Wasteland Border Inspector

Chapter 213: Wanlu Celestial Dharma Conch, Wan Ling Earth Dharma Conch!
New Province.

The city sheltered by the flame of life.

A-1, codenamed 'Original' Salary Track Mountain.

As the foremost of the thirteen Flame Ridge Mountains in the City of Flame, in terms of sheer height, even the tallest satellite city buildings in the city appear as mere low-lying embellishments at the foot of this Flame Ridge Mountain.

As your gaze passes over the layered domes of the A1 satellite city, the majestic grandeur of the original Xingui Mountain is fully revealed before your eyes.

Its height has long surpassed the limits of human understanding of man-made mountains, reaching an astonishing 6245 meters, almost comparable to the sacred mountains of the old era.

Even when compared to natural mountain ranges, this man-made primitive firewood mountain is still a colossal structure.

No one can say for sure how this giant mountain was built; all that people can see is its massive alloy body.

Its surface has no wrinkles whatsoever that natural rocks should have. Every inch of its surface is as smooth as a mirror, yet it gleams with a cold and heavy metallic luster under the light, exuding the majesty of an unnatural creation.

If researchers from Happiness City were to set foot here, they would surely lose their composure on the spot.

It should be noted that within Happiness City, the research institute can only use the Happiness Alloy it produces with great care and frugality. But here, this precious alloy is merely the "outer garment" of the original Xin Gui Mountain.

A 30-centimeter-thick layer of Happiness Alloy coating tightly covered every corner of the mountain. No one dared to calculate the terrifying value of the total weight of this outer layer.

Whenever the moonlight shines down, the light falling on the alloy plating is not an ordinary reflection, but rather like crashing into a flowing silver-blue ocean.

The light shatters and recombines on the coating surface, eventually transforming into millions of faint yet dazzling starlight rays that illuminate the distant satellite city buildings, bathing them in the same soft silver-blue hue and enveloping them in a dreamlike halo.

Occasionally, clouds drift across the highest point of the mountain, reflecting the light through the coating and turning it a pale blue-purple, as if draping this steel behemoth in a misty and light veil, adding a touch of gentle beauty.

Looking up along the mountainside, you can see its ingenious structure. Every fifty meters, there is a cantilevered platform extending outwards, with as many as a hundred layers, like the outstretched arms of a giant, steadily supporting the space.

Each platform's edge is enveloped by a semi-transparent, light blue energy barrier.

The silver-gray tracks, like the spine of a giant dragon, coil around the mountain, stretching from the foot to the summit, as if adorning this majestic Xingui Mountain with a dazzling belt.

But what's most breathtaking is the summit of this pristine mountain.

A circular platform with a diameter of four kilometers floats suspended above the highest point, seemingly merging with the sky, without any support, yet as stable as a rock.

Above the platform, a huge bowl-shaped purple barrier was inverted, completely isolating the entire area. The surface of the barrier shimmered with a faint light, exuding both an indescribable mystery and a blatant, inviolable aura.

Only a handful of people know of the existence of this platform, and even its name is a secret.

As the highest scientific research center in the City of Fire's Shelter, it is also a transit station for processing core information from the entire wasteland.

The torch relay platform.

Anyone who can enter this place is either an extremely prestigious overlord-level city lord of a protected city.

Or they are researchers with exceptionally high IQs, who would be hailed as geniuses or eccentrics anywhere.

Apart from that, there is no one else.

at this time.

Inside the central information distribution station, which resembles a spire, lies the "Spark Platform."

The staff member on duty suddenly looked up and saw a new message appear on the screen in front of him.

【Happiness City (Foundation Stone)】

[Sent on: April 04.06th]

[Request for Level 4 information collaboration; relevant collaboration fees have been paid]

Please immediately contact all subordinate Flame Nexus and Flame Cluster Cooperative Cities to check the source information of this item.

[Related Compensation: 120 Salary Points]

"Four-level coordination?"

The staff member paused abruptly, then began rapidly typing on the keyboard.

Information streams began to rapidly distribute from the Firestone to hub cities and cooperative cities across the wasteland.

Today, the Spark Alliance has a large number of members.

Aside from the City of Fire and Sanctuary, which holds a transcendent position as the founder, the next six foundation cities are the largest.

