Wasteland Border Inspector

Chapter 128 Harmony between Heaven and Man, the Ticket to Extraordinary Status!
The sound of rain outside the window seemed to be isolated in another world.

Fine raindrops tapped against the glass, drifting in diagonally through the two holes in the wall, leaving a small, dark patch on the floor, but unable to penetrate the stagnant air in the conference room.

Only the ticking of the wall clock, each tick like a heavy hammer, struck my heart.

The knocking made people slow their breathing, trying to minimize their presence in the meeting room.

Lan Ni and Zhao Kai, who had just been arguing heatedly about the plan, now seemed to have lost their bones, shrinking into their chairs with their shoulders slightly hunched in, not daring to even breathe loudly.

Hou Rui and Carlo Dickinson, who had launched a powerful attack, also toned down their sharpness.

Hou Rui had changed into a new pair of gold-rimmed glasses at some point. He took out a tissue from his pocket and carefully wiped the shiny lenses.

Carlo Dickinson lowered his head slightly, flipping through the folder, his finger circling aimlessly on the paper.

However, their tightly pursed lips and taut jawlines betrayed the turmoil in their hearts at that moment.

Once upon a time, Happiness City was a three-way rivalry.

Technology, extraordinary, checkpoint.

It controls the three directions of development, foreign affairs, and internal stability.

Logically speaking, the resettlement and screening of migrants and refugees is the original function of checkpoints.

But as the years have passed and things have developed step by step, everyone has forgotten about it.

Only now, with Ding Yishan stepping forward and laying bare the word "responsibility," have everyone suddenly realized a forgotten fact:
Of all the departments in Happiness City, it seems that only the checkpoints are not allowed to make excuses?
The Public Works Department can complain that the workers sent by the Manpower Department are stupid, and the Manpower Department can blame the training budget for being too tight and the requirements for being too high.

The Industrial Development Agency can blame the problems on outdated equipment, insufficient production capacity, or even accuse the Resource Department of poor supply.

Whether a department completes its tasks well or poorly, it can always find some excuse to shirk responsibility. At best, it will shirk its duties; at worst, it will shift the blame. It has its own philosophy of survival.

But not at checkpoints.

But the prosecutor can't!

If they are not responsible, the source of infection will spread like weeds, growing wildly through the gaps in the buffer zone and breaking through the defense line overnight.

If they try to shift the blame, the entire Happy City will lose its foundation in the wasteland.

After all, if we can't even protect the most basic security, how can we talk about development or foreign relations?
But why didn't anyone realize this before?
It wasn't until Ding Yishan suddenly became "hard" that everyone belatedly realized what was happening.

Seeing that no one spoke for a long time, Yuan Gang's gaze darkened and slowly swept across the entire room.

From front to back, from left to right.

His gaze was unhurried, yet it carried an invisible pressure that seemed to penetrate flesh and reach the deepest part of the heart.

Those who had been forcing themselves to flip through documents and pretend to be thinking all lowered their heads as if an invisible hand had pressed down on the back of their necks.

It seemed that there was an extraordinary power in that gaze.

A bit funny.

A group of people who usually wield great influence in their respective departments are engaged in discussions and analyses, but when it comes to someone stepping forward to take responsibility for all the consequences, not a single person dares to raise their head.

why?
No matter how well the houses are built, or how comfortably the migrants live there, the credit will not go to them.

Normally, this would just be a routine task to be carried out "according to plan".

Once the plan is finalized, the people below proceed according to the procedures. If anything goes wrong, they shift the blame to the construction workers or complain about bad weather, insufficient materials, or the uncooperative migrants.

If you want to find an excuse, you can always find a million reasons to absolve yourself.

But if one were to actually step forward and take on this responsibility, it would be like nailing oneself to a fire pit.

Who can guarantee that there won't be any unexpected events during the process?
This isn't a game where you can simply click "execute plan" and expect to reap rows of neat houses.

Monsters might emerge from the fog, an infection outbreak might occur, or there might be internal conflicts among the migrants.

Any possibility could bring the entire construction plan to a standstill at any time.

So, who dares to take this responsibility?
Who dares to guarantee that they can properly resettle the hundreds of thousands of people who are about to migrate here, ensuring they are not cold, hungry, or cause trouble?

Who dares to say that even if things go wrong in the end, even if they have to face Yuan Gang's accountability, the anger of a group of superhumans, and the resentment of the migrants, they will never shirk responsibility or pass the buck?
No one dares.

"Since everyone has concerns and doesn't want to get involved in this mess and contribute to our Happiness City, it seems I need to appoint a team and a team leader to resolve this matter."

