Wasteland Border Inspector

Chapter 150 The Guardian Spider Investigates Dabo Town!

The seven-kilometer rural road is not entirely a muddy dirt road that reaches up to your ankles.

Occasionally, you might come across a cracked section of concrete pavement. Although it is covered with spiderweb-like cracks and the edges are weathered and peeling, it can still provide a few solid places to stand.

Unfortunately, the lifespan of cement roads is only about thirty years.

Beyond this time limit, the road conditions will deteriorate year by year, not to mention that eighty years have passed now.

The remaining cement blocks were embedded in the mud like foam. If you stepped on them with a little force, you would hear a crisp "crack" sound, as if they would crumble into dust at any moment.

After walking for nearly two hours, from a little past ten o'clock to almost twelve, the ruins of Dabo Town finally appeared on the horizon.

Compared to the vastness and oppressive atmosphere of the ruins in Sichuan, the low-rise buildings here feel strangely welcoming.

Cheng Ye stopped and gazed into the distance. In the hazy mist, the crooked roofs and dilapidated walls were faintly visible, giving him a fleeting illusion of returning to a village in the old days.

But if you take a few more steps forward and see the jagged cracks on the broken walls and the withered vines climbing all over the wall, that illusion immediately disappears.

This place is ultimately a wilderness that has been abandoned for far too long, a ruin of civilization!
Jiang Chuan's pickup truck quickly caught up. He first took out a water bottle from the back seat and helped Cheng Ye wash off the mud from his lower body. Then he handed him a pair of clean rain boots.

"It's new, I got it this morning in your size."

"Thanks."

Cheng Ye changed his shoes, threw his old shoes into the back cabin, and took out a map from the passenger-side armrest to compare.

Dabo Town is a standard cross-shaped town.

There are no skyscrapers; the tallest buildings are just a few scattered five-story residential buildings and the four-story government building in the town center.

The two are now standing on East Street. Cheng Ye stands at the end of the street, looking around as if his gaze has traveled through time and space, seeing the prosperity of the past.

Villages and towns with this layout often have one characteristic: they hold a large market every few days.

Villagers from the surrounding area would bring their agricultural and aquatic products in bamboo baskets to the market to sell and supplement their household income.

Some food stalls and vendors will also take the opportunity to reserve a spot and make a little money from the huge flow of people.

Decades have passed, and the roadside shops have long since rotted away, leaving only wooden frames. The door panels have decayed into dark brown fragments, mixed in with the mud, making it impossible to tell what they were originally.

The main street was in a state of disrepair, with half-meter-wide cracks between broken cement blocks. Wild grass sprouted from the cracks, growing taller than a person, cutting the road surface into small, fragmented pieces.

Occasionally, you can see half a utility pole stuck in the ground, with withered vines wrapped around it, looking like a crooked scarecrow.

Cheng Ye walked deeper into the rain, his boots crunching over broken glass and rotten wood, making a soft, clear sound that was particularly distinct in the silent rain.

Soon, he saw the "abandoned grain depot" at the east end of the town mentioned in the information.

Half of the gray brick wall of the courtyard had collapsed, revealing the rampant weeds growing inside, clearly indicating that it had been repeatedly ransacked.

Even the pair of cast iron door hinges outside the courtyard gate had been pried off, leaving only two dark, gaping holes, like a toothless mouth.

The two entered the courtyard, their waist-high weeds tripping their trouser legs. Jiang Chuan had to use his machete to hack his way through the weeds and carve a path.

Suddenly, Cheng Ye turned around sharply and immediately gripped his pistol.

Two ant-wolves, each about half a person's height, stood at the gate of the courtyard, peering out. The moment their eyes met, they let out a low growl, tucked their tails between their legs, and ran away, disappearing into the fog outside the wall.

Cheng Ye's grip on the gun tightened slightly, and a sudden sense of panic rose in his heart.

A cold rain fell from the gray sky, and the deserted courtyard was swallowed by weeds.

