Wasteland Border Inspector

Chapter 261: Plant Affinity, Liu Yi's Mutation!

The car struggled to turn out of the main city district, driving toward the Chemical Factory Community.Along the way, Cheng Ye noticed that the northern side of the Buffer Zone was indeed undergoing massive development.

Those dilapidated buildings from the old era were just like the grand theater; even at night, they were illuminated by floodlights as renovation work continued.

Foundations had already been laid on the previously abandoned empty lots, making it look as though a new batch of residential housing was about to be built.

The three-lane roads were also being widened, planned to be expanded into four lanes. Even the run-down shanties along the roadside had been completely demolished, leaving the surrounding area much more spacious.

Spring was supposed to be the season when all things revived, but on this wasteland, autumn was exhibiting an unusual, vigorous vitality.

There was little rain and plenty of sunny days.

The temperature was comfortable in the mornings and evenings. Even if it got a bit hot at noon, it was the perfect time to rest and adjust.

He truly wondered what the once-dilapidated Buffer Zone would look like after this entire autumn passed.

Driving past the bus stop, Cheng Ye couldn't help but feel a bit dazed. Those residents who had migrated away from the Buffer Zone two months ago, that family who had traveled five hundred kilometers away just to farm—if they ever returned one day and saw the changes before them, how loud would their gasps of amazement be?

Would they regret the hasty decision they made back then?

And what about those merchant caravans that had abandoned Shi Province and Happiness City? If they could do it all over again, would they add this place back to their itinerary?

"As long as another disaster like the Starfish Epidemic doesn't happen again, Happiness City has already entered a stage of grand expansion... And to avoid such disasters, we can only rely on the Inspection Station!"

The more the shelter city developed, the more prominent the Inspection Station's importance became as a security barrier.

It wasn't until the car parked in the empty lot at the entrance of the Chemical Factory Community that Cheng Ye shook his head to cast off these heavy thoughts. He picked up the bag full of canned goods and strode into the community.

The Chemical Factory Community hadn't changed at all compared to before; it remained desolate and quiet.

But precisely because of this tranquility, stepping inside felt like being isolated from the hurried pace of the wasteland, leaving only a strong sense of everyday life.

Warm yellow light spilled from the windows of every household, appearing exceptionally peaceful and serene in the dark of night.

Click.

It was a familiar scene. Cheng Ye had just reached the fourth-floor stairwell when the door on the fifth floor opened a crack ahead of time.

Liu Yi sneakily poked half her face out. Once she saw clearly that it was him, she slammed the door shut with a bang.

Huh?

Cheng Ye paused in surprise. Before he could react, the door opened again. This time, Luo Xiaoxue walked out.

"My goodness, how did you get so muscular!"

Looking at the burly, almost exaggeratedly huge figure in front of her, Luo Xiaoxue couldn't help but gape.

Liu Yi also poked her head out timidly from behind her mother, whispering an addition, "Even bulkier than my dad! So scary!"

"Uh..." Cheng Ye smiled helplessly.

Before completely mastering the Earth-Shrinking Giant Louse, it was foreseeable that his physique would be transformed into something increasingly terrifying, perhaps even reaching a Non-Human state.

Only when he could use the Earth-Shrinking Giant Louse's abilities without side effects in the future would he be able to freely adjust his body size and fix it in a reasonable state.

Of course, even if given a hundred choices, he would still unhesitatingly choose to gain power rather than cling to keeping his original physique.

"Sister Luo, the things that happened this past month are a long story."

Cheng Ye followed Luo Xiaoxue into the apartment. Initially, Liu Yi stood a short distance away, watching him warily.

It wasn't until he opened the bag to reveal a wide assortment of canned goods inside that the little girl's eyes lit up. She cheered and rushed over, giggling sweetly. "Brother Cheng Ye, I knew you were the best to me!"

"Oh? Why aren't you calling me 'Bwother' anymore?" Cheng Ye teased.

"Mommy found me a teacher, and I have to go to class for half the day every day!" Liu Yi excitedly picked out a can of strawberries from the bag. After Cheng Ye helped her open it, she scooped the fruit into her mouth, mumbling indistinctly, "The teacher taught us a lot of things. I'm going to be a great scientist when I grow up!"

"Then do you still plan to keep growing the plants you liked so much before?"

Liu Yi froze for a moment, then rolled her eyes playfully and added in a milky voice, "Then I'll be a great scientist who studies plants!"

