Wasteland Border Inspector

Chapter 237 Epilogue: The "Death" of Rococo!
boom!
A tremendous force came from behind.

As if he had been given a hard shove, Cheng Ye walked straight through the portal of light.

Because he wasn't wearing any padded clothing, he crashed into the cotton chamber barrier of the Magic Eye Sponge the next second. The force was so great that it made his chest feel stuffy.

Then, as if pressed against a wet, slippery wall, his body slowly slid to the ground.

on purpose!
Tan Ming did this on purpose!
Cheng Ye cursed inwardly, stood up and patted his back, when suddenly an unprecedented sense of emptiness surged up.

So weak!
Without the crimson withered armor covering him, even while still wearing the obsidian armor with its annihilation-level protection, the feeling of "weakness" still assaulted his nerves in waves.

It was as if I had suddenly returned from steel bones to flesh and blood, which was even more obvious than unloading my physical talents. If I felt it more carefully, I could even feel the threat of the Demon Eye Sponge. I felt no sense of security at all!
just.

Cheng Ye subconsciously raised his hand, his gaze falling on the back of his hand.

The pale green life rune on the back of his right hand flickered slightly as he gazed at it, as if in response.

On the back of his left hand, a dark red withered rune had appeared!
The two runes, one green and one red, reflected each other on the skin. Far from being in conflict, they exuded a harmonious fluctuation of life and death, prosperity and decline.

How can life and decay coexist?
Cheng Ye instantly perked up, his unfocused gaze refocused, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but turn up.

So cool!
Old Tan, we knew we hadn't misjudged you!
Unexpectedly, Tan Ming actually agreed in the end and bestowed both runes upon him!

His left hand can summon the Blood Shadow Legion, and his right hand can control the power of life.
Wait a minute, if we summon the Blood Shadow Legion to help with land reclamation, sowing, and harvesting, wouldn't that also be a kind of ideological fusion?

Cheng Ye was secretly delighted, gently stroking the runes on the back of his hand with his fingertips.

Even through the armor, he could clearly sense that the two runes were not yet fully activated, and the collector's function had only been roughly deciphered. The specific control methods and mission details would probably only be unlocked after Tan Ming and Wan Lingdi's battle with the conch shell ended.

Thinking of this, Cheng Ye suddenly paused, and the last glimpse before passing through the portal flashed through his mind.

At that time, the conch shells on the lake surface also seemed to have taken human form?

It also transformed into a white mist giant about 100 meters tall, surrounded by a rich life force, and its power was no weaker than Tan Ming's blood-red humanoid form.

"No wonder Tan Ming insisted on accumulating enough energy before engaging in the final showdown."

Cheng Ye frowned, a sudden wave of horror washing over him.

Wasn't the energy level of the Ten Thousand Order Earth Conch already weakened to an extremely low level by him? But judging from the power of its transformation, it is obviously not as simple as it appears on the surface!
How long has this magical artifact been hidden beneath the White Water River?

Or how much power did they accumulate while wandering around other places?

While the external energy, the crab people, and the vitality of the dense forest have indeed been exhausted, the interior still contains a massive amount of energy, probably not much less than the energy contained in 100,000 crab people!

Without Tan Ming's help, could he and Rokuk really have completed the containment of such a thing?

The question popped into Cheng Ye's mind, and he couldn't help but shake his head; the answer was almost certainly yes.

This is almost an impossible challenge.

Even ignoring the timing of the mental pollution outbreak, by relying on the heart-protecting fire to exert all its strength, it slowly consumes its energy over time.

As soon as Wanlingdi Conch senses a single pollutant descending, it will die inside.

Even if he manages to exhaust the energy of the conch shell and remain unnoticed, everyone else will surely die in Big Wave Town, except for him.

"Containing infected sources cannot be done blindly; we must find ways to win over teammates and leverage their strengths."

Cheng Ye secretly concluded, "The most important thing is intelligence. If we don't know about Tan Ming's existence, the true situation inside the cave, or the true form and energy reserves of the Wanling Earth Conch, this containment would not have been successful at all."

The mere mention of intelligence inevitably evokes a burning hatred, and the thought of Yueye Shelter City comes to mind instinctively.

If Yueye hadn't deliberately concealed crucial information about the cave, they wouldn't have been put on the defensive from the very beginning.

