Wasteland Border Inspector

Chapter 152 Flying Snow, the Overbearing Fish King!

He said he was bringing a portable gas stove and a small pot, but Jiang Chuan soon came up carrying a backpack that was half his height.

Seeing Cheng Ye's confusion, he immediately explained:
"There's storage space under the back seats, and I like to put these little things in there."

little things?
Cheng Ye raised an eyebrow, watching as Jiang Chuan unzipped his backpack, and the equipment he pulled out almost dazzled him.

Three portable gas stoves, two large and one small.

The larger ones are used for making soup, and the smaller ones are used for heating the nutrient syrup.

There were also four canned goods jars containing chili peppers, pickled vegetables, mixed spice powder, and a small jar of turmeric powder.

Three stainless steel pots, nested together in order of size, the largest of which is half a foot deep, can easily stew a whole chicken.

In addition, there is a folding cutting board, three knives of different lengths, a long-handled soup spoon, a portable tableware set for two people, a portable dishcloth, a spare gas canister, a small bag of salt, sugar, a sealed half-bag of sausages, and two large bottles of purified water.
"Are you here to help me with the second round of assessments, or to experience life in the wild?"

Cheng Ye was dumbfounded.

This isn't just bringing small items; it's practically moving the entire kitchen over.

Jiang Chuan grinned and quickly set up the portable gas stove: "After running around in the wild for a while, you'll know that a hot meal is more important than anything else, especially on a rainy day like this. If we have a hot fish soup, we can stay warm all night. But if we eat some nutritional paste, we'll be so cold in the middle of the night that we'll be curled up in a ball."

"Furthermore, the wilderness is polluted, and it will gradually seep into your mind."

Without waiting for Cheng Ye to do anything, he directly took a black fish out of the bucket and began to process it.

As someone who is in harmony with nature and on the verge of transcendence, Jiang Chuan can scale fish very quickly.

In the blink of an eye, the blackfish was cleaned up, and the removed internal organs were put into a sealed bag to ensure that the fishy smell would not attract mutated creatures.

"Humans are social animals. If you leave the group, your spirit will gradually become exhausted while wandering in the wilderness. This kind of exhaustion cannot be recovered by sleep. You have to find some collective memories. I have seen many loners and ascetics before. They are all monsters and madmen. If you don't want to become like them, you have to keep yourself human."

"It would take several months, a year or two, for things to turn like this, right?" Cheng Ye asked curiously.

He had never experienced the feeling Jiang Chuan described, because in modern times, there are people in almost every corner.

Finding a place far from populated areas while still having access to water, electricity, and cell phone service is not so simple.

"It's very fast, not as slow as you think."

Jiang Chuan shook his head, then suddenly changed the subject, "Prosecutor Cheng, do you really think the S4 virus has no effect on ordinary people?"

"Ok?"

Cheng Ye was taken aback. "Really?"

"Of course there are. The S4 virus targets not only superhumans, but ordinary people can't escape it either."

Jiang Chuan quickly prepared another whitebait, washed the two fish clean, and threw them into the first pot.

He unscrewed the can of chili peppers, and a rich aroma immediately wafted out, mingling with the freshness of the fish and washing away the musty smell in the room. "Black and white fish have firm flesh, which is suitable for stewing in chunks. Using this can of chili peppers to braise them will guarantee a delicious flavor. I just don't know if you can handle the spiciness."

"It's okay, you can continue talking about the S4 virus."

Cheng Ye quickly waved his hand. He had looked through so many materials, but he had never seen a single book mention that the S4 virus was harmful to ordinary people.

"This is just my guess. Well, just consider it an intuition without any evidence."

Jiang Chuan grinned and turned on the gas stove. "The superhumans infected by the S4 virus don't just die, they go insane and attack everything indiscriminately, including themselves. Isn't that like mental pollution? And those superhuman creatures that have been infected, once they become sources of infection, the scariest thing is that they can subtly change your thoughts."

"For example, with the guardian spider, if you want to resist its parasitic contamination, you need to find something else and use other beliefs to resist its contamination."

"And then there are the wanderers; their abilities also corrupt the minds of many."

