Wasteland Border Inspector

Chapter 143 Wildfire in Chaotic Times: Qualification Verification!
Hibernation is a survival wisdom for preserving oneself in chaotic times.

Since transmigrating to this perilous wasteland, Cheng Ye has learned to survive in just over a hundred days.

In the constant intrigue and power struggles with people, in the life-or-death confrontations with the infected, and in the silent yet fierce power struggle between the two factions at the checkpoint.
He learned too many survival rules that were not in books, and he also personally verified a lot of knowledge that had only existed in his imagination.

He is no longer the ordinary young man trapped in the Earth's living sphere, burdened by invisible pressure.

He was no longer the timid and fearful trainee prosecutor who dreaded being noticed.

In a corner unnoticed by anyone, in the sleepless nights, in the shadows where even Liu Bi couldn't see him, he silently completed his journey of dormancy and achieved his own sudden rise.

From walking cautiously with his head down to straightening his back step by step, he finally grasped the strength to gain a foothold in this wasteland.

But at this moment, staring at the lines of information on the defense communication screen, Cheng Ye felt an even clearer sense of dissatisfaction.

He got what he wanted, but it was far more than that.

He wanted to see the world beyond, to master that extraordinary power that would no longer be threatened by anyone, so that he and those around him could truly break free from the shackles of uncertainty.

He wanted to build a sanctuary city of his own, one that would not follow the old rules, would not bow to compromise, and would operate entirely according to his own will, allowing the seeds of civilization to take root in a safer environment.

He wanted to know where that mysterious behemoth had gone behind the catastrophe that brought about such a dramatic change. Had it vanished, gone to the ends of the universe to influence the next civilization, or perhaps it was hiding in some unknown corner, continuing to watch over this shattered land?

He wanted to understand even more clearly where this long journey of collecting information about civilizations would ultimately end.

And what role will he himself play in this journey?

Cheng Ye pressed the lock screen button, placed the defense device on his lap, and sat quietly on the edge of the bed, lost in thought.

Just like more than a hundred days ago, when he first transmigrated here, he sat on the edge of the bed, looking at the unfamiliar room and contemplating the unknown road ahead.

Even if there were moments of fear along the way, or moments when the thought of ending it all crossed my mind.

But he was never truly afraid of the "time travel" itself, never gave up on himself, and never became hysterical.

The old order has been broken, the new rules have not yet been fully solidified, every inch of land is waiting to be redefined, and every soul has the opportunity to tear open the cracks in fate.

He knew better than anyone that there was never a time when it would be "simpler" than sitting here, realizing his ideals and fulfilling his life's value in this wasteland.

After thinking for a while, Cheng Ye got up, opened the drawer under the table, and took out a cigarette from the moisture-proof compartment.

This is the cigarette that Li Changfeng handed him that night.

It represents Li Changfeng's past, contains his unfulfilled ideals, and hides his deeply buried ambitions.

That night, he didn't smoke and confide in Li Changfeng.

It was because at that time, he couldn't see his past clearly, let alone figure out the direction of his future.

But at the moment.

pat.

A wisp of blue flame shot up from the lighter, startling the sleeping flame lying on the bed. Its round eyes reflexively looked at the flame in Cheng Ye's hand.

But what made it somewhat unfamiliar was that an emotion never seen before was churning in the eyes of this big friend, like the mountain in his memory that was set ablaze by heavenly fire, so intense that it was almost about to burst forth.

It squeaked twice, then the big friend pulled out a stool, sat down at the table, and took a deep drag on a cigarette.

The acrid smoke made his throat tight, but he didn't cough; his eyes just brightened a little.

Then, as if someone was beside him, he began to talk to himself:

“I am an ordinary person, an orphan. I didn’t receive much attention growing up, so I desperately wanted to prove myself and be seen. Later I succeeded, became a student at a top university, and became a ‘good person’ in the eyes of my peers.”

