Wasteland Border Inspector

That’s right, this is a reward unique to him!

Throughout the Wasteland, it’s unlikely to find another person who would consider the cost of an A-grade infection source a reward.

After all, others don’t have a colossal entity like Happiness City as a backing, nor the Living Water Essence from the Collector to take daily.

From 9 o’clock until 1:45 in the afternoon.

Cheng Ye didn’t even feel tired and completed the basic target of 2000 kilometers.

To his surprise, the three hundred medical personnel serving him actually set up a celebration stage at the finishing line, as if preparing to welcome a marathon champion.

He crossed the finish line, crying and laughing, and suddenly ribbons and fireworks descended from the sky, hundreds of people surrounded him.

The windows of the surrounding buildings were also opened one after another, and dozens to hundreds of faces looked out.

Cheng Ye turned his head, saw Luokuke, saw Garcia, saw Wang Kang, and many people he’d never met before.

Whether old or young, whether full of spirit or weary, they all looked at him in unison, slowly clapping.

Even Garcia, who had lost his arms, seemed to be gently swinging his empty sleeves to show respect.

This is the highest praise for human perseverance!

It has nothing to do with factions or ideologies, it stems purely from sincere acknowledgment of persistence and endurance!

He earned this applause and respect with 2000 kilometers, a five and a half day crazy run.

However, celebrating with champagne at halftime is not good.

Though the evolved Shrinking Earth Giant Louse can postpone the cost to 15 days, it ultimately can’t avoid it.

After enjoying the celebratory atmosphere, Cheng Ye walked to the side and whispered to Cui Qiao, "I still have fifty kilometers of cost unpaid..."

"What?" Cui Qiao froze, "Didn’t you say the Shrinking Earth Giant Louse could accumulate at most 2000 kilometers of cost?"

"That’s the problem, my Shrinking Earth Giant Louse is rather special, it underwent another change midway. It’s no longer an ordinary benign infection source, but rather..."

"Extraordinary Mother Source?" Cui Qiao’s face turned ugly at once, blurting out the medical team’s speculation these days.

The data from Cheng Ye completely overturned past records.

Everyone tried all possible means, even using supercomputers for verification, but couldn’t conclude definitively, only surmised either Cheng Ye himself mutated or the Shrinking Earth Giant Louse evolved, combined with Cheng Ye’s prior statements, the latter seemed more probable.

"More or less, I also don’t know exactly what it is. But the remaining cost has turned into 50 kilometers of high-intensity exercise, I don’t know what the situation will be..."

"Distance halved, intensity upgraded from medium to high..." Cui Qiao was taken aback for a moment, then quickly entered professional mode, "Inspector Cheng, sorry, we have no information on this, can’t even calculate the required intensity standard to achieve the cost, only..."

Cheng Ye interrupted her directly: "No complicated plans needed, just hang the testing equipment on me. I need the most accurate figures to determine what level I need to reach when repaying this kind of cost externally."

"Understood." Cui Qiao immediately nodded, "Shall we go to the underground testing field?"

"Mm, let’s go."

Being watched by so many people, Cheng Ye didn’t want the news of the Shrinking Earth Giant Louse’s evolution to spread everywhere.

A group entered the underground training field, medical personnel quickly brought various testing equipment, putting them on him one by one.

The equipment was somewhat heavy, but for the sake of obtaining accurate data, this bit of burden was nothing.

Once Cui Qiao dispersed the irrelevant personnel, leaving only the core medical team, Cheng Ye took a deep breath: "Alright, I’m starting now!"

He reopened the panel and pressed the red button for cost repayment.

Once the button was touched, it immediately disappeared, followed by a loud sound similar to firecrackers exploding roaring inside his body.

What?

Explosion?

At the moment the sound triggered, an unimaginable pain swept from limbs to every part.

As if someone violently pulled out each bone in his body, the giant force from inside out instantly knocked him to the ground, curling his body into a shrimp shape.

