Wasteland Border Inspector

Chapter 274 The Mystery of the Starship, Yu Yong's Freedom!

Yu Yong repeatedly used the word "they" in his statement.

Each time he exited the gate, fear would uncontrollably surface on his face, as if he had witnessed some terrifying being beyond his comprehension, his eyes filled with unconcealed trembling.

"So you mean this transformation process is irreversible?" Cheng Ye followed up his question.

It's hard to tell whether what Yu Yong said is true or false, but his theory is self-consistent.

The colossal creature left behind a virus to morph the planet, making it more suitable for alien colonization. Once the morphing is complete, an alien army will descend.

But there is an obvious loophole here. If the giant creature really has such terrifying abilities, how could the virus it left behind be guided and distorted by humans, and instead give rise to an extraordinary golden age?

Moreover, the gap between humans and giants is enormous. If a giant wants to transform a planet, it can simply descend and forcibly reverse the situation. Why use such a roundabout method?
However, Cheng Ye didn't voice these questions; he just stared at the cooperation level on the panel.

As soon as he asked the question, Yu Yong's cooperation level jumped up again, reaching a difficult 4%.

“Irreversible! Completely irreversible!” Yu Yong shook his head violently, his tone both resolute and desperate. “The distortion back then was already a one in a billion chance, but humanity didn’t seize that opportunity, causing the planet’s environmental parameters to shift in the predetermined direction! I didn’t go out, I don’t know what happened outside, but I can tell you.”

"In the next ten years, the entire planet will undergo unimaginable upheavals! The Flame has already decoded some of the information about these upheavals: eternal night, eternal day, eternal cold, eternal heat, eternal water, eternal wind, and eternal fog."

With each name of a dramatic change he uttered, the despair on his face deepened, as if he had sunk into an abyss, his eyes devoid of any light.

"Spark believed that the Source Technology could control everything, but in reality, it was just helping 'them' accelerate the process! Every superhuman in the large and small sanctuary cities on this planet is an accomplice, pushing the planet towards the extreme of transformation, towards the arrival of its true doomsday!"

This seems to be a major piece of news.

Cheng Ye's heart sank. The news of Hua Province's eternal night and Liang Province's eternal day had only been circulating for a little over a month, and at that time Yu Yong had already been imprisoned, so it was impossible for him to know about the changes in the outside world.

But since he explained it so clearly, did the torch really unlock a warning of future environmental upheavals?
"It sounds like you've seen 'them' before?" Cheng Ye seized on the key point and continued to press for answers.

Yu Yong's body stiffened abruptly, his eyes darting away as if he had touched upon an untouchable taboo. It took him a long time to change the subject: "I've told you everything I need to say. You can verify this message. If it's true, you should understand that the value of cooperating with me is far greater than being trapped in these decaying sanctuaries."

"Cooperate with you, and become a stray dog?" Cheng Ye raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me for being blunt, but you may not have seen a real strong person. With your strength, someone could probably crush you with a single finger."

"No! We can go to Hai Province!" Yu Yong retorted urgently, blurting out instinctively, "There are also powerful individuals in the Control State there, and many organizations that can protect us."

But just as the crucial information was about to come out, he suddenly stopped, his eyes instantly turning wary, and he tightly shut his mouth.

Was it an unintentional leak, or a deliberate bait?
Cheng Ye remained expressionless, his gaze fixed on the panel. The cooperation rate had already risen to 9%, just one step away from breaking through 10%.

It seems that Yu Yong's words contained many key clues, and the situation in Hai Province is probably far more complicated than it appears on the surface.

“Eternal night and eternal day are indeed beginning to emerge.”

Cheng Ye nodded slightly. "The eternal fog you mentioned, are you referring to the void fog?"

"No, no, no, the empty fog is just an appetizer for the eternal fog; it's the most basic appearance."

Yu Yong shook his head slightly, his eyes filled with horror. "Do you know how 'they' will descend? According to my speculation and research, the most likely way is that when the eternal fog completely covers the area, a special spatial channel will be activated, bringing wave after wave of enemies that we absolutely cannot resist, like a tide, endless, until humanity is extinct and civilization is destroyed."

"But as far as I know, someone has already mastered the method of actively inducing fog in the air," Cheng Ye casually offered as bait.

