Wasteland Border Inspector

Chapter 222: Infective Parasitism, Earth-Shrinking Giant Louse Form!

After Luo Kuke finished speaking, he took two deep breaths of the moisture-laden air, his chest heaving slightly. With unwavering resolve, he lifted the equipment box, tucked the Large-Yield Bomb under one arm, and turned to head upstream.He knew better than anyone that given the colossal size of the Demonic Eye Sponge, a single bomb could never settle the matter once and for all.

Yet, he refused to give up. As long as he could find a way to breach the interior of the Chamber and locate the core of the infection source, there was a chance to achieve containment.

And this remaining bomb was the only hope in his plan to blow open the entrance. Even if the success rate was only one in a thousand, or perhaps even lower, he still wanted to try.

"Inspector Luo, are you already prepared to die?" Cheng Ye's voice rang out from behind him, calm yet carrying a piercing clarity.

Luo Kuke's expression remained wooden, but his footsteps abruptly halted.

With his back to Cheng Ye, he remained silent for a few seconds before softly replying, "No... but I am prepared to fight it to the bitter end."

"I might fail. I might completely enrage it and make the situation even worse, but I will do my utmost to fulfill the responsibility of an Inspector."

"I will leave the rest to you, Inspector Cheng."

With that said, he did not pause again, taking large strides forward.

The dark clouds overhead pressed down ever lower as the river wind whipped sand and dirt across the pier.

His figure appeared exceptionally frail in the gloomy light, yet he carried a desolate, tragic courage, resembling a lone warrior marching toward the apocalypse.

"Wait..."

Cheng Ye stood up, his gaze steadying between the crab nets on the water's surface and Luo Kuke's retreating back. Suddenly, he spoke up:

"The Analyzer in the Truck Laboratory has already extracted a lot of data from the sponge fragments. I am currently matching the 'key' to enter its Chamber. Do you want to go in and try it with me?"

"The Chamber? A key?"

Luo Kuke jerked to a halt, his body stiffening for a moment. Then, he quickly turned around, a sudden gleam of light igniting in his cloudy eyes. His voice trembled as he said, "Give it to me! I will try! I am wearing battle armor; even if something goes wrong, I can..."

"You are not going alone. We are going together."

Cheng Ye interrupted him, pointing at the bomb in his hand. "And leave that thing behind for now. It is only two in the afternoon. There are still more than four hours until sunset. We have plenty of time to investigate."

He paused, then added, "The sun sets at 18:47. Before then, we can make at least three to five attempts."

Luo Kuke's grip on the bomb loosened slightly. The despair in his eyes gradually faded, replaced by a glimmer of unbelievable hope.

He had thought he was at a dead end, never expecting such a sudden turn of events.

"How long will it take to match the key?"

"Very soon. It should take..." Cheng Ye opened his interface and glanced at it. The Recharge Value had already recovered to 27%.

"It will take an hour and a half at most to create the key."

"Alright!" Luo Kuke did not doubt him in the slightest. Since he had already resolved to risk his life, he didn't mind waiting an extra hour.

As long as they could get into the water before dark, and as long as the key actually worked, even a single chance would be enough.

"Then what do we do now..." He looked at Cheng Ye, waiting for the next step. "We clear out as many Crab-men as possible before dark. What about you?" Cheng Ye patted the Red Blade at his waist.

"I am coming with you!"

Luo Kuke didn't refuse this time. He took a deep breath, completely letting go of the apprehensions in his heart.

He knew very well that the five thousand Crab-men were merely the first barrier the Demonic Eye Sponge used to blockade the water's surface. Who knew how many more threats lay beyond them.

But sitting around waiting was still just waiting; they might as well do their best to eliminate these potential threats.

The two fetched the black pouches of nutrient paste they had never consumed before, simultaneously unscrewing the caps and gulping them down.

It was Cheng Ye's first time drinking this kind of nutrient paste. The kick felt only thirty percent weaker than the Blue Potion mixed by Master Tian. A spicy flavor slid down his throat, instantly invigorating his mind and sending a surge of energy coursing through his body.

After finishing the nutrient paste, Cheng Ye first returned to the camp. He found Wang Kang, who was setting up a searchlight, and borrowed his Purple Blade.

"Brother Cheng, nothing happened by the riverside, right?" Wang Kang asked with a hint of worry upon seeing him suddenly come to borrow the blade.

