Wasteland Border Inspector

Chapter 209: Ruin-Level Disaster, Immortal Object Appears!

Beep.Beep, beep...

A pickup truck bearing the emblem of the Police Department drove steadily into the Central Inspection Station, finally parking in front of the station master's office building.

"Director Liu, what brings you here?"

Jiang Chuan, who was organizing documents on the first floor, looked up and immediately saw Liu Kun striding through the door. His face carried a high-spirited vigor that had never been seen before, and even his footsteps were somewhat lighter than usual.

"I came to see Old Ding. Where is he?" Liu Kun asked in a relaxed tone, his gaze sweeping over the crowd of heads in the office area. "It is already past midnight, why are you all still working overtime?"

"Oh, the Station Master is in his office. Today marks the opening of the second batch of satellite cities, and there are still some documents that haven't been sorted out," Jiang Chuan hurriedly stood up, briskly leading Liu Kun toward the stairs.

Knock, knock, knock. "Come in," Ding Yishan's voice rang out from inside the office.

The door opened.

When Ding Yishan looked up and saw that the person following behind Jiang Chuan was actually Liu Kun, he immediately stood up in surprise. "Director Liu, what brings you here so late at night?"

"Listen to you. Is it so unusual for me to take a stroll around the Inspection Station?" Liu Kun walked in with a smile, sniffing the air as if unaccustomed to the heavy smell of smoke in the room.

Suddenly, he raised his hand and waved it.

The windows on three sides of the office swished open simultaneously, and a fierce whirlwind instantly swept through the room.

The whirlwind circled the room once. Miraculously, not a single page of the documents on the desk was blown away, yet the originally thick smoke dissipated without a trace within seconds, instantly freshening the air.

"Oh, Old Liu... Did you come all the way here in the middle of the night just to show off your skills?" Ding Yishan paused for a moment before letting out a chuckle, his tone holding a bit more warmth.

Hmm?

Jiang Chuan's heart skipped a beat, secretly surprised.

The change in their form of address held a lot of hidden meaning.

In the past, when Liu Kun and Ding Yishan were both at the Inspection Station, they always called each other "Old Ding" and "Old Liu." Even after Liu Kun transferred to the inner city's Police Department, their relationship hadn't grown distant.

But at some unknown point—likely after Liu Kun suffered consecutive setbacks and suppression during the high-level meetings—Ding Yishan quietly changed his address from "Old Liu" to "Director Liu."

Until today, until right now. He hadn't expected this intimate form of address to return after so many years.

Sure enough, the smile on Liu Kun's face grew even brighter. He turned his head with a laugh. "A'chuan, go down to my car and fetch the good liquor I brought. I am going to drink to my heart's content with Old Ding tonight!"

"Hey, Old Liu, we absolutely cannot drink today. I still have a pile of official business to deal with..." Ding Yishan hastily interrupted.

"It is fine, we will just have a couple of small glasses. It won't delay your work." Liu Kun waved his hand and sat down on the sofa in the reception area without any hesitation, casually pouring himself a glass of water.

Seeing this, Ding Yishan could only shake his head helplessly and walked over to sit down. "Don't tell me you came looking for me the moment you broke through?"

"Heh, you know me best." Liu Kun's face was flushed, and the pride in his tone could not be hidden. However, instead of summoning the Flame King to show off like he used to, he changed the subject with a sigh. "People really only appreciate things after they lose them. Now that I have finally regained a bit of freedom, my whole body feels comfortable!"

"Freedom..." Ding Yishan pondered over the word, then suddenly chuckled. "If even Transcendents complain about having no freedom, then the ordinary people below them have even less of a claim to it, right?"

"It is not the same! What they want and what we want are completely different things."

Liu Kun took another sip of water, a look of gratification returning to his face. "In the past, let alone going to the distant Wilderness, even moving around the outskirts of Happiness City required constant vigilance. But now it is great. As long as I return to the city within three days, there will not be any problems!"

"Three days..." Ding Yishan repeated, surprise showing in his eyes.

Ever since he solidified his own Belief, he no longer deliberately avoided information related to Transcendents.

And in his position as the Station Master of the Happiness City Inspection Station, learning some Transcendent secrets could not be any easier.

The vast majority of Transcendents were doomed to be locked inside the shelter cities for their entire lives.

This was because the root of their Belief required the foundation of the shelter city to be maintained, and more importantly, they needed the massive Essence of the living population within the city to mask their presence.