As one of the six cornerstones, Happiness City naturally has the authority to release collaborative information to the hub cities and cooperative cities below it.

The coordination level is divided into five levels, with level one being the lowest and level five being the highest.

Generally speaking, four-level coordination has always been used only for major matters concerning the core development of the shelter city.

After distributing the information and confirming that the instruction code was correct, the staff immediately got up and quickly walked towards the dedicated elevator leading to the top of the spire.

The spire has 32 floors, and the elevator stops directly on the 30th floor.

The staff member stepped out of the elevator and walked two steps to the door of the room marked "Zhang Ming". He lightly knocked on the door with his fingertips.

Boom, boom, boom.

"Please come in." A strong, reassuring voice replied from inside the room.

The moment you push open the door, the cool-toned light immediately catches your eye.

The office occupies a small area, only about 100 square meters. Floor-to-ceiling windows occupy the entire north wall, offering a panoramic view of the torch platform outside.

There are no traditional desks in the room, only a ring of suspended silver alloy supports. Three light curtains are stably unfolded above the supports. On the left is a rotating complex molecular structure model, and on the right is a scrolling stream of energy fluctuation data that is updated in real time.

Zhang Ming stood in the center of the light screen, his fingertips clad in semi-transparent sensor gloves. He manipulated a virtual beaker to gently touch a test tube. The pale green liquid swayed within the invisible container, and the instant it mixed with the transparent reagent, a pale purple reaction light spot bloomed in the air.
"Oops, failed again."

With a wave of his hand, Zhang Ming wiped away all the light spots, shook his head helplessly, and then turned around.

Around forty years old, his face had sharp, defined features. His short hair was held in place perfectly by hair gel, and a pair of rimless sensor glasses sat on his high, straight nose. Light green data streams were still flashing rapidly on the inside of the lenses, making his pupils appear even deeper.

"what happened?"

"Director Zhang, this is a level-four coordination order from Xingfu City." The staff member bowed slightly and reported in a deep voice.

"Is it?"

Zhang Ming raised his eyebrows slightly, extended his right hand naturally, and gently opened and closed his thumb and forefinger.

With this action, a pale blue interactive light screen unfolded out of thin air, revealing lines of encrypted text and accompanying images.

The image shows a uniquely shaped conch shell, its surface engraved with dense, obscure runes, and its edges still bearing faint halo of mist.

"A divine artifact? Or a tiered amplification type?"

Zhang Ming's gaze was fixed on the conch shell runes in the light screen, a genuine surprise flashing in his eyes. He then raised his hand to indicate, "I understand, you can go out now."

The moment the door closed slightly, he hesitated for a moment, then made a gesture towards the empty space behind him.

A crack appeared in the alloy floor, and a large executive desk with a touch panel and a heavy leather office chair slowly rose and stopped precisely below the light screen.

After he sat down, he straightened his collar in front of his own reflection on the screen, then raised his hand to press a few stray strands of hair back into his neat hairstyle before lightly tapping the touch panel with his fingertips.

hum.

Buzz.
A subtle resonance emanated from the air, and ripples of signal waves appeared at the edge of the virtual light screen.

A moment later, the ripples subsided, the image stabilized, and a face with purple hair cascading down her shoulders was revealed.

The woman, dressed in a well-tailored research uniform, exuded elegance and a touch of intellect, and sat in an office chair as well.

"Director Yu, you're still up so late?" Zhang Ming spoke first, a perfectly timed smile on his face, his tone carrying a hint of deliberate surprise.

"Director Zhang contacted me so late at night, surely he wasn't calling to ask if I was resting?" Yu Erlan's smile was equally polite, but if you looked closely, you could see a hint of estrangement in her eyes, and even a barely perceptible sense of disgust.

The researchers at the research institutes of the six cornerstone sheltered cities and the fire-spark sheltered city often hold video conferences to exchange information and resources, so the two were naturally familiar with each other.

But if we're talking about the person she hates the most, Zhang Ming is definitely on the list, and he'd be near the top.

He is a complete "technology businessman".

He lacked the simplicity, professionalism, and perseverance that researchers should possess; instead, he was arrogant, ignorant, and conceited.

"It's true."

Zhang Ming seemed completely oblivious to the slight rejection, and proceeded to magnify the holographic image of the conch shell. "Your Happiness City just issued a Level 4 Cooperation Order. This thing looks familiar to me. Judging from the runes, it shouldn't be a complete immortal artifact, but just a fragment."

