Wasteland Border Inspector

Chapter 353: Changes in the World, A Chaotic Turning Point!

Another film finished playing and transitioned into an interview segment.Since they had to travel to the next Gathering Place the following day, neither of them stayed up late that night.

Liu Bi let out a yawn. He neither asked about the mysterious Winter Moon Ore they found in the mine during the day, nor did he mention the special ore samples Zheng Dayou had delivered. Instead, he headed straight back to his room to sleep.

Whenever there was something he needed to know or make a decision about, Cheng Ye definitely would not hide it from him.

If Cheng Ye did not bring it up on his own, it meant either he had not fully figured things out yet, or the matter was far too deeply entangled.

And a qualified Inspector, no matter the circumstances, had to keep their curiosity in check.

Zhang Weidong was nothing more than an Inspector from a small place, yet even he managed to suppress his desire to investigate the Winter Moon Ore. By not following Zheng Dayou and Zhuang Jing, he preserved his and his family's lives, ultimately waiting out the perfect opportunity to soar.

As a veteran Fourth-Stage Investigator of Happiness City, Liu Bi naturally would not make such a rookie mistake.

Once he left, Cheng Ye picked up the Optical Discs cases from the floor, flipping through the text descriptions and cover art.

Although he did not have time to watch these films, he could grasp a general understanding of the cultural industry's development through their synopses.

For Wastelanders severely starved of cultural entertainment, the allure of these Optical Discs might not fade for many years. However, to a transmigrator like him who grew up steeped in commercial blockbusters, they honestly felt quite mediocre, lacking any climax that could truly ignite his emotions.

Furthermore, even though the film stories were reportedly based on true events, watching too many inevitably revealed a severe homogenization. The endings always leaned toward the weak overcoming the strong, completely failing to reflect the genuine perils of the Wasteland.

After memorizing the names of the production crews and their headquarters' addresses, Cheng Ye also committed the names of the more impressive directors from the films he had watched over the past few days to memory.

Having finished this, he washed up, lay back on his bed, and quickly fell into a deep sleep.

The quiet Gathering Place had almost no activity during the night.

However, approaching the latter half of the night, a light drizzle suddenly began outside the window, quickly turning into a steady downpour.

Raindrops drummed heavily against the glass, occasionally accompanied by the rumble of thunder, rousing Cheng Ye from his slumber.

He got up and walked over to the window to look outside. The lightning that occasionally tore through the night sky illuminated the entire outline of the Twin Moon Lake Gathering Place in stark clarity.

In just ten short minutes, several teams of nearly a hundred people gathered in the center of the Gathering Place.

Everyone wore raincoats and gripped farming tools in their hands, their footsteps hurried as they rushed out of the Gathering Place.

The Crops were on the verge of harvest. At this juncture, any heavy rain could cause a sharp decline in food yields.

They had to ensure every drainage ditch was functioning properly before the rain worsened.

And carrying out such labor at night was destined to be extremely dangerous.

Cheng Ye watched for a while. Feeling that his energy was fully restored and his sleepiness entirely gone, he simply got dressed, went downstairs, and borrowed a raincoat from the guesthouse guard.

By the time he walked to the front of the lord's compound, he was surprised to see Zheng Dayou stepping out as well, draped in a raincoat, his face full of exhaustion.

"Inspector... Inspector Cheng?" Zheng Dayou rubbed his eyes hard, thinking his vision was playing tricks on him.

It was only when Cheng Ye drew near that he was truly shocked, his expression instantly tensing up. "Why are you up in the middle of the night?"

An Inspector from Happiness City—even if the person standing before him was not Cheng Ye, but just any ordinary First-Term Inspector—held Resources that a small place could never fathom, along with intelligence capable of determining life and death!

The former was tied to the Gathering Place's development, while the latter directly concerned everyone's lives.

The night was heavy, permeated with rain.

Such an environment was when Infection Sources and Infected Bodies were most active, and also the time when Humans were most vulnerable to falling victim.

Catching sight of the unvarnished tension on Zheng Dayou's face, Cheng Ye silently nodded to himself.

"I could not sleep. Seeing you all heading out, I figured I might as well follow along and help keep watch."

"Ah..." Zheng Dayou paused, then offered a bitter smile. "If you show up in the fields, I am afraid our people will become even more nervous."

"Ha, it is not like they know me." Cheng Ye shook his head. "Are you heading out there too?"

"Yes, the Crops are about to be harvested. This rain came at a terrible time." Zheng Dayou sighed.

"Let us talk as we walk." Cheng Ye gestured, and the two walked side by side out of the Gathering Place.