The reason was simple.

Although the S4 Virus had not completely disappeared and related residue could still be detected in the air.

The new S5 virus, or more accurately, the S4.5 variant that had not yet finished mutating from the S4 Virus, had long since emerged over time.

To this day.

Every remaining Infection Source was essentially a different S4.5 virus.

The so-called Parasitism occurred when these viruses were transmitted to humans through an Infection Source.

Just like how different Transcendent Objects could bring different abilities, the S4.5 viruses spawned by different Infection Sources would also exhibit different outward characteristics, some possessing high contagiousness like the S1 virus, while others caused extreme mutations in individuals like the S2 virus.

For Transcendents, the most crucial thing to guard against was the special Mother Sources that inherited the traits of the S4 Virus and specifically hunted Transcendents.

In the eyes of these Mother Sources, Transcendents were like massive lightbulbs in the dark of night, glaringly conspicuous.

Only by hiding under the covering Essence of hundreds of thousands of people in a shelter city could this radiance be concealed.

"Then, if you use your abilities while outside, won't it shorten this three-day limit?"

"No, it won't. I have just mastered a method to temporarily conceal my Essence. But once I make a move and fight, I will have to quickly find a shelter city to hide in."

Liu Kun shook his head, his tone turning a bit more serious. "Honestly, running into a wild Mother Source isn't too bad; at worst, I just fight it head-on. What I am really afraid of is encountering those bizarre items created through directed crossbreeding by Transcendents of the old era for their battles. When they forged those Immortal Objects back then, they were probably extremely smug. Who would have thought they would leave so much trouble for future generations? Now, we are the ones stuck cleaning up this mess..."

Speaking of this, he laughed again. "I am relatively fine. The Flame King can help me block a lot of Mental Pollution. If I really run into one, I just need to retreat in time. But if it were those mass-produced Transcendents they cultivated, they would only last two days at most in the Wilderness before a Mother Source tracked them down. If they were lucky, they could run away and save their lives, but if their luck was bad, it would be a near-certain death sentence."

"Luck..."

Ding Yishan could not help but shake his head. "My luck has always been terrible. If I became a Transcendent, there is a high probability I would be locked inside Happiness City for the rest of my life."

The more he understood, the more he felt that being a Transcendent was like being trapped in a besieged fortress. While gaining power, one also had to wear heavy shackles.

For some people, these shackles were not unbearable; rather, they acted as a layer of protection.

But for those with ambition who wanted to achieve great things, they were a bothersome restriction.

To lift the restrictions, one had to continue walking forward on the Transcendent path.

But what lay further ahead?

No one could clearly state the outcome. After all, they both came from the old era and had seen with their own eyes the miserable ends met by those god-like Transcendents of the previous age.

"Do not be so pessimistic! You know how miserable I was back then, but haven't I made it through now?"

Bringing up the past, Liu Kun let out a long breath, his tone full of relief. "When winter comes this year, I will carefully plan a route.

Three days is plenty of time. As long as I find a shelter city to stay in before the time limit expires each time, I will have time to rest and recover. Plus, there are far more places I can go now."

"Back then, there were only a few places that could isolate the S4 Virus. I cannot go underwater yet, but I can certainly try to explore those volcanic areas!"

His eyes sparkled as he continued, "I am not saying I will find you anything overwhelmingly powerful, but at the very least, it could allow you to be like me—free to leave the city for a few days without being restricted. Also, I will take the opportunity to look for a chance to break through to the third stage and see if I can scavenge any stray Immortal Objects..."

Before Liu Kun could finish speaking, the office door was pushed open and Jiang Chuan walked in carrying a cardboard box. Liu Kun immediately stopped, swallowing the rest of his sentence, and instead pointed at the box with excitement.

"This is pure grain liquor I got from Torch a while back. I have always been too reluctant to drink it, but today is the perfect time to have a taste!"

The box was opened, revealing six neatly stacked bottles of strong liquor, with more than ten vacuum-sealed packets of bar snacks placed on the side.

Jiang Chuan tore open one of the packets of spiced beef. A rich, savory aroma instantly drifted through the office, intensely stimulating their appetites.

"Come on, let's have a toast!" Liu Kun eagerly raised his glass first.

"Agreed, but just a few casual drinks to enjoy ourselves. We cannot drink too much!" Ding Yishan raised his glass, adding a worried reminder, which made Liu Kun burst into loud laughter.