Wasn’t Iron Body activated?

Cheng Ye’s face turned crimson, he struggled to bring up his personal interface, but the icon for "Iron Body" in the Skill Bar was lit, making his whole body tremble.

How is it possible?

This pain actually surpassed the pain threshold of Iron Body, could it have reached the main nerve network?

"Inspector Cheng... Cheng..."

"Are you okay, can you still stand up..."

"..."

Countless anxious calls echoed in his ears, seeming like illusions, Cheng Ye only felt the chaotic rushing of his energy and blood, all the bones in his body making protesting cracking sounds.

The gap between Extraordinary and ordinary people is terrifying.

His current state was tantamount to using infection source power to smash through the threshold of Extraordinary with flesh.

This was undoubtedly a foolhardy attempt!

Hiss—

A wave of cold air instantly wrapped his whole body, medical personnel were flusteredly trying to physically cool him down.

Then, a needle tube the size of a forearm pierced his skin, and an extremely potent painkiller, which can only be injected three times in a lifetime, was calmly inserted into his body by Cui Qiao.

Four or five seconds later, the excruciating pain that could make someone faint miraculously weakened by two-thirds, the remaining pain similar to how he felt on the first day without Iron Body activated.

"Pain intensity increased threefold?"

Cheng Ye’s heart sank, gritted his teeth and struggled to stand, only to find the capillaries under his skin had ruptured, blood was slowly seeping out.

The thunderous "bone-splitting sound" had never ceased, to an outsider, it appeared as if hands were crazily kneading under his skin, creating clear wave-like protrusions.

"The medication only lasts for two hours, and the effect will gradually diminish, you..."

"I know!"

Cheng Ye nodded heavily, carrying the testing equipment and started running.

He increased his speed to the previous hundred meters in 15 seconds, Cui Qiao glanced at the screen data and immediately shook her head shouting: "Not enough, doesn’t even reach half of the required intensity!"

Without hesitation, Cheng Ye sped up again, charging directly to hundred meters in 12 seconds.

"Continue, increase is substantial!"

Eventually, he stabilized the speed at hundred meters in 11 seconds.

This data was already terrifying, reaching true sprint speed, what’s more, he needed to maintain this speed to complete 50 kilometers.

"Enough, start maintaining!"

Cui Qiao shouted, Cheng Ye immediately removed the testing equipment, leaving only the heart rate belt and pace watch.

At a speed of 9 meters per second, theoretically, he could complete the task in one and a half hours, but maintaining such high intensity for a long period was as difficult as ascending to heaven.

He had only run for less than ten minutes when he entered the familiar phase of willpower burning again.

But concurrently, the accumulated Living Water Essence explosively released wave after wave of power throughout his body, even the Vital Rune on his right hand began to emit a faint glow.

Fatigue emerging suddenly was forcibly suppressed, the appearing loss gaps in his body were filled by the immense Power of Vitality.

Ten kilometers, twenty kilometers... thirty kilometers!

Under the amazed gazes of the medical personnel, Cheng Ye persisted, his running speed didn’t change even an iota.

He was like a machine, completing a task set by his will.

Until.

Beep beep beep!

The pace watch emitted a task completion alert. Cheng Ye slowed down, the steaming heat around him enveloped him like a steamer.

"Inspector Cheng?" Cui Qiao tentatively called.

"I’m okay!" A steady voice came from within the heat, the next second was followed by a dull "thud."

"Ah, Inspector Cheng, fallen again!!!"

Calls of panic and despair came from all directions, but Cheng Ye barely heard them.

Actually, in the last five kilometers, the Living Water Essence was exhausted, leaving only the faint effect of the rune.

Yet, he forcibly relied on his willpower, on perseverance to carry through.

"Damn it, must quickly find more pain immunity skills, or I’ll die at the hands of the Shrinking Earth Giant Louse sooner or later!"

Leaving behind one final thought, Cheng Ye turned his mind and completely fainted.

...