Wasteland Border Inspector

Chapter 274: The Mystery of the Starship and Yu Yong's Freedom!

In Yu Yong's statement, he repeatedly mentioned the word "they."Every time it left his lips, an uncontrollable fear surfaced on his face. It was as if he had personally witnessed some terrifying existence beyond human cognition, his eyes filled with an unconcealable shudder.

"So you're saying this transformation process is already irreversible?" Cheng Ye asked, following his train of thought.

It was hard to tell if what Yu Yong said was true or false, but the theory was logically consistent.

The Giant Creatures left behind viruses to transform the planet, making it more suitable for alien colonization. Once the transformation was complete, an alien army would descend?

But there was a glaring loophole here. If the Giant Creatures truly possessed such terrifying power, how could the viruses they left behind be guided and distorted by humanity, ultimately giving rise to the Supernormal Golden Age?

Furthermore, the disparity between humans and Giant Creatures was astronomical. If the Giant Creatures wanted to transform the planet, couldn't they just descend and forcefully alter it? Why use such a convoluted method?

However, Cheng Ye kept these doubts to himself, merely staring at the Cooperation Level on his interface.

Following his question, Yu Yong's Cooperation Level ticked upward, struggling to reach four percent.

"Irreversible! Completely irreversible!" Yu Yong shook his head vigorously, his tone firm yet full of despair. "The distortion back then was already a one-in-a-billion chance, but humanity failed to seize that opportunity. As a result, the planet's environmental parameters are already shifting toward their predetermined direction! I haven't been outside, so I don't know what's happening out there, but I can tell you..."

"In the next ten years, the entire planet will undergo drastic changes you cannot even imagine! Torch has long since unpacked some of the impending disaster data... Eternal Night, Eternal Day, Eternal Cold, Eternal Heat, Eternal Water, Eternal Wind, Eternal Mist..."

With every drastic change he named, the despair on his face deepened. He looked as if he were sinking into a bottomless abyss, without a single glimmer of light in his eyes.

"Torch thinks that Source-Guiding Technology can control everything, but in reality, they are only helping 'them' accelerate the process! Every large and small shelter city on this planet, every Transcendent, is an accomplice. They are all pushing the planet toward the extremes of transformation, heralding the arrival of true doomsday!"

This seemed to be a bombshell piece of information.

Cheng Ye's heart sank. The news of Eternal Night in Flower Province and Eternal Day in Liang Province had only been leaked for the first time over a month ago. At that time, Yu Yong was already locked up, meaning it should have been impossible for him to know about the changes in the outside world.

But since he stated it so clearly... Could Torch really have decrypted the early warnings of future drastic environmental changes?

"It sounds like you've seen 'them'?" Cheng Ye caught the key point and pressed further.

Yu Yong's body suddenly stiffened. His gaze darted away as if touching upon an untouchable taboo. It took him a long while to deflect the topic. "I've told you what I should. You can take this information and verify it. If it's true, you should understand that the value of cooperating with me is far higher than being trapped in these decaying shelter cities."

"Cooperate with you, just to become a stray dog?" Cheng Ye raised an eyebrow. "Forgive my bluntness, but you probably haven't seen a true powerhouse. With your meager strength, I'm afraid someone could crush you with a single finger."

"No! We can go to Hai Province!" Yu Yong retorted anxiously, blurting out without thinking. "There are Transcendent Control State experts there too, and many organizations that can shelter us..."

But just as the crucial information reached the tip of his tongue, he abruptly stopped. His eyes instantly regained their vigilance, and he shut his mouth tightly.

Was it an accidental leak, or a deliberately tossed bait?

Cheng Ye's expression remained unchanged, his gaze falling on the interface. The Cooperation Level had risen to nine percent, just one step away from breaking ten percent.

It seemed Yu Yong's words truly concealed many key clues, and Hai Province was likely far more complicated than it appeared on the surface.

"Signs of Eternal Night and Eternal Day have indeed begun to appear."

Cheng Ye gave a slight nod. "Could the Eternal Mist you mentioned refer to the Void Mist?"

"No, no, no. The Void Mist is merely an appetizer for the Eternal Mist; it's the most basic manifestation."

Yu Yong gently shook his head, his eyes full of horror. "Do you know how 'they' will descend? According to my deductions and research, the most likely method is that when the Eternal Mist completely envelops the world, special spatial corridors will be activated. This will bring wave after wave of enemies we absolutely cannot resist, pouring in like an endless tide until humanity goes extinct and civilization is destroyed."

"But as far as I know, someone has already mastered the means of Active Induction regarding the Void Mist," Cheng Ye casually threw out a bait.

