Wasteland Border Inspector

Chapter 189: Explosive Status Rise, Inspector Cheng's Small Step!

Recruitment began at 2:30 PM.

Four hours later, recruitment ended at 6:30 PM.

However, the time had just passed 5:40 when contracting point number 32's recruitment work was officially declared complete. All five hundred spots had been distributed.

Among the thousand-plus people still waiting in line, there was no shortage of families who looked honest and hardworking at first glance. They all showed expressions of regret at this moment.

Many children even wiped away tears, watching Cheng Ye's side with longing eyes, looking pitiful.

"Such a pity." Cheng Ye stood up and stuffed the empty badge box under the table, "If we could freely recruit people, we could set up Dapo Town's core team in a single day."

But there was no help for it.

Good things were always in demand. Up to now, not a single inspector could put on a display like his.

At most, they'd call some cheerleaders to help with promotion. Who else had directly set up sample houses, brought three hundred militiamen for support, and invited three veteran pioneers from the Legion to teach survival skills?

"Big Dragon, tell everyone not to leave yet. I have something to distribute."

Cheng Ye quickly sat down at the typewriter. His fingers flew, and he soon typed out a line of text, formatting and printing a hundred copies.

The paper had only one sentence:

[The bearer of this slip will enjoy priority approval rights when participating in subsequent Dapo Town contracting recruitment]

"Link, please cut these slips... Oh right, do you have a stamp?"

Link was stunned and quickly shook his head.

He was just a minor office clerk. How would he have something as high-class as a stamp that represented identity?

This reaction made Cheng Ye secretly chagrined. He had planned so many details yet missed this one thing.

However, just as he was pondering whether to add some unique patterns as markers, a Western inspector from awning 31 suddenly came over, "Inspector Cheng, I have one here."

He pulled out a lipstick-like cylindrical object from his pocket. Opening the cap, there was a pattern carved at the bottom, along with two characters:

Colin.

"Let me introduce myself, Colin Ashton."

As Colin spoke, he extended his hand. Though he was a Westerner, his appearance wasn't typical. Instead, he looked somewhat like an old-world ethnic minority, with a pair of particularly striking, spirited eyes.

"Hello, Cheng Ye."

Cheng Ye reached out to shake his hand. After passing the stamp to Link, he simply walked over to awning 31 and also greeted Colin's partner, 'Dale.'

Both were second-term inspectors assigned to Nanzhuang Town, which wasn't fiercely competitive. Like Dapo Town, it was a two-group competition.

If it weren't for Cheng Ye's side causing such a big commotion and diverting the flow of people, their competition with number 17 would have been quite uncertain.

Now that the situation had reversed, number 31's recruitment was very healthy. The two had also emulated him by recruiting some families and could rank in the top five among all the awnings.

For the upcoming on-site, real combat evaluation, they had definitely gained a huge advantage right from the start!

"Thank you, Inspector Cheng."

Dale's Mandarin was very standard, with a familiar broadcaster's cadence, "If we can pass the evaluation, I hope our two satellite cities can maintain close exchanges in the future."

Cheng Ye was stunned, then immediately searched his memory for the source of this voice. Surprised, he said, "Did you broadcast the evening news?"

"Oh, Inspector Cheng can even recognize my voice?" Dale couldn't help but laugh, "It's both a personal hobby and work assigned by the station. For news involving the Inspection Station, they often have me broadcast it to prevent the radio station staff from saying the wrong things or distorting the meaning."

"Oh, I've heard so much about you!" Cheng Ye quickly extended his hand, and the two shook again.

Since the Void Mist dispersed, he occasionally listened to the Little Sun channel for entertainment, but he hadn't missed a single serious evening news broadcast. He often adjusted his plans based on information from the news.

Hearing that standard broadcaster's tone, he had thought it was an Easterner. He hadn't expected it to be another case of stereotypical thinking, that there were actually Western inspectors moonlighting as broadcasters.

However, what was surprising was that after their hands clasped together, Dale also looked at him with admiration and said, "Inspector Cheng, actually, the one who should say 'I've heard so much about you' is me."

"Hm?" Cheng Ye raised an eyebrow.