It was noon, but the light was as dim as dusk, and apart from the patter of rain, there was no other sound.

There were no birdsong, no insect chirps, even the wind seemed frozen, leaving only deathly silence.

This scene was so familiar, it reminded him of when he and his roommates played 7 Days to Die in college, teaming up at night to raid zombie towns without turning on the lights and enjoying the thrill of being ambushed.

However, what is exciting in the game turns into a bone-chilling cold in reality.

Even though his strength has greatly increased and he now possesses extraordinary abilities, the fear stemming from his memories continues to spread.

Seeing him stop and turn pale, Jiang Chuan also sheathed his knife and waited quietly to the side without urging him.

After a minute or two, Cheng Ye finally let out a slow sigh of relief. "Let's go in and take a look."

It's a good thing that no one's around.

This means that an infected person won't suddenly jump out from some random corner and sneak up on you.

These abandoned towns may harbor some dormant sources of infection, which can be avoided with careful observation.

The main warehouse of the grain station is relatively well preserved. It is built of large blue bricks, and although the white lime in the cracks of the walls is mottled, you can still see its sturdiness in those days.

Let alone fifty or a hundred years, even if it's left for many more years, it won't easily collapse due to wind and rain.

The iron gate had long been removed, and the warehouse entrance was dark and gaping, like a silent mouth. Large spider webs covered the lintel, with fine dust and grass clippings hanging from the threads.

Jiang Chuan raised his hand and turned on the flashlight. The moment the beam of light pierced the darkness, the two of them held their breath at the same time.

A milky-white spider, about the size of a human head, was hanging from the beam in the center of the granary, its eight legs curled up as if it were asleep.

When the flashlight beam shone on it, it reflected a cold light similar to that of a carapace, with an eerie glaze color.

But it didn't move at all, not even its tentacles twitched, as if it had already died, just hanging stiffly in mid-air.

"It's a guardian spider!"

This was, in fact, the first time he had ever encountered an infection source in the wild, and it was a dormant one at that.

Cheng Ye immediately found the corresponding description of the source of infection in the prosecutor's manual from his memory.

Guardian spiders are a type of special infection source, but they pose no active threat to humans.

Even during the extraordinary era, they were widely bred and used as local guardians after being infected with the S3 virus.

Where it is, small creatures such as mosquitoes will be captured by the spider web and will not be able to breed and cause damage.

With S4 turning it into a source of infection, it becomes quite difficult to be parasitized by the Spirit Guardian Spider.

First, this thing never hides itself; it's usually hung in the most conspicuous place.

Secondly, it is extremely weak in aggression. Even if a person walks by, it will mostly be ignored unless attacked first.

However, their parasitic methods are also very brutal.

Whether you come into contact with the guardian spider itself or touch its silk, there is a certain probability of becoming infected.

After being infected, people gradually lose their minds and become guardian spirits wandering in fixed areas, unconsciously roaming and patrolling until they are exhausted and their lifespan ends, eventually turning into a mummified corpse.

To get rid of the parasite, you need to find something to do before entering the explosive state.

Big things and small things don't matter.

Anything that cannot be completed within seven days will be fine; the parasite will naturally dissipate after seven days.

"What do you mean?" Jiang Chuan asked in a low voice, his flashlight beam still fixed on the spider.

"I come!"

Cheng Ye's eyes narrowed.

He had seen parasitic infection sources that emerged from human bodies before, but this was the first time he had encountered a wild infection source, so he naturally wouldn't let this opportunity for experimentation pass him by.

If the source of infection can also be unlocked in the encyclopedia, then the prosecutors will probably have to go on a killing spree against "these things" in the future!

He turned back to the pickup truck, retrieved the Whirlwind Spear, and quickly attached it to the spear shaft.

The weak point of the guardian spider is the soft carapace under its abdomen, where there is no hard shell covering it and it is connected to the spider silk glands, which is a fatal vulnerability.

"Be careful, the spider silk is sticky, don't get it on you," Jiang Chuan warned from the side, while gripping his machete tightly, ready to provide backup at any moment.

