"Hmm, although many people in the Buffer Zone envy the Inspector's position, everyone actually knows in their hearts that the Inspector is the barometer of the Buffer Zone. Once you start having casualties, this place... chaos will probably come soon."

Click.

The rifle was assembled. Uncle Dong took aim in the air and pointed his mouth towards the corner of the entrance, "Six boxes, take as much as you want, it's on me as usual. There's a key in the top box, it's for my shabby shop. Keep it. If anything goes wrong, you can hide here. I've reinforced the basement, it can hold out for a while, enough for you to request support from the inspection station."

"Also, under the fourth floor tile in the basement, there are six high-explosive grenades, specially made. Blowing up the next-door meat cafeteria is no problem. Don't throw them around unless things are extremely dangerous."

"Are you going outside to hide?"

Cheng Ye paused, turned to look at the door, and sure enough, there was a long-handled key on top of the boxes.

"Not hiding, but going to settle a personal wish."

Putting down the rifle, Uncle Dong sighed, "Getting old, usually terrified of death, but at times like this, suddenly not afraid. Maybe... it's going to be a long closure."

...

Carrying three boxes of Nutrient Paste back into the room.

Cheng Ye locked the door behind him, but the flimsy bullhead lock just rattled on the door frame, offering no sense of security, only making his heart race with unease.

"Damn, how did the Wasteland get so chaotic after I traveled here!"

"It's only my first day working at the quick inspection station. I'm fine, but why does it feel like the Buffer Zone is about to collapse?"

Cursing under his breath, Cheng Ye was aware that this mess had nothing to do with him.

The chaos in the weather started before he time-traveled, and if you trace back, the last chaos coincided exactly with the sacrifice of the duty station chief thirteen years ago.

The ancient wisdom holds true, after all—whenever there's a natural disaster, there will be great chaos.

Happiness City's migratory pattern indeed attracts most of the Infected Body's attention to the factory district during summer and fall, leaving only a few to be brought by refugees to impact the Buffer Zone.

But once a disaster strikes, this pattern immediately falls apart, and a sudden chaos occurs due to many people letting down their guard.

Whew.

A gust of wind blew against the window, causing it to creak.

Cheng Ye wouldn't normally care, but now it sent chills down his spine. He instinctively gripped the dagger at his waist, memories of those greedy eyes in the shadows at the city gate flashing in his mind.

This damned Buffer Zone is indeed not safe at all—no wonder everyone wants to squeeze into the Inner City.

In peaceful times, it can be tolerated, but once danger arises, everyone turns jittery.

"Can't go on like this, I'll get materials to reinforce the doors and windows tomorrow."

Cheng Long was a workaholic, usually living at the inspection station, without owning a property.

This single room was allocated to him by the inspection station, and the previous owner hadn't made any modifications.

Before, Cheng Ye was busy preparing for the assessment and never thought about reinforcing the house.

But now, it must be prioritized!

With 3 Action Points in hand, there might not be enough to modify other objects, but reinforcing the doors and windows should suffice.

Moving the table to block the door, Cheng Ye also called Luo Xiaoxue to explain the situation.

"Do you want to move in with me? Brother B has reinforced the house many times; it's absolutely safe."

"No need. If things really get chaotic, we have to go on duty for inspections, and going back and forth might inadvertently lead the Infected Bodies to you and Yiyi."

Luo Xiaoxue didn't insist further; she obviously knew Cheng Ye was speaking the truth.

If she were alone, it wouldn't matter, but with Yiyi at home, the comings and goings indeed weren't safe.

After hanging up, Cheng Ye thought for a moment and even moved the bed behind the door.

This way, if an Infected Body tries to come in while he sleeps, it'll wake him immediately.

"Iron Body... better come through for me!"

Cheng Ye thought as the Collector panel automatically unfolded, transitioning to his personal interface.

Checking the bottom, the evaluation remained unchanged from before.

Only behind the Skill Bar, a small purple frame emitting a faint glow had appeared.

"Equip, Iron Body!"

At the moment of mental command, the purple frame burst with light, jumping from the selection bar to the Skill Bar.

Hmm, no reaction from the Level 2 talent?

Unlike a skill, when equipped, it feels as though a memory is forcibly crammed into his mind, generating illusions.

Equipping this talent is like the Beast Intuition—quiet and subtle without any change.

But it didn't offer any boosts either?

Lost in thought, Cheng Ye's gaze suddenly collided with the window's reflection.

The reflection of his somewhat youthful face was now burning red, as if magma was boiling beneath the skin!

Veins bulged densely from his neck up to his scalp.

Making him seem not human, but more like an Infected Body, a grotesque red-skinned beast!

"What... am I?"

No time to think, barely any time to feel the bodily changes.

Boom!

A muffled noise exploded inside, like thousands of tons of explosives detonating simultaneously.

Far from the calmness when equipping a skill.

Cheng Ye only felt the world spinning, the surroundings shattering into vague light and shadow.

As if thrown into a storm's eye, his insides being frantically churned and reorganized.

But.

Does it hurt?

No pain!

Is it satisfying?

Absolutely!

Indescribable sensations crashed like waves, as if riding a kayak over rolling tides.

Under this extreme impact, waves of bizarre hallucinations flooded in:

He saw a dried-up, cracked pond suddenly gush with clear springs, nourishing every inch of parched soil.

Saw the ground tremble violently, earth rolling to form a small hill emerging like a waking giant beast.

And even saw deep beneath the soil, a tender shoot pushing aside rocks, inching upwards, defiantly breaking through the hard surface!

Everything was different now.

It seemed a part of his genes had been awakened.

The chasm between the gifted and mere mortals, with a mere step, he effortlessly crossed.

"The changes brought by Iron Body are even more dramatic than I imagined..."

A moment later.

Cheng Ye stood up, leaning on the bed frame, his face a bit pale. All the anomalies vanished except for the steam rising from him.

At this moment, his pain sensation had been compressed to a tenth, with dulled perception almost gone.

He thought it would be uncomfortable, but surprisingly, it wasn't. The nerves usually reserved for pain seemed to rewire for processing other information, leaving his senses sharper than ever.

For example...

Reaching out to pick up the training dagger beside him.

The instant fingertips touched the hilt, a strange "oneness" surged from his mind.

With a wrist flick, the short blade traced a silvery arc, slicing upwards, cold radiance following the upward trajectory like frost.

The movement of the blade was entirely at his will, following his lead like his own limb.

An unprecedented comfort surged to Cheng Ye's mind, as if he'd wielded this dagger for a dozen years, every slash's angle, and every strike's trajectory ingrained in his genes, as natural as breathing.

"Is this... the world of geniuses?"

...

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