Wasteland Border Inspector

Chapter 250 The Source Track Problem, the Legend of the Research Institute!
Want culture medium?
Upon hearing this, Shi Xu was taken aback at first, then realized what he meant and shook his head with a smile, explaining, "Prosecutor Cheng, you may not know this, but this culture medium is essentially the 'saliva' secreted by the extraordinary mother, which is highly infectious."

"These delivery pipes you see now are all specially made of Happiness Alloy to prevent leaks. A leak could lead to the complete destruction of the inner city. Therefore, this culture medium cannot be given to you casually."

“What if I just want to take a close look inside the research institute? I won’t take anything away, I’ll just observe,” Cheng Ye immediately added.

"Hmm," Shi Xu hesitated for a moment, then said, "How about this, I'll submit an application report to the higher-ups for you first. If it passes the review, I'll take you to observe these culture media up close. What do you think?"

“Okay, then I’ll trouble you, Director Shi.” Cheng Ye immediately nodded in agreement, and took the opportunity to change his address to “Director Shi”, which Lü Jian had used earlier, thus shifting their relationship from prosecutor and researcher to being on the same side.

Shi Xu picked up his defense communication device, quickly edited and submitted the application report.

Once everything was settled, the two continued their tour of the research institute.

As Cheng Ye reached the stairwell on his right, his gaze was drawn to a row of photos hanging on the wall. It turned out to be a group photo wall of the institute's past and present researchers.

The photos of the researchers who have passed away have been converted to black and white, and there are words of condolence in the information column below.

Cheng Ye's gaze slowly swept across the photo wall, and he found that the researchers who could be featured on this wall were at least Level 3 researchers, and the higher the photo was, the higher the corresponding rank and status.

There are only six researchers of the same rank as Shi Xu, namely Level 4 and Level 5 researchers, on the wall. Above them are photos of three deputy directors, and at the very top is the position of the director.

Seeing him stop and look at him with curiosity in his eyes, Shi Xu took the initiative to step forward and introduced, "The job level structure of our research institute is actually similar to that of a checkpoint, but the difference is that the research institute adopts an A+B dual-track management structure."

"Under the A-path structure, Director Long Haoran personally leads the core research projects, while Deputy Director Xu Rui is responsible for resource coordination and keeping track of research progress. Currently, about one-third of the researchers in the institute belong to the A-path structure."

"Aren't they in Happiness City?" Cheng Ye's gaze lingered on the names at the top of the photo wall.

Long Haoran.

According to the data, the Institute of Infection Sources was established in 2008. Long Haoran has served as the director since its inception, and his position has remained stable over the years.

According to the information below, he just turned 51 in June this year, which is the prime of his life for a career like a researcher, a career with a long lifespan, and he has both experience and energy.

However, from the eighth year of the new era to now, Long Haoran has served as the director for more than 27 years. If you calculate it this way, he was only 24 years old when he took office.

To be able to take charge of the entire infection source research institute at such a young age is truly amazing!
"You guessed right."

Shi Xu nodded in response, "The directors of the research institutes of each member city under the Torch Alliance all reside in the A-1 Torch Volcano area of ​​the Torch Shelter City. Our Happiness City is no exception. Director Long went there in the 20th year of the New Era and has only returned once in all these years."

"The reason for drawing some research forces from various sheltered cities to the Firewood Shelter City for integrated research is twofold: firstly, to combine the core wisdom of human civilization to work together to break through technological bottlenecks; and secondly, to supervise each other and prevent any party from secretly researching viruses that are harmful to humans, thus repeating the mistakes of the past."

Shi Xu was not surprised that Cheng Ye was able to notice that Long Haoran was not in Happiness City immediately.

After all, given Long Haoran's stable position, if he were to remain stationed in Happiness City for a long time, there's no reason why he wouldn't be well-known or even nearly unknown.

This unseen dedication and perseverance is the pride of the entire research institute.

When he got to this point in the introduction, he even unconsciously straightened his chest, his face filled with undisguised pride.

"Currently, the core research project of our Happiness City Research Institute is led by Director Yu Erlan. Deputy Director Wang Chen is responsible for resource coordination and keeping track of the research progress of each branch. However, Deputy Director Wang Chen has rarely stayed in Happiness City in recent years. Most of the time, he has been traveling around with several fourth-phase inspectors from the checkpoint, specifically to help the institute find several key research materials and to integrate technical resources with the surrounding sheltered cities."

