Wasteland Border Inspector

The sound of explosions on the water’s surface continued nonstop, and more and more crab-men were dying. Giants larger than two and three meters were increasingly appearing.

But even after tossing seventeen bombs, leaving only one left, there was still no gap in the crab net underwater. Instead, the energy accumulation made the crab-men closer to the shore appear more formidable and terrifying.

Luokuke stared at the surface of the water for a few seconds without saying a word. Suddenly, he sprinted upstream along the White Water River, his steps hurried and somewhat staggering.

Cheng Ye remained silent, standing by the dock waiting. About five minutes later, Luokuke ran back, clutching a few items in his hand.

He halted, panting heavily, raised his right hand, and gestured with three fingers.

Three thousand?

"Three layers!"

After saying that, he sat heavily on the ground as if all his strength had been drained, unable to keep his back straight.

Three layers?

Cheng Ye’s whole body stiffened, goosebumps rising. He gazed toward the water’s surface, observing the hordes of heads underwater, at least fifteen hundred to two thousand per layer, making three layers at least five thousand!

He looked over, and the crab-men looked back at him.

Each face wore a vicious and malevolent expression, their eyes filled with anger that seemed to overflow, silently declaring:

It’s only a matter of time until tonight, when everyone at Dapo Town.

Including him, pays the price!

"Five thousand..."

Cheng Ye fell into contemplation.

If he transformed into the Sea Star Superhero, could he kill five thousand crab-men in five minutes?

On the other side, Luokuke remained silent for a long time before suddenly sighing deeply.

He got up in a dejected manner, moved to the equipment box to remove his battle armor, and then sat by the dock, leaning against the brick wall with his head slightly bowed.

Exhale.

Inhale.

With each breath, he exhaled and inhaled forcefully, as if cherishing the dwindling moments of being able to... breathe freely.

After a while, he raised his head to look at Cheng Ye, his voice carrying a hint of exhaustion and remorse:

"You... Cheng Ye, you shouldn’t have come back."

Cheng Ye didn’t speak; he too removed his obsidian battle armor and sat next to Luokuke.

The two of them sat shoulder to shoulder, gazing at the submerged crab net glowing it a eerie hue. The only sounds at the dock were the water flowing and distant faint tapping of tools, inducing an unexpected daze.

After a while.

Luokuke finally spoke, his voice carrying a wisp of uncertainty:

"When the mountain floods erupted at Cloud City, it coincided with the infection tide hitting Yueye Shelter City..."

"Many people fled, some believing they could escape via the waterways to reach other places."

As he spoke, he picked up some items he had brought back from underwater.

Since they had already been parasitized by the infection, he no longer worried about poison water crystals on them.

It was a badge, with a hole punched through it to make a necklace.

The front displayed a portrait of a middle-aged man, with a backdrop of a city full of high rises.

"This is a resident’s badge from Yueye Shelter City..."

Luokuke’s voice grew increasingly faint, taking out a item resembling a pocket watch, gently flicking it open to reveal a yellowed family photo, the people in the picture smiling brightly.

Picking up a waterproof bag, he spread it open to reveal a few old maps and some... Happiness Coins?

He displayed each one, yet his gaze grew increasingly bewildered, as if lost in memories:

"Yueye Shelter City lost three hundred thousand people, only the core personnel retreated underground. Do you know what that means?"

"They... are underwater?" Cheng Ye asked softly.

"No, I don’t know! I know nothing!" Luokuke suddenly stood up, as if the question stimulated him, frantically ran to the dock and shouted, angrily tossing the items he held into the water.

Whether it was a badge, pocket watch, or map, they fell onto the water’s surface, and were instantly detected by the crab-men below, with several claws protruding to shred the items into pieces.

Exhale.

A gust of wind passed by.

From the pocket watch casing split in two, the family photo drifted out, floating on the water’s surface, drifting downstream with the current.

"Three hundred thousand... damn it! They lost three hundred thousand lives and didn’t even report where the people went!" Luokuke’s voice choked with tears.

"I have to go out, I must make them pay the price, I want Yueye Shelter City to pay the price!"

"They’re not human, they deliberately hid information, they killed us!"

"Ah!!!"

He shouted at the water’s surface, his voice hoarse, his whole demeanor collapsing entirely, devoid of any former composure.

Suddenly.

His legs gave way, he knelt to the ground, starting to cough violently, each heave producing bits of metal wire from his mouth, clattering onto the ground.

His hat dropped to the ground, revealing his bald pate, where the rust-colored hue increasingly deepened, spreading from the scalp to the forehead, striking at the eyes.

One cycle after another.

From despair to hope, and from hope back to despair.

He collapsed entirely, losing the strong front of the inspector in the face of death’s threat.

This was the first time Cheng Ye saw someone crumble right before his eyes, the first time witnessing someone lose their fighting spirit against the infected body.

He had thought it would be ordinary residents collapsing first, never expecting it to be a High-level Inspector who had endured the Low-Phase, reached the Third-Phase.

Power vanished in the moment.

The privileges bestowed by Happiness City seemed futile in the face of the death net spun by five thousand crab-men.

Fighting spirit was completely lost at this moment.

The burden on Luokuke’s shoulders was not only his own hope for survival, but also the responsibility to protect the residents of Dapo Town and fulfill the mission of containment.

These weights crushed him entirely.

Cough, cough...

Increasingly more metal wires coughed up from Luokuke’s mouth, his face gradually turned rust-colored, even breathing became difficult.

He suddenly raised his head, turning to Cheng Ye, forcing a smile more painful than crying: "Cheng Ye, tonight... it might depend on you."

"What are you going to do?"

Luokuke shook his head, his gaze falling on the last remaining high-power bomb.

"You you’re going to blow up the Demon Eye Sponge?"

"This is our last chance." Luokuke took a deep breath, his chest’s movement increasingly faint, yet his gaze settled calmly, "In fact... there’s always been a consensus among High-level Inspectors, I hadn’t told you earlier for fear of scaring you."

"Do you know why I was startled seeing the Destruction Level equipment?"

He paused, his voice so faint it seemed a whisper, "It’s not because it’s costly, but since humanity developed it, over thirteen years, worn by over a thousand inspectors, yet only a handful survived."

"Yes, only a handful of lucky ones made it."

"Its existence is the highest praise for inspectors’ courage."

"Yet its existence signifies the sounding of the death knell for inspectors..."

...