Wasteland Border Inspector

Chapter 221: Despair Crab Net, Death Knell!

The answer was yes.Once the underwater tentacles ceased their frenzied dance, Cheng Ye nimbly dove back into the water.

Sure enough, a new batch of infection sources emerged.

Moreover, this time the infection sources were not only more numerous but also a full size larger than before, looking even more threatening.

Among them was a Soul-Snatching Catfish fully 1.2 meters long, thrashing wildly in the diving layer. The water flow vibrated violently with every flick of its tail fin.

"This Demonic Eye Sponge is simply a living monster spawner!"

Cheng Ye could not help but grin, his mind suddenly flashing to the intelligence regarding the resting fishmen in the Second Layer of the Chamber.

Although the Demonic Eye Sponge did not raise fishmen like that, it "raised" so many infection sources within its body. He wondered if these infection sources were its backup food supply or servants that helped it gather energy.

"Let me catch my breath, wait a minute..."

"No need. You rest a bit longer, I will handle this."

Before Cheng Ye's voice even faded, he had already plunged headfirst into the water, charging straight toward that large Soul-Snatching Catfish.

With the mental defense of the Heart-Protecting Fire in place, the mental pollution of the Soul-Snatching Catfish was completely ineffective.

It could only watch helplessly as Cheng Ye closed in and swung down the Red Blade.

With a clean slicing sound, the fish's head was cleaved right open, killing the catfish on the spot.

Cheng Ye grabbed the fish by the tail and sped back toward the dock. He found it rather amusing; he hadn't caught any large fish while angling by the riverside earlier, yet now he had snagged one using the most primitive method imaginable.

With a light flick of his arm, the massive body of the Soul-Snatching Catfish flew out of the water and landed on the dock with a loud smack, right at Rocook's feet.

"Fuck!"

Rocook jumped in fright. When he looked down and saw the sheer size of the catfish, his eyes went wide. "How many people did this thing snatch? How did it grow so big?"

"It didn't necessarily snatch anyone!"

Cheng Ye shook his head slightly. When he killed the Soul-Snatching Catfish just now, he had opened the index to take a look.

Sure enough, growth factors were present. It must have been affected by the shell fragments of the Vortex Turtle and nourished by the Demonic Eye Sponge to grow to such a colossal size.

An infection source of this caliber would have been a massive problem when developing the White Water River in the future if it hadn't been cleared out in advance.

Now that the Demonic Eye Sponge had released them as guards, containing them effortlessly felt like an unexpected harvest.

"This is great! If it weren't for the matter regarding the Immortal Object, how could Happiness City ever bear to let me wear Extinction-level protective gear to deal with these ordinary infection sources?"

Cheng Ye patted the Obsidian Battle Armor on his body, growing increasingly covetous of it.

The defensive power and stealth capabilities of this armor were absolutely top-tier.

He could also guess why Happiness City didn't distribute it widely. First, the production cost was bound to be astronomical, and second, its lifespan was likely limited, making mass equipment impossible.

'Once I hit a million points, I absolutely have to get a set for self-defense!'

After keeping busy for half an hour, the entire new batch of infection sources was wiped clean, and Cheng Ye was thoroughly exhausted.

Although he could use Accelerated Energy to move quickly in the water, the energy consumption drained his stamina. No matter how robust his life force was, continuously performing high-intensity movements left him feeling somewhat drained.

Rocook, on the other hand, had rested enough. He stood up and said excitedly, "I am fully rested! Go down and take another swing to draw out new infection sources. I will handle the containment this time!"

"Alright!" Cheng Ye nodded without overthinking it. He turned, plunged back into the water, and delivered several crisp slashes to the nearest tentacle.

His movements were clean and precise, executing the exact same surprise attack routine as before.

Thrum!

A terrifying wave suddenly erupted underwater, far stronger than any previous one. Yet strangely enough, no tentacles chased after him as they usually did.

Cheng Ye's heart inexplicably tightened, and he could not help but look back.

But with that single glance, the hairs on his body instantly stood on end, and an indescribable terror exploded down his spine.

He saw that the massive, yellowish-green Chamber finally had a drastic reaction. It was no longer infection sources squeezing out from the gaps in the tentacles. Instead, a half-meter-wide fissure suddenly tore open right in the center of the Chamber, its edges continuously expanding.

The moment the gap opened, dark cyan figures poured out one after another.

It was none other than them.

They were the very same Crab-men that had stood by the shore last night!

Each of their faces was a ghastly iron-blue, dragging a pair of razor-sharp crab claws behind them. Their features were twisted and hideous, packed so densely together that a single glance revealed over a hundred of them. They surged toward the diving layer like a tidal wave.

It was hard to describe the feeling—it was exactly like poking a hornet's nest.

