Wasteland Border Inspector-Chapter 196 - 102: Towns’ Recognition and Extraordinary Secrets
Cheng Ye paused, "Station Chief Towns, may I ask, has the market price of nutrient paste really increased?"
The words fell.
Towns fell silent, but his gaze suddenly sharpened.
After a moment, he gently shook his head, "The environmental anomaly has not affected the yield. Many settlements are holding out for higher prices, and instead, after the yield was confirmed, it caused a raw material run. Prices haven’t risen; in fact, they are still falling."
"So, I say, we don’t need to do anything now, just quietly watch."
Cheng Ye’s voice was calm, "Soon, we will see Dazhang’s intentions. However, by the time we figure out their purpose, Double Moon Lake may not be far from demise, either becoming a puppet of Dazhang or simply replaced by them."
"Not far from demise?"
Towns couldn’t help but shake his head, but he didn’t argue. He only said in a deep voice, "Seeking inwardly, easier said than done. Like you said, whether it’s Happiness City or Dazhang, neither wants to see Double Moon Lake develop. Keeping the status quo is the best."
Cheng Ye didn’t respond but just smiled slightly.
Yet this smile made Towns pause, and the gloom on his face instantly dissipated, revealing a faint smile as well.
"This must be... painting a picture?"
"No, Station Chief Towns, this is what I call irreplaceable!"
Cheng Ye stood up and returned to the position he had been standing at after entering, speaking softly, "Stone Province only has this much land available for cultivation. Double Moon Lake actually has an irreplaceable advantage. If they focus on industrial development to catch up with Shelter City, it will become a path that leads to a dead end."
"What they should do is continue to cultivate their advantage, dig out more potential in this land, such as... developing more arable land, planting more crops, researching crop improvement, and maximizing yield, etc."
"At the same time, investing in developing their industry is the only way they might become like Shelter City."
"If they are so weak that they can be easily crushed, but expose their ambition too soon, they will either be replaced by other settlements supported by Happiness City or be crushed and swallowed by the scheming Dazhang."
Cheng Ye’s voice was not loud, but it carried a weight of certainty, as if stating a fact long verified.
"Alright, the outcome of Double Moon Lake still needs time to be proven."
Towns waved his hand and shook his head with a smile, "It’s fine to say these things to this old man, but once you leave, pretend you’ve forgotten it all, and don’t mention today’s events to anyone."
As he spoke, he took out two blank intern evaluation forms from the table pocket, filled them with full marks with a stroke, then picked up his seal and stamped it twice.
"This is what you’ve earned."
"Thank you, Station Chief Towns."
Cheng Ye hurriedly accepted the evaluation form, glanced at it, and carefully put it into his bag.
Not to mention the current faction alignment, even when the inspection station was united as one in the past, obtaining this was no easy task.
Because it represents a heavy acknowledgment.
It signifies that his response just now has gained the approval of Station Chief Towns.
"As for that message, you’ve already gained a lot from me."
"Thank you for your generosity."
Cheng Ye bowed slightly.
For someone like Towns, who lived through Cheng Wu’s era to this day, he indeed is a wise inspector.
The probing between the two was just right, a comfortable appropriateness.
"Where is your badge?"
Cheng Ye quickly took out his badge and handed it over. Towns brushed it on his Defense Communication device, performing a series of operations.
Beep.
Cheng Ye’s Defense Communication by his waist beeped a notification.
"I’ve granted you part of the formal inspector’s permissions. But for these, just be aware of your limits. Before officially transitioning, don’t waste any contribution points."
Towns said, changing the subject, "Moreover, I was personally very satisfied with your later answers, so I want to set aside my identity as an inspector, set aside east-west alignments, and just talk to you as an elder, about things you might be interested in."
He held the badge in his fingers, examining it as he spoke softly.
"I watched the video of you confronting the Fusion Body. This Fusion Body is interesting, it can actually sense it is missing a part."
"Well, being able to sense the missing part means it once had it, so I immediately investigated his experiences and found the part he was missing."
Towns paused, then softly uttered four words, "Celestial Essence Community."