If intelligence is shared in a timely manner, it will not be difficult to locate the remaining poisonous water crystals, the traces of crab people's activities, and even the magic eye sponge under the White Water River in advance, by searching along the route for the missing persons.

But Yueye deliberately hid this information, turning the thousands of people who participated in the assessment into guinea pigs testing the danger.

Even four prosecutors nearly died in their own territory, less than 100 kilometers from Happiness City.

Fortunately, he discovered the existence of the Myriad Order Earth Conch in time; otherwise, if this celestial object had fully erupted and formed a catastrophic or even destructive infection wave, the impact would have been far more than just on Dabo Town.

The entire Happiness City, and even the southern part of Shi Province, will suffer. Even if we drag out the city lord of Yueye Shelter City and kill him a hundred times, it still won't be enough to quell our hatred.

Of course, once this news gets out, Yueye Shelter City will be severely damaged, even if it doesn't die!
Cheng Ye put on the cotton-padded coat that was placed to the side, rubbed the runes on the back of his hand with his fingers, paused, and whispered towards the direction of the light gate:
"Lord Tan, I'll be leaving now. If you don't like the fragments of the Myriad-Order Earth Conch, just send me a message and I'll come in and collect them!"

He didn't care whether Tan Ming could hear him or not, and turned to walk away after he finished speaking.

As you pass through the tunnels of varying sizes within the cotton chamber, your body gradually returns to its initial height of five meters as the space expands and contracts.

With a slight shake, Cheng Ye shrunk back to his original height and quickly arrived at the first floor of the cotton room.

Just as he was about to leave through the gap, his gaze inadvertently swept over the Magic Eye Sponge in the corner, and he froze.

Disappeared!
Previously, there were clearly three runes embedded in the Demon Eye Sponge, one large and two small.

But at this moment, the large rune that emitted a dark blue halo had disappeared, leaving only two dim small runes embedded in the sponge's body.

Did the Wanling Earth Conch actively take away the runes?
Or was it that the Magic Eye Sponge's energy was no longer sufficient to maintain the operation of the large runes, forcing it to be withdrawn?
"I still need to get promoted. If my rank is raised by one level, I might be able to get accepted."

Cheng Ye sighed with some regret.

Fortunately, all the properties of the Magic Eye Sponge have been gathered, including water-based and earth-based textures.

As long as there is sufficient energy later, it is entirely possible to collect this large rune by exchanging information, so it is not entirely a pity.

As for job rank.

Cheng Ye immediately brought up the panel and switched to his personal page:
[Collector: Cheng Ye]

[Current Rank: Level 2 Rookie (91.3/100)]

Life Level: 2

【Skill:…】

【ability】:…

[Not yet unlocked]

[Evaluation: Level of Life]

Only 8.7 more information points are needed to break through to Lv.3!

Moreover, this doesn't even take into account the bonus from the two Tanming runes on the back of the hand, or the progress that can be provided by subsequently containing the Wanling Earth Conch Fragment.

Once things are over in the cave, he will most likely be able to advance directly to Lv.3 and unlock more panel permissions.

Suppressing his anticipation, Cheng Ye took one last look at the Demon Eye Sponge, changed his Iron Body into a fish-like form, and turned to walk out of the gap in the sponge room.

The remaining hundred tentacles had all drooped to the ground, looking sickly and lifeless.

After thinking for a moment, Cheng Ye decided not to attack the Magic Eye Sponge again, and instead floated to the surface of the water.

Tan Ming and Wan Lingdi Conch are currently engaged in a fierce battle inside the cave. The Magic Eye Sponge is the key carrier that seals the cave. If it is disturbed and causes the carrier to collapse, the shockwaves from the battle between the two extraordinary monsters will reach the ground.

That would be an unimaginable disaster; it's best to avoid creating unnecessary trouble.

And so, after the battle was over, and after the fragments of the Ten Thousand Rings Conch Shell were collected.

When the Magic Eye Sponge loses the support of the magical artifact, it won't be able to escape and will be left underwater to be harvested. There's no need to take the risk now.

The buzzing acceleration energy was unleashed, propelling the body forward like an arrow released from a bow.

Only when their mouths and noses emerged from the water and fresh air filled their lungs did they finally shake off the oppressive atmosphere of battle.

