Wasteland Border Inspector

Chapter 207: A Moment of Peace, an Incomprehensible Genius!

Wisps of dark clouds drifted past, obscuring most of the already thin moonlight, leaving heaven and earth in a murky gloom."Caw! Caw!"

The flock of Thorn Birds that arrived under the cover of night fully displayed the cunning nature of mutated creatures.

After realizing that the humans who had invaded their Territory possessed ultra-long-range attacks, the new Thorn Bird king, having inherited the position from its unlucky predecessor, did not attack rashly at nightfall. Instead, it patiently waited until the darkness had completely settled before leading hundreds of Thorn Birds riding the wind.

It circled above Dabo Town, its gaze sweeping over the Red Zone and the Blue Zone, ultimately abandoning the idea of harassing the Red Zone.

For one thing, the previous leader had died in the Red Zone; the threat here was clearly greater than on the other side.

For another, the Red Zone lacked a suitable place to build mobile units. On the first day, everyone's Vigor had been spent on Pioneering the surroundings and clearing the foundation. By nightfall, everyone was still crammed inside the Abandoned Granary to rest.

Although the space in the granary was cramped, the thick bluestone walls were incredibly tough. The bone spikes of the Thorn Birds simply could not pierce them.

In contrast, the parking lot behind the Supermarket in the Blue Zone, with its three newly erected mobile units looking exceptionally fragile, became the prime target for the Thorn Bird flock.

"Get inside the units! Do not linger! Hurry up and hide in the rooms!"

"Find your spots according to the beds assigned this evening! Do not push or shove!"

Lin Xiaoshan shouted from amidst the crowd, but the camp had only been established for a day. How could strict order be formed immediately?

The crowd could only be considered barely organized as they shuffled into the mobile units, still far from achieving strict discipline.

Fortunately, the Thorn Bird flock did not launch an attack immediately. They merely circled above Dabo Town, searching for the best point of attack while also seeming to hunt for the "tasty snacks" from earlier in the day.

It was only several minutes after the last Resident had entered the mobile units that a sharp series of caws echoed overhead.

The Thorn Bird flock was finally making its move.

"Do not panic, everyone! The prefabricated panels above us are thick enough, and there are two layers of vines spread on top as a buffer. They can definitely block the bone spikes, I guarantee it!"

Sun Dazheng stood up, pacing back and forth inside the mobile unit as he shouted to pacify the crowd.

To the wastelanders living in Shi Province, Thorn Bird disasters were not actually considered rare.

These creatures were relatively docile during spring and summer, but once the autumn nesting season arrived, their aggressiveness multiplied. They would frantically drive away any other creatures near their Territory, only dialing back once winter approached.

But there were exceptions, such as these families who had emerged from the mines.

Thorn Birds fed on ores, and Baishi Sanctuary City naturally would not allow them to steal resources. Within a radius of up to sixty miles, as long as a Thorn Bird nest was discovered, it would be completely overturned by the Patrol Team the very next day.

Baishi Sanctuary City even bred a natural predator of the Thorn Birds, a large avian species known as the Birch Bird, specifically to drive away the surrounding Thorn Birds.

Precisely because they had hardly ever experienced the threat of Thorn Birds, the panic among the mining families was visible to the naked eye.

Sun Dazheng understood this very well and promptly shouldered the responsibility of soothing them.

And what he said was indeed correct.

After circling high in the sky twice, the Thorn Birds finally launched their first probing volley of bone spikes.

A rapid pitter-patter instantly echoed overhead, like a sudden hailstorm, but not a single bone spike could penetrate the vine buffer to leave a mark on the prefabricated panels.

Only a few diagonally shot bone spikes struck the side walls of the unit, letting out dull thuds, but they merely left a few shallow dents that hardly counted as a threat.

Seeing this scene, the crowd inside the unit instantly calmed down.

Not long after, several gunshots suddenly rang out outside. Although they failed to drive the Thorn Bird flock away directly, they successfully drew all their attention.

The Thorn Bird flock circling above the parking lot quickly dispersed. Their caws gradually faded as they flew toward the side of the town.

In an instant, the tense atmosphere inside the unit completely relaxed.

One solemn face after another finally revealed their exhaustion, a mixture of the weariness from the day's hard labor and the relief of a Survival after a disaster.

Surviving in the Wilderness was not easy.

Coming out to pioneer was even harder.

Like those Small Gathering Places built in the wild, most had to rely on special geographical advantages to establish a foothold.