"Nothing major." Cheng Ye shook his head, his tone growing a bit more serious. "Watch the camp, and don't let anyone get near the riverside. Inspector Luo and I will be going underwater to investigate later. We must figure out the situation down there before dark."

"Understood! I promise to keep a close watch!" Wang Kang nodded immediately.

Holding both the Red Blade and the Purple Blade, Cheng Ye returned to the Truck Laboratory and reached out to press the start button on the Analyzer.

Whir.

A burst of cold air hissed from the instrument as the bottom drawer slowly popped out. Inside lay an arm-length containment box.

Unlike the standard containment boxes that prioritized sturdiness, this one was exceptionally lightweight. Its front was embedded with a piece of special glass, allowing direct observation of the interior.

Through the glass, a bug the size of a human palm could be seen huddled inside.

Its form resembled a rhinoceros beetle, covered by two thick yellow carapaces. A tentacle-like sharp horn protruded from its head. On the surface of its shell, tiny runes flickered faintly—cut from the same cloth as the runes on the blue sponge mentioned in the intelligence report.

'To think that my first time being infected would be actively seeking an infection source to possess me... What a world we live in.'

Cheng Ye steadied his mind, suppressing the complicated emotions within, and strode toward the riverside with the containment box in hand.

Luo Kuke was still sitting cross-legged, resting. Seeing him return with the containment box, his expression froze slightly.

"A Benign Infection Source?"

"Yes, an A- rank Benign Infection Source."

"A- rank?" Luo Kuke was stunned, his tone instantly becoming complicated. "'Benign' is just a subjective classification we humans use for infection sources. Its essence remains an infection source. It still holds lethal lethality toward us; it's just that compared to malignant infection sources, its range and intensity of destruction are somewhat controllable."

"But for an A- rank, do you know the method to remove it?"

"I don't know." Cheng Ye shook his head. Halin had only provided the infection cost, not mentioning how to remove it at all.

At the time, he assumed it was a secret kept by the Inspection Station. Could there be more to the story?

"Then let me tell you. For any Benign Infection Source ranked B or above, once you are infected by it, there is absolutely no way to remove it unless you die. The infection source will link with your life. If you die, it dies; if it dies, you die too."

Luo Kuke offered a bitter smile, his voice dropping very low. "To use its power, you must pay a price. To suffer its parasitism, you must also pay a price. With an A- rank infection source, your lifespan will suffer an irreversible shortening..."

Having said that, he held up four fingers.

"Four years?"

"Forty years!" Luo Kuke's tone was exceptionally heavy. "These forty years won't be drained all at once, but extracted in chunks of three to five years every so often. What's worse is that once you use it, your strength will be permanently fixed at this exact moment, never to improve again. Of course, the power it provides far exceeds the normal human limits, so you might not even need to increase your strength anymore."

"Besides that, you will be permanently marked as an Infected Body. No matter which shelter city you go to, you will be subjected to the highest level of scrutiny, even if you are an Inspector of Happiness City."

He sighed and added, "If we make it back alive, the rewards for the containment of the Demonic Eye Sponge and the Immortal Object might be enough to exchange for a pass from the Kindling Alliance. But even then, your faction will be different from ordinary humans... You will be viewed as a 'special group', forever separated by an invisible barrier."

"Is that so?"

Cheng Ye looked down at the containment box in his hands. The Earth-Shrinking Giant Louse inside was the only one among the four candidate infection sources with a controllable risk. Its price merely required a painful long run to repay.

And he possessed the Iron Physique. Barring any surprises, he should have immunity to the pain, meaning he only needed to run long distances.

As for the Bone-Armored Bull and the Firecracker infection sources, the former relied entirely on luck. If he drew the death probability, he would be instantly doomed.

The latter was even more dangerous; after 24 hours, it could turn into an irreversible explosive at any moment.

The Healing Water Spirit Grass, whose only cost was a deduction of lifespan, had abilities that were too weak. Merely 'not dying in water' couldn't turn the tide of battle at all.

Only the Earth-Shrinking Giant Louse could grant him strength—powerful strength no weaker than that of a Fusion Entity!

'Lifespan extraction... Does the vitality bonus provided by Ze Ye's physique count?'

'Never able to be removed... Doesn't that mean I can possess this power forever? Such a good thing actually exists?'