Yu Erlan.
Cheng Ye silently repeated the name in his heart, and the image of the intelligent and capable woman he had met when he came ashore from the Baishui River that day involuntarily appeared in his mind.

I remember the other person was also surprisingly young. When I took the containment box from him, I simply said, "Thank you for your hard work."

At that time, Cheng Ye thought that Director Yu was just a deputy director of the research institute with limited power.

But after listening to Shi Xu's introduction, he suddenly realized that of the four directors of the research institute, three were away for long periods of time, while Yu Erlan stayed in Xingfu City to take charge of the overall situation. This was truly "all-powerful," and the power she held was probably much greater than he had imagined.

However, this Director Yu doesn't seem to be an extraordinary person either?
Recalling the feeling when they met, Cheng Ye was certain that he could not sense any extraordinary fluctuations from Yu Erlan and Deputy City Lord Yuan Gang. The two were even less ordinary than the aura emanating from Liu Kun.

Climb the stairs and begin your tour from the fourth floor of the Taipei Dome.

Cheng Ye first noticed that the walls of each corridor were marked with lines of different colors.

Looking up, the second and third floors are green, while the fourth floor is yellow.

"The green label corresponds to sources of infection that are basically harmless, which is also our current main research focus."

Shi Xu's tone was full of helplessness. He spread his hands and continued, "It's a pity that the technologies derived from analyzing these low-risk infection sources are too basic and cannot be transformed into practical products. Moreover, other sheltered cities are also researching this field at the same time. We have invested a lot of energy in research but have not gained much practical benefit. However, if we give up now, we will soon fall behind our peers and be put on the defensive."

He paused, then said with feeling, "That's how research is. Outsiders think that taking the first step is the hardest part, and that once you have a start, you can naturally continue to iterate and upgrade. But in reality, the first step is just a starting point. The key to success or failure is whether you can maintain a stable pace of research and development in the long run."

"Just like the chip that our Happiness City independently developed, when it was first launched, it was almost firmly in the T0 tier of the wasteland. But after so many years, we have never been able to successfully iterate to a second-generation product, and the technology has been stuck in place."

"Is it because the corresponding source of infection hasn't yielded any more valuable information yet?" Cheng Ye frowned and pondered.

“That’s right.” Shi Xu didn’t seem surprised that a “rough and ready” prosecutor could understand these things.

He sighed softly and began to explain in detail: "In fact, the technological development of each sanctuary city is based on the research of the corresponding source of infection. The source of infection that helped us analyze the chip technology back then was called 'Crystal Algae'. It contains two key structures: one is a special vesicle that can adsorb metal ions, and the other is a photosensitive protein that can sense electromagnetic signals."

"Our technology works by synthesizing organic acids to dissolve metal oxides such as copper, gold, and silver in the surrounding environment. The algae absorb the decomposed metal ions into vesicles, and then we induce circuit template sequences to release ions precisely on the silicon-based surface. Conductive circuits are formed through ion deposition. However, there are also significant problems. The linewidth of the circuits naturally constructed by the algae fluctuates greatly, and the process precision can only reach 1000 to 2000 nanometers, which is far from meeting higher technical requirements."

"What's even more challenging is that during the metal ion deposition process, there can be breakpoints, bumps, and cross-adhesion, resulting in extremely irregular conductive paths. This ultimately leads to low current transmission efficiency and severe signal loss, which naturally reduces the chip's computing and response speeds."

"Our initial idea was to artificially cultivate and optimize crystal algae to reduce the individual differences in reproduction rate and metabolic state among different algal cells, so that all cells could complete the circuit construction synchronously and precisely. However, we did not expect that this step would be far more difficult than expected, and it was almost impossible to achieve. Moreover, crystal algae are extremely sensitive to light, temperature and humidity. Even a slight fluctuation in the environment will seriously affect its ion deposition accuracy."

"Of course, the most critical challenge is that the genes of the crystal algae are too stable, and they almost never undergo mutations that are beneficial to technological optimization. We have tried artificial gene editing, but we have always found it difficult to break through the limitations of its original biological structure. Unless there is another S5 or S6 level viral outbreak that causes a disruptive change in the activity of the crystal algae, it will only become more difficult to control it to construct precise circuits once it comes back to life."

Shi Xu's explanation avoided obscure professional jargon as much as possible, and was clear and logical. Even a layman like Cheng Ye could understand the key difficulties at a glance.

