Wasteland Border Inspector

Chapter 348: Magical Ore, Smelting the Infection Source!

Cheng Ye was completely astounded.If he had possessed a weapon forged from Extreme Cold Ore back when he was dealing with the Stone Sunflower People, wouldn't slicing through them have been as easy as chopping vegetables?

Even against the subterranean Fiery Sunflower, having equipment made from Extreme Cold Ore would have boosted his chances of winning by a massive margin.

The slate had already disappeared, but the piece of Extreme Cold Ore remained completely unchanged, as if the rune energy it just absorbed was nothing more than insignificant dust to it.

Cheng Ye raised his hand and pinched the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes to quietly sort through all the changes that had just occurred.

A few minutes later, he opened his eyes again.

Instead of rushing to continue his testing, he picked up the pickaxe resting to the side and swung it fiercely at the basketball-sized chunk of Extreme Cold Ore.

Amidst flying stone fragments, a piece of ore roughly the size of a baby's fist was chipped off.

He shoved the remaining large chunk of ore back into the empty Aluminum Foil Box, then used tongs to pick up a Green Jewel Bug to conduct the test once more.

The result was the same as before. Even with the ore's reduced size, the suction it emitted was still more than the Green Jewel Bug could withstand. The moment the bug drew near, its body violently twisted, and its surface flushed a deep crimson.

Cheng Ye simply took up the pickaxe to continue dividing it. It was not until the ore was struck down to the size of a fingertip, similar to the red stone, that the Green Jewel Bug's reaction finally calmed down.

He carefully brought the two close together, watching as faint, thread-like green phantoms were continuously extracted from the Green Jewel Bug's body, slowly submerging into the Extreme Cold Ore.

Just as Cheng Ye had anticipated, for the basketball-sized Extreme Cold Ore, this tiny bit of an incomplete rune was not worth mentioning at all, and the ore had shown no changes.

However, after reducing its volume, even the mere permeation of the Green Jewel Bug's phantom rune brought about a visible transformation.

The small, pure white ore was gradually being tinted with a pale shade of green.

But by the time the Green Jewel Bug was completely shriveled and burst into ash, that touch of green only covered two-thirds of the ore.

Cheng Ye simply picked up the final Green Jewel Bug with the tongs, allowing the small ore to continue absorbing.

Over ten seconds later, the green hue on the ore's surface was completely filled in, turning the entire piece into a pale green stone.

Simultaneously, the still-struggling Green Jewel Bug was instantly drained of its final trace of Vitality, and the ore's suction seemed to grow even more intense along with the change in its outer color.

"So, what in the world is this thing?"

Cheng Ye picked up the pale green ore, his brows tightly furrowed, feeling somewhat bewildered for a moment.

The test results were already clear. The Extreme Cold Ore could indeed absorb the core substances within the bodies of Infection Sources.

Whether it was a rune or something else entirely, it was absolutely the foundation that sustained the Infection Source's survival.

But what was the function of this new ore formed after absorption? Could it merely be for simple absorption and storage?

Suddenly, a bold thought forcefully intruded into Cheng Ye's mind.

Since the Extreme Cold Ore could absorb the runes within Infection Sources, could it also contain genuine runes?

For example... the Water-Gathering Rune?

Acting on the idea immediately, he set down the pale green ore and chipped off another pure white piece, also the size of a fingertip, from the large chunk.

How to carve a rune onto this tiny object became a difficult problem. Relying purely on his past Experience, Cheng Ye awkwardly used his fingernail to try and sketch the lines of the Water-Gathering Rune on the ore's surface.

But the instant his nail traced the very first stroke, boom!

An unimaginably terrifying suction forcefully erupted from deep within the ore, directly and firmly sticking his finger to its surface.

At the same time, an indescribable sensation of extraction surged madly from the ore. It was several times stronger than the extraction he had felt when drawing the Water-Gathering Rune in the White Water River!

"Holy... crap!"

In just a few short seconds, more than half of his life force was completely drained.

Cheng Ye felt his legs give out, collapsing to the ground with a heavy thud. A massive gush of nosebleed sprayed out uncontrollably, splattering onto his clothes and blooming into a glaring patch of crimson.

Yet that extracting force did not cease, continuing to relentlessly spread.

At this moment, Cheng Ye finally understood what the Green Jewel Bug had experienced earlier. That utter despair of being forcibly drained without any power to resist felt like it would not stop until he was sucked completely dry into a human husk.

And this piece of ore was only the size of a fingertip!

He could only grit his teeth, forcing himself to open his personal System Panel and swiftly equipping the Cedar Blessing.

A wave of crisp, subtle fragrance instantly diffused through the air. His life force, which had plummeted to the warning line, slowly began to recover, and the weakness pervading his body dissipated along with it.

But the ore's suction continued, like a bottomless pit that could never be filled.

'If I had drawn the rune on that basketball-sized Extreme Cold Ore, what would have been the outcome?'

In the blink of an eye, nearly half of his life force was drained once again.

Fortunately, the Collector's prompt had not failed him. The life force consumed by the Water-Gathering Rune in a single use would never exceed 99%.

