Wasteland Border Inspector

Chapter 193 Continuous Fusion, Values ​​Increased Significantly!
The 240kW charging speed is simply amazing, with the charging value increasing by 1% every minute.

Cheng Ye opened the panel and switched to his personal page with a thought.

After several days of searching and accumulating data, the numbers have changed considerably.

[Collector: Cheng Ye]

[Current Rank: Level 2 Rookie (42.7/100)]

Life Level: 1

[Skills: Heart Protection Flame, Verdant Physique, Snake Power, Eagle Power]

[Ability]: Eagle Symbiotic Ecology (Shaping)

[Not yet unlocked.]

[Evaluation: With deeper exploration of life levels, your basic indicators have significantly improved, far exceeding the average level of current civilization's native creatures. However, this improvement will also further increase your attractiveness to special native creatures. Your current strength is still insufficient to deal with these threats. Try to gather more information about civilizations; further advancement in your rank will be beneficial for your continued development of your power!]

The most noticeable change on the panel is the dramatic increase in information content.

The "Hundred Martial Arts" talent alone, a perfect-level talent, provided a whopping 7.6 information points, which was an unexpected surprise and far exceeded the rare skills found previously.

The second most important element is the Heart-Protecting Fire, which provides additional information as the flame grows.

This Lv1 extraordinary skill is not a one-time deal, but rather provides information as you progress, which can be considered an extra surprise and gain.

The remaining information comes from a bunch of skills I've found over the past few days.

In addition to its information content, the Liaoying Co-ecology has finally moved from its initial embryonic stage to its shaping stage.

With a slight thought, Cheng Ye's field of vision instantly expanded.

The sleeping flame was "pulled" out, its fluffy down resembling a small fireball, and landed on the passenger seat, yawning sleepily.

Looking up at Cheng Ye sitting beside her, and confirming that it was safe around her, she buried her head in her wings, curled up into an even tighter ball, and continued to sleep soundly.

This little guy was only half a month old, but perhaps the special flames in the brazier brought him extra growth. His size had already quietly increased by a third, and now when he spreads out his wings, they can just cover his palm.

Its fiery red fur, covering its entire body, grew even thicker, especially on its back and abdomen, which felt like being wrapped in a warm velvet blanket.

Only the down on its wings remained sparse, yet it had a peculiar crimson hue. When you brushed your fingertips over it, you could feel a texture much harder than the down on its back, like metallic feathers.

What's most eye-catching is the tuft of golden hair on its head, which is now shining even brighter, like shattered sunlight. If you look at it for a while, it's so bright that you can't open your eyes.

"Since entering the shaping phase, this little guy has become increasingly sleepy!"

The flame seems to be receiving some inherited information from its memories, and it only comes out to move around for half an hour each day.

The rest of the time it was in a semi-sleep state, retaining only the ability to keep watch.

Cheng Ye stared at it for a while, then looked away.

As the panel unfolds further, details of the symbiotic relationship between the Heart-Protecting Fire and the Flaming Eagle are revealed:

【Heart Protection Flame (lv1; Extraordinary Talent)】

[Description]: Rumored to be in magma
[Growth Value]: Lv1 (0.286%)

[Growth Path]:
【Liaoying Co-ecosystem】

[Description]: After activating the ability
Current Status: Shaping
[Currently Shareable Skills]:
Flame-Eating Eagle (Lv1, Normal, can absorb a small amount of flames to heal minor injuries to itself or its symbiote)

Aerial Suspension (Lv1, Normal: Grants brief aerial suspension when falling from a great height, reducing fall damage)

Blazing Eagle Heartfire (Lv0, Rare: When a symbiote's heart energy is excessively depleted, the Blazing Eagle can replenish a small amount of heart energy by consuming flames)
Blazing Eagle Kills Fire (Lv0, Excellent, Symbiotes' contact attacks inflict minor fire damage, capable of causing dual damage to both the physical and spiritual levels)
[Currently shareable attributes]:
Health +1.45% (based on the symbiote's current state)
Strength +5.27% (base)

Speed ​​+3.19% (base)

Defense +0.29% (base)

[Currently Shareable Capabilities]:
Charcoal Power (Lv1, Normal, slightly increases resistance to low temperatures)
Earthfire Power (Lv0, Rare, Symbiotes' contact attacks deal minor Earthfire damage)

Firewood Power (Lv0, Excellent, slightly increases resistance to high temperatures)
As the growth value of the Heart-Protecting Fire doubled again, the various values ​​of the Fire Eagle Co-ecosystem also rose accordingly.

