Chapter 661: Chapter 225: A Peaceful Night, the Inspector’s Duty! (Part 2) In the wilderness where the crisis has not yet been resolved, having such a rest is considered a luxury.
He walked to the searchlight, pressed the switch, and slowly directed the beam towards the riverbank.
The river was so calm there wasn’t a ripple, the pebbles on the shore were clearly visible, and there was no sign yet of Crab-men coming ashore.
Raising his head to look at the sky, the clouds weren’t dense, and through the scattered cloud gaps, a few faint stars could be seen. It seemed there was no need to worry about a heavy rain.
The unexpected tranquility made him unsure whether there would be any risk during the night.
"Did the Crab-men not come ashore tonight because I severely injured the Demon Eye Sponge, and it retreated after losing four-fifths of its tentacles? Or did the petrification curses I released last have an effect?" Cheng Ye felt a bit more at ease.
For now, there was no need to worry about not having Heart-Protecting Fire, since he couldn’t see a row of Crab-men standing by the riverbank.
Based on the intelligence provided by the checkpoint, and adding the exploration during the day, actively undergoing spiritual contamination, he had managed to clarify the core logic of spiritual contamination:
This thing is essentially a means for Immortal Objects to protect themselves, rather than actively harming humans, Infected Bodies, or infection sources within the domain.
It acts like a signal tower, rudely dividing multiple "communication channels."
For instance, the human channel.
For instance, the Infected Body channel.
Before breaking through cognitive barriers, different channels are in completely "isolated" states, meaning that humans cannot see Infected Bodies, and Infected Bodies cannot perceive humans, let alone communicate.
And breaking through cognitive barriers, for now, seems to have only two methods:
The first is like Luokuke and Garcia, first accessing the human channel, then forcibly switching to the Infected Body channel through infection source parasitization. This way, one can grasp the cognition of both channels and no longer be affected by the unseen barriers.
Luokuke was able to survive the contamination tide last night because the targeted contamination tide erupted only against the human channel, and he promptly switched to the Infected Body channel, exempting himself from the wave impact.
The second is spiritual contamination entering the second stage, which means the channels are completely chaotic.
Possibly being in the human channel one second, then automatically switching to the Infected Body channel the next, and then switching back, with no pattern at all.
And the spiritual contamination of this Immortal Object is different from the Guardian Extraordinary. Its ultimate goal is not control but to destroy the cognition of all creatures, turning them into primitive vassals without self-awareness.
In simple terms, it’s to provide Life Energy as "batteries" for the Immortal Objects.
Theoretically, as long as the domain of the Magic Conch unfolds without actively provoking the Demon Eye Sponge, Crab-men will not easily come ashore for slaughter.
Because according to the "logic" of the Immortal Objects, as long as humans in Dapo Town stay long enough in the domain, they will automatically lose cognition and voluntarily consume Poison Water Crystals, becoming new Infected Bodies, without needing Crab-men to intervene.
And humans need to contain the Magic Conch before this "cognition collapse" node, to completely eliminate the influence of spiritual contamination.
Thinking of this, Cheng Ye sank into the Spiritual Body Space for another look.
He didn’t know if it was influenced by the flame, but the Shrinking Earth Giant Louse was also curled up inside the space, snoring away.
After becoming an Infected Body, even without the protection of Heart-Protecting Fire, he could still gain cognition of both channels.
He could see both humans and Crab-men and would not be affected by the contamination.
"No monster siege, even that counts as a blessing in disguise."
Cheng Ye carefully scanned a few more circles before taking a long breath and closing the mask as he descended the watchtower.
According to previous weather data, the rain belt had gradually shifted out of the Happiness City’s range, and there wouldn’t be any more continuous heavy rains or drizzles like the previous period.
The area around Chuan City was about to enter a season of clear autumn skies, and sporadic light rain, as it was now, was normal weather.
However, the impression left by the previous heavy rains was too profound.
So much so that Cheng Ye had an inexplicable premonition all the time, as if another major disaster might accompany extreme weather.
Descending the watchtower, Cheng Ye had just steadied himself when he saw Wang Kang leading the patrol team back from the alley beside the supermarket.
The team members held standard knives and walked lightly, clearly to avoid disturbing the resting residents.
"Brother Cheng, was it you using the searchlight on the tower just now?"
"Yes." Cheng Ye nodded, first instructing the patrol team, "Two of you go up to change shifts, keep an eye on the direction of the riverbank, blow the whistle immediately if there’s anything unusual."
After two people responded and went up the tower, he and Wang Kang sat down on a stone step to the side.
"Why not get more sleep? It seems it won’t rain tonight, so you can relax for now." Wang Kang couldn’t help but comment, seeing the slight blue under his eyes.
"I’ve had enough sleep, and it won’t be too late to catch up after confirming there’s no danger later in the night."
Cheng Ye took out several packets of blue Nutrient Paste from his backpack, handed one to Wang Kang, and opened one himself, gulping it down.
While in the Buffer Zone, he thought it was tasteless, but in the wilderness, its convenience became apparent.
No need to set up pots and cook, no need to waste time processing ingredients, just tear it open when hungry to replenish stamina, saving a lot of trouble.
After finishing the Nutrient Paste, Cheng Ye noticed Wang Kang’s gaze flickering as if he wanted to say something but didn’t speak up.
Without pressing for answers, he softly said, "Don’t rush. Everyone’s been busy all day today, I’ll go check on the residents and say a few words."
"Alright!" Wang Kang immediately nodded.
Standing up, Cheng Ye fastened his mask and first headed to the outermost residential unit number one.
Most of the people here were couples, and the corner beds were allocated to the young and strong.
The night was deep, standing outside the door, he could faintly hear the even breathing inside, permeating with deep sleepiness.