Increase information level?

Cheng Ye's thoughts flashed as he hurriedly carried the starfish into his room with the tweezers and kicked the door shut.

The reason this starfish was named "Stand-In Starfish" was something Liu Bi had mentioned before. During the outbreak period, human consciousness would be sealed and stored in tumors, while the infection source controlled the body to perform instinctive hunting actions.

Now that the body was gone and the infection source had returned to this container, it would expel the human consciousness inside. With nowhere for the consciousness to go, could it be absorbed by the collector?

"Absorb!"

[Absorbing... Successfully supplemented information level: 0.37]

[Enable automatic absorption?]

[Note: After enabling, no contact required. Simply staying near dissipating consciousness for two seconds will trigger absorption]

Really 0.37?

Cheng Ye was shocked. This was comparable to the reward he got when he found the Dragon Force Embryonic Form!

"Enable."

[Successfully enabled!]

This was truly an unexpected windfall.

Looking at the lines of prompts popping up on the interface, Cheng Ye switched to his personal page to confirm once more.

The numbers had indeed increased correctly. His information level had reached 7.47.

Based on the remaining gap, if each infection source could provide this value, he would only need...

"Exactly two hundred and fifty infected!"

"Not difficult!"

The aftershock of killing was suddenly dispersed by the massive gain provided by the infection source.

Cheng Ye took a deep breath and slammed his palm hard against the floor. The killing intent accumulated in his chest completely dissipated with this strike.

Speaking of which, it was strange. Before taking action, he had felt somewhat apprehensive, but now he only felt an irrepressible satisfaction in his heart.

If he had really let that boss run away with those two young men, he would never sleep well again.

"Indeed, I'm also becoming somewhat wasteland-ized."

Cheng Ye stood up, tore open two more nutrition paste packets to drink, and unloaded the iron body armor to charge it.

He had originally thought it would take months, even half a year, to accumulate enough information level for the probationary period. He never expected the Stand-In Starfish to become an unexpected turning point.

If he could use this opportunity to pass the probationary period, he would not only unlock Level 3 skill search permissions, but also significantly reduce the search conditions for Level 2 skills.

Not to mention anything else, the difficulty of gathering the four forces would be greatly reduced.

"I was still considering whether to go out and kill a wave earlier. Now that I can accumulate information level, it seems there's no room for hesitation."

As this thought arose...

Rumble.

The floorboards shook violently. An explosion had occurred somewhere.

Through the window, he could see thick smoke rolling up from the direction of the giant wall in the distance, but it was quickly extinguished by the increasingly fierce raindrops.

"The area Brother B chose for me back then looked shabby at first glance, but actually had hidden advantages. It should be one of the most stable areas around."

Cheng Ye stood quietly by the window. Within his line of sight, several blocks were filled with moving figures.

Most were fleeing figures, with only scattered groups who opened fire when they encountered each other. They probably had accumulated grudges in daily life and were now taking advantage of the infection tide's arrival to settle scores.

The most "lively" place was the flea market two blocks away, which was the old pedestrian street next to Tianyuan Mall.

The pedestrian street was about seven hundred meters long.

Both sides were old single-story houses left from before, with many people having illegally built three or four additional floors on top.

Combined with the winding internal alleys, muzzle flashes flickered in the darkness. At least several hundred people were engaged in intense firefights.

This was probably not just revenge seeking, but also preemptively clearing infection threats.

Thump, thump thump.

Again?

Cheng Ye frowned, thinking he must install a notice board at his door later.

If there was something to discuss, just call out directly. All this door knocking instantly brought back images of those three men, making him want to take action.

"Friend, could you give us your defense communicator contact number so we can watch out for each other?"

The middle-aged man steeled himself and shouted outside the door.

After cleaning up just now, the three had returned to their room to discuss and immediately felt that Cheng Ye was a ruthless person who spoke little but acted decisively.

If they could bring this killer who made decisions so decisively into the fifth floor's watch group, he would undoubtedly be their strongest combat guarantee.

"No need."

This time Cheng Ye didn't remain silent to play the expert, but spoke directly in a deep voice, "When the infection tide arrives shortly, I'll clear the threats in this building, then go outside."

"Ah?"

The middle-aged man was startled and quickly stepped back two paces, "Alright, alright, pretend I never said anything!"

However, two minutes later.

Thump, thump thump.

When the knocking sounded again, the middle-aged man had already prepared his speech and was about to speak.

But despite all his calculations, he never expected the security door to suddenly be pulled open, with a massive black shadow looming over him.

"Ah?"

Instinctively, he retreated several steps.

If Cheng Ye hadn't grabbed him, he would have fallen through the broken window opening, giving the first-floor residents another dose of intensity.