Both Blazing Eagle's Fire Devouring and Aerial Flight have reached Lv1. What surprised Cheng Ye even more was that, in addition to the original Blazing Eagle's Heart Fire, a new special skill had emerged:
The eagle scorches the flames.

It looks like a skill evolved from the Killing Flame.

Cheng Ye guessed that if he had chosen the Killing Flame instead of the Heart-Protecting Flame, the initial level of this skill would probably be much higher.

However, once a foundation is established, it can be gradually cultivated over time, so there is no need to rush it.

Looking at the shared attributes below, the improvement is even more significant.

The initial power and speed bonuses now provide noticeable benefits.

The added health and defense bonuses are not significant, but they are like tender buds in early spring. Given time, as the flames continue to grow, they will surely grow into something substantial.

As for the shared abilities section, since the flame absorbed a mouthful of earth fire, it naturally generated the corresponding earth fire power.

"Next, we will try to fuse growth factors into the flame."

Cheng Ye muttered to himself.

The growth factor extracted from common blackfish was not marked* and could not be fused.

However, the Black Striped Fish King contributed a growth factor marked with an asterisk (*).

Compared to the special abilities found in infected individuals, growth factors seem much gentler, and naturally, the risks are also lower.

Wow.

The skill bar expanded accordingly, its increasingly abundant entries arranged in order of level, densely packed:

Lv3: [Master of Martial Arts (Perfect)], [Green Field Physique (Rare)], [Swimming Fish Physique (Rare)], [Iron Bones Physique (Excellent)], [White Streak in the Waves (Rare)], [Swimming Against the Current (Excellent)], [Advanced Ship Repair☆]

Lv2: [Mobile Shooting (Rare)], [Dragon Power], [Tiger Power], [Snake Power], [Eagle Power], [Iron Body (Rare)], [Beginner Source Track Technology Principles☆]

Lv1: [Heart Protection Flame (Extraordinary)], [Blood Dragon Army Standard Fighting Style], [Beast Instinct], [Camel Endurance], [Toxin Filtering], [Toxin Neutralization], [Underwater Breathing x2], [Basic Aquatic Skills], [Growth Factor x2], [Growth Factor*]

The information-related skills that have already been loaded and digested have been automatically hidden by the panel.

Even so, the total number of skill entries still exceeded twenty.

The Fish-like Physique and the Robust Physique were obtained from the other three executors of Pinghai Tower; one was rare and the other was excellent.

The remaining person's talent was truly mediocre; he didn't even have a normal Lv3 physique, and his only notable skill was his swimming style against the current.

There are no new changes to Lv2 skills.

As strength increases, even the benefits brought by Lv2 skills like Four Forces become negligible; only higher-rarity and perfect-grade skills can provide an improvement.

Even Wang Qing, a slightly stronger executor, didn't have a rare Lv2 skill, so he had to give up the search and turn it into action points.

As for Lv1 skills, all the traits that can be exchanged in the encyclopedia have been taken out.

He had tried to combine the underwater breathing and water skills provided by freshwater fish once, and the two blank water skills were combined into basic water skills, proving that this path was feasible.

If you want to settle down in Dabo Town in the future, you will inevitably have to deal with Baishui River, so the more skills you have, the better.

Cheng Ye had already tried equipping the three growth factors on his regular version, but the effect was negligible.

As for the version marked with an asterisk (*), according to the panel's instructions, the equipment would be parasitized by a special power, so he didn't dare to try it.

"Physical talent requires two fusions: one with the Heart-Protecting Fire, and the other with the White Streak in the Waves and the Swimming Style Against the Current."

"The remaining two attempts will be used to combine basic water skills and underwater breathing, merging the three skills into one."

Having too few skill slots and too many skills is a happy problem.