Many of the people he had seen at the dinner table earlier had already gotten up. All of them wore raincoats, their footsteps rushing outward.

This was the limitation of a Small Gathering Place. Their ability to withstand risks was far too weak; even a simple rainstorm forced them to nervously hurry to the fields, terrified of losing their foundation of survival.

Seeing Cheng Ye following beside Zheng Dayou, the expressions of quite a few people turned peculiar. Some quietly changed direction, and it was not long before they returned with handy weapons on their persons.

Even Guard Captain Wang Sheng, upon running into the raincoat-clad Cheng Ye, could not stop his lips from trembling a couple of times.

On the Wasteland, everyone was equal before an Infection Source.

Even a martial artist in the Heaven-Man Unity Realm could be instantly killed by an Infected Body with bizarre mechanics if they were the least bit careless.

"It is fine," Zheng Dayou spoke up at the right moment, raising his voice. "Inspector Cheng is here to observe our Twin Moon Lake Gathering Place's natural disaster defense operations! Tonight's rain is a test for us. I hope everyone brings their full effort and shows Inspector Cheng exactly what our Twin Moon Lake relies on to have rooted ourselves here for over a decade!"

"Yes, sir!" the crowd responded in unison, the previously tense atmosphere relaxing slightly.

The teams responding to the rainfall were divided into six groups, mobilizing over seven hundred people.

Although the scale of Twin Moon Lake's Territory was roughly similar to Dabo Town, their planting area was a massive span of over six thousand five hundred acres.

Near the Gathering Place was a food crop zone of roughly one thousand three hundred acres. The terrain was flat, the soil fertile, and the irrigation convenient, all while guaranteeing the safety of the farmers at work.

Further out was a high-value suburban supplementary food belt of around six hundred and fifty acres, planted with fruits, vegetables, forage grass, and spices.

Further still lay the nearly four thousand three hundred-acre export economic belt, consisting primarily of bulk cash crops like cotton, tobacco, medicinal herbs, soybeans, and peanuts.

Calculated by the Gathering Place's six thousand Residents, each person was responsible for roughly one acre of arable land.

Equipped with basic farming tools, an adult could stably cultivate one and a half to two and a half acres of food crops per year. This figure was far below the cultivation limits of an adult laborer in a traditional small-scale agricultural economy.

Considering that the further out one went, the more dangerous it became, the export economic belt was usually left to grow wildly. During critical moments like this, they only needed to protect the Core food crop zone.

Massive Searchlights were brought out one after another, with each squad receiving a set.

Within half an hour, a swath of lights illuminated the fields, human silhouettes darting back and forth amidst the glow.

The guards wore headlamps, constantly patrolling and inspecting the outer ridges of the fields. Zhang Weidong, along with Twin Moon Lake's other three Inspectors and six apprentices, had also all gotten up to throw themselves into the flood prevention efforts.

Many of the 'new' Residents living in the first-phase zone stood by their windows, their faces full of anxiety, yet hiding a trace of reassurance in the depths of their eyes.

Compared to facing a disaster with panicked helplessness, Twin Moon Lake's rapid-response defense mode could indeed swiftly stabilize the situation in a chaotic environment, minimizing losses to the greatest extent.

Cheng Ye strolled in a wide circle around the fields, carefully observing the division of labor and cooperation of each team, etching these scenes into his memory one by one.

Some bent over to patch breaches in the field ridges, while others shouldered shovels to clear clogged drainage ditches.

Not long after, another group hurried over carrying sandbags and shovels. They raised the field ridges in all low-lying areas by another half-foot, carefully tamping them down with clay to prevent the rainwater from overflowing and washing away the fields.

In addition to that, they had to dig several temporary flood relief trenches around the perimeter of the rice paddies, directing the excess rainwater into reservoirs for storage.

'The high centralization of Power in small places certainly makes it easy for a few erroneous decisions to brew into massive disasters, but it can also dissolve many risks into nothingness,'

Cheng Ye mused inwardly.

The advantage of centralized Power was currently on full display.

Without the need for layers of requests and reporting, a single command was issued, and everyone immediately sprang into action, exerting their maximum subjective initiative.

Moreover, no matter how small Twin Moon Lake was, it remained an agricultural Gathering Place that had been rooted here for over a decade. Their Experience in dealing with rainfall was far more solid than mere armchair theories.

Looking back at Happiness City, next year would only be their first attempt at large-scale planting. No one knew what unexpected difficulties they might encounter.