The two went back and forth, drinking a few glasses. Liu Kun smacked his lips and put down his chopsticks, starting to chat idly. "I heard from Jiang Chuan that the construction of the second batch of satellite cities began today. Are there any updates on the current situation?"

"Hmm, it is about the same as the first batch. There are quite a few unknown Infection Sources hidden in the surrounding areas," Ding Yishan replied, glancing up at Jiang Chuan.

Jiang Chuan immediately understood and stepped forward, speaking clearly, "Across the twelve locations, a total of seven unknown Infection Sources were discovered on the first day. Among them, two have an estimated threat level reaching the Disaster-level, and five are at the Plague-level. In addition, we found two known Disaster-level Infection Sources and nine known Plague-level Infection Sources."

"That many?" Liu Kun's chopsticks, which were holding a piece of meat, paused in mid-air. His face was filled with surprise. "I remember the twelve locations in the first batch only had five Disaster-level Infection Sources combined, right?"

"It is actually about the same as last time," Ding Yishan nodded in explanation. "Although the surrounding areas have been cleared a few times over the years, after the Infection Tides pass, some Infection Sources always end up left behind in the nooks and crannies. However, the current estimated threat levels are just maximum projections.

If they truly break out, most would have to be downgraded by a level to reflect the actual situation."

"What exactly are they? Bring it over and let me see."

Perhaps because he had just advanced, Liu Kun seemed unusually excited as he gestured to Jiang Chuan.

When Jiang Chuan handed over a tablet, he quickly tapped it a few times, his gaze scanning the information on the screen:

[Known Disaster-level: Tornado Ants, Dead-Leaf Locusts (Dongwa Town)]

[Known Plague-level: Phantom-Leaf Stick Insects (West Slope Town), Soul-Chasing Cockroaches (Beiyuan Town), Rock-Splitting Ground Beetles (Beachhead Town),

Abyssal Water Cave Crab (Dabo Town), Corrosive Spiders (Bridge Mouth Town)...]

"Oh, things that fly in the sky, run on the ground, and swim in the water... It seems we have collected a full set?"

Liu Kun repeatedly raised his eyebrows.

He had personally seen some of these Infection Sources, but for most of them, he had only heard their names and read their documented files.

"The Inspection Station has already assigned Fourth-stage Inspectors to the Disaster-level Infection Source locations. They will set out first thing tomorrow morning to investigate the detailed information. Once the information is confirmed, the Happiness Legion will escort the researchers from the Research Institute out to contain them."

Ding Yishan offered a timely introduction to the plan from the side. "As for the Plague-level ones, I plan to arrange for the Inspectors participating in the assessment to collect the information. First, they can serve as assessment targets and form healthy competition. Second, we can take this opportunity to train their abilities and familiarize them with operational procedures."

"This arrangement... has no major issues," Liu Kun rubbed his chin in thought for a moment before changing the subject. "However, two of them need to be adjusted. The Rock-Splitting Ground Beetles are hiding in burrows. To go down and search for them should be classified as a Disaster-minus level. The danger factor is much higher than a standard Plague-level. Also, the Abyssal Water Cave Crab—this thing should be directly categorized as Disaster-level. Investigating underwater poses far more threats than on land; who knows what might suddenly pop out."

"Yes, I have prepared equipment for descending into the burrows and going underwater according to Disaster-level standards." Ding Yishan nodded, then asked, "Do you think we should swap them out and have Fourth-stage Inspectors investigate these two spots instead?"

"There is no need to swap in Fourth-stage personnel," Liu Kun shook his head. "In the past, during the Great Reclamation Era, Disaster-level missions were ultimately handed over to Second-stage Inspectors to handle. Since the goal now is to train rookies, it will be fine as long as they are provided with adequate equipment. Mmm, if you're worried, it is best to have Third-stage Inspectors hold the line to ensure no major blunders occur."

"I have already considered that; both locations have Third-stage Inspectors assigned to them. Moreover, for all Pioneering spots in the second batch, I have dispatched Half-step Transcendents to act as Covert Agents for supervision. If they truly encounter a special situation, they will intervene in time. There shouldn't be any major issues."

"Half-step Transcendents?"

Hearing this, Liu Kun could not help but laugh. "Old Ding, it is not like I am trying to lecture you, but the higher-ups approved the deployment of Half-step Transcendents to protect the Inspectors from assassins and mercenaries interfering with their work, not to have them deal with Infection Sources. Strictly speaking, your arrangement is a violation of the rules."

