Wasteland Border Inspector

Chapter 65: Another search, Lv2 rare skill!
Can the wasteland dwellers' yearning to climb upwards and their desire for a better life truly defeat the terrifying infected?

Cheng Ye had no conclusion in his mind.

But he felt that as long as the leaders of Happiness City did not give up the struggle, this super sanctuary city that dominated the province of Shijiazhuang still had hope of surviving the disaster.

"The starfish infected is not strong. Although its defense has more than doubled, humans are not as tough as mutant beasts. Their basic defense value is probably only 1-2. Even if it is doubled, it is only 2-4, which is not even as good as the initial defense of some mutant beasts."

"And the increase in strength and physique is only 20%, plus the 30% reduction in speed, so if it doesn't have the characteristics of contact infection, it's not a threat at all."

On his way to the bus stop, Cheng Ye pondered the data repeatedly, constantly simulating scenarios of dealing with the infected in his mind.

For ordinary people, not having the money to buy protective clothing and facing infected starfish directly is undoubtedly an extremely high-risk matter.

Because once infected, the surrounding environment is in a comfortable parasitic state for the source of infection, and the infection progress will increase exponentially. Even if you take the antiviral powder immediately, the success rate cannot reach 100%.

But he's different. As long as he gets the equipment and doesn't recklessly take risks, the danger is completely within a controllable range!

"marksmanship!"

"Fighting tactics!"

"We must acquire these two skills as soon as possible to replace Beast Instinct and prepare for battle!"

Fear stems from the unknown and from speculation.

The profound heritage accumulated in Happiness City is like a sharp blade cutting through this fog, dispelling all the fear in people's hearts.

Since there's no way to evacuate, we have to face the infected no matter what.

With this in mind, Cheng Ye cast all his worries aside and turned them into motivation to move forward.

To survive in this wasteland, there is no escape.

Only by relying on a behemoth like Happiness City, and by constantly striving upwards, can we gain higher access to information.

Only then can we be prepared with our equipment before the chaos erupts and build up our mental defenses before the storm arrives!
When we arrived at the bus stop, Mr. Tian's bus was indeed waiting in the same old spot.

But today, he had no interest in wiping the car; he was pacing anxiously around the vehicle.

Upon seeing Cheng Ye approaching from a distance, Master Tian immediately went to greet him.

"Prosecutor Cheng, I've prepared all the liniment you requested."

As he spoke, he pulled out the same small green bottle as yesterday from his pocket.

There are three bottles in total.

Cheng Ye took the bottle, opened it, and smelled it. The smell was the same, so he figured the effect wouldn't be any different.

"In addition, these are two special medicines I am giving you."

Master Tian took out two more small bottles from his pocket, but the colors had changed from green to red and blue.

"The red elixir can be taken internally or used externally. There are five portions in total. When taken internally, it can stimulate vitality and greatly increase the speed of wound healing. When used externally, it can stop bleeding from wounds instantly. There will be no side effects. It is also fine to take both internally and externally. The portions are divided into layers inside the bottle. After you finish one portion, tap the bottle and the next portion will pop out automatically."

"The blue elixir is for external use only. If you feel mentally exhausted, just open the bottle and take a sip to feel better. But there is a price to pay. Once you stop using it, your mental state will deteriorate even more after 12 hours, and you will need to get a full night's sleep for 3 days to recover."

what?
Staring at the red and blue bottles, Cheng Ye was stunned. Aren't these HP and MP potions from the game?

One restores health, the other restores mana.

Master Tian actually has such a treasure?

However, instead of taking the two secret medicines directly, he narrowed his eyes.

As the old saying goes, ignorance is the root of all evil, and unusual occurrences are always suspicious.

It was barely acceptable for Master Tian to give him liniment, but he could make up for it by saying he wanted to earn the difference in price to supplement his family income.

Moreover, although the medicine was effective, it wasn't so good that it would make people envious.

But these two secret medicines are different. Either one could save your life in the wasteland; they are absolutely priceless hard currency.

give me?

Seeing that Cheng Ye not only showed no interest but also shook his head slightly, Master Tian couldn't help but sigh.

“I can give you the formulas for all three medicines.”

"Speak, what do you want?"

"My daughter has a fever, and I'd like you to take a look and see if she has one."

Master Tian lowered his voice and looked toward the back of the bus.

Following his gaze, Cheng Ye then noticed a girl sitting in the usually empty carriage.

