Wasteland Border Inspector-Chapter 360 - 145: Leaving the City! Wilderness! Marching Toward the Sea of Stars!
Of course, he couldn’t hide his suddenly bulky physique.
Without the battle armor, his physique could only be considered robust, somewhat less impressive than Liu Bi’s sturdy build.
Now, however, it was as if he had inflated, with broad shoulders and a thick waist, his whole persona exuding a palpable sense of power.
Soon after, Cheng Ye pulled out two waterproof backpacks from under the bed.
He was always a cautious person; if it wasn’t so strange to carry a suitcase, he’d have stuffed all his belongings into one.
Lastly, two long guns, naturally carried with him, along with a sufficient amount of ammunition.
"That should do it."
Cheng Ye had a large, bulging backpack slung over each shoulder and a long gun in each hand.
Standing in front of the mirror, he almost filled up the entire mirror surface.
But this was what gave him a sense of security, the attitude to have when stepping out of Shelter City into the wilderness.
Pushing open the door, Jiang Chuan, standing not far away, raised his eyebrows slightly, his gaze swept over Cheng Ye, unsurprised by his cautiousness.
"Inspector Cheng’s outfit was quite popular during the grand exploration era, but it’s rare seen these years."
"Was it more dangerous outside before?" Cheng Ye asked in a muffled voice, coughing lightly.
"The danger before was different from now." As they walked downstairs, Jiang Chuan explained, "Back then, people feared being treated as prey when they stepped out; now, it’s mainly about battling infected sources and mutant beasts."
At the start of the New Era, there weren’t many sources of infection, and possessed infected bodies were only a ten-thousandth of what they are today.
Back then, it was more about cleaning up the mess left by battles among the Extraordinary.
Such as shattered terrains, city ruins, and lingering Extraordinary curses.
It took humanity over a decade of peace to slowly build their population back up before stepping into the so-called grand exploration era.
Opportunities in this era were in gold mining, scavenging, and chaotic development.
"Finding old items in the ruins, staking out a place with a water source, or even declaring oneself king with just a few guns—everyone wanted to rise amidst the chaos, and big or small factions fought constantly; settlements could be wiped out at any moment, more terrifying than today’s infection sources."
Jiang Chuan said, shaking his head in speechless disbelief, "The disorderly chaos naturally gave infection sources opportunities—the dead, abandoned wounded were easily targeted; the infected body numbers rose, and the infection sources quickly evolved amidst this chaos, from sparse disturbances to becoming a major threat to human survival."
"Now, before another era of grand exploration begins, everyone has learned surface-level peace."
When they walked out of the building, it was still drizzling outside, the fine rain pattering softly on the raincoat.
Jiang Chuan lifted his hand to pull down his raincoat hood, covering his head.
"Even if meeting strangers in the wilderness, as long as it’s not a fat sheep that’s been eyed for a while, people usually don’t attack easily," he said as they walked. "After all, nobody wants to finish a fight only to be raided by infected bodies smelling blood, nor to offend an unknown faction."
Cheng Ye nodded, keeping this information in mind.
As they stepped out of the residential area, they saw a military green pickup parked in front of a small shop, sporting inspection station markings.
To Cheng Ye’s surprise, the truck bed was stocked with quite a few "professional tools"!
Two neatly wrapped fishing nets, with measures about 3 fingers wide and 1 millimeter thick net threads, with a sheen of fresh luster, and sturdy ropes at the edges, clearly unused in water.
Two carbon steel-looking spinning rods leaned against the barrier, about 2.5 meters long. Cheng Ye paused, eyes stopping at the fish hooks—they were using the large Ise No. 12 hooks.
Beside them, three blue plastic buckets were lined up, even in the rainy weather, a faint fishy smell was detectable.
Besides these, there was a black and green folding tent, pressed with a military shovel, camping lamp, multi-functional saw pliers... and other camping gear.
A deflated inflatable dinghy lay tucked in the corner, wrapped tightly in waterproof cloth.
"What’s this..."
Cheng Ye touched the fishing rod. Although he hadn’t fished, he’d seen plenty in short videos.
The Ise No. 12 hook was at least for fish over ten pounds.
Could Jiang Chuan be taking him to Dapo Town to fish, to validate the economic feasibility of the fishing ground?
"It has to do with your answer yesterday; it’s now the second round of the contract plan test..."
Jiang Chuan unlocked the car door, a touch of mystery in his voice, "Get in, your rank yesterday and today’s topic are in the car. I need to swap out for off-road tires first, and we’ll be back before ten tonight!"
"The second round has already started?"
Cheng Ye shivered inside, quickly shook off the water droplets clinging to his raincoat, and grabbed a towel by the car to wipe the wet traces off his back, then pulled the car door open and sat in the passenger seat.
The interior space of the pickup was roomier than expected, and on the backseat indeed lay a familiar manila envelope.
Cheng Ye reached for it, unraveling the cotton string sealing; the documents inside exuded the fresh scent of ink.
The top was a printed ranking sheet, and flipping through, his name prominently at 37th.
"This high?"
Cheng Ye was momentarily stunned, hints of surprise flickering in his eyes.
He thought being in the top 50 this round would be an unexpected joy since the fishing ground economy was considered somewhat modern and idealistic. Yet, he directly broke into the top 40, squeezing into the top 30.
"There are two other inspectors who also chose Dapo Town." Jiang Chuan, holding the steering wheel, caught sight of his expression from the corner of his eye, chuckling, "One is 39th, and another is 41st."