However, what reassured him was that Cheng Ye's performance was indeed vastly different from that of the newcomers.

Neither the tactical maneuvers were sturdy, nor was the footwork controlled after entering the warehouse; there was no deviation whatsoever.

Upon entering the granary, Cheng Ye moved quietly, inching along the wall like a cat.

The warehouse was filled with a damp, musty smell. The closer you got to the center, the denser the cobwebs became. The threads were as thin as hair, yet exceptionally strong, gleaming faintly silver in the flashlight beam.

He stopped about three meters away from the guardian spider.

After observing it carefully for a moment, the extremely subtle undulations of the spider's abdomen confirmed that it was indeed in a state of deep sleep.

"I'm sorry, go to sleep peacefully, there's no need to guard this place anymore!"

Cheng Ye silently chanted in his heart, exerted his strength, and his body shot out like an arrow, his triangular spear piercing precisely at that soft abdominal armor!

puff.

The spear tip penetrated nearly half an inch, and milky white fluid gushed out instantly, carrying a faint almond scent.

The guardian spider immediately awoke, its eight legs suddenly spreading open with a sharp hissing sound, its abdomen contracting violently as it tried to break free.

But Cheng Ye simply rotated the spear shaft slightly, and a "crunching" scraping sound rang out, clearly indicating that its internal organs had been shredded.

He quickly dropped the spear shaft and retreated to the entrance of the granary, avoiding the bodily fluids splashed by the struggling spirit spider.

Under the flashlight beam, the spider's legs began to twitch, and white foam oozed from the wound on its abdomen. After thrashing about for about half a minute, it finally stopped moving completely.

Its body gradually lost its luster, becoming like a dusty, grayish-white stone.

Cheng Ye returned the way he came, and just as he gripped the spear shaft, a notification suddenly popped up on the panel:
The collector has detected escaping biological information and is automatically absorbing it.

[Absorption complete. New creature added to the encyclopedia: Guardian Spider]

"what?!"

"They can actually collect infection sources!"

Cheng Ye was stunned at first, then overjoyed. The fear he had felt earlier due to the oppressive environment vanished instantly, leaving only uncontrollable excitement.

What does it mean to be able to collect sources of infection?
Analysis of source track technology? Integration of the characteristics of the infection source with the Heart-Protecting Fire? Or direct exchange for the finished product?
Each one, regardless of its type, exudes endless possibilities and inspires longing.

"I'll clean up the spider silk; it'll be the quickest way to burn it all."

As Jiang Chuan spoke, he waited for Cheng Ye to walk out of the granary, then turned back to the car to retrieve tinder.

Of course, if it weren't raining, bringing in a bundle of dry wormwood would have been enough to burn the spider web clean.

Taking advantage of Jiang Chuan's absence, Cheng Ye quickly opened the encyclopedia and found the information about the Guardian Spider under the entry for Mutant Malaria Mosquito.

For the collector, both mutated organisms and sources of infection are classified as "native organisms".

Clicking on it reveals two illustrations: one showing it hanging in the center of the granary when we first met it, and the other a close-up of it being stabbed to death by a triangular spear.

Scroll down, and line after line of text information appears:

The Guardian Spider

[Description]: Formed from a common spider infected with a mutated virus, it possesses an extremely strong territorial instinct. Its silk contains a weak neurotoxin that can paralyze small creatures. Creatures that come into contact with it have a certain probability of being parasitized, gradually losing their autonomy until death.

[Current Parasitism Probability]:
Contact lasting less than 3 seconds (life-threatening reduction; no risk)
Greater than 3 seconds (probability of parasitism: 100%)

[Currently Included Features]:
Spider webs (8.6%)

Spider web confinement (3.2%)

Neurotoxin (0.47%)

"Hey, these three characteristics seem pretty good!"

Cheng Ye's eyes lit up. The malaria mosquitoes provided toxin neutralization and filtering, but unexpectedly, the guardian spider provided the toxin itself.

