Wasteland Border Inspector-Chapter 368 - 147: Water Series Shift, Calamities Unstoppable!
Once again, Cheng Ye activated the illustration function.
The status of the three progress bars was clearly displayed, with the toxin filter reaching 167%. The main body was gray, covered at the top by a large section of white light.
The other two items were completely filled with white light, flickering slightly.
Heart filled with joy, Cheng Ye mentally tapped the progress bar, and an exchange prompt immediately popped up.
"Huh, the charging value consumption for exchanging intelligence, items, and skills is unexpectedly different?"
He had no idea how the Collector assessed the prices.
The intelligence which usually consumed the least now required 50% of the charging value.
Exchanging for skills required 25%, the same as searching for an LV2 skill once.
Meanwhile, item consumption had become the lowest, requiring only 10% for one exchange.
Of course, Cheng Ye tried it out and found a progress bar below that could be dragged with mental effort.
The minimum was 10%, and it could be pulled up to 100% investment.
"It must be the feature of the combined route, reducing the basic threshold while leaving the exchange cap."
Cheng Ye pondered, not expecting the route’s influence to be so significant that it would change almost every function to some extent.
He temporarily suppressed the urge to try an exchange and tossed the last piece of purple tissue into the snakeskin bag.
Opening the illustration was like opening the door to a new world, countless ideas churned in his mind, eager to delve into this function’s limits and uses in a quiet place.
But for now, the second round of examination was still ongoing, and the task at Dapo Town was the most pressing matter at hand.
Of course, if they encountered mutated creatures or special items halfway through...
As he was packing up, Cheng Ye suddenly sniffed the air, catching a faint stench of decay, mixed in with the scent of grass and wood, particularly pungent.
He waved his hand, and Jiang Chuan immediately approached with caution.
"What’s up?"
"Do you smell that?"
"Hmm?" Jiang Chuan slightly held his breath, then took a deep breath, brow furrowing, "You stay here, I’ll check it out."
He turned around, pulling a Mountain-Cracking Saber from the back, and followed the scent toward the grass by the side of the county road, soon disappearing into the dense thicket.
About ten seconds later, Jiang Chuan reappeared, face solemn, "It’s two scavengers attacked by malarial mosquitoes. Sigh... no idea how they ended up here."
As he spoke, he sighed, "I’ll dig a pit and bury them, you wait here."
"No need, let’s do it together."
Cheng Ye shook his head, stuffing the waterproof bag containing the meat sacs into the back, grabbing a sapper shovel and following.
Walking in the wilderness, this kind of encounter was inevitable in the future, perhaps even becoming the norm.
Besides, having already witnessed and dealt with the terrifying form of the Infected Body, he wouldn’t be afraid.
Following the path overgrown with weeds, the ground was scattered with messy footprints of varying depths, clearly left in a panic while being chased by malarial mosquitoes.
Among the grass, a few shell casings could be seen. Cheng Ye picked one up and examined it, finding it to be a common handgun bullet.
Based on his recent tests, aiming precisely at a malarial mosquito’s head or body could indeed cause serious damage, but that was an idealized combat scenario.
The mosquito’s flying speed was at least equivalent to an adult’s full sprint, and facing dozens of them on the ground, hoping to solve it with a handgun was impossible.
Only by sitting in the vehicle could they leverage the speed of the car to maneuver and shoot comfortably.
If they truly encountered them on the ground, even he would have to use every trick in the book, maybe even pulling out the Flying Wing for emergencies.
After approximately twenty meters, the stench of decay grew stronger. Two curled-up figures lay in a depression, their clothing soaked through with bloody holes, skin shriveled and gray, clearly drained of blood.
Beside them lay a backpack, from which many common scavenger supplies had spilled out.
Next to the two desiccated corpses, they dug a large pit. Without any tacit understanding, they refrained from checking the backpack, using the shovel to push the bodies and the backpack into the pit together.
Taking something meant incurring a karmic connection.
It would be a minor matter to fulfill the wishes of the two scavengers if there was any request.
But if it hid an infection source and accidentally got contaminated, it would truly be deadly.
"Inspector Cheng staying as an intern is truly a waste. At least the Second-Phase is needed to match your current ability."
After filling the pit with soil, Jiang Chuan patted the dirt splattered on his trousers, giving Cheng Ye a high rating for his composure.
"I can’t bear it; I’m just good at staying alive."
Cheng Ye waved his hand.
Jiang Chuan was long accustomed to the wilderness’s brutality, but burying two unknown scavengers left him with a heavy heart.
Standing in the weed-filled wilderness added a touch of instinctive tension.
It wasn’t that he lacked strength or sensed any monsters; it stemmed from a natural awe towards the unknown.
It wasn’t until they returned to the car, shaking off the leaves and mud on them, that the oppressive feeling eased slightly.
The car continued forward, its speed gradually decreasing.
The journey from Happiness City to Dapo Town was only sixty kilometers, yet it took an hour and a half to traverse half the county road.
Suddenly, a parked pickup appeared on the roadside ahead, with figures huddled around it, seemingly in some trouble.
Jiang Chuan squinted to assess, smiling, "It’s people from other groups; we set off late, and they probably left early. By the looks of it, mostly likely the vehicle broke down."
As the pickup neared, they indeed saw the front left and rear left tires deflated, both having burst.
A burly figure leaned against the car door smoking, occasionally cursing loudly.
