Wasteland Border Inspector

Chapter 113 The Fog Cave Reopens, the Flame Protects the City!

The bus smoothly entered the Public Works Department and drove without any obstruction to the parking and charging area.

When the weather gets cold, the energy consumption of battery-powered vehicles suddenly skyrockets.

All the charging stations were occupied. After waiting for several minutes, a bus slowly drove away, making room for a charging station.

The remaining cars seem to be intended to stay overnight, and they'll be back to retrieve them early tomorrow morning.

Mr. Zhang's car had just been charged during the day, and the dashboard showed that it still had 81% battery remaining, which was more than enough to drive 400 kilometers.

But when he heard Cheng Ye say that he needed to plant the gun to reserve a spot and then recharge it before leaving, Master Zhang did not hesitate at all and followed the instructions directly.

"I'm going to charge it. You and Da Long go find a pot and some seasonings."

"it is good."

Although he found it strange that Cheng Ye was so concerned about charging, Master Zhang didn't suspect anything and happily followed Da Long away.

There are no other places that have the seasoning, but the Public Works Department should have it. With Cheng Ye's name, it would be easy to find some.

After everyone left, Cheng Ye unplugged the charging head, put the pendant in, and swiped his card to start charging.

[Current Energy Replenishment Efficiency: Normal (Level 3 Energy)]

[3.42 hours remaining until full charge]

The notification on the panel flashed by.

This time, Cheng Ye didn't plan to leave after charging to 80%, but instead intended to fully charge the pendant.

After all, there are no garages in quarantine zone B, and if you go home and plug in a regular socket overnight, you'll only get about 5% credit, which is too slow.

Liu Kunming could come over at any time in the next two days, so it would be more reassuring to replenish his energy.

Three and a half hours is still a bit of an exaggeration, but luckily we can use eating and drinking to prolong the time.

Enter the lounge.

The heavy glass door kept out the cold air from outside.

Before long, Engineer Liu arrived in a hurry with two apprentices.

She had already finished get off work late at night when Cheng Ye called her back. Logically, she should have been resentful.

However, upon hearing on the phone that there would be beef to eat, fish soup to drink, and a few salted fish to take home afterward, the three of them rushed over without any hesitation.

Of course, on the surface, we still maintained a respectful demeanor, as if we were always there when the prosecutor needed us.

"Prosecutor Cheng, what changes would you like to make today?"

Engineer Liu rubbed his hands together, put the blueprint folder on the table, and spoke with a hint of professional nervousness.

The client can modify the drawings in just a few words, but the workers have to measure, draw, verify parameters, adjust the details, and update the bill of materials. Every step has to be closely monitored, like embroidery, because the slightest mistake could lead to problems upon completion.

In the old days, if a mistake was made, the person in charge would simply be arrested and that would be the end of it.

When problems arise in the wasteland, no one, from top to bottom, can escape unscathed.

"No rush, we won't revise the drawings today. I'd like to hear some advice from you industry insiders, just for a chat and maybe have a meal together. I've already troubled you quite a few times recently."

Cheng Ye smiled with narrowed eyes, leaned back in his chair, and said in a relaxed tone, "The pedestrian street has been almost completely demolished these past two days, and you're almost done with the planning drawings. Construction will begin soon. My ideas are limited after all, so I need to listen to your opinions more often and try to get it right the first time so we don't have to revise it repeatedly later."

"Our thoughts?"

Engineer Liu was stunned for a moment, then subconsciously pushed up his glasses to hide the surprise in his eyes.

But the two apprentices behind them exchanged a glance, both with incredulous expressions on their faces.

After dealing with him for a while, everyone knows that Prosecutor Cheng is a man of his word.

The planning map has been revised three times, and he made the final decision each time. Why is he suddenly asking for their opinions today?

Cheng Ye observed the three men's behavior and understood their intentions: "Don't be shy, sit down. You guys are on the construction site every day, you definitely know better than me where to leave drainage ditches and where to reinforce the foundation. For example, I originally wanted to make all the temporary shops have flat roofs for aesthetic purposes, but with the heavy rain today, I only realized this when I passed by the shantytown. Do you think a sloping roof would be more practical?"