"However, we have deciphered the meanings of the runes in these interesting segments. They all represent amplification, and there is one that is related to the structure of matter. This is a good thing."

Yu Erlan did not respond, but continued to smile and wait for what was to come.

Happiness City was already lagging behind in source technology, and its analysis of immortal runes was superficial. It did not squeeze out its already limited scientific research resources for this special technology.

Although she couldn't understand what Zhang Ming was saying, she knew one thing for sure: he wasn't there to show off or congratulate Happiness City.

As expected, seeing that Yu Erlan didn't take the bait, Zhang Ming coughed lightly and finally revealed his true purpose: "There are quite a few new runes on this fragment that we haven't seen before. If you're willing to trade the fragment, we can exchange it for a B+ grade technology. How about it?"

"B+?"

Although Yu Erlan controlled herself well, her expression still changed slightly after hearing the level.

It sounds like B+ is far from the top-tier S-level technology of the City of Fire's Sanctuary, several levels apart.

However, Happiness City's own core technology, 'Happiness Alloy,' is only valued at Grade A, which is only two grades higher than B+.

Even the complete civilian version of the Firelink system, which is widely used by the Firelink Alliance, is only grade B, which is one level lower than B+. Only the military-grade Firelink system is worth grade B+.

This condition certainly exceeded her expectations.

Of course, this also proves from another angle the terrifying value of this suddenly discovered fragment of a divine artifact.

"Well, isn't my sincerity enough?" Zhang Ming's smile deepened as he saw her moved.

"Your Happiness City has never focused on source technology. This fragment falling into your hands is a complete waste of time."

Zhang Ming's tone was full of condescending arrogance, "Besides, if we find the other parts in the future, this half you have will be worthless."

A familiar sense of disgust welled up inside her, and Yu Erlan frowned slightly, but she didn't budge. "If you exchange it for an A-level technology, we'll make a deal."

"Ha, what an outrageous demand!"

Zhang Ming chuckled and shook his head slightly, "It seems you haven't even gotten your hands on this fragment of the immortal artifact yet."

"Hmm?" Yu Erlan's expression changed slightly.

"Alright, there's no need to hide it."

Zhang Ming raised his hand and tapped the light screen, magnifying the details of the conch rune. "The influence of this thing is an amplification of the area. I guess it's a product of those madmen in Antarctica who came up with it to modify the environment back then. I didn't expect it to appear around your Happiness City. That's quite strange."

"The runes on it have a lot in common with the core runes of our Mount Burnstone, which is why I'm willing to offer a B+ grade price. Otherwise, with just a few new runes that I've never seen before, it would only be worth B- grade at most. Moreover, you can't even imagine how many resources it would take to analyze these things. Looking at the entire wasteland, even nature doesn't have the edge technology to analyze such things."

As soon as he finished speaking, his arrogance was fully revealed.

This is the source of the city's confidence, and the fundamental reason why the Firewood Research Institute can stand at the top of the wasteland research community.

In the new era, the City of Firewood took the lead in establishing itself in the wasteland, choosing the right path from the very beginning.

In the years that followed, sheltered cities sprang up in various places. They were already a step behind and each chose different technological directions, and now they are worlds apart.

With unwavering dedication to dual-source technology, years of hard work have yielded today's technological breakthrough.

Happiness City took the path of "retro + innovation", salvaging the technological heritage of the old era while trying to embed source track technology for improvement. It was this accumulation that allowed it to maintain its position as the dominant force in Shijiazhuang Province.

Guanghong Shelter City specializes in new energy sources and has made frequent technological breakthroughs, basically overcoming the challenges of energy use. It is beginning to show signs of becoming the new hegemon of Guangdong Province.

On the other side of the earth, the natural city of Sanctuary stands out in the field of biotechnology, having already developed the ability to improve upon the 'treasures' of the previous era.

The different focuses and directions of the various sanctuary cities ultimately led to divergent fates.

Those sheltered cities that were single-mindedly focused on restoring old-era technologies are now too big to turn around. Their old-era technological systems are simply not suited to the wasteland, and they lack talent and infrastructure to shift to new fields, so they can only slowly decline.