"I know, I just wanted to establish a double insurance policy. In case they really run into trouble, it provides an extra layer of protection," Ding Yishan explained.

"What double insurance? If Half-step Transcendents could deal with Infection Sources, what would we need so many Inspectors for? We might as well just assign Half-step Transcendents—no, wait, we might as well just assign Transcendents to take over the Inspection Station and be done with it!"

Halfway through his sentence, Liu Kun suddenly realized that Jiang Chuan was still standing right beside him. He hastily coughed lightly to smooth things over. "A'chuan, I am not talking about you. It was Old Ding who broke the rules by making those arrangements first. I had to remind him to prevent him from making this kind of mistake again."

"It is alright, Director Liu. I understand. Surviving in the Wilderness relies on brains and guts," Jiang Chuan quickly replied with a smile.

"You see, even A'chuan understands this logic."

Liu Kun took the opportunity to steer the topic back, his tone growing more serious. "Tomorrow, pull all the Half-step Transcendents out and have them just watch the perimeter of the assessment. Making sure no one interferes with the test is enough. When it comes to clearing out Infection Sources, the biggest taboo is having a massive disparity in strength within a single team. I won't speak on anything else, but what if the Half-step Transcendent you arranged gets subjected to Parasitism and becomes an Infected Body? How would those lower-stage Inspectors deal with that? They would have absolutely no ability to resist!"

He paused, then emphasized his words even more, "Besides, you need to understand something. Towering trees do not grow in a greenhouse, and eagles willing to fight to the death do not fly out of birdcages. Which of our current high-stage Inspectors didn't fight their way out of near-death situations? Back when I was a Second-stage Inspector, I even fought head-on against a Mother Source, and look at me now—am I not perfectly fine? If you cannot even bear to let them gain experience in the outskirts of Happiness City, how can you expect to keep sending people to protect them when they venture into farther, more dangerous territories?"

Liu Kun's rapid-fire questioning rendered Ding Yishan silent.

How could he not understand these principles?

It was just that the times had changed too quickly. The cruel screening methods of the Great Reclamation Era had indeed allowed the Inspection Station to rapidly cultivate a batch of capable and reliable Inspectors after suffering two heavy blows from the Original Intention Faction and the Idealist Faction.

But now that everything had stabilized, if they still used the screening standards from those days, how many lower-stage Inspectors could actually survive?

"Alright, stop agonizing over it! What Yu Hong said before was absolutely right; the one who tied the knot must untie it. Only by holding on to our original intention can the Inspection Station secure a place in Happiness City."

Liu Kun shifted the conversation, his tone growing heavier, "Back then, so many people fought for the position of Station Master, so why are you the one sitting in that seat? If He Fei had been the one to lead the team to contain the 'Lion Dragon' back then, would you still be sitting here drinking and chatting with me?"

As he spoke, he tapped his finger twice on the tablet screen, stopping at the entry for "Dabo Town." "Oh, Cheng Ye is stationed here! Not bad, not bad."

He then looked up and said to Jiang Chuan, "A'chuan, upgrade the support equipment for Dabo Town to Disaster-plus level. No, wait—submit an application to upgrade it directly to the Ruin-level! Any extra budget expenditures can be drawn from the Police Department through the standard procedures."

As soon as his voice fell, he could not help but shake his head and chuckle. "This kid is just to my taste. He even managed to get a handle on Xiaoshuang's explosive temper. Now there is a perfect opportunity to let him get some practice underwater. If he really makes it through this, he will definitely become an outstanding Fifth-stage Inspector like Cheng Long. Who knows, maybe he will even sit in the Station Master's seat in the future!"

Jiang Chuan did not dare to agree immediately, his gaze subconsciously darting toward Ding Yishan.

"Just do as Director Liu says."

Ding Yishan sighed, a hint of helplessness in his voice. "It is not that I am afraid of people dying. I just feel... the era is moving forward. If we keep repeating the cruel screening methods from the past, what meaning was there in the sacrifices and efforts of those fallen Inspectors?"

"There is a meaning. Of course, there is a meaning."

Liu Kun instantly retorted, his tone resolute. "At the very least, we can now provide our Inspectors with better equipment. They do not have to fight for their lives bare-handed like before. That is the meaning of the previous generation's efforts. At the very least, we can gather more detailed intelligence in advance, so they don't have to charge in blindly like they used to. That is also the meaning of the previous generation's efforts!"

