Wasteland Border Inspector

Chapter 288: The Mystery of the Giant Creatures, The Origin of the Starship!

Liu Bi and Niu Fu left in a hurry.They even commandeered his off-road vehicle on their way out, leaving behind only a brief message that they would return tomorrow. From now on, unless there was urgent business elsewhere, they would stay here to help watch over Yu Yong.

Cheng Ye originally wanted to offer a few more words of explanation, but seeing Liu Bi's resolute expression, he swallowed the words that reached the tip of his tongue.

It suddenly occurred to him that the contract management of satellite cities already required two Inspectors to supervise each other. Perhaps in the future, Inspectors responsible for the containment and research of Infected Bodies would also have to implement a similar system of working in pairs for mutual checks and balances.

However, Cheng Ye could tell that Liu Bi clearly harbored other thoughts in his mind.

Yet, when he thought about the transcendent powers that occasionally erupted from Liu Yi's body, he could not help but shake his head.

It probably would not be long before Brother B realized that, more often than not, even if one just wanted to live a peaceful and stable life, unexpected troubles would always come knocking, forcing them to get swept up in the storm.

To avoid these storms, the only way was to move forward. Only by constantly planning ahead could one remain invincible.

"Engineer Qian, Li Gong, I will have to trouble you both!"

After seeing Liu Bi off, Cheng Ye turned around and smiled, greeting the two structural engineers who had rushed over from Wenlu County.

Of course, it was not just the engineers who arrived. Lin Bao had also dispatched a hundred-man engineering team along with them.

Coupled with the transport vehicles provided by Davidson, these foundational forces originally meant for the development of Wenlu County ended up benefiting him completely.

"Rest assured, Inspector Cheng. This is not our first day doing this kind of work."

Li Gong patted his chest in guarantee, his tone brimming with enthusiasm. "After being idle for so many days, everyone's hands have been itching for a long time. You can leave the reactivation and maintenance of the Hydroelectric Station to us!"

Engineer Qian quickly echoed, "Set your mind at ease. Even if we have to stay up all night, we will push the work forward and make sure Inspector Cheng is satisfied."

Seeing their firm attitudes, Cheng Ye's heart stirred. He immediately understood that Lin Bao must have given them specific instructions.

However, this perfectly suited his intentions. He promptly called over Wu Rui's squad and assigned them to take charge of the perimeter security and patrols.

Once the arrangements were settled, the unloaded equipment and components were systematically transported toward the Hydroelectric Station.

Cheng Ye coordinated from the sidelines for a while. Seeing that all the tasks were on track, he hurriedly rushed to a factory building situated at the innermost part of the industrial zone.

The factory building was mostly empty, with only a small room of about twenty square meters partitioned off in the corner using special materials.

And this was the room where Yu Yong rested every day, doubling as the Containment Room specially prepared for him.

Cheng Ye walked up to the door and knocked. Only after hearing a "Please come in" from inside did he push the door open and enter.

The layout inside was extremely simple: a desk, a wooden chair, and a small bed tucked in the corner.

The ceiling, the floor, and all four walls of the room were entirely covered in optical magnetic tiles.

These tiles were connected to a power battery behind the room. They could emit five minutes of Shadowless Light and Shadow-Suppressing Light, which was enough to suppress the fusion rate of the Ghost Shadow Spider inside Yu Yong's body.

At this moment, Yu Yong was sitting cross-legged against the headboard, deeply engrossed in an architecture book in his hands.

Cheng Ye closed the door behind him, pulled the wooden chair over to sit by the bed, and first took out his Defense Terminal to scan Yu Yong's fusion rate.

The screen displayed that the value had dropped back down to fifty-seven percent, returning to a safe level. Only then did his furrowed brows slightly relax.

"Cheng Ye, I apologize for my recklessness today," Yu Yong said, still staring at the pages of his book, though his voice carried an almost imperceptible hint of unease.

"There is no need to apologize. You didn't do anything wrong."

Cheng Ye gently shook his head. "On the contrary, I was thinking that humanity and the Infected Bodies should perhaps explore a deeper mode of coexistence, allowing both sides to try and understand each other."

