Wasteland Border Inspector

Chapter 313: Death-Whisper Leech, the World Outside the Wall!

Once a Malignant Infection Source had wreaked havoc, humanity could only passively wait for its next appearance before launching extermination andContainment efforts.

It had to be said that the countermeasures between Humans and Infection Sources had always been in a state of severe inequality.

A Malignant Infection Source like this, capable of effortlessly destroying several Gathering Places without leaving a single trace, would inevitably spark another catastrophe the moment it reappeared.

To fully establish Cognition of it and complete its Containment, countless lives often had to be sacrificed just to sound the warning, paving this arduous path with blood.

But this was the truth of the Wasteland, the most dismal reality outside the protective walls of the shelter cities.

Upon this Wasteland, even if Humans achieved transcendence, they could still only protect themselves, entirely unable to shake off their passive and vulnerable situation.

After the Armored Vehicle got back on the road, the atmosphere inside the cabin gradually grew heavy.

From the moment the vehicle departed East Peace Town and drove into the Wilderness, Yin Ruofeng and his three companions had kept their nerves tightly wound.

Earlier, Cheng Ye and Niu Fu had been chatting casually, which barely managed to dilute that Suppressed feeling.

Now that Cheng Ye had stopped talking, leaning back in the passenger seat in quiet contemplation, that silent tension spread out like a rising tide, causing the four men to breathe incredibly lightly.

Fortunately, the next stretch of the journey was surprisingly smooth.

The Armored Vehicle carved a clear track through the vast Wilderness, driving another seventy kilometers without encountering any unexpected situations.

However, it was exactly from this position onward that they completely left the outer perimeter alert zone of Happiness City.

Because the most recent traces of human activity here dated back over five years. Calling it a true no man's land would not be an exaggeration in the slightest.

"Stop at the road sign ahead. Let's observe the route carefully before moving on."

Liu Bi unfurled the Map, glanced at it, and spoke in a deep voice. "There is the Zhangbai River up ahead, and a Stone Bridge remains over it. However, our Armored Vehicle might not be able to cross it, so we need to assess the specific situation first."

The vehicle continued forward. About two kilometers later, a temporary courtyard indeed appeared amidst the boundless Wilderness.

This courtyard looked quite similar to a rural residential yard, containing three independent rooms inside.

It did not appear particularly dilapidated. The outer concrete brick walls remained sturdy, and a stainless steel grated gate was installed at the main entrance, standing half open.

Judging by the faint, muddy footprints on the ground, someone must have stayed here after the last rainfall.

Standing right in front of the gate was a brownish-yellow road sign, a style entirely unique to Happiness City.

Cheng Ye looked up and saw two clear lines of text marked on the sign:

"This location is two hundred and fifty kilometers from Happiness City. A temporary safe shelter is provided here for travelers to rest and reorganize."

"Happiness City, the hope for humanity's next era!"

It was actually a midway shelter prepared by Happiness City for passing travelers?

Niu Fu lightly stepped on the brakes, bringing the Armored Vehicle to a slow halt in front of the courtyard gate, and honked the horn twice as a warning.

Over ten seconds later, a sudden clatter of chaotic movements echoed from inside the courtyard. Immediately after, two stumbling figures slowly wandered out of the building.

"Oh ho, there really is something," Niu Fu noted, glancing at the two people. He was just about to drive and put some distance between them when Liu Bi suddenly stopped him. "Stop the car. Cheng Ye, get out and eliminate these two Infected Bodies."

"Yes!"

The moment those two figures had appeared, Cheng Ye's gaze was already locked onto them.

The pair wore clothing torn to mere shreds, looking both like displaced Scavengers and destitute passing travelers.

However, their complexions were terrifyingly sallow, and distinct black wounds were visible on their necks.

Upon careful inspection, he confirmed they were victims of a relatively common Infection Source in the Wilderness: the Death-Whisper Leech.

Similar to the Death-Whisper Tentacle, they belonged to the same series of Infection Sources, possessing the eerie ability to resurrect the dead.

