Wasteland Border Inspector

Chapter 64 Starfish Antidote Powder, Level A Survival Warning!
The moon sets and the sun rises.

The morning light pierced through the window.

Cheng Ye turned off the alarm clock on his security device and groggily sat up.

The liniment that Master Tian gave me was indeed very effective. After a night of absorption, the stinging sensation in my legs had subsided by more than half.

The bruises caused by ruptured capillaries began to turn slightly red under the healing effects of the medicine.

"A job where you get up at seven, start work at eight, and can finish work at four in the afternoon."

"If this were modern times, wouldn't people be fighting tooth and nail to take it?"

Upon arriving at the bathroom, Cheng Ye poured water from the kettle and splashed it on his face. Looking at his increasingly muscular upper body in the mirror, a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

Although the job of a prosecutor is dangerous, it is also full of excitement and unknowns.

If you do a good job, you can become rich overnight.

The slightest mistake could cost you your life in an instant.

Overall, however, he had completely fallen in love with the job and no longer wanted to go back to his previous life.

"It's another sunny day today; hopefully it will last a few more days."

Cheng Ye wiped the water droplets off his face, glanced at the weather outside the window, returned to his room, and casually flipped through his defense device.

For days on end, he has been on duty and interrogating people, and he is also injured. He also has to deal with the impending outbreak of infection.

Under the combined pressure, I was already physically and mentally exhausted.

After ordering the equipment last night, he was so exhausted that he collapsed onto the bed around nine o'clock and fell into a deep sleep.

The screen then lights up, displaying four missed calls and three text messages.

Luo Xiaoxue made one call, Miao Yang dialed twice, and most surprisingly, Qin Feng also missed one.

Forward to text message.

Luo Xiaoxue's news was as concise and efficient as ever.

"Call me back when you're awake." His words conveyed a sense of relief, and his previous worries had subsided.

However, Miao Yang's two messages revealed obvious tension. The first message asked how Cheng Ye was recovering, and the second message said that if Cheng Ye had difficulty moving around, he could come and help take care of him for a while, his tone filled with cautious concern.

As for Qin Feng, his text message was the most concise and direct, containing only three words: "Check your salary."

"Director Miao is a good person, but he's a bit too proud and not suited to working in the wasteland system."

Cheng Ye couldn't help but smile.

Miao Yang may seem arrogant, but he is actually just as kind-hearted as Liu Bi; he just doesn't know how to be tactful.

"Our next target could be to search for Director Miao."

"If we address the weaknesses in our playing style as soon as possible, our strength will increase significantly."

Open the panel, and the 65% progress bar glows pleasingly under the blue background light.

The buffs from the current Dragon Force prototype are getting weaker and weaker, and Cheng Ye has set his sights on a new playstyle for his next skill.

Of course, the best option is to continue searching for Lv2 skills.

However, the conditions for achieving 100% compatibility are extremely demanding. It requires perfect timing, location, and circumstances, and can only be achieved through luck, like when Dai Zun was lucky last time.

"We still need to upgrade our rank as soon as possible, so that with 50% cooperation, we can search for level 2."

Cheng Ye closed the panel and switched to the payslip.

【新纪35年7月1日05.00，正常工资转入‘71’贡献点】

[Balance: 77 points]

[Note: Unknown infection source successfully verified, named: Armor-Covering Vine, rating: Special (additional reward: E-level contribution right *1)]

"what?"

"Special rating for the source of infection?"

Cheng Ye was startled and quickly checked the information on the screen repeatedly before he dared to believe that he had not misread it.

It's not surprising that Rotten Vine rewarded him with 60 points, after all, he is an unknown infected entity with some special abilities.

However, the "right to contribute" is definitely the most valuable reward in the checkpoint's reward system.

It is divided into seven levels, from the highest grade S to the lowest grade F.

Yesterday afternoon, when he went to buy equipment, he planned to check the prices of other good items, but when he entered the store, he found that only a few common home appliances could be bought directly with contribution points.

Devices such as batteries, generators, powerful weapons, and equipment all require access permissions to unlock.

For example, if you go to a store now and verify your permissions, you can see what items an E-level user can purchase.

Of course, there are limits to the number of times permissions can be granted.

Cheng Ye clicked on the details and discovered that the E-level permission reward from the Rotten Vine mission could only be obtained once, meaning he could choose to purchase one E-level permission item.