The principle behind using algae to construct chip circuits is essentially based on their own physiological activities.

First, the secreted organic acid dissolves the metal oxide, absorbs the decomposed metal ions, and then precisely releases and deposits them on the surface of the silicon substrate to form a basic conductive path. Subsequently, it secretes silicon-containing polysaccharides to form a natural insulating layer on the circuit surface, ultimately building a simple circuit structure.

Modern lithography machines, on the other hand, are based on optical principles. They use lasers of specific wavelengths as cutting tools and a complex optical system to shrink and project the chip design onto a silicon wafer coated with photosensitive emulsion. After exposure, the wafer is etched to form the circuit pattern.

To put it simply, crystal algae is essentially a natural biolithography machine.

The initial idea behind Happiness City was to continuously cultivate and improve the quality of crystal algae, reduce the uncontrollability of its physiological activities, and then use artificial gene editing to allow it to "etch" out more precise circuit structures.

However, reality was far from ideal; attempts to improve quality ended in failure, and gene editing proved to be extremely difficult.

This technological route may seem simple to start with, but subsequent breakthroughs are becoming increasingly difficult. It's no wonder that Happiness City is gradually being left behind by other research directions in the chip field.

As they were talking, Shi Xu swiped his card to complete the identity verification, casually pushed open the door of a research lab on the second floor, and clapped his hands lightly at the doorway:
"Everyone, please stop what you're doing. Prosecutor Cheng is here to inspect our work!"

Damn, why all this fuss?
Cheng Ye muttered to himself, feeling a bit of a headache, and quickly walked into the house, thinking he should explain a few things as soon as possible.

But when he looked around the research room, he found that although there were more than ten people sitting there, only one person was wearing a formal researcher's uniform, and the rest were all young people dressed as interns.

The lab was filled with equipment; four large, transparent culture chambers led straight to the ceiling and were connected to a central silver cylinder via pipes. The chambers were filled with a colorless, transparent liquid, and floating inside were surprisingly green worms.

Compared to the green worms found in the wild, the individuals in the culture chamber were noticeably larger and appeared healthier and more energetic.

"Welcome, Prosecutor Cheng!"

The sole researcher stood up and clapped first, followed by more than ten interns who clapped in unison.

The once somewhat dull research room instantly became lively. The arrival of Cheng Ye, an "outsider," unexpectedly broke the silence in the room.

"Prosecutor Cheng, it's a pleasure to meet you. Please feel free to guide me!"

The blond, blue-eyed Western researcher stepped forward and respectfully introduced himself, "I am Jenkins, a senior researcher at the institute, currently responsible for analyzing the energy conversion equations within the Green Treasure Worm."

"Energy conversion equation?" Cheng Ye raised an eyebrow, revealing a hint of curiosity.

"Yes."

Jenkins nodded and explained, "Although the Green Treasure Bug is just a common source of infection, it possesses an extremely rare ability: it can continuously devour energy to complete its self-evolution, and it can also stimulate and amplify energy in short periods. If we can successfully analyze this ability, it will play a crucial role in promoting our weapons development work in Happy City."

"Weapon development." Cheng Ye was taken aback, then subconsciously shook his head.

In his view, the most outstanding advantage of the green worm is its adaptability.

After all, it can even absorb Tan Ming's power and transform it into Tan Ming's messenger, which is enough to prove the strength of its genes.

Furthermore, judging from the four characteristics analyzed from the Green Treasure Bug, they don't seem to have much to do with weapons.

Could the inspiration for studying weapon technology from it be the phenomenon that ordinary people infected with Green Treasure Bugs turn into the Hulk?
"Hmm?" Shi Xu, who was standing behind Cheng Ye, noticed his movement and couldn't help but ask with a smile, "Does Prosecutor Cheng have other insights into the research direction of the Green Treasure Insect?"

I wouldn't call it insightful.

Cheng Ye pondered for a moment before slowly speaking, "I've only come into contact with quite a few infected individuals while on duty at the checkpoint, so I've accumulated some observation experience and have a few immature ideas."

He already had a vague idea of ​​what was going on.

Judging from Shi Xu's attitude at this moment, and the fact that the research institute specially granted him the privileges of a Level 2 Researcher, there are obviously special considerations behind this.

Moreover, back then by the Baishui River, he took off the cotton-padded clothes he was wearing in front of everyone, and Shi Xu was there at the time and saw it clearly.

