Wasteland Border Inspector-Chapter 343 - 141: Wildfire in Chaos, Qualification Review!
Dormancy is the wisdom of self-preservation in a chaotic world.
Since crossing into this crisis-ridden Wasteland World, Cheng Ye took more than a hundred days to learn to survive.
Through countless mind games with humanity, life-and-death standoffs with the Infected Body, and the silent yet fierce power struggle between the East and West factions at the inspector station...
He learned survival rules not found in books and personally verified many pieces of knowledge that once only existed in fantasy.
He was no longer that ordinary young man trapped in Earth's societal circle, burdened with invisible pressures.
Nor was he that timid Intern Inspector, fearful of being noticed by others.
In a corner unnoticed by anyone, during sleepless nights, in the shadows even Liu Bi never saw, he silently completed his journey of dormancy, achieving his own sudden rise.
From keeping his head down cautiously to standing taller step by step, he finally grasped the power to stand firm on this Wasteland.
But at this moment, staring at the lines of information on the Defense Communication screen, Cheng Ye was filled with an even clearer dissatisfaction.
He got what he wanted, but it was far from enough.
He wanted to see the world from higher ground, to grasp an Extraordinary Power that would never be threatened by anyone again, to truly free himself and those around him from the chains of uncertainty.
He wanted to build a Shelter City of his own, without following outdated rules, without bowing to compromise, operating entirely according to his will, so that the seeds of civilization could take root in safer soil.
He wanted to know where the mysterious giant, which brought about the drastic change, went—did it dissipate, or did it go to the end of the universe to influence the next civilization, or perhaps hid in some unknown corner, still watching over this broken land?
More than anything, he wanted to understand where this long journey of collecting civilizational information would end.
And what role he himself would play in this journey.
Cheng Ye pressed the lock screen button, placed the Defense Communication on his knee, and sat quietly by the bed, lost in thought.
Just like over a hundred days ago, when he first crossed over here, he sat by the bed, gazing at the unfamiliar room, pondering the unknown road ahead.
Even though there were moments of fear, moments of wishing for death along the way.
Yet he never truly feared the crossing itself, never succumbed to despair, never succumbed to hysteria.
The order of the old era is shattered, the new rules not yet solidified, every inch of land awaits redefinition, and every soul has the chance to tear open the fissure of fate.
More than anyone else, he understands that there has never been a time more "simple" than sitting here to realize his ideals and realize life's value on this Wasteland.
After thinking for a while, Cheng Ye got up, pulled open the drawer under the table, and fished out a cigarette from the moisture-proof compartment.
This was the cigarette Li Changfeng handed him that night.
It represents Li Changfeng's past, contains his unfulfilled ideals, and hides his deep-buried ambition.
He didn't smoke and share his feelings with Li Changfeng that night.
Because at that time, he couldn't see his past clearly, nor could he grasp the direction of the future.
But at this moment.
Click.
A flicker of blue flame erupted from the lighter, startling the Flame awoke from slumber on the bed, round eyes reflexively looking at the flame in Cheng Ye's hand.
What felt unfamiliar was that this big friend's eyes were swirling with an emotion it had never seen before, like the mountain set ablaze by heavenly fire in its memory, fervent and almost about to erupt.
It squeaked twice but saw the big friend pull out a chair, sat by the table, and took a deep drag on the cigarette.
The spicy smoke tightened his throat, but he didn't cough, only his eyes brightened a bit more.
Then, as if someone was beside him, he started talking to himself:
"I am an ordinary person, an orphan. Growing up, I didn't gain much attention, so I desperately wanted to prove myself extraordinary, to be seen. Eventually, I managed to, becoming a student at a top institution, someone regarded as 'impressive' by peers."
"But I didn't feel very excited, because I knew that once stepping out from the ivory tower, the efforts of the first half of my life would most likely diminish, I would return to being unnoticed in the ordinary."
He paused, pinching the cigarette between his fingers, "But I'm not willing, I've always been unwilling, unwilling to die silently in the ordinary, even more unwilling to leave nothing behind in my life."
"Had not been remembered, had changed nothing, had not received honest and earnest recognition from others, had not undergone any truly significant living experience." 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂
"So the moment I crossed over here, I understood that it was heaven giving me a chance to be no longer ordinary."
Cheng Ye's voice was soft, yet it carried a nail-hard certainty, as if swearing to himself.
As the cigarette ember brightened and dimmed with each inhale.
A fire also blazed vigorously within his heart.
But this time, it was no longer the repressed raging fire stoked by Liu Bi's reprimand, nor the confused bewilderment of not seeing a path forward, nor the unwilling fire of fearing one's life being taken at will.
It was the wild fire! A fire that cannot be extinguished, growing anew with the wind, capable of spreading in adversity!
It was the fire of ambition! The kind daring to question the boundaries of heaven and earth, daring to punch the fate with ambition!
"Li Changfeng, we are destined not to walk the same path, I want...to climb all the way up, until the peak."
"I am... the Inspector Cheng who decides where the border of civilization really lies!"