On the way to and from the checkpoint, Cheng Ye stared out the window, but he wasn't just looking at the scenery.

As a top student who graduated from a proper architecture department, what he lacked was practical experience, not an eye for identifying problems or a reserve of knowledge.

"A sloping roof is indeed better, but it requires 30% more materials and the construction period will be extended by two days."

Engineer Liu frowned in thought, his fingers unconsciously tapping the blueprint folder. "How about this? Keep the flat roof, but add a 30-centimeter overhang at the eaves, and then carve a hidden ditch along the back wall of the shop, leading directly to the main drainage ditch. The overhang can block the slanting rain, the hidden ditch conceals the drainage, and it won't interfere with paving the walkway in front of the shop. It's practical and saves on materials!"

"Eaves."

Cheng Ye frowned in thought. He felt like he was losing all his previous knowledge after only three months of not using his brain.

Seeing how seriously he was thinking, Engineer Liu became even more curious.

In this vast buffer zone, I've never heard of any inspector who is familiar with the construction industry.

"Engineer Liu."

"Hey."

What materials are you planning to use for the roof?

"Corrugated steel sheets," Engineer Liu answered readily. "They're lightweight, easy to replace, and require less maintenance later on, making them most practical in buffer zones."

"Um"

Cheng Ye pointed to a bend in the air with his fingertips. “The angle of the eaves has to be matched with the edge finishing. The corrugated steel plate has poor toughness. If you bend the angle directly, rainwater will seep into the gaps in the plate during heavy rain. It will rust through in less than half a month, and it will be more troublesome to rework it then.”

"This?" Engineer Liu's eyes lit up. "So we need to add an L-shaped angle steel lining at the corner. This will not only enhance the bending strength, but also allow the water to flow straight down to the ground along the lining. It is especially practical under low-maintenance conditions."

What the two were talking about was the principle of rain curtains commonly used in industrial plants.

The two apprentices stared wide-eyed. They had thought Prosecutor Cheng was just asking casually, but they never expected that Prosecutor Cheng actually knew the ins and outs of these practical skills!

"So you're planning to install a drop-down system for the concealed drainage structure?"

"Flooring treatment?"

“The underground ditch itself has a drop in elevation. If rainwater flows into the main ditch and directly washes against the ditch wall, it is easy to accumulate silt and blockage. It can be cleaned up during light rain, but if there is continuous heavy rain, we may have to send people to jump into the ditch to remove the mud.”

After Cheng Ye finished speaking, he completely forgot that he had come to listen to opinions and unconsciously put on the airs of the client again. "It is best to put three-step concrete blocks at the interface, with a drop of 5 centimeters between each step. Also, the inner wall of the culvert must be plastered with cement mortar to a thickness of 20 millimeters, and then compacted and smoothed."

"In this way, the inner wall is smooth, the water flow resistance is small, which can reduce siltation, and also enhance the impermeability, preventing rainwater from seeping into the surrounding foundation and affecting the foundation stability of the surrounding houses."

"Oh, you mean multi-stage energy dissipation!"

Engineer Liu slapped his thigh, suddenly realizing, "I mentioned this method when we were repairing the wastewater treatment pond last time, but the budget was tight then. Doing it this way would have increased the material costs by almost 15%, so it was ultimately rejected by the higher-ups with a simple 'it's unnecessary'."

"The budget for the pedestrian street cannot be cut. You must build it to the most durable standard. If you don't have enough materials, just let me know. It's okay to increase the budget a bit. Since we're going to build it, let's build something that can last for ten or twenty years. It would be a waste of manpower and resources to tear it down and rebuild it in two years."

"Oh, if only I had known you knew the ins and outs of this."

Engineer Liu smacked his lips and said, "The most troublesome thing in our line of work is submitting budgets. If you change the design or add a material, the numbers on the budget sheet will skyrocket. If you encounter a leader who doesn't know the business, it's no use explaining for a long time. If I had known you were knowledgeable, I would have just told you what we needed."