"Those songs you sang... whether the ones that spread from the inner city or the recently viral 'Old Boy,' they've all already spread to other super sanctuary cities in the Xinghuo Alliance!"

"What?!" Cheng Ye's heart skipped a beat.

Good heavens, his spur-of-the-moment plagiarism really shouldn't be spreading everywhere. Would someone dig it up and report him?

But thinking again, even if it was discovered to be an old-world song, so what?

Who in this wasteland didn't love flipping through old-world magazines and digging up old-world information?

A song from over ninety years ago emerging really wasn't that unusual.

"Next time there's a Happiness City anniversary celebration, maybe we'll have a chance to share the stage."

Dale added with a smile, "In the future, it won't just be held in the inner city. The buffer zone and satellite cities will also host them. It might become a landmark activity, attracting nearby refugees and migrants from other places to join."

A bit exaggerated.

Honestly, occasionally going up to sing a song and showing off was acceptable.

But performing on stage and holding events really wasn't Inspector Cheng's style.

However, when Cheng Ye turned his head, he couldn't help but laugh, "Inspector Wang, come over quickly. Let me introduce you to two inspectors!"

He didn't like being in the spotlight, but Wang Kang did.

In the future, if the satellite cities really held celebrations, the livelier it was, the more it would demonstrate strength. Having Wang Kang take the lead then would be most appropriate.

Wang Kang was counting people when he heard this and quickly ran over, "Brother Cheng, what's up?"

"This is Inspector Dale, from Nanzhuang Town. He's broadcast the evening news." Cheng Ye introduced, "Dale, this is my partner, Wang Kang."

"Inspector Wang, pleased to meet you." Dale extended his hand to shake with Wang Kang, his eyes carrying a hint of amusement, "I'm familiar with Inspector Wang's songs too. It's just that the emotion often overwhelms the tune..."

This was put very tactfully, but the implication was that Wang Kang's singing often went off-key.

"Hm?" Wang Kang was stunned, then immediately said with some dissatisfaction, "Music is a medium for conveying emotion, just like 'Old Boy'..."

"Then that song you sang before, 'I Am a Big Banana,' what emotion were you trying to convey?"

"Uh..." Wang Kang was momentarily dumbfounded but still stubbornly said, "That was my first time eating a banana! I wanted other people to also know what a banana tastes like, the feeling of eating one..."

Seeing the two actually start discussing this, Cheng Ye was amused.

Colin also shook his head helplessly, "Inspector Cheng, those people up top don't get along, so it's hard for us down below too. But speaking of it, Dale and I also come from the inner city. We're from the same school, so we're half Academic faction. I hope we can exchange more in the future and not be affected by all that other stuff."

"Mm, tell me your number and I'll write it down."

Since Colin had said this much, Cheng Ye went with the flow and took out his defense communicator to record the number.

After calling, it rang twice and both sides saved the contact information.

Now they were formally acquainted!

Going forward, using today's connection to gradually become familiar, they might form a small group. However, given the overall Eastern-Western situation at the moment, it would probably only be a private friendship.

After all, not everyone could be like Lee Matteo, completely ignoring factional influence.

On the other side.

Link had already finished stamping. Cheng Ye had only printed five hundred copies, not many.

Actually, by this point, inspector groups that still hadn't filled their quotas had basically been eliminated.

But the evaluation hadn't ended yet. If he "staked his claim" early, he'd inevitably be resented by those eliminated, unnecessarily making enemies.

Cheng Ye had always been thorough with these interpersonal details and didn't want to make mistakes now.

"Big Dragon, distribute these slips to the people in line. One per family is fine."

"Got it!" Big Dragon immediately led the militiamen forward.

Visibly, every refugee who received a slip showed delight.

Especially those children who had been crying earlier, when their fathers waved the slip in front of them, they immediately stopped crying and giggled.

How wonderful.

The setting sun cast warm yellow light on everyone.

Cheng Ye watched quietly. The contemplation in his gaze gradually dispersed, transforming into tenderness.

Hope was a powerful force that couldn't be touched yet truly existed.