But what made Cheng Ye's heart completely skip a beat came next. His gaze swept past the horde of Crab-men and landed deep within the fissure, his brows violently knitting together.

A fusion entity of an Abyssal Water Cave Crab, a massive four or five meters in size, was wedged in the gap, frantically trying to squeeze its way out!

Trailing behind it were four giant crab claws, each half a meter thick and three meters long. Cold light glinted as the pincers snapped open and shut. Just looking at it made one's scalp tingle—it was terrifying to the extreme!

"My god! Just how many things are hidden inside this Demonic Eye Sponge?!"

Cheng Ye felt his head buzzing. Not daring to delay for even a second, he immediately pushed his Accelerated Energy to its absolute limit.

By the time he burst out of the water and landed on the edge of the dock, Rocook was still waiting on the shore.

Having seen no familiar tentacles in pursuit, he was curiously leaning over to peer into the water, wondering why there was no commotion this time.

"We have a massive problem!"

The moment Cheng Ye leaped ashore, he tossed aside the severed tentacle in his hand, his eyes locked dead on the dock's drainage outlet.

Those Crab-men were able to crawl ashore last night, so why not now?

Although the sky had grown overcast, sunlight still blanketed the human world.

These shadowy underwater creatures were suppressed like vampires in the sun, utterly unable to even poke their heads above the surface.

However...

The color of the White Water River suddenly shifted, taking on a pale cyan hue.

Beneath the surface, the Crab-men actually began linking together, hand in hand, claw in claw. Using their bodies and pincers, they wove a massive defensive net that perfectly blocked the dock's water entry point.

Cheng Ye instantly realized that the Demonic Eye Sponge had changed its strategy.

Since it couldn't catch this annoying bug, it decided to completely seal off the area where he frequently entered the water.

At a glance, this crab net covered a full five hundred meters of the water's surface around the dock, packed densely with dark cyan figures.

Rocook was dumbfounded as well, but he still mustered the courage to step up to the drainage outlet. He leaned over, wanting to stick his face closer to the water to get a better look at the situation below.

Whoosh.

A dark grey Crab-man face suddenly popped into view right before his eyes. The distance between them was less than ten centimeters, its murky eyes staring dead at him.

Rocook let out a bizarre yelp of pure terror on the spot. His breathing lost its rhythm, and his human essence instantly leaked out.

Crash!

The crab claw behind the Crab-man smashed forward violently. Just as it was about to slap Rocook straight in the face, a flash of blade light suddenly swept past!

The weight and sharpness of the Red Blade received its most direct demonstration at this moment.

The joint of the crab claw was sheared cleanly in two. One part fell onto Rocook, while the rest recoiled back into the water.

Visibly, bubble-like scum suddenly frothed on the surface of the severed pincer. Under the blazing sunlight, it scorched and shriveled, ultimately turning into a dry, hard lump.

"They still can't be exposed to light?"

Cheng Ye's gaze narrowed as he crouched down and picked up the crab claw.

With just a light squeeze, the pincer shattered apart. A pinch of his fingers turned the pieces into fine powder.

"Is this related to the runes of the Demonic Eye Sponge?"

This was absolutely a major discovery.

Rocook recovered from his lingering shock, stood up, and said solemnly, "Thanks!"

"It's nothing. You are wearing the battle armor; it couldn't have hurt you anyway."

Cheng Ye shook his head, his eyes returning to the crab net beneath the water. "We could enter the water from somewhere else, but climbing back out would inevitably waste time. The Demonic Eye Sponge is forcing us to change locations, but if we do, the risks become entirely unpredictable."

Entering the water previously was to flush out infection sources and farm for traits. Now, with the Crab-men weaving a net to seal off the path, the trouble was laid bare right in front of them.

"Do we have any bombs in the truck?"

"We do, but underwater explosions have mediocre effects. They might not clear it out completely."

"We'll blast as many as we can. If these things really manage to climb ashore, it will be a disaster for us."

Rocook spoke in a heavy voice, and the two returned to the truck.

They had brought in a total of eighteen bombs, divided into large, medium, and small yields, with six of each.

'If I knew it was going to be like this, it would have been so much more convenient to just drive a tank in,'

Cheng Ye thought to himself.

Even so, there was a reason Happiness City strictly prohibited explosives and avoided using bombs.

After first broadcasting a notice to the residents that a directional blasting operation was about to take place and to stay away from the riverside, the two men carried the explosives back to the dock.

Rocook picked up a small high-explosive grenade, pulled the pin, and tossed it into the water.

Boom!

A violent explosion echoed underwater, blasting water more than three meters into the air. A massive gap was blown right into the crab net near the shore. At least thirty Crab-men were killed in the blast, and a whole cluster nearby was sent tumbling.