"What is it?"

Being looked down upon from above, the middle-aged man's Adam's apple rolled heavily twice, "If you're going out, could the three of us follow you?"

"Follow me?"

Cheng Ye turned to look. Several door cracks opened in the distance, with multiple gazes peeking out.

Seeing his gaze sweep over them, two middle-aged men came out with sheepish smiles.

They were all neighbors he had encountered in the water room on ordinary days.

However, in the current drastically changed environment, the three didn't dare connect the usually meek Cheng Ye with this massive figure wrapped in battle armor.

Cheng Ye also found it somewhat difficult to connect the three with their usual selves, because at this moment, the excitement and enthusiasm on their faces didn't look like they were going to deal with infected, but rather rushing toward a long-awaited dream.

"You three..."

Cheng Ye was somewhat stunned, "Aren't you afraid of death?"

"What's to be afraid of? If we don't kill all the infected, how can we go to work tomorrow?"

The middle-aged man still being held by Cheng Ye said urgently, "My name is Huang Sheng. I used to be part of Happiness City's Pioneer Corps. After the corps disbanded, I joined the Works Department."

"Don't worry, I won't drag you down, and I've prepared protective gear and weapons."

"Where are they?"

Cheng Ye let the man down, suddenly realizing that his strength had already exceeded ordinary people by so much.

Not just strength and technique, but even courage and temperament had been completely transformed.

Even he hadn't noticed that when facing danger, he had become so calm.

"I'll get them!"

Huang Sheng's room was just four units away from his.

He rushed in and in the blink of an eye came out carrying a set of acrylic protective gear.

As for the helmet, it wasn't the same style as Cheng Ye's protective helmet, but rather a football helmet. It would be sufficient to prevent contact with infected.

"What about you two?"

Cheng Ye nodded slightly, looking at the other two men.

The two middle-aged men immediately understood, their faces lighting up with joy as they rushed into their rooms and quickly brought out their respective crude equipment.

"Thirteen years ago, I was fooled into selling rotten medicine for two months and still regret it. If I had dared to show righteous anger then, I would have made it to management level long ago!"

The other quickly agreed, "We only have small handguns. If you don't mind, the three of us can help you keep watch. Afterward, you can distribute some contribution points as you see fit."

This...

Cheng Ye fell silent.

The people in Happiness City all seemed to have some mental issues.

However, he then remembered Elder Song's words: groups rarely produce leaders on their own. Someone needs to lead for them to form combat effectiveness.

Without him, these three men wouldn't dare venture out of the residential complex to fight infected, let alone step out of their rooms to clear the fifth floor. They would probably need repeated psychological preparation.

But with him leading, the three immediately became bold and dared to charge out with him.

Seeing his silence, Huang Sheng and the other two became somewhat anxious, their previously passionate mood becoming subdued again.

However, they didn't interrupt Cheng Ye's thinking, quietly standing in place waiting.

"Thirteen years ago, how did you get through it?"

"Me?" Seeing Cheng Ye look over, Huang Sheng smiled bitterly, "I was with the Pioneer Corps driving trucks then, helping build Red Leaf Bay port. I happened to avoid the Nightmare Parasites."

"Zhu Xiang."

Another man spoke up, "I sold medicine, um, sold that sleep spirit. The Medical Department people fooled me, saying it was contributing to the buffer zone. I sold it for free for two months, then was treated as a drug dealer and locked up in isolation for a month and a half. I got beaten every day inside."

That was tragic. Cheng Ye couldn't help but click his tongue.

"Wu Zhihong." The last man continued, "I was part of the Recovery Faction, targeting those bastards secretly spreading Nightmare Parasites. Regrettably, those people ran too fast. Couldn't kill a single one. I've regretted it for years."

"Don't any of you have families?"

Cheng Ye asked again. All three shook their heads simultaneously, complex expressions crossing their faces, hiding various stories.

"Alright then. If you want to follow me out, you must completely obey orders."

"No problem. As long as you don't send us to die, we'll do whatever you say."

They didn't know why they trusted Cheng Ye so much. Perhaps it was because this young man had injected new vitality into the lifeless electronics factory complex since moving in?

Anyway, this tube building had never before had someone ruthless enough to blow off heads and throw people out windows.

Huang Sheng seemed excited.

"You create the team. With team monitoring, we wouldn't dare violate the rules."

"Mm."

Cheng Ye pulled out his badge and swiped it across the defense communicator. This so-called team module was somewhat like WeChat's face-to-face group creation function.

After selecting create, the interface displayed an identification code that others could input to join the team.

"Identification code 175107."

The three immediately pulled out their defense communicators.