Cheng Ye looked up and saw the setting sun slowly sinking on the distant horizon, its orange-red glow spreading across the water, even the ripples were tinged with gold.

Dozens of somewhat mischievous black and white striped fish formed a school and swam leisurely around him, suddenly bringing a touch of life to the water.

He paused, his previously tense and stiff gaze gradually softening.

"Another day has passed!"

This damn wasteland, danger always strikes without warning, giving people no time to prepare.

One second they're planning the construction of Dabo Town, the next they might be facing the threat of a devastating source of infection.

In contrast, the days in Happiness City, even when on duty at checkpoints and dealing with sporadic infections, felt as relaxed as a vacation.

Facing the setting sun, Cheng Ye took several deep breaths, his nerves completely relaxed, and his body was instantly enveloped by a sense of languor.

Endless fatigue and exhaustion surged through my mind in waves, and my eyelids were so heavy that I could barely keep them open.

I've been working non-stop for most of the day since last night, and my mental and physical strength are completely exhausted.

He floated on the water, letting the orange-red sunset light fall on his face, enjoying this rare tranquility.

At this moment, there's no need to think about the threat of the infection source, the problem of containing the divine artifact, or the shortcut to increasing strength.

Simply staying quietly and feeling the groundedness of being "alive" brings an unprecedented sense of happiness.

Only when the sun had completely sunk below the horizon, the sky was enveloped in familiar darkness, and a cool evening breeze rippled across the water, did he slowly swim toward the inlet.

After climbing ashore, I took only two steps uphill and saw Rokuk fast asleep against the wall of the dock.

Rokuk seemed to be having a nightmare; his brows were furrowed and his lips trembled slightly, as if he had seen something terrifying.

Cheng Ye deliberately increased the weight of his steps, making a "pat-pat" sound as his shoes stomped on the stone pavement.

Rokuk suddenly woke up, his hand instantly reaching for the short knife beside him. His eyes swept around warily until he saw that the person was Cheng Ye. Only then did he breathe a long sigh of relief and stagger to his feet, leaning against the wall.

"Prosecutor Cheng, how is the underwater artifact?" His voice was hoarse from just waking up, but his eyes were fixed on Cheng Ye's face, trying to find the answer from his expression.

"Don't worry, everything is fine." Cheng Ye smiled and first reached out to remove his obsidian armor.

The attached black film peeled off the body surface, and the surrounding world instantly became "real".

The smell of moisture in the air, the cool touch of the stone pavement underfoot, the sound of the flowing river in the distance, and the sounds of residents hammering and banging tools—all these things clearly entered my senses, no longer as blurry as when I was encased in armor.

He greedily savored the freshness of the scene, first touching the bluestone wall beside him, then his fingertips touched the cracks he had made earlier, before continuing, "Tan Ming has already fought with the immortal creature. Once it's over, we'll go down and contain it."

"Tan Ming, a celestial artifact?" Rokuk repeated in a daze, his eyes flashing with unbelievable joy. "Does that mean our containment mission is almost complete?"

"I guess so." Cheng Ye nodded, then paused and added, "Unless Tan Ming loses."

"Tan Ming cannot lose!"

Rococo blurted out instinctively, then awkwardly added with a forced laugh, "Tan Ming can't lose!"

"You're actually worried about it?" Cheng Ye was somewhat taken aback, then chuckled and shook his head. "Let's go back to town and rest first. These two monsters fighting won't be decided so quickly."

This level of battle cannot be ended by you launching an energy wave and me responding with a powerful attack.

Judging from the process of energy storage, Tan Ming and Wan Lingdi will most likely have to fight until one of them completely exhausts their energy before a final victory can be determined.

After all, the struggle over beliefs is fundamental, and neither side can simply surrender to the other's beliefs.

It's unclear how long this process will last, but in any case, it's much safer than him and Rokuk forcing their way through.

Back in town, perhaps because the thought that "the overall situation is settled" had completely relieved him of his psychological burden, Cheng Ye no longer had the mind to inspect the changes in the red and blue zones throughout the day or to appease the residents.

At that moment, he had only one thought in his mind: to retreat to his own little space, enjoy his time alone, and savor the peace of mind that comes with surviving a disaster.