More than ten days have passed, and the cotton cloth has most likely been analyzed by the research institute; otherwise, Shi Xu would not have specifically asked him if he had any insights.

Of course, an inspector will be knowledgeable in the field of research, and anomalies can be discovered simply by accessing his relevant information.

But now that he has the status and position, as long as his words and actions are not too outrageous, there should be no problem in expressing these ideas within his authority.

"I think we could start by studying the adaptability, or rather, the evolutionary ability of the green beetle."

Cheng Ye carefully considered his words before offering his suggestions, trying his best not to appear like an outsider giving unsolicited advice.

“Uh…” Jenkins gave a wry smile and explained helplessly, “Prosecutor Cheng, you may not know this, but the Green Treasure Worm is an inert source of infection. Our active induction has almost no effect on it. At present, all we can do is observe its feeding process and monitor its biological reactions with instruments to deduce the energy change pattern.”

"The adaptive and evolutionary capabilities you mentioned are simply beyond the reach of our current equipment technology to capture the corresponding response signals, let alone accurately monitor them."

"instrument."

Cheng Ye repeated the two words in a low voice, and suddenly he vaguely understood why the scientific research capabilities of Happiness City had always been unable to make breakthrough progress.

Although the source track knowledge he had previously obtained from Sang Hezheng consisted of outdated technologies, it still gave him a basic understanding of the research model in this field.

Currently, mainstream source track technology research mainly falls into two categories:
The first method is observation and simulation. Its core logic is a gradual exploration of "passive capture + precise matching + principle analysis".

Technicians use various sophisticated equipment to monitor infectious agents in their natural state in all dimensions, capturing their biological responses and energy fluctuation signals during parasitism, replication, proliferation, and responses to environmental changes.

Once the monitored data is precisely matched with a database of known biological capabilities, we can then attempt to analyze the underlying principles behind the reaction, such as gene expression regulation mechanisms, energy conversion pathways, and the laws governing biomolecular interactions.

This process is like deciphering a complex codebook. Once the code is deciphered, the natural capabilities of the infectious agent can be transformed into practically applicable technological products through biomimetic engineering, gene editing, and other technologies.

The second method is active inducement.

If observation and simulation are the decoding of the existing capabilities of the source of infection, then active induction is the exploration and shaping of its potential capabilities.

The institute's previous research on "crystal algae" followed the active induction route, but unfortunately, it ultimately failed to break through the technical bottleneck.

Currently, the green worm cannot be actively induced, and observation and simulation are insufficient to obtain accurate data, essentially trapping the research in a dead end, making even basic research a challenge.

"I wonder if the Life Dance Rune within Mianfu's body, which allows fishmen to transform, can induce the crystal algae to evolve."

A thought suddenly popped into Cheng Ye's mind, and he instantly fell into deep thought.

Seeing that Cheng Ye was lost in thought and silent, everyone in the research room wisely refrained from making a sound to disturb him.

Half a minute later, Cheng Ye finally came to his senses and quickly waved his hand to apologize: "I'm sorry, I suddenly thought of something and disturbed everyone's work. Let me sort out my thoughts and then we can discuss it together."

Jenkins was taken aback at first, then quickly realized what was happening and escorted Cheng Ye and Shi Xu to the door of the research lab, saying politely, "Prosecutor Cheng, please take care. You are always welcome to come and guide our research."

"What, Prosecutor Cheng, have you found anything?" Shi Xu asked curiously.

“Hmm,” Cheng Ye first shook his head slightly, then nodded, and slowly said, “I’ve discovered that we currently lack a ‘mediator’ that can directly study the changes in the abilities of the infectious source. If the infectious source is not lethal and has the characteristic of being repelled, perhaps we can monitor the changes in the infected organism through active biological infection, and then analyze the source of the infectious source’s abilities. But an infectious source like the Green Treasure Worm will cause instant death once it takes effect in the human body, so analyzing its abilities is naturally much more difficult.”

“This ‘intermediary’ is the key to breaking through the research bottleneck, and its form may not be the instrument we conventionally understand.”

The words fell.

Shi Xu's expression visibly changed, and he looked over in astonishment.

However, before he could ask any further questions, the defense communication device at his waist suddenly vibrated.

He picked it up to examine it, then quickly looked up at Cheng Ye and said, "Prosecutor Cheng, your application for close-up observation of the culture medium has been approved."

