Wasteland Border Inspector

Chapter 217 Devastating Infection Source, Tragic Garcia!

"Damn it. Damn it all!"

The sun was already high in the sky, and the sunlight shone on the armor, sending waves of heat through it.

Garcia gripped the alloy railing at the edge of the riverbank tightly, his knuckles turning a terrifying black, his consciousness fading in waves.

He had never been so desperate, so helpless.

He lamented his bad luck, saying that ever since he offended Cheng Ye, it was as if he had been plagued by misfortune, going downhill all the way with one bad thing after another.

The white river beneath my feet shimmered, with the occasional large fish leaping out of the water and splashing water, making it look much calmer than at night.

But he dared not gamble, dared not go into the water to check if the corpses were still there, dared not check if the infected water crabs were still lurking nearby, and dared not recall the fleeting glimpse he had seen underwater last night.

Those eyeballs, each the size of a pickup truck, were densely packed and staring intently at him, as if they were about to drag him into the abyss at any moment.

Compared to those eyeballs, the scene of all the teammates around him being infected and turning into monsters didn't seem so terrifying.

"Ah, I'm dying of thirst!"

The sunlight pierced through the clouds and became dazzling again.

Garcia felt like there was a ball of fire stuck in his throat, dry and painful.

He subconsciously touched his neck, where the green veins were becoming clearer and clearer, winding and spreading like bulging blood vessels.

A strong thirst surged up from the bottom of my heart, as if I had just swallowed a pound of salt, and every cell in my body was screaming for water.

The river was right in front of him, so clear that he could see the fish swimming in it, but he dared not bend down or lean out to drink.

Because the benign source of infection, 'Thousand Vine', can be eliminated, but once a new source of infection takes hold, death is truly imminent.

"RoroCook! You damn third-generation, why aren't you here to save me yet!"

"Luo, you're not already dead, are you? Don't die before me!"

"Prosecutor Luo! Please, save me! I don't want to die! I'm still young, I haven't even reached the third stage of treatment yet, I still..."

Chaotic thoughts churned in his mind, Garcia's consciousness grew increasingly blurred, and his right hand suddenly loosened its grip.

Wow.

My whole body slid backward, my head almost touching the cold water.

Fortunately, he had already used vines pulled up from the bottom of the water to tightly tie his left hand to the railing, preventing him from falling completely.

Even so, a few strands of hair still got wet from the river.

It was this slight coolness that made Garcia shiver instantly, his mind suddenly clearing. The "thousand-strand vine" attached to his neck was stimulated by the fresh water, and the green veins suddenly bulged out, as if they were about to burst blood vessels, and even stretched up his skin towards the surface of the river.

He hurriedly tried to struggle to get up, but his left hand was numb from being strangled by the vines and he couldn't exert any strength at all.

With the added weight of the armor, he could only lie flat on the water like a plank, his limbs twitching uncontrollably.

"Am I really going to die here?"

"No! I'm not reconciled! I'm not reconciled to die in Dabo Town, I'm not reconciled to die like this, nameless and faceless!"

"Who will save me? Who... Calvin, I promise you, I'll grant you all your requests, please save me, please save me!"

A strong will to survive surged through him, his blood rushed to his head, and Garcia struggled even more fiercely.

At this moment, all thoughts of rank, the dignity of a prosecutor, and the grudges with Cheng Ye were cast to the winds, leaving only the most primal instinct for survival.

So much so that he even started talking nonsense in his head, sometimes cursing, sometimes pleading:
"Chengcheng, you're so capable, why don't you come and save me?!"

"Cheng Gou! Aren't you a member of the Cheng family? Aren't you powerful? Come save me!"

"Prosecutor Cheng! Prosecutor Cheng, I was wrong! I beg you, please save my life!"

"I don't want to die. I really don't want to die!!!"

What is he doing?

Cheng Ye squeezed the brakes on the motorboat and looked towards Garcia on the water.

Although he knew it was unethical to laugh now, Garcia looked exactly like a mouse stuck on a sticky trap. The more he struggled, the further his body slid towards the surface of the water, and he couldn't get away no matter what.

"Perhaps she's having some cramps?"