For example, the Tumo Gathering Place where Sun Dazheng had stayed previously was built relying on two small dirt hills.

Inside the hills were tunnels left over from the Old Era, which could serve as temporary shelters as well as storage for supplies. By building a perimeter wall around the dirt hills, life could be considered relatively stable.

But to charge directly into an Old Era town for Pioneering, without even a shred of defensible terrain, was a first for everyone.

As the saying goes, the ignorant are fearless.

When the Inspection Station screened the personnel for the assessment, they had actually made strict considerations.

If they chose Drifters with strong survival skills and willpower, this group would certainly be more resilient. However, there was an unavoidable issue: their will to resist would not increase as their abilities grew; instead, it might weaken.

Once danger arrived, if the Inspector did not handle it properly, this group was very likely to disband and run away on the spot.

After all, Drifters inherently carried little psychological burden. To them, starting over in Happiness City was no different from starting over anywhere else; staying alive was the most important thing.

This was a very realistic problem.

Competence and loyalty might coexist in a single individual, but it was incredibly difficult to find both in a group of Drifters.

Unless the Inspection Station promised hefty rewards, but doing so would completely deviate from the original intent of this assessment.

Therefore, after weighing the pros and cons repeatedly, the Inspection Station ultimately chose this group of people who would trust the Inspector at critical moments.

Even if most of them were newborn calves unafraid of tigers, even if their survival skills were not top-tier, and their mental fortitude might not even compare to that of the Scavengers in the buffer zone—as long as the Inspector was capable enough to unite everyone, this group could immediately become a cohesive force.

A foundational infrastructure crew capable of supporting the construction of a satellite city!

"Mother of God, that scared me to death! I've lived in the mines for over ten years and have never seen such a vicious freak bird!"

"Right? Extremely vicious! Did you see those bone spikes? Each one was almost as long as my palm. If one of those actually hit us, wouldn't it punch a massive hole straight through?"

"Good thing we didn't slack off during the day and got these mobile units set up, otherwise we definitely would have suffered tonight!"

"Yeah, although the space in this unit is a bit small, it's way more comfortable than the tents we used to sleep in. The floor is solid; lying down just relaxes the whole body!"

Soft murmurs rose inside the unit.

Although it was not their first time camping in the Wilderness, the thought that this might be the place they would live for a long time in the future left everyone with mixed feelings, unable to put the sensation into words.

Suddenly, a voice chimed in, "Hey, when those Thorn Birds came just now, why didn't Inspector Cheng just shoot the leader down directly?"

The ones speaking were a young married couple.

As soon as those words left their mouths, everyone's gaze immediately snapped over, many eyes carrying a look that said they were looking at idiots.

In the end, it was Sun Dazheng who couldn't bear it and quietly reminded them, "Inspector Cheng's marksmanship is excellent, but he isn't Owl. How could he clearly see which one is the leader in the pitch black?"

"Ah?" The young couple froze for a moment, then hurriedly scratched their heads and apologized. "Sorry, sorry, we misspoke. We came over from the neighboring Guang Province. We've never seen Thorn Birds that can shoot bone spikes before; this is our very first time."

Hearing that the two were from Guang Province and had no prior contact with Thorn Birds, the crowd finally withdrew their gazes.

But influenced by this couple, the ensuing topics inevitably shifted from lamenting exhaustion and complaining about danger to discussing the Inspector Cheng who had brought them here.

"Inspector Cheng is truly amazing! I took a look around yesterday, and he's the youngest among them. I was secretly worried at the time."

"Worried about what? Worried that he lacked experience?"

"Not exactly, just feeling uncertain in my heart..."

"Hey, let alone Inspector Cheng, even Inspector Wang has way more experience than all of us combined!"

"Exactly! Happiness City is the most formidable Super Sanctuary City in Shi Province! The Inspectors in our Baishi Sanctuary City all have to study for twelve years and pass an assessment before taking office. Happiness City's standards must be even stricter. I don't even dare to imagine how tiring it would be to study every single day for twelve years!"

"Hey, Inspector Cheng also said earlier that he was going to build a school in our Dabo Town and let the kids study. I wonder if that's true?"

"Mom, I'm scared. I don't want to... go to school."

Amidst the chatter of the crowd, a timid child's voice suddenly chimed in.