"But I didn't feel very excited, because I know that once I step out of the ivory tower, the efforts of the first half of my life will likely gradually diminish, and I will return to an ordinary life where no one will notice me."

He paused, twirling the cigarette butt between his fingers, "But I'm not reconciled. I've never been reconciled. I'm not reconciled to die quietly in ordinariness, and I'm even more reconciled to have left nothing behind in my life."

"I was not remembered, I did not change anything, I was not genuinely recognized by others, and I did not experience a single moment of truly meaningful living."

"So the moment I arrived here, I understood that God had given me an opportunity to be extraordinary."

Cheng Ye's voice was soft, yet it carried a resolute certainty, as if he were making a vow to himself.

The glow of the cigarette butt flickered as he sucked on it.

A fire was burning brightly in his heart.

But this time, it wasn't the stifling fire of frustration from being lectured by Liu Bi, nor the bewildering fire of being lost and confused about the future, nor the resentful fire of fearing that one's life would be taken away at will.

It's a wildfire! A wildfire that can't be extinguished, it keeps burning, and it can spread like wildfire even in dire circumstances!
It is the fire of ambition! It is the fire of ambition that dares to question the boundaries of heaven and earth, and dares to punch fate!

“Li Changfeng, we are destined to walk different paths. I want to climb all the way up to the top.”

"I am Inspector Cheng, who determines exactly where the borders of civilization lie!"

"I will not forget now, and I will never forget in the future!"

He raised his hand, and the pendant automatically appeared in his palm, held up to his eyes, and looked out the window through the blurry lines.

With a long sigh, the gloom that had been building up for over a hundred days dissipated into nothingness.

The sound of rain outside the window grew louder, the dense raindrops pounding against the glass like countless hands questioning something.

The chill seeped through the window cracks and crept into his neck, spreading along his skin, but it did nothing to extinguish the raging fire in his heart.

A person's growth is often completed in a single moment.

The books you've read, the knowledge you've learned, and the disordered information you've received in the past will suddenly settle and ferment at this moment, eventually transforming into fertilizer that nourishes new life.

At that moment, he heard the sound of his own earth breaking through the soil.

Central checkpoint.

Station Service Building.

This is the only building at Central Station that has been preserved from the old era, and it is also the core office area of ​​the entire checkpoint.

It was first built in 3, and has a history of over a hundred years.

The five-story building stands like a silent old man, bearing witness to the rise and fall of this land.

Time has etched countless marks on the walls: the scorch marks from gunfire, the gullies from rain, and the mottled patterns from wind and sand.
These marks, covered by layer upon layer of paint, remain hidden deep within, silently witnessing the growth and passing of generation after generation.

From Cheng Wu to Ding Yishan, there have been six checkpoint chiefs in total.

During the five years when the idealists were in power, two station chiefs died in the line of duty, and another chose to leave quietly when the idealists lost power.

The names of these four stationmasters are now engraved on the welcome wall at the entrance of the station building, for every person entering and leaving to pay their respects.

The remaining one is the most unique figure in the history of the Happiness City checkpoint.

Before Reagan Carl, there was the unlucky guy, Xiao Shuntian.

He was the only checkpoint chief who betrayed Happiness City, and a deformed product of the Great Expansion Era.

Caught in a vortex of power, strength, and resources, this once idealist gradually lost his way and ultimately became a puppet of desire.

After being killed by Regan Carl, his name was not completely erased, but it never appeared on the welcome wall either.

Its "final resting place" is the kneeling stone sculpture at the main entrance.

The statue is entirely black, with the figure bowing his head and his hands tied behind his back, in a humble and distorted posture, as if in eternal repentance.

Whenever a meeting is held at the checkpoint, an unspoken "ritual" always takes place here.

When people pass by the statue, they always subconsciously pat its head, kick its knee, or even spit on it.

This proves that one's ideals have not been corrupted by power, and one's beliefs have not been devoured by desire.

"This is truly no worse than Qin Hui's treatment."