But before Cheng Ye could sigh in relief, a horrifying scene unfolded. The pale cyan energy on the dead Crab-men did not dissipate. Instead, it flowed like a liquid current toward the surrounding Crab-men.

Cyan light flickered beneath the surface. The bodies of the surviving Crab-men nearby began to swell as if inflated. Two of them instantly ballooned to 2.5 meters in size, their pincers growing noticeably thicker and looking vastly more threatening.

Without hesitation, Rocook lobbed another grenade in.

Another explosion rang out, blasting the freshly swollen Crab-men to pieces. Yet, the energy inside them still refused to scatter. Tracing the water flow, it surged toward the surrounding creatures, birthing a giant Crab-man nearly three meters tall. The snapping of its massive claws was absolutely terrifying.

"Just how many are down there?" Rocook's face completely changed, his voice trembling.

"I have no idea!" Cheng Ye shook his head, stormy waves crashing in his own heart.

He had only witnessed this kind of energy transfer spectacle during the night with the Starfish Epidemic. He never expected the infected bodies of the Abyssal Water Cave Crab to possess this trait as well. Could it be that all Group Infection Entities possessed this ability?

Seeing the strange look on Cheng Ye's face, Rocook paused, instantly realizing the confusion, and explained, "Using explosives to kill Group Infection Entities is a massive taboo! They can share life energy amongst themselves. As long as one isn't completely dead, the other infected bodies can absorb the energy of the deceased to grow stronger. The reason the infection tide every winter is so troublesome is precisely because we cannot use bombs to clear the field. They have to be divided and purged individually. Otherwise, we could just drop a few high-yield bombs from the sky and wipe everything out."

"Is there no limit to this energy transfer?" Cheng Ye pressed.

"None." Rocook shook his head, his tone heavy. "It would be great if there was a limit... The continuous stacking of energy pushes them closer and closer to transcendence, spawning all sorts of terrifying abilities. By then, they will be even harder to deal with."

"So should we keep bombing them?"

"Bomb them!"

Rocook nodded through gritted teeth. "Even if it spawns a fusion entity, I refuse to watch this many infected bodies come ashore! We don't have a suppressive fire network. If they crawl up, it will be a catastrophic disaster for the residents!"

It was a desperate measure for a desperate situation.

Against a single fusion entity, they could still rely on flanking maneuvers. But if they were surrounded by thousands of infected bodies while unable to leave the confines of Dabo Town, it would be a complete dead end.

Grenades were hurled into the water one after another, switching from small to medium, and then from medium to large yields.

Explosions echoed endlessly across the water's surface. More and more Crab-men died, and the number of giant Crab-men breaking the two-meter and three-meter marks steadily multiplied.

Yet, even after seventeen bombs were tossed, leaving only one final explosive, the underwater crab net remained devoid of any gaps. Instead, due to the energy stacking, every single Crab-man near the shore had grown incredibly robust, looking even more horrifying.

Rocook stared at the surface of the water for a few seconds. Without saying a word, he suddenly bolted toward the upper section of the White Water River. His steps were hasty, even a bit unsteady.

Cheng Ye remained silent, quietly waiting by the edge of the dock. About five minutes later, Rocook ran back, clutching several objects in his hands.

He skidded to a halt, panting heavily. Raising his right hand, he held up three fingers.

Three thousand?

"Three layers!"

As his voice fell, he flopped heavily onto the ground. It was as if all the strength had been drained from his body, leaving him unable to even straighten his back.

Three layers?

Cheng Ye stiffened, goosebumps erupting across his skin. He looked out over the water. A dense carpet of heads faintly drifted beneath the surface. A single layer contained no less than one thousand five hundred to two thousand of them. Three layers meant there were at least five thousand in total!

He looked at them, and the Crab-men stared right back.

Every face bore a vicious, deeply malicious expression. The fury in their eyes practically overflowed, as if making a silent declaration:

It would not be long now. Tonight, every human in Dabo Town...

Including him, would pay the price!

"Five thousand..."

Cheng Ye sank into deep thought for a moment.

If he transformed into his Starfish Superman state, could he slaughter five thousand Crab-men within five minutes?

On the side, Rocook stayed silent for a long time before suddenly letting out a long sigh.

He stood up dejectedly, walked over to the equipment box, and took off his battle armor. Then, he sat down by the dock again, his back leaning against the brick wall, his head hanging low.

Exhale.

Inhale.

With every breath, he exhaled heavily and inhaled even harder, as if cherishing the precious little time he had left to breathe freely.

After a good while, he finally raised his head and looked at Cheng Ye, his voice laced with exhaustion and deep regret:

"You... Cheng Ye, you shouldn't have come back."

Cheng Ye said nothing. He similarly unequipped his Obsidian Battle Armor and sat down beside Rocook.

