Wasteland Border Inspector

The cost is indeed too heavy, exchanging moments of power and status for a life burnt out.

Seeing Cheng Ye deep in thought, though hesitant, he did not outright refuse.

The youngest among the three, Elder Pang, was the first to break the silence, speaking slowly and frankly, "Cheng Ye, Elder Qian’s words may be tactful, but I’ll be blunt. The Elder Council’s decision for you is to hope you participate in the construction of Yueye Shelter City, to become an aid, but your contribution in bringing back the Immortal Objects is sufficient to grant you the right to choose—not mandatory participation, but your own choice."

"If you choose to inherit Tan Ming’s belief, you’ll have at most... about fifteen years left."

Elder Qian spoke again, "This is the cost of forcibly inheriting another’s belief without having a mature belief of your own. You will be gradually assimilated by Tan Ming’s belief as you gain power, eventually walking the same path as him. In other words, you already have a Guardian Extraordinary living inside you; his influence is currently only on you, but this influence will deepen as you inherit more of the belief."

"But if you participate in the construction of Yueye, the process of inheriting the belief will accelerate, and those fifteen years could be cut by two-thirds."

"Five years?" Cheng Ye blurted out instinctively.

"Even less than five years." Elder Pang took over the conversation, his tone tinged with regret, "Because you carry more than one belief."

As soon as he spoke, a subtle fluctuation passed through the air.

Cheng Ye involuntarily raised his hands; the red withered mark on his left hand and the green vitality mark on his right, under the stimulus of this fluctuation, faintly projected two blurry faces:

One was Tan Ming, the other was Tan Rui.

Even more astonishing, amidst these two faces, his own face vaguely appeared.

But compared to the clear contours of Tan Ming and Tan Rui, his features were completely blurred, merely a faint outline resembling a shapeless shadow.

"This is your own belief, still in its infancy, not yet solidified."

Elder Pang’s voice timely emerged, "If you insist on inheriting their belief, eventually you will become..."

The moment he finished speaking, the three faces rapidly began to change.

Cheng Ye watched helplessly as his facial outline twisted in the fluctuation, inching closer to Tan Ming’s face.

His belief at this moment seemed frail and utterly defenseless against Tan Ming’s belief, completely assimilated in no time, and the three faces finally merged into one, nearly identical to Tan Ming.

"Three years!"

Elder Qian let out a gentle sigh, filled with regret, "At this rate, you might not even see the arrival of that Destruction Level infection tide."

Yet, this sigh mysteriously shook Cheng Ye’s heart.

He suddenly recalled that before Tan Ming disappeared, he too had sighed gently like this.

Could it be that Tan Ming’s sigh back then was not because he saw through his attempts to cut corners or believed he couldn’t complete the task?

But because he regretted that inheriting the belief left too little chance to survive the calamity, ultimately leading to a premature death?

"If I go to Yueye, what about Dapo Town?"

Cheng Ye suddenly asked, catching Elder Qian off guard, seemingly not expecting him to be concerned about this first. He answered truthfully, "Before you decided to harbor the Immortal Objects, I had promised that Dapo Town would be your area of management, your ’fiefdom’ so to speak. Even if you go to Yueye, you will still have the freedom to assign personnel at Dapo Town and mobilize resources there, without any reduction in supply."

"Then I am willing to go to Yueye."

Cheng Ye nodded emphatically, his voice not too loud yet prompting the three elders to exchange glances with surprise and gravity in their eyes.

"You actually can refuse." Elder Lin spoke in a deep voice, with a hint of admonition, "Personally, I hope you refuse."

"No, Elder Lin, I am still willing to go to Yueye."

Cheng Ye replied firmly once more, without a trace of wavering:

"Since I have inherited Tan Ming’s belief, instead of struggling for survival, dragging time waiting for death to come, I might as well take a bold risk, not only to enhance my strength but also to contribute more to Happiness City. This is far more meaningful than living aimlessly."

"Moreover, Yueye Shelter City is near Lin River, and there have been precedents of waterway construction which aligns with my plans for Dapo Town. If this waterway can be opened, whether for resource transportation or infection control, the benefits to Happiness City would be immense."

After finishing these sentences, Cheng Ye paused slightly before continuing, "But I have a small request; I wonder if the elders can agree to it?"

"Go ahead." Elder Qian immediately put away his earlier ease, his expression becoming serious.

He hadn’t expected Cheng Ye’s high awareness, yet was secretly reassured that he hadn’t misjudged him.

"Yueye is a mess right now; I don’t want to go clean it up immediately. Can we wait until everything is back to normal and the infrastructure is fully laid out, and then I go to take up the post in Yueye?"

"No problem."

Elder Qian nodded in agreement without a second thought, "Even if you hadn’t said it, we wouldn’t have sent you there right away. The earliest would be by next summer, likely delayed till autumn, since Yueye’s ground infrastructure was almost destroyed by the last infection tide, and another infection tide might hit this winter. We’ll officially commence reconstruction in the spring."

"The Pioneer Corps will move in first, but only when Yueye’s situation is completely stabilized and all production is on track will the inspection station have its place."

"Next autumn..."

Does that mean there’s an entire year of time?

Cheng Ye felt a burst of joy, this buffer period seemed unbelievably delightful.

Going to Yueye as the station chief indeed carries significant pressure and responsibility, shortening life like a mayfly.

But on the flip side, the resources a station chief in a large shelter city can mobilize are far from trivial.

If he could use this position to continuously seek information and elevate his rank, wouldn’t he find a way to change Tan Ming’s belief?

The Collector had long indicated that even Tan Ming’s tasks could be altered, so naturally, altering his belief is also plausible.

This is the real path to survival; it just requires immense energy accumulation.

Merely being a "mayor" of Dapo Town, he couldn’t possibly amass such an amount of energy.

But assuming the post of station chief at Yueye Inspection Station, wouldn’t this resource be sufficient?

"Cheng Wu indeed has a good son and grandson." Elder Pang sipped his tea, looking at Cheng Ye unable to suppress his excitement, feeling endless sentiments.

Even knowing he has only three good years to live, even if Happiness City uses him as a pioneering tool.

He has no complaints and still willing to give for Happiness City.

This awareness, this loyalty, even surpasses that of Cheng Wu, let alone Cheng Long who dared to act against the City Lord for belief.

A moment of silence fell within the room.

Before Cheng Ye’s arrival, the three had all assumed he would refuse, since going to Yueye meant shortening lifespan and bearing heavy burdens, and normal people would inevitably hesitate.

Especially considering he was a Cheng family member who could drop everything and flee at any time, yet Cheng Ye not only agreed decisively, but also proposed a rational plan, leaving the three a bit dazed.

After a brief moment of silence, Elder Qian simply picked up the teapot, refilling Cheng Ye’s empty cup, while clumsily changing the topic:

"The cost of using the source of infection is also severe; for the next half month, don’t roam around, stay at Rebirth Medical for proper recovery, and avoid using the source of infection’s ability. Tan Ming has already helped you bind it; as long as you don’t use it, there won’t be any impact on you."

"Understood." Cheng Ye nodded immediately.

Elder Lin, seeing that the topic was settled, casually asked, "Any plans for the future?"

"Once Dapo Town is on a stable development track, I plan to take this time to see other parts of the Wilderness, especially wanting to witness the areas outside Stone Province."

"Oh?" Elder Lin’s eyebrows slightly raised, showing some interest, "Already have a specific place in mind?"

"Yes." Cheng Ye replied, a slight smile appearing on his face, "Rainbow Light Shelter City, I’ve heard from Inspector Luo that many... geniuses are gathered there!"

...