Wasteland Border Inspector

Chapter 229: The Power of the Era, Even if the World Ends Tomorrow!

Guang Province, which bordered Shi Province, only had a small fringe area affected by the Petrification Curse.Furthermore, this region was mostly composed of hills and was unsuitable for farming. Instead, due to the nature of the curse, it had become a resource hub that continuously produced minerals.

As for the headquarters of Guanghong Shelter City.

Lake City.

It happened to be located right at the boundary between the Petrification Curse zone and the normal zone. It enjoyed the geographical advantage of having mineral resources while also possessing vast expanses of arable farmland.

Coupled with its proximity to a tropical climate, crops could be harvested three or even four times a year. In terms of geographical advantages alone, it clearly held a superior position compared to Happiness City's location.

Of course, nothing in this world came for free.

With Guanghong taking root in Lake City, they could not avoid the typhoons blowing in from the sea every summer. Ordinary typhoons were manageable, but whenever a super typhoon made a direct landfall, ruined farmlands were the least of their worries. The real trouble lay in the massive destruction of infrastructure, requiring immense manpower and resources to rebuild.

On top of that, an endless stream of Infection Sources would wash ashore from the sea. They could never be entirely killed or cleared out, forcing the city to constantly allocate personnel for defense year-round.

"Guanghong's advantages go far beyond just geography."

Luo Kuke seemed deeply moved. "Their most terrifying strength is their ability to siphon populations. Even though we forcefully absorbed a million people this time with the help of a Walker, our expansion speed still falls far behind theirs! Over the years, most of the shelter cities and gathering places that relocated from Hai Province were absorbed by them. Furthermore, Guanghong supports these factions, building subordinate shelter cities at key nodes of the road network to slowly spread their influence across the entirety of Guang Province."

He paused and added, drawing a comparison with Happiness City. "Even though our Happiness City is the overlord of Shi Province, we've never meddled in the development of other shelter cities. We just act as a leader to maintain regional stability. Guanghong is different. They want to build an organization similar to the Kindling Alliance."

"Within this organization, they distribute different industries to various subordinate shelter cities, making each city specialize in one field to fully pursue technological breakthroughs. At the same time, this integrates the economy, resources, industries, and goods of the entire Guang Province. When negotiating externally, they can twist into a single rope and speak with a unified voice."

"What's even more formidable is that they are constantly absorbing populations from neighboring provinces and have built a complete education and training system. From basic workers to technical experts, they can continuously produce their own talent. Developing at their current pace, they won't even need twenty years. If no accidents happen, in ten years at most, they will definitely surpass our Happiness City in scale and become the new overlord of the surrounding four provinces."

Building an organization similar to the Kindling Alliance? That was indeed a highly ambitious idea!

As Cheng Ye listened, he nodded from time to time without rushing to express his opinion, his gaze slowly scanning the map on his Defense Terminal.

When his eyes landed on the words "Great Banyan Shelter City," he stopped and asked, "What is the relationship between this Great Banyan Shelter City and Guanghong?"

"It is one of Guanghong's subordinate shelter cities, and a relatively core one at that," Luo Kuke immediately answered.

"Oh." Cheng Ye nodded thoughtfully.

The mystery was solved. So what Tang Si had been worrying about earlier wasn't Twin Moon Lake or Great Banyan Shelter City itself, but the Guanghong Shelter City backing Great Banyan?

If everyone lacked the raw materials for nutrient paste, Guanghong reaching out to win over Twin Moon Lake would make sense. But Guanghong clearly had farmlands that yielded three harvests a year and suffered no shortage of food. Logically, they shouldn't care about the meager output of a Small Gathering Place.

Yet they still went out of their way to court them. This motive was worth scrutinizing. Was it simply standard procedure for their external expansion, purely aiming to spread their sphere of influence wider?

Or had they already begun targeting Happiness City, and extending their tentacles into Shi Province to win over Twin Moon Lake was just laying the groundwork to move against Happiness City in the future?