Companies like Happiness City, which try to balance both ends, are gradually showing obvious signs of decline and can only rely on their early savings to barely survive while constantly looking for an opportunity to turn things around.

Meanwhile, the sheltered cities of Xinhuo, Guanghong, and Ziranli, which have bet on the new track from the very beginning, are now making continuous technological breakthroughs, and the gap between them and other forces is widening.

Zhang Ming was clearly well aware of this gap, and his smile widened: "Director Yu, actually, the devastating wave of infection three years from now will also be a good opportunity for you to turn around. Take advantage of this time to abandon your foundation in Shi Province and rebuild elsewhere. Shi Province's geographical conditions are not suitable for research; materials are scarce, and trade routes are about to be cut off. I know you are different from Yincheng back then, capable of stopping the wave of infection, but have you calculated the cost?"

"Now is not the time to play the hero. All the sanctuaries in the wasteland are focused on development. If you throw your already limited resources into fighting the infection wave, how much will be left for development? And how much will be invested in new technology research?"

He became more and more blunt, and even as he saw Yu Erlan's face darken, he did not restrain himself in the slightest.

This is his duty, and his role in the City of Fire and Protection: to be the "villain who acquires technology."

If everyone acts like a nice guy, who will set a floor price for scarce technologies? Who will curb unrealistic and exorbitant demands? Who will maintain the exchange of resources within the Spark Alliance?
Ding.

As they were talking, a crisp notification sound rang out on both of their screens at the same time.

Has the coordination order received a response?

Zhang Ming clicked on the message with some curiosity, but when he saw the annotation at the beginning, his brows furrowed instantly.

[Information source: Canghai Shelter City]

[Information Content: Based on the fragmented images and basic data of the celestial artifact provided by Happiness City, we have located the origin and some core information of this artifact. This artifact initially originated in xx (classified area), jointly developed by xx (classified organization) and xx (classified individual). Its prototypes are of two types, named "Myriad Laws Celestial Conch" and "Myriad Laws Earth Conch," respectively. Development was interrupted due to the death of key researchers at the end of the old era, and no practical testing was conducted. Therefore, we can only speculate on its effectiveness. Specific speculation details: xx (classified)]

[Note: This message indicates that the parties involved are not collaborating. To view this confidential information, please pay 240 Xinhuo Points.]

"There really is a record?" Zhang Ming stared at the information prompts on the light screen, his brows furrowing in worry.

Generally speaking, any divine artifacts created by extraordinary beings in the old era that have names, identities, and combat records have long been divided up by various sanctuary cities in the containment competition of recent years.

Only those "defective products" that were abandoned halfway through and never completed could end up deep in the wasteland.

The origin of such magical artifacts is a mystery, let alone a mere fragment; it is truly an anomaly that its details could be uncovered.

Once the origin and effects of these "divine items" are understood, their value can be several times higher than that of "blind boxes."

Zhang Ming was extremely curious, but the collaboration mechanism had strict rules. Only the initiator and collaborators had the right to view this kind of information. Even in the City of Fire and Fire, you had to pay double points to cut in line and take a look.

A full 240 points, which is almost up to the 300-point threshold for the Level 5 Coordination Order.

No matter how curious Zhang Ming was, he couldn't bear to waste his time like that, so he could only suppress his thoughts and stare intently at Yu Erlan on the other side of the screen, waiting for her to reveal a flaw after reading the information.

Unfortunately, his plan was destined to fail.

The moment the message was sent, Yu Erlan's image suddenly froze, and a "Auto-Hang Up" notification popped up in the corner of the screen. This was clearly a security mechanism set up by Happiness City to block external interference when viewing intelligence.

Two minutes later, the AFK status was lifted, and Yu Erlan's body began to move again.

"How about it?" Zhang Ming immediately raised an eyebrow and asked tentatively, "No matter what this thing is, our acquisition price remains the same: B+ grade technology, just for those runes."

But Yu Erlan gently shook her head, her face showing no sign of seriousness, instead revealing a meaningful smile: "120 points, let me show you the complete information."

"Wow, looks like we've struck gold." Zhang Ming's heart skipped a beat, but his face remained calm. He liked this kind of tug-of-war with clear prices, so he immediately shook his head and bargained: "40 cents."

“120 points.” Yu Erlan’s tone remained firm.

