Scavenger's Ruthlessness, Inspection Principles!

The value of minerals depends on whether they can serve the logic of survival.

As society degenerated into a pure struggle for survival, the strategic importance of lithium ore in Xingfu City had long surpassed a series of traditional precious metals.

Gold, for example!

For the settlements, small tribes, and scattered organizations around Sanctuary City, a gold bar salvaged from the City Ruins could not change their survival predicament at all.

But a 10kwh battery produced in Xingfu City could free a hundred-person settlement from darkness for a whole month.

And lithium ore is one of the core raw materials for manufacturing High-Performance Batteries.

"How many people were on the other side, and how did you win?"

Cheng Ye did not dwell on the authenticity or value of the ore deposit, nor did he think of keeping this information to himself.

As early as when the Checkpoint was established, the high-level officials of Xingfu City had already considered this.

If Inspectors could casually pocket the discoveries of Scavengers, no one would dare to venture out of the city anymore.

Upon submitting the mineral location, the Inner City would have a very complete inquiry and on-site investigation mechanism.

It was basically impossible for anyone other than the discoverer to get through this mechanism.

And once deemed to have falsely claimed a discovery, there was only one outcome.

Execution at the public execution ground!

"There were 27 Scavengers in total. They were from Big Head Ghost's Hundred Ghosts Gang."

Ke Er grinned, revealing his molars, "Those people treated us like Two-Legged Sheep, wanting to squeeze some oil out of us. Unfortunately, the four of us grew up scrambling in the ruins since we were kids. We've seen this kind of situation many times before. We're not afraid of them, and we were prepared in advance."

He said it lightly, but his words were filled with killing intent.

Cheng Ye had never heard of the Hundred Ghosts Gang, nor did he know who Big Head Ghost was. But to break through a trap set by 27 people, defeat them, and bring back samples.

As long as he wasn't lying.

This combat strength was definitely much stronger than his own, an Inspector who had only trained for two months.

"Hmm, so they sustained Gunshot Wounds?"

"Uh..."

The smile on Ke Er's face froze instantly, and he hurriedly shook his head, "No, no. Sir, they all have Scratch Wounds on them."

"Scratch Wounds?"

"It was Mutated Beasts!"

"When we clashed with the Hundred Ghosts Gang, mutated beasts suddenly intervened, which allowed us to retreat safely."

If it were a gunshot wound, with the lithium ore deposit as collateral, there would naturally be no worry about Cheng Ye detaining them.

But a scratch wound was entirely different. If Cheng Ye insisted on deeming it an infection risk and locked them in an isolation pod, even the higher-ups of Xingfu City would have no grounds to object.

This was an ironclad rule of the checkpoint, an unshakable principle.

"Sir, we are willing to offer a meteorite we received from Qingshi Gathering Place, in addition to the Six Hundred Coins."

"Shut up!"

Cheng Ye shouted, directly cutting off the bribe Ke Er was about to offer.

No matter how good something was, one had to be alive to spend it.

Don't be fooled by the greedy people of the West Faction within the checkpoint, who seemed to let people pass upon receiving money. When it came to screening for infected, not a single one dared to be careless.

Even the simpletons in the neighboring Zone B would rather kill the wrong person than let one go.

It was precisely because of this that the reputation of the inspectors in the Buffer Zone had remained stable, never faltering.

Anyone who dared to break this rule would become the enemy of all inspectors, the public enemy of all residents in the Buffer Zone!

"You go out, and let the person with the arm injury come in."

"Yes!"

Ke Er gritted his teeth, now having to place all his hope on the Dongren inspector before him to see things clearly.

Soon, the two exchanged places.

The new Xiren took off his clothes, and Cheng Ye saw a shocking scratch wound.

From his shoulder to his forearm, the scratch was at least thirty centimeters long, the skin and flesh torn open, deep enough to see bone!

"Name?"

"La Mu Waters."

"Are you brothers?"

"Yes, sir. The four of us are biological brothers."

"Tell me, how did you get injured? Be specific. Don't tell me bedtime stories for children. I only have patience for one telling."

"Understood."

La Mu's eyes were firm, instantly realizing that his life was now in his own hands.

"It's Ant Wolves, over forty of them, and all adults."

Ant Wolves, one of the most common mutated beasts within the City Ruins, are known for their reproductive rate.

A flood of information flashed through Cheng Ye's mind, including standard descriptions from the Inspector's manual and scattered records from Survival Library books.

Their life form was similar to gray wolves. Adult individuals stood about 1.2 meters at the shoulder, possessed sharp fangs, ran extremely fast, and their carbonized keratinous fur provided effective resistance against physical attacks.

The reason for adding "Ant" before "Wolf" stemmed from their mutated reproductive system.

Female Ant Wolves went into heat once every six months. Their abdomens evolved into a giant brood sac, similar to an ant queen's, capable of laying 15-20 eggs at a time.

Wolf pups born from these eggs only needed three months to enter their growth phase and a year to reach maturity.

As long as food was abundant and there were no natural predators to restrain them, a few Ant Wolves could breed a massive pack within four to five years.

However, although Ant Wolf meat had a terrible taste, it was non-toxic and edible. This fate ensured they wouldn't proliferate wildly in the Wasteland, especially within the borders of the Eastern Great Nation.