"Okay, let's go."

Cheng Ye immediately started walking. To reach the underground space where the culture medium was stored, a special vertical elevator was required.

The two stood inside the private vertical elevator. After Shi Xu swiped his card to verify his identity, he pressed the button for the second basement level.

The elevator slowly started moving and began its vertical descent. Shi Xu opened his mouth several times, seemingly wanting to ask Cheng Ye about his specific thoughts on the "real estate agent," but he swallowed the words back and ultimately just silently watched the floor numbers change.

It wasn't until the elevator car passed the basement level that he finally couldn't hold back and tentatively asked in a low voice, "Prosecutor Cheng, do you remember the specific form of a 'middleman'?"

"I can't remember it. I look at it once and forget it as soon as I turn my head," Cheng Ye replied frankly.

"Oh." Shi Xu's face first showed a look of realization, then he couldn't hide his obvious disappointment.

He took the initiative to explain, "This is my research direction. Unfortunately, there has been no progress after so many years. The value of the immortal artifact lies in these intermediaries you mentioned, but we have no way to analyze it. We can only hand over the immortal artifact to the City of Fire Protection in exchange for ready-made finished technology."

Ding--

A crisp notification sound rang out, announcing that we had arrived at the second basement level.

Surprisingly, the light here was so bright it was almost blinding, unlike the dimness one would expect in an underground space; it was almost as bright as the lighting in the above-ground area.

The elevator doors slowly opened, and Shi Xu was about to step out when his gaze suddenly froze.

A tall, aloof woman stood at the elevator entrance.

"Director Yu." Shi Xu quickly composed himself and greeted him respectfully.

"Okay, you go back and handle your work first. I'll take Inspector Cheng on a tour of the underground section next." Yu Erlan's voice, like her temperament, was cool and carried an undeniable authority.

"Yes!" Shi Xu was secretly startled, but he didn't dare to ask any more questions. He immediately retreated into the elevator and pressed the button to go to the basement.

In the brief moment before the elevator doors closed, Cheng Ye lowered his head slightly, but his gaze remained fixed on Yu Erlan.

She doesn't have a conventionally beautiful face; her features aren't exquisitely perfect, but she possesses a calm aura that makes it impossible to look away.

Her eyebrows resembled distant mountains shrouded in mist, their natural curves flowing freely, not sharp as if deliberately drawn, yet concealing a subtle air of heroism at their peaks.

Although her eyes are standard almond-shaped with slightly upturned corners, giving her a natural allure, her cool and aloof demeanor only makes her appear dignified and distant, inspiring no disrespect.

The high, straight bridge of the nose has clean lines, and the tip of the nose is small and rounded, which perfectly balances the sharpness between the eyebrows and eyes.

Her lips are full and delicate, with a natural cherry blossom pink color. When she is not smiling, her lip line is tightened, giving her a somewhat aloof and indifferent air.

Even though she was wearing a uniform no different from that of an ordinary researcher, paired with her elegant purple hair that shimmered with a soft light, Cheng Ye was still unconsciously lost in thought.

But he wasn't attracted by the other person's appearance. Rather, it was the sudden restlessness of the giant earth-shrinking louse inside his body that sent a strong feeling of fear into his mind.

"Is it pretty?" A cool voice suddenly rang in his ears, interrupting Cheng Ye's thoughts.

Cheng Ye snapped back to his senses, nodded subconsciously, and then quickly said politely, "Director Yu has an extraordinary presence; his reputation is well-deserved. I've long admired your name!"

"Ah."

Yu Erlan pursed her lips, revealing a very faint smile, then gently shook her head and turned to walk forward.

Cheng Ye quickly composed himself and followed, while his eyes swept across the environment on the second basement level, carefully examining the structural layout of the underground area of ​​the giant dome.

The spatial structure of this two-story underground space is quite similar to the exclusive area of ​​Regenerative Medicine.

With a ceiling height of nearly fifty meters and an expansive area, it seems as if the entire underground of the inner city research area has been completely hollowed out, creating a unique and independent area.

A dozen or so buildings of different shapes are scattered about, with distinct levels and a clear distinction between them. The metal nameplates hanging in front of each building clearly indicate the corresponding functional areas, making it easy to understand at a glance.

In the very center of the space stands the iconic silver pillar on the ground. Amazingly, its diameter underground has expanded by more than five meters, reaching an astonishing size of fifteen meters.