"Hahahaha..." Cheng Ye burst out laughing, completely amused by her serious little expression.

Luo Xiaoxue walked over carrying a kettle, poured Cheng Ye a cup of water, and explained with a smile, "Lately, a lot more talented people have entered the city. A few families with kids in the community got together to discuss things, feeling that the children's education couldn't be delayed. They went to the talent market to look around, and to their surprise, they actually found a teacher willing to teach. This is great, as it finally temporarily solves the problem of having no schools in the Buffer Zone."

"Oh?" Cheng Ye raised an eyebrow, asking in pleasant surprise. "The Buffer Zone has a talent market?"

"Yes, it's near the library to the south," Luo Xiaoxue nodded, explaining. "Many Drifters go there to look for work, and there are quite a few educated people among them. Although they can't teach any profound academic subjects, they are more than capable of providing basic enlightenment and education for young children like Yiyi."

"That is indeed a good thing," Cheng Ye nodded in agreement. "The Buffer Zone has never had a school, so the kids just run wild outside all day, delaying their early education. It'll be too late if they wait until they grow up to learn."

After saying that, he thought of the plans for Dabo Town and added, "Speaking of which, the timing is perfect. I also plan to build a school in Dabo Town. I can go check out that talent market later. If I can find three to five reliable, educated folks, the subsequent work of running the school will be much easier."

Unexpectedly, Luo Xiaoxue burst into laughter after hearing that. "Cheng Ye, you just went out on one trip. How did you get such a heavy bureaucratic air about you? You speak with even more authority than your Brother B."

"Really?" Cheng Ye paused, then chuckled. "By the way, does Brother B know about what happened in Dabo Town?"

"No, how would I dare tell him."

Luo Xiaoxue immediately shook her head, a trace of helplessness in her tone. "It's not like you don't know that stubborn bull's temper. If he knew you were in danger over there, he'd definitely rush right over to save you, and no one would be able to stop him."

"That's good. If he really found out, he'd probably be scared half to death."

Cheng Ye breathed a sigh of relief. Afterward, he recounted the same story he had told Elder Ou earlier that day, picking out the parts that could be shared and repeating them to Luo Xiaoxue.

He had no intention of mentioning something as high-end and dangerous as an Immortal Object. Even Liu Bi probably knew very little about them. Telling Luo Xiaoxue would only needlessly add to her worries.

Besides, just the words "Ruin-level Infection Source" were terrifying enough on their own.

"A Ruin-level Infection Source?!" Luo Xiaoxue indeed gasped sharply. She quickly pulled Cheng Ye up and carefully looked him up and down several times. It wasn't until she confirmed his complexion was normal and he had indeed fully recovered that she spoke with lingering fear, "As a Fifth-Stage Inspector, your father only managed the Containment of seven Ruin-level Infection Sources in his entire life. Your Brother B has only dealt with three up to now. You're just a Trainee Inspector, how could you run into such a dangerous thing?"

"Hey, doesn't that just mean I'm blessed with great luck and a tough life?" Cheng Ye laughed it off, finding a reasonable excuse. "Fortunately, that Infection Source was an area-of-effect type, so the individual threat wasn't too massive. Otherwise, Happiness City would have discovered and dealt with it long ago, and it wouldn't have been my turn to run into it."

As for the fact that he used the Infection Source to become a Source-Binder, he didn't mention a single word.

In this wasteland, the less one knew about certain secrets, the more peacefully they could live.

Luo Xiaoxue thought for a moment, then asked, "Then are you going back to Dabo Town next to continue building the satellite town?"

"Yes, I'll head over after resting for two days," Cheng Ye nodded gently. "The foundation for the satellite town has already been laid out, and the surrounding threats have all been cleared. I might as well take advantage of the good autumn weather to seize the time and launch large-scale construction."

When it came to the construction of the satellite town, there was nothing to hide.

He simply continued, "By the way, Sister Luo, a little accident happened outside recently. Now, the land within two hundred kilometers around Happiness City is fully open for planting. It will no longer be affected by the previous curse."

Hearing this, Luo Xiaoxue was visibly stunned, the smile on her face instantly disappearing. Seeing this made Cheng Ye's heart skip a beat.

Fortunately, Luo Xiaoxue snapped out of it immediately. Without saying another word, she just waved her hand at him, gesturing for him to follow her.