These words amused the crowd. They looked at each other and couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Silly child! If you don't go to school, you can only be a bottom-tier worker for your entire life! The foremen in our mines all had to study for three years before taking their posts. Those skilled workers who refine ore even have to take two months off every year for training! If you want to live a good life, how can you not go to school?"

"Exactly! I've asked around; the industrial zones in Happiness City only hire educated people. A crude fellow like me who can't even recognize all the letters probably wouldn't even pass the first round of screening."

"Speaking of which, didn't Inspector Cheng also say he wanted to set up an adult skills training school? It would specifically teach us adults, and if we pass the assessment, we'd even be guaranteed a job assignment!"

"That's what he said, but he didn't specify what kind of work... I'm worried too. There are no ore veins to mine nearby, and I don't know how to do any other jobs..."

"..."

The moment they brought up their yearning for a better life, everyone's drowsiness instantly vanished.

Inside the enclosed mobile unit, with everyone chiming in, the oppressive feeling from the recent Thorn Bird attack and the threat of the Infected Bodies quickly dissipated. Some even started cracking jokes, and bursts of relaxed laughter rang out from time to time.

The parking lot.

Wang Kang returned from a patrol round, only to see Cheng Ye leaning against the side wall behind the Supermarket.

He seemed to be both listening to the voices and laughter coming from inside the units, and enjoying this brief moment of peace.

"Brother Cheng, why aren't you going inside to rest?"

"I won't go in. It took a lot of effort to cultivate this peaceful atmosphere. If I go inside, everyone will just get tense again."

Cheng Ye waved his hand. By this time, he was actually quite sleepy too.

After doing physical labor all day, breaking out in cold sweats from paranoia in the middle, and grappling with corpses and Infected Bodies for half the day.

Even though the boost from his physique was strong enough to keep him awake for three days without a problem, his mental exhaustion hadn't diminished in the slightest.

Moreover, after activating "Hundred Martial Arts Master" three times consecutively throughout the day, Cheng Ye had finally figured out exactly what special energy this Perfect Grade Talent consumed.

Vigor!

Unlike his Iron Torso, which only stimulated fixed neural networks, the Hundred Martial Arts Master consumed invisible and intangible mental energy and stamina. Every activation drained roughly ten percent.

If he could guarantee enough sleep to recover every day, using it three times would only cost thirty percent of his Vigor. In the buffer zone, this naturally wouldn't matter.

But now that they were out in the Wilderness, with no ample time for him to rest, the drain on his Vigor had become a tricky issue.

If he stayed up all night, setting aside whether the effects of activating "Hundred Martial Arts Master" again would be compromised, having only half his Vigor left meant his vigilance and Combat Power would also drop accordingly.

There were still two and a half days left in the assessment period. Pulling through tonight would be easy, but what about tomorrow night, or the night after?

What if he really had to go underwater to investigate?

Therefore, at a time like this, he wasn't slacking off by not leading the patrol; rather, he was racing against the clock to recover his spirit. This was also an essential safeguard for the upcoming Assessment Task.

"You should hurry inside and get some sleep. This is a war of attrition; it doesn't end just because we survive tonight."

"Mmm..." Wang Kang hesitated for a moment, then nodded frankly. "Then, Brother Cheng, I'll go rest first. If you want to switch shifts for patrol, just come call me."

"Yeah." Cheng Ye nodded gently.

Even he himself was tired. Wang Kang, who hadn't forged a Martial Body and was purely relying on physical stamina to push through, had clearly been using his willpower to stave off exhaustion for a long time.

Watching Wang Kang walk into Unit 3 wearing his combat armor, the originally lively chatter inside instantly quieted down and soon fell silent altogether.

Cheng Ye exhaled a breath and leaned back against the wall.

Perhaps he was gradually adapting to the Wilderness environment. The "danger" foreseen by his Six Senses, though still enveloping him like a rising tide, no longer brought the suffocating sensation it had before.

He figured it wouldn't take long; after spending a few more nights in the Wilderness, he would completely get used to this high-tension state.

Furthermore, with Little Flame acting as an early warning, standing out here was actually safer than sleeping inside the residential units.

Even if an Infected Body tried to ambush them, he would be able to react immediately and launch a counterattack at the first opportunity.

"Better to be a dog in times of peace than a human in times of chaos!"

"This Inspector job isn't easy either. Even wanting a peaceful night's sleep is a luxury."

Cheng Ye couldn't help but shake his head. Soon, he closed his eyes and began to doze off, letting out faint snores.

However.

