A chess piece has its limitations, but it also hides unique advantages.
For instance, right now, Cheng Ye could simply dust off his hands and walk away, leaving the tough problem to Ding Yishan and Harlin.
"Who could have guessed that in less than a week, my strength would undergo such earth-shattering changes?"
The thought of Ding Yishan's stunned reaction upon hearing the news made Cheng Ye feel incredibly exhilarated.
The thrill of facing challenges head-on and breaking through was truly captivating.
No wonder so many historical figures loved to dance between two factions, reveling in the excitement of walking a knife's edge.
"Of course, I definitely won't be jumping back and forth. I'll find a chance to sit tight and not let anyone push me out."
On his way back, Cheng Ye took a detour into a roadside bar, spending four Happiness Coins to buy two bags of industrial water beer to celebrate his dramatic turnaround in survival prospects.
At the bottom rung of the buffer zone, cheap brown liquid was the most affordable source of fun.
It cost the same as bland nutrient paste but offered a completely different taste.One gulp, and the icy liquid mixed with bubbles washed away the dryness in his throat.
It had to be said, the developers of this wasteland world truly understood the needs of the lower class.
Though the water beer's flavor was artificially concocted and its ingredients might be harmful, in terms of taste, the roasted malt aroma mixed with a subtle bitterness from hops completely outshone the craft beers of some modern small breweries.
It even had that legendary layered sensation.
Gulp, gulp.
After downing one bag, just as Cheng Ye was about to tackle the second, his peripheral vision caught something at the street corner.
Uncle Dong was walking over, chatting and laughing with a few people, his steps light and his face showing a rare, relaxed smile.
Especially when he looked at the middle-aged woman beside him, his gaze held an unexpectedly tender warmth.
"Is Uncle Dong experiencing a second spring?"
How wonderful!
Cheng Ye raised an eyebrow, feeling both surprised and amused.
Could this be the wish he had mentioned before?
Before the applause, Cheng Ye had only intended to boost Uncle Dong's presence, never expecting it would spark a "riot" across the entire audience.
Fortunately, it seemed to have caused no negative impact, so it could be considered a memorable moment for Uncle Dong.
After all, among the lecturers these past two days, he was the only one who got the entire room of inspectors to applaud in unison.
As the group passed by not far away, Cheng Ye finished the remaining bag of water beer.
Seeing it was only five in the afternoon and still bright out, he decided to head straight to the training ground, four stops away from the Grand Theater.
Having acquired the Iron Body talent, he needed actual combat to verify how much his strength had grown.
If Liu Bi were around, he would be the perfect sparring partner, able to easily test Cheng Ye's limits.
But since he wasn't, the training ground had sparring personnel available for a few Happiness Coins as payment.
"Sir, the bus needs five people."
"Forget it."
It was just four stops, and Cheng Ye wasn't so extravagant as to spend 10 coins to charter a ride.
When he thought about it, his expenses these days had been considerable.
Reinforcing his door cost 600, nutrient paste used up over 300, and with his changing physique, he had bought three sets of clothes on his way out at noon, each costing 40 coins.
"Good thing inspectors earn money quickly, or I'd really be eating through my savings."
Not to mention the trainee inspector's monthly salary, at the rapid checkpoint, skimming a little off the top could easily bring in a few hundred coins a day.
Jogging along the way served as a warm-up.
Ten minutes later, Cheng Ye's pace slowed as his gaze fell on the greenhouse-like training ground nearby.
In terms of architectural style, it was quite ordinary, but it was actually the largest structure in the buffer zone, spanning a total of 500 acres across its front and back fields.
Its full name was the "Blood Dragon Alliance Training Ground."
"Blood Dragon" referred to the Blood Dragon Legion, while "Alliance" pointed to the inner city's United Arsenal.
The first time Liu Bi brought him here, he mentioned that this place wasn't just for the Blood Dragon Legion to select promising recruits from ordinary people; it was also where the arsenal tested certain weapons.
In the past, when Cheng Ye came here, he always went straight to the back field, which was closed to private individuals and reserved for official personnel.
