jogged over, hugging a box.
While Wang Kang was getting the box, Cheng Ye dug out the Soul-Hooking Catfish's tentacle flesh from the back of the second infected person's scalp. He placed all four infection sources into the Containment Box together.
"Brother Cheng, I believe it now," Wang Kang muttered, his eyes slightly glazed as he stared at the contents of the box.
"Believe what?" Cheng Ye asked casually.
"I believe that you really did kick that guy's head off with a single strike," Wang Kang replied, his tone filled with dumbfounded shock.
Different inspectors had different styles of dealing with Infected Bodies.
A Third-stage Inspector like Luo Kuke had fiddled with medicinal powders for half the day without managing to find the infection source corresponding to the mark.
But Cheng Ye was clean and decisive. A cut here, a scoop there, and in the blink of an eye, he had unearthed four infection sources.
"Uh..."
Cheng Ye paused. He had initially wanted to explain himself, but on second thought...
If he could leave the impression of being a "violent maniac" in the eyes of others, it would actually make it much easier for him to execute many of his future plans.
And most importantly, he wasn't violent at all. Wasn't kicking a weak point perfectly normal?
He was just... a tiny, tiny bit stronger than average!
"Inspector Luo, have you found anything on your end?"
Cheng Ye had intended to carve out the Abyssal Water Cave Crab located in the heart as well, but after pondering it for a long while, he still couldn't quite bring himself to make the cut.
"I've found one small thing. This mark wasn't left by a creature. It looks more like... a type of pollution."
"Oh?" Cheng Ye was slightly surprised and immediately adopted an attitude of eager listening.
He hadn't expected Luo Kuke to actually have some solid skills. Cheng Ye only knew about the mental pollution because he relied on his panel, but Luo Kuke had actually deduced the result through testing and analysis.
"Do you know about the old era? Um, a long, long time ago, back when they weren't called sanctuary cities, but kingdoms—"
"I know. I've been to school," Cheng Ye interrupted smoothly.
"Alright, then I'll make a long story short," Luo Kuke said, not minding the interruption. "The lords of the kingdoms in the old era would brand their slaves. On one hand, it was to establish ownership, indicating which lord the slave belonged to. This prevented them from being snatched by other lords, or made them easier to track down if they ran away. On the other hand, it also served as a mark of identity."
"Are you saying that this mark is a pollution brand left by some infection source? To prove that these two infected individuals are its property, and other infection sources aren't allowed to touch them?" Cheng Ye instantly grasped the core of the idea.
"It's a possibility, but the meaning of a brand goes beyond just that. I suspect it more likely represents a 'rule'."
Luo Kuke thought for a moment before explaining. "You should know that Water Ghosts parasitized by the Soul-Hooking Catfish can never go ashore. As long as their feet leave the water source for more than a minute, they will die instantly. But these two men had been ashore for at least ten minutes, yet nothing happened to them. This proves that the 'outbreak rule' of the Soul-Hooking Catfish had been nullified."
He paused, adding emphasis to his tone. "Based on past experience, there is only one possibility for this kind of situation. A more powerful infection rule suppressed the Soul-Hooking Catfish's outbreak mechanism, perhaps even fundamentally altering its trigger conditions."
"Are there any related cases?" Cheng Ye pressed.
"Hold on." Compared to earlier in the day, Luo Kuke's attitude had improved significantly.
Cheng Ye even got the feeling that Luo Kuke was now treating him as an equal, high-stage inspector.
Taking off his two layers of rubber gloves, Luo Kuke didn't pull out a Kindling Terminal. Instead, he took out a thick, bulky Defense Terminal, tapped it a few times, and found an image in its storage.
Then, just like before, he turned the screen around.
The first thing that caught his eye was a picture.
Cheng Ye leaned in to take a look. The plant in the image resembled the bodhi trees commonly seen in temples. Its canopy was unusually broad, covering almost all the ground beneath it.