"I believe that the wilderness is also polluted! Staying outside for too long makes people more and more impatient, more and more extreme in their actions, feel that nothing is meaningful, and want to fight with anyone they see!"

"This is autism; I've read about it in books."

Cheng Ye chuckled, genuinely startled by Jiang Chuan just now. "If your spiritual sustenance is based on the group, and you live in isolation for too long, you'll develop these symptoms."

"Really?" Jiang Chuan shook his head. "I don't know either. Others have told me this before, but I always felt it wasn't that simple. When I was young, I could go away for three to five months without any problems, but now, as long as I'm away from the group for two months, I start experiencing these symptoms."

"Haha, isn't that normal? You're just getting old, it's time to find a partner and settle down."

Cheng Ye joked, "By the way, you seem to know me quite well, but I don't know you at all."

"I'm just an ordinary person, with no special story."

Jiang Chuan took out the grass carp and silver carp, cleaned them, and threw them whole into the second pot to stew, adding some pickled vegetables for seasoning.

I picked a bunch of red shrimp, washed them, and threw them in. The shrimp shells gradually turned red in the boiling water, dyeing the soup a light golden-red.

After doing all that, the two sat down by the tent.

He paused, then suddenly laughed. "I was born at the turn of the century, one of the last people of the old era. I was one year old when the new era began. You would never guess, I was born in the City of Fire's Protection."

“My father was one of the first builders of Happiness City, but unfortunately he was unlucky and died of illness shortly after arriving. My mother raised me, but she was also in poor health and passed away when I was six years old. In the end, I was taken in by Inspector Ding Xiao of the checkpoint, who was also the father of Station Chief Ding.”

“I started practicing martial arts when I was young. I might have some talent, and I quickly stood out among my peers. Unfortunately, Prosecutor Ding Xiao later left with your grandfather, and I was alone again. Fortunately, I was already 11 years old at that time, which was the early days of the Great Development Era. Because I was strong from practicing martial arts, no one looked down on me because of my age.”

“I followed the pioneering corps from 10 to 15, a full five years. I was 16 when I finally settled down in the buffer zone. It was Station Chief Ding who discovered me. Back then, he was still an inspector and gave me the only clerk position.”

"."

Jiang Chuan spoke in a calm tone, as if he were telling someone else's story.

It neither describes how a six-year-old child survives in the buffer zone, nor mentions how many life-and-death situations an eleven-year-old would face if he joined the pioneering corps.

But Cheng Ye could read the heavy burden of suffering in those simple words and phrases.

He dared not imagine what it would be like if he were in that kind of environment.

Just like Huang Sheng said, his generation was indeed able to endure hardship!

"Later, I followed Station Chief Ding all the way to where I am today. I have witnessed the establishment and construction of Happiness City Checkpoint, and its current glory that is famous throughout the wasteland. Back then, I was even praised by Inspector Cheng Wu for my good martial arts talent."

"Have you never tried to transcend?" Cheng Ye suddenly asked.

Jiang Chuan was taken aback, his expression instantly turning serious: "Prosecutor Cheng, how do you know about the extraordinary?"

Cheng Ye paused, then said, "It's really hard to say how I knew that."

After all, it is well known that superhumans in this era are still a curse.

To become extraordinary, one needs to coexist with extraordinary beings.

"Hmm, Researcher Qin told me. I captured an unknown source of infection before, and it showed that I could be rewarded with a superhuman inducer!"

Cheng Ye didn't talk about his conversation with Tang Si, but instead recounted his experience of first learning about the extraordinary.

"Oh, that's true." Jiang Chuan's expression softened somewhat. "Extraordinary abilities aren't exactly a secret, but trainees generally don't come into contact with them. If you're curious, don't take it too seriously. You'll find out when the time is right. But if you're in a hurry, you're likely to fall into pain and torment, and even end up as..."

"Choose a side?" Cheng Ye interjected.

“That’s right.” Jiang Chuan grinned. “Many people chose sides in order to become extraordinary, becoming slaves to power, which makes it even harder for them to control that power.”

"Have you never tried to become extraordinary?"

Cheng Ye asked again.

Jiang Chuan opened his mouth, first shook his head, then nodded, "I tried, but I failed."

"clear."