Cheng Ye tried to uninstall the Heart-Protecting Fire, but the panel displayed a message saying "There is a chance of losing growth points after uninstallation".

The price is too high, so the Heart-Protecting Fire can only remain permanently, occupying one slot.

While the Green Field Physique doesn't have this restriction, uninstalling it will result in the loss of vitality bonuses and a sharp drop in combat power, so it still needs to be permanently active.

As a result, only two slots can be changed normally.

When not in combat, these two slots are used to learn fusion skills, such as Eagle Force and Snake Force. In another two or three days, you will be able to master them.

In ground combat, switch to the Iron Body + Hundred Warriors combination to maximize strength.

"The two water-based skills we've integrated are best suited for use underwater."

After Cheng Ye had calculated the situation clearly and saw that the energy level had reached 80%, he activated the fusion function.

First, integrate the most basic level of underwater breathing.

Perhaps it's a similar skill, or perhaps the level is too low, because there were no unusual phenomena during the fusion.

The two small bubbles collide in the middle, and the task is complete.

The information fusion process has been completed, and the fusion result is excellent.

The Civilization Collector has successfully recorded a new fusion skill: Underwater Breathing (Lv1; Excellent)

"Huh, even Lv1 skills have an excellent rating?"

Cheng Ye was slightly surprised.

Once the energy level climbed back to 50%, he combined excellent underwater breathing with basic water skills.

A water bubble, a virtual black fish.

When the two come into contact, the blackfish is engulfed in the water bubble, shrinks in size, and moves nimbly inside, no longer as rigid as before, but lifelike.

[The information fusion process has been completed. Fusion result: Rare]

The Civilization Collector has successfully recorded a new fusion skill: Fish-like Form (Lv1; Rare)

"A rare find?"

Cheng Ye was both surprised and delighted, never expecting that this skill fusion would actually have such a wonderful use.

Individual water and underwater breathing devices take up too much space, and using them individually is not very effective.

But the fusion into the rare 'fish-like form' sounds pretty good just from the name.

I imagine it would be very useful underwater.

"I wonder if continuing to integrate water and underwater breathing will allow me to progress all the way to perfection, or even leap to Lv2 skill?"

Cheng Ye secretly noted it down, and once the energy level reached 50%, he began to fuse the Lv3 skill.

First came the white streak in the waves and the swimming style against the current.

Two blurry figures, each embodying a talent, one weaving through the waves, the other swimming against the current.

After merging, the human figure became clearer, and the swimming style became more fluid.

The information fusion process has been completed, and the fusion results are stable.

The Civilization Collector has successfully recorded a new fusion skill: Wave Traverse (Lv3; Rare)

The combination of excellent and rare items failed to trigger a rating upgrade.

Cheng Ye was not surprised. He hadn't even gotten close to perfect when fusing two rare items before, so he figured the higher the level and rating, the more difficult it would be to improve.

"Once we get to Baishui River, we can take some time to test how much of a boost these two skills provide."

With his energy depleted, Cheng Ye cleared his mind and closed his eyes to rest.

With the support of Extreme Charge, he can fuse once every 50 minutes, greatly increasing his efficiency.

At this moment, the topographical map of Dabo Town unfolded in his mind again, and he marked some places that might be at risk of infection one by one.

It's a pity that we still don't know which terrain area the assessment will be assigned to.

If you're on the east side of the town, you'll be closer to the White Water River; if you're on the west side, you'll be closer to the desolate wilderness.

Both locations have risks, but overall, the risks are slightly greater in the east.

Ding.

This time, Cheng Ye waited until the charging station was fully charged and automatically stopped before he began to work on the fusion of his physical talent.

Compared to the wild grass and waves last time, the swimming fish and iron bones seem even more incompatible this time.

He simply decided to combine the two first:
Once unfolded, the fish was a long, thin fish unlike any I had ever seen before, resembling a ribbonfish, and its entire body glowed with a blue light.

Ironbone is a lump of metal with an indistinct shape, a rough surface, and a cold gleam.

As the fusion began, the two burst forth with dazzling light and collided violently.

Based on the talent rating, Cheng Ye originally thought that Iron Bone would be integrated into the swimming fish, causing changes in the swimming fish.