In a flash, Cheng Ye's thoughts became briefly chaotic, but he quickly calmed down.

His strength didn't rely on training anyway; he only needed to continuously collect skills to improve.

As for his lifespan, he would continue to fuse with stronger physiques in the future; there would always be a solution.

Moreover, he was already a Transcendent. Luo Kuke's judgments were entirely based on ordinary people. For a Transcendent, there might be new variables.

"Inspector Luo, a lifetime is too long. We... must seize the day!"

Cheng Ye chuckled softly, suddenly reaching out to press the button on the right side of the containment box.

The moment his palm print was verified, a faint vibration immediately came from inside the box.

As if activated, the Earth-Shrinking Giant Louse suddenly erupted with a strange fluctuation. Its curled body slowly unfurled as it began to awaken and enlarge.

Boom.

In just two seconds, the metal shell of the containment box warped from the pressure, tearing open completely in the next second. The Earth-Shrinking Giant Louse flew out of the gap, circling once in the air as its size expanded madly at a visible rate!

Half a meter, one meter, two meters...

The runes around its body became clearer as it grew, shimmering with a faint golden light. It resembled the Golden Cicada Cheng Ye used to see in TV shows, its patterns exuding an indescribable profound mystery.

This sense of oppression far exceeded that of the underwater Crab-men. Even the massive Crab-man Fusion Entity could not compare.

It wasn't until the Earth-Shrinking Giant Louse grew to five meters long that it took up almost half of the pier.

Only then did Cheng Ye feel the inexplicable connection between him and it growing stronger, as if an invisible thread tied them together.

He frowned sharply, instinctively reaching out to touch the Giant Louse's shell. However, the Earth-Shrinking Giant Louse suddenly bounced slightly, plummeting straight down from the air like a fully charged cannonball!

Right as it was about to crash into Cheng Ye, its size began to shrink rapidly. In the blink of an eye, it reverted back to its original palm-size, and then even smaller, shrinking until it was only the size of a fingernail.

Finally, it deftly slipped past Cheng Ye's outstretched right hand. With a soft "thud," it accurately struck the center of Cheng Ye's brow, instantly sinking into his skin and disappearing.

'Is this what it means to be infected?'

Cheng Ye was somewhat surprised. There was none of the severe pain or nausea he had anticipated; he barely felt anything distinct at all.

But the next second, his expression changed drastically. He sharply hunched over, dropping heavily to one knee as his hands braced tightly against the ground.

Pain!

Unimaginable pain!

It was an agonizing pain stemming from the very depths of his soul, far worse than the previous mental pollution!

He couldn't even stop himself from wanting to curl into a ball, but his body felt pinned in place by an invisible force, unable to twitch a single muscle.

Until—

Screech!

A clear, distant eagle cry suddenly echoed in his mind, carrying a touch of vastness and desolation, instantly overpowering the piercing agony.

Cheng Ye felt his consciousness sink. His body seemed to plunge into an icy swamp as the surrounding light quickly dimmed.

'Is this... the Spiritual Body Space?'

With the growth of his Heart-Protecting Fire, his Spiritual Body Space had long since expanded several times its original size.

At this moment, however, the spirit body of the Earth-Shrinking Giant Louse suddenly squeezed its way in, completely packing the space to the brim and causing a transparent barrier to surface along the edges.

Little Flame was forced into a corner. Despite being only the size of a kitten, it kept its "body" perfectly straight, throwing its head back to issue an eagle cry at the five-meter-long Earth-Shrinking Giant Louse, its imposing aura not losing out in the slightest.

Incredibly, Cheng Ye actually spotted a faint trace of imperceptible fear within the Earth-Shrinking Giant Louse's massive compound eyes.

What surprised him even more was that the runes on the Earth-Shrinking Giant Louse's shell were now entirely covered by a faint glow of fire. The previously distinct patterns turned blurry, obscuring that profound mystery along with it, making it completely imperceptible.

The two sides faced off like this for several seconds until the Earth-Shrinking Giant Louse seemed to compromise, reluctantly backing away as its body rapidly shrank to three meters long.

A blazing trail suddenly tore across the ground of the Spiritual Body Space, slicing the area squarely in two.

A small portion belonged to Little Flame, while the vast majority was left to the Earth-Shrinking Giant Louse.

Little Flame wobbled forward two steps, as if cementing its territory, then tilted its "head," plopped onto the floor, and began snoring soundly, paying no further mind to the Earth-Shrinking Giant Louse.