Yuan Gang spoke again, his voice carrying an undeniable authority.

His gaze then fell precisely on Ding Yishan: "Station Chief Ding, is there any problem with you being the leader of the housing construction team?"

"has a problem!"

The rebuttals erupted almost the instant Yuan Gang finished speaking, like a thunderclap in the silent conference room.

Damn it?

Everyone was stunned. Was he really that aggressive?
What provoked Ding Yishan today that made him dare to directly confront the deputy city lord?
Even Carlo Dickinson, who usually likes to tease Ding Yishan, raised an eyebrow and glanced at Ding Yishan out of the corner of his eye.

Although everyone knows that Yuan Gang applies absolute double standards to both superhumans and ordinary people.

If any superhuman dares to act arrogantly here relying on their strength, they will definitely be slapped away and sent to their senses.

But when faced with differing opinions from ordinary people, he often forgets that he is an extraordinary being.

Tone down your sharp edges and listen patiently.

But this doesn't mean Yuan Gang is a robot without temper. He continued his relentless confrontation, and in the end, a winner had to be decided.

At that time, Ding Yishan, an ordinary person without extraordinary powers, will probably not fare well.

The atmosphere in the meeting room was becoming increasingly tense.

Ding Yishan's expression was serious. He placed his hands flat on the table, his knuckles slightly clenched, and stared intently at Yuan Gang without flinching.
“Lord Yuan, I am the station chief of the checkpoint, responsible for protecting the buffer zone. I can be a team leader without any problem, but who will take over the responsibilities of the checkpoint? If something goes wrong, who will take the blame?”

It's all about responsibility again!

It's that kind of blatant, overt questioning again!
If the previous question left everyone a little confused, then this next question was sure to be understood by all the astute people in the room.

Is this some kind of pretext to start dividing up power in the outer city?
But is it really that direct?

Putting aside whether the people present are willing or not, would Yuan Gang, the deputy city lord, agree?
"If you leave, can't Harlin take over?"

Yuan Gang continued to press for answers, his tone revealing neither joy nor anger.

"Harlin can take over the management, but who will take over the supervision of the North and South Expressways under his control?"

Ding Yishan stood firm, his tone suddenly rising, "The number of migrants is too large; the central station alone cannot handle it. The north and south stations must immediately begin diverting the flow of people. It's common for the daily passenger flow to exceed ten thousand. If these two stations make a mistake, and the source of infection spreads, the risk will be ten times greater than building the outer city."

"Lord Yuan, if we don't know who will take on this risk?"

"interesting."

Yuan Gang suddenly smiled, a faint smile, yet like a crack that momentarily eased the tense atmosphere.

After thinking it over, just like when he asked Yu Hong last time, he chose to get straight to the point.

"Station Chief Ding, please speak frankly. I said at yesterday's relocation meeting that the construction of the outer city requires the full support of the city, and no department can shirk its responsibility."

"Anyone who has an opinion or idea, please speak up. I will take responsibility if anything is wrong, and I guarantee that no one will dare to hold me accountable later."

"Lord Yuan, I don't have any particular thoughts."

Ding Yishan's gaze slowly swept around the room before finally settling on Yuan Gang. "I just feel that continuing this discussion is a complete waste of time and won't do any real help to our work on resettling the migrants."

"Great, well said!" Yuan Gang actually stood up and clapped.

His simple yet capable washed long shirt and wide-legged linen trousers made it seem as if he were not in a meeting room where the fate of hundreds of thousands of people was being decided, but in a classroom where he heard a student answer a difficult question. The sense of satisfaction he felt came naturally and purely.

just.

The applause, falling in the deathly silent conference room, sounded somewhat jarring.

Normally, everyone present would have immediately stood up and applauded, putting Ding Yishan on a pedestal and forcing him to give a clear answer today, preferably taking all the blame.

But today, no one dares to make a move.

why?
Because Ding Yishan's behavior was too abnormal.

The checkpoint chief, who used to always follow behind Liu Kun, speaking gently and even somewhat timidly, seemed like a completely different person, making people momentarily believe that Happiness City had returned to its former three-way balance of power.

He dared to mention Cheng Wu, dared to confront the deputy city lord head-on, and dared to expose everyone's excuses in public.

The intimidating aura emanating from him practically screams to everyone, "Come and try if you dare!"

The mess left by hundreds of thousands, even nearly a million migrants is simply outrageous.

According to the information sent back in the morning, the traveler did not stop after arriving at Yueye Shelter City. He continued to head towards the border of Shi Province, seemingly heading to the neighboring Hai Province.

