Wasteland Border Inspector

Chapter 126: Sharpness Revealed, Landscape Shifts Dramatically!

A military green pickup truck bearing the checkpoint sign slowly drove out of the South Checkpoint from the other side of the gate.

The car turned around at the intersection and headed straight for the gate of happiness.

Because of Liu Kun's departure from the city, those who want to attend the inner city meeting have to drive there themselves.

Therefore, this time the driver's seat was changed, and Jiang Chuan was now holding the steering wheel with both hands.

Ding Yishan sat in the passenger seat, gazing calmly at the scenery rushing past the window.

Of course, under normal circumstances, vehicles at the checkpoint would be stopped by guards and unable to enter the inner city.

At this moment, neither of them was in the mood to think about these things, or rather, they didn't think it was something that needed to be considered.

They haven't slept for 26 hours, from yesterday to today.

Even as a half-step extraordinary being, Jiang Chuan was finding it hard to keep up and had to rely on special drugs to stay awake in the morning.

Strangely enough, Ding Yishan, sitting in the passenger seat, not only did not feel tired at all, but actually felt refreshed.

An invisible force rose from his tailbone, meandered up his spine, supported his shoulder blades, and pushed his temples, making even his breathing feel smoother than ever before.

He could even clearly feel this force surging in his chest, like a wild beast poised to pounce, urging him to do the thing he had thought about for many years but never dared to take the first step on.

Ding Yishan knew that this special power was called "The Traveler".

But he doesn't care.

Or rather, he had been waiting for this day for far too many years.

When he told Jiang Chuan about "such an opportunity," he wasn't actually referring to the hundreds of thousands of migrants outside, but rather to this extraordinary power that suddenly surged into his consciousness!
Since taking office as the checkpoint chief, given his age, shrewdness, and years of experience in the power arena, it has long been a pipe dream for him to push forward a sweeping change on his own.

The rationality honed over decades in the power arena acts like an invisible shackle, always pulling him back at crucial moments, making him calculate risks, weigh pros and cons, consider the attitudes of higher-ups, and take into account the opinions of all parties.
Even if the sky were to fall, his remaining rationality would force him to choose the safest path, continuing to "dedicate" himself to Happiness City day after day along the old tracks, until he was crushed into dust by the wheels of time.

But it's different now.

Cheng Ye's words were like a key, unlocking the door to his personality and releasing the wildness hidden deep within him.

Under the influence of extraordinary power, this awakened wildness continued to amplify, allowing him to clearly see the benefits of change and making the risks that once made him hesitate seem insignificant.

Only at this moment, only by taking advantage of this sudden external force, only by relying on the almost tyrannical spiritual impact of Shouyuan Chaofan.

Only he could break the chains and smash the shackles.

Like a caged beast breaking free of its shackles, it tears apart all the enemies in its path!
"Achuan."

"Yes, sir."

"You said before that Cheng Ye is a lot like me. Was that a lie or the truth?"

"Of course it's the truth. A-Chuan would never tell a lie to you, not in the past, and not in the future."

Jiang Chuan gripped the steering wheel, his gaze fixed on the rain-soaked road ahead, his tone earnest, "The first time I saw him, the feeling was just like you when you were young!"

He paused, then gently steered the steering wheel to avoid the puddles on the side of the road, earning a thumbs-up from a pedestrian:

"Even when I was talking to you just now, that stubborn, uncompromising attitude was just like you when you were young, except..."

"Just what?"

Jiang Chuan's Adam's apple bobbed as he carefully chose his words: "Sir, Prosecutor Cheng is a very intelligent man. I can sense an unusual tenacity in him, and he's quick-witted. But he's still a young man after all, and what he said just now carried a bit of youthful arrogance. Please don't take it to heart."

Over the years, even a third-term prosecutor from Dongren would have to speak respectfully to Ding Yishan, let alone a trainee prosecutor.

Only fourth-term prosecutors are qualified to communicate with Ding Yishan on an equal footing and discuss matters large and small within the station.

Going back further, when Cheng Long was still young, he would deliberately be careful about his behavior in front of Ding Yishan.

Unlike Cheng Ye, who dared to make Ding Yishan take off his clothes and stand by the window in the cold wind.