But the "fruits" it bore were very bizarre. They were shaped entirely like ginseng fruits—blurry, humanoid fruits hanging from the branches. It looked quite eerie.
Below the image was the text description.
[Codename: Tree of Rectitude (Special Infection Source)]
[Classification: Terrestrial Department, Plant Type, Environmental Range Type, Mental Pollution Type]
[Threat Level: SS-]
[Latest Appearance Record: Old Transcendent Era]
[Ability: Within its coverage area, no biological entity can generate any wicked thoughts.]
"Tree of Rectitude..."
Cheng Ye stared at the text on the screen and read it aloud softly.
A plant-type infection source?
This was truly rare. By the New Era, less than one in a hundred of such infection sources had survived. Especially in places like Shi Province, which was blanketed by supernatural curses, plant-type infection sources that could take root and survive were exceptionally scarce.
Unless they had reached the Transcendent level back in the old era, their traits would eventually be slowly sucked dry by the curse until they completely perished.
Continuing to read down, Cheng Ye's heart skipped a beat when he saw the threat level.
SS-!
This was absolutely the highest-threat infection source he had ever seen. Furthermore, its recorded appearances were incredibly ancient, dating back at least thirty-five years to the old era.
"Why is there only one sentence for its ability description?"
"To leave you with enough room for imagination." Seeing that he had finished reading, Luo Kuke put away the Defense Terminal and explained, "If the boundaries of the ability are written too rigidly, it gives you a clear cognition of it. When encountering certain special mental pollution-type infection sources, they can even replicate the things you imagine. You should be able to understand that, right?"
"Could it really manifest a Tree of Rectitude out of thin air?" Cheng Ye was even more astonished.
"Hard to say, but this rule wasn't set by the Inspection Station. It's a regulation from the Kindling Alliance."
Luo Kuke shook his head, then shifted the topic. "Once polluted by the Tree of Rectitude, a brand will appear on your body. The more wicked thoughts you have, the more numerous and densely packed the brands become. When the brands accumulate to a certain degree, punishments will periodically descend. Each punishment is more severe than the last, continuing until the person is tortured to death. And those who die will turn into the fruits on the tree, known as 'Evil Fruits'."
"What are the Evil Fruits used for?" Cheng Ye grew even more curious.
Unexpectedly, Luo Kuke let out a helpless smile. "Do you think this is something a Third-stage Inspector like me has the right to know?"
"Even a Third-stage isn't enough?"
Cheng Ye smacked his lips. Seeing Luo Kuke's increasingly helpless expression, he immediately realized.
Alright, he was making things a bit difficult for his "new colleague."
"When you get promoted to a higher stage later on, perhaps you'll be able to look up the answer. If it's convenient, let me know when that happens. I also want to know what the Evil Fruits are used for," Luo Kuke said half-jokingly.
"We'll talk about it later. Who knows, maybe this thing will pollute us tomorrow."
Cheng Ye waved his hand, pulling the topic back.
Actually, combining Luo Kuke's discoveries with his panel's description, he was already able to deduce quite a bit of information:
The mental pollution of the Tree of Rectitude was to forbid humans from generating wicked thoughts.
So what was the mental pollution of this question-mark creature? Was it forbidding humans from entering the water?
It sounded a bit absurd, but in this wasteland era where even the dead could come back to life, accepting a few special rules wasn't out of the question.
"This infected body should have the infection source of the Abyssal Water Cave Crab on it. Do you want to take it out?"
"Thanks." Luo Kuke immediately nodded, a hint of genuine smiles showing on his face.
Wait?
Thanks for what?
Cheng Ye blanked for a second before it hit him. In his eyes, this was a dirty job he didn't want to touch.
But to Luo Kuke, this was Cheng Ye sharing the credit with him, preventing him from looking entirely useless by failing to find a single infection source the whole time.
Alright then, high-stage inspectors sure had a complex way of thinking!
