The crossroad layout of Dapo Town, in terms of layout, feels like a low-budget version of Wenlu County.

Aside from the route towards the north connecting to White Water River, the east, west, and south routes all lead to neighboring towns and villages.

Heading east leads to Wenlu County, extending all the way to Chuan City.

Going west are numerous villages of varying scales, like Big River Village, Small River Village, and Creekside Village.

To the south, it leads to Cloud Water Town, the industrial area, and Xiasha County. If these road networks hadn’t been abandoned, Dapo Town, with its water transport advantage along the White Water River, should have been a place with no worries about development.

But more than twenty years of neglect have turned the once major traffic artery into a cleanup headache today.

The last time we went to see the hydroelectric station, we took the route along the river by the dam, not the main road out of town by Jiajiale Supermarket.

Now, having just walked out about two hundred meters, vines are already emerging from the cracks in the concrete pavement.

Tangled in clusters, the thin branches are only finger-thick, but the main vine rooting down is as sturdy as a forearm.

Luckily, the Extraordinary Curse of Stone Province absorbs plant characteristics, limiting their rampant growth; otherwise, after years of neglect, Dapo Town would have long been completely engulfed by primordial forest.

Cheng Ye pulled out the Firewood Communication device, opened the map to confirm the scope: from the current location outward, at least five hundred meters still needed clearing. Adding the area spread to the surrounding regions, this was definitely a labor-intensive grand project.

"Start clearing! Open up the main road first, then expand to both sides!" he shouted orders.

Everyone promptly responded, grabbing shovels and axes and charging forward.

Despite being weakened by the Extraordinary Curse, these vines’ toughness was still astonishing; forearm-thick primary vines took three to four axe strikes to sever and required hammering the root connection to yank the whole vine segment out.

The only consolation was the underground roots of the vines weren’t overly tough; a shovel pressed flat against the ground could cut the primary root, then a tug could bring up a large cluster of rootlets.

It was the knee-high weeds that were more entangled; the shovel had to go half a foot deep, and roots still intertwined in the soil, requiring multiple rounds of cleaning to be thorough.

Cheng Ye drew the Red Blade, slicing through vines to scout ahead while calculating in his mind: "If a direct path to the hydroelectric station can be cleared from the district, it’s only about two kilometers, making moving supplies and boosting energy much more convenient!"

It must be said, Cheng Long’s design for the Red Blade back then was perfectly suited for clearing paths.

With extreme sharpness paired with a weighty blade, a single swing could sever any vine, and a kick would clear a half-meter-wide passage, faster than using tools.

After advancing roughly a hundred meters, confirming no signs of infection sources on the pavement, Cheng Ye turned back, reaching for the infection source detector at his waist.

Once powered on, the screen continued flashing with red and yellow light spots; he used the joystick to select a few red spots, with values popping up one by one.

Most were around 1.5, with three exceeding 2.

"What does a value of 2 mean? Has an infection source been through here in the last three days?"

Without specific standards explained by the staff, Cheng Ye could only mark the direction of these high-value points on the detector, then stride widely towards them.

Wearing battle armor meant he had to be at the forefront, rather than shrinking to the rear of regular folks.

But trouble arose as soon as he stepped into the wilderness at the roadside; the damp soil couldn’t bear the weight of the battle armor, each step sinking half a foot deep, causing extra labor.

The surrounding weeds grew denser too, initially just knee-high, but after dozens of meters into the depth, the stems nearly reached his waist; the leaves brushed against the battle armor, making a "rustling" sound, largely obstructing his view.

"Sir, shall we clear a small path for you first?" Bao Dashan, along with two alert squad members, caught up and suggested, seeing Cheng Ye’s battle boots stuck in the mud.

Cheng Ye waved his hand, chopping down the half-human height weeds ahead with the Red Blade: "No need, best to scare up situations in the surroundings. You keep an eye on the area and don’t let infection sources sneak out from the grass to harm the workers on the path-clearing team."

"Yes!"

Observing Cheng Ye didn’t require assistance, the trio quickly returned to the roadside, vigilantly scanning the surroundings.

"Such a bother; if only we could burn these weeds down in one go!"

Cheng Ye muttered privately, though he knew it was merely wishful thinking.

Though the Wasteland Era lacked fire control regulations and no one cared about environmental protection, igniting the grass by the river was easier said than done.

It required an extremely strong fire source heating for a long time, coupled with high-temperature, low-humidity weather to succeed.

Given the dampness of the land now, unless Happiness City provided gasoline to surround the edges and pour a ring, the idea of fire clearing wasn’t realistic; better to rely on manpower to slowly uproot.

Beep.

Beep beep...

As he approached the marked point, the detector’s sound at his waist grew increasingly urgent. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Suddenly, Cheng Ye halted, a flash of surprise appeared on his face, quickly replaced by an unexpected smile.

The detector, though unable to provide completely reliable information, wasn’t devoid of merit.

Indeed, there was an infection source in sight!

A glance ahead revealed an emerald-like, palm-sized green caterpillar quietly perched in the waist-deep grass.

The sunlight shone down, its body reflecting a clear and brilliant hue, like an emerald.

Noticing someone’s approach, the caterpillar gently squirmed twice, neither hiding nor fleeing.

Truly beautiful!

Cheng Ye couldn’t help but stare, realizing this was his first time witnessing a wild live infection source firsthand.