"Are Guanghong's specialties also industrial products?"

"Not just industrial products. They have plenty of specialties to show off, ranging from manufactured goods to daily necessities, and from agricultural produce to weapons and equipment."

Luo Kuke waved his hand. "I won't mention the ones that are already famous. When you go on external trade missions later, you'll definitely get firsthand official data. I'll just talk about a few agricultural products that have become popular in the past two years. Every single one of them is incredibly practical."

He began counting on his fingers. "Three Meal Fruit, a special fruit that can replace the nutrition of three meals a day. An adult only needs to eat one a day to stay full. Its nutritional value is significantly higher than ordinary grains, and it saves the trouble of cooking. It's a premium substitute for nutrient paste."

"Wind Siphon Plant, a special herbaceous plant that greatly accelerates stamina recovery when eaten, without any obvious side effects. At most, you'll be too excited to sleep. Nowadays, many people traveling through the Wilderness keep some on hand."

"Skin Fruit. After consuming it, a protective film forms on the surface of the skin. As long as you don't bathe, it can last for two to three days, perfectly shielding against contact-based parasitism from Infection Sources in the wild. For Scavengers who frequently deal with Infection Sources, it is simply a godsend."

"..."

After rattling off over a dozen varieties in a row, Luo Kuke finally stopped.

This was the advantage of farming.

Tan Ming had siphoned all the vitality from the plant life in Shi Province. Although this catalyzed the creation of many rare minerals, utilizing those minerals required the support of high-end technology.

In the current wasteland, the technology trees of different shelter cities all had their own focuses. Without a complete supply chain, even if many minerals were mined, they could only be sold cheaply if the corresponding utilization technology could not be developed. After all, hoarding them wouldn't increase their value.

But crops were different. As long as suitable varieties were cultivated and large-scale farming was established, they could easily trickle down to the consumer end and become a part of residents' daily choices.

In other words... large-scale trade goods that could truly serve as the foundation of a commercial route.

"Can these crops be transported to other regions? Don't they require cold chain storage?" Cheng Ye seized upon the key issue and continued to press.

At these words, Luo Kuke was taken aback, his gaze carrying a hint of surprise. "You actually know about cold chains?"

"Is that so strange?"

"For someone who has never left Happiness City, it is indeed a bit strange." Luo Kuke smacked his lips and explained, "They do require cold chain transportation to maintain their efficacy, but the cost of cold chain transport is too high. It would cause the price of the finished products to skyrocket to a point where ordinary people couldn't afford them. Therefore, these crops can currently only circulate within Guang Province and cannot be shipped out."

He finished and then added, "But then again, compared to solving the transportation problem, successfully developing large-scale trade goods in the first place is the hardest part. After all, transportation issues can be slowly overcome with technology. Once future profits are in sight, burning money doesn't matter. But if you don't even have goods that can circulate on a massive scale, who would take on the thankless task of opening up a transportation route?"

"Inspector Luo, are you criticizing me for doing a thankless task?" Cheng Ye couldn't help but laugh.

That assessment was truly sharp.

Come to think of it, when he submitted his answer sheet, Ding Yishan probably had similar thoughts.

Anyone with a discerning eye could tell that developing Dabo Town and opening up waterways was a plan where the current returns fell far short of the investment.

"Not at all."

Luo Kuke also smiled, a hint of reminiscence creeping into his tone. "The times are always changing. At the very beginning, when your grandfather Cheng Wu was the station master, there was only one hard requirement for Inspectors: their professional skills had to be impeccable. For things like inspecting Infected Bodies and containing Infection Sources, everyone had strict quotas. If you failed once or twice, you were fined. If you failed multiple times, your status was outright revoked, and you had to climb your way back up from being a trainee."

"It was precisely because of Station Master Cheng Wu's strict requirements that the Inspection Station cultivated a group of people who dared to fight and risk their lives. Those people weren't like the two of us now, who can wear Extinction-level protective equipment during containment, have Benign Infection Sources provided, and enjoy the support of massive intelligence networks and logistics teams in the field. The previous generation of Inspectors relied entirely on pure courage and wisdom to gamble their lives against Infection Sources."