Rocuk stopped the jet ski, his tone tinged with amusement, "We were almost scared to death by the source of infection last night, and he, on the other hand, just lay here all night?"

Garcia's posture does indeed look like he's "lying flat" on the water, but his uncontrollable twitching doesn't look like he's slept all night.

Knowing that Rokuk was making a statement, he deliberately lowered his stance, went along with his words, and completely adopted a "follow orders" posture.

Cheng Ye glanced at it a few times and couldn't help but laugh, "Let's go, Prosecutor Garcia must be terrified."

He was still a little worried about leaving Wang Kang alone in the town to appease the residents and maintain the competitive order between the red and blue zones.

But as long as Garcia, the second-phase inspector, can hold on, and with his help keeping an eye on the town, the two can explore the source of the infection underwater without any worries.

The motorboat sputtered past, making quite a commotion, but Garcia seemed not to hear it and continued struggling.

As Cheng Ye got closer, he could see that Garcia's neck veins had burst, and several green vines were emerging from under his skin, trying to reach into the water, clearly indicating that the source of infection was at work.

"It's a thousand-strand vine!"

Rokuk recognized it at a glance, "A Grade C benign infection source. I didn't expect him to have such a good thing. No wonder he survived."

It's likely that Garcia was subjected to the most direct mental pollution during his last shift last night.

Cheng Ye paused slightly. Although Garcia's character was terrible, his professional competence certainly did not disgrace the title of prosecutor of Happiness City.

So what is his current situation?

"The thousand-vine vine needs a lot of fresh water to maintain its parasitic balance. It's dehydrated. We'll go back and get some water to water it, and it will stabilize for the time being."

"it is good."

The two stopped the jet ski, one of them grabbed Garcia’s right hand, while the other bent down to untangle the vines that were tightly wrapped around his left hand.

As Garcia was lifted out of the water, the speedboat sank slightly.
His consciousness was completely blurred, and he was as limp as a puddle of mud. The two men could only lift him like a pig, one supporting his head and the other supporting his legs, placing him between two side by side motorboats.

The engine revved up again, and soon the car was back at the dock's outlet.

Garcia was tossed onto the dock, and the two nimbly jumped off the boat and turned to walk into the town.

Garcia's current condition is somewhat alarming. Carrying him directly back to town could easily cause panic among the residents, so we can only wait here for now and go back to get some fresh water.

“These sources of infection are indeed quiet during the day, without making a sound.” On the way to town, Rokuk lowered his voice, his tone somewhat solemn. “The more they are suppressed during the day, the more it shows that the destructive-level source of infection that is active at night is not simple.”

"According to what I've heard, most of the infected sources that are active at night have a weakness: poor vision. They mainly hunt by sensing vibrations. So when we investigate later, we need to figure out their safe sensing distance first, and we can't approach them rashly."

"Furthermore, while these types of infection sources are afraid of strong light, underwater light can actually be counterproductive. Bright light makes them perfect targets, instantly revealing their location. If strong light is absolutely necessary, we need to find well-hidden spots to install searchlights and set appropriate triggering conditions, such as only turning them on when they sense movement, rather than turning them all on at once."

"."

Over the years, Rocook has traveled all over the country and has never actually seen a source of the devastating infection, but he has communicated a lot with inspectors from other sanctuary cities and has accumulated an exceptionally rich amount of theoretical experience.

Although much of the experience is theoretical and has not yet been put into practice, it is still of great reference value.

Cheng Ye listened and nodded, occasionally interjecting with a question or two. The two of them quickly returned to the dock with four buckets of purified fresh water.

Like watering flowers, fresh water was sprayed onto the outstretched vines. The lush green vines came to life as soon as they came into contact with the water, writhing wildly to absorb the moisture. They quickly spread along the ground and coiled into a large green ball around Garcia.

"Now!" Rococo reacted swiftly, drawing his short sword from his waist. With a flash of cold light, the blade precisely severed the main vine connecting Garcia's neck.

The vines on the ground instantly lost their vitality, rapidly withering and curling up, while the vines beneath Garcia's skin abruptly contracted and disappeared, leaving only a few faint green marks on his neck. "Just this one," Rokuk said, sheathing his sword and holding up five fingers, his tone tinged with regret.