The two sat side by side, staring at the cyan-glowing crab net beneath the water. The only sounds left by the dock were the flowing water and the faint, distant clattering of tools. For a moment, they were both lost in a trance.

After a long pause.

Rocook finally spoke blankly, his voice carrying a hollow drift:

"When the flash floods hit Cloud City, it was the exact same time Yueye Shelter City was attacked by the infection tide..."

"A lot of people fled. Quite a few thought they could take the water route, believing they could escape somewhere else."

As he spoke, he picked up the objects he had brought back from underwater.

Since he was already parasitized by an infection source, he was no longer worried about whether there were Poisonous Water Crystals on them.

It was a badge that had been pierced and fashioned into a necklace.

The front bore the portrait of a middle-aged man, while the back depicted a sprawling expanse of high-rise city buildings.

"This is a resident badge of Yueye Shelter City..."

Rocook's voice grew lower and lower. He then pulled out an object resembling a pocket watch and lightly popped it open. Tucked inside was a yellowed family portrait, the people in the photo smiling radiantly.

Picking up a waterproof bag, he unfurled it. Inside were a few old maps, as well as some... Happiness Coins?

He displayed the items one by one, his gaze growing increasingly dazed, as if lost in memories:

"Three hundred thousand people died in Yueye Shelter City. Only the core personnel retreated underground. Do you know what that means?"

"Are they... underwater?" Cheng Ye asked softly.

"No, I don't know! I don't know anything!" Rocook suddenly stood up. As if provoked by those words, he ran to the edge of the dock like a madman and screamed, violently throwing the items in his hands into the water.

Whether it was the badge, the pocket watch, or the maps, the moment they hit the water, the Crab-men beneath the surface sensed them. Several crab claws instantly reached out and snipped the objects into shreds.

Whoosh.

A gust of wind blew past.

From the cracked pocket watch casing, that family portrait drifted out. Floating on the surface of the water, it slowly drifted downstream with the current.

"Three hundred thousand people! Damn it! Three hundred thousand of them died, yet they didn't even release a notice about where the people actually went!" Rocook's voice cracked with a sob!

"I'm getting out of here! I will definitely make them pay! I will make Yueye Shelter City pay the price!"

"They aren't human! They deliberately hid the information! They killed us!"

"Argh!!!"

He screamed at the water, his voice hoarse. His entire being seemed to have completely shattered, utterly devoid of his former calm.

Suddenly.

His legs gave out, and he fell to his knees on the ground. He began coughing violently. Mouthfuls of iron wire were hacked out from his throat, clattering to the ground with sharp metallic clinks.

His hat fell to the ground, revealing his bald scalp. The rust color upon it was growing darker and deeper, spreading all the way from his scalp down to his forehead—a shocking and gruesome sight.

Rising and falling.

Falling and rising.

From seeing hope in despair, to turning from hope back into despair.

He had completely broken down. In the face of impending death, he fully shed the resilient facade of an Inspector.

This was the first time Cheng Ye had seen someone break down right before his eyes, and it was also the first time he had witnessed someone lose their will to resist an infected body.

He had always assumed it would be the ordinary residents who collapsed. He never expected it to be a High-Tier Inspector who had survived the Low-Tier ranks and climbed to Phase Three.

Power vanished into thin air at this moment.

The privileges granted by Happiness City seemed so utterly powerless in the face of the web of death woven by five thousand Crab-men.

The fighting spirit was completely lost in this instant.

What weighed down on Rocook's shoulders was not just his own hope of survival, but the responsibility of protecting the residents of Dabo Town, as well as the duty to complete the containment mission.

This immense weight thoroughly crushed him.

Cough, cough...

More and more iron wire was coughed out of Rocook's mouth. His face gradually took on a rusted hue, and even breathing became agonizingly difficult.

He suddenly raised his head and turned to Cheng Ye, forcing out a smile that looked worse than crying. "Cheng Ye, I'm afraid everything tonight will depend on you."

"What are you going to do?"

Rocook shook his head, his gaze shifting to the sole remaining large-yield bomb.

"Are you going to blow up the Demonic Eye Sponge?"

"This is our final chance." Rocook took a deep breath. The rising and falling of his chest grew steadily weaker, but his eyes settled into an eerie calm. "Actually... there has always been a consensus among High-Tier Inspectors. I didn't tell you before because I was afraid of scaring you."

"Do you know why I was so surprised when I saw Extinction-level equipment?"

He paused, his voice dropping as light as a whisper. "It isn't because of its exorbitant production cost. It's because in the thirteen years since humanity developed it, over a thousand Inspectors have worn it. But the final number of those who survived... remains in the single digits."

"Yes, only a single-digit handful of lucky ones survived."

"Its existence is the highest praise for an Inspector's courage."

"But its existence is also the tolling of the death knell for any Inspector."