Cheng Ye put on a raincoat and walked into the station building. He took off the raincoat, which was still covered with some unmelted ice flakes, and handed it to the staff at the door to handle.

He then raised his hand and patted the head of Xiao Shuntian's statue. It was still a little warm, as if someone had just proven its loyalty to it.

Then, he turned and walked up the stairs to the third floor, his gaze sweeping over the portraits on the walls.

These are mostly major events at the checkpoint. From its inception to now, Cheng Wu's face has remained unchanged for a full floor and a half, until he finally became the second station chief when he was almost on the third floor.

Standing at the top of the stairs, Cheng Ye adjusted his breathing.

Although it is unknown how many people Ding Yishan arranged to attend the first infrastructure meeting, and how many were from the East and how many from the West, it must have been a rigorous selection process.

Just like the rigorous assessments required to secure a stable job, there might be a written test first, followed by several rounds of interviews, and finally, a small-scale test to stand out.

After all, this major event of resettling migrants is both an opportunity and a potential disaster for the checkpoint.

If done well, the checkpoint can steadily extend its power to the outer city and truly take control of development.

If he doesn't do a good job, then the next statue kneeling at the door might just be Ding Yishan.

Go up to the third floor.

This building, inherited from the old era, appears to have been the central government office in the past.

The entire third floor was a meeting place, far more impressive than the grand theater converted from the checkpoint. The wooden floors were polished to a shine, and the air was filled with the mixed smell of old paper and turpentine.

"Prosecutor Cheng, this way please, that's the back door."

Jiang Chuan's voice came from the side. Cheng Ye stopped and turned around with a slight smile.

You look great today.

"Really?" Cheng Ye smirked, his tone slightly teasing. "Maybe it's because we don't have to be on duty in this awful weather." "Really?"

Jiang Chuan smiled and repeated the sentence, then turned to the side and gestured for him to enter.

Cheng Ye didn't go in immediately. His gaze swept across the entrance to the venue, and he casually asked, "How many people are there in the first round?"

"Of the prosecutors who have obtained the qualifications to perform their duties, apart from the 16 prosecutors currently on duty, everyone else has received an invitation. Well, Prosecutor Wang is an exception." Jiang Chuan's answer was concise.

Ok.

It seems he wasn't the special one; Wang Kang was.

Currently, excluding Wang Kang, there are 96 inspectors remaining at the checkpoints. According to the latest round of duty rules, only 16 people are needed each day to maintain the normal operation of the three checkpoints.

In other words, there should be 80 inspectors present.

Cheng Ye silently calculated in his mind, then stepped into the venue through the door that Jiang Chuan had pushed open.

The layout inside was somewhat unexpected; it wasn't like a school auditorium with rows of seats, nor like a grand theater with tiered seating. Instead, it resembled the venue where Churchill gave a speech in a movie.
In the center is a concave circular area, where a huge mahogany round table is placed.

On both sides are raised stands that extend upwards in concentric circles along the steps, with small tables in front of each seat, like a honeycomb embedded in the wall, neat and solemn.

Ding Yishan was sitting at the head of the round table in the middle, with stacks of documents piled up in front of him.

What made Cheng Ye a little uneasy was that Station Chief Ding was wearing reading glasses today. The eyes behind the silver-rimmed lenses had lost some of their usual sharpness and become more gentle, making him look just like his high school history teacher.

Just as he entered the venue, Ding Yishan happened to look up.

The moment their eyes met, Ding Yishan nodded slightly, seemingly in affirmation, yet also as a routine greeting, leaving one completely unable to fathom the depths of this old fox.

Harlin stood beside the round table, holding a thick folder in his hand, checking something, and occasionally signaling the staff to distribute paper documents. He looked very dedicated and serious.

But as Ding Yishan turned his head, he also looked at him, a perfectly timed faint smile on his face.

With the station chief and deputy chief taking the lead, the seated prosecutors also followed Ding Yishan's gaze and looked over. Their expressions were different, but no one spoke.

