Wasteland Border Inspector

Chapter 316: Purple Spirit Bamboo Shoot, A Living Treasure!

The indifferent voice pierced through the permeating dust, ringing with exceptional clarity within the enclosed belly of the mountain.In the instant he made close-contact eye contact with those calm eyes, Old Zhang was so frightened that his soul seemed to scatter. He stumbled back two steps and collapsed heavily onto the ground, his face written with absolute disbelief.

Right before his eyes, the golden-red figure who should have plummeted from the bridge and been skewered into a meat kebab by the spikes was currently stepping on thin air, leisurely strolling up from the deep abyss step by step.

He walked extremely slowly, each step seemingly mocking their clumsy tricks.

Invisible wind condensed into shape beneath his feet, faintly revealing the outline of a staircase amidst the swirling ash.

One step, then another!

Tap.

It was not until the golden-red figure was level with the platform that he gently raised his right leg. His armored boot stepped onto the stone surface, producing a soft rustling sound.

It was not as if Old Zhang had never had nightmares about falling off this platform. Countless times in his dreams, he had fantasized about sprouting wings and soaring into the sky the moment he fell.

But when this scene genuinely played out right in front of him, with that figure returning to the platform so brazenly, he only felt as though everything he was witnessing was a Hallucination. He simply could not believe his own eyes!

"The bridge fell. How am I supposed to get to the other side?" Cheng Ye pointed at the empty chasm between them, his tone as casual as if they were just chatting.

"???" Propping himself up against the ground, Old Zhang shrank back another two steps. With a trembling voice, he stammered, "You?! Are you... a... Special Ability User?!"

"Am I a Special Ability User?" Cheng Ye tilted his head back slightly and pondered. That label was certainly more fitting than Inspector or Transcendent

for the current situation.

However, the moment he prepared to speak...

Bang!

A gunshot suddenly exploded in the air!

The bullet tore through the air and struck precisely against Cheng Ye's Protective Helmet, producing a crisp metallic ringing sound. It then ricocheted off, plummeting down into the pile of spikes below.

Cheng Ye subconsciously raised a hand to touch his helmet. His fingertips glided across the smooth surface; the bullet had failed to leave even a single dent.

'They don't even have standard issue bullets, just relying on these shoddy reloads?'

He slowly turned around and looked at the man on the opposite platform. The other party's finger was still pulling the trigger, but the handgun had jammed. The slide ground with a grating sound, stubbornly refusing to chamber a round, completely unable to fire a second shot.

"This is what you use to deal with enemies?"

Cheng Ye drew the Bison Combat Pistol from his waist, his fingertips brushing against the cold body of the weapon. After a moment of thought, he slid it back into its holster.

He suddenly remembered his Original Intention. He was here to communicate, not to exterminate this Camp.

Even if the process involved some unexpected hiccups, as long as the end result was peace, it would not be considered a deviation from his Original Intention.

Seeing Cheng Ye holster his weapon, Old Gao seemed to suddenly jolt awake from a nightmare. He hastily tossed away his handgun, raising both hands high in the air as he shouted, "Don't kill us! I'll take you to the Camp! Whatever you want, we can talk about it!"

Their trap had failed, and the opposing party had broken the stalemate using an incomprehensible ability.

Their strongest weapon—the handgun—could not even breach his defenses.

Having exhausted all their methods, they either had to perish together or opt for peace talks.

And in the face of an absolute gap in Strength, no one would be foolish enough to choose the former.

"No, you can't let him go to the Camp!" Old Zhang roared hysterically, his eyes bloodshot.

But before his words could even hit the ground, Cheng Ye abruptly spun around and seized his collar, lifting the man clean off his feet like a little chick.

In the next instant, an indescribable wave of brutality surged from Cheng Ye's indifferent eyes, terrifying Old Zhang into instant silence as his mind went completely blank.

'What kind of Special Ability User is this ridiculously strong?'

At this moment, meeting that gaze, he felt as if he were being glared at by a terrifying Infected Body. He could not even muster a single thought of resistance, leaving behind nothing but a fear that seeped deep into his bones.

"Which way to your Camp?" Cheng Ye lightly squeezed with his left hand, and the struggling Old Zhang's eyes rolled back as he fainted on the spot.

"Don't worry. I was afraid he'd pop a blood vessel from anger, so I let him catch some sleep and rest for a bit."

Whether it came to words or efficiency in taking action, these two were clearly not on the same page.

