Wasteland Border Inspector

Chapter 23 Fate, Shackles, and Unbridled Determination!

The main urban area was flooded, and the suburbs weren't much better off.

The water was still a thin layer, just above the shoes, creating small eddies on the ground.

Cheng Ye walked nearly four kilometers north before finally spotting a bus parked at the bus stop.

"Sir, due to the damage to the power infrastructure in the buffer zone caused by the heavy rain, we have been notified that starting today, the free bus service will officially end and buses will be charged according to the previous rates."

The middle-aged driver was wiping the car window with a rag when he saw Cheng Ye walking over and reminded him.

"In addition, buses now need to be full of five people before they will depart. If there are fewer than five people, you will need to pay five times the fare yourself."

During the high-water season, hydropower stations have abundant electricity, which can be used freely.

However, with the ongoing torrential rains, the hydropower station is struggling to keep up and has had to release floodwaters to alleviate the pressure.

As a result, the free bus service, which lasted only a month and a half, was abruptly ended, and the service returned to its normal charging period.

How much per person?

"2 coins".

"Let's go, I'll cover the cost for five people."

Cheng Ye turned around and looked at the empty space behind him, then took out a 10-yuan "happiness coin" and inserted it into the coin slot.

If it were closer, he would have walked there, but both the North and South stations are located in the suburbs, at least 15 kilometers away from the main urban area.

"Okay, let's go."

The driver was also following the Public Works Department's regulations. Seeing Cheng Ye's decisive and efficient manner, he realized that Cheng Ye's identity was not ordinary.

He quickly put away the rag, climbed into the driver's seat, and after the motor warmed up slightly, he sped off like an arrow.

Along the way, Cheng Ye saw several buses coming from the opposite direction, as well as long lines of more than a dozen people lining up on the side of the road to go to work in the city.

When the wheels rolled over the puddles, they kicked up waves of water half a person high, splashing onto pedestrians' raincoats and eliciting shouts and curses.

Even so, not a single person chose to get on the bus and head to the main urban area.

"Was it like this before?"

Cheng Ye, sitting in the front seat, couldn't help but look at the driver and ask.

“It used to be much worse than it is now.” The driver paused on the steering wheel and grinned. “Now, at least these people can make a living once they get into the city. But back then, if a major natural disaster hit the buffer zone, it was common to see people lying all over the streets, and a thousand or so people could be gone in an instant.”

As he spoke, the driver suddenly turned the steering wheel, and the wheels drifted towards the center, bypassing the puddle. The interior ceiling light flickered twice as the car bounced.

Cheng Ye glanced out the window, and with just this simple gesture, he earned a thumbs-up from the refugees on the roadside.

"Back then, even collecting corpses required queuing by district. How could we be as fortunate as we are now?"

happiness?

Cheng Ye suddenly fell silent, and for some reason, the image of Edmund's dying wails came to mind again.

Happiness is an illusion.
When all the beautiful fantasies in his mind are shattered, he must be in great pain at that moment, right?

The car rolled over the potholes and moved forward, the chemical plant staff quarters appearing as gray shadows in the rain.

Suddenly, Cheng Ye's gaze sharpened.

"Sir, do you need to stop here?" The driver noticed Cheng Ye's unusual behavior in the rearview mirror and asked.

"Okay, let's stop here."

The chemical plant residential area is about two kilometers away from the North Checkpoint, but through the car window, Cheng Ye could already see a familiar figure on the roadside, looking on expectantly in the rain.

As soon as I got off the bus, a figure quickly came to greet me, completely ignoring the rain and mud splashing onto my trousers.

It was none other than Luo Xiaoxue.

"Sister Luo, what are you doing standing here so early in the morning? It's raining so hard, Yi Yi must be scared to be home alone."

"Stop talking nonsense. How can I sleep if you're going to the North Station?"

Luo Xiaoxue's voice was hoarse, as if she had stayed up all night without a good night's sleep.

"The North Station isn't a place that eats people. Didn't Brother B go there on duty many times before?"

A warm feeling welled up in Cheng Ye's heart. In his previous life, he was a rootless weed who grew up in an orphanage.

Although I have made many friends along the way and never lacked people to talk to, I always feel a sense of envy when listening to others talk about family affection.

Looking back now, I think this is what family love is all about: someone who genuinely cares about you and worries about you.