However, the number of people affected by his transit is increasing, and the predicted number of people has been rising again.

From a guaranteed minimum of 500,000 at the beginning, to 700,000, 800,000, and nearly a million!
The increase in population is not a trivial matter of building a few buildings or paving a few roads.

It means to brave the rain, the mud, and the unknown risks to create a space for a group of people who have nothing to live on.

If anything goes wrong in any of these steps, it could trigger a chain reaction, and no one can guarantee that they will escape unscathed.

Because even a small portion of these troubles, if they were to fall on them, would become an insurmountable mountain. Furthermore, after Yuan Gang said that, Ding Yishan had the legitimate power to drag any person or department into the mess.

Anyone who dares to challenge us will die along with us!

"A waste of time. Well said!"

Yuan Gang stopped clapping, let out a slight breath, and his face was full of relief. "I haven't heard anyone say those four words here for a long time."

Before he finished speaking, a slight ripple of air suddenly appeared in the conference room.

No one saw clearly what Yuan Gang did.

It neither erupted with an energy surge like Hou Rui, nor did it have the extraordinary spectacle of Carlo Dickinson.

In the blink of an eye, everyone in the same row as Ding Yishan felt their bodies sway slightly, as if a thin veil had been draped over their eyes.

When the dazed feeling subsided, everyone was shocked to find that the seats and tables on the left had all been rearranged.

Carlo Dickinson was sitting in the front right seat when he looked up and turned around, only to find that there was someone sitting to his right.

Everyone from the extraordinary faction around him, including Zhao Kai, also moved back.

The originally neat queue seemed to have been pushed by an invisible hand, leaving only the front row empty.

Ding Yishan was sitting steadily in the first position in that row!
this.
Many people's expressions changed drastically, and their fingers gripping the pens tightened suddenly.

The change of seating arrangements may not be entirely equivalent to the distribution of power in the outer city, but in this conference room that symbolizes the core of Happiness City's decision-making, the position in front or behind represents the weight of what is said next and the degree to which one is valued.

how many years?

Since Cheng Wu left, the checkpoint's location has been moved further and further away.

From the front to the back, and back to the center, over and over again, he never made it into the top five.

Even during the years when the Idealists were in charge, with three elders backing them up, the checkpoint simply sat quietly in the positions of today's Idealists members, never getting involved in the power vortex of Happiness City, only guarding its own little corner of the world.

But today, Ding Yishan has changed, and so has the checkpoint.

Yu Hong, sitting at the end of the table, twitched his eye, a hint of interest flashing across his face. He rested his elbow on the table, crossed his hands, and a barely perceptible smile curved his lips.

Today's Ding Yishan is the same Ding Yishan from back then.

Ding Yishan, the idealist who still dared to resist while holding the banner of the original aspiration faction.

Others may not have seen Ding Yishan's sharp edge, and only regarded him as a conscientious "good old man".

But he was different; he had seen it, he had seen it with his own eyes.

"Station Chief Ding, only by sitting here can you match what you're about to say."

Yuan Gang sat down with a gentle expression, the hem of his long robe drooping gently. He turned to look at Ding Yishan at the head of the row, his eyes filled with just the right amount of expectation:
"Please tell everyone here what we should do now to avoid wasting time and reach a practical solution as quickly as possible?"

The dizziness from changing positions continued.

Ding Yishan shook his head, then lightly braced his fingertips on the smooth tabletop to steady himself.

old.

Of all the ministers present, his current strength, while not the weakest, is still among the lowest tier.

A fifty-year-old man who can't even withstand the wind and rain is indeed nearing retirement age.

He didn't speak immediately, but slowly raised his eyes again, his gaze sweeping over everyone present like a general surveying a battlefield.

Sitting at the front of the line definitely feels different.

Unlike before when I sat in the central area, looking up at everyone as if seeking their opinions, I no longer had to think twice before speaking.

From his vantage point above, even the overhead light seemed to shine on him, illuminating every subtle expression on everyone's face.

He felt a rare sense of the weight of life and death, a tremor of immense power.

When he was being stared at, even the usually arrogant Hou Rui subconsciously adjusted his glasses, as if to avoid that invisible sharpness.

The ministers who used to always cause trouble at the checkpoints lowered their heads quietly, scribbling randomly on their documents, avoiding eye contact with him.

that power?

Ding Yishan's Adam's apple bobbed slightly. It really was a wonderful thing.

Even Liu Kun, an extraordinary individual, had never once displayed such power in the conference room.