Is this something an intern should be doing?
I didn't realize it at first, but now the more I think about it, the more terrified I get.

If Cheng Ye had gone any further and Ding Yishan had gotten angry, he would have been caught in the middle and wouldn't have been able to come up with anything to smooth things over.

After all, he was completely confused by the conversation between these two intelligent people, and he was incredibly embarrassed.

"Ha, A-Chuan, do you think I would care about that?"

Ding Yishan chuckled, tapping his fingertips lightly on his knee. "Back when Cheng Wu was still the station chief, let alone prosecutors, even the station's guards could barge into his office and point fingers at him, saying which rule was unreasonable. Especially during the biannual opinion day, he would receive three to five hundred people a day, getting yelled at mercilessly while a crowd of people stood outside watching the spectacle. Did you ever see him lose his temper even once?"

"Sir, those were the days, things are different now."

Jiang Chuan hurriedly defended himself, "Besides, Prosecutor Cheng can't become extraordinary, that's why he dares to be so reckless. If you follow his example..."

“It’s the same now, nothing’s different.” Ding Yishan interrupted him, his eyes revealing an undeniable seriousness. “If the price of becoming extraordinary is giving up the right to hear these voices, then I would rather be an ordinary person forever.”

"But you've tried it, do you think it will have any impact?"

Jiang Chuan was silent for a moment, then turned on the windshield wipers, which made a rhythmic sound.

Once the windshield wipers stopped, he said, “The more ideas you accept, the harder it is to achieve unity of knowledge and action. If you still want to strive for the extraordinary, you shouldn’t listen to these miscellaneous things. Just like Station Master Harlin, you should only keep people who agree with your ideas and get rid of all the others so that you can be single-minded.”

"He went the wrong way!"

Ding Yishan shook his head firmly, his tone tinged with disdain. "He didn't even take the first step correctly, just like that old geezer Towns. The idea of ​​resisting pollution needs to be forged through countless trials and tribulations, it needs to be able to shatter other distracting thoughts, it can't be achieved by covering your ears and pretending not to hear."

“But this path…” Jiang Chuan sighed, “besides the elders from back then, no one else can walk this path anymore.”

"Isn't it Jackie Chan?"

Ding Yishan chuckled twice, his laughter tinged with an indescribable complexity. "If he hadn't been so focused on the path of keeping wishes, he would have become extraordinary long ago. What a pity."

"Inspector Cheng is different from the others; the city lord didn't pursue the matter further, perhaps..."

"It's pointless. Don't mention this name again, and don't let Cheng Ye know anything about it. Just pretend he's dead."

Ding Yishan's face suddenly darkened. "Ten thousand extraordinary individuals cannot achieve the goal of keeping a wish. These wish-keepers are all scourges, scourges that are more troublesome than curses. If Cheng Long can achieve the goal of keeping a wish, then he will be the common enemy of all mankind!"

"Yes!"

Jiang Chuan quickly responded, not daring to utter another word.

Cheng Long's departure is a thorn that Ding Yishan can't pull out of his heart.

Normally, no one dares to mention it; it's only when Ding Yishan brings it up that others will chime in.

If anyone were to bring it up rashly, Ding Yishan would definitely turn hostile on the spot.

While talking.

The pickup trucks had already entered the city. Although the buffer zone had lost hundreds of thousands of people and should have seemed empty and deserted, the streets were still filled with pedestrians, even though it was raining outside, thanks to the presence of the pedestrians.

The workers were working hard to unclog the sewers. No one complained about getting wet in the rain, no one was lazy or tried to shirk their duties. Their eyes were shining, and the air was filled with a long-lost vitality.

This is the terrifying aspect of the traveler; it doesn't even need to do anything deliberately, just passing by is like a shot of adrenaline, bringing the lifeless buffer zone back to life.

But it is precisely because of this that people are terrified of the extraordinary power of wish-granting.

The power to easily stir people's hearts and instantly change the order is simply terrifying!

Ding Yishan stared out the window for a moment, then suddenly said, "According to the information transmitted by the Fire of the Spirit, it can be confirmed that the Traveler is definitely a superhuman from the previous era. This thing has been hiding for decades, and only dared to show itself after confirming that the last superhuman item in the Fire of the Spirit's possession had been exhausted. I really don't know what his wish is that could make him endure for so long."