Even when writing on the surface of this bizarre ore, this limit remained unbroken.

It was just that there was absolutely no water source inside the ore. No matter how he looked at it, the Water-Gathering Rune did not seem like it could successfully form.

Panting heavily, Cheng Ye propped himself up off the ground. As his finger separated from the ore, his gaze was instantly and firmly captivated by the stone in his palm.

"My god..." he gasped softly.

The Extreme Cold Ore, originally pure white throughout, had unexpectedly turned a clear, translucent blue after the rune was inscribed.

This hue of blue was entirely different from the pale green it displayed after absorbing the Green Jewel Bugs earlier!

It was a blue pure to the absolute extreme, incredibly reminiscent of the waters of Cusped Moon Lake. It was so pristine without a single trace of impurity, resembling a natural sapphire.

And right in the moment he stared at it intently, the Collector's System Panel suddenly popped up.

[Detected that the Collector has utilized a special Rune: Water-Gathering Rune. Analyzing information...]

[Analysis successful. Detected that the Collector already possesses this Rune. The Collector is currently analyzing...]

[Analysis successful!]

[Water-Gathering Rune (Completeness: 1/7)]

[Current Status]: Stable. [Duration]: 6 days, 23 hours, 59 minutes. [Currently Stored Water Volume]: 0 tons. [Available Operations]:

Rainfall (Unlocked...)

Smelt into Resource (Function Locked...)

"Wow, this Extreme Cold Ore can actually carry runes?"

Cheng Ye's mouth hung slightly open, his face filled with disbelief.

Back then, the Water-Gathering Rune condensed using ordinary river water could only last for a maximum of ten minutes before crumbling and dissipating.

But right now, using this fingertip-sized Extreme Cold Ore as the rune carrier, the duration had astonishingly skyrocketed to an entire week.

Though it seemed like a small change, the significance between the two was completely different.

The former's utility was far too limited; at best, it was a temporary tool for drawing water at close range. Its only highlight was the ability to release the extracted water through the rune to achieve a small-scale artificial rain effect.

The latter, however, could store the rune's power for an extended period, allowing it to be carried anywhere and used at will.

"I wonder exactly how much water this thing can store?"

Cheng Ye shifted his gaze, letting it fall upon the rippling green waves of Cusped Moon Lake below.

But right at that moment, the aftereffects of having massive amounts of life force extracted violently surged up. His head swam with dizziness, and his limbs grew sore and powerless.

He had no choice but to stumble into the tent first, where he began devouring greedily all the prepared fruits and vegetables he had inside.

It wasn't until his stomach was packed full and the Hunger Sensation had entirely vanished that he paused. Yet, that empty feeling of his life force being hollowed out still weighed heavily upon him, refusing to dissipate.

"This is far too lethal. If it weren't for the blessing, I'd die every single time I conducted research..."

Cheng Ye slumped onto the mat inside the tent, chugging large mouthfuls of water, while his mind couldn't help but begin to fantasize.

'If I can use the Sun Flame to increase my total life force and reach a level of 2,000%, I wonder if that would be enough to fill that basketball-sized Extreme Cold Ore?'

'If I can really transform that large piece of ore into a vessel for the Water-Gathering Rune, would it be able to store even more water and last for an even longer duration?'

Once his Stamina had recovered slightly, Cheng Ye got up, walked out of the tent, and reached out to touch that blue Extreme Cold Ore again.

The instant his fingertips brushed the ore's surface, the previously scorching, stinging sensation was completely gone.

He brought out a Sunlight Slate and moved it close, but there was no longer any suction or extraction occurring between the two.

'It seems that once it reaches a certain level, the properties of the Extreme Cold Ore will change, making it incapable of containing any other runes,' Cheng Ye realized with clarity in his heart.

He immediately grasped the blue ore and sprinted briskly toward Cusped Moon Lake below. There happened to be a natural water source here, perfect for testing the water storage effects of the Water-Gathering Rune.

Arriving at the lakeside, Cheng Ye put his rubber gloves back on, pinching the ore as he carefully approached the water's surface.

Almost the very second the ore made contact with the lake, a slight vibration transmitted against his palm. The water storage Program had already initiated.

The entire process was far more tranquil than he had imagined. The lake's surface didn't even ripple with a single stray wave; the water was merely being slowly absorbed by the ore at a speed indistinguishable to the naked eye.

It took a full ten minutes before the vibrating sensation in his palm completely vanished.

Cheng Ye lifted the ore and opened the Collector's System Panel once more. As expected, the data on it had changed:

[Water-Gathering Rune (Completeness: 1/7)]

[Current Status]: Stable. [Duration]: 6 days, 23 hours, 21 minutes. [Currently Stored Water Volume]: 18.6 tons. "The water storage capacity of this little thing is actually higher than the last time I used it?"

From 13.3 tons to 18.6 tons, the increase had reached a staggering 40%.

Cheng Ye was startled at first, but then realization dawned on him. Even though both instances extracted 99% of his life force, the total amount of life force he possessed when condensing the rune last time was completely incomparable to what he had now.