The difference was that while the Death-Whisper Tentacle drove the infected to complete their unfulfilled Obsession from when they were alive, the Death-Whisper Leech merely trapped the deceased at their place of death. Their memories would be forever frozen on the day they died, reducing them to Animated Corpses endlessly repeating the past.

Cheng Ye grabbed his Red Blade and pushed the car door open. Giving a light shrug, he approached the courtyard with brisk steps.

If one ignored the wounds on their necks, the two looked no different from normal people, their eyes even carrying a hint of clear consciousness.

"Friends, there are still two empty rooms inside. Are you guys here to rest too?"

"You have a car, could you give us a ride? We want to go to Happiness City."

Seeing Cheng Ye walking over with a blade but showing no killing intent, instead wearing a relaxed expression, the two travelers called out with flickering eyes and faces full of anticipation.

"When did you guys get here?" Cheng Ye asked in a flat tone.

"Yesterday! We just arrived yesterday," the man on the left quickly replied, his tone eager with a hint of panic.

"What's the exact date?"

"The date... yesterday seemed to be July 4th. There was even a heavy rainstorm last night," the man recalled with certainty.

"New Era Year 35?" Cheng Ye pressed.

"Of course it's Year 35. Wait, why are you asking us this?" the man on the right responded instinctively. His expression shifted slightly, and he took two vigilant steps back.

But halfway through his retreat, before he could even steady himself, his face rapidly drained of color at Cheng Ye's next words.

"Today is October 15th, New Era Year 35."

"What?" The two sharply looked at each other and shook their heads repeatedly. Their voices carried a tone of incredulous terror. "Impossible, yesterday we..."

"Haven't you noticed? The grass outside has completely yellowed. Summer is long gone, and autumn has already arrived."

Cheng Ye cut them off directly.

Following Cheng Ye's gaze, the two turned their heads to look at the Wilderness beyond the courtyard.

A sprawling landscape of withered, yellowed vegetation greeted their eyes. Where was there even a trace of summer's abundant Vitality?

In a single instant, the men's faces faded from sallow to a ghastly pale. Fragmented memories rushed into their minds, and their bodies began to tremble uncontrollably.

"No... I don't... want to die..."

"Save... save us..."

Squeezing broken words from their throats, the two stumbled and collapsed onto the ground, their bodies launching into violent, uncontrollable spasms.

Immediately following that, from the black wounds on their necks, a dark-red leech began boring its way out inch by inch. Its movements were so agonizingly slow it made one's skin crawl.

Its hard shell scraped against flesh and skin, emitting a faint, grating noise. With every slight shift, the flared flesh trembled and squirmed.

By the time more than half of its body emerged, it proved to be the size of a normal human's fist. A glossy, hard carapace wrapped around its form, while six rust-like claws dug into the fleshy walls. Clusters of spiked mouthparts gnawed with a sickening sizzle, and every time its bulging blood sac contracted, dark red fluid slowly oozed down the wound, smearing stickily across the skin.

Yet, the exact moment this leech completely broke free from the wound, it sensed Cheng Ye standing nearby and abruptly flapped its wings!

The sluggishness from its earlier crawl vanished entirely, its speed accelerating until it was nothing but a dark-red Afterimage.

At the exact same time, another equally sized leech darted out from the depths of the other man's wound. The two afterimages flanked him from left and right, lunging straight for Cheng Ye's face!

'Just as described in the data. The Death-Whisper Leech intentionally uses a slow emergence speed to lull Humans into a false sense of security, and once the target lowers their guard, it launches a sudden ambush. If it latches onto the skin and bites open a wound, the victim is instantly infected.'

Having verified the records, Cheng Ye slightly raised his wrist, sweeping the Red Blade upward in a smooth motion.

The ambush speed of the leeches was incredibly fast, but in his eyes, they were as slow as drifting butterflies.

Moreover, his blade... was faster!

He didn't even need to switch skills, let alone activate a Transcendent Symbiotic State.

Merely in his baseline state, Cheng Ye flicked his wrist, and a brilliant flash of a blade instantly tore across the courtyard.

Relying on his terrifying bodily control, the two leeches hit the ground with a dull thud, their bodies already cleaved perfectly in half.

"Refreshing!"

The Red Blade was heavy and sharp; he didn't feel even a shred of resistance as it sliced through the leeches.