"What?" Yu Yong was stunned, his face filled with disbelief. He then shook his head vigorously. "Impossible! Absolutely impossible! Even the Fire of the Beacon only receives and decrypts information. No one can move faster than the Fire of the Beacon and master this kind of power!"

"No, Cheng Ye, you're lying to me!"

He suddenly shouted, his humanity vanishing rapidly as he slid into a state of hysterical frenzy, "If you try to fool me with false information, you'll never get anything more from me! I'm giving up on communication altogether!"

However, just as the source of infection was about to dominate the intelligence field, Cheng Ye gathered his energy and roared:
"calm down!"

The loudspeaker's amplified roar exploded in the containment room, but Yu Yong was not stopped; his body continued to twist and rage.

But when Cheng Ye continued speaking the second half of the sentence, he froze on the spot as if he had been frozen by a shadow.

"If I wanted to lie to you, I wouldn't have come to talk to you in the first place. The organization that possesses this technology is called Starship!"

Starship?

The madness receded like a tide, and human reason regained its advantage.

Yu Yong took two steps back and fell to the ground with a thud, his eyes suddenly glazing over.

"How could this be? How could it be a starship?"

"No, it can't be a starship; no one could have set foot on it."

Good heavens, this Level 4 researcher who defected from the Torch Project really knows more inside information!

Cheng Ye was overjoyed and quickly asked, "What is a starship?"

Yu Yong just sat there blankly on the ground, repeating the words "Star Boat" over and over again, as if his soul had been taken away.

Has this guy been brainwashed?

Cheng Ye frowned slightly, but fortunately, the cooperation rate on the panel finally jumped past the 10% mark and soared to 17% in the next second!

Finally, I don't have to keep asking for this crucial information here anymore; I can go straight to what I want to see.

Cheng Ye breathed a sigh of relief and immediately murmured to himself:

"Intelligence search, search direction: related to the Starship!"

Before driving the truck into the inner city, he had charged it to 100%. At that moment, 25% of the charge was instantly depleted, and the surrounding light suddenly dimmed.

A familiar perspective drift appears, and everything around you shatters into raw pixels, beginning to reconstruct itself.

As the scene gradually took shape, Cheng Ye looked around and was met with a desolate wilderness. Under his feet were gravel mixed with snow, and in the distance were endless snow-capped mountains.

Moreover, in the scene that is formed, Yu Yong is not alone, but with an entire team.

Cheng Ye subconsciously paused the frame and counted, not expecting that there were actually twenty-eight people in the group.

Everyone was wearing airtight gear similar to spacesuits, climbing step by step up the snow-capped mountain, their destination seemingly a hidden location at the summit.

etc.
As the distant scene took shape, despite the image quality being as rough as a low-quality game texture, Cheng Ye immediately recognized the landmark and matched it to his memory.

This is actually Mount Everest, the sacred mountain?!
With the majestic snow-capped mountains standing before them, doesn't that mean Yu Yong's team is climbing a sacred mountain?
Cheng Ye was taken aback, and scanned the area with his eyes, quickly discovering more valuable information.

A display screen was lit up on the chest of the equipment Yu Yong was wearing.

The upper part should have shown information on vital signs, but the lower part showed data that made his pupils constrict.

[Altitude 11937 meters, oxygen concentration 3.1%, ambient temperature -89℃]

what?
Has Mount Everest surpassed 12,000 meters in height?
No, this is not the end.

Looking up along Yu Yong's line of sight, the end of the snow-capped mountain was still nowhere in sight. Could it be that the superhumans of the previous era were so crazy that they kept increasing the height of this mountain, even piling it up into outer space?

Continuing down from the three lines of data, there is a flashing yellow warning line.

[Distortion index 0.27, about to exceed the safety threshold]

"distortion?"

Cheng Ye froze for a few seconds, then pressed play, and the video continued to play.

He quickly understood the meaning of "abnormality." As the mountaineering team ascended, everyone acted strangely, like a game where a packet is dropped. Their bodies would clearly take a step forward, but the next second they would twitch and fall back to their original position.

Each step had to be repeated three, five, or even ten times before one could move forward with difficulty, leaving a faint afterimage, as if light had lost its straight-line propagation property in the extremely cold high altitude.

Even more astonishing is that on the distant snow slope, several sharply defined ice peaks are slowly "flowing".

The edges of the snow-capped mountain were slightly deformed like melted wax, then instantly returned to their original shape, like a visual illusion caused by the folding of time and space.