"Goodness, is the Rotten Vine really that precious?"

"Luckily, I didn't buy a gun on credit yesterday. I only bought a protective suit and a containment container. If I go now, I can definitely buy a powerful long gun!"

Cheng Ye smacked his lips, excited, but then, thinking of the formidable performance of the rotten vine, he felt relieved.

Although these ferocious infected creatures are not as threatening as the substitute starfish, if they were to wreak havoc among the population, they would still reap at least dozens of lives.

He was able to detect it in advance, so it's perfectly reasonable to reward him with an E-level privilege.

As for what the research institute could learn from the rotten vine, that was not something he cared about.

On the front line of fighting against the infected, we are all comrades-in-arms!
The increased power of Happiness City is beneficial to both ordinary residents and prosecutors.

"Hey, Sister Luo, I was too tired last night, so I just went to sleep."

"Don't worry, I've already reinforced this area. It's almost the same as the one at home, so there's absolutely no problem."

After politely declining Luo Xiaoxue's suggestion that he go there for refuge, Cheng Ye hung up the phone and dialed Miao Yang's number.

"Director Miao, it's me, Cheng Ye."

"I'll come find you after I get off work at four. Don't worry, my leg is healing very quickly, it's not as serious as you think."

"Okay, then it's a date."

Having arranged to train with Miao Yang again that evening, Cheng Ye scrolled through his contacts, a sudden sense of joy washing over him. From a nobody in the wasteland who could only talk to Liu Bi, he now had nearly ten people in his contacts.

Unbeknownst to many, people in this buffer zone began to know about "Inspector Cheng," and that there was such a special Eastern inspector.

"That's great. If I have the chance in the future, I should become a stationmaster and live a glamorous life."

Cheng Ye slung his backpack over his shoulder, humming an off-key tune as he pushed open the door and went out.

As he walked to the gate of the residential area, he glanced at Uncle Dong's shop as usual; the roller shutter door was still locked.

It seems that Uncle Dong has indeed left, but it is unknown whether he left before the spread of "Substitute Starfish" expanded.

If you happen to leave at this crucial moment, you'll be incredibly lucky!
Tables have been set up along the roadside on the way to the bus stop, but there is no one queuing yet.

Cheng Ye went over to take a look and was overjoyed.

According to Liu Bi, Happiness City should be able to develop a removal method by this morning at the latest.

Sure enough, the sign in front of the table clearly displayed three large characters:

Anti-epidemic powder!
Staff members were unpacking boxes of antiviral powder, taking out palm-sized plastic bags containing dark brown powder that shimmered with a fine sheen in the morning light.

"Sir, this is the latest product from the Inner City Research Institute. After taking it, it can enhance your personal immunity, effectively resisting parasites even in the event of an outbreak. The institute is currently promoting it, and during the promotion period, each resident can receive one free pack every day. After a week, it will start charging, with one pack likely starting at 50 coins."

The staff clearly didn't know the true meaning of this "anti-epidemic powder" and simply recited the promotional slogans as instructed.

Could it be that this antidote powder cannot kill the Stand starfish 100% of the time?
Cheng Ye was startled. If the effect had been verified, it could be enforced on the entire population.

This roundabout approach can be adopted.
Thinking to himself, he handed over his identity badge. After the other party swiped it on the defense device, his expression changed slightly, and he changed his tone.

"Your Excellency, as per the instructions above, you can collect ten packets. The specific usage instructions and effects will be sent to your defense device. You can collect more whenever you run out. We have set up 48 distribution points in the buffer zone."

"OK, thanks."

Cheng Ye unfolded his backpack and packed ten packets of powder. Before he had taken two steps, he received an encrypted message from the Inner City Broadcasting Station.

To prevent information leakage, it adopted the encryption method from the prosecutor's manual.

After translating only the beginning, Cheng Ye's face darkened, and he quickly walked to the street corner to begin translating the entire text.

[Happiness City Broadcasting Station, Level A Survival Alert]

[Dear Inspector, when you receive this message, it means that Happiness City has entered a critical moment of life and death. Every decision and action you take could save the city from this dire situation. We need you to bravely step forward and stand with the residents to face the impending terrorist threat (Level A Alert)]

[This disaster: Substitute starfish]

[Level: Disaster]

The following three data points were generated through simulation calculations using the 'Happiness Supercomputing' system.

