Wasteland Border Inspector

Chapter 272 Shadow Beam, Collecting the Mother Source!
boom!
The containment chamber door slammed shut, and the top immediately lit up with a basic version of the Shadowless Light, suppressing the Ghost Spider's parasitic abilities.

This time, however, Yu Yong didn't force a sarcastic remark. Instead, he darted to a corner of the room like a frightened wild animal.

Cheng Ye strode forward, but he immediately darted to the other side and started playing the game of "Qin King Circling the Pillar" around the furniture in the room.

Perhaps due to the increased level of infection, just as the price of the giant lice would improve physical fitness, Yu Yong's physical fitness was strengthened once again.

The two hid indoors, and Cheng Ye was surprised to find that he really couldn't catch up with this guy.

"What did I say last time I came?"

He stopped in his tracks, and a deep, muffled voice came from inside the armor, "I told you, you're actually very afraid of me."

Yu Yong's expression remained unchanged, as if he hadn't heard anything. He stood warily in the corner, but his words were sharp and defiant:

"Is this all you've got? Hurry up, release the source of infection from your body! Let me see just how weak it really is!"

Clearly, although Yu Yong's mind had been corrupted by the source of infection, he had not completely lost his mind.

Knowing that there was no solution by resisting, they "cleverly" chose to hide and delay.

just.

Under Yu Yong's watchful gaze, the tall figure in armor slowly raised his right hand.

A red button was held between the thumb and forefinger.

"Researcher Yu, I originally wanted to have a chat with you for a while, but now, I would like to ask you to join me in verifying whether my 'Shadow Light' has any effect on the Ghost Spider!"

As the emotionless voice fell, the red button was gently pressed with two fingers.

laugh.

The overhead shadowless lamp, which restrained the parasites, did not change color, but suddenly a large retractable searchlight rose from the ground.

Clearly, the research institute was also worried that replacing all the light sources would cause the Ghost Spider's parasitic abilities to retaliate, so they made a safe design.

Cheng Ye strode behind the searchlight, grasped the armrests with both hands, and lifted them slightly.

hum-

The violent shaking continued, and the searchlight gradually lit up.

It wasn't the bright white of a shadowless lamp, but rather an extremely eerie blackish-blue, which, supported by energy, condensed into a visible pillar of light.

"If your speed doesn't exceed the speed of light, I suggest you..."

As Cheng Ye spoke, he suddenly raised the searchlight, and the dark blue beam shone directly on Yu Yong in the corner.

The moment he was enveloped by the beam of light, Yu Yong's expression froze, and his body remained motionless as if frozen in place.

effective?

All the researchers outside the research room widened their eyes at the same time. Even Yu Erlan, who was originally calm, couldn't help but shrink her pupils slightly, raise her hand to slide her wristwatch, and stare intently at Yu Yong's real-time vital signs data.

But the data shows that there has been no change at all?

Despite being frozen in the light, Yu Yong's vital signs remained stable without any fluctuation.

"Phew, looks like it worked." Cheng Ye turned around. Although his face was covered by armor, everyone could clearly feel the smile in his voice. "I specifically researched the light wavelengths that counter the Shadow Spider. The Shadow Spider possesses a special sensory substance, which is its core method of parasitism. The Shadowless Light we used before only temporarily covered the signal transmission path of this substance with a special wavelength, like putting on a signal shield. But its main body is still functioning normally. As soon as the light is removed, its parasitic ability will quickly recover."

Yu Erlan frowned slightly, her fingertips tapping rapidly on her wristwatch. Looking at the constantly flashing pale purple particles on the screen, she asked, "So your method is to directly cancel out its sensing material?"

"Not entirely. The method I tried was resonance suppression. This sensing material locks in by frequency, and the band of the shadow light is precisely calibrated so that it can resonate in the opposite direction with this frequency band. It's like plucking a string with the same force in the opposite direction, which can make the vibrating string stop instantly."

The logic is simple: Shadowless Light covers the entire wavelength range for shielding, while Shadowless Light targets and counters.

Yu Erlan's expression changed several times. Instead of asking how she discovered this frequency, she pressed on, "So, what's your idea?"

"Let's try weakening its power first," Cheng Ye said calmly. "Making Yu Yong afraid of us won't work. We need to let the Ghost Spider know who the master is here."

After saying that, he turned and walked towards Yu Yong, who was frozen in place.

As Cheng Ye approached, Yu Yong's eyes bulged with undisguised fear, but he couldn't move and could only be grabbed by Cheng Ye like a chick.