Judging from the collection rate of this trait, to reach 100%, it would probably take killing a hundred or two guardian spiders.

The spider web, on the other hand, seems to be the most promising area to be filled quickly.

"If I could turn the spider web into a skill, and it had enough range and power to shoot, wouldn't I be able to cosplay as Spider-Man?"

Cheng Ye couldn't help but grin.

But then I thought about it again. Given the current wasteland environment, which is full of wilderness and ruins, even if I really had Spider-Man's abilities, they probably wouldn't be of much use.

Also.

His gaze then fell on the probability of parasitism, and he was surprised that the encyclopedia would so clearly show the risk of him being parasitized.

"Is it okay as long as the contact doesn't exceed three seconds?"

The improvement in his life level did indeed directly enhance his resistance to the source of infection.

But this straightforward presentation made Cheng Ye secretly pleased. It was much easier than feeling his way across the river by himself and testing the safety threshold bit by bit!
Of course, this is on the premise that you have to kill the source of infection to unlock the encyclopedia before you can see this specific information.

Not far away, Jiang Chuan quickly returned with a handheld flamethrower that resembled a spray gun.

He walked into the granary, pressed the trigger on the spider web, and a pale blue flame shot out. The moment the spider silk touched the flame, it melted with a "sizzle" and turned into ashes.

This made Cheng Ye realize that the survival supplies he had prepared were too ordinary.

It seems I'll need to get a car and more tools for venturing into the wilderness in the future.

Otherwise, in this situation, we would only be able to search through the ruins, which would be a waste of time.

or.
As expected, just as he was thinking this, the little flame in his field of vision sensed the presence of the flame and "whoosh" jumped out and perched on his shoulder.

The little guy blinked his round eyes. He must have eaten too much in the morning. At this moment, he just stared curiously at the firelight in the granary, instead of jumping around excitedly as usual.

But strangely, some very vague thoughts came from the mental link.

"Hey, does this little guy not like Jiang Chuan?"

The thought was vague, unlike the clear syllables of the morning. Cheng Ye could only barely catch a trace of the emotions of "staying away," "avoiding," and "disliking."

Cheng Ye pondered that Huo Miao had been going out for walks from time to time these days and had seen many people, but this was the first time he had shown such aversion to anyone.

"Could it be related to Jiang Chuan's Lv5 skill?"

Without more information, this is just a guess for now.

However, Jiang Chuan seemed to have no sense of the flames, perhaps because he had not yet broken through that layer of space, that is, he did not possess a supernatural ability similar to the Soul-Destroying Flame.

"Alright, the main part of the spider web has been cleared. The rest will gradually lose its activity over the next day, and no one else should be coming here."

Jiang Chuan turned off the flamethrower and clapped his hands.

After cleaning up the cobwebs, the two wandered around the granary and soon discovered the so-called underground warehouse.

Unsurprisingly, the warehouse's iron gate had also been pried off, leaving only a downward-extending bluestone staircase, its edges covered in moss, making it slippery and difficult to walk on.

Without the presence of the spirit-guarding spiders, the journey down might still be fraught with danger.

However, the guardian spiders have a very strong sense of territory and will never tolerate sharing space with their own kind or other sources of infection.

However, the two did not let their guard down. Jiang Chuan walked in front, holding his machete horizontally in front of his chest, while Cheng Ye followed closely behind, drawing his short sword. The two moved down the steps one step at a time.

Upon reaching the bottom, Cheng Ye couldn't help but gasp. The underground warehouse was much larger than he had imagined, about five meters high, and estimated to be around four hundred square meters.

The air was thick with the smell of mildew, mixed with the earthy stench, even more pungent than the smell in the granary above.

He subconsciously touched the wall; the bricks and stones his fingertips touched were dry and hard, without a trace of moisture.

"Its moisture resistance is indeed quite good."