It was the motivation to survive in desperate situations, a bright spot in impoverished lives. It existed not only beside ordinary people but also beside everyone working hard toward the future.

As long as they persisted, as long as they didn't give up, they could grasp this force and live well!

The queue gradually dispersed.

Sure enough, after receiving the slips, no one went to report to other inspectors.

No matter how tempting the Inspection Station's compensation was, between "one full meal" and "full meals every time," there were ultimately more clear-headed people.

Refugees still gathered in the field. It wasn't obvious how many inspectors had completed recruitment.

Not until the evaluation's ending bell rang and office clerks began tallying numbers.

In just over ten minutes, the results came through. In just the first round of recruitment evaluation alone, 5 groups had been eliminated!

Originally, the most fiercely competitive Hexi Town and Wanzi Town had 8-person battles divided into 4 groups.

After the recruitment evaluation ended, only two groups remained in Hexi Town.

One group was led by third-term inspector Yang Ming, the other by a Western third-term inspector.

First and second-tiers were completely eliminated. Some had given up, others hadn't filled their quotas even at the end.

Wanzi Town was even more brutal, with only 1 group remaining, not even enough for competition.

Yang Xingwen and Zhao Jia, who had rushed ahead, even though they'd initially used extra compensation to recruit 200 young men, still ended up eliminated. The pit they'd dug for themselves ultimately couldn't be filled.

The reason was simple. Having offered high prices to earlier people, later people thought about doing the same work for less pay. Who could accept that?

They'd rather go to groups nearby without extra compensation than come here to suffer.

Additionally, Dongwa Town and Beiyuan Town also only had one group each.

Could these satellite cities without competition opponents directly win?

After the evaluation ended, inspectors' activities were no longer restricted. Yang Xingwen and Zhao Jia came over with bitter smiles.

"Inspector Cheng!"

"Victory and defeat are common in military affairs. Inspectors Yang and Zhao need not be disheartened." Cheng Ye consoled them warmly.

Things had come to this, more words were useless.

Since they were willing to be the first bird, they had to accept the consequences of wings not being hard enough.

"Running fast really doesn't guarantee making it to the end." Yang Xingwen shook his head with a bitter smile, "Inspector Cheng, even though I'm eliminated, I learned a lesson today. It let me see many things clearly and recognize my own shortcomings."

Zhao Jia was more direct, "Inspector Cheng's methods are truly formidable! If there's anything in the future, just call on me. I also want to learn from you like Inspector Wang, so I won't be this embarrassing in the future."

"No need to be polite." Cheng Ye nodded slightly and consoled them a bit more, "We're all colleagues and friends. With more exchanges in the future, we'll all grow."

This scene left office clerks Link and Jevi dumbfounded. Two first-term inspectors saying they wanted to learn from a trainee inspector?

But Colin and Dale, who were packing up nearby, exchanged glances, shook their heads slightly, and showed knowing smiles.

This scene was too familiar, almost identical to Cheng Long back in the day. Rising from humble beginnings, relying on personal charisma and tough methods, he forcefully became the banner-bearer of the Eastern faction.

Who would have thought, like father like son, not a single person in the Cheng family was ordinary.

After Yang Xingwen and Zhao Jia left, Gu Xinjing and Zhang Wen also came over.

The two third-term inspectors were much more composed. They first unreservedly praised Cheng Ye, then shifted the conversation to the main point, "Contracting points with only one group left can directly obtain qualification. Zhang Wen and I chose Dongwa Town, and now we're the only group, so we can start construction directly. Your Dapo Town still needs another evaluation, but this is also a good thing."

"Inspector Gu, what do you mean by that?" Cheng Ye's expression didn't change.

This calm performance of showing neither joy nor anger made Gu Xinjing nod inwardly again, "Since you passed the recruitment evaluation, some things can be told to you now."

"The contracting logic for satellite cities is like this: Each partner group will receive approved infrastructure points. These points can be used to purchase materials, facilities, items... to help us advance construction. Looking at your expression, you've probably already heard some rumors?"

The words were pointed, clearly testing him.

Cheng Ye didn't hide it and nodded frankly, "I only know the surface, not clearly."

"Good that you know. That makes it easier for me to explain."