[Outbreak Scale: 37.157% (Number of Infected Individuals)]

[Outbreak Level: 97.1% (Phase II), 2.8% (Phase III)]

[Outbreak epicenters: A-3, A-7, B-11, B-13, B-14, C-1~C-20]

[Stage 2 Infected Body Strength: Influenced by the parasitic host, physical constitution increases by 14%, strength increases by 21%, speed decreases by 27%, and defense increases by 119%]

[Response to Infected Individuals:]

1. Attack the weak point in the center of the starfish sarcoma on the head. Extensive testing has shown that this area can be breached by an attack of 41.7 joules or more, and will be fatal if attacked by an attack of 65 joules or more.

2. Directly attack the infected. Stage 2 infected can withstand a maximum of 3 fatal wounds. If more than this number are inflicted, death is instantaneous; if less than this number, movement is slowed.
3. If the infected organism is attacked directly, the sarcoma will remain infectious for 3-5 minutes. Please use a tool to place it into a containment box. Do not allow it to come into direct contact with the skin.
4. The strength of the three-stage fusion body is grade C, with no sarcoma weakness.

The maximum kinetic energy it can withstand is 317 joules; attacks exceeding this standard will break its defenses.

Maximum tolerable fatal wounds: 7. If more than this number are inflicted, death is imminent; if less than this number, there is no significant impact.

The fusion can recover by consuming meat; each fatal wound requires 7.12 kg of meat.

[Efficacy of Starfish Anti-epidemic Powder: The dosage depends on the duration of parasitism. A maximum of 3 packets should be taken every 7 days. Exceeding this limit will seriously affect liver and kidney function, causing necrosis in mild cases and death in severe cases.]

<24 hours, 100% success rate;
<48 hours, 70% success rate;
<72 hours, 30% success rate;
>72 hours, ineffective

The recycling price per tumor is 1 contribution point (if the quantity is greater than 10, the recycling price increases by 10%; if the quantity is greater than 100, the recycling price increases by 20%).

【每肉瘤计战功：1功（10功＝1F；70功＝1E；350功＝1C；700功＝1B；1000功＝1A；＞1000计幸福三等功，＞5000计幸福二等功，＞10000计幸福一等功，对本次灾难有更大贡献者：计幸福特等功）】

"Is this the efficiency of Happiness City?"

After translating the entire text, Cheng Ye was stunned, a look of indescribable shock flashing in his eyes.

How many days have passed since the appearance of the stand-in starfish?

It's only been three days!

The research institute in Happiness City not only produced the corresponding antidote powder, but also clearly listed the ways to deal with this type of infected organism.

Cheng Ye scanned the data back and forth, and the data he had obtained from the central supercomputer was enough to show just how terrifying the danger of the stand starfish was.

37.157% of the population has been infected, and the buffer zone currently has a resident population of 54, which means that the number of infections has reached 20.

Even if the antiviral powder can save 60% of those infected, 8 people will still become infected.

This isn't just a simple illness; it can turn you into something like a zombie.

The thought of 8 zombies rampaging and crashing through the buffer zone sent chills down Cheng Ye's spine.

Moreover, the infection rate increases exponentially. Even if each infected person only infects one other person, the scale will expand by another 8, and these new 8 will continue to infect.
"But even so, it's only Grade A, not the highest Grade S, and the disaster level is only Disaster-. Does this mean that the higher-ups in Happiness City are confident that they can overcome this disaster?"

Cheng Ye did not panic blindly because of the data.

If things were really going to get chaotic, the top management of Happiness City would have already boarded a plane and fled.

However, the city is still operating in an orderly manner, and the buffer zone is still distributing anti-epidemic powder.

Everything seems to be moving in a positive direction, and it's not as hopeless as the data suggests.

"Contribute points of battle merit"

With his gaze fixed on the rewards at the bottom, Cheng Ye gradually gained a sense of understanding.

From a modern perspective, the entire message is permeated with despair.

However, from the perspective of the warlike wastelanders, killing a zombie can earn them a contribution point.

Currently, this message has only been sent to the prosecutor.

But what if we had informed all ordinary residents and all guards before the disaster struck?

(End of this chapter)