Cheng Ye nodded slightly. This perfectly matched the description in the data that "the underground warehouse of the grain station has excellent moisture resistance." No matter how heavy the rain or how high the humidity was outside, no water droplets condensed on the walls. It could indeed be used as a material storage point in the future.

As for the supplies in the warehouse, they had already been completely looted over the decades.

Only some weathered and cracked nutrient slurry bags remain, which is enough to prove that residents of Happiness City once took refuge here.

"Wait, there seem to be words over there," Cheng Ye suddenly raised his hand and pointed to the wall deep inside the warehouse.

Jiang Chuan immediately shone his flashlight in the direction the beam landed, revealing dozens of deep scratch marks crisscrossing the brick wall, as if someone had used their fingernails to carve them out.

Next to the scratches, there were crookedly carved words, just one word repeated countless times: "Water. Water."

The characters were carved so deeply that the bricks and stones around the strokes were cracked, exuding a sense of desperate madness.

"It seems a lot happened here when we evacuated back then." Jiang Chuan sighed and looked away. "Don't touch these things anymore, they're bad luck."

Cheng Ye nodded, picked up a loose blue brick from the corner of the wall, and that was enough to prove that he had indeed surveyed the abandoned granary.

He didn't look at the scratches any longer. Knowing too much about some fragments of history can be suffocating.

When I got back to the street, the stuffiness from underground instantly dissipated, and the raindrops on my face brought a cool and refreshing feeling.

After a short rest, the two then explored the Jiajiale Supermarket and the office building in the town center.

The so-called supermarket is now indistinguishable from the surrounding buildings.

The glass facade has been replaced by a gap, and the cement at the edges has cracked into powder from the freezing. Stepping on it kicks up fine dust, which, mixed with the rain and mist, makes one's throat tight.

When you step inside, your shoes don't crush broken glass, but rather plastic that has been turned to dust by the sun.

The packaging bag, probably from back then, has long since lost its original color.

Looking up, the sheet metal on the roof had long been stripped away, revealing the crisscrossing beams.

The paint on the wood had faded to a gray color that matched the dust, and in some places, tiny holes had been eaten by insects. When the wind blew, wood chips would fall off, like scattering a handful of fine ashes.

Needless to say, the ground has been turned upside down by scavengers over the years, with everything usable and visible to the naked eye.

The paving stones were pried up, exposing the cement subbase, and the potholes were filled with yellow soil washed in by rainwater.

As for the shelves, there are only a few shallow scratches at the base of the wall, proving that they were once neatly arranged.

As we walked toward the town center, the roadside weeds gradually shortened, revealing the mottled exterior walls of the office building.

Large patches of plaster were rolled up, like torn newspapers, and the exposed bricks were swollen from being soaked in rainwater. Cheng Ye reached out and rubbed them, and they crumbled off in a rustling sound.

However, since it was originally a government building, the overall materials used are still solid.

Besides the outer auxiliary buildings being demolished beyond recognition, even the steel bars were twisted into pretzel shapes and pulled out, leaving only square black holes.

Perhaps because the main building was too difficult to demolish, the scavengers only took what could be removed with a wrench.

“The power of time,” Jiang Chuan sighed as he stood at the entrance of the building, his gaze sweeping over the floor fragments that looked like biscuit crumbs. “This building used to be newer than our checkpoint’s office building, but now it looks like this.”

Cheng Ye's gaze fell on the wall, where there were several lines of writing that had been soaked by time into a pale blue color, as if someone had written them with their fingertips dipped in water, the strokes so blurred that they were almost illegible.

I can only piece together the meaning from memory; perhaps it was 'for the people' or 'service'.

Going upstairs, each room had only half a wall remaining, the internal framework completely destroyed.

Throughout the entire building, not even a single piece of sheet metal or a shard of glass could be found. It was as if everything that could be called "things" had completely vanished with the passage of time, leaving only these empty shells, slowly turning into yellow dust in the wind.

Upon reaching the rooftop, the two stood on the edge and gazed around.