Cheng Ye inwardly found it amusing. He slightly turned his head away, only letting out a quiet sigh of relief when he saw Luo Kuke slice open the heart and pull out a green crab the size of a fingertip.
On the first day of Pioneering, fortunately, all problems remained within a manageable scope.
Comparing things like this, the previously troublesome Abyssal Water Cave Crab now seemed rather "cute" in hindsight, and its threat level appeared significantly lower.
Their main goal for tomorrow, aside from clearing out any parasitism, was to investigate the Abyssal Water Cave Crab.
They needed to figure out if those Poisonous Water Crystals had drifted down from upstream, or if the infection source's nest was actually hidden somewhere right near Dabo Town.
It was just uncertain whether the subsequent handling of these infection sources would be taken over by personnel dispatched from the Inspection Station, or if it would be left to the inspectors undergoing the assessment.
If it was the former, it would save him a lot of worry.
But if it was the latter, Cheng Ye pondered, and found a bit of anticipation blooming in his heart instead.
Now that he knew the threats lurking in the water, without professional diving equipment, he wouldn't jump into the river even if someone beat him to death.
Heaven only knew how many more infection sources were hiding at the bottom of the White Water River.
He absolutely needed some sort of isolation protective gear, like combat armor, to feel even slightly secure.
"So tonight..." Luo Kuke placed the Abyssal Water Cave Crab into the Containment Box, took off his rubber gloves, and walked over, a hint of hesitation in his voice.
No one would have ever thought that a Third-stage Inspector like him would actually need to discuss future plans with a Trainee Inspector.
But the reality was that inside the buffer zone, he was the higher-ranking Third-stage Inspector, and Cheng Ye was just a trainee.
However, out here in the Wilderness, they were both just ordinary people struggling to survive, equally helpless in the face of infection sources.
At times like this, they could only huddle together for warmth. As for their previous conflicts, those could wait until they returned to the safe zone.
"Let's take shifts keeping watch tonight. Who wants the first half?" Cheng Ye proposed directly.
"I'll do it," Luo Kuke took a breath and admitted frankly. "It's just that I'm not good at combat, and Garcia is even weaker than I am. If we truly encounter a situation we can't block..."
"Just shout for me. No need to be polite," Cheng Ye grinned, flashing a mouthful of white teeth.
It was rare for a high-stage inspector to be so "polite."
As expected, in this world, whether it came to professional competence or sheer hard power, you simply had to be strong enough.
On the way back with his men, Cheng Ye glanced back over his shoulder.
Luo Kuke was still standing at the intersection, staring absentmindedly in his direction, lost in thought.
Just what kind of person was this guy?
Cheng Ye found him a bit hard to figure out, but he could be certain that there shouldn't be any more conflicts between the two of them.
A smart person like him wouldn't come looking for trouble and make a fool of himself again.
As for Garcia, the more Cheng Ye interacted with people, the more he felt that the Inspection Station's "Third-stage" was like an invisible chasm.
Below the Third-stage, everyone was equal—they all possessed a kind of pure, unadulterated foolishness.
Whether it was the Academic Faction on the Easterner side, or people like Garcia who climbed the ranks by taking a side among the Westerners.
They were all like plants grown in a greenhouse. They had never weathered a true storm and completely lacked the competence an inspector should have.
'Carrying the banner... it seems this banner isn't in the hands of the low-stage inspectors, but tightly grasped by these high-stage ones...'
Cheng Ye's heart gave a slight jolt, and he suddenly turned his head.
Familiar cawing sounds echoed from the horizon once again. It seemed the flock of Thorn Birds, having fought over the alpha position for the better part of the day, had returned.
That was fine, Cheng Ye nodded inwardly. With this flock of Thorn Birds causing a ruckus in the surroundings, even if there really was an infection source hiding in Dabo Town, the commotion would be enough to alert it.
He just hoped that everything would be safe and peaceful tonight, and that nothing else would force Inspector Cheng to get "violent" again!