But an unexpected situation occurred!

No matter how the fish rammed into it, the metal remained as immovable as a small mountain.

When the fish ran out of steam, the metal mountain suddenly sprang up and suppressed the fish underneath.

A flash of blue light appeared, and the fusion was completed with the Iron Body Physique as the core.

The information fusion process has been completed, and the fusion result is: Excellent (downgraded)

[Should I record the fusion skill: Blue Iron Physique (Lv3; Excellent)?]

[The collector's current energy level has been detected, which may trigger a 'random mutation' mechanism. Would you like to proceed with the mutation?]

"Demoted?" Cheng Ye sat up straight, his brows furrowing slightly.

It was difficult to judge whether the blue iron physique was strong or weak at first glance, but after thinking for a few seconds, he decided to try mutation.

Putting aside the fact that it's rare but downgraded to excellent, the combination of Blue Iron Physique and Green Physique doesn't seem like something that can be fused normally.

If the fusion proceeds normally and then the process is downgraded, the losses would be too great.

With 50% of the energy invested, the phantom images of the swimming fish and the iron mountain reappear.

This time everything went smoothly. The fish easily swallowed the hill, its blue light receding and transforming into a flowing silver ray.

The information fusion process has been completed, and the fusion results are stable.

[The Civilization Collector has successfully recorded a new fusion skill: Iron Fish Physique (Lv3; Rare)]

"Not bad, yet another rare physical talent!"

Cheng Ye was satisfied and got out of the car to exchange the charging card.

Having learned from past mistakes, this time he deliberately waited until the battery was fully charged before starting the new fusion.

The lush green body unfolds on the left panel, transforming into a vibrant meadow.

The iron fish's body appeared on the right side, transforming into a silver dragon fish swimming freely.

Cheng Ye pressed the fusion button, and a thin line connected the two, but another unexpected event occurred!
In the past, integration was often a clash of titans, but this time it was unusually harmonious.
Suddenly, a round pit opened up in the center of the green lawn, and a trickle of water instantly filled it. The silver dragon fish leaped in and swam freely in the water, making even the grass blades shimmer with a moist sheen.

"Could it be because I previously fused with the Water Wave Physique?"

Cheng Ye seemed to be deep in thought.

The panel will pop up a prompt as needed:

The information fusion process has been completed, and the fusion results are stable.

[Should I record the fusion skill: Sawano Physique (Lv3; Rare)?]

[The collector's current energy level has been detected, which may trigger a 'random mutation' mechanism. Would you like to proceed with the mutation?]

"Cancel the mutation!"

Cheng Ye did not hesitate.

Such a harmonious integration is rare, and there is no need to risk disrupting the balance by taking random risks.

After the recording was completed, the four characters "Sawano Physique" on the panel gradually deepened in color, changing from dark purple to light red, faintly revealing a momentum of an impending breakthrough.

It gives the impression that by fusing with two or three more rare physiques, one can advance to the perfect level.

"From this perspective, there is indeed a significant difference between the bonuses of being a half-step extraordinary being and that of being an extraordinary being."

As Cheng Ye gazed at the pale red color, he was deeply moved, recalling Jiang Chuan and Mu Shuang's luxurious control panels.

The extraordinary brings about a leap in the level of life, allowing ordinary talents to burst forth with amazing potential.

The half-step to transcendence is more like a brutal tempering, directly raising the talent rating, which can be considered another kind of extreme enhancement.

He clicked on the details of Sawano's physique, and the description had been updated:

【Sawano Physique (Lv3; Rare; Slightly increases HP, moderately increases DEF)】

"The vitality bonus remains unchanged, but a moderate increase in defense has been added!"

Cheng Ye stroked his chin, anticipation flashing in his eyes, eager to equip it and try out its effects immediately.

However, there is still one last bit of heart-protecting fire that has not yet been fused, so we can only hold off for now.

But after waiting for more than ten minutes, I gradually felt an indescribable discomfort all over my body.

After losing the boost from the Green Field Physique, although the basic physical qualities did not disappear, the vibrant vitality that was like the sprouting of grass and trees vanished. It was as if they had suddenly fallen from the spring fields into the desolate autumn wilderness, and even breathing felt a little sluggish.