"Don't worry, my budget is definitely enough. In the future, I plan to turn this pedestrian street into a landmark building in the buffer zone. It not only needs to be practical, but also looks good."

Cheng Ye made no attempt to hide his ambition.

If investing 20,000 contribution points only yields a barely usable shop and slightly improves the lives of the residents of Tianyuan Community, it falls far short of the elders' expectations.

The idea of ​​making 50% of the community envious is just something to fools.

Based on the true intentions and the ideals promoted by the senators in the buffer zone, Cheng Ye could roughly guess that the elders wanted the residents of the buffer zone to see new hope and a new direction for development!

Therefore, whether it's for community development and cultivating influence in advance, or for maintaining ideals and accumulating capital for oneself, one must make a real difference.

If we're going to build it, then let's build it on a large scale and on a special scale.

To ensure that the pedestrian street becomes the "face" of the buffer zone, the first stop for visiting caravans, and a place that all residents and scavengers are willing to frequent, then the money will have been spent wisely.

He had a vague premonition that even though the current budget was already over budget, as long as the desired effect was achieved, the elders of the inner city would definitely not hesitate to make a second or third investment.

At that point, even without much else, just a few tens of thousands more points will recoup all the initial investment.

"Alright, since you put it that way, I happen to have some ideas as well."

With a determined effort, Liu, who had finally met someone knowledgeable, felt all the ideas and inspirations that had been suppressed by budget and schedule constraints burst forth from his mind like bubbles.

While some ordinary architectural details are understandable, the conversation gradually turned into, "I think we can add a layer of solar panels to the roof. It may not be practical in the summer and autumn, but electricity can be charged in the winter and spring. The electricity generated by the solar panels can be used by the shops themselves and can also be sold back to the city grid, forming a sustainable development."

"That's good, we can add it, and it would be best to also have an energy storage device!"

Cheng Ye immediately made the decision, much to the delight of Engineer Liu.

The two apprentices were dumbfounded. When they arrived, Engineer Liu had warned them that they must be careful with their words and actions tonight, and that whatever Cheng Ye said was the truth, and they should try not to express any opinions.

But now, as Engineer Liu speaks with great enthusiasm, he seems to have forgotten all about being careful with his words.

After a while, the door to the lounge was pushed open, and four large iron pots were carried in.

Master Zhang followed behind, carrying a bulging cloth bag: "Inspector Cheng, we found the seasonings, lots of them. I heard they make a wonderful stew!"

"Let's rest for a while, boil some water, cook the meat, and talk while we eat."

After discussing with Engineer Liu, Cheng Ye was quite excited. The sense of accomplishment from turning his ideas into blueprints was even more exhilarating than defeating Zhang Can, that advanced fusion entity.

After all, in the wasteland, construction is the main theme, and battles only break out when absolutely necessary.

However, it will take almost two hours to charge, and we can't just sit there awkwardly chatting after we've finished discussing the plans.

The induction cookers started with a hum, and the wiring in the lounge was connected to industrial lines. All four cookers were lit at the same time, and the lights didn't even flicker once.

Before long, the water in the pot started bubbling. Da Long picked up half a hind leg of the Yaksha beef, chopped it into large pieces, and threw it into the pot.

As soon as the meat was put into the pot, a fine layer of blood foam appeared on the surface.

Strangely, after the blood foam formed a clump, it emitted a faint, pleasant fragrance, not the usual fishy smell of beef, but rather a refreshing scent of herbs and plants.

"This tastes absolutely amazing!" Da Long sniffed, dipped his chopsticks in the blood foam, and put it in his mouth. "Sir, this beef seems extraordinary. Keep eating."

For a moment, he was at a loss for words, unsure how to describe the taste.

Cheng Ye simply moved closer to the pot, dipped a little bit of the pot into his mouth, and put it in his mouth as well.

Well.

How to describe it?