"That is impossible." Yu Yong's gaze finally shifted away from the book, his expression dimming. "In a situation like mine, life already has a clear endpoint. I don't even know when I might completely lose control, reverting back into C35, and personally destroy the Dabo Town you have worked so hard to build."

"Oh? What did you feel today?"

"Uncontrollable power." Yu Yong finally raised his head, a thoughtful look in his eyes. "If we can never completely restrict an Infected Body's use of power, we will never figure out the boundaries of that power losing control. Take my body, for example. Even though a sealing lock was placed on it, I still hold a part of the key. I can unlock it and draw upon a portion of that power at any time."

These words were not difficult to understand.

Cheng Ye immediately understood what Yu Yong was talking about. It was just like how Tan Ming had restricted the Earth-Shrinking Giant Louse from passively draining his life force, but failed to completely eradicate the creature or sever their symbiotic connection.

The Elders had sealed the Ghost Shadow Spider within Yu Yong, yet Yu Yong could still harness a fraction of its power.

If humanity could truly find a way to completely control the power of Infected Bodies, it would be almost equivalent to mastering the ability to eliminate the threat of the Infected from the source.

For instance, developing a medicinal serum that, upon contact, would temporarily strip away the powers of both ordinary humans and the Infected.

If this could actually be realized, the countless conflicts across the Wasteland caused by the Infected might quickly come to an end.

"So, what are your thoughts?"

"The Inspector I fought this afternoon... he has a very peculiar power that can weaken my regenerative abilities. Do you know what kind of power that is?" Yu Yong abruptly shifted the topic, throwing out his core question.

"You mean?"

"Literally a weakening effect," Yu Yong provided a straightforward example. "If my regular energy level is at a five, after being struck by his power, it gets temporarily suppressed to a three. I feel that this kind of power might provide us with some entirely new approaches for researching methods to suppress Infected Bodies."

Influenced by the Infection Source, Yu Yong's tone sounded flat, devoid of emotional fluctuation, but Cheng Ye could still hear the turbulence hidden within his heart.

Over the past half-month, the relationship between the two had long transitioned from initial unfamiliarity to friendly familiarity, gradually developing quite a few common topics.

Although at first, Cheng Ye took the initiative to chat with Yu Yong mostly to cater to his interests and improve their Cooperation Level.

But as their conversations deepened, their topics were no longer confined to technical research, slowly extending to the core issue of whether it was possible for an Infected Body to completely eradicate an Infection Source.

It was precisely this topic that gradually made Yu Yong lower his defenses.

After all, even though Cheng Ye was infected by a Benign Infection Source, he, just like Yu Yong, was deeply bound to his Infection Source.

The two of them discussed this matter without any utilitarian motives. It wasn't for merit, nor was it for other benefits. It was purely to survive, and perhaps even to try and change this world ravaged by Infection Sources.

This point provided a foundation of trust right from the start.

"He is my father's brother, and also the guide who led me through the doors to becoming an Inspector."

Cheng Ye nodded in response. "His name is Liu Bi. He is a Fourth-Stage Inspector of our Happiness City, an expert at the level of Heaven and Man in One. He is neither a Transcendent nor an Infected Body."

"Neither a Transcendent nor an Infected Body, yet he can possess this kind of power?" Yu Yong immediately revealed a look of surprise.

"Have you heard of the Heaven-Man Martial Domain?"

"Are you referring to the spiritual domain that might coalesce after cultivating the martial dao to its absolute pinnacle?"

Yu Yong furrowed his brows, his tone carrying a degree of uncertainty. "The Kindling Shelter City conducted extensive experiments regarding this type of domain in the past. Martial artists who reach this realm can indeed indirectly influence physical reality through their own beliefs. But the most critical problem is that they themselves cannot explain how this ability is formed, making systematic research utterly impossible."

He paused before adding, "Furthermore, the effects of such a martial domain vary from person to person. Most are so weak that they only take effect through physical contact. But Liu Bi's martial domain can actually influence a certain area, and even directly weaken my abilities. A situation like this has never been recorded, not even in the databases of the Kindling Shelter City. It's completely unheard of."

"Perhaps this could bring a breakthrough to our research?"