The man across from him did not seem averse to his visit, acting somewhat passively from the very beginning. However, the one in his hand harbored a fierce will to resist, evidently despising the arrival of outsiders.

"Y-Yes, you're a good person, you—" Old Gao stammered incoherently.

He suddenly blurted out, "You act so openly and honorably, and your armor shines as brightly as the sun! We believe you!"

'That's more like it. I walked in here loud and proud, without trying to hide at all.'

'What kind of bad guy would barge in as recklessly as I did?'

"The entrance is right above you. There's a hidden tunnel in the wall. If you squeeze through there, you can follow the upper cliff face around to this side."

Following the direction of the man's finger, Cheng Ye looked up and indeed spotted a half-meter-wide cave overhead.

He measured it with his hands. To crawl through that hole, he would inevitably have to strip off his armor.

But how could Inspector Cheng possibly crawl through a hidden tunnel to visit the first human hermitage he encountered in the Wilderness?

"Step aside a bit. I'm coming over," Cheng Ye gestured with his hand.

As soon as the words left his mouth, he took a few steps back and abruptly broke into a sprint.

Boom!

Boom!

The thundering sound of his footsteps slamming against the ground was deafening, not a single bit quieter than the commotion of the suspension bridge collapsing.

Carrying the unconscious Old Zhang in his right hand, he charged to the edge of the cliff and viciously pushed off the ground. His entire body launched into the air, and the flame insignia between his brows flared brightly.

Following the secondary evolution courtesy of Tan Ming, Little Flame's Shaping Period was nearing its end. Relying on the wind-controlling capabilities granted by the Symbiotic State, he could take twelve consecutive steps in midair.

However, unlike before, this twelve-step limit was merely the maximum power output Little Flame could provide within a given timeframe.

It was no longer like the past, where exhausting a single Hover would forcefully expel him from the Symbiotic State.

As long as he had time to catch his breath in between, this ability could be used almost indefinitely. It just came down to how many aerial steps he could string together at once.

Thud.

Thud.

Cheng Ye stomped heavily in the air, completing eight steps in the blink of an eye, as fast as a streak of golden-red lightning.

By the time he took his ninth step, the opposite platform was right before his eyes.

He lunged forward forcefully, planting his tenth step firmly onto the surface of the platform. His movements were crisp and clean, without the slightest hesitation.

Phew.

Slowly exhaling a breath of stale air, Cheng Ye looked back at the path he had crossed, feeling exceedingly satisfied.

Just as Liu Bi had said, as long as no Transcendent intervened, he was currently a powerhouse standing at the very top of the Food Chain in this Wilderness.

For a natural chasm like this, he would have been forced to crawl through the hidden tunnel in the past.

But now, there was absolutely no need to look so pathetic. He could easily stride across, looking incredibly dashing.

However, this scene left Old Gao entirely unable to process reality. He stood dumbfounded with his mouth wide open, his eyes brimming with absolute shock and reverence.

It took him several full seconds to snap out of it. Scrambling up from the ground, he incoherently explained, "M-Milord, I really didn't mean to shoot! It—It was a misfire! Right, a misfire!"

"A misfire?" Cheng Ye glanced down at the jammed handgun on the ground. To his surprise, it was actually a standard issue weapon from Happiness City, and it had been maintained quite well.

It was just a pity that after the bullets were reloaded, their reliability inevitably plummeted.

He scoffed, his tone flat. "Let's go. Take me to have a look at your Camp. Who was the one spying on me from the wall just now?"

"I-It was him." Old Gao gulped and hastily pointed at the unconscious Old Zhang slung over Cheng Ye's shoulder.

"We were originally from Hai Province. Five years ago, we were following a merchant caravan along this route when we were hit by a wave of Infected Bodies. We got separated from the main force and were forced to take temporary shelter in these Forbidden Lands. We never expected to accidentally discover the secret of this place, so we simply carved out a hermitage and have stayed here ever since." As Gao Tianzhi explained, he stealthily observed Cheng Ye's expression.

"Five years ago?" Cheng Ye paused slightly, calculating in his mind. In the thirtieth year of the New Era, the central route hadn't been completely abandoned yet.

The credibility of these people claiming they followed a merchant caravan here was not very high.

However, he didn't mind. Signaling for the man to lead the way, he casually asked, "What's your name?"

"Answering Milord, my name is Gao Tianzhi."

"And him?" Cheng Ye gestured to Old Zhang on his shoulder.