"What?" Yu Yong froze, his face written with disbelief before he shook his head forcefully. "Impossible!

Absolutely impossible! Even Torch is only receiving information and decrypting it. No one can move faster than Torch to master this kind of power!"

"No, Cheng Ye, you're lying to me!"

He suddenly screamed, the humanity on his face rapidly receding as he slipped back toward a state of hysterical madness. "If you try to trick me with fake information, don't ever think about getting anything more out of me! I'll completely refuse to communicate!"

However, just as the Infection Source was about to hijack his rationality, Cheng Ye sank his breath into his Dantian and let out an explosive shout, "Calm down!"

The amplified roar from the speakers blasted through the Containment Room. Yu Yong wasn't halted by the shout; his body continued to twist in madness.

But when Cheng Ye uttered the next sentence, he abruptly froze in place, as if paralyzed by shadow-restraining light.

"If I wanted to trick you, I wouldn't have come to talk to you in the first place. The organization that mastered this technology is called Starship!"

Starship?

The madness receded like the tide, and human rationality regained the upper hand.

Yu Yong stumbled back two steps and plopped down hard on his rear, his gaze instantly losing focus.

"How is it possible? How could it be... Starship?"

"No, it can't be Starship. It's impossible for anyone to have boarded it..."

'Good lord, this defected Fourth-Level Researcher from Torch really does know deeper secrets!'

Cheng Ye felt a surge of joy and quickly pressed, "What is Starship?"

But Yu Yong just sat there blankly on the floor, repeatedly muttering the word "Starship" over and over, as if his soul had been siphoned away.

'Was this guy brainwashed?'

Cheng Ye furrowed his brows slightly. Fortunately, in the next second, the Cooperation Level on the interface finally broke past the ten percent threshold, leaping straight to seventeen percent!

He finally didn't have to slowly interrogate him for these key pieces of information; he could directly look at what he wanted to see.

Cheng Ye breathed a sigh of relief and immediately chanted in his heart, 'Search intelligence. Search direction: Related to Starship!'

Before driving the truck into the Inner City, he had already replenished his Recharge Value to one hundred percent. At this moment, twenty-five percent of the Recharge Value was instantly consumed, and the surrounding light suddenly dimmed.

The familiar shifting perspective appeared. Everything around him shattered into Original Pixels and began the Reconstruction process.

As the scene gradually formed, Cheng Ye looked around. What greeted his eyes was actually a stretch of Wilderness. Beneath his feet were crushed stones mixed with snow, and in the distance lay a continuous expanse of vast, snowy mountains.

Moreover, in the generated scene, Yu Yong was not alone; he was following an entire team.

Cheng Ye subconsciously paused the image to count, unexpectedly finding that the team consisted of exactly twenty-eight people.

Everyone was wearing sealed gear resembling spacesuits, climbing up the snowy mountain step by step. Their goal seemed to be some hidden location at the summit.

'Wait...'

As the distant scene fully solidified, despite the resolution being as rough as low-quality game textures, Cheng Ye immediately recognized the landmark, matching it with his memories.

'This is actually... the Divine Mountain, Mount Everest?!'

The towering snowy peak stood right before his eyes. Didn't that mean Yu Yong's team was climbing the Divine Mountain?

Astonished, Cheng Ye dragged his field of vision around and soon discovered more valuable information.

On the chest of the gear Yu Yong was wearing, a display screen glowed.

The top half likely displayed various vital signs, but the status data on the bottom half made his pupils contract sharply.

[Altitude: 11,937 meters. Oxygen Concentration: 3.1%. Environmental Temperature: -89°C]

'What?'

'The height of Mount Everest has surpassed twelve thousand meters?'

'No, that's not even the top.'

Following Yu Yong's line of sight upward, the peak of the snowy mountain was still nowhere to be seen. Were the Transcendents of the previous era so insane that they continuously elevated this mountain, even stacking it into outer space?

Continuing below the three lines of data was a flashing yellow warning.

[Distortion Index: 0.27. Approaching safe threshold.]

'Distortion?'

Cheng Ye sat stunned for a few seconds before hitting the play button, allowing the scene to resume.

Soon, he understood the meaning of "distortion." As the mountaineering team ascended, everyone moved with a bizarre glitchiness, like experiencing packet loss in a video game. Their bodies would clearly step forward, only to twitch and snap back to their original spots a second later.

Every step had to be repeated three, five, or even ten times before they could arduously inch forward. They left behind faint afterimages, as if light had lost its property of linear propagation in the extreme cold of the high altitude.

Even more shocking was that on the distant snowy slopes, several sharply angled ice peaks were slowly "flowing."