The Earth-Shrinking Giant Louse, on the other hand, raised its head, its compound eyes staring straight at Cheng Ye's consciousness.

The moment their gazes met, all the hallucinations abruptly shattered. The intense soul-rending pain vanished without a trace, leaving behind only waves of a tingling sensation radiating through his limbs and bones, as if something was quietly altering his life foundation.

"Cheng Ye, are you alright?" Luo Kuke's voice sounded from the side, laced with worry.

He had purposely stepped back several meters, not daring to get too close.

Benign Infection Sources had been put into use starting from the seventh year of the New Era, and twenty-eight years had passed since then.

Although there were no recorded instances of someone turning into a genuine Infected Body from a Benign Infection Source, those capable of utilizing an A- rank infection source were virtually all apex powerhouses of the wasteland.

For a Trainee Inspector like Cheng Ye to attempt parasitism was absolutely unprecedented.

"I... I'm fine!"

Cheng Ye took a deep breath, slowly standing up from the ground. The numbness across his body was still spreading, feeling like tiny electric currents traveling beneath his skin.

The next second, the interface automatically opened in his vision. Flashing streams of data zipped by, quickly parsing and compiling into a crisp prompt box that hovered before his eyes:

[Detected that the Collector has undergone parasitism by a local special creature. Now registering the creature's information...]

[Registration successful: Earth-Shrinking Giant Louse* has parasitized the Collector.]

[Affected by the Earth-Shrinking Giant Louse*, the Collector will receive the following special buffs and special debuffs.]

[Special Buffs:

1. The Collector's life level has upgraded. Current life level: 1 → 2.

2. The Collector's available skill bar capacity has increased. Current number of skill slots: 4 → 5.

3. The Collector has acquired a fixed special skill: Earth-Shrinking Giant Louse* (Lv5).

4. The Collector has obtained a specific ability: Earth-Shrinking Giant Louse Symbiotic State (*; Mature Body).]

[Special Debuffs:

1. The Collector cannot uninstall the fixed special skill: Earth-Shrinking Giant Louse* (Lv5). This skill will undergo permanent binding to the skill bar. 2. The Collector's vitality will suffer continuous erosion. Current erosion rate: 0.2%/day (Fixed value). Maximum erosion degree: 35% (Fixed value; does not scale with total vitality; any excess vitality beyond 35% will automatically nourish the growth of the Earth-Shrinking Giant Louse).

3. Each time the Collector utilizes the "Earth-Shrinking Giant Louse Symbiotic State" ability, an unavoidable cost must be borne (the specific cost will trigger and display at the end of each use).

4. Under the Collector's current condition, no further Transcendent seeds can be used (Transcendent seeds will be actively devoured by the Earth-Shrinking Giant Louse and cannot be retained).]

Four buffs, four debuffs.

The cost of being parasitized by an A- rank infection source truly exceeded all expectations. Even with the suppression of the Heart-Protecting Fire, the irreversible toll was inescapable.

First was the extra skill bar slot provided by the life level upgrade. The moment it unlocked, it was subjected to permanent binding by the "Earth-Shrinking Giant Louse," meaning no additional available slots were gained.

Next was the fixed 35% vitality continuous erosion. This meant that no matter how strong his physique became in the future, his health was essentially lobbed off, forever reduced by thirty-five percent.

Translating it to video game terms, it was as if his health bar was forcibly capped at 65%. Even if his total vitality increased later, the surplus would merely be siphoned by the Earth-Shrinking Giant Louse as "nourishment."

And the heaviest cost of all was undoubtedly the inability to use any more Transcendent seeds to boost his power.

However, thinking back to the scenes he had just witnessed inside the Spiritual Body Space...

Cheng Ye couldn't help but harbor a sliver of hope. If Little Flame continued to grow stronger and reclaim more territory within the Spiritual Body Space, perhaps that final debuff could be negated.

"Phew..."

As these thoughts flashed by, Cheng Ye took a deep breath, his entire body trembling uncontrollably.

He could vividly sense that his life foundation was being completely rewritten, losing its purity as it started to become non-human.

This transformation was much more violent and direct than when the Heart-Protecting Fire first took root inside him. He didn't even need to open the interface to establish an instinctive connection with the Earth-Shrinking Giant Louse.