The watchtower built in the parking lot was undoubtedly the best choice.

Away from the hustle and bustle of the ground, the small space provides a strong sense of security, where you won't be disturbed by anyone.

First, go back to the truck and charge the collector.

“Go up and rest. I’ll take over the rest.” Rokuk personally escorted him to the bottom of the watchtower, solemnly assuring him.

By the time he arrived, Cheng Ye was so exhausted he barely had the strength to speak. He simply waved his hand, grabbed the ladder, and slowly climbed up the watchtower. As soon as he stood up, he felt dizzy and sat down on the wooden floor.

Nourished by the life force absorbed earlier, the body felt no hunger whatsoever.

He didn't care about checking on the state of the Shrinking Earth Giant Flea and the Heart-Protecting Flame in his spirit space; his only wish at that moment was to go to sleep. He looked up at the night sky, where scattered stars were gradually appearing, like diamonds sprinkled on black velvet.

Goodnight, wasteland!

The words fell.

He leaned against the wooden railing of the watchtower, closed his eyes, and fell into a deep sleep.

This was the deepest sleep he had ever had. The wild grass totem on his chest suddenly emitted a faint green light, and the soft halo slowly spread, almost enveloping half of his body.

call.

suck.

The green light also flickered with each breath.

The sensation spread from the shoulders to the waist and abdomen, then retreated from the limbs back to the chest, repeating in this cycle for an entire night.

The green light slowly faded away and completely merged into the totem as the sky began to lighten.

The morning light shone through the gaps in the watchtower onto his face. Unconsciously, Cheng Ye shifted his position, lay flat on the floor, and continued to sleep.

However, after transitioning from deep sleep to light sleep, dreams inevitably begin to occur.

In a dream.

No longer are humans struggling to survive in the wasteland, but have become terrifying beings who can rival Tan Ming.

With a wave of his hand, his thousands of Blood Shadow Legion soldiers responded and charged fearlessly toward the source of infection.

With a swift movement of his palm, both the ferocious immortal creatures and the troublesome destructive-level infection sources turned to ashes in his hand.

He can soar freely in the sky and go wherever he wants. Even the sacred mountain 'Mount Everest' on the badge of the residents of the Flame of Life can be reached quickly with just a thought.

"What else can stop me?"

Standing atop the snow-capped mountain, Cheng Ye gazed at the magnificent landscape below and couldn't help but burst into laughter, hands on his hips.

At that moment, he felt he was the strongest in the world, and nothing could threaten him.

But just as this thought crossed his mind, a faint black streak of light suddenly flashed across the sky.

The S5 virus has broken out!
This is a terrifying virus that evolved specifically to target uncontrollable superhumans like him.

In just a few seconds, the devastating power within him receded like a tide, and his body became weak again, returning him to the state of an ordinary person.

What alarmed him even more was when he looked up at the night sky.

The "giant" that brought annihilation to humanity a century ago and triggered dramatic changes in the world has once again suspended in the sky, blotting out the sun and bringing a suffocating sense of oppression.

"What? A gigantic creature!"

Startled, Cheng Ye flailed his arms wildly, trying to dispel the terrifying scene before him, but his right hand slammed heavily against the wooden wall of the watchtower, making a dull thud.

The sound pulled him back to reality from his nightmare. Cheng Ye suddenly opened his eyes, his pupils instinctively contracting and focusing as he looked out of the watchtower.

The sky remained an impenetrable, dense black.

In a daze, he had the illusion that he hadn't slept for long at all, and had just lain down when he was awakened by a nightmare.

But the sensations from the body don't lie. The deep-seated fatigue from before has mostly faded, leaving only a faint sense of lethargy, and even the mind is much clearer.

Cheng Ye did not rush to get up, but lay quietly on the wooden floor, letting the remaining fragments of the dream dissipate in his mind.

A few minutes later, he reached for the defense communication device beside him, turned on the screen, and glanced at the time.

Sure enough, he had slept for a whole day, and it was now the fourth night since the assessment began.

According to the rules initially announced by the checkpoint, the outcome of the assessment should have been announced at noon today.

However, Wanlingdi's interference not only disrupted all plans but also blurred the assessment deadline, leaving no clear end date.

"After 72 hours, is the mental pollution from Conch going to explode?"