The working Residents nearby were initially a bit nervous, terrified that the rain would intensify.

But after more than half an hour passed, the rainfall remained steady, finally allowing their taut nerves to relax a fraction.

Noticing that Cheng Ye always liked to stand by the field ridges, watching the Residents busying themselves with hands-on work, Zheng Dayou's expression flickered. He probed tentatively, "Is Inspector Cheng also interested in farming?"

Cheng Ye did not answer immediately. He stayed silent for a moment before turning his head to look over, a touch of lamentation in his tone. "Indeed, farming is good. Only with land in hand can one's heart be at ease."

Just as the words fell, he sharply changed the subject. "Speak. What rumors have you heard?"

"I..." Zheng Dayou's complexion changed slightly. His subconscious reaction was to open his mouth and deny it, to claim he knew nothing.

But after pondering for a moment, he changed his tune, whispering, "I heard that the reason Happiness City wants to build so many satellite cities is because the surrounding areas are already capable of growing Crops. However, this is just a rumor. There is no concrete evidence to confirm it."

"Oh?" Cheng Ye arched an eyebrow, pressing further. "Who did you hear this from?"

"It was mentioned by the people from Great Banyan Shelter City when they came here. They said Happiness City had already researched a method for local planting a few years ago, and formally implemented it this year. That is why they abandoned this trade route and cut off contact with Guang Province to become self-sufficient, turning Twin Moon Lake into an abandoned pawn."

Since the words were already out, Zheng Dayou simply relayed Captain Zhang's exact words, not missing a single syllable.

Regardless, now that he had revealed the secret of the Winter Moon Ore to the two Inspectors, Happiness City was bound to intervene. In one way or another, Twin Moon Lake had already offended Great Banyan and Light Rainbow.

Rather than keeping things hidden, he might as well add more dry firewood and completely ignite this chaotic blaze.

What surprised him, however, was that the young Inspector Cheng standing before him once again displayed a composure far beyond his years.

After listening, he merely offered a faint smile. Then, he turned his head away, his gaze falling back onto the busy silhouettes in the fields.

A moment later, Cheng Ye spoke softly, his tone flat and waveless. "Lord Zheng, how much longer do you think peaceful days like this can last for Twin Moon Lake?"

"I... I do not know."

Zheng Dayou's heart inexplicably trembled. He directed his gaze toward the hurriedly rushing Residents in the fields, a trace of bewilderment appearing on his face.

"Do you not know, or have you never thought about it?"

"I have thought about it, but I cannot make sense of it. This world changes far too fast."

Zheng Dayou sighed, his eyes drifting toward the flickering lights of the distant fields. "When Twin Moon Lake was first established, all the provinces were still on harmonious terms. Humans were United in Efforts, striving to restore civilization, and everywhere seemed to brim with Vitality. But after so many years, logically, we should have been developing better and better. Yet the reality is, everything is sliding toward the worst possible direction."

After speaking these words, Zheng Dayou exhaled a long breath, an inexplicable wave of relief washing over his heart.

With his level of shrewdness, he should not have voiced such irrelevant laments, lest they cause unnecessary complications.

Yet facing this Inspector Cheng, he could not shake the feeling that his carefully concealed schemes had long been seen through by the other party. The young man simply spared his pride and refrained from exposing them outright.

The more this felt true, the more he felt an urge to cast aside his misgivings and speak with absolute candor.

"Has Lord Zheng ever considered what the underlying reason for this is?"

"The reason..." Zheng Dayou lowered his head in thought for a moment before speaking slowly. "Perhaps there was a hurdle. During the Great Reclamation Era back then, Humans transitioned from chaos back to stability. That tremendous shift made everyone exceptionally cherish their current lives. No one wanted to return to those precarious days where they didn't know if they would survive to see the next morning. Thus, for that period of time, everything was progressing in a positive direction."

"But today, the vast majority of Gathering Places—no, even many Shelter Cities—have developed to a point where high-speed advancement is no longer feasible. People's hearts inevitably waver. There are always those who want to push stability back into chaos, initiating the so-called next era to reap more profits. They simply do not understand how much of a Cost we paid to reach where we are today, or how incredibly difficult it has been."

"Go on." Cheng Ye finally turned around, a rare look of interest surfacing on his face.

Twin Moon Lake was the first Small Gathering Place he had come into contact with, and it was also the target he had once formulated a plan to destroy.

To put it bluntly, in a certain sense, he himself could be considered the very type of person Zheng Dayou described as wanting to push stability back into chaos.