Cheng Ye didn't press further, which made Jiang Chuan breathe a sigh of relief.

He didn't want to lie, but not revealing details to those who hadn't come into contact with the supernatural was an ironclad principle.

If Cheng Ye finds out too much, it will be much more difficult for him to pursue the extraordinary in the future.

But soon, his brow twitched again.

"So what is your belief?"

"Huh?" Jiang Chuan suddenly opened his mouth wide, his expression changing drastically.

Belief, transcendence—could it be that Cheng Ye has already discovered the key to transcendence?!
Before he could speak, Cheng Ye continued, "I heard Director Miao say that to achieve harmony between man and nature, one must have unwavering faith."

Okay, let's interrupt the spellcasting.

Jiang Chuan deflated like a punctured balloon, his face contorted with bitterness. "My beliefs are insignificant compared to others; they're like a firefly compared to the bright moon."

Seeing Cheng Ye blink his eyes, still looking curious.

He could only sigh and say, "I want to protect what I think is good, just like Prosecutor Ding Xiao did for me back then."

guard
Cheng Ye's heart stirred; he hadn't expected Jiang Chuan's belief to be such a simple yet weighty two words.

No wonder he failed and couldn't achieve greatness.

For Yu Chaofan, this is not about looking inward and living by following a certain rule.

Instead, they seek externally, binding their beliefs to others, almost planting the source of their beliefs in others.

Protecting "good things" is one thing if it's inanimate objects, but the following sentence clearly refers to people.

Protecting a good person?
But in this wasteland, are there any absolutely good people?

Or, to put it another way, are there good people who remain unchanged from birth to death?

Suppose that "good person" changes along the way, even if it's just a slight deviation, as long as Jiang Chuan has even the slightest doubt about his beliefs and his vision, his foundation will be shaken once.

Even if he truly becomes extraordinary, and one day the person he was protecting changes or dies, will he also be corrupted and become cursed as a result?

Seeing Cheng Ye suddenly fall silent, Jiang Chuan also stopped talking, and the atmosphere in the room became somewhat dull.

"So, Station Chief Ding is the person you're going to protect?" Cheng Ye spoke first.

“Not only.” Jiang Chuan shook his head, his tone lighter. “I also sponsor many children in the buffer zone, at least ensuring they don’t starve. Occasionally, I teach them martial arts. When I encounter scavengers who want to venture out, some of whom dare to go out without even a gun, I lend a hand. And there are the elderly… There are many beautiful things in the buffer zone, and they need someone to quietly protect them.”

As he spoke, he suddenly remembered what Ding Yishan had said in the car that day, and couldn't help but chuckle, "Let me put it this way, if the belief you're building is for the sake of power, rather than what you truly desire, then it's better not to build it at all."

"It's very philosophical, like something you'd only find in a book."

Cheng Ye made a sarcastic remark, and the atmosphere lightened up again.

He didn't mention anything about the extraordinary or beliefs again, because he had roughly guessed why Jiang Chuan treated him this way.

Because of belief, and because of protection.

Jiang Chuan is truly a kind person who has been rained on, had someone hold an umbrella for him, and is willing to hold an umbrella for others.

Unfortunately, there's a saying that hits home: good people don't live long.

Perhaps if we change our perspective, with his talent, he should have already achieved extraordinary things. Even his breakdown after being away from the group for so long might be related to losing the belief he was protecting.

Of course, as I said before, if achieving extraordinary power is for doing things you don't like, then the power itself becomes meaningless.

"Here, have some soup."

The fish in the first pot was almost cooked. Jiang Chuan lifted the lid, and a spicy aroma suddenly wafted out.

He ladled out two bowls, and the rising steam blurred their vision but also dispelled some of the chill.

Cheng Ye took a small sip; the spiciness was mixed with the earthy taste unique to freshwater fish, but the aftertaste had a hint of sweetness.

Upon closer examination, one can discern four or five distinct layers.

It's true that after my palate became lighter, everything tasted delicious. Flavors that I used to overlook now bloom clearly on my tongue.

Both of them were martial artists with frighteningly large appetites.

After wolfing down the first pot of fish, the second pot of fish soup tasted even more special.