"60 points?" Zhang Ming sat up slightly, his tone carrying a hint of "concession." "That's quite a lot. This already covers half of your costs."

Yu Erlan simply smiled without saying a word, her fingertips lightly tapping on the edge of the table, her confident demeanor clearly indicating that she had him completely under her control.

"Add another 10 points, making it 70?"

"Minimum 100."

"Deal!" Zhang Ming responded almost immediately, agreeing with exceptional decisiveness.

The bargaining just now was a test, and from Yu Erlan's tough attitude, he had already confirmed that the value of this information was far more than 100 points.

However, when the notification sound of points being deducted rang, Zhang Ming couldn't help but feel a pang of pain.

The value of the Fire Points far exceeds that of the currencies of various sanctuary cities; they are a true hard currency, with 1 point being able to be exchanged for 1000 contribution points in Happiness City.

This single glimpse of intelligence was equivalent to spending 100,000 contribution points, while Happiness City itself only needed to spend 20,000 contribution points to learn an important piece of information.

But there was nothing they could do; the runes on that fragment of the immortal artifact were connected to the core runes of Mount Xingui.
Even the slightest connection could be the key to breaking through the technical bottleneck of the Xin Gui Shan project!

As the points were credited to the account, the confidential information on the screen was instantly unlocked, revealing a dense array of text and analytical images.

Unexpectedly, Canghai Shelter City had collected prototype design drawings of two kinds of immortal artifacts. Although the functional speculations on them were all based on the design drawings and had not been further verified, these bold speculations still made Zhang Ming's heart pound.

He only glanced at a few lines of core data before his fingers clenched tightly, he abruptly stood up, his nonchalant expression vanishing completely, and his voice becoming several times more serious than before:
"Grade A-, that's my highest offer, and only for tonight."

"If you nod now, I will go to see the elders immediately to report, and we will finalize the details of the transaction before dawn."

"No, no, Director Zhang, I can't make that decision."

Yu Erlan smiled calmly, gently shook her head, and said in a measured tone, "You like to set a price, but I prefer to ask for the moon. If we're going to make a deal, it has to be A-level technology. We can talk again when you get your A-level access."

Seeing Zhang Ming's furrowed brows, clearly about to start haggling, she immediately added, "Of course, I know that by conventional valuation, it might only be worth an A- grade. But you know in your heart that its significance to Xinghuo goes far beyond an A- grade, don't you?"

Wow.

Before she could finish speaking and before Zhang Ming could try to persuade her again, Yu Erlan cut off the communication.

The light screen went dark instantly, leaving only a cold, metallic sheen.

Staring at the empty screen, the solemnity and struggle on Zhang Ming's face receded like the tide, replaced by an undisguised surprise that gradually turned into an irrepressible joy.

He raised his hand and rubbed his burning cheeks, his fingertips trembling slightly.

Happiness City, what incredible luck!
No, I should say that our own sanctuary city has this kind of luck?

The technological bottleneck surrounding Xin Guishan has persisted for two and a half years, during which countless human and material resources have been wasted without any progress. Now, it is possible to achieve a breakthrough with just one Class A technology.
After pacing around the room for several minutes, Zhang Ming finally calmed down and stood back in the center of the light screen.

Grade A technology?
There's absolutely no need to alarm the elders!
With his authority as the director of the Spark Research Institute, he could easily make the final decision on this transaction.

"I am Zhang Ming. I request access to the A-level resource technology library to initiate the transaction plan for the immortal artifact fragments with Happiness City and reach a preliminary agreement."

The moment the application was submitted, the previously blank approval column in the upper right corner of the form lit up with green circles one after another.

Even though it was late at night, no one from the departments responsible for approvals was offline.

This is also the norm for the Torch Relay Platform.

The researchers who step into this place have long accepted that they are exchanging their 'future lifespan' for 'present time,' sacrificing 20 to 35 years of their lifespan in exchange for the energy that only requires one hour of sleep a day to fully recover, all in order to race against time to advance technological breakthroughs.

The approval was granted in seconds. Zhang Ming waved his hand at the light, and application forms flew out and were automatically distributed to multiple professional departments such as the transaction department, technical liaison, checkpoint, and the Torch Legion, initiating the full-process agreement drafting process.

Although Happiness City has not yet obtained the fragment, he is not worried at all.