"His name is Zhang Wen."

"Hmm?" Cheng Ye stopped walking. "Are you sure your surname isn't Zhang, and his isn't Ye?"

"W-What did you say?" Gao Tianzhi hadn't caught the second half of the sentence. He quickly stopped, bowing slightly as he respectfully asked for clarification.

"Oh, nothing. Let's go." Cheng Ye couldn't help but smile, deciding not to pursue the irrelevant joke.

As the two ventured deeper into the cave, the Earth-Shrinking Giant Louse inside the Spiritual Body Space had long since lost its patience, faintly projecting the Intent of drooling.

That desperate desire to find something tasty was so overwhelming that, had it not been bound by their symbiotic relationship, it would have likely broken out of his body and charged ahead already.

This suddenly gave Cheng Ye an idea: perhaps he could use this kind of food to bait Infection Sources into willingly taking the hook.

After navigating past roughly four diverging tunnels, the sound of water echoing in their ears grew increasingly clear.

To his surprise, an open stream of groundwater was hidden within the mountain's belly. The Water Flow cascaded down from a gap above, converging into a tiny mountain stream that carried a hint of the mystical ambiance of the Water Curtain Cave in Journey to the West.

Next to the waterfall hung a chain bridge similar to the previous one. Gao Tianzhi led the way while Cheng Ye followed with Old Zhang slung over his shoulder. Their trek looked for all the world like they were exploring an ancient tomb.

After crossing the chain bridge, they wove their way through another stretch of tunnels.

This hermitage was hidden incredibly deep. Had it not been for the guiding Intent of the Earth-Shrinking Giant Louse, even if he broke in, he might not have been able to find this place.

After pressing forward for another three hundred meters, Gao Tianzhi finally came to a halt. He pointed to a narrow stone crevice ahead. "Milord, if you squeeze in sideways through here, you'll reach our settlement."

"You go first," Cheng Ye signaled with his eyes, simultaneously hitching Zhang Wen higher up on his shoulder to carry him more securely.

As the two squeezed sideways into the stone crevice, a wondrous sensation suddenly washed over Cheng Ye, as if he were stepping right into the legendary

Peach Blossom Spring.

Just as the proverb described: at first it was extremely narrow, only allowing one person to pass; but after taking a few dozen more steps, it suddenly opened up!

The space within the crevice gradually expanded. Initially, they had to squeeze through sideways, but after several dozen steps, they could straighten their backs and walk normally.

Strands of dim, yellow light filtered in from ahead, leaving Cheng Ye increasingly astonished. This hidden refuge actually had a power supply?

It was not until he turned the final corner that the hermitage concealed deep within New Pond Mountain was completely revealed before his eyes.

He never expected that this place wasn't inside the mountain at all, but rather at its peak!

The very top of the mountain dipped inward to form a basin, forcefully carving out a habitable living space right out of the rocky peak.

The edges of the basin were lined with a waist-high wall built from neatly stacked stones, serving to block out the howling mountain winds and fend off sudden attacks from mutant creatures.

Inside the low wall, dozens of houses were scattered in a disorganized yet deliberate layout.

These weren't crude shacks, but flat-roofed houses built from a mixture of rammed earth and crushed gravel. Their roofs were layered with felt and thatch, and many of the walls were plastered with smooth yellow mud, exuding a grounded sense of domestic life.

A few houses huddled against the inner mountain wall had even been hollowed straight out of the rock. Faded cloth curtains hung in their doorways, fluttering gently whenever the wind blew.

Neatly stacked piles of firewood sat outside the door of every house, while clay pots and bamboo baskets rested in the corners of the walls.

Seeing Cheng Ye striding in, a throng of shadowy figures began to gather around. There were nearly a hundred of them, mostly women. Everyone gripped defensive short swords or farming tools, glaring at him with intense vigilance.

Yet Cheng Ye's attention was completely diverted from these structures, instead remaining firmly fixated on the center of the basin.

Who would have imagined that within this rocky mountain, they had managed to cultivate a plot of farmland spanning over a hundred meters across, covering over fifteen acres!

Shallow irrigation trenches were dug into the ridges of the fields. Thanks to the convenience of the groundwater, clear Water Flow trickled slowly along the trenches, nourishing the crops in the soil.

At first glance, the rice planted in the fields was nearing harvest season. The heavy, plump ears of grain drooped low, stirring up waves of golden rice with the wind as a sweet, fresh scent permeated the air.