Seeing Cheng Ye wearing a look of attentive listening, Zheng Dayou's heart jolted, and he simply threw the floodgates open entirely. "These people all share a common trait. Either they have never experienced the sheer brutality of the chaotic era, or during that era—the Great Reclamation Era—they were utter beneficiaries who never paid any Cost for a stable life. That is exactly why they are so fiercely ambitious, wanting to initiate a new era and stir up more chaos, completely disregarding whether others live or die."

"The reason I do not know how long Twin Moon Lake's peace can last is because I have no idea how many people like that are out there, nor do I know what positions of power they sit in to issue their commands. Perhaps a casual remark or a single order from these people will inevitably drive our little Twin Moon Lake toward extinction."

"Have you never thought of resisting?" Cheng Ye raised an eyebrow, pressing him.

"Resisting?" Zheng Dayou let out a bitter chuckle, his tone brimming with helplessness. "Inspector Cheng, you must be joking. How could we resist? We are merely a Small Gathering Place. Dealing with a few passing Wilderness Hunters is barely manageable, but we have to be extremely cautious when facing heavily armed merchant caravans. Let alone Shelter Cities; even the smallest Shelter City could crush us with ease!"

"No, the resistance I speak of does not refer to military force." Cheng Ye shook his head. "If military force could solve every problem, would there still be so many Shelter Cities dominating their own respective territories? Would human civilization be fractured into its current state?"

"Not military force?" Zheng Dayou was stunned. A glint of bewilderment flashed through his eyes before a spark of hope flared up once again. "You mean...?"

"Lord Zheng, a person does not have to be far-sighted, but they absolutely must have a sense of vigilance against danger. If I were sitting in your position, the trade route from Twin Moon Lake to Happiness City would not have been severed to this day."

Cheng Ye reached out his hand, pointing far off into the distance toward the direction of Happiness City.

"If I had never visited Twin Moon Lake and had never been to that mine, I might have thought it was a pure fantasy for a minor Gathering Place to restore a trade route. Moreover, linking a trade route simply to maintain a basic cooperation agreement with the distant Happiness City would not be worth the effort at all. But you clearly know that the Winter Moon Ore can lower the attention of Infection Sources and Infected Bodies, allowing people to travel through the Wilderness with relative safety."

"After so many years, have you truly never considered extending the tentacles of your Territory further to accumulate more foundation and trump cards for Twin Moon Lake? Hmm... Even before those merchant caravans abandoned this route, you had already chosen to rot away and drift with the current. I am somewhat curious. Over the past two years, have you genuinely never thought about these matters at all?"

The barrage of successive questions struck Zheng Dayou's heart like a heavy hammer, one blow after another.

Under Cheng Ye's calm yet piercing gaze, he froze completely, a flicker of a daze passing through his eyes.

The severance of the trade route appeared on the surface to be the merchant caravans from Guang Province and Hai Province voluntarily giving up. In reality, it was the outcome of each individual Gathering Place along this route fighting their own battles and refusing to cooperate, ultimately leaving the trade route utterly desolate.

"Everyone only thinks of saving their own skin, wanting to siphon Resources from surrounding Gathering Places to develop themselves. There is nothing inherently wrong with that. But a good environment for survival should not solely depend on Happiness City taking the lead to build it. Rather, it requires the joint efforts of all surrounding Gathering Places. If we only rely on building satellite cities one by one to develop Shi Province, how many lifetimes will that take?"

"Inspector Cheng, I can understand everything you are saying, but... this is fundamentally impossible to achieve."

Zheng Dayou continuously shook his head, his tone utterly drained. "Human greed is boundless. Only by restricting oneself to a small perimeter can one achieve long-term stability. I have seen far too many Gathering Places that strove to develop just as you described, but now they have either been destroyed, or they completely relocated from this region long ago."

"You are wrong. Do you think greed can be eliminated through restraint?"

Cheng Ye scoffed softly. "Four thousand people came seeking refuge at Twin Moon Lake. If you truly could restrain your greed, why did you not refuse their inclusion, instead choosing to expand the scale of your Gathering Place?"

"I..." Zheng Dayou braced himself and argued back, "They are all pitiful people. Many of them have lived here for over a decade. If they left, where could they possibly go?"

"Is that so?"

Cheng Ye lifted his eyes to look toward the interior of the Gathering Place. "You need to understand that since I am willing to speak with you about this right now, I am not looking to hear mere pleasantries. Just like how you probably would not enjoy hearing me interrogate how exactly Zhuang Jing took the information about the Winter Moon Ore to present it as a pledge of loyalty to Great Banyan Shelter City, right?"