"Five years?" Cheng Ye was taken aback.

"Ah."

Rokuk nodded, feeling a bit wistful himself. "I suffered the same fate when I was young. I was slapped for three years. In those three years, even though I was only 27 and hadn't reached my physical peak, I was unable to improve anymore. I could only barely maintain the status quo and had no chance of progressing further."

As soon as he finished speaking, Garcia on the ground finally reacted.

He opened his eyes with difficulty, his gaze first falling on Rokuk, a flash of excitement crossing his face, and his lips moved as if he wanted to speak.

But when his gaze fell on Cheng Ye beside him, his excitement was immediately suppressed. He forced himself to put on a calm demeanor, but his face was so pale that he looked rather ridiculous.

"Inspector Garcia, you're awake?"

Rocco bent down and carefully helped Garcia up, letting him lean against the concrete wall of the dock. "How are you feeling? What happened last night? Why are you all alone here?"

"Last night?" Garcia repeated blankly, his eyes still somewhat unfocused. After a few seconds, he reacted and asked in a hoarse voice, "Is there any water? I want some water."

"You just stabilized the thousand-vine with fresh water; drinking too much now..."

"It's okay, give me some water."

The words fell.

Cheng Ye placed the remaining bucket in front of him. Garcia stared at the bucket for a moment, then buried his head, held the rim of the bucket with both hands, and gulped down the water.

Gulu, Gulu.

In fact, his physical thirst had long been relieved, but the emptiness deep in his soul, where the "thousand-vine" had drained his vitality, could only be barely filled by drinking water.

The gurgling swallowing sounds continued for a while, until he had drunk half a bucket, then he suddenly raised his head, water droplets hanging from the corners of his mouth, and the green vines on his neck that had just subsided began to gleam faintly again.

He wiped his face, finally regaining some clarity, and said, "There are many sources of infection underwater. I sent you a message before I went into the water, didn't you receive it?"

"."

Rokuk paused slightly, then subconsciously looked at Cheng Ye. Seeing that Cheng Ye remained silent, he gently shook his head.

"Didn't receive it?" Garcia was completely stunned.

"It's not that I didn't receive it, it's that I... can't hear it."

"what?"

Garcia shuddered, abruptly raising his hand and pointing shakily in the direction of Happiness City, his voice trembling slightly: "Can we still go back?"

"If you're lucky, you might be able to."

Cheng Ye picked up the conversation, looking directly at him, "You should have seen what's underwater. If we don't contain it, no one can leave."

"Just you?"

Garcia instinctively retorted, but then paused, hesitated for two seconds, and changed his words: "With us?"

"To be precise, it was Rocco and I who went into the water."

Cheng Ye said in a deep voice, "The target is a devastating source of infection, and the fragments of a divine artifact within it. You don't need to face the risks directly; you just need to work with Wang Kang to maintain order in the town, ensuring that residents don't panic and that a wave of pollution isn't triggered. That's your mission."

"Once the mission is completed, you'll receive a Destruction-level indicator. You should understand what that means."

One destruction is equivalent to five calamities.

The main promotion criteria for third-stage prosecutors can be obtained simply by surviving.

Garcia's eyes lit up instantly. He looked sharply at Rocco, and only when Rocco nodded in confirmation did he finally come to his senses and speak rapidly: "There are many bodies underwater! They are the bodies of drifters washed down by the flood in the tributary of the Linjiang River in June. They all floated down to the bottom of the Baishui River, all in the section near Dabo Town. Moreover, they are all alive!"

"The corpse has come back to life?"

Cheng Ye and Luo Ku Ke exchanged a glance, both seeing the understanding in each other's eyes.

There are only a few types of infection sources that can revive corpses, especially when the term "flood" is added as a qualifier.

It can basically be targeted as 'Deathrattle Tentacle'.

Cheng Ye paused, and a scene suddenly flashed through his mind. It seemed that the last infected he checked and killed before activating the collector was the drifter parasitized by the Death Whisper Tentacle.

"It should definitely be the Deathrattle Tentacle."