There was no pretentious embarrassment as expected, and no one was so brainless as to jump out and become a target, criticizing a trainee prosecutor for being there.

Reality is very real.

As a descendant of Cheng Wu, the first station chief of the checkpoint, even without the formidable reputation built by Cheng Long, the mere fact that he was a member of the "Cheng family" was enough to grant him entry.

Moreover, although Cheng Long is dead, the connections and prestige he left behind have not completely dissipated.

In addition, Cheng Ye's performance these days, and Ding Yishan's initiative to cultivate a new generation of prosecutors.

Both morally and logically, he has every right to sit here and have the right to know about the infrastructure construction in the outer city.

Even though he was involved in the construction of the outer city like other prosecutors, no one really treated him as an ordinary trainee prosecutor.

As a result, the Eastern prosecutors all looked at him with great enthusiasm, especially those who were obsessed with taking sides, who even waved to him from several rows away.

On the other side, the Western-style prosecutors, though mostly expressionless with scrutinizing eyes, had exceptions.

Li Matai actually stood up from his seat, his face beaming with undisguised excitement. He waved vigorously at Cheng Ye and pointed to the empty seat next to him, gesturing for him to sit down.

That old scoundrel is putting on his "performance" again.

Cheng Ye shook his head helplessly, but still followed Li Matai's instructions and went up the stairs on the left.

There were no other prosecutors sitting around them; they were alone and appeared to be neutral.

However, with both sides' attention focused on each other, it appears to be a new faction rising at the checkpoint.

“Not bad,” Li Matai asked knowingly, raising an eyebrow. “I thought you, a mere intern, would be left out of the list! Why didn’t you bring Prosecutor Wang with you? The three of us together would make it more lively.”

"Come on you."

Cheng Ye sat down, unbuttoned the top two buttons of his shirt, and took a couple of breaths.

It wasn't that I was tired, but the tense atmosphere in the room made it hard to breathe. "If he comes, someone here will probably flip the table."

"It's really unexpected that a scoundrel like you would come."

"What's wrong with being a slacker?"

Li Matai was not angry at all. Instead, he puffed out his chest and looked smug. "You don't know my achievements back then. Which inspector who followed the pioneering army all over the country didn't lead a construction team? I even led two thousand people to build a temporary settlement. At its peak, the population soared to eight thousand! If it weren't for Happiness City, I would be a minor lord by now. Pretty impressive, huh?"

“That was indeed impressive,” Cheng Ye said with a slight smile. “It’s remarkable that Lord Li still remembers Happiness City.”

After exchanging a few playful banter, the awkwardness of not seeing each other for a week immediately vanished, and they returned to their previous familiarity.

"How's it going at the South Checkpoint? Is everything going smoothly?" Li Matai asked in a low voice, his tone more serious.

"It's alright," Cheng Ye replied succinctly.

“That’s not a high rating,” Li Matai raised an eyebrow. “Is it not as comfortable as the North Station?”

“Not really,” Cheng Ye shook his head. “It’s just a duty station; there’s no real difference between the north and the south.”

That being said, he knew in his heart that although the South Station had observers to help with miscellaneous tasks, making things seem easy, it was hard to say whether being away from grassroots work was a good thing or a bad thing.

In his own opinion, if he hadn't spent a week training at the North Station before being directly transferred to the South Station, he probably would never have been able to truly become familiar with the practical knowledge related to the basic inspection procedures.

And these are precisely the things that the Eastern academic school lacks most.

"Ha, in the entire checkpoint, I'm afraid only our Inspector Cheng has such a big mouth."

Li Ma clicked his tongue, then changed the subject, "What about this time? According to the basic rules, it's definitely not a one-person job anymore. If you're going out, you'll have to work in pairs to ensure mutual supervision and prevent accidents. Hmm, Lord Li can help you earn some merit."

He paused, then added, "Of course, if Liu Bi can get back from the hydroelectric power station, you can go with him."

That's really kind of you.