She looked like she was already an adult. Her appearance wasn't particularly outstanding, but she had a serene look, much like the kind of obedient girl next door who listens to her parents and has her walls covered with certificates of merit.

“She works at the Public Works Department and has been responsible for the quarantine statistics in her area for the past two days, but she started having a high fever last night.”

"Take the medicine and it will be fine."

As Cheng Ye spoke, he was about to take out the anti-epidemic powder he had just received from his backpack.

Regardless of whether she's infected with the substitute starfish, taking this one dose will put her mind at ease. As long as it's within 24 hours, the success rate, as stated in the information, is 100%.

But Master Tian shook his head with a bitter face: "Prosecutor Cheng, you don't know this, but this medicine has already killed quite a few people."

"what?"

Cheng Ye paused, staring blankly at the grayish-brown powder he had just pulled out of his palm.

"The anti-epidemic powder actually started being distributed last night. When you were getting yours, there weren't many people in line, were there?"

"Yes, not many."

Not only were there few, but even though it was the workday, he was the only one who went to collect his share.

"They started distributing them door-to-door at 10 p.m. last night. Many people heard that they could boost immunity, so they picked them up and put them in their mouths. But from last night until 5 a.m. this morning, the hearses never stopped, one after another, taking people out."

10 PM last night?

He was fast asleep and had no idea that the latter half of the night would be so "lively".

No wonder there was no line when I was getting the medicine. If this "anti-epidemic powder" that kills people were to be forcibly implemented, the buffer zone would probably explode before the infected even rioted.

Wait, could it be that someone has been infected for more than 24 hours?
So, is the failure rate of removing starfish after eating it, and the price is direct death?
Or is it that the anti-epidemic powder has certain side effects, and even if more than 3 packets are not taken within 7 days, it will still cause irreversible damage to the human body?

"I would like you to take a look. If the patient is already sick, then just give them medicine and leave their life to fate."

Master Tian sighed, "If she weren't sick, and she has a fever right now, it would be best if she didn't have to take the medicine."

Three recipes for a secret medicine, plus the finished product, in exchange for a chance?
Cheng Ye hesitated. If the method for detecting starfish were leaked, the buffer zone would likely descend into chaos immediately.

Because this method is so simple, you just need to apply water to your forehead and there will be a reaction.

The buffer zone is still without water, partly to isolate it from high humidity, and partly probably because they are worried that someone might discover this.

But seeing Master Tian's sorrowful and helpless expression...

Cheng Ye opened the panel and glanced at it; his pupils suddenly contracted.

[Master Tian, ​​100% (Perfect), Searchable Scope: Intelligence, Items, Skills (Lv1, Lv2)]

"100% cooperation?"

Excuses can deceive people, and fever can be faked.

However, based on Cheng Ye's tests over this period of time, the cooperation level is definitely the gold standard for testing people's hearts.

Everything else can lie, but numbers can't!
Should we search or not?

"Search!"

Glancing at the 65% charge level, Cheng Ye hesitated for only a moment before mentally pressing the search button. Achieving 100% cooperation was far too difficult; the other party had to trust him implicitly.

This trust cannot be obtained by taking advantage of someone's distress; it must be a completely unreserved and utterly pure belief.

Judging from the effects of Master Tian's three secret medicines, this guy is definitely a ruthless character who is hiding his true abilities.

Difficult characters flashed on the panel, and lines of text began to combine.

However, after reading only the top part of the description, Cheng Ye couldn't help but want to curse.

Search successful!

【Master Tian (Ecological Products)】

"Goodness, you're still worried about your daughter, and you've already gotten infected yourself!"

Cheng Ye glanced at Master Tian's attire subconsciously.

Like him, he was wearing rubber gloves, with his exposed skin wrapped in a plastic film.

Even with such caution, you still get infected.
"Did you go out last night and come into contact with those dead people?"

"How do you know?"

Master Tian was suddenly stunned. With his skills and caution, he should never have been discovered.

Especially the prosecutor in front of us, who couldn't even fix the four powers, let alone have any reason to do so.
Cheng Ye did not respond, because the panel had already started displaying searchable targets.