Gu Xinjing continued, "Infrastructure points are very precious. One point's purchasing power equals 100 contribution points, and some discounted items are even better deals. Besides the basic points distributed initially, subsequent ones must be obtained by completing milestone tasks, like construction targets, population gathering, defense circle establishment, and so on."

"Hmm... the number of tasks is fixed?" Cheng Ye pondered.

"Smart!" Zhang Wen beside him couldn't help but praise, "The total amount of infrastructure points is fixed. There's only so much available in the early stages. To achieve results, you either go to other administrative systems in the buffer zone for sponsorship, but that path has already been blocked by a batch of inspectors, or you have to use your own savings to fill the gaps."

He smiled, "Old Gu and I have saved up some over these years. To compete for promotion to fourth-term inspector, we're willing to invest everything. But you're a newcomer. You probably don't have much on hand... Like your father Cheng Long, actually only a small portion of the points he left behind were confiscated by the Inspection Station. Most of it was lavishly spent by him to build connections."

No wonder Cheng Long had left connections all over Happiness City.

So he'd paved the way with contribution points?

"If you want to build Dapo Town and stand out among the satellite cities, you need to consider this."

"Participating in the real combat evaluation now, you can get some points right from the start. If you win, there are extra rewards. Also..." Zhang Wen hinted meaningfully, "Rocook has also helped clear some troubles for you. If he loses, all the materials and items he left behind go to Dapo Town. You understand my meaning, right?"

"I understand. Got it!" Cheng Ye immediately nodded.

If Lee Matteo could casually produce twenty thousand points, it wasn't strange that Gu Xinjing and Zhang Wen each held tens of thousands of points.

Investing one's own money was the most direct way to build a satellite city. Unfortunately, he didn't have that kind of capital and could only rely on evaluations to make up for this disadvantage.

"Let me point you to another path."

Zhang Wen changed the subject, "Old Liu has followed your father around all these years. Although he hasn't saved much, and most of it went down the drain for connections like your father's, he should still have some foundation. Once you get qualification, ask him directly. Don't hide it... You're different from your father. He didn't have the mind to play these profitable schemes, but you, kid..."

Before he finished, Zhang Wen suddenly pointed at the poster board house with a smile, "Do Old Gu and I have the qualification to take a look?"

Cheng Ye was stunned, still immersed in Zhang Wen's earlier advice. After reacting, he immediately nodded.

"Yes, yes, both inspectors, please come in!"

Damn.

Why did this welcoming phrase taste so strong?!

Cheng Ye found it amusing inwardly and led the two through the board house, generally introducing Dapo Town's plan.

Since even refugees could see it, there was no need to hide it from other inspectors. He just naturally glossed over the details.

Gu Xinjing and Zhang Wen indeed didn't ask more questions, but the curiosity and appreciation on their faces grew stronger.

After the tour, they didn't linger. They left while discussing, clearly having gained some inspiration from Dapo Town's planning and design.

"Brother Cheng, first and second-tiers want to learn from you, and now even third-term inspectors are listening to your plans. So impressive!" Wang Kang came over, his eyes full of envy.

"Oh my, a second-term inspector wants to discuss music with you. Aren't you impressive?"

Cheng Ye retorted.

The two looked at each other and couldn't hold back anymore. They laughed simultaneously, their laughter full of youthful exuberance.

Before long, Link returned from reporting results, now holding a tablet.

"Inspector Cheng, the supply points have been distributed. Please finalize your material selections by 10:30 PM. Tonight people will prepare them, and they'll be delivered to Dapo Town first thing tomorrow morning!"

"Good!" Cheng Ye nodded emphatically.

Personnel, assembled. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭·𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮·𝙣𝙚𝙩

Supplies, about to arrive.

Tomorrow morning, he could finally go to Dapo Town to take office!

Turning to look at the crowd still listening to pioneering knowledge lectures, then at the buffer zone already brightly lit.

Cheng Ye suddenly felt an unusual sensation, a burning hope surging in his heart:

Right now, this was merely a small step for Inspector Cheng.

But in the future, it would definitely be... a giant leap in Happiness City's development milestones!!