Having undergone two bodily evolutions, his maximum life force had long since increased. Naturally, this surplus of life force pushed up the maximum limit of water storage.

"If I gather multiple Water-Gathering Stones at once and trigger the rainfall simultaneously, would the effects stack?"

Gazing at the vast expanse of green ripples on Cusped Moon Lake, Cheng Ye furrowed his brows slightly, plunging into deep thought.

But just as this idea surfaced, the world-destroying explosion in Antarctica from his dream vividly flashed across his mind once again.

'Could it be... that pure Extreme Cold Ore on its own doesn't possess such apocalyptic power?'

'Does it only derive such special utility after absorbing runes?'

'Perhaps that group of madmen in Antarctica back then had carved runes representing "explosion" into the Extreme Cold Ore, and amassed tens of thousands of these explosive stones over a long period, intent on pulling off an earth-shattering event.'

'But as a result of some accident, they carelessly detonated these rune ores, ultimately ending up with all their efforts failing on the verge of success?'

Following this train of thought, that critical question from earlier still had no answer.

If the mastermind behind the scenes truly had the ability to manufacture explosive ores, they could have easily crafted the ores in secret and then brought them to the two great sanctuary cities to detonate them. There was absolutely no need to go through the tremendous trouble of provoking a conflict just to make the sanctuary cities mine the ore themselves.

"Could it be that after going through the Immortal Object incident, I've become a bit too paranoid?"

Cheng Ye muttered to himself, "Maybe this Extreme Cold Ore really is just an accidental discovery, and the conspiratorial scheme I imagined doesn't exist at all?"

Unable to figure it out, Cheng Ye decided to stop agonizing over it. Clutching the Water-Gathering Stone—as he had tentatively decided to call it—now brimming with water, he turned and headed back up the hill to his research table.

The Water-Gathering Stone was already fully formed. On the other side, the pale green ore that had absorbed two Green Jewel Bugs was clearly far from saturation. It would need to absorb the runes of at least eight to ten more Green Jewel Bugs before it could completely transform.

With this thought in mind, Cheng Ye picked up the radio again and dialed the communication channel for Twin Moon Lake.

"Hello, Wang Sheng. I still need more Green Jewel Bugs. How many do you guys have left over there?"

"Uh... Inspector Cheng, please wait a moment. I'll have someone verify." Wang Sheng paused on the other end of the line before quickly providing an answer. "We still have seventeen left."

"Bring all of them to me," Cheng Ye instructed concisely.

"Understood."

Faced with Cheng Ye's demand, Wang Sheng showed absolutely no intention of refusing.

Evidently, he had already received authorization from Zheng Dayou to fully cooperate with any and all research needs.

About half an hour later, the apprentice Dashan arrived in a hurry on a Bicycle, accompanied by two others.

Firmly tied to the backseats of their bikes with straw ropes were heavy Containment Boxes, filled entirely with Green Jewel Bugs.

"Sorry for the trouble,"

Cheng Ye waved to the three of them, watching as they rode their bicycles back down the hill. Only then did he turn back to the research table, unable to wait any longer to open the Containment Boxes.

He picked up a Green Jewel Bug with the tongs and, without a moment's hesitation, pressed it against the pale green ore.

Strands of green phantoms were once again extracted by the ore. The bug's body shriveled at a visible rate, while the pale green on the ore's surface gradually seeped inward, its color becoming increasingly rich and vibrant.

One after another, the Green Jewel Bugs were continuously delivered to the ore.

It wasn't until the phantom of the thirteenth Green Jewel Bug completely submerged into the ore that the stone suddenly gave a gentle tremble. A lustrous sheen rippled across its surface as all the green hues soaked entirely into its interior, banishing the blank white typical of the Extreme Cold Ore.

Cheng Ye attempted to pick up the remaining four Green Jewel Bugs and brought them closer. But the moment they neared the ore, they were instantly drained dry by an invisible suction, turning into flying ash and dissipating.

Clearly, this piece of ore had also entered the same stable phase as the Water-Gathering Stone.

If he wanted to push it into the next phase and continue its evolution, the requirements would likely become terrifyingly steep; it would probably take at least several hundred Green Jewel Bugs to satisfy it.

Cheng Ye reached out, gently touching the surface of the ore.

As expected, the searing, stinging sensation from before had completely vanished, replaced by a smooth, slightly cool touch.

At the same time, the Collector's System Panel popped up once again:

[Detected that the Collector possesses an unknown Rune. Analyzing information...]

[Analysis failed. Detected that the Collector has not yet recorded this Rune. Please attempt to increase Rank to record it.]

[Analyzing Rune data...]

[Analysis failed... Displaying simplified data for the Collector's reference only.]

[???]

[Current Status]: Unactivated. [Duration]: 29 days, 23 hours, 59 minutes. [Available Operations]:

Activate (The Collector is requested to visualize a known food item and throw this Rune to complete activation; the activation effect is influenced by the Collector's visualization. The more complete the visualization, the stronger the activation effect.)

Smelt into Resource (Smelting prerequisite 1 unlocked: Resource Search; Prerequisites 2 and 3 not unlocked: Please attempt to increase Rank and select a specific route to unlock.)