The two walked to the adjacent bedroom, and Luo Xiaoxue fished out a key to unlock the door.

After pushing the door open and walking inside, Cheng Ye immediately saw quite a few flower pots piled on the floor and the bed. The Chinese cabbage growing inside them was extraordinarily lush.

However, what astonished him was that the colors of these cabbages were actually all different.

Besides the normal white, there was an eerie green, a blue, and even one that was pale pink!

"This..." Cheng Ye was dumbfounded. Pointing at the pots, he asked, "Is there something wrong with the seeds?"

"That accident you mentioned, did it happen fourteen days ago?" Luo Xiaoxue didn't answer directly, but instead asked a question in return.

"Yes, it was that day." Cheng Ye calculated the dates in his head. That was exactly the day Tan Ming used the barrier to envelop Happiness City and lift the Petrification Curse.

"Then I'm afraid the issue lies with Yiyi," Luo Xiaoxue said in a grave tone.

"What?" Cheng Ye's heart jolted. He pursued the question in disbelief, "These cabbages mutating... was caused by Yiyi?"

"Yes," Luo Xiaoxue nodded in confirmation. "The white cabbages you see were planted by me using the exact same seeds. But the ones Yiyi planted all turned out to be these oddly colored varieties."

"I tried eating a few leaves. The taste hasn't changed at all, and they aren't toxic. It's just the color that changed."

"How is that possible?" Cheng Ye furrowed his brows, but he immediately nodded, signaling Luo Xiaoxue not to panic:

"Don't panic just yet. Let me take a look at the situation."

He quickly walked out the door and quietly opened his personal panel. When his gaze fell on Liu Yi's information tab, his heart trembled.

[Liu Yi, 100%, Searchable Scope: Intel, Skills]

Liu Yi's panel actually had search options now?

It wasn't surprising that the little girl's Cooperation Level with him was maxed out. Just seeing her happily squinting her eyes while eating the canned strawberries was enough to show how astonishing the "power" of the canned goods was.

But the last time he checked, Liu Yi's panel had been completely blank. Let alone skills, even the intel option was missing!

'Could it be... her special ability awakened?' Cheng Ye guessed inwardly.

Was Liu Yi's fondness for growing vegetables and tinkering with these things since childhood due to a related genetic special ability lying dormant within her body?

Previously, because of the planting curse in Shi Province, her ability had been unable to manifest. Was it only after Tan Ming lifted the curse and restored the land's Vitality that this dormant power was concurrently Activated?

"Sister Luo, you haven't mentioned this to anyone else, right?" Cheng Ye turned his head and asked.

"No, I haven't even told her father. I was just afraid it might be some kind of..." Luo Xiaoxue's expression was complex, tinged with a fair bit of worry. "Recently, a massive influx of newcomers has flooded into the Buffer Zone. Who knows if they brought any bizarre Infection Sources with them. Yiyi was always protected at home by me before, so the chances of her getting infected were extremely low. But lately, she's been in contact with her teacher and met quite a few other kids..."

"It's not an infection, don't let your imagination run wild. I have a rough idea of the cause. Just wait for me a moment," Cheng Ye quickly interrupted her speculations.

Fortunately, he still had 10% of his Recharge Value left, enough to conduct one Lv1 Skill search.

He silently chanted the "Search" command, and Liu Yi's detailed panel slowly unfolded.

[Search Successful]

[Liu Yi]

[Lv1 Skills]: Plant Affinity, Primary Trait Induction. 'She actually has two skills?'

As Cheng Ye's gaze swept over the information, amidst his astonishment, he somewhat understood why there were different colored cabbages.

He casually tapped on Primary Trait Induction, incorporating it into his Skill Bar, then turned and went back into the bedroom.

Crouching in front of the flower pots, he reached out and gently touched those colorful cabbages. With the help of the Life Force Rune, he could intuitively see the green Energy flowing inside them.

And the ability bestowed upon him by Envoy Tan Ming allowed him to tear out these spots of green light, and then convert them into the Bloodshadow Legion using the Withering Rune.

It was just that after uninstalling Envoy Tan Ming, merely using Primary Trait Induction could actually move the green Energy faintly as well.

After experimenting for a moment, Cheng Ye stood up and returned to the living room. Pondering, he asked, "Yiyi, the cabbages you planted are really special. When you were planting them, were you specifically thinking about making them grow in different colors?"