After hitting the dirt, the leeches' bodies rapidly began to dissolve due to being chopped apart and killed.

In just a few short seconds, they melted into puddles of dark red bloody water, seeping into the dry brick crevices of the courtyard.

As for the two parasitized Scavengers, deprived of the Infection Source maintaining their Vitality, their bodies rapidly shriveled up within half a minute, ultimately turning into two horrifying, grimacing desiccated corpses.

"Well done," Liu Bi commended, pushing the car door open and stepping down. "You must never ignore the inspection protocol at any time. The procedure helps us accurately identify the type of Infection Source. If they had been multiply infected and you had recklessly rushed in, you could easily capsize in a shallow gutter."

He paused for a moment before continuing, "Always maintain vigilance and kill the Infected Body using the safest, most reliable method. That is how a mature Inspector should act."

Cheng Ye nodded lightly, but his mood didn't relax in the slightest.

Perhaps it was because it had been too long since he directly faced an Infected Body. Experiencing such a scene again inevitably brought a sigh to his heart.

These two people had arrived at this temporary shelter in July, yet the Infection Source had trapped them here, forcing them to wander aimlessly for three entire months.

If he hadn't chosen to pass through this route today, they might have had to wait until next year, or even longer, before finally finding release.

"I'll handle the bodies."

Niu Fu followed out of the vehicle, carrying two plastic Body Bags in his left hand and gripping an Iron Clamp in his right.

This kind of division of labor was very common within Inspector teams.

The Inspector was responsible for investigating and executing the Infected Body, while the deputy Administrative Officer handled the subsequent cleanup.

Watching Niu Fu expertly grab the desiccated corpses with the Iron Clamp and stuff them one by one into the Body Bags, preparing to take them out to the wastelands to dig a hole and bury them, Cheng Ye retracted his gaze and began to study this temporary shelter.

Happiness City had always implemented a fair number of idealistic policies, and the shelter before his eyes was probably one of them.

The three rooms looked exceptionally sturdy. The doors and windows had been reinforced with stainless steel, and they even featured exterior firing ports, perfectly balancing safety and defense.

Cheng Ye pushed open the door to one of the rooms and found the interior Space divided into an inner and outer chamber.

A workbench was bolted to the corner of the outer room. On the pegboard above it hung a simple but extremely complete set of Tools, which had not been stolen by any passing travelers.

In the corner stood four large Plastic Water Buckets, with clear filtration instructions pasted on their sides.

Even if one poured in muddy, dirty water, utilizing the manual Press-to-Dispense Water Purifier to push it through a four-stage filtration cycle would yield clean drinking water.

Another corner featured a built-in Fireplace, sufficient to keep any traveler stationed here during the winter warm.

The inner room held two rows of Iron Bunk Beds, capable of accommodating up to twelve people. The walls were plastered with various brightly colored propaganda posters from Happiness City, the vivid hues striking to the eye and forming a harsh contrast with the desolate world outside.

Cheng Ye cast a few glances around and even spotted several posters advertising the Inspection Station. They bore bird's-eye views of the North and South Stations, and although their edges were somewhat curled, the images remained clear.

Between the beds sat two long tables. In terms of space alone, it was much more spacious and comfortable than many outdated college dormitories. Furthermore, charging sockets were built into the walls, though a sticker beside them read: 'Not Activated'.

It was likely because this temporary shelter was too remote; installing solar power equipment simply wouldn't be worth the cost.

If this had been placed along the central routes of the early years, or the initial upper routes, such temporary shelters would have certainly been equipped with fully functional power systems.

At the deepest part of the inner room, Cheng Ye also discovered a sign labeled 'Temporary Escape Route'.

He pressed the button below the sign, and the floorboards beneath his feet popped outward, revealing a staircase leading underground.

Along the stairwell's walls hung eerie green Atomic Lamps at regular intervals, their faint glow illuminating the descending space.

"The exit is outside the courtyard, behind the perimeter wall," Liu Bi remarked casually, glancing at the stairs.

Driven by curiosity, Cheng Ye walked down the stairs, finding that it was designed as a V-shaped switchback staircase.