"Later, when the Great Reclamation Era began, they were the ones charging at the forefront, rendering outstanding service for Happiness City. They directly intercepted over eighty percent of the Infection Sources, constantly keeping casualties within a controllable range. At that time, almost all shelter cities copied our model to train Inspectors. Unfortunately for them, they started too late and couldn't match Happiness City's scale at all. That was how we managed to pull ahead from behind, step by step becoming a super sanctuary city in Shi Province and even the entire wasteland."

"But after the Great Reclamation Era suddenly ended, all the shelter cities began to contract their development, and the requirements for Inspectors changed along with it. Some regressed, only emphasizing on-duty inspection skills. Others prepared for the next wave of pioneering, focusing on strengthening exploration capabilities. As the pioneers of the Inspection Station model, even if Happiness City took detours, we would never step backward to repeat the old paths. We are destined to always walk ahead of the rest of the wasteland."

"The concept of external trade missions for Inspectors was originally an attempt by Station Master Cheng Wu many years ago. It wasn't fully matured. It wasn't until it reached Station Master Ding's hands that it was slowly perfected into the model you see today."

As they spoke, it was time for their next patrol.

The two stood up and walked side-by-side along the riverside. Luo Kuke's voice continued to ring out in the night. "If this were your grandfather's era, with your current abilities, becoming a Third-stage Inspector wouldn't be a problem at all. But as you know, a Third-stage Inspector back then wasn't much different from a trainee today. It just meant you were qualified to go to more dangerous places, shoulder more responsibilities, and then receive some cheers and adoration from the ordinary residents."

"Even if you died in some obscure corner one day, the residents would be sad for you for two days at most. It wouldn't take long before new blood came in, and no one would even remember you existed."

"So... what were the Inspectors of that era fighting for?" Cheng Ye paused his tone and asked softly.

"Revenge."

A complex flavor crept into Luo Kuke's voice. "The first and second generations of Inspectors chosen by Station Master Cheng Wu were all like him—carrying hatred on their shoulders. It was hatred toward Transcendents, and hatred toward Infection Sources. They didn't need any other reason to willingly die in the struggle against Infection Sources."

"It was precisely because of this shared hatred that when he later left, nearly half of the High-Tier Inspectors were willing to leave with him."

"But how can hatred be passed down generation after generation? By the time the third generation of Inspectors took office, it happened to be when the Idealist Faction controlled the Inspection Station. It was from this moment, realizing that Inspectors could no longer find a reason to wage war against Infection Sources, that authority underwent a qualitative change. The Inspection Station gave everyone more meaningful reasons to strive."

"During the Great Reclamation Era, that meaning was simple. Assigning hundreds or thousands of people under your command was nothing. You had endless supplies, and spacious houses were given without a second thought. But once the Great Reclamation Era ended, the higher-ups took back the power, and the authority of the Inspectors was instantly restricted."

"How could the Central, South, and North Inspection Stations possibly accommodate one hundred and fifty Inspectors? For High-Tier Inspectors, on-duty inspections were as simple as eating and drinking, but how were Low-Tier Inspectors supposed to learn and develop?"

"So the shift in power after the Great Reclamation Era transitioned from pioneering to external trade?" Cheng Ye nodded slightly.

Li Matai had told him this a long time ago. Now, with Luo Kuke stating it from a more realistic angle, stripped of its idealistic embellishments, it actually felt closer to reality.

"Exactly," Luo Kuke nodded. "High-Tier Inspectors hit a ceiling long ago. There are only three Duty Station Master positions and two primary and vice station master positions. With Fifth-stage Inspectors watching eagerly from behind, the Fourth-stage Inspectors below naturally need more reasons to work hard. External trade missions give them higher status and allow them to amass enough wealth. More crucially, many Inspectors support their own Gathering Places on the outside. Going there is much more comfortable than being cooped up in the Inspection Station."