"Yeah, yeah!" Liu Yi nodded vigorously, her eyes sparkling. "Yiyi wanted to grow lots and lots of differently colored cabbages to give to my friends as gifts!"

The truth was revealed.

Cheng Ye raised an eyebrow and turned back to Luo Xiaoxue, asking, "Sister Luo, has there ever been a Transcendent or a Special Ability User in your or Brother B's ancestry?"

"This..." Luo Xiaoxue frowned, thinking carefully. "Are you saying special abilities can be inherited? Brother B's side of the family shouldn't have any. But my grandfather did obtain a rare Treasure back in the day, though he ultimately failed to become a Transcendent or a Special Ability User..."

After speaking, she quickly went into the bedroom. She rummaged through boxes and cabinets for a good while before finally pulling out a yellowed notebook.

Flipping to the middle of the notebook, several consecutive pages recorded a long chain of relative relations, but many of the handwritten names had been crossed out and were blurry.

"My grandfather, Luo Feng, went missing not long after getting that Treasure. By my father's generation, after he had me, it was right during the chaotic era of the Transcendents. He was later caught in the crossfire of a battle between Transcendents and passed away... It's simply too difficult to trace back what happened all those years ago." Luo Xiaoxue's fingertips traced over the names in the notebook, her tone filled with melancholy.

"Yiyi must have awakened her special ability, and it's highly likely related to the Treasure your grandfather obtained back then. Is there still any way to trace the clues now?"

Cheng Ye quickly scanned the notebook. Those crossed-out names were clearly people who had already passed away, but less than half of the names remained untouched, perhaps hiding a clue.

"My uncle—my grandfather's brother's son—might know some inside information."

Luo Xiaoxue's fingertip shifted slightly, ultimately landing on two words.

Luo You.

"But he isn't in Happiness City. He's in the neighboring Guang Province. The last time your Brother B went to Guang Province to catch up with him was seven years ago."

"That long, huh..." Cheng Ye couldn't help but sigh.

But he had to admit, this was the norm on the wasteland. Relatives were scattered across different places, perhaps finding it difficult to ever reunite again in their lifetimes.

Only someone like Liu Bi, who as a Fourth-Stage Inspector was able to travel far and wide, had the chance to cross regions and meet with relatives.

"Is there any way to contact him remotely then?" Cheng Ye pressed.

Luo Xiaoxue shook her head. "There's no way. How about I find a merchant caravan traveling to Guang Province tomorrow and ask them to deliver a message?"

"Hmm..." Cheng Ye thought for a moment, then waved his hand. "Leaving this to a caravan means we wouldn't know how many days it would take for them to return. For my next Field Duty assignment, there's a high probability I'll be heading over to Guang Province anyway. I might as well just go over there with Brother B and ask about the situation in person. It'll be more reliable."

For matters involving special abilities and Treasures like this, remote messaging was prone to errors. Only face-to-face communication could ensure obtaining the most accurate information.

Liu Yi's current abilities clearly fell into the category of an explicit mutant Special Ability User.

According to what Li Matai had said before, every single use of such a special ability would cause a degree of wear and tear on the body. The more frequently it was used, the greater the impact on one's Lifespan.

And the best way to thoroughly figure out the ins and outs of this special ability was to trace the source of its induction.

Cheng Ye's tone suddenly grew serious. "During this time, I will look into the past of your ancestors, Sister Luo, as well as the Treasure related to them. But until we find any clues, Sister Luo, Yiyi absolutely cannot come into contact with any more plants!"

"I understand," Luo Xiaoxue nodded. "That's why I locked all those flower pots in the bedroom ages ago. I haven't dared let her touch them again."

"Mhm, don't worry too much," Cheng Ye softened his tone. "Things are different from before. Even if there are hidden dangers to Yiyi's special ability, I can guarantee that as long as she stays away from plants, she can live a healthy life for decades just like a normal person."

As Cheng Ye spoke, his gaze shifted to Liu Yi, who was sitting obediently on the sofa, and he felt a pang of pity in his heart.

Making a child who loved tinkering with plants completely distance herself from flowers and grass was undoubtedly stifling her greatest hobby, causing this outstanding talent to be buried in mediocrity.

However, as his gaze shifted to the Life Force Rune on his hand, and thinking of the almost identically principled mobilization of Vitality...

He shook his head again and stated firmly, "Rest assured. Whether it's the special ability or the Treasure, leave this matter to me!"