Reaching the end, he encountered a heavy Metal cover plate. An identical button sat beside it; upon pressing it, the hatch popped open automatically, instantly revealing the hazy gray sky of the Wilderness outside.

"This is a really nice design. If one hadn't been infected, hiding down here and locking the door would definitely guarantee a solid night's sleep." Cheng Ye shut the hatch and doubled back to the courtyard.

In the room the two infected individuals had just exited, there were no Backpacks or supplies to be seen. It was likely the Trait of the Death-Whisper Leech at play, deliberately blurring their spatial memory, forcing them to remain forever in their pre-death state, entirely incapable of remembering their personal belongings.

Cheng Ye walked over to the opposite room. The moment he pushed the door open, he indeed saw two Military Backpacks resting on the floor.

He returned to the Armored Vehicle to grab his detection equipment, meticulously inspecting them according to protocol: first disinfecting, then scanning, And finally, dismantling them layer by layer.

Soon, a pile of supplies was extracted piece by piece. Unlike the bag belonging to that mad alchemist, the items in these two Backpacks couldn't have been more ordinary.

The food consisted of hard tack flatbreads treated with special preservatives, showing no signs of mold or rot even after sitting for so long.

Aside from that, there was only drinking water, basic first-aid kits, a change of clothes, and similar fundamental necessities. There were no high-value Items.

However, stitched into the inner lining of the Backpacks were two names.

Yi Qian, Yi Wan. They were likely brothers.

Cheng Ye repacked all the supplies and carried them over to Niu Fu, who was busy digging a hole. "Bury these along with them."

"Just leave it to me," Niu Fu said, brimming with energy. He swung the iron shovel rapidly, hurling dirt to the edge of the pit spade by spade.

Handling worthless loot in the Wilderness was always done by burying it directly in the earth, strictly following the three principles: 'Do not contaminate, do not alter, do not court death.'

The formation of these rules was entirely due to the fact that many Scavengers and travelers would employ extreme measures on their own bags. Some laced the fabric with poison, while others hid phosphorus powder and accelerants in the hidden compartments. If they faced mortal danger and couldn't take their belongings, they would instantly ignite them, preferring to burn everything to ash rather than leave it for those coveting their goods.

As far back as the Great Reclamation Era, some even went so far as to rig proximity Bombs in the linings, which would instantly detonate upon detecting any signs of forced dismantling.

Of course, the Core reason behind all this was still the threat of Infection Sources.

No one could guarantee whether the insides of a bag were tainted with something related to an Infection Source.

Far too many Infection Sources possessed bizarre abilities. A single touch could result in being marked, inviting endless trouble down the line.

Therefore, the safest method was to completely eliminate direct physical contact from start to finish. However the Backpack was originally found was exactly how it went into the dirt, without any extra handling or unnecessary actions.

Cheng Ye peeled off his rubber gloves, casually tossed them onto the two Backpacks, and turned to walk back to the Armored Vehicle.

Having witnessed him cleanly and decisively eliminate the Infected Bodies, Yin Ruofeng and his three companions found their previously strained nerves steadying once more.

"Get out and stretch your legs. The courtyard is completely safe. If you need to use the bathroom, take care of it now."

After giving the instructions, Cheng Ye added, "We'll eat something shortly."

The moment the words left his mouth, the plump Zhang Daping hurriedly threw open the car door and squeezed out with a sheepish grin, rushing swiftly to the other side of the courtyard.

Clearly, he had been holding it in for quite a while, but without Cheng Ye giving the word earlier, they hadn't dared to bring up a request that might delay the schedule right at the critical start of their journey.

"Inspector Cheng, you're amazing!" Yin Ruofeng also stepped out, rolling his stiff shoulders as he gave Cheng Ye a thumbs-up.

He hesitated for a second before stepping closer, lowering his voice. "Regarding the horrific incident at the Mountain Shadow Gathering Place, Radiant Rainbow Shelter City actually dispatched a team to investigate it back in the day. But the people they sent ended up just like the missing locals—vanishing into thin air without rhyme or reason. It's highly likely that the Infection Source is still lingering in that area. Later, Radiant Rainbow simply wiped the place off the map and imposed a total Isolation Treatment."