"This"

Such a mind-blowing scene left Cheng Ye speechless for a moment.

He simply focused his attention on Yu Yong and followed the team up the mountain.

Based on past intelligence gathering patterns, key clues will never wait until reaching the summit to emerge.

Sure enough, two minutes later, when the team crossed the 12,000-meter mark, the distortion index on the display screen jumped to 0.3!

The next second, it was as if all the team members had been put on pause; the snow-capped mountain in front of them vanished without a trace.

Extreme cold, storms, temporal distortions, and afterimages of light—all the anomalies faded away.

Instead, there is a green staircase leading to the end of the sky, glowing with a warm, soft light like a newly sprouted bud.

The steps are about three meters wide and each step is fifty centimeters long.

What lies at the end of the stairs is not visible, but ahead is a huge platform with hundreds of rooms of varying sizes neatly arranged, and countless figures bustling about within, resembling a secret research base built high in the sky.

Upon arriving here, the previous distortion effects were completely isolated, and even the air became stable.

At the platform entrance, a group of people were already waiting. Yu Yong was standing at the back of the group, clearly not a core member.

At the very front of the line was a middle-aged man with gray hair.

"Minister Zhang, you've worked hard." The person who greeted them also had graying temples, and the two reached out to shake hands tightly.

"It's nothing, our efforts are nothing." Minister Zhang waved his hand with a smile, his tone urgent, "Old Shi, another year has passed, what new progress has been made in the research on the starship?"

“No.” Old Shi shook his head with difficulty, his tone heavy. “We haven’t even qualified to step onto the stairs yet, let alone get close to the starship itself. However, we have done some preliminary analysis of the materials used to make the stairs, which may provide new directions for research.”

Minister Zhang's expression visibly changed, a dark look flashing across his face. "The distortion index is about to exceed the safe limit; we don't have much time left."

The moment the words left his mouth, the space shattered.

Before Cheng Ye could react, his vision was already back in the containment room, where Yu Yong was still sitting on the floor, repeatedly muttering the words "Starship".

"Could it be that at the end of that emerald green staircase lies a starship?"

Cheng Ye was stunned and lost in thought, unable to resist replaying the intelligence report.

This time, he focused on capturing key information, fixing his gaze on the corner of the screen, inside an inconspicuous building, on the electronic clock hanging at the entrance.

The date is clearly displayed above: [June 1, 17th year of the new era].

That was eighteen years ago.

Looking at Yu Yong in the picture, his face looks much younger than it does now, corresponding to an age of just over twenty.

Being able to participate in such a core scientific research project at this age is enough to demonstrate his talent; he has been an outstanding talent since childhood.

"This is amazing! The Fire of Life could have made such a discovery?"

While Yu Yong was still in a daze, Cheng Ye's heart was also in turmoil. Compared to the exploration of the Fire of the Stars, Happiness City had clearly taken a completely different path. Fire of the Stars had been researching starships for more than a decade, while Happiness City was still completely unaware of them.

“There are only two possibilities that Xinghuo did not share the news about Xingzhou with Xingfu City.” Cheng Ye thought quickly, “Either an accident occurred during the research process and the project was forced to stop; or the research is still ongoing and needs to be kept strictly confidential so that outsiders cannot know about it.”

Either of these outcomes sent chills down his spine just thinking about it.

After all, Mount Everest is currently located right next to the new province where the torch is lit, and it happens to be in the center of the A1 black zone.

The Black Zone is teeming with Wish-Keeping Extraordinary Beings, and there are countless terrifying beings like the Farmer.

To reach the center of the dark zone, one must climb Mount Everest to conduct research; the difficulty is simply unimaginable.

Even a powerful expert in a state of extraordinary control would likely find it difficult to reach the foot of the mountain alive.

Only those at the level of elders can possibly reach it, but even if they do reach Mount Everest, what then?

Despite years of research, the "Spark" project has failed to produce any groundbreaking results.

The elders are not researchers, so their presence would be of no use. Moreover, judging from the conversation between Minister Zhang and Lao Shi, they were already saying "time is running out" eighteen years ago. Today, with the distortion index continuing to rise, it is likely that the torch will no longer be able to reach that high-altitude platform.

"Should we send this message to Happiness City as well?"