The edges of the snow mountain slightly deformed like melting wax before instantly reverting to their original shape, appearing like an optical illusion caused by the folding of space-time.

"This..."

Such a perception-shattering sight left Cheng Ye momentarily speechless.

He simply locked his perspective onto Yu Yong, advancing toward the summit alongside the team.

According to the usual rules of intelligence retrieval, the key clues would absolutely not wait until they reached the summit to appear.

Sure enough, two minutes later, as the team crossed the twelve-thousand-meter threshold, the distortion index on the display screen suddenly jumped to 0.3!

In the next second, all team members looked as if someone had pressed the pause button on them, and the snowy mountain before their eyes vanished without a trace.

The extreme cold, the storms, the spatial-temporal distortions, and the optical afterimages—all anomalies faded away entirely.

Taking their place was a cyan-green staircase leading to the end of the sky, exuding a gentle glow like newly sprouted buds.

The staircase was about three meters wide, with each step measuring half a meter deep.

What lay at the end of the staircase could not be seen, but just ahead was a massive platform. Hundreds of rooms of varying sizes were neatly arranged, with countless figures bustling back and forth among them. It was impressively a hidden scientific research base built high in the sky.

Upon arriving here, the previous distortion effects were completely isolated, and even the air became stable.

A group of people was already waiting at the platform's entrance. Yu Yong stood at the back of the line, clearly not a core member.

At the very front of the team stood a middle-aged man with graying hair.

"Minister Zhang, thank you for your hard work." The person greeting him also had graying temples, and the two tightly shook hands.

"It was no hardship. What does our little bit of effort amount to?" Minister Zhang waved his hand with a smile, his tone urgent. "Old Shi, another year has passed. Any new progress on the Starship research?"

"None." Old Shi shook his head with difficulty, his tone heavy. "We still haven't obtained the qualifications to set foot on the staircase, let alone approach the Starship itself. However, we've conducted some preliminary analysis on the materials used to create the staircase. That might provide a new research direction."

Visibly, Minister Zhang's expression shifted, a flash of gloom crossing his features. "The distortion index is about to breach the safe value. We don't have much time left..."

The moment his voice fell, the space instantly shattered.

Before Cheng Ye could recover his wits, his vision had already been pulled back to the Containment Room. Yu Yong was still sitting blankly on the floor, repeatedly murmuring the word "Starship."

'Could it be that at the end of that emerald-green staircase is... the Starship?'

Astonished and lost in thought, Cheng Ye couldn't help but replay the intelligence video.

This time, he focused on capturing key details, locking his gaze on an electronic clock hanging above the door of an inconspicuous building in the corner of the screen.

It clearly displayed: [New Era, Year 17, June 1st].

'That was eighteen years ago...'

Looking again at Yu Yong in the footage, his face was much younger than it was now, corresponding perfectly to someone in his early twenties.

To be able to participate in such a core scientific research project at that age was enough to prove his talent. He had been a standout top-tier genius since a young age.

'This is astounding. Torch actually made such a discovery?'

While Yu Yong was still in a daze, turbulent waves were also surging in Cheng Ye's heart.

Compared to Torch's explorations, Happiness City had clearly taken a completely different path. Over a decade ago, Torch was already researching the Starship, whereas the present-day Happiness City remained utterly ignorant of it.

'There are only two possibilities as to why Torch never shared the Starship information with Happiness City.' Cheng Ye thought rapidly. 'Either an accident occurred during the research process, forcing the project to be suspended, or the research is still ongoing, requiring strict confidentiality to keep outsiders in the dark.'

Regardless of which of these two outcomes was true, just thinking about it made his scalp tingle.

After all, Mount Everest's current location was right next to Xin Province where Torch was based, situated exactly in the center of the A1 Black Zone.

A massive number of Wish-Guarding Transcendents roamed the Black Zone. Terrifying entities like the Farmer were innumerable.

Entering the center of the Black Zone and scaling Mount Everest to conduct research would be unimaginably difficult.

Even experts in the Transcendent Control State would likely struggle to reach the foot of the mountain alive.

Only existences at the Elder level could possibly arrive there. But even if they reached Mount Everest, what then?

Torch had researched it for so many years yet failed to produce any world-changing results.

The Elders were not scientific researchers; going there would be entirely useless. Furthermore, listening to the conversation between Minister Zhang and Old Shi, they were already saying "we don't have much time left" eighteen years ago. Today, with the distortion index continuously rising, Torch had likely long since lost the ability to access that high-altitude platform.

'Should I synchronize this information with Happiness City...?'

Cheng Ye's thoughts raced, quickly reaching a decision. It was impossible to keep the Starship's information hidden.