Cheng Ye's heart suddenly tightened.

He couldn't lie still any longer, so he immediately rolled over, got up, grabbed the ladder, and quickly walked down from the watchtower.

But after only a few steps, Cheng Ye's steps slowly came to a stop, and his tense expression unconsciously softened.

There was no chaos, no panic, and no sign of an outbreak of mental pollution as expected.

Although there were only a few patrol figures outside the residential units in the parking lot, once you walked from the alley next to the supermarket to the main road, you could see nearly a thousand residents gathered in the center of the town.

In the central open space, the vines were set on fire.

The blazing flames resembled a makeshift bonfire party, with intense light and billowing smoke shooting into the sky. Nearly a thousand people gathered around the fire, their faces showing little sign of distress.

Someone took the microphone and stood by the fire, passionately recounting their adventures in the wasteland, interspersed with thrilling encounters and humorous jokes.

The whole scene was exceptionally harmonious, with occasional applause and cheers drifting in on the night breeze, dispelling the dullness of the night.

Cheng Ye stood still for a moment, his gaze sweeping across the crowd, but he didn't see Rocco and Garcia.

Instead, they saw Wang Kang leading his patrol team back from the street corner. Upon seeing him standing in front of the supermarket, the other party immediately strode over.

"Brother Cheng! You're finally awake!" Wang Kang ran up to him, his voice filled with urgency. His eyes scanned him up and down before he finally breathed a sigh of relief. "Are you alright?"

"It's nothing, I'm just too tired," Cheng Ye said, then couldn't help but yawn again, his gaze shifting to the campfire not far away. "What are they doing?"

"To pass the time in the evening, to liven up the atmosphere, so that everyone doesn't stay in the room overthinking and getting more and more anxious." Wang Kang first waved for the patrol team to continue their vigilance around the area, and after the team members had gone far away, he smiled wryly and lowered his voice, his expression much more serious than before.

Seeing that wry smile, Cheng Ye's heart skipped a beat, and he pressed, "Where's Rocco? Where's Garcia? Why aren't they here?"

“Their condition is getting worse.” Wang Kang sighed, a rare complex expression on his face. “Garcia has ‘planted’ himself in the open space in the west of the town, saying it will relieve his pain. Brother Cheng, you should go and take a look, you’ll understand.”

Cheng Ye's heart sank.

It's the fourth day, and Rokuk is using Source Core Meat Iron; the 72-hour burst period is almost here.

He didn't go to see Rokuk immediately, but turned and walked towards the river: "I'll go check the situation underwater first, wait for me for a few minutes."

Upon reaching the riverbank, he quickly donned his obsidian armor and leaped into the water.

An unexpected situation has arisen!

Although the purple barrier that the Magic Eye Sponge used to seal the cave has disappeared, a blood-red energy has replaced the barrier at the cave entrance, sealing the entrance tightly like a thin film, preventing even a trace of breath from escaping.

A day and a night passed, and Tan Ming and Wan Lingdi still hadn't decided a winner?

Cheng Ye gritted his teeth, temporarily suppressing his doubts, and surfaced again. After removing his armor, he hurriedly followed Wang Kang towards the east end of the town.

Steel bars, rusted iron, and other scattered recyclables were pulled from the building ruins and piled up in the wasteland not far from the truck.

Before he even got close, Cheng Ye looked somewhat stunned.

In the darkness, Rokuk was lying in front of the pile of steel bars in a strange posture. He was holding a rusty steel bar about the thickness of his wrist in one hand and putting it into his mouth bit by bit. He first slowly licked the rust with his tongue and then gnawed at it with his teeth.

"Squeak-"

The teeth-grinding crunching sound was particularly jarring in the quiet night, making one's teeth ache, yet he could actually bite through the hard steel bars and chew them into small pieces.

Swallowing was extremely difficult. With each bite, a faint rust-iron light would burst from under his skin. After the light flashed, his body would tremble uncontrollably, as if he were enduring great pain.

Hearing footsteps approaching, Rococo turned his head with difficulty.

The moment their eyes met, Cheng Ye felt a buzzing in his head, and his vision suddenly blurred.

Is this...is this still Rocco?
Is this even human?

Yesterday, although he was covered in rust and smelled strongly of iron, he could still barely maintain his human form.

