Wasteland Border Inspector - Chapter 982

Chapter 982: Chapter 311: Death Word Leech, The World Beyond the Wall! (Part 4)

After a simple meal, Yin Ruofeng and the four of them got back in the car, leaving Niu Fu inside to watch over it.

Liu Bi walked ahead, followed by Cheng Ye, as they headed in the direction marked on the map towards the Zhangbai River, planning to scout out the crossing situation.

“It looks like you’re adapting quickly.” After a while, Liu Bi suddenly spoke.

“After the Stand-In Starfish incident, I’m indeed not afraid of the Infected Bodies anymore.” Cheng Ye responded casually.

Unexpectedly, Liu Bi shook his head, stopped, and turned around, looking solemnly at him: “No, that’s not what I mean. It’s you, you’ve gotten used to the fear death brings.”

“Hmm…” Cheng Ye paused for a moment, then smiled with relief, “Maybe it’s because I never seriously considered dying. Even if someone dies in front of me, it feels like watching someone else’s story, without much extra emotion.”

“Getting used to it too quickly isn’t good, it’s best if you can regain some of your old feelings.”

Liu Bi turned around and continued to lead the way forward, “If you lose this empathy for life completely, your personality will become incomplete, increasingly indifferent, eventually turning into a machine unsure of why it’s alive.”

“Will I become a machine?”

Cheng Ye pondered, slowing his pace for a moment, “Then Brother B, what were your thoughts when you looked at those two people just now?”

“I just lament that our preparations in the Wilderness aren’t nearly enough.”

Liu Bi’s voice turned a bit heavier, and after speaking, he quickened his pace, “If only we had set up more decent temporary shelters, more warning and protective measures, perhaps they could have survived.”

Cheng Ye instantly understood, Liu Bi was pointing out the mental pillar the Inspector relies on until the end.

One day when feeling weary of life and losing empathy for ordinary people, inevitably some choices might be made where interest overrides everything.

He didn’t reply, silently quickening his steps to follow Liu Bi.

After walking several hundred meters, the roaring sound of the river became increasingly clear, and the ground beneath their feet gradually softened.

Liu Bi stopped and stomped his foot on the ground, sensing the soil’s load-bearing strength before continuing forward.

After walking further, the terrain suddenly dipped downwards, the two seemed to be standing on a high slope, able to clearly see the rushing river not far below.

This river is about six meters wide, marked on the map not as the usual Lin River Water Series, but as a section of underground river partially exposed on the surface.

A stone bridge stood over the river, its piers long weathered with age, radiating a precarious, dilapidated feeling from afar, appearing unstable.

Crossing it by foot was no problem, but driving the armored car over raised concerns about the bridge’s collapse.

“Should be passable.”

Liu Bi stared at the bridge for over ten seconds before offering his judgment, “Taking a detour north would require about fifty kilometers more, heading south needs only twenty kilometers but would cross an abandoned settlement; how to proceed, you decide.”

“Just drive across directly.” Compared to Liu Bi, Cheng Ye’s sight was sharper, already discerning that the core load-bearing part of the bridge was intact, only the peripheral joints had weathered.

“So risky?” Liu Bi looked over with a half-serious, half-mocking expression.

“After all, we’ve just set out for half a day; if we fail, we might as well return home.”

Cheng Ye stroked his chin, speaking plainly, “Besides, we’re still within Happiness City’s boundary; if we were closer to Guang Province’s border, I’d definitely take the detour, and the safest route at that.”

“Take risks when you need to, be cautious when it’s called for— a rational choice!”

Liu Bi once again offered his evaluation.

He was like a stern examiner, silently grading Cheng Ye’s every decision, every move during this expedition.

From departure to now, Cheng Ye’s papers consistently scored high marks, even a perfect score.

The two returned to the armored car, which slowly descended the high slope, heading towards the stone bridge.

All the car windows were opened, in case they fell into the river below; Niu Fu, with plenty of experience crossing dangerous bridges, moved the car forward inch by inch, avoiding extra impact as much as possible.

Yet even so, when the tires rolled over the bridge, a clear “creak” sounded, and the car body swayed slightly.

“Not good, it’s about to collapse!”

The armored car had just crossed two-thirds of the bridge when Niu Fu suddenly cried out and slammed the accelerator.

The vehicle surged forward, and Cheng Ye could distinctly feel the rear of the car sinking significantly.

Looking back in the rearview mirror, the bridge deck was indeed beginning to fracture!

Luckily, the opposite bank was close, and the armored car, propelled by inertia, directly leaped up, its body momentarily airborne, then landed heavily on the ground, pressing a small section of soil down.

Everyone hurriedly looked back, seeing the ancient stone bridge sway a few times before collapsing section by section.

Chips of stone were swept away by the turbulent river, while larger stones piled up in the river, temporarily blocking the water.

“We’re doomed; future migrants taking this route will probably curse us to death.”

Cheng Ye scratched his head, surprised by the outcome.

Liu Bi glanced back at the collapsed stone bridge but smiled: “The river isn’t deep; with these stones piled here, scavengers might build a path themselves in no time.”

“Hopefully.” Cheng Ye replied, then added with a headache, “But when we return, we’ll definitely have to take a detour, and if we ever have the chance, we’ll need to come back and repair this bridge.”