Cheng Ye really didn't expect that Li Matai would be willing to team up with him, a trainee prosecutor.

From God's perspective, he was the initiator of the contract proposal and the one who orchestrated the formulation of the detailed rules.

He could sit down and discuss philosophy with Ding Yishan, and even get the other party to lower his guard and teach him by example.

But from Li Matai's perspective, Prosecutor Cheng was just a junior intern who had only recently started working in inspection.

At most, they have some initial aspirations, a little ability, and a bit of cleverness.

"Don't overthink it," Li Matai seemed to see through his thoughts, sniffed, and looked completely at ease. "I don't have any other intentions. I just don't want to team up with those slackers. It's a complete waste of time."

As he spoke, he leaned closer and lowered his voice even further: "Team up with me, and I'll take control of the situation to prevent any chaos. I'll give you all the authority to do whatever you want, as long as it's not so outrageous as to send people to their deaths. Just don't run away when it's time to take the blame."

"You're quite clever to give me the authority to do things."

Cheng Ye chuckled and teased, "If Prosecutor Cheng really achieves something, shouldn't you get the lion's share of the credit?"

"It's good that you know this; this is called investing."

Li Matai showed no embarrassment at being exposed, and continued to grin foolishly, "The higher the risk I take, the higher the return will be. If you can really make a name for yourself, what's wrong with me getting a share?"

Cheng Ye's heart skipped a beat. It seemed that teaming up with Li Matai was indeed a good idea.

This old scoundrel is experienced and familiar with the methods of pioneering, which can make up for my lack of field experience.

But then he thought that if he really agreed, leaving Wang Kang alone in the buffer zone would be a minor matter.

What if you team up with Li Matai but encounter differences in their philosophies?
The "delegation" they're talking about sounds appealing, but their different educations and logics mean that when they actually get to the outer city, disputes are bound to arise over specific matters like resource allocation and personnel deployment.

As a trainee prosecutor, how could he possibly suppress the decisions of a senior prosecutor?

At that point, let alone getting things done, the internal conflicts alone could ruin the entire plan.

inappropriate!

Cheng Ye even felt that Ding Yishan probably didn't want to see such a combination.

However, he did not directly refuse, but vaguely said: "Let's see the results of today's selection first. If we can both stay, it's not too late to talk about forming a team."

Moreover, since Ding Yishan has summoned so many prosecutors here today, he is bound to start a round of screening.

It would be awkward if we finalized the team formation now and one of them got eliminated.

Moreover, Cheng Ye vaguely guessed that since Ding Yishan proposed "pairing up in pairs," he must have already considered the issue of power and responsibility, that is, the power balance that he was not good at and had never been exposed to.

When the two of them go out, they definitely need to be assigned a principal and a deputy. The rules for who will take the lead in decision-making and who will be responsible for execution must be agreed upon in advance.

It is absolutely impossible to let them decide on the spot; otherwise, it will only intensify the conflict and repeat the mistakes of the checkpoint's past internal strife.

Li Matai clearly understood this principle as well, and even sensed the ambiguity in Cheng Ye's tone.

As expected, he didn't press the matter further, but just chuckled and said, "Alright, let's get through this first. From what I've gathered, this assessment is no simple task; they've even used supercomputing to help with the questions."

Supercomputers are setting the questions?

Cheng Ye was taken aback, his heart stirred slightly. Ever since he learned that Happiness City was the first force to use source orbit technology to break through the chip problem, he had paid special attention to this supercomputer.

However, just as he was about to ask for more details, three more people walked in from the front and back of the venue.

As if by unspoken agreement, Cheng Ye subconsciously looked up, his gaze meeting directly in the middle of the three.

The other person raised an eyebrow, a half-smile playing on their lips, their eyes holding a hint of mockery, as if to say, "We meet again."

Cheng Ye's face instantly darkened.

Garcia.

That sick dog is really persistent!
　P.S.: The second update might be a little late~
　　
　
(End of this chapter)