The green energy surging within the pillar became even denser, making it look like a large green stick at first glance.

Through a network of transparent pipes at the top and middle, extending like veins to every building, the culture medium is supplied to the entire underground space.

The base beneath the pillars is not a simple load-bearing structure, but a three-story, beige, cube-shaped building.

Upon closer inspection, the seven large, gilded characters "Extraordinary Mother Source Containment Room" on the lintel gleamed brightly, standing out prominently.

hiss.

Cheng Ye gasped, his heart filled with shock.

Just how many extraordinary mother sources has Happiness City contained that it needs to build such a three-story building to store them?

If we could acquire all the extraordinary source material in this building, how many special abilities could we unlock?
How many rare skills, items, and intelligence can these characteristics be exchanged for?

Even.
A glint flashed in Cheng Ye's eyes as he secretly made up his mind that he would have to come to this research institute often in the future.

Just as his thoughts were racing, Yu Erlan suddenly stopped and looked at him with a half-smile:
“Inspector Cheng, you may not know this, but even though you are the twelfth inspector to enter the research institute, even Station Chief Ding can only visit the above-ground part. Even when using the supercomputer, other researchers have to deliver the data on his behalf.”

She paused, her tone slightly amusement: "And the place you're standing in right now, by all accounts, makes you the third prosecutor qualified to step into."

"Thank you for your trust, Director Yu!"

Cheng Ye perked up, immediately putting on a flattered expression, but a sense of unease crept into his heart, as he felt there was something more to the other person's words.

As expected, Yu Erlan continued:

"The first inspector qualified to come here was your grandfather, Cheng Wu. He was in charge of the ribbon-cutting ceremony when the Institute of Infection Sources was established. At that time, I hadn't joined the institute yet; I was just a little girl and didn't get to see him in person. However..."

She gestured for Cheng Ye to look towards the entrance of the containment room. Cheng Ye followed her gaze and quickly fixed his eyes on a portrait made of alloy.

The painting depicts a middle-aged man with a familiar face, bearing a six-tenths resemblance to him, but in a very abstract style. He is being held down on the ground by a large group of guards, his face full of defiance, as if he is roaring at something.

Two lines of text are also engraved next to the painting:
Researching the origins of extraordinary mothers is a dead end!

I, Cheng Wu, swear to overthrow this den of iniquity!

"Uh," Cheng Ye's lips twitched slightly, his eyes flickering.

Could it be that Cheng Wu is still a conservative who once tried his best to stop Happiness City from exploring source track technology?
"Don't misunderstand, Station Chief Cheng Wu is exceptionally open-minded. Back then, he was the main person who pushed for research on the source of infection. He's not the kind of stubborn old man you're thinking of."

Yu Erlan pointed to the time marked in the lower right corner of the painting, which showed: February 3, 11th year of the new era.

"Three days later, on February 6th, you should have heard that Station Chief Cheng Wu officially led the other senior inspectors in a defection and left Happiness City. This was left behind when he tried to break into the research institute and seize all the extraordinary mother sources before his defection."

"Of course, he ultimately failed."

Before his defection, Cheng Wu actually tried to steal all the extraordinary mother sources?
Cheng Ye was taken aback. He hadn't known this before. He hadn't expected Cheng Wu to be such a ruthless person.

He instinctively pressed on, "Then who is the second prosecutor qualified to be here?"

"Hmm, Prosecutor Cheng really didn't know?" Yu Erlan pointed to a blank area cleared up next to the portrait, her smile meaningful. "Your grandfather failed, but your father didn't."

"Huh?" Cheng Ye froze on the spot.

That doesn't make sense. It's understandable that Cheng Wu came to the research institute, but Cheng Long... isn't he a fifth-term prosecutor?
If even Ding Yishan isn't qualified to enter the underground area, what makes Cheng Long think he can?
As his thoughts raced, Cheng Ye's expression suddenly darkened, and a possibility surfaced in his mind.

"With the help of some people, Inspector Cheng Long successfully infiltrated this place and stole three extraordinary mother sources. Fortunately, the city lord investigated in time, preventing him from causing a catastrophic disaster." Yu Erlan's tone remained calm, yet carried an invisible pressure.

“Now, Inspector Cheng Ye, you are the third inspector to enter the Extraordinary Mother Source Containment Chamber. You probably don’t want to end up like your grandfather and father, leaving behind a ‘legend’ here in the future, do you?”

(End of this chapter)