This was their first time doing such a thing. Wu Zhihong and Zhu Xiang crowded around the screen and tapped several times but couldn't find the entry point. Huang Sheng was quick-eyed and finished entering the code first, then hurriedly guided the other two:

"Hey, it's here, click here."

"Mm, join in. The one showing the inspector title above, that's it, that's it."

After verbally guiding them a couple of sentences, Huang Sheng froze.

Wu Zhihong and Zhu Xiang hadn't reacted yet, but when they entered the identification code and saw the bright characters "Inspector," they also froze.

All three stood rigid in place.

They looked at the defense communicator, then at Cheng Ye, with somewhat bewildered expressions.

"You, you're an... Inspector?"

"Don't I look like one?"

Cheng Ye couldn't help but shake his head, "If there's nothing else, go back and rest."

"Sixteen minutes left."

The security door clanged shut, and the bloody smell it carried made all three shiver simultaneously.

Not until several seconds later did their three pairs of eyes suddenly meet, and indescribable wild joy instantly overwhelmed all other expressions:

"Inspector, this Cheng Ye, Inspector Cheng?"

"Incredible, we actually have an inspector living here. He's so young."

"What's wrong with being young? Young is good!"

Huang Sheng excitedly slapped his thigh, lowering his voice, "Young people want to achieve great things. In our Pioneer Corps, everyone who got promoted in recent years was under thirty-five."

"But wasn't the Pioneer Corps recruitment standard under thirty-five?"

"Screw off!"

The three couldn't help but be excited.

This broken tube building at the electronics factory had indeed housed inspectors over a decade ago, but they'd never heard of any coming here to "suffer" afterward.

As the highest-ranking people in the buffer zone, the authority inspectors could wield was unimaginable.

For example...

A drone flew up, its camera below scanning over the three men.

The defense communicator then announced:

"Inspector Cheng Ye has established a team. Huang Sheng, Zhu Xiang, and Wu Zhihong have been included in the team."

"Inspector Cheng Ye has activated the contribution assessment mechanism. Individual actions will be fully recorded by drones and submitted to the supercomputer for reward distribution based on contribution values!"

This was one of the benefits of joining an inspector's team.

No need to compete for kills. The drone would upload records to the supercomputer afterward for automatic contribution value assessment.

Whether shooting, cleaning battlefields, or providing rear support, every action would be given meaning!

"This inspector status seems to have many other helpful features to develop?"

Watching the wild joy on the three men's faces in the video feed, Cheng Ye realized the advantages of this mechanism.

Under the influence of special rewards and coordination mechanisms, this unity and efficiency was quite remarkable.

Without any coercive measures, strangers could be united together to form combat effectiveness.

Moreover, since there was no infection, they naturally belonged to the same faction with no interest conflicts.

With drones providing harvest and rule assessment, when infection tides arrived, as long as an inspector had the intention, they could assemble a team of hundreds or even thousands at any time.

"What's the purpose of this? Why give inspectors such great authority?"

Cheng Ye frowned in thought, only able to connect it to idealistic institutional experiments.

But regardless of the original intention, this authority was undoubtedly a godsend for his current situation.

Ding.

The alarm sounded again. The screen showed 11:40, with only one minute left until the outbreak.

He looked up at the humidity gauge on the wall. The needle was pointing at the 99% mark, with fine water droplets condensed on the glass surface.

"Is it coming?"

Gunshots had now completely swept through the entire buffer zone.

To wasteland people, this was the death knell.

But falling on Cheng Ye's ears, it strangely evoked the nostalgic feeling of firecrackers going off on New Year's Eve when he returned home for the holidays.

Suddenly, the numbers on the screen jumped forward again.

Cheng Ye had thought that aside from the intermittent thunderclaps, there could be no more clamorous sounds.

But he was wrong. When 11:41 arrived, a piercing shriek suddenly tore through the air, shooting up to the clouds and instantly drowning out all other noise.

The great sound is silent.

Cheng Ye felt dizzy and disoriented, his eardrums torn by invisible pressure, as if his head had been punched hard, with a sweet metallic taste surging in his throat.

In the ringing in his ears, he vaguely heard low whooshing sounds from outside the window. More than twenty fire meteors with trailing tails flew out from the direction of the inner city.

What were those?

BOOM!

The fire meteors crashed into an open area in the southern suburbs, creating blinding light orbs, but producing no shockwaves.

Almost simultaneously, the piercing shriek stopped abruptly, as if someone had grabbed it by the throat.

[Emergency broadcast: The fusion-stage mother source codenamed "Stand-In Starfish" has been completely annihilated!]

[Humidity has reached target levels. Mother source suppression has failed. Infected are about to enter outbreak stage. All residents please prepare!]