What he didn't know was that hundreds of meters away, the Residents of the Red Zone were far from being as peaceful as he imagined.

In fact, their situation wasn't even as comfortable as him leaning against the wall resting right now.

Abandoned Granary.

Because the East Zone lacked a flat area suitable for assembling residential units like the parking lot, Luo Kuke deliberated again and again. He did not hastily order the construction of units on the first day, but instead gathered everyone to clear the surrounding ruins and thoroughly expand the scope of their Pioneering.

This way, if they drew a clearing-related Assessment Task the next day, the Red Zone would have sharpened their axes before cutting the wood. They would have simultaneously secured a perfect spot to build residential units and gained a head start on the task.

Moreover, compared to the Blue Zone with its omnipresent ruined buildings and a barely wind-proof Supermarket that looked dilapidated, the Abandoned Granary was sturdy, safe, and entirely spacious enough.

Just the vast underground area beneath it was large enough for five hundred people to sleep on their sides. Combined with the above-ground portion of the granary, surviving tonight would be no problem at all.

However, his considerations as a Third-stage Inspector ultimately suffered from the common flaw of most empiricists.

He arranged all plans based on an "idealized scenario" constructed in his mind. Let alone inheriting the experience of Inspectors from the Great Reclamation Era, he hadn't even truly put himself in the shoes of the Drifters to consider their perspective.

The underground space indeed looked sturdy, capable of blocking Thorn Bird attacks, and guarding the entrance could also prevent ambushes from Infection Sources and Infected Bodies, but the drawbacks were equally obvious.

The entire underground space had only one entrance and exit, which had to serve for both escape and air circulation.

Those assigned beds near the entrance could breathe relatively clean air, but their hearts were constantly on edge. They had to bear the risk of Infected Bodies rushing down from the entrance, always feeling like danger would pounce in at the very next second.

Those assigned beds further inside, though spared from fear and anxiety, faced terribly stagnant air. The coughing echoing throughout the underground space never ceased.

Not to mention the gruesome handwriting left on the inner brick walls, seemingly gouged out by fingernails.

During the day, while hiding from the Thorn Bird attacks, no one noticed these. But at night, with the dim yellow light casting across the underground space, those crooked words looked exceptionally eerie, making one's hair stand on end.

Regarding the overall environment, although it was dry and not damp, the lack of windows meant a constant, indescribable sense of oppression hung in the air.

Added to the dense crowd—some farting, some burping, and others frequently getting up to use the bathroom—every messy commotion was followed by a pungent stench wafting out, which instantly sparked a wave of curses, making the atmosphere in the underground space even worse.

"Inspector Luo, the Residents downstairs seem to have some major complaints."

Garcia patrolled the underground space once and couldn't help but sniffle after returning to the surface.

He didn't know what the situation was like in the Blue Zone right now, but the current predicament in the Red Zone was clearly deteriorating.

"Endure it. No matter what, we have to endure through tonight."

Luo Kuke shook his head, holding his rifle. His gaze lingered on Garcia's face for a moment, and a strong sense of powerlessness suddenly surged within him.

It was somewhat like seven years ago, when he had just been promoted from stage one to stage two, full of joy and eager to continue climbing upward.

But upon learning the cruel truth that the quotas for stage three and above were fixed—meaning for someone to go up, someone else had to come down—the bewildered powerlessness toward the future was something he still remembered vividly to this day.

After so many years, he had thought this feeling would never return.

Yet at this moment, that familiar sense of despair clung to him once again!

"How about I take the night watch and lead the patrol while you go rest for a bit?" Garcia took the initiative to suggest upon seeing his off expression.

"No, let's keep watch together." After Luo Kuke spoke, he quickly added, "It's not that I don't trust you, but both of us are only at the ordinary Embryo-Holding Stage. We can handle common Infected Bodies inside the Inspection Station, but out here in the Wilderness..."

He didn't finish the rest of his sentence, but the implication couldn't be clearer.

Garcia remained silent and didn't reply. After a minute or two, he circled back to the previous topic, his voice carrying a hint of a trance. "Inspector Luo, just three months ago, I was completely clear about his strength... Back then, he was just an ordinary person. I... I could have crushed him with one hand."

He paused, his tone growing even more bewildered. "I don't know what exactly happened in between. It's like I stayed in the hospital for a while and when I came back, everything had changed."

"This is what a genius is."