'What is going on here? Such terrifying yields?'

Even as astonishment sprouted in his heart, the cluster of pale purple, bamboo shoot-like plants in the center of the field instantly captured his full attention.

'Is this the wild Treasure that's luring the Earth-Shrinking Giant Louse?'

'No, the Essence radiating from these purple shoots is actually even thicker than the three Treasures given to me by the Research Institute!'

Cheng Ye's heart trembled. He couldn't sense it while he was outside the mountain, but the moment he set foot in this basin, this Essence became astonishingly clear. Although it could not compare to the enhanced Living Water Essence, it vastly exceeded the standard Treasures stored at the Research Institute.

'Good stuff!'

'Absolutely rare, top-tier good stuff!'

'And the quantity is even more staggering. At a rough glance, it can be split into at least seven or eight portions.'

"Stumbling into an opportunity like this right after walking out the door... Did I just strike it rich?!"

Unable to hide the pleasant surprise swelling in his chest, Cheng Ye nevertheless quickly calmed down.

Quantity was not the only metric for evaluating a Treasure; its tier and effects were the true keys.

Generally speaking, massive natural Treasures like this rarely possessed overly outstanding abilities. Their main advantage lay simply in their abundance.

"What is that?" Raising his hand, he pointed at the purple shoots in the center of the field, deliberately keeping his tone flat.

"Those are Spirit Bamboo Shoots!"

Gao Tianzhi paused. His previous panic having faded, his tone became much more fluent. "Back in the day, the New Pond Gathering Place was able to establish this secret sanctuary because they discovered it could insulate against the subterranean Petrification Curse, allowing crops to be grown. It was just too small, capable of supporting a hundred people at most. When the Infection Tide hit, everyone who knew about this place either died in the outbreak or fell victim to the Dream Sea Siren that came after."

"When we stumbled upon this place by chance, this stalk of Spirit Bamboo Shoot was already growing in the field. We have no idea how it got here. Perhaps some passing bird dropped a seed, and it just so happened to land on this arable soil, taking root and sprouting into what you see now."

"How did you know about this place?" Cheng Ye grasped the core issue.

"The lord of the New Pond Gathering Place left many important records behind in his secret basement. We found his hidden room, which in turn led us to the location of this place." Gao Tianzhi gulped, his eyes darting away evasively.

But right at that moment, Zhang Wen, who was slung over Cheng Ye's shoulder, woke up without anyone noticing.

Discovering that he was already in the very core of their hermitage, his entire body felt weak and sore. Yet, he still gritted his teeth and squeezed out a single sentence:

"

No... tell him the truth."

"The truth?" Cheng Ye blanked for a second before gently placing Zhang Wen flat on the ground, his expression calm as he waited for him to continue.

"We've already reached this point; there's no meaning in hiding it anymore. Old Gao, tell him the truth." Leaning against the wall, Zhang Wen's face was ashen, radiating a despondent aura of having completely given up the struggle.

"..." Looking at Zhang Wen's deathly pale, defeated state.

Gao Tianzhi's lips twitched, but he ultimately pushed the words out with great difficulty. "Fine, I lied just now."

"But we really did come from Hai Province. Zhang Wen was the lord of our former Gathering Place, and I was the vice-lord. The climate in Hai Province has grown increasingly hostile over the past few years, leaving the land impossible to cultivate, so we were forced to migrate. Before embarking on this journey, we encountered a survivor who had fled from the New Pond Gathering Place many years ago. We spent a significant amount of supplies to exchange for intel on this hidden sanctuary."

He paused before adding, "In truth, we gathered intelligence on many such Forbidden Lands. Our original intention was to find an undisturbed place to rebuild our Gathering Place and survive in seclusion. We never expected our luck to be this good—the very first location met all our needs, so we just settled down in New Pond Mountain. As for the people here, some are Residents who migrated with us back then, while the rest are passing survivors we've encountered over the years."

So they were actually the remnant forces of a Gathering Place who had premeditated this, specifically seeking out Forbidden Lands to migrate to.

Comprehension dawned in Cheng Ye's heart. This situation made a lot more sense. When the New Pond Gathering Place met its demise, a good number of people had indeed managed to flee. It wasn't strange that someone out there knew the secret of this mountain basin.

Moreover, as far as Shi Province was concerned, any place capable of growing crops was nothing short of a heaven-sent holy land.

But if one looked beyond the province, arable land was everywhere. The value of this secret sanctuary would plummet, making it completely reasonable to trade intel on it for supplies.