He leaned forward, his gaze growing darker. "But if you let the Inspectors hide away and enjoy themselves in a greenhouse now, arranging a group of bodyguards even when they are just heading to the outskirts of Happiness City—coddling them and letting them avoid all risks—that would be a true waste of the previous generation's blood and sweat!"

"Because by raising them like that, you will only produce a group of useless trash who panic at the first sign of danger. In the future, who will be left to shoulder the future of the Inspection Station?!"

Whoosh.

The air in the office seemed to suddenly ignite, the temperature rising a few degrees in an instant, carrying a scorching, tense pressure.

Ding Yishan couldn't help but reach up and tug at his collar. His chest still felt suffocatingly tight, and even his breathing felt shallow.

Seeing his reaction, Liu Kun didn't press the matter further. Instead, he picked up his glass and downed the liquor in frustration, his fingers sliding across the tablet

as he continued to scroll through the Infection Source data.

There was nothing new about the known Infection Sources. The Inspection Station's publicly stated promotion rules were just for outsiders to see; the internal standards were far more stringent and cruel.

From the Third-stage upward, it was basically a 'one radish, one hole' situation—a strict one-to-one ratio for positions. What they competed on wasn't just operational ability, but sheer intellect and actual merits.

Being able to go out into the field to bring back supplies for Happiness City and generate income for the Inspection Station was one aspect, but the more crucial factor was having solid, undeniable achievements.

And 'containing Infection Sources' was precisely one of the core metrics for measuring an Inspector's capabilities.

Current Fifth-stage Inspectors had to have successfully contained three Ruin-level Infection Sources before they could ascend to that rank. A Fourth-stage Inspector needed to contain at least one Ruin-level. Even the Third-stage Inspectors below them had to accumulate five Disaster-levels plus a pile of Plague-levels to qualify.

Therefore, as long as a Ruin-level Infection Source didn't appear, there was absolutely no need for extra intervention.

After flipping through all the information on the known Infection Sources, Liu Kun tapped into the 'Unknown Infection Sources' column.

For this category of completely unrecorded Infection Sources, the page only displayed on-site photos taken by the Inspectors and a short voice recording describing the situation.

At the very top of the list was the data transmitted back from Dongwa Town.

"That unlucky? Not only are there two known Disaster-levels nearby, but an unknown Disaster-level got mixed in as well?"

Liu Kun raised his eyebrows in surprise. He only breathed a slight sigh of relief when he saw that the persons in charge of Dongwa Town were Gu Xinjing and Zhang Wen, two Third-stage Inspectors.

With experienced veteran Inspectors keeping an eye on things, people might die, but at least there wouldn't be any massive blunders.

He refocused his attention on the photos. Five corpses lay side-by-side, each with a red mark stamped on their foreheads.

When zoomed in, it was visible as a blurry pattern, but no matter how much one analyzed it, no further useful information could be extracted.

Clicking the voice clip, Gu Xinjing's solemn voice echoed out: "All five of their internal organs were completely hollowed out by fire. The corpses only weigh a tenth of a normal person. Before entering the outbreak state, there was no obvious difference between them and ordinary living people..."

Troublesome.

Another virulent Infection Source!

Liu Kun clicked his tongue. This type of threat—which directly took lives the moment it broke out—had to be dealt with as quickly as possible. Once it spread, it would easily trigger regional panic.

Fortunately, virulent Infection Sources had a weakness: their symptoms were too obvious, so their area of transmission was usually not very wide. As long as they were discovered in time, they could be specifically targeted and controlled.

Exiting Dongwa Town's page, he scrolled down to the unknown Infection Source at Beiyuan Town. It was similarly evaluated as a suspected Disaster-level and highly virulent. The initial outbreak had taken seven lives, and the victims' state of death was even more bizarre than those in Dongwa Town.

The skin of the deceased glimmered with a crystalline light, and several antennae resembling those of salamanders had grown from the tops of their heads.

"This one needs to be handled quickly too. Tsk, just looking at it makes my skin crawl." Liu Kun glanced at it a couple of times before shifting his gaze away.

These evaluation grades were all provided by the Research Institute, which meant the threat level had already been comprehensively analyzed.

He continued scrolling down through the data on the unknown Plague-level Infection Sources, but his gaze suddenly stopped.

Dabo Town?

He had just been talking about deploying better equipment to Dabo Town. Why was there an unknown Infection Source hidden here as well?