"No, this path is impossible to replicate." Yu Yong sniffed. "When a martial artist reaches the realm of Heaven and Man in One, they can use their own belief to bind transcendent power, preventing them from losing control when stepping into transcendence. But among the Infected Bodies, how many possess such unwavering belief?"

"To have an Infected Body condense their belief step-by-step like an ordinary human—the difficulty is no less than changing the direction of research entirely. For example, trying to use mental pollution to brainwash an Infected Body, forcibly planting a belief into them to give them the ability to resist the Infection Source. In essence, both are as difficult as ascending to the heavens."

"High difficulty doesn't mean it's impossible. Don't you want to try?" Cheng Ye raised an eyebrow.

Given Yu Yong's personality, since he brought it up, it meant this path already showed potential to be viable.

As long as it was a path and not a dead end, he would be willing to try rather than hesitate.

"I do want to try, but I don't know if he would be willing to cooperate with me," Yu Yong muttered, rubbing his chin with a troubled expression.

"Cooperate how?"

"I hope he can beat me up every day?" Yu Yong's voice suddenly lowered a few pitches.

"Huh?" Cheng Ye froze for a moment, but quickly realized. "You want to rely on your own body to perceive the root of that martial domain's power?"

"Exactly." Yu Yong nodded. "We don't have any equipment capable of capturing the unique power of the Heaven-Man Martial Domain, yet research cannot proceed without experimental data. Since that's the case, why can't I become the equipment? I can clearly feel the suppression this power exerts on me. As long as we constantly monitor the changes in the various data within my body, we might just be able to catch a breakthrough for our research."

"Are you certain the Ghost Shadow Spider inside you won't be beaten into a frenzy?"

Cheng Ye was taken aback. "You need to think this through. Every time a riot is suppressed, it consumes the little freedom you have left. If you just live quietly, you might still be able to spend the next half year in peace..."

"No, I told you, I have absolutely no control over whether I will go insane when I reach the end!"

Yu Yong immediately shook his head, his tone suddenly growing agitated. "The freedom I want isn't waiting for the Infection Source to devour me, nor is it waiting for the people of Kindling to judge me. The only one who can judge me has always been myself!"

He took a deep breath. "If you are willing to let Liu Bi beat me up every day to assist with my research, I can tell you a secret right now. It's not something your Happiness City needs, but something you need."

"Oh?"

Cheng Ye suddenly chuckled. "Let me guess, is it about my grandfather, or about my father?"

"Heh, no need to bait me." Yu Yong twitched the corners of his mouth. "It is indeed related to your grandfather, Cheng Wu."

"Then speak." Cheng Ye nodded in agreement. "It's just sparring every day. I can agree to this on Liu Bi's behalf; he'd probably be more than happy to do you this favor."

"Alright then." Yu Yong's expression turned serious, his voice deepening. "Last week, I told you that the Starship was on top of Mount Everest. Today, I'll tell you what the Starship actually is!"

"'Giant Creatures' is actually humanity's collective term for the extraterrestrial visitors that arrived on our planet back then. In reality, the giant creatures that appeared that day weren't just monsters bringing infection; there were other entities as well. You can understand it this way: a whole group of things visited the planet."

"A group?" Cheng Ye's heart jolted violently.

In the first week, Yu Yong leaked the research data desperately needed by Happiness City. In the second week, he revealed the location of the Starship. Now, he was finally throwing out the most crucial piece of information.

Cheng Ye unconsciously sat up straight, his gaze fixed intently on Yu Yong, afraid of missing a single word.

"Of course it wasn't just one. Actually, the major shelter cities have known this for a long time, but they've been collectively covering up this part of history. Otherwise, humanity would have long plunged into endless panic and absolute chaos." Emotional fluctuations finally appeared in Yu Yong's gaze—not surprise, but a dense, unconcealable dread.

"As for why they came to Earth, no one can say for sure. Perhaps it was a chase and struggle between different factions, perhaps it was a cyclic migration like migratory birds, or perhaps their coordinate systems malfunctioned, mistakenly treating Earth as a transit station for folded space jumps. Even now, we haven't been able to analyze what truly happened back then. Moreover, the spatial anomalies outside the planet have reached an extremely severe level. The further you get from the surface and head toward space, the more intense the spatial fluctuations and folding phenomena become."