With but a single thought, that colossal might would instantly surge forth, supplying him with unbelievable power.

"This power..."

Cheng Ye closed his eyes, carefully feeling the changes within his body.

The meridians beneath his skin were restructuring, his muscle fibers growing thick and robust. The wild grass totem near his heart beat wildly, sending waves of pure vitality coursing throughout his entire body.

Yet, he didn't feel the slightest hunger sensation. The driving force behind the metamorphosis wasn't coming from himself, but from the power provided by the Earth-Shrinking Giant Louse. His own vitality only served as a "guide" to anchor that foreign power into his body.

One minute, five minutes, ten minutes... The transformation persisted for nearly fifteen minutes. The intensity vastly overshadowed Luo Kuke's Source Heart Flesh Iron.

Finally, shreds of bodily control began to return. The first to recover was his command over his limbs. Cheng Ye experimentally twitched his fingers. The stiffness gradually faded, replaced by a tautness brimming with explosive power.

Propping himself up against the ground, he stood, only to suddenly realize everything around him seemed to have shrunk by half. He actually had to look down just to clearly see Luo Kuke in front of him.

The distant truck and the brick walls of the pier looked as if a "shrink button" had been pressed on them. Even the dark clouds in the sky felt a few degrees closer.

Blankly gazing into the distance, his field of vision felt as though it had been elevated into midair. He could vividly spot the sentry towers being erected at the edge of the camp, and could even glimpse the flickering silhouettes of people moving inside the resident unit apartments.

"In... Inspector Cheng?" Luo Kuke gulped with difficulty, instinctively taking a step back until his back slammed heavily against the bluestone wall of the pier. His eyes were overflowing with sheer shock.

"Inspector... Luo!"

A thunderous boom rolled from Cheng Ye's throat, making the very air tremble. Even the ground beneath his feet shuddered lightly in response.

He blanked out for a moment, suddenly raising his hand. At some point, his palm had expanded to nearly a meter long, like a massive palm-leaf fan. The lines on his palm were so rough they could crush gravel.

Looking at his arms, his muscles were knotted into massive lumps. Beneath his skin, wisps of faint golden runes could be seen flowing, crawling about like living creatures.

Everything around him had become minute. He turned to look at the Crab-men in the water.

Those giant crabs near the water, measuring two to three meters tall, now appeared considerably smaller. Their previously scalp-numbing bulk just looked like a swarm of insects scurrying around his feet. The sense of oppression from before was completely gone.

'No, they didn't shrink. It's me... I've grown larger!'

Boom!

The moment this thought arose, a berserk surge of power detonated from the depths of his heart, as if shattering an invisible shackle.

Cheng Ye looked down at his feet, discovering that his soles had already pulverized the cyan bricks of the pier. Fractures snaked outward from his footprints.

Looking at his torso, it had actually swelled several times over in size. The width of his shoulders was a full two meters, entirely inheriting the colossal physique of the Earth-Shrinking Giant Louse.

He took a step forward, the ripples in the water reflecting his current appearance.

His originally well-fitted clothes had long been torn to shreds. His exposed flesh was coated in a thin, pale gold membrane, enveloping his body completely like custom-made armor.

Unlike the icy pitch-black of the Obsidian Battle Armor, this "golden suit" glimmered with the distinct sheen of an insect's carapace. Touching it with a fingertip revealed an iron-hard texture, yet it possessed a subtle elasticity that didn't hinder his movements in the slightest.

The musculature beneath his skin had been completely reconstructed into terrifying, elongated bands. The quadriceps on his thighs were thicker than an adult's waist. With every muscle contraction, distinct contours flared, emanating devastating power.

But the most terrifying part was his face. A layer of transparent, vein-like patterns covered his entire visage, resembling the texture of beetle wings but radiating a faint golden light.

His original eyes had vanished, replaced by a pair of amber compound eyes. Countless tiny specks of light could be seen flashing within the pupils, and his field of vision was several times larger and clearer than before.

Meanwhile, at the center of his brow, a thumbnail-sized miniature of the Earth-Shrinking Giant Louse was deeply embedded into his skin.

Its six slender legs quivered slightly. The runes on its shell blinked in synchrony with the patterns on his body. Despite clearly being a fusion between man and bug, it exuded an eerie sense of harmony.

'Is this... the Earth-Shrinking Giant Louse Symbiotic State?'