"My lord, can the extraordinary artifacts of the previous era truly kill those immortal and indestructible wish-guarding extraordinary beings?"

Jiang Chuan couldn't help but ask, having watched the video that had been filmed.

The traveler ran across the wilderness at a speed estimated to be at least two hundred yards per minute, charging around like a cannonball. When he encountered infected creatures or mutated beasts, he didn't bother to avoid them, but instead crashed into them, instantly crushing them into a bloody mist.

It will crash into abandoned buildings without hesitation; reinforced concrete is as brittle as a biscuit in front of it.

The scene was so terrifying that words simply cannot describe it.

Fortunately, these monsters have no interest in human sanctuaries; otherwise, just thinking about it would send chills down one's spine.

"do not know."

Ding Yishan shook his head. "It might only cause serious damage, or it might directly shatter the foundation of their wishes and make them lose their special characteristics. Anyway, when the major super protective cities still had extraordinary items, we never saw the wish-guarding extraordinary beings dare to show themselves so recklessly. It was only in the last ten years or so, when the extraordinary items were exhausted, that these things sprang up like mushrooms after rain."

The words fell.

A sudden silence fell over the carriage. Once they reached the city, neither of them felt like chatting anymore, and they each pulled their thoughts back to their own.

Before long, we arrived at the gate of happiness.

Jiang Chuan's last entry permit to the city was used up yesterday, and it will be replenished next year.

The guards stopped the car and signaled it to come to a halt.

The passenger window opened, and the security captain who had been guarding the door came up and glanced around the car.

"Station Chief Ding, your guards are no longer allowed to enter this year."

"roll."

Ding Yishan's voice was devoid of warmth, and his indifferent gaze was cast out of the car window, "Have Chu Hong come to see me."

"Ok?"

The guard captain was startled, and the professional fake smile on his face froze instantly.

Normally, even if Ding Yishan encountered this situation, he would at least get out of the car and say a few polite words, either finding other ways to make an exception or simply letting Jiang Chuan stay.

But today, that look in his eyes and that tone of voice made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.

The word "rules" stuck in the captain's throat, and he ultimately didn't dare to say it.

He took a step back with a grim expression, forcing a smile that looked worse than a grimace, and hurriedly picked up his defense communication device: "Captain Chu, Station Chief Ding is at the gate and wants you to come over in person."

"Is it?"

A deep male voice came through the microphone, sounding somewhat nonchalant: "I'm busy right now. If you have something to say, have him tell me directly."

"Station Chief Ding, it's Captain Chu on the phone."

The guard captain steeled himself and stepped forward, pressing the hands-free button.

"Old Ding, what's the big deal?"

"Heh, who gave you the right to call me Old Ding?"

Ding Yishan scoffed and interrupted him directly, "Chu Hong, I'll give you three minutes to get over here and see me."

He paused, his tone carrying an undeniable air of authority: "If I ever hear that name from your mouth again, you can forget about staying in Happiness City. Pack your things and head to the wilderness to keep the Hundred Ghosts Gang company."

?

In the office behind the high wall, a tall man holding a teacup suddenly frowned and stood up, his composure shattering instantly.

Is he on edge? When has Ding Yishan ever spoken to him in this tone?
Chu Hong tightened his grip on the microphone, his chest heaving, but he ultimately didn't dare to retort.

Having power but not using it, and having no power but pretending to have it, are two different things.

Ding Yishan is clearly the former.

Don't let the fact that the checkpoint is now in decline fool you. If they really wanted to, they could throw him out, or even everyone in the office.

"Understood." Chu Hong's voice deepened, revealing a suppressed anger. "Station Chief Ding, I'll be there right away!"

After hanging up the phone, the security captain stood beside the car, his palms sweaty.

He secretly glanced at Ding Yishan through the car window. The kind Station Chief Ding remained in the same posture as before, his eyes calmly looking ahead, but the invisible pressure made him even hold his breath.

Chu Hong, a robust middle-aged man, jogged over from the city gate.

Jiang Chuan sat in the driver's seat, took his hands off the steering wheel, and looked sharp.

Although Chu Hong is not a superhuman, he is not an ordinary person either, as he is capable of taking on the heavy responsibility of guarding the goal.