More importantly, this stalk of Spirit Bamboo Shoot must not have existed in the cave back then.

Otherwise, when the New Pond Gathering Place collapsed, people would have already been fighting tooth and nail over supplies. There was no way someone wouldn't have come here to snatch away such a Treasure.

"What are its effects?" Cheng Ye's gaze returned to the center of the field.

"Satiating hunger and curing illnesses," Gao Tianzhi replied succinctly. "Eating a tiny slice can keep you from needing food for several days;

when we first arrived here, it was this plant that carried us through the hardest of times. Additionally, it can alleviate minor ailments like headaches or fevers—just eating a slice speeds up the recovery dramatically."

'Just as I thought.'

Cheng Ye muttered internally. Massive natural Treasures like this rarely possessed miraculous, reality-defying effects. Their true advantage leaned far more toward sheer practicality.

Take the Living Water Essence, for instance: just a single drop could permanently purify water sources and forge an excellent aquatic environment. If consumed by humans, it could even patch up their biological foundation and forcefully boost their life force. The two simply could not be compared.

But upon second thought, his eyes lit up.

"As my life level climbs higher and higher, my energy consumption has also grown increasingly massive. If I could farm these Spirit Bamboo Shoots in bulk, they would make the perfect rations..."

It was just that when this audacious idea popped up, even Cheng Ye himself was taken aback.

Treating a Treasure like everyday rations was frankly a bit too extravagant.

There was absolutely no way the true use of this thing was that simple. It was better to first see if he could extract its Trait before making any decisions.

He didn't bother with any Taboos in front of the two men, striding directly toward the stalk of Spirit Bamboo Shoot.

Zhang Wen's complexion grew increasingly bleak, evidently having already envisioned the consequences of being plundered.

On the other hand, Gao Tianzhi continued to trail closely behind him, instinctively feeling that Cheng Ye's actions were entirely different from those of cruel marauders.

It didn't look like greed; rather, it exuded an aura of pure curiosity and exploration.

It was only upon stepping closer that he could see it clearly. This stalk of Spirit Bamboo Shoot was about half a person's height, its entire body radiating a lustrous, pale purple hue. Its surface seemed coated in a layer of Halo as thin as a cicada's wings, making it look exceptionally striking against the backdrop of the churning golden waves of the rice paddy.

The curves of the shoot were smooth and uniform. It lacked the rough texture of an ordinary bamboo shoot; instead, it felt as delicate and smooth as if it had been meticulously polished.

Its tip curled slightly upward, carrying a deeper shade of purple. A few crystal-clear dewdrops condensed at the very top. As the dew slid down the shoot, it actually left behind a fleeting trail of light on the surface that vanished without a trace in the blink of an eye.

Faint, intricate white patterns could be seen on both sides of the shoot, resembling naturally occurring veins that snaked along the contours of its body. If one stared closely, they could even perceive a faint luminescence slowly circulating through the veins, radiating an indescribable sentience.

Thinking about it, this was the first time Cheng Ye had seen a "living" Treasure.

Unlike the stalk of Burning Chive in the Research Institute, a genuine wild Treasure actually gave off an exceptionally wondrous feeling.

He carefully searched his memories, suddenly pinpointing the source of this sensation.

It was the fiery lotus sitting in the magma that he had seen through the goshawk's perspective.

Even though the Vitality of this Spirit Bamboo Shoot did not amount to even a fraction of the fiery lotus's, the Essence and internal veins of the two were remarkably similar.

'Could this mean that this Spirit Bamboo Shoot has the potential to grow into a Transcendent plant in the future?'

Just as Cheng Ye was mulling over this, he suddenly leaned down, noticing a spot on the shoot that clearly bore the marks of being artificially sliced.

"Bring me a blade. I'll slice off a piece to try."

Gao Tianzhi hastily nodded in agreement, quickly fetching a metal tray and a Small Knife from a nearby hut.

After Cheng Ye accepted the tools, Gao Tianzhi instinctively wanted to remind him how to slice it. But before the words could leave his mouth, he saw Cheng Ye already expertly carving a gentle line along the shoot's natural veins.

A chunk of bamboo shoot bearing a soft purple center fell cleanly onto the tray.

At the same time, the System Panel automatically booted up.

[The Collector has detected Diffused Biological Information. Automatically absorbing...]

[Absorption complete. New entry added to the Biological Compendium: Purple Spirit Bamboo Shoot]