Cheng Ye's mind raced, and he quickly made a decision: it was impossible to keep the news about the Starship a secret.

Yu Yong clearly knew about Xingzhou. Since they wanted to get important results from him, they would definitely get related information.

There was clearly a shocking secret hidden on the steps. With his current strength, let alone reaching there, he didn't know how many years he would need to prepare to even enter the A1 Black Zone.

More importantly, the intelligence indicated that the Starship was an "inanimate object" with extremely high research value, while the Starship that took Zhou Changhai away was an evil organization.

Although the two are completely different in nature, judging from Yu Yong's reaction, they must be inextricably linked.

With a little prompting and elicitation, a complete chain of intelligence can be established.

This is definitely more important than technical information.

Cheng Ye closed the panel and asked in a deep voice, "What, are you still surprised? Or do you think what I said was all a lie?"

Yu Yong was stunned for a moment, then suddenly calmed down, a hint of mockery in his eyes: "No, you don't know anything. You're just trying to bluff me and get information out of me."

"Yu Yong, I have to remind you, the fact that the Spark Research Center has made no progress in its starship research over the years doesn't mean others can't. Do you think there's only one way to get there?"

"What?" Yu Yong's expression froze, and he suddenly sat up and leaned against the wall. "What do you know?"

"No, you could never know!"

"Do I need to remind you of more information?" Cheng Ye sneered. "Xingzhou just took our fifth-term inspector from the checkpoint and defected with him. Their methods are far more ruthless than you imagine. They have developed many technologies that we cannot understand. Manipulating the air fog is probably just the most basic one. Do you understand what this means?"

Yu Yong stood there, frozen in place, refusing to respond.

Just as Cheng Ye paused and turned to leave, he suddenly shouted, "If I tell you about the Starship, can you help me escape?"

“I told you, even if the sky falls, you won’t leave this containment chamber.”

"Then why should I tell you?"

"It's your freedom to say what you want, or not to say what you don't want to say."

Cheng Ye shrugged. "My job is to study you and periodically suppress the Ghost Spider on your body so that you can live like a human being for the time being. But if you don't want to live, no one in this world can stop you."

He took a step closer, his tone calm yet authoritative: "Researcher Yu, I must remind you, what you know is worthless outside of Happiness City. Here, you might be able to negotiate some terms with me."

free?

Yu Yong fell silent, his eyes vacant and blank, yet still revealing a naive innocence.

Ultimately, he was just a researcher whose desires were amplified by the source of infection. After regaining his humanity, his flaws and weaknesses were exposed.

"You can take your time to think about it. I'm not in a hurry, and you shouldn't be either, right?"

After Cheng Ye finished speaking, he turned around and walked towards the stairs, looking completely unconcerned.

Only after his figure completely disappeared around the corner did Yu Yong snap out of his daze and roar, "Come back! I want to discuss new terms!"

The sound penetrated the containment chamber and reached the second floor.

At the corner, Cheng Ye paused slightly, a knowing smile playing on his lips.

Only when Yu Yong's shouts became more shrill did he walk back down the steps.

"Speak, what do you want to talk about this time?"

"I want freedom! I want freedom!" Yu Yong knelt before the wall, his hands gripping the surface tightly. "Just let me out, and I'll tell you everything!"

"Freedom?" Cheng Ye raised an eyebrow. "You know that's impossible. Once you leave this containment chamber, I can't guarantee how many people you can infect instantly. Even if I can catch you again, my time as a trainee researcher will be over."

"No, go find your elders! He knows! He knows how to give me my freedom!"

Yu Yong's eyes were blank. "Cheng Ye, I just want one last moment of freedom before the Flame takes me away! I'll tell you anything, I just want freedom!"

"Okay!" Since Yu Yong had said so, Cheng Ye didn't ask any further questions.

Regardless of whether the elders can help him regain his freedom, at least the interrogation has made a breakthrough. It's best to leave the difficult problems to the elders to solve.

It's a pity that Yu Erlan has just left. If she were here, she would probably be very happy.

As he stepped out of the containment room, Shi Xu was still waiting outside. Seeing him come out, Shi Xu raised an eyebrow and asked, "Any progress?"

"Of course."

"Oh? About what?"

"All." Cheng Ye smiled inexplicably, pulling out his defense communication device. "I need to contact the elders directly."

Shi Xu immediately and tactfully walked to the side.