Like him, they were all half-step superhumans who failed to withstand the supernatural pollution but survived thanks to a bit of luck and retained some special abilities.

As soon as Chu Hong opened his mouth, Ding Yishan interrupted him.

"Give Jiang Chuan unlimited access, and also this car."

Ding Yishan didn't look at him, his gaze remaining fixed on the city road behind the gate. "I might be going into the inner city for meetings frequently lately, so let's not do this every time."

"This..." Chu Hong's expression changed several times, and a vein throbbed on his forehead. "According to the rules, unlimited access requires at least the rank of Deputy City Lord."

"I'll give you a chance to make a phone call," Ding Yishan said calmly, his tone leaving no room for negotiation.

Chu Hong's expression changed as he stared at Ding Yishan's expressionless profile. He mentally went over all the things he could say, but ultimately held back.

He walked to the side, took out his defense communication device, and made a call.

The call connected quickly, and Chu Hong lowered his voice and said a few words, his words as brief as if he were reporting the weather.

But after hanging up the phone, when he turned around and walked back, a fawning smile had spread across his face. "Yes, Station Chief Ding! Don't worry, I'll arrange for someone to activate Jiang Chuan's access right away, and I'll register your vehicle as exempt from inspection. If you have any needs in the future, just call me and I'll make sure everything is handled perfectly!"

"drive."

Ding Yishan kept his eyes fixed straight ahead, not even lifting an eyelid at the obsequiousness.

Jiang Chuan took a deep breath and stepped on the gas.

The pickup truck slowly slid into the city gate until it disappeared completely. Only then did the smile on Chu Hong's face vanish, and his expression turned ashen.

In the time it takes to make a phone call, he received no information, only four words: Do as instructed.

This is interesting. Is the landscape of Happiness City about to change drastically?

Or.
He subconsciously looked towards the direction outside the city, where the outline of ruins could be vaguely seen in the gray rain and mist.

Although he didn't yet know anything about the Traveler and the hundreds of thousands of migrants, Chu Hong felt a chill creep down his neck for no apparent reason, and had a vague premonition.

This is a sign that a storm is brewing!
The pickup truck drove into the square-shaped venue.

Jiang Chuan had just parked the car and was about to get out to see Ding Yishan into the venue when a warm hand pressed down on his shoulder.

"Achuan, go buy me some things later, like some fruit, it's still a rare treat these days."

As he spoke, the corner of his mouth twitched involuntarily, as if he had remembered something: "While you're at it, go to the research institute to find Old Zhang. He has a lot of books about the Guardian of Wish and the Source Track Technology. Just mention my name and borrow all the ones you can, then take them all out to Cheng Ye."

"My lord." Jiang Chuan's eyes suddenly lit up.

"Don't think too much."

Ding Yishan saw through his thoughts, smiled and shook his head, "The test at the checkpoint is never targeted at anyone. When I first came here, I was in a much worse state than he is now. If you want to carry the flag, you have to take one step at a time and wade through these checkpoints before you can truly stand firm."

As he spoke, he pushed open the car door, his feet stepping onto the wet cement floor, his voice coming through the half-open car window: "As for the grudges left behind by Cheng Long, they have been settled from today onwards!"

"Yes!"

Jiang Chuan was startled and immediately straightened his back, a respectful expression on his face.

After being influenced by the power of the traveler, Ding Yishan seemed to have returned to more than ten years ago overnight.

That decisiveness, that toughness, even the tone of his voice regained its former sharpness.

It feels both familiar and strange.

Jiang Chuan couldn't help but let out a long sigh until Ding Yishan's figure disappeared behind the venue door.

too fast.

It has only been half a month since Liu Bi left, and Cheng Ye has already proven his worth with his abilities.

Indeed, a series of events, especially those involving the traveler, brought about a wonderful opportunity.

But without real skills, how many trainee prosecutors can seize such an opportunity?

The pickup truck was restarted and slowly drove out of the venue.

In the rearview mirror, the square building looked smaller and smaller.

Jiang Chuan's grip on the steering wheel suddenly tightened, and for a moment he was in a daze, a strange thought popped into his mind.

Perhaps after today's meeting, many things in Happiness City will be different!

　P.S.: There will be another chapter tonight, it might be a little late. Thank you for your support, readers!!!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)