"He is him and you are you."

Luo Xiaoxue was still hesitant on the phone last night, and even after hanging up, she still seemed a little unsure.

But today, Cheng Ye found that all that remained on her face was a sharp, razor-like edge.

No longer a full-time housewife, she has returned to eight years ago, to the warrior fighting against the infected.

"Everyone has their own destiny, determined by heaven and, more importantly, by their own actions!"

"I treated everything you said to me last night as bullshit. I couldn't be bothered to listen, and I didn't want to listen."

"But today, I'm standing here waiting for you, precisely to have you look me in the eye and answer me!" Luo Xiaoxue said each word slowly and deliberately, her expression solemn.

"It's easy to follow the will of Heaven, but difficult to defy it. The path you've chosen is arduous; what lies beneath is not just a mountain, but a colossal boulder capable of crushing you to dust at any moment."

"If you go across today, you will face utter ruin; if you retreat even half a step, you will suffer a fate worse than death!"

"To survive, you have to fight for your life."

"Cheng Ye, are you prepared to fight to the death?"

Desperately?

Luo Xiaoxue's series of questions caught Cheng Ye off guard.

But soon, he couldn't help but laugh, a slight smile spreading across his face.

For more than two months, he stood on the rooftop several times, not lacking the courage to die, but a reason to convince himself to give up.

Now, instead of finding a reason to give up, he has found a reason to live.

What is there to fear in fighting to the death?

Moreover, he is all alone now, and the people at the checkpoint are all burdened with families, worries, and interests. Who would dare to stand up and fight him to the death?

"Sister Luo, trust me!"

“Apart from infected individuals, no one in the checkpoint can touch me.”

He patted the standard-issue pistol slung across his waist, and Cheng Ye's smile grew even more unrestrained.

The prosecutor's position wasn't high, but in this buffer zone, there were very few people who could easily take his life.

On the contrary, he only needs to raise his hand and gently pull the trigger to take someone's life.

Without any worries or scruples.

At worst, one can flee to the wasteland, live among infected, and wander through ruins and wilderness.

"Okay, I believe you!"

Luo Xiaoxue nodded emphatically and reached into her handbag.

It turned out to be the Bison fighting pistol that Cheng Ye had planned to buy. Judging from its condition, it should have just come out of the factory not long ago.

It was obvious that Luo Xiaoxue got up early in the morning and went to the resource exchange shop to buy it for him.

"Your gun is too weak. It's scary enough, but not enough to kill infected."

"Use this, it's powerful. Whoever wants your life, you'll let them taste what a bullet tastes like first!"

"it is good!"

Cheng Ye gently took it and put it into the empty gun holster on the right.

"I'm leaving?"

"Go ahead, remember, I'll be here waiting for you to come home after work."

"Ah."

No further words were needed; this single promise alone weighed heavily on Cheng Ye's heart.

Turning around, I saw the bus still waiting where it had just stopped.

Seeing Cheng Ye looking over, the driver smiled and waved, "You paid five times the price, so I should take you to your destination."

"Thanks."

Once in the car, the driver, seemingly lost in thought, shook his head with a sigh, "Sir, your aura of menace is too strong; a person with a weak heart would probably be terrified."

"What if someone isn't afraid?"

“Then he probably really wants to die.” The driver shrugged. “Back when I was still struggling outside and hadn’t joined Happiness City, I always avoided people like you.”

"Oh, what do you do?"

"Don't laugh at me, but I used to be a third-rate assassin?!"

The middle-aged driver laughed and scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "But after I got a wife and a son, I had so many responsibilities. It was like wearing shackles, and I couldn't do this job anymore."

"That's why I'm even more afraid of people like you now."

"Afraid that my wrath will cause bloodshed within five steps?"

"No, that's not it. We're all just worthless lives. We're not like those old men in the inner city. There's really no need to fight to the death with them."

"That?"

"Don't say it, don't say it."

Cheng Ye gradually stopped smiling and gave the middle-aged driver a strange look.

The wasteland is vast and full of wonders.

If even a driver is this clever, surely no one in such a large station like the North Station would be thinking of doing something drastic?
Wishing all my dear readers a happy weekend! A new day begins, so please vote, follow my stories, and add this to your favorites!
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(End of this chapter)