Because for Scavengers, a dish of Ant Wolf meat would always be a main course on their celebratory tables.

"You understand the value of Lithium Ore, sir. We didn't believe a wild Lithium Ore deposit could be discovered by Scavengers and happen to fall into our knowledge. Don't Scavengers risk their lives for a chance at sudden wealth and a better life? After much deliberation, we decided to scout ahead. But before we went, we deliberately led a pack of Ant Wolves to trail our vehicle. We figured that even if there was an ambush, the Ant Wolves could disrupt their rhythm."

"And it turns out our gamble paid off!"

A hint of ruthlessness flashed in his eyes. "Beneath the exposed stripping layer on the small hillside the Scavengers mentioned, there was indeed a pegmatite-type Lithium Ore deposit on the sunny side. The ambush was as expected. But those scumbags from the Hundred Ghosts Gang absolutely didn't expect us to bring the Ant Wolves with us. They were hiding on the shady side when the wolf pack swarmed them. We took the opportunity to attack from the sunny side and took everyone down without much effort."

"However."

La Mu paused, a wry smile flashing across his face.

"We underestimated the wolf pups' appetite. Twenty-seven people weren't enough to fill them, and they turned on us, treating us as prey. These injuries were sustained while fighting the wolf pack to the death."

La Mu's narrative logic was not only clear but also extremely fluent. It was obvious he had rehearsed it repeatedly on the road.

Cheng Ye nodded slightly, not as resistant to this as other Inspectors.

He didn't think, like in movies, that "fluent" automatically meant "a lie" without any logic.

Before his Graduate Student defense, he had spent two days rehearsing in his dorm. Now that it was a matter of life and death, if the four of them hadn't straightened out their story beforehand to prevent anyone from slipping up, it would have seemed suspicious.

"Four brothers, with courage, skill, and brains."

"Only people like this are worthy of discovering a priceless Lithium Ore deposit."

Cheng Ye sighed inwardly.

Heroes in the world were as numerous as carp crossing a river. Walking in the Wasteland from now on, one truly couldn't underestimate anyone.

After all, who among those who struggled in the City Ruins wasn't a ruthless character who had licked blood from the tip of a blade?

"Report numbers."

"37.7/133/22"

La Mu responded in a deep voice, but his heart sank slightly. This data was already at the edge of abnormal.

As long as the body temperature broke 38 degrees, the inspector in front of them could throw them directly into the Isolation Pod without any reason.

"Let the injured person come in, the two of you support him."

Cheng Ye said calmly, pointing expressionlessly at the corner of the Quarantine Zone, "You, stand in the corner and don't move around."

"Yes, sir."

The isolation door slid open, and the two men helped the injured person in nimbly. Ke Er helped the injured person take off his clothes.

Good heavens.

Compared to the injury on La Mu's arm, the wound on this person's right leg was truly shocking.

From the calf to the root of the thigh, large areas of bite marks revealed torn flesh. Even if they were sent for rescue immediately, it was doubtful whether the leg could be saved from amputation.

"Sir."

"Names?"

"Herl Waters, Ximo Waters."

"Report numbers."

Without an opportunity for further explanation, Ke Er gritted his teeth and had to help measure and report the numbers.

"36.9/102/18"

"38.7/162/26"

Herl's data was still normal, but Ximo's three dangerous values made even a dog shake its head.

"Sir." Ke Er opened his mouth, but didn't know where to start.

At this moment, begging Cheng Ye to be lenient would be no different from asking him to violate the inspector's principles.

Even though everyone understood that abnormal data was likely a bodily immune response triggered by severe injuries.

"Sir, take me, I'm too badly injured, I'm beyond saving."

Ximo gritted his teeth, blood foam seeping from the corner of his mouth. "I beg you, for the sake of the Lithium Ore, for the sake of us fighting for Xingfu City, spare these three!"

"What nonsense are you talking about!"

Ke Er's face changed drastically. He grabbed his shoulder, "Didn't we four brothers promise to live and die together? We finally got a chance to turn things around, no one can abandon the others!"

"Xi Mo, shut up. If someone's going to be locked up, it'll be me."

Fine.

It seems I have to retract my judgment that these four brothers have brains.

Cheng Ye sighed silently, thinking that art comes from life. Although he wasn't as stupid as the interrogators in movies and TV shows, the fools being interrogated were real.

Whether to lock someone up or not was indeed up to the Inspector. Even if Xi Mo's three data points were abnormal, he had the right not to isolate him.

But if he only locked up one and let the other three go, that would be a blatant violation of regulations.

Unless these four were Inner City owners with higher-level permissions backing them, if he dared to do so, he would be suspended and investigated the very next second.

Bang.

After firing a shot into the sky, the world finally became much quieter.

The annoying melodrama was forcibly interrupted. The four brothers froze instantly, the buzzing echo of the gunshot the only thing left in their minds.

Putting away his Inspector-issue pistol, Cheng Ye stood up and gestured towards the corner with his chin:

"Leave him. The rest of you, go to the corner and squat."

ps: We've already climbed to second place in Sci-Fi New Releases! We've also entered the top fifty on the overall charts! Awesome, thank you all, my esteemed readers, for your strong support!

ps2: It's the weekend! Wishing everyone a happy weekend. Don't forget your Follow-up Reading!~