Surprised, Liu Kun clicked into the page. There were three corpses in the picture. The one on the left was clearly an Infected Body from the Abyssal Water Cave Crab. He gave it a cursory glance before shifting his gaze to the right.

Two men whose heads had been blown apart by a pistol lay on the ground. Their skin was as ghastly pale as if they had been soaked in water for several days, and eerie circular purple patterns wrapped around their bodies.

"What the hell is this?"

Liu Kun's brow instantly furrowed.

Compared to the gruesome states of the previous corpses, these inconspicuous purple patterns actually made his heart skip a beat. An inexplicable sense of foreboding crawled up his spine.

He swiped the screen. The next few pictures were all close-ups of the Infected Bodies, with the camera specifically focused on the back of their earlobes.

Serving as the starting point for the purple patterns, it exuded an indescribable eeriness.

"This..."

Liu Kun's frown deepened. Even though he had been the Chief of the Police Department for many years, the sharp eyes he had honed during his time as an Inspector had not deteriorated.

Whether something was a high-risk Infection Source or had any anomalies, he could generally deduce a rough idea with just one glance.

"Old Ding?" he suddenly spoke up.

"What is it?" Ding Yishan, who was still mulling over their earlier argument about 'experience versus protection,' instinctively raised his head upon hearing the call.

He saw that Liu Kun was already holding up the tablet, aiming it at him. "Look at the patterns on these corpses. Don't they seem a bit bizarre?"

"Patterns?" Ding Yishan froze for a second, then quickly leaned closer to the screen, scanning it meticulously several times. "Are there patterns?"

"Hmm?"

Liu Kun's expression instantly darkened. His previously flushed face suddenly turned crimson, and he hurriedly held the tablet out to Jiang Chuan.

"A'chuan, can you see the purple patterns on the corpses?"

"No." Jiang Chuan scratched his head, looking completely bewildered. "It is just two pale, bloated corpses. Like they drowned?"

Buzz.

A piercing, bone-chilling cold erupted from the depths of Liu Kun's heart. He stood up abruptly, his eyes filled with sheer disbelief.

How is this possible?

How could something like this exist on the outskirts of Happiness City without having been discovered yet?

After a split-second pause, he immediately pressed the audio play button, and Luo Kuke's slightly hoarse voice came through:

"Dabo Town has discovered an unknown Infection Source. Initial judgment classifies it as a Mental Pollution-type Infection Source. It is suspected to overwrite the rules of the Soul-Hooking Catfish, forcing the Water Ghosts to come ashore!"

"Threat level assessment: Extremely high. On-site situation: Temporarily under control. Requesting immediate backup."

"Please have the Inspection Station provide complete underwater exploration equipment as soon as possible to assist in locating the Infection Source!"

"Please have the Research Institute provide analytical support to assist in determining the nature of the Infection Source!"

The audio playback ended.

Before anyone knew it, Liu Kun's face had turned completely crimson red. The temperature in the office was like a lit pile of firewood, instantly skyrocketing above forty degrees Celsius.

He gripped the tablet in a death choke, forcefully suppressing the shock and fury surging in his heart, and turned to Ding Yishan. "Old Ding, what was the content of the audio you just heard?"

Startled by his reaction, Ding Yishan instinctively repeated it. "It just said they found a common aquatic-type Infection Source. The threat level is extremely low, they don't need backup for now, and they still need to observe it further..."

Before his voice could even fade.

Liu Kun suddenly vanished from the office.

In the next second, a fiery red beam of light violently tore through the air.

Accompanied by a thunderous crashing sound, the entire massive floor-to-ceiling window was shattered into pieces.

Before the sharp shards of glass could even spray outward, they were incinerated by the intense heat back into primordial sand, which then scattered into the night wind.

Even the wind pouring in from outside the window carried a scorching aura, blowing the documents on the desk until they rustled wildly.

Looking outside.

A giant red eagle with a wingspan of at least eight meters soared into the sky. Its body was wrapped in dancing flames, and its flapping wings generated billowing waves of heat. Like a roaring fiery meteor, it tore through the thick night in just a few breaths, rushing out of the Inspection Station and toward the Wilderness.

It wasn't until the following second that Liu Kun's furious roar finally echoed out from the office, reverberating through the room over and over again:

"Old Ding!"

"Hurry up and report to the Research Institute! An 'Immortal Object' of at least the Ruin-level with Mental Pollution capabilities has appeared!!"