Luo Kuke naturally understood who he was referring to. "Never be surprised by the growth speed of a genius, and never use the standards of the Old Era to measure their limits. They are born with a halo, wearing the crown of wisdom. In the Old Era, this disparity wasn't obvious. But now, in this Transcendent Era, the chasm between them and us has long been exposed for all to see."

He sighed and continued, "To climb to become a Third-stage Inspector, I've spent nearly ten months out of every year running outside for the past few years. I've visited almost all the neighboring sanctuary cities... Mmm, let's talk about one you know, Guang Province's Guanghong Shelter City."

"I went there in the autumn of the year before last, originally wanting to try my luck and see if I could trade for some 'Super-Concentrating Photosynthesis Panels' from Guanghong. The day I first arrived, Guanghong's Inspectors didn't look like anything special, not even matching up to you... Mmm, I mean, not even matching the average level of our Inspection Station."

Luo Kuke almost had a slip of the tongue and hurriedly corrected himself, but he was surprised to find that Garcia didn't react at all.

Was he completely resigned?

Or had he finally recognized the boundaries of his own capabilities?

He didn't dwell on it and continued speaking. "But the very next morning, I went to visit their Research Institute. Do you know what I saw?"

"Fifteen years old. Yes, only fifteen!"

"Guanghong's Research Institute has a total of eighteen research groups. The annual funding each group receives is equivalent to five hundred thousand Contribution Points in our Happiness City. What a terrifying figure! And that fifteen-year-old child was actually the team leader of one of those groups, leading nearly two hundred people in conducting research."

"What?" Garcia was stunned abruptly, his eyes turning dull for several seconds before he pressed in disbelief, "Could it have been a facade they put up? Intentionally trying to bluff us?"

"Do you think I didn't doubt it? How could an underage child possibly be a team leader at a Super Sanctuary City's Research Institute? If it was true, what a terrifying level of talent that would be."

Luo Kuke shook his head with a bitter smile. "So I specifically looked for an opportunity to approach him and test it... It's quite funny to think about. It was as if they purposely showed it off to me. They didn't stop me at all, even letting me ask whatever I wanted. It made me feel like a country bumpkin entering the city for the first time."

Luo Kuke pursed his lips, his tone dry. "But the truth is, the things we spend our entire lives trying to learn with all our might might only take a few months, not even a year, for these geniuses."

"That child only started coming into contact with relevant knowledge at the age of five, and by seven, he had reached the equivalent level of a researcher at the institute. Just a few years after that, his research results earned Guanghong Shelter City over a million Contribution Points. Do you know what kind of concept that is?"

"Over a million?" Garcia was completely dumbfounded, his eyes glazed over. "What was he researching?"

Counting it up, he had already worked at the Inspection Station for seven years, and to this day, his total net worth barely surpassed ten thousand Contribution Points. This was exactly why he always pinched pennies and tried to scrape together extra fat during regular inspections.

Yet a half-grown child was able to bring in over a million in revenue for a Super Sanctuary City?

If he possessed such ability, forget about being promoted to a Third-stage Inspector; even charging for stage four would probably be effortless.

"Heh, you might not believe it if I say it. Of course, I still don't believe it to this day."

Luo Kuke sighed softly, lowering his voice further. "The Guanghong Core that had stumped Guanghong Shelter City for nearly twenty years—that super technology they had been researching—was actually resolved by a fifteen-year-old child."

"Of course, he only solved one key link within it. But just the breakthrough in that single link allowed Guanghong Shelter City's technological development to take a massive leap forward... A very crucial step!"

Reaching this point, there was actually no need to say any more.

Looking at Garcia's completely stunned expression, Luo Kuke could guess what he was thinking right now.

It wasn't about the genius in Guanghong Shelter City, nor the terrifying profits after breaking through the Guanghong Core.

"It's a crying shame. The ordinary researchers in that Research Institute—some who had diligently dedicated over a decade without any presentable results—suddenly saw an underage child arrive by their side. Opening his mouth, he declared he was going to solve the Guanghong Core dilemma that had trapped the entire sanctuary city for twenty years. And in just one short year, he produced unimaginable results. What kind of feeling is that?"

Luo Kuke's voice paused. His gaze fell upon the pitch-black Wilderness in the distance, as if asking Garcia, or perhaps asking himself. "It's laughable. When such a genius appears right beside you, he doesn't need to understand what solving the Guanghong Core truly represents. He can just carelessly do the things he likes. But you can't be ignorant; you can't help but understand..."