It's somewhat like the yak meat he ate in western Sichuan, naturally possessing a unique aroma.

But the aroma wasn't that of meat; it was a rich floral and herbal scent.

"It's so delicious, how can it still survive in Hua Province?"

Cheng Ye couldn't help but be surprised.

Logically speaking, in the wasteland, mutated beasts that are delicious and have no hard shells should have been hunted to near extinction by scavengers long ago.

Even ant-wolves are a delicacy on the scavenger's table.

It's likely that this type of Yaksha cattle isn't very common in Hualien Province; it's probably a rare breed.

Unexpectedly, after passing through the fog tunnel and arriving at the checkpoint, six animals came at once.

"Flower Province?"

Engineer Liu leaned closer and said, "There are very few people in Hua Province because it's right next to a sealed-off area. I've heard that people have only moved to other places in recent years, and no one has ever gone there."

"No wonder."

Cheng Ye raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything more.

Four pots: one for stewing meat, and one for making fish soup.

With the remaining two pots, everyone gathered around and, without using any seasoning, simply dipped thinly sliced ​​raw beef into the boiling water. Once the edges of the beef slices curled slightly, they were scooped out and stuffed into their mouths while still hot.

For people who are used to eating strong-flavored food, this kind of food may taste a bit bland.

But after drinking too much of the nutritional syrup, the chewy beef melts in your mouth, its aroma making your eyes water.

The seasoning bag brought by Master Zhang contained chili powder. Cheng Ye pinched some, dipped it in, and took a bite, but felt that the spiciness ruined the natural, refreshing aroma of the Yaksha beef. So he put down the seasoning dish and ate only the original flavor.

"Eat as much as you want, and we'll give you a piece to take with you when you leave."

When Cheng Ye said this, everyone said they wouldn't dare, but their chopsticks didn't stop.

Steam billowed under the lights, turning everyone's faces red.

Liu Gong enthusiastically recounted the interesting stories he had collected from the construction site. Da Long picked up the thread and told him about the interesting things that happened when the Corps was building the dock. Master Zhang, who used to drive trucks all over the country when he was young, also chimed in with some interesting stories about the surrounding provinces.

Only Cheng Ye and his two apprentices were listening, but the latter's eyes were only on the meat in the pot, and he paid no attention to anything else.

outside the house.

The fog seemed to have thickened further, and even the searchlights in the lounge could only cast short beams of light, with visibility continuing to decrease.

We ate for a full two hours, and it was almost midnight.

Only then did everyone pat their round bellies and put down their chopsticks with satisfaction.

The two apprentices leaned back in their chairs, too exhausted to even speak, with bits of meat broth still stuck to the corners of their mouths.

"Dalong, cook some more beef, and bring it back for Old Qu to try later."

"okay."

Da Long immediately got up, quickly added water to the pot, and then cut two large pieces of meat and threw them in.

Cheng Ye had no intention of dividing the 85 bags of salted fish.

This stuff keeps well and is essential for getting through the winter, so we need to store it carefully.

But Yasha beef is different; it's all about freshness. It spoils easily if left out for too long, so it's better to distribute it while it's still fresh.

"Engineer Liu, each of you three should take one back to your families to enjoy."

Engineer Liu quickly waved his hand, "I can't accept this, I've already eaten so much of your food."

"Take it."

Cheng Ye placed a piece of meat weighing more than ten kilograms aside, saying, "Revising the blueprints is also mentally taxing, so I'll make up for it."

The other two apprentices received less, five jin each.

They also cut off two large pieces, each weighing twenty pounds, one for Luo Xiaoxue and the other for Miao Yang.

"Dalong, take the rest back and process them, treat the residents to a meat dish."

"Okay, on behalf of everyone, thank you, Prosecutor Cheng."

Da Long responded cheerfully, and with outsiders present, he finally stopped being so polite.

"Alright, you guys keep eating. I'm going out for a walk to get some fresh air; I'm all sweaty from eating."

Cheng Ye wiped the sweat from his forehead, pushed open the door, and walked towards the bus.