"Hmm?"
Cheng Ye furrowed his brows.
"Don’t be surprised, these aspects about the Extraordinary are not really secrets to us, but precisely because they aren’t, knowing them won’t affect much."
Towns chuckled lightly, "Well, I wasn’t originally planning to discuss these things. The command center doesn’t want you to get involved in this yet, but your performance today is nearing this threshold. Telling you early doesn’t violate station rules."
"Obsession!"
He put down the badge, slightly raised his head, and their eyes met.
"To coexist with and dominate the Extraordinary Body, one must have an obsession strong enough to suppress the pollution. For that Fusion Body, leading the Celestial Essence Community to develop has already formed his obsession. But unfortunately, from the moment he left the community, that obsession dissipated significantly, thus he remained in the Fusion Body stage."
"Do you know why your grandfather couldn’t become an Extraordinary? It’s because he lacks any obsession, unable to find a way to suppress the Extraordinary Body..."
Mentioning Cheng Wu, Towns couldn’t help but shake his head, "It was a blessing in disguise, I suppose. Unable to become an Extraordinary, he was later able to lead people away, unrestricted wherever they went."
"This..."
Although Cheng Ye had long heard from Matthew Lee that Cheng Wu was never able to awaken as an Extraordinary, so he could only lead people to establish an inspection station in the buffer zone.
But Cheng Ye never imagined, the missing piece wasn’t some gene, but rather...
Obsession?
Becoming an Extraordinary requires obsession?
So, when the Initial Heart Faction was abandoned and the Idealist Faction quickly gained the Elders’ support, was it because...
The thought flashed by, and countless pieces of information flashed through Cheng Ye’s mind, now, through the Collector, he had seen four states:
Parasitic State, Possession State, Symbiotic Residual State, Coexistence State.
Previously not understanding the meaning of these terms, now through Towns’s explanation, disjointed information finally linked together.
"So Fusion Bodies all have a certain level of obsession, but it’s not enough to completely suppress pollution, hence getting possessed by pollutants?"
"That’s roughly the idea, or you could understand it as a belief. Essentially, it’s a powerful spiritual strength. As long as this belief can support humans through the outbreak phase of the pollution, they can enter the fusion phase, but out of millions of Advanced Fusion Bodies, barely one Extraordinary might emerge."
Towns paused, then added, "Well, I’ve worked at the inspection station for 31 years, yet have not formed an obsession capable of suppressing pollution, thus long ago, I gave up on the Extraordinary path, and can now unrestrainedly do what I wish without caring about others’ opinions."
"But remember this, this obsession is the foundation of an Extraordinary. Once it dissipates or is willingly abandoned, the Extraordinary will immediately suffer power backlash and die violently, or become an Infected Body controlled by the pre-mortem obsession, forever roaming the wasteland trying to complete unfinished business, or become a devastating... Extraordinary Curse!"
"For instance, the curse beneath our feet comes from a powerful Extraordinary named ’Tan Ming’."
"His obsession was to improve the soil and produce new extraordinary plants. But how could such an obsession be successful? In the end, his power backfired, transforming into an Extraordinary Curse, entirely opposite to his intentions."
So that’s the origin of the Extraordinary Curse?
Cheng Ye paused, unable to stop guessing along that line, "So... does this curse continually absorb plant traits, rendering this land forever unable to produce extraordinary plants? Even the growth of ordinary plants is affected?"
Towns nodded, showing a gratified smile.
He stood up, seemingly in nostalgia, seemingly with regret, "Yes, I very much enjoyed what you shared with me earlier, but I must admit, the broader the ideal, the harder it is to condense into an obsession that resists Extraordinary pollution. If you continue with such thoughts, you’re likely to end up like me, like your grandfather Cheng Wu, forever just an ordinary person."
"These ideals require the Extraordinary Power to possibly be realized."
"So, you must think it over, perhaps reconsider your obsession and cultivate it sooner than later; the longer you wait, the harder it becomes to change."
"Otherwise, you might end up like Station Chief Ding, forever trapped in the small Double Moon Lake!"
...