But after a day and a night, his face was reduced to a mere outline of a human.

Where skin should have been, dark brown rust had spread, like layers of dried blood crust. Even the eyelids were stuck together by a thick iron shell, with only a murky gray light showing through the gaps, making it difficult to even focus.

He tried to speak, but his jaw made a clicking, metallic scraping sound, like a rusty part struggling to turn.

Not a drop of blood seeped from the crack at the corner of his mouth; only tiny iron filings fell down, making a soft rustling sound as they hit the ground.

The rust on his neck had spread to his collarbone, and his once prominent Adam's apple had become a sharp, angular lump of iron that slid up and down with his weak breathing, each movement accompanied by a harsh scraping sound, as if it would choke him at any moment.

His hands hung limply at his sides, his fingernails had long since turned into sharp iron spikes, and the skin at his knuckles was completely encased in an iron shell. His arms looked like iron pipes that were about to rust away completely, standing straight and stiff.

This parasitic source of flesh and iron is visibly assimilating a vibrant life into cold metal!

"Chengcheng." Rokuk managed to squeeze out two words, and before he could finish speaking, dark red "tears" suddenly welled up in the corners of his eyes.

Those weren't tears, but rather droplets of molten iron that slid down the rust, leaving two dark marks on my cheeks.

He did not die on the battlefield containing the source of infection, nor in the crisis of confronting the immortals.

But in the waiting period, they have to watch helplessly as their lives gradually head towards destruction.

"Can you still hold on?" Cheng Ye shook his head vigorously, suppressing the shock and bitterness in his heart, gritted his teeth and walked over to help Rokuk up.

The surface felt cold and metallic, like holding a heavy lump of iron.

Rokuk's body had long lost the weight of a normal person; every inch of it was filled with metal, so heavy that it made his arms go numb.

"I," Rokuk opened his mouth, but could no longer utter a complete sentence. He could only look into Cheng Ye's eyes, where the murky gray light was gradually dimming, like a candle flame about to be extinguished.

He struggled to speak, but finally managed to squeeze out a few words: "I'm ready."

"Wang Kang, come quick, help him up!" Cheng Ye couldn't help but roar.

When Wang Kang rushed over and helped him support Rokuk, Cheng Ye immediately took off and rushed towards the truck not far away.

Rushing into the truck cab, he grabbed an empty cup and frantically pulled a vial of living water essence from the pendant.

This damn source of infection!
damn it!
What is a benign source of infection? This is poison, a poison even more terrifying than a highly virulent source of infection!

Having already seen the dawn of victory, are we going to fall at the last moment before the night ends?
If they had just held on until Tan Ming finished defeating the immortal artifact and collected the fragments of the conch shell, this nightmare could have ended.

But why?
Cheng Ye felt powerless once again, a powerlessness far greater than when facing the Wanling Earth Conch!
That is the insignificance of life in the face of adversity, the despair of struggling when one's throat is gripped by an invisible giant hand.

Holding the cup, Cheng Ye strode back, his steps faltering slightly.

But he had only run halfway when he suddenly stopped, his pupils contracted sharply, and he could hardly believe what he was seeing.

After meeting him, Rococo seemed to lose all hope of continuing, as if he had completely lost the will to live after saying those words.

He fell straight to the ground, his body losing all support, crashing to the ground as heavily as a real lump of iron, stiff beyond description, and completely silent.

Wang Kang remained in the position of supporting him, sitting stiffly beside him, his eyes filled with blankness and confusion, even forgetting to breathe.

Rococo is dead?

Cheng Ye stood there, stunned, his eyes stinging uncontrollably.

Without a formal farewell, without a final chat about their future ideals, without even a complete sentence, this third-term inspector, his comrade who fought alongside him to contain the magical creatures, quietly collapsed beside the garbage heap at the east end of town.

His body was still slowly mutating, and the last bit of human form was about to be swallowed up by the thick rust, leaving only a cold metallic outline.

The wind suddenly picked up in the night, whipping up tiny iron filings from the ground.

It landed on Cheng Ye's face and the back of his hand, making a soft "rustling" sound.

The voice was very soft, like a low murmur of mourning.

It was as if Rocco was saying his final goodbye in this special way.

(End of this chapter)