The hall was so steamy, and with the lively conversation we had just had, my back was soaked with sweat. But when the cold wind blew, it felt refreshingly cool.

And just now, the pendant finally gave him a notification that it was fully charged. This was the first time he had fully charged it since it was activated.

If it's just a level 1 skill, you can search five times.

Even if all else fails, searching for items and using all your energy should significantly increase your success rate.

"If we can't find this, it only proves that I'm still far from being a superhuman."

After taking out the pendant, Cheng Ye plugged the bus into the charger.

There was a loud thud.

The charging station was activated, and he turned to go back to the lobby to rest for a while, but his steps suddenly stopped and his eyes instantly turned cold.

Before anyone knew it, thick fog once again enveloped the entire parking lot.

In the short time it took to charge the bus, visibility had dropped to less than 50 meters, and even the bus charging in the distance was just a blurry outline.

But what truly sank him was the direction of the Public Works Department.

Thick fog swallowed all three buildings, including the lounge, which also disappeared into the fog.

"Is this never going to end? You're coming to me again?"

A hint of murderous intent flashed in Cheng Ye's eyes. He yanked open the bus door, opened his backpack, and began assembling the parts.

A few clicking sounds.

The two rifles were quickly assembled, their heavy barrels resting in his palms, and the extra magazines were neatly fastened to his belt.

A faint rustling sound came from the fog, like something rubbing against the ground, or perhaps it was just a hallucination.

"Starting tomorrow, I'll be wearing my battle armor to and from get off work."

Cheng Ye took a deep breath, and the panel flashed in the upper right corner of his vision.

Dragon Force was unloaded, freeing up a slot for equipping Iron Body to enter the pseudo-embryonic state at any time.

He stepped out of the car, carrying the Ranger upside down in his left hand and the Thunderbolt 1 in his right, and slowly walked towards the lounge.

Forget about Yaksha Bulls or mutated beasts; even if a high-level fusion beast came, it would be suppressed by firepower first.

The moment he touched the fog cave, a slight pulling sensation enveloped him, as if an invisible hand was gently tugging at the hem of his clothes from behind.

But after taking two more steps forward, the pulling sensation suddenly disappeared, replaced by a strange pushing sensation, as if someone was pushing his back with their palms from behind.

The further he went, the stronger the pushing sensation became, but before Cheng Ye could even feel any discomfort...

hum.

A ripple flashed by, the thrust vanished instantly, and the thick fog seemed to be parted by an invisible hand, increasing visibility several times over.

The view became clear.

In the lounge, Da Long, Engineer Liu, and a group of young men huddled together. They weren't as wary as he had imagined; instead, they were curiously crowding in front of the wall opposite the main entrance.

Hearing footsteps behind them, they turned around and saw Cheng Ye walking in with a gun. Only then did they realize what was happening.

"Sir, there's a fog tunnel in the rest hall!"

"A fog cave?!"

Cheng Ye's heart tightened, and he turned his head in the direction Da Long was pointing.

A huge oval-shaped gap appeared in the side wall, more than three meters high, almost reaching the ceiling, and its width filled the entire wall, at least five meters long.

A faint white mist lingered around the edge of the gap, like a flowing veil, but a passage had been carved out in the middle, so clear that one could see the scene on the other side.

It was a wide cement street with bright streetlights on both sides and dark green vines climbing the walls, exuding a vitality that Happiness City lacked.

What's even more shocking is that there are also a few people crowded on the other side of the passage, wearing clean gray-blue uniforms, looking this way through the fog hole, their faces also full of curiosity and trepidation.

Judging from their expressions, the two sides have clearly already had a brief exchange.

"Is it the City of Sanctuary?"

"Yes!" Engineer Liu nodded emphatically, his tone filled with a sense of realization and excitement.

"They say they are from the City of the Burning Flame!"

　P.S.: Second update delivered! Requesting monthly votes at the end of the month! (I'm setting out bowls!)
　　
　
(End of this chapter)