"Hmm?" Cheng Ye froze for a moment, his thoughts suddenly clearing. "They act as... lords on the outside?"

"Calling them lords isn't wrong, but more accurately, they are behind-the-scenes lords. Can you understand it when put that way?"

"I understand..."

Cheng Ye took a deep breath, suddenly feeling that this world was truly a bizarre, infinitely repeating cycle.

With the internal avenues of power completely blocked off, High-Tier Inspectors shifting their sights outward perfectly aligned with realistic logic.

Wait.

Wouldn't this line of thinking be remarkably similar to Guanghong Shelter City's approach of integrating subordinate factions?

Cheng Ye paused his footsteps and followed this train of thought, pressing further, "Could it be that the higher-ups have additional requirements for High-Tier Inspectors?"

After all, Inspectors were openly using Happiness City's name and resources to support Gathering Places. The higher-ups couldn't possibly be unaware, and the Inspection Station wouldn't truly turn a blind eye.

The only possibility was that behind this authority, High-Tier Inspectors definitely had to bear corresponding obligations.

Just like how Guanghong demanded its subordinate cities to perform tasks, could it be that High-Tier Inspectors had to expand the frontiers for Happiness City, bringing back resources and populations?

"I can't say. This is a true secret."

Luo Kuke smiled and shook his head, but his tone quietly loosened. "Actually, every winter when the High-Tier Inspectors return to the city, they bring back massive populations, supplies, technology... and some bizarre items. Those aren't all acquired through trade. Hmm... this winter will probably bring far more than previous years. Once you witness it yourself, you'll understand exactly what power and obligation represent."

"Doesn't that mean the satellite town we're building now is actually a variation of the external trade obligations?" Cheng Ye subconsciously voiced his thoughts.

Hearing this, Luo Kuke was stunned for a moment before looking at him with immense admiration. "Inspector Cheng, your title as a trainee is truly quite deceiving."

A mere trainee who could already rival the first generation of High-Tier Inspectors in containment capabilities.

His sharp understanding of power and obligation was even on par with the current High-Tier Inspectors.

It was hard to imagine that Cheng Ye had come from the relatively pure environment of the Inner City.

Luo Kuke fell silent for a long time before slowly nodding. "In truth, this path has secretly been walked for a long time, but no Inspector has been able to confirm if it truly works. So it could only be slowly tested in the shadows. Whether it succeeds or fails, it won't affect the foundations of Happiness City."

He coughed, a hint of uncertainty creeping into his voice. "I didn't expect it to suddenly be brought to light now either, much less know how it will ultimately develop."

Seeing Luo Kuke's reaction, Cheng Ye finally connected the dots in hindsight.

No wonder Ding Yishan had approved his contract management plan without much hesitation, and even managed to persuade the upper echelons of Happiness City to implement the 'Inspector Responsibility System'.

So all of this had been laid out long ago. High-Tier Inspectors had been secretly supporting factions, and now they were simply shifting from secret support to open control. Though the difficulty had multiplied, it was an excellent opportunity.

Once someone successfully walked this path, the currently 'neither fish nor fowl' external trade model could instantly scale up, becoming the official avenue for Happiness City's outward expansion.

Looking at it over a longer timeline, the 'requirements' for Inspectors could also be thoroughly defined:

During the generation of Cheng Wu, inspection and containment capabilities were valued most. The Inspectors' authority and status were extremely low, operating mostly out of passion and duty.

From the second to the fourth generation under the Idealist Faction's rule, pioneering and leadership capabilities were prized. Inspectors enjoyed extremely high authority and status.

During the Fifth Generation and Sixth Generation governed by the Original Intention Faction, the focus shifted to external trade capabilities. Authority fluctuated based on individual strength, but their status remained relatively high.

And now, although the Seventh Generation station master had not yet taken office, the requirements for Inspectors were changing again.

With the initiation of satellite town construction, Inspectors were required to possess 'comprehensive skills'. They needed to be adept at inspection and containment, outward pioneering, as well as external trade and internal management.