"Don't be so afraid of me, this is just the beginning." The devilish voice rang out again.

Immediately afterwards, Yu Yong's body was pressed against the wall of light, and a "sizzling" sound rang out, like water droplets falling into boiling oil.

Just like last time, black energy immediately surged from his body, and the ghostly spider's shrill scream pierced the air.

However, unlike before, when the black aura disappeared as soon as it appeared, this time it seemed to be frozen in place. Instead of dissipating, it became even more intense under the illumination of the shadow light.

The chill in the air suddenly intensified, carrying with it a rotten, pungent smell, and Cheng Ye's hair stood on end instantly.

As the light shifted, the diffused black aura began to surge violently, as if drawn by an invisible force, gradually gathering and solidifying.

At first, it was just a blurry black mist, but then it twisted and swirled under the light, gradually outlining a clear shape.

Those were spider-shaped creatures the size of fists!
Its entire body was as black as ink, its outer shell had a greasy sheen, and its fine downy hairs were faintly visible in the light. Its eight thin legs were as sharp as blades, and even before it was fully formed, it already exuded a chilling malice.

What's most chilling is the spider's back, which isn't an ordinary exoskeleton, but rather a series of lifelike human faces, some male, some female, some old, some young.
Yes, the residents of C35 Sanctuary City who were infected and killed by the Ghost Spiders!

The human faces on the backs of all the spiders were invariably deathly pale. Their eyes were empty, yet conveyed complex emotions that were difficult to describe.

Some had stiff smiles on their lips, their eyes filled with desperate pleas, as if begging Cheng Ye to save them, or as if begging for release.

Some had furrowed brows and tear-streaked faces, conveying endless grief, as if they were weeping for their own tragic deaths and lamenting the fate of the city of Sanctuary.

Others had their eyes wide open, mouths agape, revealing their gleaming white teeth, letting out silent, mournful howls, filled with resentment and bitterness, as if they wanted to unleash all their pain.

Cheng Ye's heart sank, and he immediately realized that this must be the original power of the Ghost Shadow Spider.

The souls of all the dead are parasitized by it, becoming its source of power, and are forever trapped in this terrifying form.

In an instant, hundreds of ghostly spiders materialized, densely covering every space reached by the black and blue light, like a giant black net.

It not only clung to Yu Yong, but also enveloped Cheng Ye's left arm tightly.

Cold, sticky, terrifying, and hopeless. Even with padded clothes to keep out, countless negative emotions still seeped in, bringing a bone-chilling cold.

Is this the power of the reversed maternal source?
Cheng Ye felt as if the blood in his body was about to freeze, his stomach was churning, and the intense discomfort almost made him suffocate.

Fortunately, a warm feeling immediately emanated from the spirit space, keeping the discomfort out of the soul. On the surface of the body, dense golden runes flickered and lit up, forming a protective barrier.

It's a giant hyacinth beetle and a flame!

While it cannot compare to the power of the Ghost Spider, it is sufficient to defend against these basic attacks.

Suppressing the tingling fear and the instinctive resistance of his body, Cheng Ye suddenly reached out with his other hand, precisely grabbed several spiders that had crawled up to his chest, and slammed them hard against the light wall in front of him.

Shila-

A piercing, scorching sound exploded instantly, like ice hitting a red-hot iron ball.

The human face on the back of the black spider instantly twisted and deformed, emitting an extremely shrill scream.

The voice was not human, yet it carried the pain of a soul being torn apart, shaking the listener to their core.

The next second, the spider pressed against the wall of light turned into wisps of black smoke and dissipated into the air.

At the same time, fragmented illusions flashed before Cheng Ye's eyes.

The night is dark.

Inside the peaceful C35 sheltered city, the dim yellow glow of the streetlights spread out in a blurry patch on the concrete ground.

The middle-aged man stepped out of the shadows, looked at the grocery store not far away, took out his rather old-fashioned portable charger, and turned it on. The light from the screen made the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes even more pronounced.

The call connected, the man's Adam's apple bobbed, and he gave a slight smile: "Wife, it's our daughter's birthday today, let's celebrate properly."

He deliberately made his voice sound cheerful, "I'll go buy a small cake, cut some meat, and get half a jin of loose liquor. I'll show you guys what I can do when I get back."

"Don't waste money. You've only just become the deputy workshop director and you're already showing off?" A woman's stern, teasing tone came from the other end of the line.

"It's nothing, it's just a celebration, it only happens once a year!" The man laughed as he hung up the phone and walked into the grocery store.