But today, needing a sparring partner, he took a detour and entered the front field, open to everyone, for the first time.
This season, it was indeed quite deserted.
Recruitment mainly happened in the first half of the year, from late February to mid-April in spring.
After the recruitment season, the next busy period was when the factory district shut down and workers returned.
At that time, the Blood Dragon Legion would start a new round of recruitment, selecting promising candidates through tests and beginning training early to prepare for potential infected tides in winter.
Other than that, the training ground was nearly empty most of the time.
For one, the fees here were steep: a single session cost ten coins, with extra charges for using special equipment.
Secondly, the cost-benefit of training was simply too low. It consumed energy with little short-term payoff, so most people would rather spend their money on a shotgun that could make "all beings equal."
"Huh?"
At a cross-shaped intersection, as Cheng Ye stepped onto one end, someone approached from the other.
Both seemed vaguely familiar, and after a moment's thought, they simultaneously recalled each other's identity.
"Captain Miao?"
Cheng Ye greeted with a smile.
Miao Yang froze for a second, clearly not expecting Cheng Ye to initiate conversation, and managed only a strained smile.
"Inspector, sir!"
If anyone had the most complicated feelings during the applause for Uncle Dong earlier, it was undoubtedly him.
Though the lecturers who followed received no applause, the stark contrast between his and Uncle Dong's receptions, coming one after the other, would unsettle anyone.
And as the instigator who started the applause, Cheng Ye's act of rallying the crowd naturally caught Miao Yang's full attention.
"Here to train?"
"Yeah," Miao Yang replied dully, not out of aloofness but because he couldn't find a topic to discuss with Cheng Ye.
He was a retired veteran, while Cheng Ye was a revered inspector in the buffer zone.
Flattery seemed unnecessary, and building a connection lacked a suitable pretext.
Besides, he couldn't bring himself to grovel.
The two walked toward the main entrance, one behind the other. Cheng Ye, unbothered by any sense of class difference, casually asked, "I heard you talk about how hydrophilic infected entities, after parasitizing, can amplify human emotions, especially fear, which grows stronger with time. Is that a unique case or a common phenomenon?"
"Hm?"
Miao Yang's steps halted abruptly, and he instinctively said, "You listened?"
"Of course I listened. Didn't you do a great job?"
Cheng Ye paused, then said awkwardly, "It's just that I was still digesting what you said when you left the stage, so I didn't get a chance to clap for you."
"Uh."
Miao Yang initially thought Cheng Ye was joking, but after confirming his earnest expression, he sighed quietly. "I thought no one cared about that old stuff. Amplifying emotions isn't unique, but it's not universal either. From the cases I've seen and experienced, it mostly applies to animal-based infection sources."
"Elaborate."
"There are three main types of hydrophilic infection sources. The first is contaminated aquatic plants, often characterized by their eerie nature, like the Deathwhisper Tentacle, a mutated spring grass that can revive the dead."
"The second type is fusion monsters, which thrive in rainy environments. Take the Thousand-Leaf Plague Grass, for example; it needs water to keep growing."
"The third type is the animal-based infection sources I mentioned, like Nightmare Goldfish, Terror Shrimp, or Rampage Fish. These affect human consciousness, amplifying certain emotions, with fear, bloodlust, and greed being the easiest to magnify."
When Miao Yang started, he kept it brief, sticking to the main points.
But after a couple of sentences, he noticed Cheng Ye listening with intense focus, occasionally nodding in affirmation.
So, he gradually became more detailed, even citing a personal experience.
"My Blood Dragon Legion was mainly responsible for sweeping the areas around Happiness City."
"In New Era Year 17, a severe flood hit the Linshui Basin, breaching some dikes and drawing a tide-level infection, mostly hydrophilic types. My Thunder Moon Squad was tasked with clearing them out, but that mission nearly wiped us out."
Worried that a long story might bore Cheng Ye, Miao Yang spoke quickly, focusing on key details.