Once this model proved successful, the power Inspectors could obtain would far exceed that of the Great Reclamation Era.

Their status would also reach unprecedented heights!

"If you have the capability, you should go to Guang Province!" Luo Kuke offered his sincere advice once more, his tone carrying a trace of anticipation. "There are many geniuses like you over there. You might find a lot of common ground to discuss with them."

"Geniuses?" Cheng Ye raised an eyebrow, his interest piqued. "What kind of geniuses?"

"Way too many to count."

At the mention of these people, Luo Kuke instantly grew excited, his voice rising a few notches as if putting himself in their shoes. "Guanghong Shelter City has a young genius researcher in his early twenties. He single-handedly solved the energy technology bottleneck they had been stuck on for years. Currently, Guanghong's energy grid uses the energy system he improved, which reduced the manufacturing cost by nearly thirty percent."

He grew more enthusiastic as he spoke. "Not just researchers, their Inspection Station also has a few geniuses. Although their raw strength can't compare to yours, they all possess special mutant abilities to assist in their work..."

That many?

Cheng Ye was secretly astonished. He initially assumed that those worthy of being called geniuses by a High-Tier Inspector like Luo Kuke would peak at three to five people.

He hadn't expected him to rattle off over twenty names in a single breath like he was reciting a menu, even giving a rough summary of each person's specialty.

But on second thought, it felt perfectly natural. Guanghong controlled the entirety of Guang Province and was frantically siphoning talent from neighboring provinces. They even meticulously screened the populations relocating from Hai Province.

In contrast, Happiness City was more like passively scratching lottery tickets. Finding a genius relied entirely on luck.

The two were on completely different levels when it came to talent cultivation and recruitment. It was entirely within reason for Guanghong to possess so many geniuses.

'If I could just make a trip to Guanghong and get to know all these geniuses one by one...'

Seeing an uncontrollable smile surface on Cheng Ye's face, Luo Kuke was slightly taken aback, followed by a long sigh in his heart.

This reaction was vastly different from Garcia's. There was not the slightest hint of vigilance or defiance, only the thrill of a hunter spotting prey.

Perhaps only a true genius would have such a pure, eager response yearning for interaction upon hearing about others on their level...

By the time they completed another patrol round and returned, it was already past one o'clock in the morning.

With a life-and-death predicament looming right before them, the two spoke without their usual reservations. They chatted about the development of shelter cities to their experiences in the Wilderness, and then moved from past missions to speculations about the future. It served both to raise their spirits and alleviate the tension and unease in their hearts.

Perhaps Luo Kuke himself also knew that if just the appetizer of scouting was this grueling, tomorrow's containment mission would be near-certain death.

There was a high probability the two of them would end up buried inside the Chamber of the Demonic Eye Sponge, leaving behind nothing more than a cold record of sacrifice in the Inspection Station's archives.

When their conversation reached a peak, he suddenly stood up, facing the night wind blowing off the river, and declaimed loudly like reciting poetry:

"This world is just this cruel! If we can enjoy one more day, then let's live this day to the fullest!"

"Even if the world ends tomorrow, even if the behemoths descend upon us once again, so what?"

"Adversity can never stop humanity from dreaming of the future, nor can it stop us from loudly speaking our minds right here!"

"We are Inspectors of Happiness City! The destination of our lives is pioneering, it is containment, it is fighting Infection Sources and the remnants of the old era until our very last breath!"

As his words fell, he said no more, instead humming an unknown, free-spirited tune:

"To seek wealth and honor in life, I must put in a deadly effort! Hide the scabbard behind my back, and drink deep from the classics!"

"I crave no jade or emeralds, nor do I guard a house of gold! To leave a name for thousands of years, one general's success is built on ten thousand withered bones!"

"The earth understands my heart best, a good man's ambitions lie far beyond!"

"Life is nothing but a waking dream."

"A body full of courage and a passionate heart."

"If not draped in glory, I shall never return home!"