There's no doubt that any protected city would fight to the death for a fragment of a celestial artifact with A-grade technology, no matter which city knew about it, even if it meant sacrificing lives.

At the same time, under the cover of night, all subordinate departments of the City of Fire Protection also received a series of special instructions.

Section B4, checkpoint rooftop.

"Huh, it's not even autumn yet, why are applications for accompanying training already open?"

Li Changfeng spat out the cigarette butt from his mouth, sat down in the chair, swung his legs, and took out the Fire Pipe, his face full of surprise.

Every autumn, inspectors of the Fireline can apply to accompany caravans on training trips to other safe havens and experience different wasteland landscapes.

But this experience is completely different from fieldwork in Happiness City. Not only is there no pay, but you also have to take on security responsibilities for the caravans, and even have to pay part of the costs yourself. Not many people are willing to go.

However, the early opening of the training application this year still piqued Li Changfeng's curiosity.

He tapped the application details page, and the moment he saw the destination, he was so shocked that he sat bolt upright.
"Holy crap? No way? We can go to Happiness City this year?"

Shi Province.

Dabo Town.

Is a devastating wave of infections heading towards Happiness City?
Cheng Ye was stunned. His first reaction was disbelief, but when he met the undisguised seriousness in Qian Lao's eyes, he swallowed back the doubt that was on the tip of his tongue.

The elders have no reason to lie, at least not about the life and death of Happiness City.

just.

There was a time when I first saw information about the devastating wave of infection in the Survival Library.

At that time, he still felt that Happiness City's strength was weak and insignificant. He thought that it was like a mantis trying to stop a chariot, let alone an Annihilation-level enemy. So he decided to accumulate strength as soon as possible so that when he encountered real danger, he would have the confidence to escape from Happiness City and find another way to survive in the wasteland.

But as he gradually came into contact with the deeper secrets of Happiness City, and stretched his head below the surface of the water, he saw another side of this behemoth that no one knew.

He suddenly realized that his goal of escaping back then was actually quite naive.

Now, having personally experienced the crisis in Dabo Town and witnessed the destructive infection source erupt around him, Cheng Ye suddenly realized something:

The devastating wave of infections is certainly terrifying.

Just like Silver City back then, that sheltered city, which was several times larger than Happiness City, happened to be in the way of the inevitable wave of infection. Even though the entire city tried to resist it, it still couldn't stop it in the end, and the whole city became a wasteland.

In contrast, the wave of infections is at least traceable, its trajectory can be predicted in advance, and it gives shelter cities time to relocate people, gather core resources, and even the opportunity to escape.

But what about those high-risk sources of infection that lie dormant underground, waiting to awaken at any moment, and those magical creatures hidden throughout the wasteland, undetectable even by detectors?
They come without any warning; one second everything may be calm, and the next they could unleash a catastrophe.

These unseen threats are truly deadly to individuals!
It's ten or even a hundred times more terrifying than the so-called wave of infections!
Even after announcing the news of a "destroying wave of infection," Old Qian's face remained calm, and his tone was as indifferent as if he were saying, "Drink two more packets of nutritional syrup tomorrow." He showed no sign that Happiness City was about to face a life-or-death situation.

"The first four waves of devastating infections all came from the black zone, and the fifth one is no exception."

Seeing that he had recovered from his daze, Old Qian slowed down his speech, deliberately leaving a gap for thought, "The Spark Alliance has detected abnormal black zone activity. This winter, they will start from 'Source Black W-1' and head straight for 'Source Black M2' zone, and our Happiness City is right on the line connecting these two black zones."

"Since we can detect them in advance, can't we find a way to lure them to change their routes?" Cheng Ye couldn't help but ask.

The ability to accurately predict the trajectory of the infection wave once again exceeded his expectations.

However, upon further reflection, it makes sense. While dormant sources of infection are difficult to detect, a natural disaster of this scale would inevitably cause a huge disturbance. If even this aspect cannot be detected, it would be unreasonable.

"Of course we can guide it, but which direction do you think we should guide it in?"

Old Qian chuckled, his words carrying a hint of sarcasm, "The other sheltered cities along the route won't just sit idly by and watch the infection wave change course and head towards them. If a sheltered city were to lure the infection wave toward our Happiness City, what do you think we should do? Besides, luring millions of infected people to change direction is no small matter. Who do you think should take on this task?"

