Wasteland Border Inspector - Chapter 563
Chapter 563: Chapter 200: Outbreak of Infection, Ghost Water Cave Crab!_3
A thick black-green liquid, as viscous as tar, spurted out from the severed neck. Before the liquid hit the ground, the body, still carried by inertia, slammed heavily against a low wall five or six meters away, making a deafening thud.
What happened?
The thunderous roar made the fleeing team members abruptly halt and instinctively look back, with more than a dozen flashlight beams instantly shining on the source of the sound.
Cheng Ye had already landed after delivering a kick, dust scattering around his feet.
And the scene under the low wall.
Made three team members’ legs go weak, causing them to collapse to the ground in shock.
The companion who was fine just moments ago now had tiny red conical points all over his body, like spikes piercing through his skin.
From the headless neck extended two chopstick-thick stems, topped with two protruding red eyeballs, rolling around like a crab’s compound eyes.
More horrifyingly, his back split open to reveal two ghostly green crab claws that clicked open and shut, gleaming with a metallic cold light.
Even without a head, the mutation of the Infected Body continued… proceeding!!
“Fire! What are you all standing there for?”
Cheng Ye, landing like a nimble monkey, swiftly retreated four or five steps, his shout finally snapping the stunned team members out of their stupor.
The sound of gunfire erupted in the night, bullets densely raining down on the “Headless Crab-man” on the ground.
Even with just standard security pistols, shooting at such close range had significant power.
Before it could finish mutating, its body was riddled with bullets.
Someone shot one of the crab-man’s eyeballs, causing blue liquid to ooze out, sizzling on the ground and emitting pungent white smoke.
“This is an infection source we’ve never seen before…”
As the coexistence state was severed, Cheng Ye stared at the corpse on the ground, a chill running through his heart.
He quickly searched his memory for any crab-like infection sources but found no matching entries.
Clearly, this was either an unrecorded unknown infection source or a rare specialized type of infection source.
“Everybody move aside, don’t touch these liquids, keep returning to the junction!”
Cheng Ye shouted again, a command that brooked no opposition.
The three team members who had collapsed scrambled to their feet, their faces paper-white. Even though their minds were in turmoil, they could only rush toward the Safe Zone they had cleared during the day.
Seizing the moment as everyone retreated, Cheng Ye quickly stepped forward and lightly touched the remains of the “Crab-man” on the ground with the tip of his Red Blade.
As soon as the panel’s prompt flashed, he saw three question marks pop up, making Cheng Ye pause. Without lingering, he turned and dashed toward the junction.
The appearance of question marks indicated that this infection source was not only beyond his understanding but also not recorded in the civilization data previously collected through the Stand-In Starfish.
Even rare Extraordinary Creatures like the Vortex Turtle had corresponding entries in the Bestiary.
Yet this infection source had no information, proving its rarity surpassed that of a Vortex Turtle!
Moreover, who knew where those two missing people were hiding?
Without understanding the parasitic method of this infection source, any extraneous action could result in being caught.
Even though his Life level had increased, he wouldn’t gamble with his life under such circumstances.
What should have been a short two-minute journey now felt like half a century.
When the team rushed back to the red-blue junction, Luokuke was indeed there with over twenty people holding guns at the ready, flashlights forming a defensive line.
“Halt! Submit to inspection!” Seeing someone rushing out, Luokuke commanded, as more than twenty guns pointed simultaneously.
The surviving patrol team members froze, their faces first showing relief, then quickly raised their hands and stood obediently aside.
Inspection?
Cheng Ye quickly emerged from the shadows, and the two locked eyes.
Luokuke immediately stepped forward, maintaining a deliberate distance of three meters, “What’s going on?”
“A never-before-seen infection source.”
Cheng Ye caught his breath and recounted, word for word, the middle-aged team member’s strange head-turning, grim smile, and the appearance of crab claws and protruding eyeballs after mutation.
Luokuke’s expression changed instantly, quickly taking out his Firewood Communication from his waist, his fingers tapping rapidly on the screen.
After ten seconds, he raised the phone and turned it around, showing a clear image on the screen.
The creature in the picture resembled the “Crab-man” he had seen by about seventy percent, but the only difference was, the creature in the picture still had its head, with only protruding eyes, unlike the man whose head Cheng Ye had just kicked off, leaving only two lone stems.
“Is it this one?” Detecting the emotion in Cheng Ye’s gaze, Luokuke’s tone carried a hint of urgency.
“Yes!” Cheng Ye nodded.
“It seems my investigation during the day was correct… damn it, this river indeed hides a massive threat!”
Upon confirmation, Luokuke, uncharacteristically losing composure, began to speak nonsensically, “The assessment should be over; this has already surpassed what we can handle!”
“What?”
Cheng Ye faltered, what did he mean it surpassed what they could handle?
Before he could inquire further, he saw Luokuke return to the main page of the Firewood Communication, swiping up to reveal a prominent entry:
[Code: Ghost Water Cave Crab (Special Infection Source)]
[Classification: Freshwater, Biological, Environmental Range]
[Threat Level: B-]
[Latest Appearance Record: Year 13 of the New Era, Bartlett State]
[Derived Extraordinary Creature: Ghost Water Cave Crab]
[Parasitic Method: The infected individual traverses water regions (within a 50-meter radius of their activity) slowly generating “Poison Crystals,” which are translucent rhombus-shaped, with a diameter of about 1-3 millimeters and coated with a very thin viral protein membrane. Once in the water, they suspend 10-20 centimeters below the surface, appearing as micro ice spikes.
If there is direct skin contact with the Poison Crystals, humans will immediately be infected by the virus, triggering parasitism, and quickly entering the infection source outbreak phase.
If no contact occurs, the crystals will self-dissolve after 72 hours. The virus released post-dissolution, lacking a host, will rapidly deactivate, and the polluted water region will restore its original quality within 24 hours. During this period, if the contaminated water is ingested by humans, the remaining crystal shell will dissolve in gastric acid, leading to infection.]
His gaze swept rapidly to the bottom. After Cheng Ye clearly read all the information.
The Bestiary that had just recorded biological information blinked again, automatically bringing up the panel.
[Collector has detected relevant biological information, completing the data…]
[Completion finished, new Bestiary entry recorded: Ghost Water Cave Crab]
…