Wasteland Border Inspector

It’s just...

The color of the White Water River suddenly changed, turning a pale blue-green.

Under the water, the Crab-men began "holding hands, and clawing," weaving their bodies and pincers into a huge barrier net, just blocking the docking area.

Cheng Ye immediately realized that the Demon Eye Sponge had a new strategy.

Since it couldn’t catch up with this "annoying bug," it simply sealed off the place he often submerged.

From a glance, the crab net covered a full 500-meter stretch of water surface around the dock, densely packed with bluish-black figures.

Luokuke was also stunned but still mustered the courage to walk to the water entry, bend down, and try to submerge his face in the water to check the underwater situation.

Whoosh.

A bluish-gray Crab-man face suddenly appeared before him, the distance between them less than ten centimeters, its murky eyes staring intently at him.

Luokuke screamed in shock, his breath thrown into disarray, and the human scent leaked out instantly.

Bang!

The crab claw behind the Crab-man suddenly smashed down, about to strike Luokuke’s face, when a blade light flashed suddenly!

The weight and sharpness of the Red Blade were vividly demonstrated at that moment.

The crab claw joint was sliced cleanly into two segments, one part fell onto Luokuke, the other retracted into the water.

Visible to the naked eye, bubbles like foam suddenly spread on the surface of the crab claw, scorched and shriveled in the blazing sun, eventually turning into a dry, hard block.

"Still can’t be exposed to light?"

Cheng Ye focused his gaze, bent down, and held the crab claw.

With a gentle squeeze, the crab claw shattered, turning into fine powder with a pinch of his fingers.

"Is it related to the Demon Eye Sponge’s rune?"

This was definitely a major discovery.

Luokuke recovered from his fright, stood up, and solemnly said, "Thanks!"

"It’s nothing, you’re wearing battle armor, it can’t hurt you anyway."

Cheng Ye shook his head, his gaze returning to the crab net underwater, "You can go underwater from other places too, but returning will inevitably cause delays, the Demon Eye Sponge is forcing us to change positions, but changing positions entails unknown risks."

The previous underwater actions served to force out infection sources and collect characteristics, now the Crab-men wove a net blocking the way, presenting a direct hindrance.

"Are there bombs in the truck?"

"There are, but underwater explosions are generally ineffective, it may not clear them completely."

"Blow up as many as possible; letting these things crawl ashore would be catastrophic for us."

Luokuke said in a determined voice as they returned to the truck.

Eighteen bombs had been brought in, divided by power into large, medium, and small, six of each.

"If only we had known it would be like this, it would have been easier to drive a tank in."

Cheng Ye thought to himself.

Yet, while that might be the case, Happiness City strictly prohibited explosives, and there were reasons for not using bombs.

First, through radio broadcasts, notifying residents about impending directed explosions, advising them to stay away from the riverbanks, only then did they carry the bombs back to the dock.

Luokuke picked up a small high-explosive grenade, removed the safety pin, and threw it into the water.

Boom!

A violent explosion sounded underwater, water splashing over three meters high, blasting a huge gap directly in the crab net near the shore, killing at least 30 Crab-men, while also blasting a group nearby.

But before Cheng Ye could relax, a horrific scene occurred; the pale blue energy from the dead Crab-men did not dissipate but flowed like water towards the surrounding Crab-men.

Blue light flickered underwater, and the surrounding living Crab-men began to swell like inflating balloons, with two even growing directly to two and a half meters tall, their pincers thickening significantly and appearing even more threatening.

Without hesitation, Luokuke threw another grenade into the water.

The explosion sounded once again, overturning a section of the newly swollen Crab-men, but the energy within them still didn’t dissipate. Flowing with the water, it gave rise to a Crab-man nearly three meters tall, its pincers opening and closing terrifyingly.

"How many are under there?" Luokuke’s face changed completely, his voice trembling.

"I don’t know!" Cheng Ye shook his head, feeling waves of shock within.

This "energy transmission" scene, he had only seen on that evening with the Stand-In Starfish, not expecting the Infected Bodies of Ghost Water Cave Crab to also have this trait. Could all group-type Infected Bodies possess this ability?

Seeing Cheng Ye’s unusual expression, Luokuke was stunned for a moment before quickly explaining, "Group-type Infected Bodies are most troublesome to kill with explosives! They can share Life Energy among themselves; as long as one isn’t completely dead, other Infected Bodies can absorb the energy of the dead and grow stronger. The infection tide every winter is tricky because it can’t be cleared with bombs; clearing must be diverted, otherwise dropping a few large-yield bombs from high altitude would solve it all."

"Is there no limit on this energy transmission?" Cheng Ye asked.

"None." Luokuke shook his head, his tone heavy, "If there was a limit, it would be better... continuous energy accumulation will bring them closer to the Extraordinary, developing various terrifying abilities, making them even harder to handle by then."

"Then should we still bomb?"

"Bomb them!"

Luokuke nodded through clenched teeth, "Even if it spawns a Fusion Body, I can’t bear to see so many Infected Bodies onshore! We don’t have a firepower net to block them, once they climb up, it’s a disaster for the residents!"

It’s the only way.

Facing a single Fusion Body, you can still maneuver in combat, but surrounded by thousands of Infected Bodies without being able to leave Dapo Town limits, it’s a dead end.

Grenades were thrown one after another into the water, changing from small, to medium, then to large.