The spiciness gradually turned into a sweet sensation, and the burning sensation from my mouth to my throat and then to my stomach was slowly soothed, transforming into a warm current that spread throughout my limbs.

The brightly colored red shrimp were exceptionally firm and chewy. As Cheng Ye ate, he thought that once the fishing season opened, their striking color would likely lead to their near extinction.

Finally, four more packets of nutritional syrup were heated in the small pot, two packets for each person.

After drinking it, I felt just full, not too bloated or hungry, which was the perfect state to fall asleep soundly.

The rain outside the window was still pouring down, and a few cold winds blew in through the broken window, carrying the dampness of the earth, but they couldn't dispel the lingering aroma of food in the room.

"Go to sleep. Tonight is your first night in the wilderness. I'll keep watch."

Jiang Chuan placed the camping lamp high up in the room. The dim yellow light cast swaying shadows on the mottled wall. Although it wasn't bright, it dispelled some of the chill of the night and brought a faint warmth to the two of them.

Cheng Ye nodded, bent down, and crawled into the single tent.

The space in the single tent was not large to begin with, and he was still wearing his armor, so he could only lie upright with his back against the cold ground, making it difficult even to turn over.

But in the perilous wilderness, comfort is the least important thing; having a corner to shelter from the wind and rain is a rare sense of security.

"I never imagined my first day in the wilderness would be like this."

Cheng Ye sighed inwardly, his mind involuntarily replaying the events of the day.

From the tension and excitement of leaving the city at dawn to seeing up close the vast ruins of Chuan City, swallowed by vegetation.

From the bumpy national highway to the potholes on the county road, and finally to that muddy country road that almost made you sink.

The hunters encountered, the mutated malaria mosquitoes that suddenly attacked, and the guardian spiders guarding the granary.
Thinking back on it carefully, I realized that I had experienced almost every danger that could be encountered in the wilderness that day.

There are also the crooked, abandoned buildings in Dabo Town, the rushing water at the confluence of the Baishui River, and the damaged hydroelectric power station standing on the riverbed, riddled with cracks.
These images flashed by like a revolving lantern, gradually making his previously vague understanding of the outside world clearer and more concrete.

Just then, Jiang Chuan coughed softly outside the tent, followed by footsteps.

"I'm going on night patrol. Sleep peacefully."

Hearing the steady footsteps moving back and forth in the corridor, Cheng Ye smiled slightly, and drowsiness slowly crept in.

very nice.

Although he was transported to this treacherous and fearful wasteland, from the day he woke up, he seemed to have never lacked people who were genuinely kind to him.

People of all kinds are much more real than those interactions in modern society that are done through screens and disguised.

After summoning the little flame and having the little guy help guard against the surrounding dangers, he soon fell into a deep sleep.

When I woke up again, it was already late at night, and dawn was approaching.

Cheng Ye pulled open a corner of the tent and saw Jiang Chuan standing by the window, his back to him, gazing outside as if lost in thought. His profile looked somewhat wistful in the light of the camping lamp.

Hearing the noise, Jiang Chuan turned his head: "Why are you awake?"

"You weren't too tired yesterday, so I'll keep watch. You can get some sleep."

"It's alright, it's already five o'clock," Jiang Chuan said, pointing outside, "It's snowing."

"Snow?"

Cheng Ye peeked out, and a bone-chilling cold instantly seeped into his collar, making him sneeze involuntarily.

so cold.

The temperature feels like it's already around minus four or five degrees Celsius.

He got up and stepped out of the tent. Under the light of the camping lamp, he could see snowflakes falling all around him.

It wasn't a heavy snowfall, but a fine, dense blanket of snow, like countless white dust particles falling from the sky.

"Looks like another wave of fog holes has erupted."

Cheng Ye was somewhat alarmed.

The sudden drop in temperature means that the fog is drawing heat away from the surrounding air, forming fog holes that connect to other areas.

He walked to the window, turned on the flashlight, and shone it outside.

Perhaps because of the heavy rain, there was no snow on the road, but a thin layer of white had already covered the roofs of some dilapidated buildings, giving this desolate ruin a more eerie tranquility.

"It's so cold, construction will be very difficult."

Jiang Chuan murmured unconsciously, his eyes somewhat vacant, as if recalling the winter scenes of Happiness City in the past.