As expected, there is a huge difference between talented people and ordinary people. I didn't notice any changes when I hadn't uninstalled the app, but now I can immediately feel the difference.

Charger prices continue to rise.

Once the supply was full again, the most potent Heart-Protecting Fire began to fuse amidst Cheng Ye's trepidation.

Of course, this anxiety only existed before the skills were even used.

As the Heartfire skill leaps onto the left side of the screen, the sky-covering Blazing Eagle, despite being only a Lv1 skill, looms across the sky like a demon god.

On the right, however, the growth factor was just a faint, unidentified shadow.

"This looks a bit like a vortex turtle?"

Cheng Ye moved closer and discovered that the illusory figure would occasionally transform into a faint turtle shape as it moved.

The turtle shape flashed by, and the next second it transformed into an unpredictable form of flowing water.

It seems that this Lv1 growth factor is simply too weak, and cannot be compared with the complete form of the Heart-Protecting Fire.

"Start merging!"

The thought flashed through my mind.

Without any collision, the giant eagle simply opened its mouth slightly, as if drinking water, and swallowed all the growth factors.

In less than two or three seconds, a message popped up on the panel indicating that the fusion was successful.

The information fusion process has been completed, and the fusion results are stable.

[The difference between the fusion skills is too large, so random mutation will not be possible]

Ok.

The heart-protecting fire didn't change at all, all my worries for so many days were for nothing.

Checking the progress of the Heart-Protecting Fire, this fusion has increased the original progress of 0.286% by 0.05%, to 0.336%.

"To have a Lv1 skill that can affect the Heartfire, it would probably have to be obtained from the Mother Source."

Cheng Ye pondered that the progress of the Heart-Protecting Fire had only increased this much, and it would take some time for the feedback to be reflected in the flame.

However, with the growth factor test, we can try more different types of fusions in the future.

The skills found on the infected can also be tried and fused with the flame to see how it goes.

After all that trouble, it was already 4 a.m. when the energy was fully restored.

Cheng Ye drove away from the Industrial Development Bureau, parked his SUV in the community parking lot, and walked back to the convenience store.

"You're going out tomorrow, why are you back so late?"

Mu Shuang's figure slid out of the shadows, twirling a dark-smelling butterfly knife in her hand, its movements fluid and graceful.

"I couldn't sleep, so I went to charge the car for a while." Cheng Ye shook his head and opened the roller shutter door of the convenience store.

Mu Shuang didn't follow him in, but muttered something under her breath outside the door before letting him close the shutter.

Dragging over the last two boxes of yellow bags of nutrient solution, Cheng Ye took a deep breath and activated the "Zeye Physique" equipment.

Perhaps because he was about to face countless unknown dangers, he was unusually calm when equipping the skills this time.

After only a wave of itching and pain throughout the body, the most difficult stage of physical training was successfully passed.

The next second, the life force that had been lost and regained surged from my heart, like a clear spring overflowing my parched veins, even my breath was imbued with a warm and moist texture.

Boom.

Boom!

Inside the chest cavity, the heart beat stronger and stronger.

The soft "thump-thump" gradually turned into a thunderous "boom," making my ribs tremble slightly.

Perhaps because the vitality enhancement did not undergo a qualitative change, the warm current quickly seeped into the limbs and bones, while the moderate defense enhancement turned into a thin membrane as thin as a cicada's wing, covering the skin surface, and a faint sense of toughness also emanated from the depths of the internal organs.

"This is?"

Cheng Ye's heart skipped a beat, and a hallucination suddenly flashed before his eyes.

It felt as if I had sunk into a verdant world where the body was manifested, with patches of green grass stretching to the horizon, waves of blue rising from the wind, and a clear spring in the center shimmering with light, the fine sand at the bottom of the water clearly visible.

The silver dragonfish that had been swimming in the water sensed his arrival and suddenly leaped out of the pool, carrying a string of water droplets, like a silver lightning bolt, straight into his dantian.

Compared to other bonuses, the defense bonus is quite remarkable.