In the freezer, a palm-sized cream cake sat forlornly, its price exorbitant, equivalent to more than a week's wages for him.

After staring at the cake for a moment, the man's smile grew wider and wider: "Boss, pack one cake to go."

Clutching the cake box, he turned into the butcher shop, where three pounds of pork belly glistened with fresh oil, and half a pound of loose liquor was in a glass bottle, clinking together with a crisp sound.

These few items almost wiped out his entire monthly savings, but the man felt warm inside, humming an off-key old song as he walked towards the neighborhood.

People hurried along the street, as if something big had happened, all converging in one direction. The man glanced around a few times, resisting the urge to join the crowd, and quickened his pace.

Downstairs in the apartment building, a warm yellow light shone from the fourth-floor window, like stars in the night. Beside the window, a small figure peeked out—it was Nannan.

She was wearing her favorite floral dress and waved downstairs.

The man couldn't help but smile. Just as he raised his hand, he saw the small figure seem to have been pushed and fall straight down.

"Nannan!" the man roared in anguish, the thing in his hand crashing to the ground as he ran towards her like a madman.

But before he could take a step, his wife appeared by the window again.

She was expressionless, her eyes empty like bottomless black holes, and then she jumped down as well.

"Oh!"

"Oh!"

Two dull thuds rang out in succession, shattering the tranquility of the C35.

The man stopped in his tracks in disbelief, as if frozen in place, his expression completely frozen.

Then, windows in the old residential area opened one by one, and figures fell one after another, like dumplings falling into boiling water, spreading blood flowers on the ground.

"I"

A horrifying scene flashed before his eyes. The man managed to run two more steps forward before collapsing to the ground, convulsing.

Under the streetlights, his shadow seemed to solidify as if boiling, eventually transforming into a black spider the size of a fist, which then left his body.

The shadows of those corpses also coalesced into a spider army, frantically converging on the center of C35 Sanctuary City.

"Is this the day C35 is destroyed?"

As the hallucination dissipated, Cheng Ye, still reeling from the shock, was pulled into another illusion.

This time it was a large factory, where frantic workers roared as they rushed into the mixer, followed by swarms of black spiders that poured out from the cracks in the factory gate.

The hallucinations flashed by again and again, and with each spider that was destroyed, Cheng Ye would be forcibly pulled into the host's last moments before death.

He possessed these people, personally experiencing their despair, fear, and unspeakable horror!
"what!"

After enduring countless illusions, Cheng Ye suddenly released his grip, took two steps back, and roared.

Countless unfamiliar memories assaulted his consciousness, making his head feel like it was about to explode, almost causing him to lose his footing.

It wasn't until four or five minutes later that the intense pain from the mental shock gradually subsided.

Even without opening his mask, Cheng Ye could feel blood seeping from all seven orifices. The price of forcibly dissolving the power of the Ghost Spider was so severe!
"Your vital signs have dropped to 87%." Yu Erlan's voice came from behind.

Cheng Ye subconsciously turned his head, only to find that the screen was displaying his own data, not Yu Yong's.

All indicators are flashing warning red and are continuing to decline.

"In addition, the energy level of the Ghost Spider within Yu Yong's body is decreasing, which is causing his fusion level to decline as well," Yu Erlan added.

The light screen switched, and the energy level of the Ghost Spider had dropped to 99.4%, while Yu Yong's fusion level had also dropped below 120%, returning to 117%.

It really works!

Cheng Ye's eyes lit up. By analyzing the characteristic to find the counter-band, he was able to extract and weaken the Ghost Spider's power after immobilizing it.

He immediately opened the panel to check Yu Yong's cooperation level, but unfortunately it was still 0%.

"Is it impossible to separate Yu Yong's consciousness unless the fusion rate drops below 100%?"

With a thought, he opened the encyclopedia again to check the characteristic collection speed, and was immediately overjoyed!
Compared to last time, the collection speed of the three basic characteristics, "Shadow Form", "Shadow Walk" and "Puppet Silk", has not increased. After melting hundreds of spiders, it only increased by about 45%.

Even shadow traversal only saw a slight increase, reaching 27%.

Last time, while all other traits had been collected to 200%, the Ghost Spider's "body" trait was still at a decimal point. This time, however, it has seen a tenfold or even a hundredfold increase, collecting a full 4%!

In addition, the progress of "Shadow Resonance" and "Shadow Absorption" has also increased significantly, reaching 15% in a row.

"So, the characteristics of collecting infection sources can be targeted?" Cheng Ye suddenly realized.