Directly cordoning off a hazard zone, erasing it from maps, and marking it as forsaken Wasteland was undeniably the easiest way to handle the problem.

No Migrant would rashly venture into uncharted territory just to throw away their life. The fact that no similar horrific incidents had occurred over all these years proved that this crude but simple method was actually extraordinarily effective.

"It's fine, we just need to bypass it. Once our Strength is sufficient someday, we can go explore what really happened."

Cheng Ye smiled, his light tone soothing everyone's anxieties.

It took Niu Fu roughly half an hour to finish digging the pit and completely bury the bodies of the Yi Qian and Yi Wan brothers alongside their Backpacks.

Cheng Ye strolled casually around the courtyard for a while. Feeling the crisp, cold breeze of the Wilderness, the tension in his heart brought by the unknown Infection Source slowly melted away.

Opening the nutrient paste crate, he handed everyone a pouch of Yellow Pouch Nutrient Paste to replenish their Stamina.

Only Zhang Daping politely declined. Combined with his embarrassed state when exiting the vehicle earlier, it was obvious he had drunk a few too many pouches in the morning to stockpile energy, and right now, he simply had no appetite for more.

After the simple meal, Yin Ruofeng and the others climbed back inside, while Niu Fu remained in the vehicle to stand guard.

With Liu Bi taking the lead and Cheng Ye trailing behind, the two headed out of the courtyard toward the Zhangbai River marked on the Map, intending to scout out the crossing situation first.

"It seems you've adapted quite fast," Liu Bi remarked suddenly after they had walked a fair distance.

"After experiencing that business with the Starfish Epidemic, I really have nothing to fear from Infected Bodies anymore," Cheng Ye casually replied.

But to his surprise, Liu Bi shook his head, stopped walking, and turned to face him with a solemn gaze. "No, that's not what I mean. I mean that you have already grown accustomed to the fear brought by death."

"Hmm..." Cheng Ye paused for a second before letting out an untroubled smile. "Perhaps it's because I've never seriously considered the possibility of my own death. Even if someone dies right in front of me, it just feels like watching someone else's story. I don't harbor much extra emotion about it."

"Getting used to it too quickly isn't exactly a good thing either. It's best if you can recover some of those old feelings."

Liu Bi turned back around and resumed leading the way. "If you completely lose your empathy for life, your personality will fracture. You will only grow increasingly apathetic, ultimately turning into a machine that doesn't even know why it lives."

"Turn into a machine?"

Cheng Ye looked thoughtful, his pace slowing by half a beat. "Then Brother B, when you looked at those two people just now, what did you feel?"

"I only lamented that our preparations in the Wilderness are still far from adequate."

Liu Bi's voice sank a bit deeper. Upon finishing, he quickened his steps. "If we could set up a few more decent temporary shelters and establish more early warning and defensive measures, perhaps they could have survived."

Cheng Ye instantly understood. Liu Bi was pointing out the ultimate mental pillar that Inspectors relied on.

When the day came that they grew weary of life and lost their empathy for ordinary people, it would become all too easy to start making decisions where profit overshadowed everything else.

He didn't reply, silently picking up his pace to keep up behind Liu Bi.

After advancing several hundred meters, the roar of rushing river water grew clearer in their ears, and the dirt beneath their boots gradually softened.

Liu Bi stopped and stamped on the ground, gauging the soil's load-bearing capacity before pressing on.

Walking a bit further, the terrain suddenly dipped. The two now stood on what felt like a high embankment, granting them a clear view of the surging river not far below.

The river was about six meters wide. The Map did not indicate it as a regular tributary of the Linjiang River, but rather a segment of an underground river partially exposed to the surface.

A Stone Bridge spanned the waters. Its piers had long since mottled under the erosion of time, emanating a crumbling, dilapidated aura even from a distance. One look was enough to tell it lacked structural stability.

It was naturally fine for people to walk across, but driving the Armored Vehicle over it brought genuine fears of the bridge collapsing.

"We should be able to cross."