It was as if he had fallen into a clear spring and taken a nap. He didn't know how much time had passed. When the illusion completely disappeared and Cheng Ye opened his eyes again, he felt that his skin was as tight as a taut string. Every move he made caused that layer of skin to stretch and contract.

Lifting his shirt, the green totem on his chest remained clear, while a silver dragonfish totem had appeared in his lower abdomen, its scales shimmering with a faint watery light, complementing the greenery on his chest.

call.

suck.

Cheng Ye adjusted his breathing and suddenly had a strange feeling, as if he had established a connection with the silver dragonfish totem.

With a slight thought, a cold silver light burst forth from the totem, flowing over the skin like water and condensing into a thin layer of silver armor on the body.

"Huh? It can be activated actively?"

Cheng Ye was stunned.

Neither the earlier wild grass totem nor the later green grass totem has ever changed like this.

Could it be that the active feature is only unlocked when a certain bonus reaches a "medium level"?
He pondered for a moment, then pulled out a training knife from under the counter and gently pressed his fingertips against the blade.

An indescribable sense of resilience emanated from my skin, like two pieces of metal rubbing and colliding against each other.

With a little force, the dagger's edge was slightly sharper, and it began to leave faint white marks on the skin.

But the silver light covering the skin seemed to sense something and instantly converged towards the blade.

With a soft "ding," the blade was bounced back, unable to advance any further.

"Good heavens, has it turned into a tin man?"

Cheng Ye gripped the blade and continued to apply force during the test.

"boom!"

With a muffled thud, he broke off a small piece from the blade of the training dagger with his bare hands, and the fragment clattered to the ground.

"what?"

Cheng Ye was completely dumbfounded.

The materials used for the standard training short swords are not top-of-the-line, but they are certainly not so fragile that they can be broken by hand.

He shook off the fragments in his hand and observed carefully before discovering the key: the silver light of the activated silver dragonfish totem spread across its body surface, seemingly only a thin layer, but once a certain part was "attacked," it would instantly condense towards that spot.

The hardness and toughness of this small piece after it has solidified far exceed that of the steel used to forge training short knives.

"I wonder if it can stop bullets?"

Cheng Ye was somewhat eager to try, but then shook his head.

Shooting yourself is too risky; if you can't stop it and end up with a hole in your body, you'll become a laughingstock.

However, with this layer of silver light protecting the body, the safety has been greatly improved. At least there is no need to worry about ignoring potential damage due to loss of pain sensation when activating the "Iron Body".

Just then, a warm current began to slowly supply energy into my body, and a familiar feeling of hunger began to surge.

Cheng Ye grabbed the nutrient solution, tore open the packaging, and quickly swallowed it, feeling a surge of satisfaction.

In just over a month, his strength had increased at a speed that was beyond the comprehension of ordinary people, and he had firmly established himself at the middle level of prosecutors, at least no weaker than those third-term prosecutors with mediocre combat power.

These strengths are the foundation for survival and the confidence to fight against others.

At least for now, as long as superhumans don't emerge, no one will suddenly appear from some hidden corner and pose a deadly threat to him.

Of course, when faced with elusive sources of infection, fusions, and infected individuals, each side still has to rely on its own methods.

After all, those extraordinary beings from the previous era, who were like immortals, have all perished.

In this era, no powerful figure has ever been heard of ignoring these threats and running rampant in the wasteland.

After swallowing 97 packets of nutritional syrup, Cheng Ye stopped when he felt full.

Looking at the mountain of empty nutrient solution bags piled up at his feet, he held back for a moment, but finally laughed silently!

After a while.

Put away all the packaging bags and lock the alloy door to the basement.

Cheng Ye carefully checked the items in his backpack again before opening the roller shutter door and returning to his room to lie down.

He had always worried that he was not well prepared and that if he were to encounter an emergency and be stranded in the wilderness, he would be left with no choice but to deal with it.

But now the stats have increased dramatically, the skills are complete, and even the symbiotic relationship of the flames has entered the shaping period. Everything is developing in the best direction.

Everything is ready, except for the final favorable wind.

Staring at the pale yellow ceiling, he felt a faint excitement, but it quickly subsided into a deep sense of peace.

"It's time to rise to the occasion and unveil the true face of this wasteland!"

(End of this chapter)