Wasteland Border Inspector

Boom!

The surface of the water suddenly exploded!!

The twenty-two tentacles that Garcia counted earlier were just the tip of the iceberg of the Demon Eye Sponge.

Now, there were hundreds, if not thousands, of tentacles surging underwater!

They burst out like a coral reef exploding or like a sea urchin suddenly expanding, stretching out from beneath the water at the two people hovering above, wildly retracting and expanding.

The eyeballs at the tip of each tentacle were wide open, with hundreds of murky stares locking onto them, making one’s scalp tingle with fear.

Luokuke was utterly terrified, his body trembling uncontrollably, his fingers stiff and unable to move.

But in that split second, before his body could fall back to the water, he suddenly realized something crucial: the direction those eyeballs were watching wasn’t him or Cheng Ye, but the sponge fragment tightly held in Cheng Ye’s hand!

Under the Obsidian Battle Armor’s shield, the human presence of the two of them wasn’t leaked at all.

The Demon Eye Sponge was enraged not due to the discovery of intruders, but because its body had been damaged, a part taken away.

"Quick, throw it away!" Luokuke couldn’t help but shout.

"Don’t move!"

Cheng Ye’s voice remained calm. At the same time, a scorching fiery aura erupted from his body.

Thud!

An invisible wave flickered, as if stepping on solid ground in the air, the falling momentum was suddenly halted.

Then, Cheng Ye took a fierce step forward with his left foot before stamping down hard again, another invisible fiery footprint flashed in the air, leaving behind scorched marks like sparks.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

Under the intense gaze of hundreds of eyeballs, Cheng Ye took five steps, each leaving a clear fiery footprint in the air. The moment the sparks exploded, it was as if an "aerial walkway" had been built over the water!

By the eighth step, the fiery aura inside him finally ran out, and the support for his body quickly vanished.

However, they were less than two meters from the dock by then. Cheng Ye exerted his right leg forcefully, leaping like a fish towards the shore, landing heavily on the concrete, rolling over a few times to completely dissipate the falling force.

Not bothering to ponder over what just happened, Luokuke quickly got up, pulled out the short knife from his waist and held it tightly, his gaze fixated on the water’s surface.

The countless tentacles continued to churn underwater, but seemed bound by something. The longest one only swayed beneath the water, none daring to break the surface and attack them on the dock.

"What’s going on? Why did you suddenly attack?" Luokuke turned abruptly, his tone a mix of lingering fear and a touch of questioning.

If Cheng Ye hadn’t rashly harmed the sponge, this giant creature wouldn’t have been disturbed.

But just as he finished speaking, he suddenly froze looking down. Covering the surface of his armor, a thin layer of yellowish microorganisms had appeared without him noticing, resembling tiny mildew spots or miniature tentacles, squirming and trying to burrow into the seams of the armor, clearly aiming to parasitize.

On Cheng Ye’s armor, however, there wasn’t even a trace or mark.

"Don’t exhale underwater."

Cheng Ye also stood up, first bending down to confirm that the cut sponge fragment was still in his hand, then pulling out the Red Blade. "Underwater should be entirely its domain now. The breath you exhale will immediately attract these microorganisms to parasitize, like a magnet. I almost didn’t react in time."

"Can’t exhale?"

Luokuke’s heart sank. When he saw the entrance to the cave, he couldn’t help but leak a bit of breath while complaining.

But could just that bit of breath be enough for the Demon Eye Sponge to detect and parasitize?

"It probably can’t detect our breath anymore. We can use respirators for the next exploration."

Cheng Ye nodded lightly. Realizing they must surface immediately, he slashed at the sponge in passing, hoping to test the giant creature’s reaction and collect samples.

Little did he expect the dormant Demon Eye Sponge would react so violently, fully awakening in just two or three seconds, extending hundreds of tentacles.

Fortunately, the speed of their ascent was faster than the tentacles’ reach. Next time, they could indeed be bolder.

"That power just now..." Luokuke started to speak but stopped short.

Smart people obviously shouldn’t question such things. Every inspector had their own survival abilities.

Still, the momentum from underwater and the ability to hover far exceeded his imagination.

Apparent superpower?

"A little trick, sorry for the spectacle, Inspector Luo."

Cheng Ye chuckled, flipping the Red Blade over, carefully scraping off the microorganisms on Luokuke’s back with the flat of the blade, turning them into a thin layer of yellowish-brown powder.

The attached creatures immediately lost vitality upon leaving the armor, quickly shriveling up.

Luokuke stared at the microorganism remains on the ground, opened his mouth, but ultimately swallowed the words he was about to say.

Only then did he vaguely understand why Cheng Ye was unaffected by the Immortal Objects’ contamination and dared to return after leaving Dapo Town.

This hard power truly couldn’t be summarized by the title "Intern Inspector."

Once the microorganisms on the armor’s surface were cleared, Cheng Ye retrieved a portable torch, using it to scorch the seams and joints of the armor to ensure nothing was missed.

Luokuke finally snapped back to reality, speaking with a solemn tone: "Chief Cheng, I didn’t expect you to have such abilities. The subsequent exploration might be much easier. However, we need to establish a plan first to avoid losing pace later."