He paused, then added, "There's no need to rush. The infection wave won't come this year. They only operate in winter, absorbing infection sources and infected individuals along their path to grow stronger. According to predictions, they will arrive around Happiness City in the third winter, second only to the second devastating infection wave, the one that completely destroyed 'Silver City' back then."

The words fell.

To Qian Lao's surprise, after hearing about the threat level and arrival time of the infection wave, Cheng Ye's expression calmed down completely, without the previous fluctuations.

Is it because they haven't developed a sense of belonging to Happiness City yet, and plan to leave directly when the infection wave comes in three years?

Or is it that the crisis in Dabo Town is not yet resolved, and they have no time to think about things three years from now?
Or perhaps...there are other plans?

"As expected of a veteran of the idealists, his style of doing things is also imbued with a strong idealistic flavor!"

Cheng Ye's thoughts shifted, and he couldn't help but feel a little emotional.

While the prosecutor's status is certainly prestigious in Happy City, that's only true for the residents living in the buffer zone.

For the higher-ups and the elders, a trainee prosecutor was clearly not qualified to know so much important information.

Whether it's the inside story of the source technology, the core of the salary track mountain, or the bombshell news of the devastating wave of infections.

But Mr. Qian took the initiative to say all of this, which clearly showed that he had seen through his choice and gave the most direct respect to intelligent people.

In fact, it is a real opportunity to choose.

When he began asking questions, he had already chosen to enter Dabo Town to collect the fragments of the immortal artifact.

Otherwise, one should refuse outright, since the less one knows, the easier it is to extricate oneself from this crisis.

"Cheng Wu's grandson is more accomplished than I thought. Why haven't I heard anyone mention him before?"

Old Zeng, who hadn't spoken until now, suddenly interrupted, his tone carrying a hint of reluctant agreement. He then snorted, "Stop dawdling and spouting nonsense. It's almost dawn. He's not stupid; just state his terms. Our Happiness City isn't so poor that we can't offer people the bargaining chips to risk their lives. Give us whatever you want, or if you don't want it, get the money from me."

"Business people talk about money, we only talk about feelings, right?"

Old Qian looked over with a smile, and before Cheng Ye could reply, he said directly, "First, you used the 20,000 contribution points I invested in you before very well and reasonably. If you can complete the task this time, I will add an extra 50,000 points to this investment. Moreover, I can assure you that there will be no additional conditions this time, and you don't need to go to the Public Works Department to withdraw them. I will transfer them to a public account for you to manage. You can use them however you want, even if you take them for your own use."

"Secondly, even if the affected town of Dabo contains the fragments of the immortal artifact, it should still be sealed off as a high-risk zone for fifty years according to the common treaty of the Torch Alliance. However, I can apply to the Alliance to lift the seal in the name of Happiness City, and I will also give Dabo Town an additional 1000 infrastructure points in the name of the Council of Elders. In addition, the Public Works Department will also cooperate and invest 300 points every year for ten years, which means a total investment equivalent to 400,000 contribution points to Dabo Town."

"Third, as a veteran of Happiness City, I assure you that as long as you do not betray Happiness City, you will be solely responsible for the checkpoint in Dabo Town from now on. You can also designate people to handle the town's administrative affairs. Happiness City will not interfere in any way. If anyone dares to interfere, I will directly eliminate them for you."

"Fourth, in the name of the elders of Happiness City, I assure you that the equipment you will use for this mission will be configured according to the highest level of protective equipment currently available in Happiness City. This will maximize your safety and ensure that you can successfully complete the mission."

At this point, Mr. Qian's tone suddenly turned somber, all the roundabout preambles disappeared, leaving only a touch of worldly-wise melancholy:

"In this era, what we have no shortage of are people from the bottom who are desperately trying to make a living. If you choose to leave, I will not stop you, but after you leave, there may be hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of people who die here until someone can bring out the fragment of the immortal artifact."

"But if you stay, even if you die in the end, not many people will know your contributions or sing your praises. So you have to think carefully about whether these chips are worth risking your life for, or whether you can find a firm reason to go back to Dabo Town, even if you die inside, you will be willing to do so."

"Come on, Prosecutor Cheng Ye, tell me, what is your choice!"

(End of this chapter)