Cheng Ye confirmed in a deep voice, "I dealt with a similar infected body before, which was a victim of that flood. But strangely, the corpses resurrected by the Deathly Tentacles usually instinctively try to complete things they didn't finish in life, such as returning to their hometown or searching for specific people. Why are they all staying motionless at the bottom of the water?"

"This is important information. There are two possibilities in this situation."

Rokuk immediately picked up the conversation and began to analyze: "There are probably two possibilities for this situation. First, these resurrected corpses have been controlled by a new source of infection, namely the devastating infection source underwater, which uses these corpses as 'puppets' to protect itself. Second, the Deathrattle tentacles were implanted with new instructions when they were resurrected, with the goal of heading to Big Wave Town, but the probability of this is too low. The parasitic logic of the Deathrattle tentacles is very simple and difficult to tamper with."

Controlled object?
To act as an accomplice to a tyrant?

Cheng Ye showed no surprise. As a fixed NPC, he was bound to have one or more core sources of infection in the infection wave that would emerge every winter.

Besides their bizarre abilities and immense threat to humanity, these infectious agents can also attract surrounding infected individuals through their unique magnetic fields. The greater the number of infected individuals, the more terrifying the resulting infection wave becomes.

Thousands of infected beings resurrected by the Death Whisper Tentacles are gathered in the waters of Dabo Town by a devastating source of infection from the bottom of the water.

It sounds terrifying, but to this day, Cheng Ye feels no fear whatsoever.

Compared to the infected Water Cave Crab, the corpses resurrected by the Deathrattle Tentacles are extremely weak and have no special abilities. As long as you deal with them carefully, they don't pose much of a threat.

However, Garcia's next words instantly tightened their nerves: "Not only the Deathrattle tentacles, but some corpses have also been infected by the Darkwater Cave Crab, turning into dual-infected entities. When I sank underwater, I saw at least a dozen dual-infected entities that had reached the fusion level."

"A dozen or so fusion bodies of Netherwater Cave Crabs?"

Rokuk instantly lost his composure, raising his voice several decibels.

The Darkwater Cave Crab is different from the Stand Starfish that just wreaked havoc in the city. It is an infected creature known for its combat prowess. Even ordinary Darkwater Cave Crab infected creatures gathered together would take a lot of effort to deal with.

The fusion monsters require specially designed armor-piercing rounds to penetrate their defenses; they have no exposed fatal wounds, so conventional firepower is completely useless against them!

Thinking of this, Rokuk subconsciously turned to look at Cheng Ye. Seeing that Cheng Ye's face was still calm, Rokuk felt a little relieved.

But this subconscious reaction, in Garcia's eyes, made him feel a sense of "moral collapse".

When did a third-term prosecutor have to be subservient to a probationary prosecutor?
Is the person standing in front of me Rococo or Li Matai?
Am I still under the influence of hallucinations?
He subconsciously raised his hand and touched the green vines on his neck that had not completely faded, until he froze when he heard a special rhythm coming from the slightly swollen vines.

"Besides these dual-infected organisms, is there anything else underwater?"

"Besides them, there are others."

Garcia paused, as if trying to recall the underwater scene, then suddenly rattled off the names of more than a dozen sources of infection, like reciting a menu: "There are face-changing fish, soul-snatching catfish, and also bone-drilling snails and water leeches."

These are basically common underwater sources of infection, and there's nothing particularly noteworthy.

After speaking, Garcia gasped for breath, his eyes suddenly filled with fear, and his voice began to tremble, "But none of that matters. The real threat is that devastating source of infection you mentioned. That thing... that thing is a true behemoth, it..."

After stammering twice, he simply grabbed some scattered vines from the ground, dipped them in fresh water, and started drawing on the ground.

This is also an essential skill for prosecutors: when words fail to describe the source of infection, they must use images to demonstrate its morphology as quickly as possible.

Garcia's abilities were quite good; he quickly sketched out a rough shape.

As the central part was gradually filled in and outlined, Cheng Ye was stunned for a moment and couldn't help but look at Rokuk.

The two said almost in unison.

"sponge?"

　P.S.: Double update with 1.2 words! Thank you all for your support, dear readers! (Bowing deeply)
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(End of this chapter)