Finally, he smiled nonchalantly, "It's almost over. Intelligence predicts this will be the last time the Void Fog erupts."

"That's good. If this awful weather continues, there's nothing we can do."

Cheng Ye breathed a sigh of relief, then paused and said, "Let's start packing. We should head back to the city before dawn, so as not to delay anything."

"it is good!"

Although it's snowing, it's still summer, so it gets light early.

The sky was already beginning to lighten with the first hint of dawn.

Cheng Ye packed up the tent, picked up the bucket containing the fish, and suddenly paused.

The collector has detected escaping biological information and is automatically absorbing it.

[Absorption complete. New creature added to the encyclopedia: Freshwater fish]

"Hey, can the fish in this bucket be compiled into an encyclopedia?"

He paused for a moment, then looked down at the bucket.

There was only half a bucket of water. Four blackfish were still struggling and blowing bubbles, while the grass carp and silver carp had died from lack of oxygen. Their eyes rolled back and their bellies bulged as they floated on the surface of the water.

Cheng Ye opened the panel and glanced at the illustrations.

The two illustrations are quite funny. One is from our first meeting yesterday, and the other is of a grass carp floating belly-up in a bucket.

The following text is even simpler.

Freshwater fish

[Description]: Fish that live in freshwater

[Currently Included Features]:
Underwater breathing (0.15%)

Water-based (5.57%)

The description will be glossed over in one sentence.

But when it comes to characteristics...
"Hmm, these two features seem quite useful?"

Compared to the fancy special abilities of extraordinary and mutated creatures, the characteristics provided by ordinary freshwater fish are closer to the needs of survival.

Cheng Ye thought for a moment, then took out a small knife and cleanly butchered a blackfish.

Unfortunately, the encyclopedia did not identify the new species and still classifies it under the "freshwater fish" category.

But after refreshing the page, an additional illustration appeared, a close-up of the black-striped fish he had killed, and a new line of content appeared in the list of freshwater fish characteristics:

Growth factors (1.19%)

"The characteristics listed below the encyclopedia entry are actually increasing!"

Cheng Ye was somewhat surprised.

As the name suggests, these new characteristics are mostly related to the mutation of the black-striped fish.

Could this be the root cause of the accelerated growth rate?
Unfortunately, each fish only accumulates a little over 1%. To accumulate enough percentage for the exchange, you would have to kill at least a hundred fish.

"Thinking about it this way, it doesn't seem like that much?"

Cheng Ye's eyes flickered slightly, and he decisively named the remaining three black-striped fish and two white-striped fish.

With each slaughter, the "growth factor" value would fluctuate, contributing an average of about 1% per slaughter, eventually settling at 6.57%.

"Should we go back to the river and save up enough before going back?"

Despite the freezing weather, the fish may become unusually active because of the temperature drop.

Hearing that he wanted to go to the river again, Jiang Chuan nodded without hesitation: "Let's go, it's good to go and take a look. There might be some unexpected fish in the snow."

The two packed their things and got into the pickup truck. By then, it was already dawn, and the snow seemed to be falling even harder, turning the world into a vast expanse of white.

Fortunately, the temperature drop hardened the muddy road surface slightly, and the wheels no longer sank deep when they rolled over it, only occasionally slipping and making a "crunching" sound.

When Cheng Ye arrived at the diversion point, he was so shocked by the scene before him that he was speechless.

What a terrifying school of fish!
I don't know if it was stimulated by the sudden drop in temperature, but the entire tributary almost changed color.

A dense layer of fish floated on the surface of the water—blackfish, whitefish, grass carp—crowding and churning. Even red shrimp gathered in the shallow water, turning the surface of the water into a mottled red.

Moreover, Cheng Ye's gaze suddenly fixed on the center of the school of fish, where there was an enormous blackfish with an exaggerated size, four times the size of an ordinary blackfish, with a body length of more than 1.5 meters and an estimated weight of at least 60 or 70 kilograms.

Where it swam, the surrounding fish scattered and made way, like Moses parting the sea to create a passage.

Goodness, that's so domineering?

Is it a mutated organism or a source of infection?!

(End of this chapter)