After staring intently at the deck for a dozen seconds, Liu Bi offered his verdict. "If we detour, heading north adds about fifty kilometers to the trip. Going south only adds twenty kilometers, but we'd have to cut straight through an abandoned Gathering Place. You decide which way we go."

"We drive straight across." Compared to Liu Bi, Cheng Ye's vision was far sharper. He had long since determined that the bridge's Core load-bearing sections were still largely intact; only the peripheral connection points had weathered away.

"That much of a risk?" Liu Bi looked over with a half-smile.

"We've only been on the road for half a day, after all. If we botch it, we just pack up and head home."

Cheng Ye rubbed his chin, speaking in an open, unbothered tone. "Besides, we're still within Happiness City's border perimeter. If we were close to the Guangdong Province border, I would absolutely take a detour, and the safest route at that."

"Take risks when you must, and retreat when you should. A rational choice!"

Liu Bi offered his evaluation once again.

He acted like a strict examiner, silently grading Cheng Ye's every decision and every action during this Field Duty.

And from their departure until now, the test sheet Cheng Ye handed in had scored high marks without exception, sometimes even perfect.

The two returned to the Armored Vehicle. The transport slowly descended the high slope and steered toward the Stone Bridge.

All the windows were rolled down just in case they actually plummeted into the river below. Niu Fu had extensive Experience crossing hazardous bridges, so he nudged the vehicle forward inch by inch, doing his utmost to avoid generating any unnecessary impact force.

Even so, as the tires rolled over the deck, a distinct creaking resounded, and the chassis swayed slightly.

"Crap, it's collapsing!"

The moment the Armored Vehicle cleared two-thirds of the bridge, Niu Fu suddenly let out a Strange Cry and slammed his foot on the gas.

The vehicle surged forward in a flash, and Cheng Ye could clearly feel the rear end drastically sink downward.

Glancing back through the rearview mirror, he saw that the deck was indeed already splintering apart!

Fortunately, the opposite bank was no longer far. Carrying its momentum, the Armored Vehicle lunged right onto it, catching a brief moment of air before slamming heavily onto the earth, even crushing the dirt down a short distance.

Everyone hurriedly looked back. The ancient Stone Bridge shuddered several times before crumbling down section by section.

The fine rubble was swept away by the roaring current, while the massive boulders piled into the riverbed, paradoxically damming the water temporarily.

"Well, we're screwed. Any Migrant taking this route in the future will probably curse us to the grave."

Cheng Ye scratched his head, never expecting things to end up like this.

Liu Bi turned his head to look at the ruined bridge a few times, but chuckled. "The river isn't too deep here. With these boulders stacked up, it probably won't be long before the Scavengers pave a new path themselves."

"Let's hope so."

Cheng Ye rubbed his aching head. "But when we return, we'll definitely have to detour in advance. If the chance arises, we should find some time to come back and repair the bridge here."

After this brief interlude, the group felt they had experienced true Survival after a disaster, which ironically made the atmosphere inside the vehicle even more relaxed.

Although they were traveling a new path no one had tread before, this area had, after all, once been humanity's domain.

It had been scarcely a century. As the Armored Vehicle drove through the Wilderness, they would occasionally spot clusters of old, deathly silent villages. Wild weeds had long overtaken the courtyard walls, leaving only ruined foundations behind.

Within the villages, faint silhouettes occasionally seemed to flicker, yet a closer look revealed absolutely nothing.

Only the flipped-open Notebook screen displayed the surrounding data.

"Once we passed the outer perimeter that we occasionally sweep, the likelihood of Infected Bodies appearing really did skyrocket..."

Cheng Ye stared at the screen. At the location of the village that just flashed by, red dots were densely packed together. A rough estimate put it at no less than sixty or seventy Infected Bodies, looking for all the world like they were trending toward forming a rudimentary Swarm-level Infection Tide.

Had a Cleanup Team discovered this situation, they would have undoubtedly encircled and purged it immediately.

But for passing travelers, as long as the Infected Bodies didn't actively pursue them, they might as well pretend the monsters didn't exist.

Liu Bi gazed out the window with leisurely eyes, explaining, "Many Infected Bodies that can still move after death are trapped wandering in a fixed area. Only when they are driven by a Malignant Infection Source or a Transcendent Mother Source will they leave their original domain and become part of an Infection Tide."