"Let's not dwell on the essence of the Giant Creatures for now. Currently, there are three mainstream theories regarding the spatial anomalies."

Yu Yong's voice gradually slowed down, striving to articulate every word clearly.

"The first is gravitational superposition disturbance. If these Giant Creatures were celestial-level visitors possessing immense mass, their collective appearance would cause their individual gravitational fields to overlap. This superimposed gravity is enough to distort the space around Earth, plunging the entire gravitational field into a highly unstable, dynamic flux."

"The second is structural damage to spacetime. Passages connecting different spacetimes, such as wormholes, require colossal amounts of energy to form and maintain, and this energy forcibly distorts the spacetime structure around the passage."

"The third is mutual interference from the energy devices of multi-civilization visitors, and nowadays, more and more intelligence points toward this possibility. We've analyzed relevant residual information and discovered that, although the text used by these Giant Creatures is consistent, they highly likely belong to different civilizations. Therefore, the energy driving devices, detection equipment, and weapons they carry release entirely different frequencies of energy waves when operating. It's like throwing several stones into a calm body of water at the same time; the ripples collide and overlap, ultimately throwing the water's surface into absolute chaos."

A group of Giant Creatures, a chase and struggle, spatial anomalies?

Listening to this, Cheng Ye felt his heart grow inexplicably heavy. He suddenly felt as if humanity was merely passing by an anthill, and accidentally knocked over a sweet beverage; to the ants, that spilled liquid was an apocalyptic flood.

Those Giant Creatures that visited Earth might not have even noticed this minuscule life-bearing planet at their feet, but the energy fluctuations and traces they left behind were enough to cause terrifying, world-shaking changes to Earth.

"So, the Starships are the things left behind by these groups of Giant Creatures?"

"You guessed it right. 'Starship' is our collective term for these remnants."

Yu Yong plucked a stubble from his chin, rubbing it repeatedly between his fingertips. "Currently, the Kindling Shelter City has discovered three Starships: the A1 Everest Ship, the D13 Rub' al Khali Desert Ship, and the M22 Challenger Deep Ship."

"All three of these Starships are located within Black Zones. Of the latter two, one is deeply buried beneath the Rub' al Khali desert, and the other is sunk in the deepest part of the Mariana Trench."

"Among them, the Everest Ship and the Rub' al Khali Desert Ship have completely lost their research value. Due to the increasingly severe spatial anomalies surrounding them, it's impossible for humans to approach. Only the Challenger Deep Ship still retains the possibility of being researched. However, with a depth exceeding ten thousand meters and water pressure over 1,100 times standard atmospheric pressure, the difficulty of conducting on-site research is unimaginably high."

"Therefore, the organization that abducted our Happiness City Inspector calls itself Starship. Could it be that they obtained a Starship base, are conducting research on it, and have extracted a portion of its technology?"

"I don't know. That is something you should investigate."

Yu Yong stopped the topic there. "Of course, this could also just be a smokescreen. They might be deliberately drawing your attention to those extraterrestrial Giant Creatures so you overlook the true background of their organization. But I can say for sure that researching Starship technology is absolutely the right path. That technology could save humanity ten thousand, or even a hundred thousand years of detours, allowing our civilization's progress to rapidly iterate. Once humanity steps into the ranks of an advanced civilization, the current Infected Body crisis will be nothing more than a minor nuisance that can be resolved with a single thought."

Well, this guy was at it again.

If shortcuts were so easy to take, the planet wouldn't have turned into a Wasteland by now.

"Then, the disaster was derived from these Starships?"

But Yu Yong kept his mouth tightly shut, not saying another word.

Evidently, the intelligence he was supposed to reveal for this week had been fully delivered.

Even though the two of them now had a familiar relationship, he still maintained a high degree of vigilance toward the Elders of Happiness City in his heart, and would absolutely not leak half a point of information beyond what was agreed upon.

"Alright, let's change the subject. What exactly is it that you wanted to tell me about my grandfather?" Cheng Ye took the initiative to steer the topic back.