No wonder we couldn't collect the "original body" characteristics before, because those dissipated black energies didn't carry the original power of the Ghost Spider at all.

Only now, with these formed spiders destroyed, can he truly capture this core characteristic.

"So, does that mean I might be able to collect all the Ghost Spider traits?"

Cheng Ye was secretly delighted. The Ghost Spider, as an infection source, could not be directly equipped, but it could be used as a fusion material to enhance the power of the Shrinking Giant Lice.

If I could also acquire some of its abilities along the way, that would be totally worth it.

Thinking this, Cheng Ye simply got up, grabbed a stool, and tried to poke at the floating spider-faces.

The stool passed right through it, as if it were touching a shadow, unable to reach it at all.

“Its power exists in another space.” Yu Erlan’s voice came again, with a slight change in tone.

Cheng Ye frowned and put down the stool. The data on the screen disappeared, revealing the busy scene outside.

Before anyone knew it, several control panels had risen from the ground outside the research room, and researchers were busily recording and adjusting the instruments.

Yu Erlan stood in the center of the crowd, her expression serious and earnest.

"If you continue to weaken its power, you will inevitably suffer from continuous mental erosion. This erosion affects everyone the same way; no one can escape it. If you do not need to continue researching other content, we can arrange for people to take turns entering to share the burden of erosion."

Upon hearing this, Cheng Ye nodded slightly. "What special consequences will there be if it is continuously eroded?"

“Just like him.” Yu Erlan raised her chin, gesturing to Yu Yong, who was still fixed to the wall of light. “As long as his vital signs don’t drop below 40%, he can recover after lying down for two days.”

"That's fine then, I can handle it by myself." Cheng Ye chuckled, ignoring Yu Erlan's slightly surprised expression, and turned around to step forward again, "The credit... no, all the rewards should be credited to me."

Goodness, such an easy opportunity to farm the mother's traits, where else can you find it if you miss it?

Since he could recover after resting for two days, Cheng Ye simply stopped pretending and threw himself into the task wholeheartedly.

He reached into the light web, grabbed a spider with a human face, and pressed it onto the light screen without hesitation.

With a hissing sound, the spider turned into black smoke and dissipated. Countless illusions surged in again, and scenes of misery and despair exploded before his eyes. The last emotions of the deceased flooded into his consciousness like a tide.

If it's just simple pain, the human body can adapt quickly and get used to it.

But this kind of erosion on the soul, this emotional transmission that transcends life and death, is something that can never be numbed.

Each separation felt like experiencing a catastrophe, my heart aching with despair.

But Cheng Ye didn't stop; he caught and extinguished one spider after another.

The progress bars on the panel jumped rapidly. The Ghost Spider's "body" ability broke through 10%, "Shadow Resonance" rose to 30%, and "Shadow Drain" approached 25%.

Blood beads seeped from his seven orifices and slid down the inside of his armor. His vital signs were dropping little by little, but his eyes were getting brighter and brighter.

until
"Enough!" Yu Erlan's loud shout suddenly rang out, and Cheng Ye subconsciously let go of her hand.

An unprecedented feeling of exhaustion instantly swept over my body, making it impossible for me to even stand up.

He forced himself to turn his head to look back, but before he could see Yu Erlan's expression clearly, everything went black, and his body slammed heavily onto the cold floor.

My gaze was fixed on the encyclopedia. The progress of the Ghost Spider itself had reached 53%, which was terrifying. At the same time, the progress of the last collection had reached the 200% limit, and even the hard-to-collect 'Shadow Resonance' and 'Shadow Drain' had broken through 100%.

"That was awesome!"

Cheng Ye was lost in thought. Such inhuman suffering had brought him such terrifying gains. Even if he had to go through it ten thousand times, he would rush forward without hesitation.

But once that last thought crossed his mind, he had no more energy left to think.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that Yu Yong's eyes seemed to have regained some clarity, and he was looking at him with complicated emotions, as if he was pondering something.

He heard hurried footsteps behind him, and someone was dragging his armor out of the containment room.

Thankfully, no one shouted "Prosecutor Cheng is down!" this time.

With this small sense of relief, Cheng Ye's head lolled to the side and he completely fainted, with only a satisfied and gratified smile remaining on his lips.

The researchers could be vaguely seen pulling back the padded clothes and battle armor.

Faintly, gasps of shock could be heard again, as if no one had expected that he could faint with a smile despite such inhuman pain.

"Go, take Prosecutor Cheng to Fuxing Medical Center. All expenses will be covered by the research institute!"

(End of this chapter)