"Then if we purged these scattered Infected Bodies in advance, wouldn't the scale of the Infection Tides be reduced?" Cheng Ye pressed.

"In theory, yes. But very few shelter cities are willing to undertake such tasks." Having said that, Liu Bi turned to look at Yin Ruofeng beside him. "Does Radiant Rainbow preemptively purge potential Infection Tides?"

"No," Yin Ruofeng instinctively answered. "Most of Radiant Rainbow Shelter City's Infection Tides surge in from the sea. Moreover, sweeping up these straggling Infected Bodies doesn't carry much meaning."

"They mostly gather in Old Era ruins. There might even be a Transcendent Mother Source hibernating in the shadows. If you charge in blindly, the consequences would be unimaginable. A few mishaps like that, and even the largest shelter city wouldn't be able to bear the losses."

He shifted the topic, speaking candidly, "Furthermore, the Core philosophy of every shelter city is racing against the clock to develop. Fighting for every single minute of growth yields far higher returns than militaristically purging Infected Bodies everywhere. Unless the cleared area can subsequently be used for construction or development, new Infected Bodies will just swarm back in no time. It's a sheer waste of effort."

Many seemingly direct and effective solutions were simply impossible to execute when confronted with reality.

In the end, hunting scattered Infected Bodies brought zero practical profits. Even if the Infection Sources they carried held research value, compared to the astronomical costs, it was definitively a losing business.

Additionally, this method couldn't fundamentally eradicate the Infection Tides either. At best, it could slightly diminish the scale of the outbreaks. The investment simply didn't match the returns.

"It truly is a case where Traveling ten thousand miles is better than reading ten thousand books."

Cheng Ye couldn't help but sigh. "We've only been out for half a day, yet the things I've witnessed have given me so much concrete Cognition of the Wilderness."

Many questions that previously bewildered and baffled him now had crystal-clear answers.

Right at that moment, the dark clouds that had been brewing for half the day finally unleashed their rain. Sporadic drops struck the roof of the Armored Vehicle, emitting a soft 'pitter-patter'.

The expressions of everyone inside the vehicle instantly hardened. Even Niu Fu, who had been cheerfully grinning the whole time, dropped his smile.

Traveling through the Wilderness in severe weather wouldn't miraculously multiply the number of Infection Sources, but it would severely impair human vision and perception, effectively amplifying all potential threats out of thin air.

Especially during rainfall, the activity frequency of hydrophilic Infection Sources would spike significantly. Some might even actively track the scent of the living to launch attacks on Humans.

Niu Fu was forced to reduce their speed. As the raindrops grew denser, their velocity dropped steadily from fifty kilometers per hour down to thirty kilometers per hour. He could only barely follow the route on the Map, crawling forward.

It wasn't until dusk, when the sky had completely darkened, that the dreary rain finally came to a halt.

Utilizing the very last rays of daylight, the Armored Vehicle thoroughly drove out of Happiness City's domain of control.

Setting out from East Peace Town, they had successfully pushed three hundred and fifty kilometers in a single day.

Counting from Happiness City itself, they had driven four hundred and fifty kilometers, entirely departing the borders of the Chuanshi Ruins and cutting through two abandoned Old Era cities.

The heavily fortified Fierce Dragon Armored Vehicle completely isolated them from countless dangers. It directly crushed over some Infection Sources invisible to the naked eye. With the protection of the Isolation Alloy, there was absolutely no need to worry about any effects breaching the cabin.

The vehicle slowly crested a rolling, low slope, crushing its way over a fractured stretch of asphalt.

Gravel on the road crunched sharply beneath the tires, and an increasing amount of garbage and abandoned clutter began to appear by the roadside.

Occasionally, they could spot tattered tents erected by the shoulder, rusted pots and pans, wooden bows children used for roughhousing, dartboards, and more—all overflowing with the traces of past human habitation.

After struggling forward a bit further, a mottled road sign stood alone beside the path.

Despite the peeling paint and blurred lettering, the glaringly obvious words on it could still be clearly identified:

New Pond Gathering Place!