The view here is excellent; you can take in the entire outline of Big Wave Town at a glance.
Everywhere are dilapidated old houses, with collapsed roofs resembling gnawed bread. Wild grass grows rampant between the broken walls, weaving a green carpet. Further out, the surrounding villages stretch out, with dilapidated houses appearing and disappearing in the mist.

To be fair, this place is still better than a complete wilderness. At least it retains a trace of civilization, so that when you stand here, you don't feel a sense of emptiness and bewilderment like someone who has drawn their sword and looked around aimlessly.

The key to this trip, the Baishui River, is located on the north side of Dabo Town.

The rain washed away the fog, reducing visibility to about one kilometer.

The broad main stream that converges from Linjiang is split into two streams near Dabo Town.

A road continues to meander northward, about 25 meters wide.

The other channel, about ten meters wide, was diverted to lead to Dabo Town.

The two rivers have distinct colors. The one that meanders away is the Yellow River, which is extremely turbid and clearly contains a large amount of silt.

The Baihe River, which leads to Dabo Town, is, as its name suggests, strangely bluish-yellow in color, with fine ripples on its surface, like a handful of broken copper.

"The width is good, but the water level is really high."

Cheng Ye frowned slightly and leaned forward a little.

Standing on high ground, one can clearly see that the water level of the Baishui River is almost level with the riverbanks on both sides. The mudflats below the banks have long been submerged, and the surrounding low-lying areas are also filled with water, about to turn into a swamp.

This is not a good sign.

If the water level rises further, the core area of ​​Dabo Town will be submerged, making the construction of a satellite city a pipe dream.

To avoid this situation, several solutions immediately flashed through Cheng Ye's mind.

Emergency dredging and temporary diversion are undoubtedly the most direct solutions at present.

By deploying engineering machinery to clear the silt and debris from the Huangshui River and widening the cross-section of the main channel, the pressure on the Baishui River will drop dramatically.

Meanwhile, temporary diversion ditches were excavated on the outer side of the weak section of the river embankment to divert the overflowing water to uninhabited wasteland in the distance, using natural depressions to buffer the pressure.

Once the water level drops slightly, it is time to reinforce the riverbanks, and even build a temporary secondary dike to prevent the water flow from eroding the base of the dikes and causing a breach.

In the long run, the best approach is to divert the river and plan for flood detention areas.

Linjiang has a well-developed water system, but lacks water storage space. In addition, the two rivers have too many bends, which leads to poor flood discharge. It would be better to straighten the bends and dig a new section of the river channel to shorten the flood discharge path. At the same time, the original bends in the river channel can be transformed into flood detention areas, which can actively divert and store floodwater during the flood season and replenish groundwater resources during the drought season.

When the time comes, the water pipes will be laid directly there, which will meet the needs of Dabo Town.

Of course, if this plan were implemented in modern times, the issues of demolition negotiations and farmland occupation alone would be enormous problems.

In a wasteland environment, it can be easily accomplished with enough manpower and machinery.

The challenge lies in gaining the support of the senior management of Happiness City and securing a sufficient budget.

"I definitely can't do it alone; I need the participation of Wenlu County."

Cheng Ye pondered quietly.

The water diversion wharf that Lin Bao mentioned is built on the embankment about one kilometer north of Dabo Town.

The bluish-gray stone wall peeked out from the fog, its top crenellations worn and damaged by wind and rain, yet still revealing its former sturdiness.

"That must be a fantastic fishing spot."

Cheng Ye suddenly laughed, his gaze falling on the protruding concrete platform of the dock.

This part of the structure extends into the water, just enough to avoid the shallows near the shore, making it perfect for fishing.

However, with such a large water flow and extremely fast current, it would be difficult to even keep a steady cast rod, let alone fish.

Casting a net, on the other hand, might yield a considerable harvest.

As for the damaged hydroelectric power station, it was hidden in the fog and couldn't be seen, but it should be downstream.

"Go down and take a look?"

"go!"

　P.S.: I was planning to take a break today, but the readers' monthly votes have been so enthusiastic, so here are two chapters!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)