【Master Tian】

[Lv1 Skill]: Lock-on
[Lv2 Skill]:
Talent: Danger Perception (Excellent, enhanced six senses, able to perceive active dangers within five meters)
Talent: Cold Weapon Affinity (Excellent, slightly increases control over cold weapons)

Talent: Steadfast (Normal, slightly improves body control)

Talent: Experienced Driver (Normal, slightly improves vehicle handling ability)

Skill: Moving Shooting (Rare, a special frontal shooting technique that greatly improves accuracy while moving)

Skill: Ghostly Draw (Excellent, a unique draw technique that slightly increases draw and fire speed)

Skills: Dragon Power, Tiger Power, Eagle Power, Snake Power, Projectile Prediction, Advanced Stealth, Emergency Trauma Treatment (Normal)
[Lv3 Skill]: Lock-on
[Lv4 Skill]: Lock-on
"Sure enough, another powerful player with a Lv4 skill, and with such talent."

Cheng Ye's gaze swept from top to bottom.

This is no longer just a difference between top students and underachievers.

Even a prodigy like Dai Zun is like a greenhorn in front of Master Tian.

Although none of the four talents are rare, all of them are extremely useful, except for the "veteran driver" talent.

And skills are on a completely different level.

"It seems that the complete Four Forces are indeed Lv2 skills. Dai Zun does not have them, which means that his Four Forces are not yet perfect."

"As for the choice"

Cheng Ye stared intently at the 'Moving Shooting' option within the small purple box, silently praying as he pressed the search button.

His rare talent increased his strength by more than five times.

What about rare skills?

A strange sense of certainty crept into Cheng Ye's heart once again, but this time it came with additional information.

"So, perfect coordination increases the probability by an additional 50%?"

No wonder the 25% chance of searching beyond a certain level didn't fail. After adding that 50%, the actual probability reached 75%, which is even higher than the base search probability of a Lv1 skill.

If you search for Lv1 skills with 100% compatibility, the success rate will be maximized, with absolutely no chance of failure.

The panel started flashing.

This search was unprecedentedly long, lasting a full three seconds before the flickering subsided.

Search successful

[Civilization Collector has successfully recorded: Mobile Shooting (Lv.2; Skill)]

"Master Tian, ​​please stand at the back of the car and don't peek. I'm going to check if she's sick."

"I have a special sedative here that can cause temporary unconsciousness. It takes effect when pressed on the tip of the nose. If it's inconvenient for you..."

"Bring it here."

Master Tian's understanding nature is heartbreaking.

Cheng Ye took the round puff-like object and got into the car.

"What do you call it?"

"Tian Lei".

"Don't resist. I will test you to see if you are sick. After the test, you can't go out for the next few days. I will ask the Public Works Department for leave for you."

"I understand, Prosecutor Cheng!"

Cheng Ye hummed in response, then glanced at the panel again.

As expected, Tian Lei's cooperation level was 100% perfect, but there was no prompt to search for Lv2 skills.

"No Lv2?"

Cheng Ye nodded slightly. That's normal. If you bumped into someone who was level 2, then these wastelanders would be too powerful.

He gently pressed the powder puff against her nose, and Tian Lei's eyes glazed over for a moment before she softly slumped into his arms, a sweet smile still playing on her lips.

Cheng Ye took out a water bottle from his backpack, poured some water into his palm, and pressed it to his forehead.

The water stains spread quickly.

More than ten seconds passed, and still no starfish pattern appeared.

"Well, that's lucky. But the Public Works Department has provided protection for its staff from the beginning, so it's normal that their infection rate is much lower than that of the general public."

After wiping the water off his sleeve, Cheng Ye lifted Tian Lei up and sat her up, letting her head rest against the car window before turning around and getting out of the car.

"She is not sick."

"That's great!" Master Tian's long face, which had been contorted with worry, immediately broke into a smile.

However, before the smile could last even a second, Cheng Ye said again, "But, you're sick."

"I?"

Master Tian paused for a moment, then immediately pulled out a packet of antiviral powder from his pocket.

He actually poured it down his throat without hesitation, without doubting Cheng Ye's judgment at all.

"Cough cough."

He swallowed the powder and chewed it twice.

Visibly, Master Tian's face began to flush, and a barely perceptible starfish mark appeared on his forehead before disappearing without a trace.

it works!

Cheng Ye's expression shifted slightly, a strange look appearing on his face. "Aren't you worried about eating yourself to death?"

"We're making a living in Sanctuary City, what are we afraid of?"

Master Tian shook his head and laughed, "Staying here means you believe that the city of Shelter has the means to deal with this situation. If you don't even believe that, you should have left long ago and found a small settlement to hide in, so as not to harm yourself and others."

(End of this chapter)