Yu Yong clearly knew information about the Starship. Since Cheng Ye wanted to extract bombshell results from his interrogation, obtaining related intel was inevitable.

An earth-shattering secret was evidently hidden above the staircase. With his current strength, let alone reaching it, just entering the A1

Black Zone would require an unknown number of years of preparation.

More importantly, the Starship in the intelligence was an "inanimate object" of extremely high research value, whereas the Starship that took Zhou Changhai away was an evil organization.

The nature of the two was completely different, yet judging from Yu Yong's reaction, they were bound to be inextricably linked.

As long as he guided the conversation and baited some answers, he could string together a complete chain of intelligence.

This was absolutely a bombshell revelation, far more critical than any technical data.

Cheng Ye closed the interface and asked in a deep voice, "What, are you still shocked? Or do you still think everything I've said is a lie?"

Yu Yong blanked for a moment, then suddenly calmed down, a trace of mockery in his eyes. "No, you don't know anything. You're just bluffing, trying to coax information out of me."

"Yu Yong, I must remind you: just because Torch has researched the Starship for years without progress doesn't mean others can't. Did you think there was only one path leading there?"

"What?" Yu Yong's expression stiffened. He abruptly stood up and slammed his hands against the wall. "What do you know?"

"No, it's absolutely impossible for you to know!"

"Do I need to remind you with more information?" Cheng Ye sneered. "Starship just took away a Stage Five Inspector from our Inspection Station, leading him to defect. Their methods are far more sinister than you can imagine. They've already developed many technologies we can't comprehend; manipulating the Void Mist is likely just the most basic one. Do you understand what this implies?"

Yu Yong stood frozen in place, stiffening his neck, refusing to reply.

It wasn't until Cheng Ye paused and turned to leave that he suddenly yelled, "If I give you the information on Starship, can you help me escape?"

"I've told you. Even if the sky falls, don't even think about leaving this Containment Room."

"Then why should I tell you anything?"

"That is your freedom. Speak if you want; if not, forget it."

Cheng Ye spread his hands. "My job is to study you and regularly suppress the Ghost Shadow Spider on your body so you can temporarily live like a human. But if you don't want to live, no one in this world can stop you."

He took a step closer, his tone flat yet exuding a heavy sense of oppression. "Researcher Yu, I must remind you that what you know is worthless outside of Happiness City. Here, you might still be able to negotiate terms with me."

Freedom?

Yu Yong fell silent. His eyes grew dazed and hollow, even revealing a hint of naïve innocence.

At the end of the day, he was just a researcher whose desires had been magnified by an Infection Source. After regaining his humanity, all his flaws and weaknesses were fully exposed.

"You can take your time to think about it. I'm in no rush, so you shouldn't be either, right?"

With that, Cheng Ye turned and headed for the stairs, looking entirely unconcerned.

It was only when his figure completely disappeared around the corner that Yu Yong seemed to awaken from a dream, roaring out loud, "Come back! I want to negotiate new terms!"

His voice pierced through the Containment Room, reaching the second floor.

At the corner, Cheng Ye paused his steps, a knowing smile curling on his lips.

Only when Yu Yong's shouts turned shrill did he walk back down the steps.

"Speak. What do you want to negotiate this time?"

"I want freedom! I want my freedom!" Yu Yong fell to his knees in front of the wall, his hands gripping the surface tightly. "As long as you let me out, I will tell you everything!"

"Freedom?" Cheng Ye arched an eyebrow. "You know that's impossible. Once you leave this Containment Room, I can't guarantee how many people you'd instantly infect. Even if we could capture you again, my career as an apprentice researcher would be over."

"No, go find your Elders! They know! They know how to grant me freedom!"

Yu Yong's eyes were frantic. "Cheng Ye, I just want one final period of freedom before Torch takes me away!

I am willing to say anything, I just want my freedom!"

"Alright!" Since Yu Yong had put it like that, Cheng Ye didn't press him further.

Whether or not the Elders could help him regain his freedom, at least the interrogation had made a breakthrough. He could just dump the difficult problem onto the Elders to solve.

It was just a pity that Yu Erlan had already left; if she were here, she would probably have been very pleasantly surprised.

Walking out of the Containment Room, Shi Xu was still waiting outside. Seeing him emerge, he raised an eyebrow and asked, "Any progress?"

"Of course."

"Oh? Regarding what?"

"Everything." Cheng Ye flashed a mysterious smile and pulled out his Defense Terminal. "I need to contact an Elder directly."

Shi Xu immediately and tactfully stepped aside.