In New Era Year 17, human understanding of infection sources was still in its infancy.
Most hydrophilic infection sources were encountered for the first time, and their bizarre abilities were largely unknown.
The Thunder Moon Squad faced the Terror Shrimp he had mentioned earlier.
Once this infection source parasitized a human, it triggered inner fear, gradually causing hallucinations that made teammates mistake each other for infected entities.
Worse, once fear spread, it became a breeding ground for the Terror Shrimp's parasitism.
In less than half a day, three members of the squad were parasitized.
"Eight people, three parasitized. Captain Miao, and you still made it back alive?!"
Cheng Ye was shocked.
According to the inspector's handbook, if two members of an eight-person squad were parasitized, it was essentially a total loss.
If more than two were infected, survival was nearly impossible.
"It was luck. I discovered the creature's weakness."
Cheng Ye's astonishment pleased Miao Yang, who grinned, showing his teeth. "Amplifying emotions has its pros and cons. If it amplifies their fear, it can also amplify other emotions."
"I saw those three cowering, too scared to move forward, even terrified to check the riverbank. I was so furious I chewed them out, and lo and behold, I made two of them cry, exposing the Terror Shrimp in the process."
"So, when dealing with hydrophilic infection sources, if you or your teammates show emotional irregularities, you should immediately use extreme methods to induce a test?"
"You're sharp, getting the point right away."
Miao Yang nodded. "But there are exceptions. Some infected entities stay dormant during parasitism and only activate in specific conditions. Take Rampage Fish, for example: it only affects emotions and enters its second-stage outbreak when the host walks over 20,000 steps in a single day."
"Conversely, if the host stays completely still for seven days, the parasitism fails. Or there's an even simpler method, just break both legs of the infected entity, and the parasitism collapses."
"Huh, it works like that?"
Cheng Ye raised an eyebrow, realizing the infection source knowledge in the inspector's handbook was far too superficial.
It focused entirely on identifying whether someone was infected, never mentioning how to handle or treat parasitism in humans.
"Stop calling me 'sir.' It sounds weird."
Having gained valuable information, Cheng Ye was in high spirits. "My name's Cheng Ye. Call me Inspector Cheng or just my name."
In a great mood, he felt today was exceptionally lucky; everything had gone smoothly since morning.
Far easier than the past two months of fumbling blindly.
"Inspector Cheng, please."
Miao Yang didn't dare use his first name. He stepped forward, opened the training ground's plastic-steel main door, and gestured for Cheng Ye to enter.
The two walked in, one behind the other.
In terms of interior style, the front and back fields weren't too different.
Both were large open spaces divided into four areas: equipment zone, training zone, combat zone, and shooting zone.
"Head Trainer Miao, this is..."
A burly man at the entrance saw Miao Yang bringing someone in and asked curiously.
"This is Inspector Cheng. Remember that, and don't get it wrong."
"Ah, Inspector... Inspector, sir!" The man stiffened, quickly bowing and greeting.
Cheng Ye waved casually, and as he approached the front desk, he couldn't help but ask, "Captain Miao, he called you 'Head Trainer.' Don't tell me you own this training ground?"
"No way."
Miao Yang quickly shook his head. "This is the Blood Dragon Legion's asset. I'm just a retired veteran scraping by here. Don't mind him calling me 'Head Trainer'; I'm just in charge of equipment. There are dozens of 'head trainers' like me here."
"I see..."
Cheng Ye nodded slightly, understanding the training ground's internal structure.
The Blood Dragon Legion set up the training ground to recruit talent and, likely, to provide for retired veterans with meritorious service.
"So, Inspector Cheng, what brings you here today?"
The staff wore earpieces, and the front desk consultant already knew Cheng Ye's identity from Miao Yang's introduction.
"I want a sparring partner. I usually train in the back field, but I recently had a breakthrough and want to test if my combat skills have improved."
"Sparring partner?"
Before the staff could respond, Miao Yang, standing behind Cheng Ye, hesitated briefly and then asked with a lack of confidence, "Inspector Cheng, would I do?"