"Although you haven't met your grandfather Cheng Wu, I have." Yu Yong suddenly revealed a smile, his tone carrying a rare hint of relaxation. "After he defected from Happiness City back in the day, he visited the Kindling Shelter City once, and even toured our Research Institute."

He paused, deliberately slowing his speech. "I even spoke to him."

"Are you showing off to me?" Cheng Ye was suddenly rendered somewhat speechless. How did Cheng Wu's charm extend into the research circles? It was just a conversation; was there a need to emphasize it so deliberately?

"Heh, you shouldn't think of your grandfather as a dictator or a stubborn lunatic."

Yu Yong restrained his smile, his tone growing serious. "His ideals were too far ahead of people like us. As early as twenty years ago, he already believed that—"

Reaching the critical part, he suddenly coughed and abruptly changed the subject. "He learned about the Starships while in Kindling. With his personality, he definitely went to search for them. I dare say, if there ever comes a day when he appears before the world again, he will inevitably bring about world-shaking changes and cause the entire Wasteland to completely boil over."

"Alright, I've said all I needed to say."

Yu Yong picked up that architecture book again and lowered his head, saying, "I'm going to continue reading. Architecture really is quite interesting. It has given me a new understanding of many things. Who knows, before I die, I might be able to design a special building that integrates applied physics and electronic circulation technology."

After saying that, he fell silent.

In just a few short seconds, his expression became incredibly focused, as if everything around him had nothing to do with him.

This ability to instantly enter a state of flow was truly a talent that others could not easily envy.

Cheng Ye could not help but open his Collector panel to glance at Yu Yong's Cooperation Level.

Not bad. After today's in-depth conversation and getting severely beaten by Liu Bi, it had risen by another six percent, reaching thirty-one percent.

'Soon, just a little more time and I will be able to search for Lv3...'

He calculated inwardly that if he could acquire this learning ability of Yu Yong's, it would absolutely be like adding wings to a tiger.

This was practically the standard configuration of a top student. Even with an ordinary IQ, one could rapidly absorb knowledge by relying on this focused state.

Cheng Ye stood up, not forgetting to leave a reminder, "If anything comes up in the future, remember to call me first. I will just pretend today's spike in fusion rate never happened."

Yu Yong suddenly looked up. "Then will you disable the parental control mode?"

"No, that won't do. If you use the phone to transmit some information to the outside world, the violation will be pinned on my head."

Cheng Ye flashed a toothy grin. "Giving you Tetris to play is already me being generous."

"Heh," Yu Yong scoffed lightly, lowering his head with a speechless expression.

Watching his defeated look, Cheng Ye smiled in satisfaction. He turned around, gently closed the door, and left.

But as soon as he stepped out and closed the door, the expressions of both men changed in unison, both becoming solemn and heavy.

'The Giant Creatures that visited the planet back then weren't just one, but a group?'

Cheng Ye's heart weighed heavily. Walking outside the warehouse, he immediately dialed the number for the Research Institute.

The person who picked up on the other end was still Shi Xu.

After he completely disclosed the latest news revealed by Yu Yong, Shi Xu's voice unsurprisingly changed its pitch, filled with shock, "I will report this information to the Elders immediately. You must keep a close eye on Yu Yong on your end, and synchronize any new information at any time."

"Understood!"

At the same time, inside the room.

Yu Yong in the Containment Room was also pondering inwardly: 'Happiness City is truly full of freaks. Not only do they have Elders who rely on belief to bind multiple Malignant Infection Sources within their bodies, treating themselves as source-guiding vessels, but they actually have someone who relies on his own belief to achieve the external projection of the Heaven-Man Martial Domain—something even the Great Martial Masters of the Old Era couldn't accomplish...'

The more he thought about it, the more astounded he felt.

The path taken by Happiness City was indeed poles apart from that of the Kindling Shelter City.

But it was precisely because of this difference that he saw the other side of this world, and also saw a new path forward.

'And Cheng Ye...'

Yu Yong's gaze landed on the book's pages, but his thoughts drifted far away. 'His temperament and abilities are both growing at a visible rate. At this pace, his future achievements will probably be no lower than Cheng Wu's...'