Cheng Ye scrolled down the screen to the last line of his contacts, settling on the name "Elder Qian."

Ding Yishan probably never imagined that communicating with an Elder would be so simple for him.

He pressed the call button. It only rang twice before the line connected, and Elder Qian's amiable voice came through: "What's the matter?

"

"Elder Qian, Yu Yong is willing to confess everything, but the condition is that he's allowed a period of free movement before Torch's people arrive," Cheng Ye stated concisely. "He told me to contact you, saying the Elders know how to satisfy his 'freedom'."

"Oh?" Elder Qian gave a slight exclamation of interest. "He is an Anti-State Mother Source Host who destroyed an entire shelter city. How could we possibly release him so easily?"

"He insists, and he mentioned that you and the other Elders would definitely understand."

"Heh, this little guy sure knows quite a bit." Elder Qian chuckled. "Alright, wait a moment. I'll go talk to Elder Zeng; he should know what to do."

"Thank you for your understanding, Elder Qian."

The call disconnected.

Only a little over ten minutes later, while Cheng Ye was casually chatting with Shi Xu, the light in front of the Mother Source Containment Room suddenly warped slightly, and a thin figure slowly walked out from the distortion.

It was... Elder Zeng!

The Elder Zeng who had a terrible temper and carried an incredibly high sense of superiority!

Cheng Ye did not dare act neglectfully. He hastily stepped forward with Shi Xu and offered a respectful bow. "Greetings, Elder!"

Elder Zeng's gaze lightly swept over the two of them. Without saying a word, he kept his hands behind his back and walked straight toward the third floor of the Containment Room.

His steps were incredibly light, as if he were floating in the air. Every step carried a subtle sense of distortion.

It actually bore quite a resemblance to the space-time distortion seen during the Mount Everest climb in Yu Yong's intelligence!

'Could Elder Zeng have also mastered this so-called distortion?' Cheng Ye was utterly shocked inwardly, though his expression remained perfectly calm.

Upon reaching the third floor, Yu Yong, who had been sprawled on the floor, immediately straightened up at the sight of Elder Zeng, speaking with urgent desperation, "Old man, grant me my freedom, and I will tell you everything!"

"Oh?" Elder Zeng chuckled softly, a profound smirk forming on his lips. "So you finally understand the real reason Torch was willing to sign a treaty with Happiness City?"

"Heh, hehe." Yu Yong let out a dry laugh, his gaze instantly growing grave. "Even if you reach the end of this path, it's nothing but a dead end. It's not too late to give up now."

"Whether it's a dead end or not, we won't know until we walk it."

Elder Zeng spoke evenly. "In this world, ordinary people are willing to trade their freedom for wealth, status, and Power. But for you, you should be clear on what the Cost of freedom is, right?"

"How long can I live?" Yu Yong asked softly, his expression unchanging.

"Half a year at most. Moreover, you must return regularly during this period to have the lingering remnants of the Infection Source in your body purged."

"That's enough! That's more than enough!" Yu Yong immediately nodded, then pointed at Cheng Ye, adding, "I want to follow him! I want to be with him the entire time!"

Suddenly being singled out left Cheng Ye feeling somewhat perplexed, but clearly, it wasn't his place to interject here.

Elder Zeng simply gave a light nod, agreeing on his behalf. "Cheng Ye, come here in three days to pick him up."

"Yes, Elder Zeng!" Cheng Ye nodded respectfully, though he was secretly grumbling in his heart.

'Compared to Elder Qian, this Elder Zeng is nothing but a pretentious show-off. Once my Strength grows, I'm definitely going to arm-wrestle him down.'

However, before he could step away, Elder Zeng's airy voice drifted from behind: "Additionally... the items Little Yu promised you, come and claim them all at the same time in three days."

?

'Elder Zeng is quite generous, huh?'

Cheng Ye instantly revealed a look of delight and quickly responded, "Yes, Elder Zeng!"

"Heh..."

Elder Zeng didn't look back, but as if seeing right through his thoughts, he let out a soft, exasperated chuckle.

In the next second, a faint fluctuation flashed past.

The light and shadows wavered before their eyes, and Cheng Ye and Shi Xu shockingly found themselves standing outside the doors of the Mother Source Containment Room.

And the original three-story building was gradually fading and turning transparent, ultimately disappearing completely from sight.

Cheng Ye stepped forward in sheer astonishment. He thought it was merely an illusion blocking his vision, but when he set foot onto the exact spot of the building's former foundation, his expression instantly froze.

It was completely empty beneath his foot. There were no obstacles of any kind, only flat, even ground.

'Holy crap, what kind of ability is this?'

'A pocket dimension hidden in his sleeve?'