But it is precisely because of this that he is more able to remember where this power came from.

It wasn't because of his title as station manager, nor because he had any extraordinary abilities.

It was the checkpoint behind him, the inspectors, the ordinary residents who needed protection, and the outsiders who knew of the reputation of the Happiness City checkpoint.

It is the foundation that has been built up little by little over the past thirty years, starting from Cheng Wu's generation, through hard work and struggle in the buffer zone.

It is the respect earned by the sacrifices of countless prosecutors who gave their lives in the line of duty.

This right to speak was not given by Yuan Gang, nor was it conceded by Hou Rui or Carlo Dickinson.

Before Cheng Ye reminded him, and before the traveler influenced him, he had never truly realized this.

But now, he felt it clearly, as if he had opened a glass window and was feeling the wind and rain hitting him with his body.

But now, he realized that the burning passion in his heart was pounding wildly, making him blush slightly.

The changes in seating arrangements, the public's apprehension, and Yuan Gang's tacit approval all silently proved...
Change!

Wow.

That power belonging to the traveler surged forth once more.

No longer a vague throbbing, but a clear surge of heat, rising from the dantian, making the chest feel stuffy, and rushing to the throat with a burning itch, as if it would burst through the teeth at any moment.

But when he actually opened his mouth, the power was like a clear, sweet spring, rushing up to his brow and spreading down his spine to his limbs and bones.

All the weariness, hesitation, and self-doubt that had accumulated over the years were washed away in this clear spring.

Yuan Gang sat upright in the main seat, his slightly raised eyebrows furrowing slightly, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.

He reached out slightly and pressed forward, and the entire conference room fell completely silent, even the sound of breathing was cut off.

He looked at Ding Yishan calmly, his gaze as still as a deep pool, as if observing a plant that had been parched for a long time and was finally receiving rain, watching how its curled branches and leaves slowly unfurled in the sweet rain.

However, some people in the audience suddenly changed their expressions, especially several ministers who had been stuck in the fourth step for more than ten years. At this moment, they all widened their eyes, their faces showing surprise, realization, and finally disbelief.

what?
How... how is this possible?

But the fact is right in front of them!
Under everyone's watchful eyes, in less than half a minute, Ding Yishan slowly let out a long sigh of relief.

His appearance remained unchanged, and the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes had not faded, but the spirit between his brows seemed to have been infused with a brand new vitality.

A sharp light rekindled in his cloudy eyes, his relaxed shoulders straightened, and he seemed to have become twenty years younger all of a sudden.

He has achieved oneness with heaven and man?
For martial artists outside the martial arts world, the unity of heaven and man simply means that they have entered the final realm of the new martial arts, signifying that their strength and skills have reached their peak.

But for everyone present, the unity of man and nature has a more important meaning: it means that the beliefs they hold in their hearts are completely solidified and will no longer waver.

Ding Yishan has officially obtained a "ticket" to the extraordinary.

Even the weakest ticket has a 30% chance of resisting contamination from the extraordinary.

This is several times higher than his previous success rate of less than 50%!
“Indeed, the migrants are an opportunity that will bring change to Happiness City and to everyone here. It all depends on whether you can seize this opportunity.”

Yuan Gang slowly withdrew his hand, and the sound of breathing returned to the conference room.

His gaze swept over the ministers who were still in shock, finally landing on Ding Yishan, his tone carrying a hint of approval: "Station Chief Ding, please speak."

"it is good!"

Ding Yishan responded and spoke, unaware of the commotion he had caused.

He felt that the burning power in his chest had finally found its home, transforming into a calm, warm current that made every breath feel grounded.

"Now, to avoid wasting time, we need to set a deadline."

Ding Yishan said in a deep voice, "From this moment on, I hope that everyone's speech will focus solely on their own department, telling others what kind of help they can provide for the upcoming migration wave."

"I hope that before each department head speaks, they must think carefully about one thing: whether they can be responsible for what they say and whether they can bear the consequences."

He paused, then stood up abruptly. "Alright, I'll start."

"During the upcoming migration surge, the checkpoint can deploy 30 to 60 inspectors, each responsible for the resettlement of at least 8,000 people, ensuring construction progress, preventing large-scale chaos, and guaranteeing thorough basic checks on all inbound travelers."

He made more than ten guarantees and assumed more than ten heavy responsibilities.

Done.

He leaned forward slightly, a glint of light, brighter than the overhead lamp, flashing in his eyes:
"I've finished speaking. Who agrees? Who disagrees?"

　P.S.: Thanks to peidajia for the generous donation! The second update is still being written and might be a little late.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)