Cheng Ye swiped the screen, flipped to the last line of the contacts, and stopped at the two words "Old Qian".

Ding Yishan probably never imagined that communicating with the elders would be so simple.

I pressed the call button, and after only two rings, the call was answered. Mr. Qian's kind voice came through: "What's wrong?"

"Mr. Qian, Yu Yong is willing to confess everything, but on the condition that he be allowed some freedom before the arrival of the people from the Torch Foundation." Cheng Ye said succinctly, "He said he asked me to contact you, saying that the elders know how to satisfy his 'freedom'."

"Oh?" Old Qian chuckled with a hint of interest. "He is the abnormal mother source host who destroyed a sanctuary city. How could we easily let him out?"

"He insisted on saying that, and also mentioned that you and the other elders would certainly understand."

"Heh, this little guy knows quite a lot." Old Qian chuckled. "Alright, wait a moment, I'll go tell Old Zeng, he should know what to do."

"Thank you for your understanding, Professor Qian."

The phone hangs up.

Just over ten minutes later, as Cheng Ye and Shi Xu were chatting idly, the light in front of the Mother Source Containment Chamber suddenly distorted slightly, and a slender figure slowly walked out from the distortion.

Yes, it's Elder Zeng!
That old Mr. Zeng had a terrible temper and was extremely arrogant!
Cheng Ye dared not be negligent and quickly stepped forward with Shi Xu, bowing respectfully: "Greetings, Elder!"

Old Zeng glanced at the two of them indifferently, said nothing, and walked straight to the third floor of the shelter with his hands behind his back.

His steps were extremely light, as if he were floating in the air, each step carrying a subtle sense of distortion.

The time-space distortion mentioned in Yu Yong's intelligence report during his ascent of Mount Everest bears a striking resemblance to the events described there!

"Could it be that Elder Zeng has also mastered the so-called aberration?" Cheng Ye was shocked, but his expression remained calm.

Upon reaching the third floor, Yu Yong, who had been lying on the ground, immediately straightened up upon seeing Elder Zeng, his tone urgent:

"Old man, set me free, and I'll tell you everything!"

"Oh?" Old Zeng chuckled, a meaningful smile playing on his lips. "Now I finally understand the real reason why Xin Huo was willing to sign an alliance with Xingfu City?"

"Heh, heh." Yu Yong chuckled dryly, his eyes instantly turning serious: "Even if you go all the way down this road, it's a dead end. It's not too late to give up now."

"Whether it's a dead end or not, you'll only know after you walk down it."

Old Zeng said calmly, "In this world, ordinary people are willing to trade freedom for wealth, status, and power, but you should know what the price of freedom is, right?"

"How long can I live?" Yu Yong asked softly, his expression unchanged.

"At most six months, and you'll have to come back regularly during that time to clear any remaining infection from your body."

“That’s enough! Absolutely enough!” Yu Yong nodded immediately, then pointed to Cheng Ye and added, “I want to go with him, the whole time!”

Cheng Ye was a little puzzled by being suddenly called out, but it was clear that he had no right to interrupt.

Old Zeng simply nodded slightly and agreed on his behalf: "Cheng Ye, come here to pick him up in three days."

"Yes, Elder Zeng!" Cheng Ye nodded respectfully, but secretly grumbled to himself.

Compared to Qian Lao, Zeng Lao is nothing but a show-off. When I become stronger, I'll definitely have to challenge him.

But before he could even take a step away, he heard Old Zeng's light, airy voice behind him again:
"Also, you can collect what Xiao Yu promised you in three days."

Eh?
Old Zeng is quite generous!

Cheng Ye's face lit up with joy, and he quickly replied, "Yes, Elder Zeng!"

"Ah"

Old Zeng didn't turn around, but as if he could see through his thoughts, he let out a silent chuckle.

The next second, a slight ripple flashed by.

With a flash of light, Cheng Ye and Shi Xu suddenly found themselves standing outside the Mother Source Containment Chamber.

The original three-story building is gradually fading and becoming transparent, eventually disappearing completely.

Cheng Ye stepped forward in astonishment, initially thinking that his view was merely blocked, but when he stepped onto the original foundation of the building, all his expressions froze instantly.

There was nothing beneath my feet, no obstructions, just a flat ground.

Holy crap, what kind of trick is this now?
A hidden world within a sleeve?

(End of this chapter)